Summer Heat (11 page)

In fact, if she got any
closer to him she’d fall into his lap. She stood behind him, her breasts
pressed against his back. She’d long ago discarded the suit jacket, claiming
the conference room was hot. The room was 
not
 hot. He’d
dropped the thermostat five degrees in the hopes she’d put on her jacket so he
wouldn’t have to look at her in that white, nearly see-through top, all silky
and clinging to her breasts, her shoulders bare and oh-so-damn-kissable.

And she smelled so damn
good he couldn’t concentrate on the designs in front of him. Like
lavender—sweet and soft and too fucking sexy for his weak body to handle.

“I think this one looks
great,” she said, her minty breath caressing his cheek as she leaned in to point
at the brochure on the left side of the screen. “It contains all the elements
we’re looking for—sharp, classy, colorful, yet not ostentatious.”

Huh? Like he had any
idea what she was talking about. The soft skin of her arm brushed against his,
prickling the hairs on his arm. Her ponytail fell across his shoulder and he
inhaled her scent. With every breath she took her breasts pressed against his
shirt, the thin cotton no armor against the feel of her heart pounding rapidly
against his back.

“What do you think,
Aidan?” she asked.

Think? Who the hell
could think? His cock pulsed and twitched, clamoring for his attention. If he
had a hammer he’d beat the fucker into submission so it would quit distracting
him.

“Aidan?”

“What?”

“You didn’t answer me.”

“What was the question
again?”

“The brochures. Do you
like the one on the left?”

He was going mad.
Couldn’t keep a thought in his head for more than five seconds, with the
exception of a thousand visions of Melissa. About undressing her, piece by
delectable piece until he had her naked and ready for him. About putting her on
her knees and letting her sweet mouth release the pounding ache in his cock.
About throwing her on her back and thrusting his tortured penis so deep inside
her she’d scream for mercy.

Maybe he could bend her
over the table, lift her skirt and ram his cock in her from behind.

Brochures? What
brochures?

“I don’t know,
Melissa.” Abruptly he pushed away from the desk. She took a few steps back as
he turned to face her, trying not to focus on the way her nipples strained
against the nearly transparent silk of that flimsy excuse for a blouse. How
could she be so bold as to wear near-underwear in the office? She might as well
be topless.

“Are you all right?”
she asked, frowning.

“Fine. Why?”

“You just groaned.” She
took a step toward him. “Does your stomach hurt? Maybe it was the sandwich.
Should I get you something?”

Christ she was making
him crazy. “I gotta go,” he said, grabbing for his jacket.

“Go? It’s only two
o’clock.”

“I…I have another appointment.
I forgot until just now. Sorry. We’ll meet again in the morning.”

Like a wimp pursued by
the school bully, he hightailed it out of there as fast as he could, loosening
his tie as he exited the conference room.

Once in the safety of
his office, he blew out a breath and tried to calm his raging nerves.

Aidan Storm had never
run in his entire life. But his new resolve to steer clear of Melissa, coupled
with her sudden transformation into a sex siren, had his cock and his brain at
odds and ready to do battle.

He flopped into his
chair and rested his head in his hands, fisting his hair as if the pain of
pulling the strands would somehow clear the fog that had settled in there
today.

Sex or sanity? He
wasn’t sure which part of him would come out the winner. He only knew this
squall building inside him over Melissa was going to reach hurricane
proportions very soon.

* * * * *

Melissa smiled,
figuring she’d done her job well today.

Granted, Aidan hadn’t
exactly fallen all over his feet in an effort to drag her off to the nearest
bed, or broom closet, or whatever, but she had made progress. Clearly her
nearness affected him. At least she hoped so, because sidling up close to him
had her damn near doing a striptease on the table in order to get his attention.

His masculine smell, so
earthy and potent, overwhelmed her senses, making clarity of thought almost
impossible. Touching his firm, well-toned body was like waving her hand over an
open flame.

Aidan had wanted her
last night, but that was before she’d frozen him out. Now it was going to take
some finesse, hard work and blatant seduction. Melissa wasn’t sure she had it
in her, but she’d give it a try.

