Some Like It Hot (26 page)

Engaging in another passionate and thrilling affair with Mallory Standish was definitely out of the question.

Mallory Standish stepped onto the elevator and was grateful it was empty. After the doors closed behind her, she pushed the button that would take her down to the first floor and expelled the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

It had been hard seeing Hunter again, and if it weren’t for Barbara, she would not have come. But her sister was all the family she had and she was determined to find out the truth one way or the other, and like she had told Hunter, she trusted only him to find out.

Hunter.

He was still the tall, dark, and handsome predator. His name suited him well. That had been her initial thought when they had first met. She had walked into his office with his aunt, and the moment their gazes connected, she had discovered there was such a phenomena as instant attraction.

One of the first things she had noticed about him when they met was just how tall he was, way over six feet, with powerfully built shoulders, tapered thighs, and muscular legs. He had returned to the office after playing a game of tennis with a business associate and hadn’t yet showered and changed back into his suit. He’d possessed a physique that left her insides tingling, and she had quickly reached the conclusion that no man should have been blessed to have it good in both the looks and the body departments.

His dark brown hair was cut low and neatly trimmed, and his face, the color of semisweet chocolate, had the most arresting features of any man she had ever met. He was so startlingly handsome that it was both a sin and a shame. The eyes that had locked with hers were stark black, intense, and predatory. Since he’d been intent on giving her the same thorough once-over she had given him, it had taken a full two minutes after his aunt had made the introductions before either of them spoke.

In just that span of time her emotions had gone from relatively calm to veering on the edge of turbulent. There was no way she could have ignored the electrifying attraction or the sizzle along her nerve endings when she’d seen him. And when he had taken her hand in his in the appropriate handshake, a tingling warm, pulsing heat had quickly settled between her legs.

She had never had such a physical reaction to a man, and it had been the most bizarre thing she’d ever encountered, instant heat had been fueled by a sexual need that she hadn’t known could exist. From that first blazing encounter, the die had been cast. It was a foregone conclusion that the two of them would eventually hook up.

And they did.

Although she had been determined to keep things strictly business while working on his parents’ anniversary party, she’d been fully aware that he was a man waiting patiently, biding his time. However, as the time came closer to the date of the party, he had become impatient and more than once tried coming on to her. She’d known without a doubt that he’d been anxious to make his move.

And when the time had come, the night of the anniversary party, he had done so in a very smooth and suave manner. He had not left the country club, where the festivities had been held, when the party was over. Instead, he had hung around while she finalized the very last detail…waiting for her. And they left together, ending up at her place where he spent the night.

Yes, she had known all she needed to know about Hunter and his reputation. There were those who referred to him as the untamable Hunter and claimed he had a wild side when it came to women. His reputation was legendary. He was a ladies’ man, although indiscriminately so. She’d also heard that he avoided commitments and had often said he didn’t plan to settle down until he was well into his forties, and since he hadn’t yet reached the age of thirty-five, he had a few more years to go.

But regardless of all that, she thought she could handle Hunter Sloan since she was too caught up in her own work to get serious about anyone. However, fate had dealt her a reality check when by their third date she’d found herself falling head over heels in love with him. And by the fourth month of their affair she had gained enough courage to test the waters to see if he reciprocated her feelings and had voiced them aloud. Unfortunately, he made it clear what his position was as to a serious relationship with any woman: he wasn’t interested.

That was not good news for her since she was interested, extremely so. However, Olivia Standish hadn’t raised either of her daughters to be fools, and Mallory had known that the best thing to do was to walk away with her pride intact although her heart was in shambles.

Over the past six months she had managed to survive the pain and heartache, but now it seemed that fate had brought them back together, even if it was for business. Seeing Hunter again made her realize that she still loved him, although she wished it were otherwise.

When the elevator reached her floor and the doors opened, she took a deep breath as she stepped out. She knew that dealing with Hunter would not be easy, but she was determined to do it. Even if it killed her.

Hours later Hunter walked into Rowdy’s and glanced around. He immediately saw Mallory sitting at a table by the window. She was so absorbed in the ocean view that she hadn’t noticed he had arrived. It was just as well since he needed to get his bearings.

For as long as he could remember, cars and women had been the only two things that had held his attention after he graduated from Grambling College. Then he had opened his company and it had become part of the mix. He enjoyed being footloose and fancy free, although he knew his parents and his aunt Judith were hoping he would settle down, get married, and have kids. For some reason they couldn’t quite understand that he wasn’t in a hurry. There were a lot of things yet for him to experience—places to go, women to do, and he definitely enjoyed doing women. At least he
had
enjoyed doing women until Mallory had ruined that for him. He couldn’t seem to think about sleeping with another woman for fear he would find her lacking. In his mind, no other woman could hold a candle to Mallory Standish in any way. And no matter how many times he had tried convincing himself to move beyond that assumption, he couldn’t.

