Temperatures Rising (11 page)

“Yes, but it would have been better had you been there.”

“But I wasn’t. Have you evacuated?”

“I decided to stay put.”

“Then stay safe.”

He disconnected the call and took another.

Moments later he turned off his mike and removed his headset. It was dark outside, and he glanced at his watch. Nearly eleven o’clock. Time definitely had not stood still.

He stood. “After the music plays, there will be another fifteen minutes of intermittent advertisements, and then that syndicated show from L.A. will kick in until six in the morning. There will be
periodic updates directly from the weather station to keep everyone informed. We can chill for a while. Come on,” he said, reaching out his hand to her.

She took it. “And just where are we supposed to be going?” There was a hurricane raging out there and she knew he was fully aware of it.

He smiled down at her. “We’re going to take a shower and then we’re going to bed.”

“T
his has been a well kept-secret, and now I can see why,” Sherri said, glancing around Terrence’s office. She met his gaze. “How did you get to be so special around here?” His office included a back room that was actually a studio apartment, complete with a bed, flat-screen TV, an equipped kitchenette, love seat and tables. There was even a bath with a shower.

Terrence chuckled as he pulled off his shirt. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

Sherri smiled. “I’ve told you why I think you’re special, but why this home away from home? You’re seldom here.”

He lifted a brow. “Are you sure about that? How often do you come down this particular corridor?”

She shrugged. “Not often. It’s too close to Uncle Warrick’s office. Whenever he calls, it’s the same feeling as when you were summoned to the principal’s office. He’s my uncle, but his expectations of me are the same as everyone else. I get no special treatment, so I don’t like going to his office unless I have to,” she said, smiling.

He laughed as he sat on the edge of the bed to take off his shoes. “It can’t be that bad, unless you’ve gotten into trouble.”

“Who? Me?” she asked incredulously. “I never get into trouble.”

“So you say.” He glanced over at her. “Is there any reason you still have your clothes on?” he asked, standing to remove his pants. He then proceeded to roll on a condom.

It always amazed Sherri that he had no qualms about putting on protection in front of her, whereas Ben always retreated to the bathroom, saying it was something a man should do in private. She was glad Terrence didn’t think that way because she liked watching him prepare himself for their lovemaking and knowing he cared enough to do it. He had slipped that one time, but she trusted he would be more careful in the future.

She smiled. “Yes, there is a reason I haven’t gotten undressed,” she finally answered. “I checked out your bathroom. It’s nice, but your shower isn’t as roomy as mine. It will be a tight fit, so I guess you’ll go first.”

“Don’t hold your breath for that to happen. I like taking showers with you,” he said.

“Oh, is that what we did that morning? You could have fooled me.”

Completely naked, he crossed the room to her and took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I’d rather make love to you instead. So get out of the clothes. The sooner you do, the sooner we’ll both be happy and satisfied. Besides, I want to make love to you lying down this time and not on our feet.”

Her eyes twinkled. “I didn’t have any complaints.”

“Neither did I, but now we have time, and I plan to use it wisely. So, are you going to undress or do you want me to do it?”

“You do it,” she challenged.

He grinned. “Gladly.”

Terrence began removing her clothes, taking his time and enjoying parts of her body along the way, liking the taste and feel of her skin.

“Do you know what one of my fantasies is regard
ing you?” he asked, moving his mouth close to her breast. “Taking off your business suit.”

She smiled. “I’ll make sure I wear one next week just to give you the honor.”

Terrence grinned. “I’d like that.”

Moments later she said in a breathless voice, “I thought you were in a hurry.” He had removed her top but had proceeded to take her breasts into his mouth and torture them the same way he had done earlier.

“I am, but I decided to enjoy myself for a while. Some things you just can’t pass up. And I’ve developed an intense craving for certain parts of your body.”

“I can tell,” she said, throwing her head back when his mouth moved to the other breast.

It took a while before he got to her jeans, but by the time he had removed them from her, she felt shivers consume her all over. His touch alone could send her over the edge.