She wanted some damn
sex. Real, sweaty, between the sheets or outside in the park or on the side of
the building sex. Messy, wonderful, mind blowing sex.

With Aidan.

No matter what she had
to do, she’d get it. This was sultry New Orleans, the Big Easy. Where sex was
hot and nasty and just what she’d needed for way too long.

And Aidan wanted her,
of that there was no doubt. Yes, she’d bruised his ego last night, and would
have to work hard to build it back up and make him understand that she really
did want him. But she’d succeed.

Then, her dry spell in
the sex department would be over.

Melissa strode
purposefully down the hall, her high heels clipping along the parquet flooring
of the Storm corporate offices.

For four days she’d
been at this seduction thing with Aidan. Four unsuccessful, lesson in futility,
utterly frustrating days. And she’d gotten absolutely nowhere. Not only was he
still ignoring her, it seemed as if he couldn’t spend more than a couple hours
in the same room with her without running off to some 
meeting

His avoidance of her
was so obvious it was painful. She’d done everything in her power to grab his
attention. Shorter skirts, skimpier blouses, she’d even tried no bra and no
panties. Not that he’d ever gotten close enough to take a peek. She could
probably parade through the conference room naked and he wouldn’t bat an
eyelash. After all, he’d actually have to look at her to notice.

Not more than thirty
minutes ago he’d made a mad dash out of the conference room, claiming he had a
meeting with Logan. She’d steamed over his hasty exit for about a half hour,
then decided enough was enough. This time, she wasn’t going to let him run.
She’d wait outside Logan’s office and confront him.

Now that she stood in
front of the double doors leading to The Rising Storm’s private offices, she
wasn’t sure she could pull it off. What would she say, exactly? ‘Excuse me,
Aidan, but I’ve been trying to get you to fuck me and you haven’t been paying
attention.’

Laughter bubbled up her
throat and threatened to erupt, but she tamped it down, not wanting to look as
idiotic as she felt.

With a shaky breath she
opened the doors leading into the private offices, and stopped dead when she
heard Aidan’s voice. It was coming from the office at the end of the hall. No
doubt, Logan’s.

Maybe she’d wait
outside the doors so she wouldn’t appear so obviously lurking. But then she
heard her name mentioned. Unable to resist, she strolled closer.

“I don’t care what your
problem is,” a booming voice sounded that had to be Logan. “We’ve got deadlines
and you’re sitting on your ass getting nothing done.”

“Bullshit,” Aidan
replied, his voice tinged with anger. “The marketing plan is going fine. Quit
obsessing.”

“I’m not the one
obsessing! You are. Over Melissa.”

Melissa attempted to
swallow but all the moisture had evaporated from her throat.

“Not true. She’s my working
partner in this venture, Logan, and nothing more.”

“That’s not what I’ve
heard.”

Oh lord. What had Logan
heard? She should just hightail it back up to the conference room. This was the
last place she wanted to be right now.

“You’ve heard nothing.
Quit blowing smoke up my ass, Logan and get off my back about this project.
I’ve got it covered.”

“You’d better. And keep
your mind on our target goals, not Melissa’s ass.”

“My mind is no where
near Melissa or her ass. I’ve got much better things to do than waste my time
on a frigid northeastern snob.”

Snob? Frigid? Anger
bubbled up inside her, threatening to explode. He had some nerve. She started
forward, her first thought to defend herself, but at the sound of a hand on the
doorknob, she panicked. Now was definitely not the time to have a conversation
with Aidan. She spied an office door ajar, and hurriedly stepped in and closed
the door, afraid to move an inch. She rested her head on the door and hoped
Aidan wouldn’t walk in.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she
muttered after Aidan passed by and left the offices.

“Problem?”

Her heart slammed
against her chest and she whirled around to find both Aidan’s sisters grinning
at her.

Should she give up now
and pack her things, or find some way to extricate herself from this major
nightmare?

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I
didn’t know the office was occupied.”

Shannon’s lips curved
in knowing smile. “Relax. We heard Logan and Aidan shouting. They do that all
the time.”

