by Lori Wilde
“Then I guess I’d better help, just so I can make certain this potluck of yours is safe to eat,” he said.
“Trust me, you’ll be safe.”
Yeah, Michael amended in his mind, but maybe not smart.
“I was wondering if you could help me finish waxing Elmira’s car tomorrow,” Casey said, stacking the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher. She glanced over at Michael. Dinner had been fun. They’d kept the conversation light and impersonal. “I’ve moved the car over to the center so we can finish getting it ready.”
“Sure. I’ll help,” Michael said as he wiped the table. “Tommy and Al told me you’ve been working on it. So what do you think? Is it magic?”
Casey shrugged, suddenly wanting to talk about anything but magical cars that made you fall in love. Truthfully, she didn’t believe a word of that nonsense, mostly because she and Michael didn’t need to be anywhere near the classic car for their hormones to fly out of control.
“I think Elmira would have fallen for her husband without the car,” Casey said, suddenly realizing how cozy she and Michael were in her tiny kitchen.
Michael crossed the room and stopped directly in front of her. He had a teasing gleam in his eyes that was incredibly appealing.
“Aw, come on,” he said. “Don’t blow an age-old belief right out of the water. Men have been buying fancy cars to impress women for years. Don’t tell me that trick doesn’t work when I’ve just bought a brand-new Mercedes.”
No fair. Michael was attractive at the worst of times, but when he was teasing with her, he was downright irresistible. Needing to put some distance between them, Casey led the way out of the kitchen and to the living room.
“Okay, I won’t totally discount the theory,” she said. “But I still don’t believe the car is magical. If it were, we could auction it off for a lot more money.”
Michael laughed, the deep rumble coursing through Casey. “Your bottom line is showing.”
She smiled and sat down on the sofa, tucking her feet under her. “I guess there’s a little of my parents in me, after all. Anyway, let’s talk about something else. I told you about my family. What was your childhood like?”
Oops. Wrong question. She watched Michael tense.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she said quickly. “We can talk about the fundraiser instead.”
Michael sat near her on the sofa. “No. It’s okay. Let’s just say I just didn’t have a Norman Rockwell-style upbringing either.”
Indecision filled Casey. She wanted to respect his privacy, but she also wanted to know more about him.
“Were you an only child?” she asked.
His blue gaze sought and held hers. Reaching out, he took her hand, winding his fingers through hers. Michael looked at their joined hands.
“You really want to hear this?” At her nod, he sighed. “You may regret asking, but okay. Yes, I’m an only child.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“Mostly on an old ranch in West Texas.”
“You were a cowboy?”
He immediately said, “Not on our ranch. We only had one horse and not much else. But I did work on neighboring ranches when I was growing up.”
“I’m sure your parents—”
“Casey, before this turns into a daytime talk show, let me sum it up for you. My mother left when I was a toddler. My father tried, I guess, but he had a heartfelt aversion to work. Of any kind. So he rarely participated.” He glanced at her. “He wasn’t really mean to me. Just unaware that I was around.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “Don’t be. My childhood taught me to appreciate hard work and the benefits gained from it. I enjoyed working on the neighboring ranches. They taught me that hard work has rewards.”
“Like being able to buy a car that impresses women?” she teased.
Michael smiled. “Maybe. But it’s also about having food and a place to live that isn’t about to be condemned. It’s about feeling your life means something.” His blue gaze caught and held her attention. “It’s about making a difference.”
Boy, did she ever know what he meant. She felt exactly the same way, except she didn’t want to make a difference by pulling in a big paycheck. She wanted to bring joy to the people in her life. She struggled to keep her voice steady as she asked, “Where’s your father now?”
“Dead. He died the second year I was scrapping my way through college.” Michael turned toward her, his large hand cupping her cheek. “Bet you’re sorry you asked about my family now.”
Blinking, Casey covered his hand with her own and leaned against his palm. He felt warm and secure. And exciting. Very exciting. “To tell you the truth, I’m proud of you.”
He stilled. “Proud?”
“Yes.” Tenderness for Michael overwhelmed her. How could she have ever thought he was a heartless shark? He’d come here tonight just to make certain she was okay. Not exactly the actions of a man with no heart.
“I’m proud of the man you’ve become, of the things you overcame,” she said. “Look at what you’ve accomplished.”
He started to lean toward her when abruptly he stopped. A groan escaped him seconds before he pulled away from her. “I’d better go.”
Drat. She must have said the wrong thing. Casey halted him before he stood. “I didn’t mean—”
“You know, I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.” He leaned back out of her reach. “I shouldn’t have told you about my past. I don’t want your sympathy.”
Sympathy? He thought what she felt for him was sympathy? Casey bit back a laugh and watched as he stood and took two steps away. Then she said, “I don’t feel sympathy for you.”
He turned and looked at her, his blue eyes darkening dangerously. “You don’t?”
