Temptation Rising (5 page)

“I wasn’t,” she started to say when he pushed his body up against hers. Her bottom pressed against the side of the desk and she struggled to remain upright.

“Don’t lie to me,” he snarled, showing just a hint of his teeth.

His body seemed to give off this intense heat that joined hers, mated with it until they were consumed by a dual desire that threatened both their sanity.

“I could fire you.”

Slices of panic moved through her, but she refused to let it show. “And I’ll definitely sue for harassment.”

“I’m not harassing you.”

“Oh really?” Beneath him she squirmed as if to confirm her point. That was a mistake. Every part of him was hard, right down to the dark glare he was giving her. His length pressed into her with such persistence she was about to simply throw her legs open and welcome him. Swallowing deeply, she tried to remain focused. “This is more than harassment, Mr. Reynolds. Do you treat all your staff like this?”

“None of my other staff makes my dick as hard as you do.”

She should have been shocked, should have felt embarrassed by his crude language; instead she was even more aroused. “Unfortunately, that’s not a part of my job description.”

“Funny, I don’t think breaking and entering is, either.”

“This is ridiculous,” she said. “Let me go and we can talk like adults.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think I’m in the mood for talking now.”

And if she was in the mood for talking, that stopped the second his lips touched hers. There was nothing soft about this kiss. No seduction or easy compliance. Instinct had warned her that there was nothing easy about this man. The kiss was hot and urgent, erotic and breath-stealing. She wanted to pull away, but her lips, his tongue, her moans, his hands, all of it melded into one scorching exchange.

Chapter 3

Her taste was sweet and primitive, stroking his cat while driving his erection to the point of pain. Sliding a hand down her arms to her thigh, Rome lifted the leg that had attempted to cause him great pain and tucked it around his back.

She was gasping, her breath coming in thick, heavy pants. Her mouth had ceased its argument, her body succumbing to the building inferno in each of them. Was this strange? Him about to fuck on his desk a woman he’d just met officially about five hours ago? Probably. Was it strange enough to make him stop? Hell no.

With her leg locked around him Rome moved so that his raging arousal was seated right at her center. If not for the barrier of their clothes he’d be planted deep inside her at this exact moment.

When he released her lips her head fell back, her fingers gripping his shoulders. She was beautiful, her face wearing lust and desire like designer makeup. Her back arched, breasts jutting forward, an invitation he could not refuse. He licked her then, his tongue creating a long path from the hollow of her neck down between the crevice of her breasts. The material of her dress wrapped around the succulent mounds but Rome didn’t care. His tongue moved over it, teeth grabbing a nipple to suckle.

“Dammit.” She breathed the word. “This can’t happen.”

“Oh, it can and it will,” was his urgent response.

Rome was usually a patient lover, albeit an extremely thorough and voracious one. Right now he could think of only one thing. The scent of her arousal was a heavy haze around him, hypnotizing him so that she was all he could envision. There were consequences, he knew, and he thrust that thought to the back of his mind. There was also pleasure, a pleasure he was sure to find deep inside Kalina.

He was going for his zipper, deftly unleashing his thick shaft, when she pushed against his chest with a force he hadn’t expected. He stumbled back and she used that moment to lift her legs, climb over his desk, feet landing on the opposite side.

“I said this wasn’t happening.” Her chest heaved as she spoke, lips swollen from his kisses.

If his erection weren’t so painful, Rome might have laughed at the situation. Never before had he watched a woman literally run from him. And not for one minute did he think it was because she didn’t want him. No, this was about something else. It was about why Kalina Harper was really here in his office.

“But you want it to happen?”

“No,” she answered quickly. Too quickly.

Damn him for being so sexy, for having an appeal that any woman in her right mind would be drawn to. And damn herself for losing control of the situation. This wasn’t like her. She’d never, ever gone this far with a man she’d just met. And on a desk in an office building no less. Okay, she’d berate herself about her momentary lapse of judgment later. For now, she needed to get out of this office and away from this man. Or everything she’d ever worked for would come crashing down around her.

“Are you sure?” His voice was low, deep as he stood on the other side of his desk, his hand gripping the most delectable arousal she’d ever seen.

Her gaze rested there, her mouth watering. Shaking her head, she focused once again on his face, on her job. Reaching over to the desk, she picked up her purse, felt safety in the weight of the gun she carried there. Unfortunately, Roman now had a weapon of his own. One he was currently stroking, fingers gliding over the smooth dark tip, enticing her, inviting her.

“What are you doing here if you don’t want this?” he asked seductively. He knew she was watching him stroke himself, knew some part of her was enjoying it.

Damn him.

Kalina cleared her throat. “Like I told you, there was an email I wanted to send before leaving the office. I should have gone back to my desk but I was on this floor dropping off some other paperwork and I thought you were gone for the day. Coming in here seemed more convenient. I guess I was wrong.”

He didn’t speak, just kept his hot gaze fixed on hers, his hand still stroking his length. Her center clenched, dripped with essence, and practically begged her for release. She stood strong, or as strong as humanly possible under the circumstances.

“I’m leaving now.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“It won’t stop until you slake the need, Kalina.” He was still watching her as he tucked himself back into his pants. “You’re going to want me until you have me.”

“You’re an arrogant SOB!” She tossed the words at him on instinct. He was exactly that, but he was also technically her boss and the subject of her investigation.

She really needed to get out of here before she had no job on either front.

“I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused by entering your office without permission,” she said, turning to walk toward the door.

