The Law of Attraction (12 page)

“Thanks.” She braced her cheek on her palm. “I heard the phone ring earlier. I don't mean to be nosy, but I was worried it might be someone from your office.”

“No. No one from the office. That's a private line. I only give it out to a few people. The office calls me on my cell phone.”

“Oh, I see.” Daniel noted a hint of distrust in her eyes and he figured she assumed some woman had contacted him.

“It was my brother, Vincent,” Daniel said, attempting to alleviate her fears. “He's on his honeymoon and he was just checking in.”

Her eyes widened. “He was checking in with family on his honeymoon? That's true devotion.”

Vincent had been devoted to the family, at least to his siblings. “He's extended the trip and he wanted to see how things are going.”

“Are your sisters married?”

“Only to their careers. Susan's a psychologist and Kyra's a VP at an energy company. Vincent was the first one to take the plunge.” Something Daniel had never believed would happen.

“Sounds like you've all done well for yourselves. That's a sign of good raising.”

They had done well
despite
their raising. “We're all fairly driven, that's for sure.”

She rose up onto her bent arms. “Have you ever come close to getting married?”

“No. Have you?”

She shook her head. “Never even considered it.”

“Not even with Moreau?”

“Definitely not him. Troy's not the marrying kind. He's only faithful to blind ambition. And if he ever does make that commitment, it would be to further his career.”

Daniel could relate to that on one level. “I don't see that as compelling enough reason to marry.”

“That's true, but who knows? Maybe you'll find a woman who will give you a reason to settle down, and then you can make everyone happy, including the party.”

How could he explain that his own example of marriage had fallen short? He couldn't. Alisha had grown up with parents who had provided security and unconditional love. She'd never understand what it was like to present the face of the
perfect family when in reality his family had been anything but perfect. Yet he had the strongest urge to open up and share his experiences with her, but he wouldn't. He needed to keep his pain private, as he'd been taught to do from a very young age. He also needed to head to bed, he decided when he saw her hide a yawn behind her hand.

As much as Daniel wanted to be her lover again, he'd enjoyed her friendship today and he didn't want to compromise that. If she wanted to be in his bed, she'd have to find her way there on her own, without any coercion.

“Time to turn in,” he said as he came to his feet.

She looked as if he'd told her to get out of his house. “It's not that late.”

“Yeah, it is. And you're tired.”

“Not that tired.”

He waited for her to hold out her arms to him, to request he lay down beside her, anything that might indicate she wanted to take this further. When that didn't come, he told her, “If you want to get up early, there's an alarm clock on the nightstand. Let me know if you need anything. Otherwise I'll see you in the morning.”

He turned away but before he could leave, she said, “Daniel.”

He faced her again, hoping she would say that she did need something else, but instead she only offered, “Sleep well.”

“I'll try.” He'd probably try for several hours at that.

D
aniel Fortune was a man of his word, Alisha thought as she tossed and turned in a very lonely double bed. He hadn't pursued her, hadn't kissed her again. Hadn't even made any kind of suggestive comment. Maybe the decision to appear before him as the proverbial plain Jane had been a turnoff regardless of what he'd said. But he'd seemed sincere when he'd told her she looked great regardless of her having nixed all the frills. Daniel didn't seem like the kind of man who exchanged honesty for pretty words. He
was
the kind of man she should avoid—habit-forming to the extreme. And that was a habit she couldn't really afford. But she also didn't want to spend this night alone, not with a gorgeous guy right down the hall.

Alisha bolted from the bed and on her way to the light switch knocked her big toe on the corner of the dresser. She quashed a yelp and reminded herself that any injury she might sustain getting to Daniel would be well worth it—if he coop
erated. She had a secret weapon made of silk and lace and she intended to use it.

Opening the top drawer in the dresser, Alisha retrieved the negligee and held it up. Hopefully this scrap of a gown would do the trick. She exchanged her normal nonimpressive night-shirt and plain underwear for the naughty nightie and a special pair of panties—also black silk, with
Surprise!
etched in yellow script across the front. That about said it all without her having to utter a word to Daniel.

After applying a mist of her favorite gardenia body splash, Alisha drew in a long breath, shut off the light and left the room. The short distance down the hall to his bedroom didn't allow her much time to change her mind, not that she wanted to do that. She considered the open door an invitation and walked inside. It took awhile for her vision to adjust to her surroundings because the lights were out—and obviously nobody was home. No unmade bed. No signs of life. No Daniel.

That sent a direct blow to her confidence when she considered that maybe he'd used bedtime as an excuse to get away from her. Maybe she'd talked too much and he'd had enough. Maybe he'd decided he didn't like her all that much, if at all. Or maybe he'd decided to return to the dock for a little nighttime fishing. Certainly not unheard of but highly unlikely since the rain had yet to cease. Only one way to find out.