Sighing deeply, he began walking toward her and had just reached the table when she lifted a glass of water to her lips. Immediately, his guts clenched when he remembered all the naughty things he’d taught her to do with those lips.

Heated thoughts flooded his mind. Wicked thoughts. Sexually intense thoughts. He felt his erection beginning to rise and harden and thought it was best to sit down as soon as he could. “Mallory,” he said.

She glanced up. Surprised. “Hunter I wasn’t expecting you for another ten minutes or so.”

He nodded as he took the chair across from her. “My appointment finished up early.” His heart began beating faster, so he glanced around, trying to look at anything but her. This was crazy. Absolutely nuts. Why in the hell was he feeling this way? The nervousness. The tension. She was just a woman. Someone he used to sleep with. The last woman he’d slept with. No big deal.

But when he finally brought his gaze back to her and met her eyes, he knew it was a big deal. There was something about her that he just couldn’t shake. Even after six months.

He shook his head, determined to shake it anyway, or at least try. “Is water the only thing you’re drinking?” he decided to ask.

“Yes. I have a dinner engagement later, too.”

Luckily for him, she shifted her gaze to look back out of the window. Otherwise she would have seen the jealousy that flared in his eyes. She would be meeting a man later? For dinner?

To keep his hands from hitting something, he grabbed the menu that sat in a rack on the table. He had to be realistic even if he didn’t want to be. It had been six months. Had he really expected her to not get on with her life because he hadn’t been able to get on with his?

He had thrown himself in his work, he had convinced himself that the only reason he hadn’t been dating was because he’d been too busy. Six months was a long time for a man to go without, especially a man who’d been used to getting it on a pretty regular basis.

“How’s your aunt?”

Her question interrupted his thoughts and he glanced up from the menu he was pretending to study and met her gaze. Her expression was cool and he wondered how she could sit so calmly and appear so detached. Whenever he thought of her the one word that always came to mind was hot. That was followed by sexy, beautiful, and passionate.

He decided to answer her question. “Aunt Judith is doing well. She asks about you often.”

She smiled as she began fiddling with her water glass, and all he could do was sit there and stare at that smile while his need for her escalated another notch.

“I always liked your aunt,” she said, before taking another sip of water.

He almost said “and she likes you, too,” before deciding that wouldn’t be a good idea. The last thing he wanted to do was give her any ideas. Besides, although he loved his aunt dearly, what she liked or didn’t like really didn’t matter to him, although he had to admit that Mallory had been the first woman he’d gotten involved with that both his mother and aunt had approved of. That should have been the first warning sign, and it would have been if he hadn’t been so focused on getting Mallory into his bed. And once he had gotten her there, he hadn’t been in any hurry to get her out.

Thank goodness a waiter came at that moment to take their order and the only thing the two of them wanted was coffee. He stared at her for a long moment when her mobile phone went off and she answered it. Moments later, he sat back, relieved. He had listened to enough of her conversation to know the person she would be meeting later for dinner was a girlfriend.

“So what do you want to know about Lewis that could possibly help the investigation?”

Hunter drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Although he had been watching her every move he hadn’t realized she had ended her conversation and had placed the mobile phone back in her purse until she had spoken. “Does he still work for the IRS?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Hunter nodded. That had been another reason he hadn’t been overly eager to make friends with Mallory’s brother-in-law. Although Hunter paid his fair share of taxes like the next guy, people who worked for the Internal Revenue Service made him nervous. “Do you know if he’s been going out a lot at night lately? More so than usual?”

He watched as a frown marred Mallory’s forehead as she thought about his questions. “No,” she said moments later. “Lewis is a homebody and I can’t recall Barbara mentioning that he’s started going out at night. In fact, Barbara and I usually talk every night and he’s always home in bed already.”

“Has he begun talking any business trips?”

“No.”

Hunter nodded. “That means if he is involved with someone, he’s doing it on his lunch hour.”

Mallory brow raised. “His lunch hour? That wouldn’t give him enough time, would it?”

His lips curled into a lazy smile. The reason she had probably asked was because whenever they’d made love they would stay in bed for hours and hours. Sixty minutes had not been enough time for them. “It might. Depending on what all he’s doing.”

He watched as she swallowed hard and saw her lips tremble when she said, “I hope for Barbara’s sake that he’s not doing anything.”

“Well, that’s what you’ve hired me to find out. Starting tomorrow I’ll watch how he spends his lunchtime.”

Mallory nodded. “Anything else you need to know?”