Holding her gaze, he reached behind her and gently squeezed her bottom. “Do you know this is the first thing I noticed about you?” he said, murmuring hotly in her ear. “The shape of your backside turned me on that day I walked into Warrick’s office and saw you bending over.”

She couldn’t hold back her grin. “Doesn’t take much to turn you on, does it?”

He leaned forward and licked the pulse that was beating at the base of her throat and smiled when he heard her sharp intake of breath. “Just for being a smart-ass, I’m going to see just how much it takes to turn you on.”

Her body was naked, fully exposed to his view, and Terrence intended to take her over the edge and back, plenty of times. There was a storm raging outside, and he planned to create his own storm inside.

“You know what they say about payback, right?”

He chuckled. “Yes, I think I’ve heard once or twice.”

“Then get ready to experience it for yourself, Terrence Jefferies.”

Before he could take his next breath, she surprised him and went for his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck and easing her body close to his, feeling the hardness of his erection pressed to her stomach.

She kissed him the way he liked kissing her, using her tongue to touch and find every sensitive spot in his mouth before capturing his tongue with hers and mating intensely.

He was the one who pulled back and quickly turned her in his arms, letting her feel his hard
erection against her backside. She was fully aware what he wanted to do, and her senses spiraled out of control at the thought that she would let him.

“Bend over toward the sofa. Grab to it and hold on tight,” he instructed, and she did just what he said. He pressed closer to her, reached over and let his hands caress her breasts, moved underneath to touch her stomach and then the juncture of her legs. His fingers found her, touched her, stroked her wetness, and she savored the feel of his hands and the pleasure they were giving her.

“I want to get to this from this way,” he whispered in her ear just moments before tilting her behind up, pinning her between him and the sofa. Using his knee, he spread her thighs apart at the same time the palms of his hands splayed across her stomach.

Terrence closed his eyes. The feel of warm bottom pressed against him in perfect position made him quiver, and he inhaled the deep, sensuous scent of her, letting it fill his nostrils. Leaning down, he placed a passion mark on her neck, then another on her back, not caring who might know she was his. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the fact that his heart felt full of love for her and he wanted to mate with her for the rest of his life, this way, in all kinds of ways.

He couldn’t last much longer, and he gripped her thighs, brought her body back, closer to the intimate fit of him, and tilted her hips for the perfect angle. Then he entered her. In one long, hard thrust he pushed into her heated warmth.

Sherri gasped at the feel of Terrence deeply embedded inside her body. Holding tight to the sofa, she inhaled deeply. She wished there were mirrors in the room so she could see just how her body was fitting perfectly to his and how deeply connected they were.

She could feel him behind her holding still, not moving an inch, as if he was savoring the feel of being inside her this way, pressing hard against the backside that had turned him on. She glanced over her shoulder and saw his eyes closed, his jaw clenched.

Inside, deep in her body, she felt his engorged member throbbing, waiting for him to move, so she clenched her inner muscles and knew he had felt it from his sharp intake of breath.

“Why did you do that?” he asked in a strained voice.

“To remind you that I’m here,” she whispered back.

“Sweetheart, there’s no way I could forget.” He paused and then said, “I’ve dreamed about making
love to you this way a number of times. If only you knew how many.” His grip tightened on the soft cheeks of her backside. “Nice.” And then he asked, “Do you feel me?”

The way his staff was throbbing inside her all but had her thighs trembling. She wasn’t sure how long she could last. What was he trying to do? Let her anticipation build? If so, it had reached its limit. “Yes, and do you feel me?” she countered, clenching her inner muscles again.

He muttered something, but Sherri wasn’t exactly sure what. All she knew was that he had shifted his body again and was beginning to move. She could feel every inch of hard, solid muscle. Heat flared through her with every single stroke, every deep thrust he made, igniting a flame inside her that nearly blazed her brain. The feeling had her calling his name.

The sound made Terrence’s nostrils flare, and he inhaled deeply just moments, mere seconds, before he felt her body explode and she jerked, triggering his own body to follow in one earth-shattering release. He gripped her hips tighter, wished at that very moment he was giving her the baby he’d envisioned she would have. Not this time, but he was determined they would share a baby together, after
their marriage. Because he would marry her, and it was time she knew it. But first he needed to kiss her.