Alisha returned to the living room to find the fire had been restoked and now blazed in the hearth. Laid out on the floor on the large braided rug, wearing no shoes, no shirt, ready to service, was the missing prosecutor. He had his head propped on a throw pillow and his hand resting casually on his bare abdomen below his navel, where his jeans began. Unbuttoned jeans, but the zipper was still in position. With any luck, not for long.

His eyes were closed, providing Alisha sufficient opportunity to give his incredible body a long look-see. His skin appeared golden in the firelight and his hair was ruffled as if he'd run his hands thought it numerous times. She wanted to run
her hands through it. Run her hands over his entire body, as a matter of fact. First, she had a decision to make. Wake him up or go back to her room like a good girl. But good girls didn't always get the good stuff, so she opted to be a little bit bad.

After taking a few steps forward, she stood by the arm he had resting at his side. And what an arm it was. A thoroughly masculine arm with manly veins and macho muscles. She wanted that arm around her and that hand doing things to her person that she knew him to be quite capable of doing.

Now or never was upon her. Now seemed like a fine idea. “Daniel?”

No answer.

“Mr. Fortune?”

Still no answer. Just when she was about to drop to her knees to try a little physical persuasion, his eyes drifted open and a slow-as-Sunday-afternoon smile curled the corners of his mouth. “Did you really call me Mr. Fortune?”

“That is your name.” Talk about stating the obvious.

He surveyed her entire body with a long, painstaking glance. “I thought you were in bed.”

“I thought the same thing about you.”

“I've been up since you left me. I'm still up.” He rubbed his palm down his chest, beginning at his sternum and following the stream of hair until it disappeared beneath his distended fly.

Without warning, he circled her ankle, slid his hand up to her thigh and toyed with the gown's hem. “Do you wear this kind of thing to bed every night?”

“No. I normally wear worn-out T-shirts.”

“I like this better.” He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the satin. “I'd like it even better off you.”

“Then you take it off me.”

He laced his hands behind his neck. “I want to watch you take it off.” He had challenge in his tone and heat in his eyes. He also had Alisha completely captive to his raw sensuality.

Feeling marvelously bold, she tugged the hem from his grasp and pulled the negligee over her head, then dropped it on the floor. “Better?”

“Oh, yeah.” His gaze drifted down to her panties. “That's a nice surprise.”

“I thought so.”

He centered his gaze on her eyes. “Come down here. You're too far away.”

No sooner said than done, Alisha knelt beside him. He pulled her to him, then flipped her over and pinned her with his body, letting her know exactly who was in charge. She would allow him all the authority he wanted at the moment.

He cupped her face in his palms and said, “Are you sure about this, Alisha?”

Who was he kidding? “I'm half-naked, so I think that's rather obvious.”

“No arguments?”

“None whatsoever. The defense rests.”

“The prosecution is only getting started.” He confirmed that by laying his lips on hers, taunting her with brief kisses before claiming her mouth completely with his talented mouth. He moved his tongue against hers in soft strokes, meticulously exploring, but not to the point of being too invasive. On the contrary, he kept it gentle yet seductive, just the way she liked it.

He broke the kiss to work his soft lips down the column of her throat and kept going. When he reached the rise of her breasts, he sucked a small section of her skin into his mouth, and all too late she realized what he was doing.

“Daniel, you're going to—”

“Leave my mark.” He lifted his head and winked at her. “I want you to remember I was here.” He lowered his head again. “And here.”

Alisha's vocabulary vacated the premises when he drew her nipple between his lips, flicking his tongue back and forth
in a steady rhythm that had her squirming beneath him. She slid her fingers through his thick hair, holding on for dear life even though she couldn't hold back the instinctive movement of her hips beneath his groin.

Then he sat up abruptly, leaving Alisha completely confused as well as alone. “Where are you going?” she asked.

He answered her with a seductive smile as he shoved his jeans down, stepped out of them and tossed them onto the sofa. He took his time lowering his briefs, the big tease. To claim she wasn't at all affected by his solid state of arousal would be a complete falsehood. But she didn't have time to look too long before he went to his knees beside her.

He brushed his knuckles across her belly, causing her to tremble almost uncontrollably. She wasn't afraid; she was excited. And even more so when he said, “I want my surprise now.”

Hooking his fingers in the lacy band at her hips, he slid the panties down as slowly as he'd removed his own briefs, bringing her to the border of madness. He worked them away and tossed them aside to join her gown resting near the hearth.

“Exactly what I've been wanting,” he said. “I'm sure it's a perfect fit.”

Daniel's smile was so wildly wicked, and Alisha was so incredibly needy that she couldn't even think of a comeback. She simply couldn't think at all when he parted her legs and moved between them on his knees. His eyes reflected the firelight, his touch created intense warmth when he leaned forward and skimmed his hands up her body. He paused at her breasts and only then did he take his gaze from hers to watch the movements of his fingertips as he caressed her nipples.