There was something else he needed to know, but it had nothing to do with business. It was a question that had been gnawing at him since he had seen her earlier that day, and his mind just wouldn’t let it go. It was as if he was driven beyond reason to know the answer, like his very life depended on it. “Yes, there is one other thing I need to know, Mallory.”

He leaned forward across the table so his next words could not be heard by anyone else. It brought him so close to her, he could clearly see the darkness of her eyes, and when she also leaned forward to hear what he had to ask, their mouths almost touched.

When he hesitated, she raised a brow and quietly breathed out her next words through water-damp lips. “What is it, Hunter? What else do you need to know?”

He swallowed and felt his sexual frustrations come to a head when he again remembered that sex with Mallory had been absolutely mind-blowing fantastic every single time. He felt a shiver of desire go up his spine and the erection straining against his zipper harden even more. And when she tilted her head slightly, which only inched her lips even closer to his, he couldn’t hold back his question any longer.

“I need to know what color panties you’re wearing,” he whispered.

Mallory went still.

Her hand, which had been reaching for her coffee cup, dropped to the table as a small gasp escaped her lips. Of all the questions she had anticipated Hunter asking her, the color of her underwear was definitely not one of them.

She met his gaze, not sure she had heard him right and that she must have imagined his question. However, the heated look in his eyes indicated she had heard him correctly and that he was actually waiting on an answer.

Mallory’s eyes went wide. Only the untamable Hunter Sloan thought he could ask such a thing. She sat back in her chair and straightened her spine. “Is there a reason you want to know?” she asked coolly, thinking that he really had a lot of nerve.

He shrugged. “Just curious.”

Mallory frowned wondering why he was “just curious.” It wasn’t like he would be getting into them, so why the interest? He was the one who’d decided to end their relationship six months ago; so the way she saw it, the color of her panties was no business of his.

When she saw the intensity of his gaze she couldn’t help but remember a time when what she wore under her dress
had
been his business. She had vivid memories of how his dark gaze would sweep over her and his breathing would quicken whenever she would strip down to her panties and bra. And likewise, her body would flare in heat anticipating what was to come.

In the back of her mind she could actually hear the moans she made when he removed her bra and then knelt before her to remove the matching pair of colorful, scanty panties she’d worn. But before he would take them off, he would take his hand and stroke her through the material, making her panties soaked as the scent of aroused woman filled the room. He would ease the scrap of lace down her legs and continued to stroke her in such a way that would leave her quivering and gulping for air. Then he would look up at her and give her that damn untamable Hunter smile and proceed to show her just how much he loved that particular area of her body by cupping her hips into his hands and leaning forward, kissing her intimately, letting his tongue thrust deep. She would nearly pass out from his lusty enjoyment of her, eliciting her cry of release and giving her one hell of an orgasm even before they reached the bed.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Mallory breathed in deeply, inwardly admitting that she missed those times with him. Hunter was definitely a man who brought fantasies to life. Sex with him had always been incredible, devastatingly wild, and bone-curling, desire-filling good.

He had found out rather early in their relationship—that first night to be exact—that he was her first lover. And he had set out to make sure he would be her only lover by raising the bar and her expectations too high for anyone who followed. When it came to making love to her, his delivery had always been intense, overwhelming, and very gratifying.

Mallory knew that any woman who had an affair with Hunter would be getting the best. That thought reminded her that she was no longer that woman, and in fact, in a few hours he would be meeting another woman for dinner. The thought that he wanted to know the color of her panties when he would be seeing someone else later didn’t sit too well with her, and she became downright angry. She placed her hand in her lap, fighting the impulse to lean over and slap him silly. But then she was too dignified to let any man bring out the worse in her, no matter how much she wanted to lash out in pain.

Deciding she didn’t owe him an answer to his question and that they had finished the only business between them for now, Mallory picked up her purse and stood. “Enjoy your dinner date, Hunter, and I would think
she
would be the one whose panties you would be interested in.”

Without saying another word Mallory walked out of the restaurant.

“You don’t seem to be in a good mood tonight, Hunter.”

Hunter glanced up from his meal to stare into the concerned face of his aunt. He knew if he didn’t give her a reason for his surly mood she would only continue digging. “I had a rough day,” he said, and then, as he resumed eating his food, he realized it wasn’t far from the truth. He had wanted Mallory to think he’d had dinner plans with another woman. No sooner had Mallory walked out of Rowdy’s than he had felt the impact of his deception.

“So when was the last time you saw Mallory?”

Drawing in a slow breath, Hunter lifted his gaze and stared across the table at his aunt. Not for the first time in his life he wondered if she had ESP or something. “Why do you ask?”

She smiled at him. “Just curious.”

