Baring It All (Mills & Boon Temptation)

by Sandra Chastain

  “Tonight. I’m sending you and Walt to cover the mayor’s Inner City Awards Banquet.”

  “All right!” Walt said dryly and left the office. “Last year one of those little con artists tried to pick my pocket.”

  Sunny groaned. “Reformed juvenile delinquents? That’s your idea of an assignment covering crime and corruption?”

  Ted shook his head. “No, but that’s where you’ll meet the people at City Hall you need to know. Around here the police have to trust you before they’ll accept you on the crime beat and the way to make them trust you is to make them like you. What about it?”

  “The crime beat? You’ll assign me to the crime beat?”

  “If you’ll let me show your dancing with the most eligible bachelor in Atlanta, I’ll let you have a shot at our political leaders.”

  She could have argued, but the truth was she’d brought this on herself. Even if it wasn’t what she wanted, it made Ted happy. And she had to defer to his judgment. “Deal! I’ll make those kids look like Harvard graduates.”

  Ted let out a relieved sigh. “Good!”

  Sunny headed out the door. “I’d better get to work.” She stopped and turned back. “I’m curious, Ted. Would you happen to know anything about Ryan Malone’s special talents?”

  That brought a stunned look to Ted Fields’s face. “No. Not unless it’s about making money.”

  “I don’t think that’s it.” Sunny shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know anything about the man that isn’t newsworthy. Just tell me he isn’t paying for this banquet tonight.”

  “I’ve been told the funds for the dinner came from the Mayor’s discretionary fund.”

  “Good!” she said, waved goodbye and left the office.

  “But Malone is getting an award,” Ted called out in a loud whisper that got lost in the closing of his office door. He picked up the phone and punched in several numbers. “Too bad,” he said to himself. “I don’t think she heard me. But I do like the way this is going.”

  RYAN DECIDED TO WORK the rest of the afternoon at home. Once there, he punched in Lottie’s number and waited. She picked it up instantly, as she always did. He wasn’t ready to admit it to her, but it was becoming apparent that she was right about Sunny Clary. The reporter was becoming an obsession. How else could he explain his behavior this afternoon?

  “Hello, Sin.”

  “Why weren’t you at Isabella’s party?”

  “I intended to get there but I was shopping and it took longer than I thought.”

  “Shopping?”

  “I bought Isabella a birthday present and a present for you, too.”

  Missing the party of an old friend wasn’t like Lottie. “I’m sure she wondered where you were. And it isn’t my birthday.”

  “I called her and explained that I was going on a mission of mercy. And since you’ve hidden everything else about your life, you can make your birthday any date you want.”

  “Lottie, I’m almost afraid to ask. What kind of gift were you looking for?”

  “You know, that’s the funny part. I knew what I wanted. It should have been simple. But everything changes, doesn’t it?”

  “What changes, Lottie? What wasn’t simple anymore?”

  “Shopping. Do you know how hard it is to find those blow-up dolls now?”

  Ryan rubbed his forehead. Sometimes Lottie’s games weren’t games at all. He couldn’t understand what she was up to this time, but he’d never hurt her feelings. She was a shield between his past and the present and the only person he’d ever completely trusted.

  “Ryan? Are you there? Don’t get your britches in a wad. I didn’t go to the party because I didn’t want to watch you self-destruct. Then I turned on the television and there you were, doing just that in front of the world.”

  “They’ve already run the story?”

  “About five minutes ago. Even I didn’t know you could dance with a real partner.”

  “Lottie, it might surprise you to know that there are any number of things I can do that you don’t know about.”

  “Name one. No, never mind. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to see you going down in flames because of stupidity. I didn’t expect you to make the television screen your boudoir. Are you trying to tell the world you’re Lord Sin?”

  Ryan let out a deep sigh. “You’re right, Lottie. I can’t afford to do anything that will mess up my image for the next two weeks. It’s just that Sunny Clary is the first itch I haven’t been able to scratch and she’s driving me wild.”

  “My advice is for you to buy yourself some calamine lotion and find a less dangerous lady. How about the woman you’re taking to that banquet tonight?”

  “Damn! I’d forgotten. I’m taking the hospital’s PR officer, Anne Kelley.”

  “I thought you weren’t going out with her anymore.”

  “I’m not. She’s just a friend.”

  “Well, if you’re looking to get that itch scratched, a friend might be the one to do it.”

  But she wasn’t. From the moment Ryan spotted Sunny and her cameraman entering the Commerce Club later that evening, he knew Anne couldn’t do it. Neither would calamine lotion. He needed a rain forest to cool his heat.

  He’d known Sunny Clary would cover the banquet; he’d suggested it. Seeing him with another woman was supposed to rattle her. But he was the one off balance. He felt as if he were cheating on her—an emotion he’d never experienced before.