She stared at him, her heart in her throat, her palms sweating. Didn’t he feel it? The sexual pull between them was so strong she felt it like an undertow. Dragging her toward him. Making rational thought impossible. Even now, looking into his mesmerizing blue eyes, she felt herself falling like Alice down the rabbit hole. She wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to drink her fill of him.
“Oh, Michael, what I feel is desire,” she said, her voice a mere whisper in the quiet room.
“Desire,” Michael repeated, his gaze never leaving her face. He hadn’t expected her to say that. Slowly, he moved back to the couch, and when he stood in front of her, he brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek. She shivered, and he knew he was lost.
“Casey, are you sure?”
She nodded once, and that was all he needed. He gathered her into his arms, finding her mouth with an overwhelming urgency. When she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He wanted as much as he could get, needing this woman so much it defied logic.
He’d never experienced such intense emotions. Truthfully, he’d never really experienced any emotions when it came to sex. It had always been about physical needs. But with Casey, it was so much more than just lust. He wanted her body, but he also wanted something more. Something he couldn’t name but felt with equal urgency.
With effort, he pulled his lips away from hers. “Are you really sure?” he rasped, not wanting to think about the possibility of her saying no. His heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him.
“Yes, I’m really, really sure.” Tipping her head, she asked, “What about you? Are you really, really sure? I don’t want you waking up in the morning and claiming I seduced you.”
Michael chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. I want to be seduced.”
She climbed off the couch and took his hand. “In that case, my bedroom is this way.”
Michael hadn’t left her, Casey realized with a start when she awoke in the middle of the night. Instead, he lay sprawled next to her, his arm tossed across her stomach. Turning her head, she watched him in the moonlight seeping through her thin drapes. Michael asleep was a marvel. Awake, he always seemed busy, doing someth
ing, rushing somewhere. Asleep, he looked so peaceful it reminded her just how sweet and tender he could be.
She sighed. Now, why’d she have to go and fall in love with a corporate shark? But she was in love with him. No doubt about it. The feeling washed over her, and she realized she was hopelessly, completely, probably stupidly in love with Michael. Her heart had made its own decision, and there was nothing she could do about it. She could either go looking for trouble or just accept what had happened. Granted, this affair of theirs couldn’t go anywhere. After the fundraiser, Michael no doubt would be back to working nonstop. And she would be busy with the modifications on the new center.
Still, there was now, this night, and the other nights between now and the fundraiser in a few days. Was there any reason why she couldn’t grab the happiness she had within her grasp without worrying about tomorrow? Sooner or later, she knew this thing between them would end, but why did it have to be sooner?
The arm across her tightened. “You’re thinking so hard, I can hear you,” Michael drawled, his voice sleepy. “Are you making plans for the new center?”
Casey smiled. “No. I was thinking about you.”
With a chuckle, he rolled over to face her. Propping his head on one hand, he said, “I hope you’re thinking good things.”
“Yes.”
“No regrets?” She could hear the tension in his voice.
“No.” Glancing behind him, Casey noticed a faint glimmer in the moonlight. Smiling, she decided she wanted whatever time she could have with him. She needed this. These precious days would keep her going long after she and Michael had gone their separate ways.
“I was just thinking about how wonderful you are,” she said.
Michael grinned. “Let me demonstrate again just how wonderful I can be.”
And then he kissed her.
12
Michael sat in his office Thursday afternoon staring out the large window behind his desk. Big Band Night was on Saturday, and he still hadn’t told Casey he wouldn’t be coming back after that.
You might as well paint a yellow stripe down his back and call him a coward. Because that’s what he was. A coward. He’d meant to tell her. He really had. But things between them were so great he didn’t want to rock the boat.
Telling Casey he wasn’t going to help at the center anymore would more than rock the boat. It would sink it straight to the ocean floor. More than likely, Casey would take his leaving as further proof that he really was an unrelenting workaholic who only cared about his job.
But that wasn’t true. He cared about Casey, too, and didn’t want their affair to end. Not now. Not when things between them were so spectacular that his life felt perfect for the very first time. It was selfish of him, but he didn’t want to stop being with Casey.
Still, he had to be honest with her. After the fundraiser, he couldn’t afford to spend any more time away from work. Turning back to his computer, he studied the piles of paper on his desk. He had to be crazy to be thinking about Casey now. His work needed his full attention for the next few weeks, if not months, and yet here he sat, mooning over Casey. He had to face facts—he didn’t have time for an affair, especially a hot, wild, all-consuming, amazing affair. Being with Casey was a distraction.
A major, serious distraction that could easily cost him a promotion if he didn’t watch himself. He needed one hundred percent of his concentration focused on work. Then he had a real shot at ensuring the merger happened without a hitch. He wanted to do a great job. He wanted to be successful.
And if the merger went off without a hitch, a promotion was definitely in his future. Nathan had mentioned a couple of days ago that the merger would help them expand the company, which would ensure promotions for many people.
Michael knew he couldn’t lose his focus now. Not now when everything he’d ever wanted was almost within his grasp. If he continued to see Casey, she’d need to understand about his job.