He swallowed hard. Those had been the same words he’d given Mallory when she had asked why he wanted to know the color of her panties. Even now he couldn’t believe he had actually asked her that, and far worse was the fact that he still wanted to know. It was as if it was privileged information that he felt he was entitled to. But he had to be realistic enough to know that when it came to Mallory Standish, he was no longer entitled to anything.

He placed his fork down, knowing his aunt was waiting on an answer. As casually as he could, he said, “I saw Mallory earlier today.” There was no need to tell his aunt that he and Mallory had also shared coffee less then a few hours ago. He leaned back in his chair when he saw his aunt’s eyes fill with speculation.

“Really?”

“Yes, and before you ask the answer is no. Mallory and I are not getting back together. It was strictly a business meeting. She thinks her brother-in-law may be messing around on her sister and has hired me to find out if he is or isn’t.”

“Oh.”

He looked at his aunt uneasily. “And what does that mean?”

She smiled that same smile his mother would often give him. And not for the first time he thought that she should have been his mother’s sister instead of his father’s since the two women had similar mannerisms and thought so much alike. “I meant nothing by it, Hunter. You’re a grown man and I think a fairly smart one. It’s been six months, and if you haven’t realized by now that Mallory Standish was the best thing to happen to you then that’s your loss.” She pushed back her chair and stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go into the kitchen to get our dessert. I tried out a new recipe. It’s called the ‘better than sex’ cake, and I want you to let me know what you think.”

Hunter leaned back in his chair as he watched his aunt leave the room. He didn’t have to eat a piece of cake to know there was nothing on this earth that was better than sex, especially if it was with Mallory. Just the thought of kissing her made him hot, because locking lips with her always led to other things, intimate and erotic. The woman was so irresistibly sexy he couldn’t think straight. And the thought that he had been her first lover still left him in awe. She had been an eager student, a quick learner, a woman who’d taken in everything he had taught her and had put it to good use.

Before he could dwell on his intimate encounters with Mallory any further, his aunt returned with a huge slice of cake on a plate. “Here you are, Hunter. I hope you like it.”

He took the plate from his aunt. “I’m sure I will.” He took his fork and after tasting the cake, he thought it was good. But not as good as Mallory, and by the time he had finished half of it he had concluded that, although it was delicious, it wasn’t better than sex.

“It’s a shame about that lunatic on the loose isn’t it?”

He looked up from eating his cake and met his aunt’s concerned expression. “What lunatic?”

“That man who’s going around calling himself The Mighty Charger and attacking all those women.”

Hunter frowned. He had remembered reading something about it in the papers. “They haven’t caught him yet?”

“No, and I’m concerned that most of the attacks have taken place not far from where Mallory lives. I hope she’s taken every precaution to stay safe.”

He finished off the last of his cake before responding. “I’m sure she has.” He then remembered that she was meeting a girlfriend tonight. Had she returned home safely?

He stood quickly knowing he wouldn’t rest until he knew for sure. “Look, Aunt Judith, I hate to rush off, but I just remembered something I need to do.” He walked around the table and gave his aunt a kiss on the cheek. “Lock the door behind me.”

And then he was gone.

So much for getting Mallory out of my life and keeping her there,
Hunter thought, a half-hour later while parked in the yard of a vacant house directly across the street from where she lived. Her car was not in the driveway, which meant she hadn’t come home yet.

If anyone had told him that he would be spending a good portion of the night waiting for a woman to arrive back home, just to make sure she got into her house safely, he wouldn’t have believed them.

He eased his car seat back for better comfort and folded his hands across his chest. He had turned off the radio awhile ago when nothing was playing that he wanted to hear. He glanced around thinking that he actually liked this older neighborhood of homes, and knew that Mallory had bought the house a few years ago, not long after her sister had gotten married. Up until that time, she and Barbara had lived together in an apartment while they had worked and attended college.

He straightened when he recognized her car as it pulled into the driveway of her yard. He exhaled a sigh of relief and watched as she got out and walked up to her door. Moments later she went inside and closed the door behind her.

He cursed softly when he felt an overwhelming urge to march up to that house and force her to answer the question he had asked her earlier. He’d never had a fetish for women’s underwear until he’d made love to Mallory. She used to wear some of the sexiest and most colorful panties and he enjoyed taking them off of her. For months after their breakup he would still fantasize about her. In fact he still did.

Hunter lost track of time as he just sat there in his car and stared at Mallory’s house. Then he figured he had done the gentlemanly thing tonight by making sure she had gotten into her house safely. As he turned on the ignition to start up his car he decided that he would handle the case involving her brother-in-law as quickly as possible so that his life could return to normal.

But for some reason the prospect of that happening didn’t seem real.