The minute her hand was on the knob he spoke again.

“I could still fire you.”

She looked over her shoulder, bravado she didn’t really feel sounding in her voice. “And I can bury your ass in the biggest sexual harassment suit of the year. Then where would you be, Mr. Lethal Litigator?”

He didn’t answer. She knew he wouldn’t. Roman Reynolds liked to play hard, he liked to assess his situation and then go in for the kill. She wasn’t giving him the opportunity to do any of the above. At least not tonight.

He was right, he could fire her. And she was right, she could sue the pants off him—no pun intended—and his firm. But as she closed the office door behind her she had a feeling neither of them would take those actions.

Whatever it was that had just happened between them was too big for that.

*   *   *

Kalina had a love–hate relationship with the rain. And the dark. And being alone.

She sounded like a basket case moving to the window seat in her bedroom looking out into the night with a sigh. Her apartment was empty save for furniture and the few mementos she’d allowed herself to collect. There was no one there to welcome her home, no husband, no significant other. Not even a pet.

Every day it was the same.

No, tonight was different.

She’d gone to the precinct the moment she left the office. It was against protocol, she knew. Her routine needed to remain the same in case anybody was watching her. She should never go to the precinct unless called from undercover by her superior officer. But she needed it, her mind needed the one thing that remained constant in her life. The one thing that mattered. Work.

Roman Reynolds had touched her. He’d kissed her and she’d kissed him back, wantonly. The heat exchanged between them was unlike anything she’d ever experienced in her life and for the first time in a really long time Kalina was unnerved.

Her job was to investigate him, to find out what he was doing and bring him down. Not crawl all over his desk, getting hot and steamy with the man. Slapping a palm to her forehead, she allowed another moment of disgust. This wasn’t a pity party she was indulging in this time, it was a reprimand. One she fully deserved from her superior but wouldn’t get because she hadn’t mentioned this new development to him. While she wanted the safety net of work, her mind really wasn’t on the case she needed to build.

It was on the man.

He’d caught her trying to break into his computer and instead of tossing her ass out, firing her, and/or pressing charges, he’d kissed her.

And what a kiss it had been. Words could not describe … it was beyond sensual, more than erotic, a step past intoxicating. She wanted more. Her body had practically begged for it. The strength with which he’d grabbed her leg, wrapping it around him, still had her center pulsating. The warm-shower-and-vibrator-assisted release she’d indulged in the moment she arrived home wasn’t nearly enough.

How long had it been since she’d felt the touch of a man, welcomed it, in fact? A little more than two years. About a month before the attack. She’d told her shrink that she was okay with it, that the violation that piece of crap had imposed on her wasn’t that big a deal. She’d survived. And yet, she really hadn’t. Because as much as she enjoyed sexual release, the thought of another man touching her intimately had made her sick. The mere consideration over the past few months would send her into a panic attack that should have had her on medication. Had she dared to ever tell anyone about it.

Instead she’d stocked up on sexual toys and movies that would give her everything she needed without the physical presence of a man. The dark haunting of a memory.

Until tonight. Until Roman Reynolds.

*   *   *

Her apartment was minutes away from his office, on the top floor of a corner brownstone. The front entrance had a wrought-iron gate and matching screened door that wasn’t locked. The mailbox showed her name and apartment number. The steps leading up to her were unguarded as he walked up slowly, predatorily.

A black door with a shiny gold number two on it was all that stood between him and her. Placing his palms on the door, Rome rested his forehead against it, inhaling deeply, painfully.

He wanted her.

There was no doubt about that and no real concern. Sex was sex and with Rome it was good sex. He’d been told that before, wore the honor like a soldier’s Purple Heart. But this was different. He was smart enough to know and to admit that this wasn’t just sex. It wasn’t a normal urge. His blood heated, coursed through his veins like a raging stream at the proximity to her.

Not only had he picked up her scent the moment he’d crossed the threshold to the building, but he sensed her physically as if she now occupied a small space within him. She was here, just beyond this door. He could knock and she’d let him in. They would sleep together, no doubt about it. The sex would be wild, dangerous, alluring, just like their kiss. But what else?

There was definitely something else. Rome was wise enough to know that as well. It bothered him, this knowledge coupled with uncertainty. It was unusual for him not to know exactly what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it. Taking precautions and planning was a natural part of him, the human him. Second-guessing wasn’t.

Who was Kalina Harper and why did she have this effect on him? Why was he here, tonight, at her apartment? And why had he been there, that night two years ago, in the alley to save her?

His mother would say there were no coincidences in life, there was only fate. A destiny mapped out for each and every breathing being. Rome didn’t believe that; he refused to believe in a plan that included someone’s death. His mother’s death. That wasn’t fate. She wasn’t meant to die and neither was his father. They weren’t meant to go, but Rome had allowed it, because he hadn’t been strong enough to stop it.

Turning away from the door but still standing utterly still in front of it, he vowed he’d never make that mistake again. He would never fail to act when he needed to, would never be caught off guard again.

He turned to walk away. Kalina Harper wasn’t a part of the plan, she wasn’t what he needed to focus on. Revenge was.

*   *   *

A hot tongue swiped over thick lips as eyes remained trained on the window. She was there, in a thin robe that did nothing to disguise the delectable body he craved. She sat in the windowsill—thank goodness for bay windows—knees pulled to her chest, the silk sliding down to her waist so that her calves and thighs were bared to him. Did she know he was there? Was she giving him a treat?

His pulse quickened, arousal lengthening along his thigh.