Which meant there was a pretty good chance Casey would tell him to buzz off. But still, maybe they could reach a compromise.
They were both intelligent, reasonable people. Maybe, despite the way her parents had treated her, maybe she’d understand if he couldn’t be with her very often over the next couple of months, and maybe just as soon as the merger crisis ended, they could be together more.
Michael sighed. It would be easier to convince Casey that he was the Easter Bunny than convince her the merger would be the last crisis dropped in his lap.
There was always a crisis or opportunity at work, and everyone depended on him to do his part. They would depend on him even more if he got promoted.
“Drat,” he muttered, then smiled. Casey sure had him trained. He couldn’t even curse in the privacy of his own office anymore without wanting to pay someone a dollar.
There had to be a solution to this problem. He didn’t want to stop seeing Casey, but he knew she deserved better than a man who was hardly ever with her, a part-time lover who came to see her only when his schedule allowed it.
Which, unfortunately, was all he had to offer. Well, the only fair thing was to let Casey decide. She needed to make up her own mind, and he’d just have to live with the consequences.
He’d also pray she didn’t ask him to put his feelings for her into words because he flat out couldn’t. Was what they had love? How would he know? He didn’t know what love looked like, how it felt.
And it wasn’t as if there was a standardized test you could take to find out for sure. No, figuring out his feelings was going to be a lot more difficult than choosing: A—She has a great laugh. B—She makes me smile. Or C—She really, really turns me on.
Of course, he’d have to choose D—All of the above.
But was that love or just really great lust? He didn’t know. All he knew was he wanted to keep seeing her as much as their schedules allowed. So tonight, he’d take her out to a romantic dinner, explain how important she was to him, and then see if there was a compromise they could reach. After that, he’d pray she didn’t tell him to take a flying leap.
Because if she did, he didn’t know what he’d do.
“I’m never going to find something to wear.” Casey paced around her bedroom, tossing dress after dress on her bed. Sheesh. There was no reason for her to be nervous. They’d spent the last three nights making love in her bed. Still, she’d been jumpy since Michael had asked her out today when he’d been at the center. He’d seemed so serious that she got the feeling he wanted to talk.
For them, talking could only lead to trouble. Really big trouble. Maybe he’d decided he didn’t want to see her anymore. Maybe he’d realized their being together was a huge mistake. Which, of course, it was. They both had things to accomplish in life, and they certainly didn’t have time for a relationship.
But she wanted to be with him. Love flowed through her for Michael. How could he not feel the same magic? He had to. If she were a brave woman, she’d ask him how he felt, demand he admit he loved her back. She knew she wouldn’t do it, though. In some ways, she was brave. But not brave enough to ask Michael if he loved her.
She finally decided to wear a short black dress. Placing it on her bed, she reached for her perfume and dabbed a drop between her breasts. Before she could slip into the dress, she heard a definite knock on her door. She looked at the clock. It was seven. It was Michael.
Feeling mischievous, she vetoed the dress and put on her robe instead. When she opened the front door, the sight of Michael looking tall and handsome and sexy did nothing to settle her already frazzled nerves. Yep, she wasn’t brave at all. But she knew he felt the magic between them, too. She could see it in his heated gaze.
“Hi,” he said in that deep voice that made shivers run up her spine. “You look great.”
She laughed. “No, you look terrific. I’m in my bathrobe.”
He raised one dark brow. “Need some help getting dressed?” he asked as he moved farther into her apartment, closing the door behind him.
<
br /> Looking up at him, Casey felt her love for this man lodge in her throat. She couldn’t ask him how he felt, but she could show him her feelings.
“Let’s stay here,” she blurted out.
“Here?” He studied her for a moment, then grinned.
“Yes.” Her voice sounded husky, laden with desire.
“And talk?”
Casey sucked in a deep breath. “No.” With one pull, the knot came undone on her robe. The sides parted. Now seemed like a good time to go for broke, so she shrugged the robe off her shoulders. It dropped to the floor, leaving her standing in only her strapless black bra and panties.
Silence settled on the room, broken only by the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner of the living room. Casey would have felt incredibly self-conscious if it hadn’t been for the way Michael’s gaze wandered over her, lingering occasionally on things he apparently found interesting.
The look he gave her when his gaze returned to her face was nothing short of incendiary. Wearing a tiny smile, she took a step forward. Then another. And finally, she took the last step that brought her directly in front of him.
In that moment, standing before Michael and looking up into his handsome face, Casey felt as if she were drowning and going down for the third time. Her love for Michael overwhelmed her. Even if he was the wrong man, she loved him. And the thought of that love filled her with joy.
Michael slid one strong arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. He bent his head and found her lips. This time, his kiss didn’t start out gentle. Instead, the kiss was about hunger and need. About temptation and fulfillment. Casey wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting his urgency with her own. Then he startled her by lifting her off the ground.
“I’m too heavy,” she said, looking deep into his darkened blue eyes. “I don’t want you to strain anything.”