Except they’d been
arguing about her. Heat flushed her entire body. She’d never been so
embarrassed. “About their conversation, I—”

Kaitlyn stepped toward
her, grabbed her hands and led her to one of the two chairs in front of the
chrome and silver desk. “Sit. And quit worrying. They weren’t really talking
about you. This is just Logan’s way of keeping Aidan on his toes.”

Melissa sat and folded
her hands so the women wouldn’t see them shaking.

Kaitlyn nodded. “Yeah.
Both of them are all bluster, no bite. Logan runs as cold as Aidan runs hot,
and the two don’t blend well.”

Didn’t they hear what
Aidan said about her? She could care less about Logan and Aidan’s argument.
Right now she was focused on the fact that Aidan thought her a frigid snob.

“I’m not a frigid
snob.” As soon as she blurted it out, she wished she could take it back. Why
had she said anything? They seemed content to ignore his insults.

“Of course you’re not,”
Shannon sniffed. “Aidan’s an ass sometimes. Which is where his brains are
usually located.”

“There or between his
legs, like a lot of men,” Kaitlyn said, laughing at Melissa’s shocked
expression.

Shannon grinned. “Don’t
worry about Aidan. He really doesn’t mean half of what he says. He’s filled
with hot passion and it spills out of his mouth in the most inappropriate ways
sometimes.”

“So I noticed.” Melissa
felt a little bit better about being caught hiding in what must be Shannon’s
office. The room was neat and orderly, papers stacked in a trim pile on her
desk, the credenza bare with the exception of her computer and a bookshelf to
the side filled with binders. The artwork was modern and blended perfectly with
the cool décor. It looked a lot like her own office in Boston.

In fact, she and
Shannon even dressed similarly. Well-tailored business suits with matching
pumps. Very proper, very stylish. Not that she’d been dressing that way
herself, lately. More like a sex siren trying to get a man’s attention. Only it
wasn’t working.

Melissa’s gaze flitted
to Kaitlyn. Complete opposite in dress from her sister. Where Shannon was
professional polish, Kaitlyn was chic business casual. She wore a calf length
dress that accentuated her lush curves. The cream set off her dark skin and
raven hair, which flowed freely down her back. Unlike Shannon, who neatly
pulled her sable locks back in a clip like Melissa did.

Cool. That’s how
Melissa usually presented herself. Cool and crisp. Like…frigid.

She laid her head in
her hands, more confused than ever. Did Aidan want her or didn’t he?

“You need a drink,
honey,” Kaitlyn said.

Melissa looked up.
“Me?”

Shannon nodded. “Yeah,
you sure do. Let’s go have a cocktail or two and forget all about Aidan and
others of his species.”

The idea had merit. And
heaven knew she needed to escape the four walls of her hotel room. For the past
few nights she’d paced the suite, hoping to hear from Aidan and ending up
miserably disappointed when she didn’t. Then she’d spend the remainder of the
night convincing herself it didn’t matter whether Aidan called or not.

“Let’s go change,”
Shannon said to Kaitlyn before turning to Melissa. “We’ll pick you up out front
in an hour?”

“Sounds great.” She
followed Shannon and Kaitlyn out the door.

In less than an hour
she was dressed and ready for some serious partying. This was exactly what she
needed to get her mind off Aidan, at least temporarily. Frigid snob, indeed.
Too bad he wouldn’t get a look at the way she was dressed right now.

Short, black skirt, a
touch of spandex hugging her hips and rear. Why had she even brought this
outfit with her? Had she subconsciously been anticipating some excitement?

She looked in the
mirror, hardly recognizing herself as staid, businesslike Melissa. Tiny tank
top in black and white stripes, dipping off the shoulder, and no bra but with
enough spandex in it to cradle her breasts. And of course the killer heels to
match. She’d bought the outfit on a whim long ago, after her boyfriend had
given her the boot. She swore some night she’d slip it on and get wild and
wicked.

Tonight she felt just
like that.

She stood in the lobby
near the doors, waiting for Shannon and Kaitlyn.