After the last shudder had touched their bodies, he gathered her into his arms, lifted her up and turned her to him, covering her mouth and thrusting his tongue in deep to mate with hers. He needed the connection. He needed her.

Sweeping her completely into his arms, he broke off the kiss and carried her into the shower. Hurricane Ana was raising a fury of problems outside, but here on the inside, he was a very happy, satisfied man.

Sherri’s movement woke Terrence. His thigh was thrown over hers and she’d been trying to ease out of bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked in a sleepy tone of voice, nuzzling her neck.

“To the bathroom, and then to check to see if the weather has changed,” she whispered.

“Let it go for now, Sherri. If there’s an alert, we’ll get a call. Stay in bed with me.”

“All right. But only if you at least let me go to the bathroom,” she teased.

He loosened his hold on her, and she turned on the lamp and then quickly scooted out of the bed, shiv
ering as she hurried across the room. The air conditioner was on full blast, and she guessed in a way she should appreciate the station’s generators. She was certain in some parts of town some residents didn’t have any power.

Returning, she decided to borrow one of Terrence’s T-shirts. She glanced over at him, glad he had gone back to sleep. She moved quietly across the room to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Instead of clothing, all she saw was papers. She was about to push the drawer closed when something caught her eye. Picking the document up, she held it close to the light.

Shock and disbelief tore through her, and she closed her eyes to fight back tears. Why hadn’t anyone told her? Why didn’t she know?

Turning back to the bed, she studied Terrence’s features as he slept. At that moment, she felt a sense of betrayal. Glancing around, she quickly saw her clothes scattered all about. There was no way she could leave due to the weather, but at least she could go stay in her office until the roads were clear. She continued looking for one of Terrence’s T-shirts and found one that suited her. Slipping it over her naked body, she picked up her clothes and bundled them together and left the room. She fought back the tears
as she made it to her office and locked the door. For now she needed to be alone.

Terrence shifted in bed and found the spot beside him empty. He opened his eyes, remembering Sherri had left the bed to go to the bathroom, but that had been a while ago. Where was she? Had she gone to the studio when he had told her there was no need for her to do so?

Getting out of bed, he slipped into his jeans and left his office to head down the long hallway. She wasn’t in the studio, and from the look of things, she hadn’t been there. He frowned as he made his way back to his office, thinking she might very well have been in the bathroom.

He was about to pass her office when he noticed the light on underneath the door. He tried the door and found it locked. He knocked gently. “Sherri, are you in there?”

“Yes. Go away. I don’t have anything to say to you.”

Terrence quirked a confused brow. After making love, they had taken a shower, made love in the shower, then gone to bed and made love again. They had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, happy and satisfied. What had happened from that time to now? He
had never been one to do stupid things in his sleep, at least not that he was aware of. Hell, he needed to be sure.

“What happened, Sherri? What’s wrong?”

“Just leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to you.”

The hell she wouldn’t talk to him! He went to his office and got the master key to every door at the station, then returned to open Sherri’s door.

From the look on her face, he had caught her by surprise. She’d swung around from where she’d been standing by the window and he couldn’t help but notice how good she looked in his Miami Dolphins T-shirt that hit her midthigh.

“I told you I didn’t want to talk to you.”

Her words grabbed his attention, and he moved his gaze off her legs and to her face. He could tell she’d been crying. “That’s tough,” he said, crossing the room to her. “We’re going to talk, because I want to know what I did to make you leave my bed.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you, and as soon as the weather clears, I’m leaving.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “No, you’re not. Look out that window again, baby. Hurricane Ana hasn’t officially arrived yet, and you see how things look. If you think for one minute I’d let you go out in that storm, then you have another thought coming.”

Anger flared in her face. “You don’t own me. I was just someone you slept with. You lied to me. Uncle Warrick lied to me. All men are nothing but liars,” she all but screamed.

Terrence just stared at her. She wasn’t making sense. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that I went into your top drawer to look for a T-shirt and found out the truth, Terrence. Uncle Warrick doesn’t own WLCK. You do.”