After a time, he moved his hands to her sides, splaying his thumbs as he slid his palms down her torso to her pelvis. Alisha's chest rose and fell from labored breaths, from anticipation as he continued on to her hips and down her legs, bending them at the knees and at the same time nudging them
farther apart for maximum exposure. She felt only slightly self-conscious when he didn't attempt to hide exactly where his attention had turned. Lowering his head, he ran his tongue along the inside of one thigh before glancing at her again. He did the same thing to her other thigh, as if he intended to send her into complete lunacy. Or make her plead to end the torture. “Please,” slipped out of her mouth before she could halt it.

That was exactly what he wanted—for her to beg him to end the sweet agony. And he did, his mouth poised between her thighs as he used his tongue like a feather on her flesh. Alisha couldn't seem to catch her breath when he continued his all-out attack on her senses. He kept his hands in motion, enticing her both inside and out with his skilled fingertips while he coaxed her with his equally talented mouth. She tuned in to the sensations, only vaguely aware that he'd slipped his palms beneath her bottom to lift her closer, driving her further into mindlessness.

Something between a whimper and a scream caught in her throat and came out in a moan when the first strong wave began, followed by a forceful surge when he rose up onto his knees and thrust inside her. Her hips involuntarily bucked with the incredible invasion, and her body clutched when he retreated before he advanced again.

The man had impeccable timing. That was her first random thought. He was bent on propelling her into oblivion, her second thought, when he withdrew from her almost completely before slowly, concisely pushing back inside her, all the while watching her face, his expression showing undeniable male determination.

Alisha thought the abrupt ringing originated from her ears, until she saw Daniel reach over and pick up a cell phone from the coffee table. She wanted to scream, and this time not from pleasure.

Daniel didn't bother to disengage from her body as he answered, “A.D.A. Fortune.”

After a long pause he said, “I'm busy.” He ran his free hand up and down the inside of her thigh. “Krauss can wake up a judge and get a warrant.”

As the conversation continued, Alisha had a difficult time comprehending his steel control, but he
was
in control. Of the discussion and of her. The iceman was totally hot—and melting her with each passing moment.

“I'm going to be in and out all weekend,” he said as he moved ever so slightly inside her. “I won't be available. I have something important that needs my attention.” His fingertips idled over the place where his mouth had been only moments before, setting the stage for another mind-blowing release, one that Alisha wasn't sure she could endure. But she was more than willing to try.

He hung up, tossed the phone across the room, then turned his fiery gaze on her. “They won't bother us again.”

Oddly she hadn't been bothered at all. In fact, the scene had been erotic beyond all bounds, although she did briefly wonder who had been on the other side of the dialogue, unaware of what Daniel had been doing to her. Was still doing to her.

“Put your legs around my waist.” His voice was a low, drugging command.

Alisha obeyed and was glad she had when he pushed even deeper. He leaned over and brushed his chest across her breasts as he ground against her, then he lifted his upper body onto straight arms while keeping a steady rhythm with his lower body.

Daniel Fortune was a wonder to behold at that moment, from the perspiration coating his chest in a glittering sheen to the few wayward locks of hair that had fallen across his forehead. His biceps bulged with his effort and so did the prominent veins in his arms and neck. She saw his control
begin to slip when she gripped him tighter with her legs and her body. She saw it shatter when she murmured, “Harder.”

Daniel thrust again and again and again with almost savage intensity, sending Alisha into the throes of another all-consuming climax. Soon after, his eyes closed and a feral groan filtered through his clenched teeth. He collapsed against her, his heart pounding against her breasts, his body racked with tremors to match her own.

The occasional crackle coming from the fireplace and their ragged respiration were the only sounds in the otherwise silent room. Alisha preferred the contentment and the quiet to after-sex talk. What could she say now that she'd crossed over the line again with Daniel? She could repeat all the reasons they shouldn't be doing this. She could cite all the repercussions of their relationship. None of them really mattered at the moment. Nothing mattered except the wonderful feel of his weight and his warm lips drifting against her neck while he played with her hair as if he found her unruly curls mesmerizing. She found all of him fascinating, from the solid path of his spine to the curve of his taut buttocks to his hair-roughened thighs, territory she investigated painstakingly with her palms. The tone of his golden skin contrasted with her fair complexion, and she found that captivating, as well.

“Man, I think I just visited another dimension,” he said without looking at her.

Alisha ran her fingers through his hair, testing the softness at his nape. “I was right there with you.”

More silence passed until he finally lifted his head. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“What's going through your mind? And don't say I need more color in this room, because it's got plenty of color.”

Alisha suspected her face had plenty of color, too. “That's not it.”

His expression grew suddenly somber. “You're regretting this already.”

She shook her head. “No, not at all. I was just considering how many rules we've probably broken.” And how she'd learned nothing from her experience with Troy. As much as she wanted to trust Daniel, she still worried that this affair could come back to haunt her.