“Where are you going?”

Her lips curved into a
smile at the sound of Aidan’s voice. She turned and arched a brow. “Out.”

“With whom?”

He didn’t look at all
happy. His forehead creased with his frown, and his lips were clamped so
tightly together not even air could slip through.

“With your sisters.”

“Oh, shit. You’re not.”

“I am.”

“Dressed like that?”
Aidan inclined his head up and down her body, as if she wasn’t aware of her own
attire.

“No, I thought I’d
strip naked on my way to the car. Of course dressed like this.”

He crossed his arms and
shook his head, clearly disapproving of her. Tough. This was her night, she was
tired of waiting around for him. She needed some fun.

“I really wish you
wouldn’t do this,” he said.

“Do what?”

“Go out and party with
my sisters.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

A sigh escaped his lips
and he said, “They’ll grill you about us.”

Melissa lifted her
chin. “There is no 
us
. You’ve made that very clear the past few
days.”

“Me?” he hissed, taking
her by the arm and nearly dragging her over to the side wall. “You’re the one
who didn’t want anything personal between us.”

“Well, that may have
been true then, but I’d changed my mind. Not that you’d noticed.”

His eyes widened.
“Changed your…when?”

“Four days ago.”

He stared at her,
slack-jawed, then finally said, “Did I miss the conversation when you told me
this?”

“No. There wasn’t one.”

“Was there a memo?”

“No.”

“Airplane flying over
with a banner attached?”

She tapped her foot.
“Now you’re being ridiculous.”

“No, I’m being a man.”
He stepped toward her and she inhaled his powerful scent. “We like things
spelled out for us—no games. If you want me, Melissa, you’ll have to come right
out and tell me. I’m not going to approach you again and have you slam the door
in my face.”

They stood toe-to-toe,
nearly nose-to-nose, and didn’t say a word. Melissa was at a loss because Aidan
was right. She was a modern, sophisticated woman. If she wanted sex from him,
she could have come right out and asked him.

Isn’t that what she’d
been trying to do for the past few days? Get his attention, let him know she
was interested? Now, when she had him where she wanted him, her bravado left
her.

What if she offered,
and he said no?

He waited, and said
nothing. She fought the swirl of emotions, trying to find the place where she
could be so bold as to ask Aidan to fuck her.

Well, it was now or
never, right?

“There you are!”
Kaitlyn interrupted, breezing in between them. “We’re ready to go. How about
you?”

She was ready all
right. Ready to jump Aidan right there in the lobby. “Yes, I’ll be right
there,” she said with a smile in Kaitlyn’s direction.

“You’d better go,”
Aidan said, his voice low and husky.

She felt the vibrations
and knew the only place she wanted to be right now was at Aidan’s side. In his
arms, in his bed, wherever he wanted her.

“Remember what I said.”
He swept his knuckles down the side of her cheek and she shivered. “You know
where to find me.”

He walked away then,
the sound of thunder rumbling outside.

Melissa shook off the
effects of Aidan’s nearness, tucked his comments deep inside and stepped out to
meet his sisters.

* * * * *

Shannon and Kaitlyn
took her to New Orleans’ hottest dance club, where they fortunately knew the
bouncer well. Otherwise they might have spent the entire evening in line
outside. Instead, they marched right to the front door. Kaitlyn smiled and
waved at the tall, burly bald guy who looked like Mr. Clean. He nodded, opened
the door and they slid inside the dark nightclub.

It took a few minutes
to adjust her eyes to the darkness. All she could see were bobbing bodies in a
throng on the dance floor, multicolored lights shining overhead and reflecting
off spangles, sparkles and hundreds upon hundreds of shiny beads.

The music blared loud,
the vibration of bass pounding deep inside her. Melissa found it hard to
breathe, let alone move. And trying to have a conversation was near impossible,
although given they were three women, they somehow managed to yell over the
nonstop sounds.

Within the first hour,
Melissa had consumed two large glasses of Long Island Iced Tea. The drinks had
turned the tension sizzling inside her to a mild hum instead of an
electrocution.