  Tonight she was wearing a simple pale green dress with a matching jacket. The skirt was short, showing off her impossibly long legs to perfection. Her hair was loose about her face, soft, caught only with a jeweled clasp at the back of her neck. Restraining that mass of hair was like trying to keep ribbons from flying in the wind. Running his fingers through it was an image that kept hitting him every time he saw her.

  “The new reporter for WTRU,” Anne said. “She’s lovely, isn’t she? And there’s an energy about her that’s contagious. I’m hoping they’ll send her to cover the dedication.”

  “Energy? I suppose, though I don’t understand it,” he admitted. But he felt it, every little tear in the structured fabric of his world widening with its force.

  “She has charisma. All the best TV people do. But it’s more than that,” Anne said. “The energy she gives off is dynamic. Can’t you feel it?”

  “Yeah, there’s something explosive about her. I’m just not certain about the fallout that comes with the explosion.”

  Anne looked at him and smiled sadly. “So, it’s like that, is it?”

  He took a drink from his wineglass and swallowed slowly, watching Sunny laughing at something the police chief was saying. “Like what?”

  “The great Ryan Malone has finally fallen for a redhead who is on the fast track to the top. And maybe she’s too independent to appreciate the Malone treatment. Figures.”

  “What makes you say that?” Ryan asked, wondering how she’d seen so clearly what he’d been trying to cover up with bargains, bets and smoke screens.

  “We’ve been friends for what? Two years?” Anne said. “I’ve seen you look at a lot of women, but you never looked at any of them like you’re looking at Sunny Clary.”

  “She makes you notice her.”

  “Yeah, I saw her at the Valentine’s Day fund-raiser. She’s a beautiful woman.”

  “No,” Ryan argued. “Beauty isn’t the issue. It’s the way she goes after what she wants.”

  Anne had a quizzical look. “And what does she want?”

  “The truth. For starters, she’s determined to expose the identity of Lord Sin.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to be that guy. I’ll bet she won’t give up until she does.”

  Ryan groaned silently. If his plan didn’t work, he could end up being that subject if he weren’t careful. “Let’s find our table before the mayor gets started.”

  “Sorry, Ryan. I’m supposed to be the information officer. I sent out fact sheets but Sunny has
n’t yet learned who is who. I think I’d better go do my job.”

  “By the way, Anne, Ms. Clary doesn’t know about my part in the hospital yet.”

  Anne nodded her head. “I won’t say anything. I haven’t told anyone who didn’t have to know. But she’s a reporter, and if she’s as good as I think she is, she’ll find out.”

  “GOOD EVENING, I’m Anne Kelley, the public information officer for the evening. I believe you know Ryan Malone?”

  Sunny managed to respond. “Yes, it seems Mr. Malone has an uncanny talent for showing up at every interesting event in the city.”

  “That he does,” Anne agreed. “You’ll learn he’s very involved in Atlanta.”

  A few minutes later, Anne escorted Sunny and Walt to the front of the room where she introduced Sunny to the people responsible for the event.

  Sunny forced herself to concentrate on her assignment instead of the man across the room who was continually undressing her with his eyes. Ted must have known Ryan would be here. Why hadn’t he warned her? Because he’d fallen under the spell of Malone’s charm, that’s why. Well, in the future she’d be ready. Anne Kelley was right. It was Sunny’s job to cover the news and Malone was a big part of it. She wouldn’t be caught unprepared again. She’d wear Teflon underwear and carry a shield if need be to erect some kind of barrier between the heat of her desire and the source of it. And she’d remember that Malone was her ticket to Lord Sin.

  Over the din of children’s excitement and with Anne’s help, Sunny was able to get the necessary head shots and quotes. She didn’t have to look around, she knew exactly where Ryan was sitting.

  “I saw your piece on the retirement home, Ms. Clary,” Anne was saying.

  “Please, call me Sunny. And I hope you don’t think that’s the way I usually get a story. But Mr. Malone is a hard man to put off when he makes up his mind.”

  “Yes, I’ve had some experience with his persistence. In spite of the press, he’s managed to keep the full extent of his charity work secret. He likes it that way.”

  Sunny cut a sharp look at the dark-haired woman who was her information source for the evening. “I…I understand that Mr. Malone has a great many…friends. He seems very—likable.”

  “If you’re asking…yes, I like him. But friends is all we are,” Anne confessed. “Not that I wouldn’t have liked more, but Ryan always seemed driven in such a way that there was no room for a woman in his life—at least not permanently. I always wondered who’d change that.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Sunny said. “Mr. Malone’s personal life appears to be something of a mystery. I spent all afternoon with him and all I learned was that he was an orphan who didn’t know his father.”

  Anne looked surprised. “I’ve known Ryan for two years and that’s more than I ever learned about his past. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk about it and I respected that. I never learned much about his present either, unless it involved helping people.”

  Sunny felt a jolt of guilt. Malone was nice, genuinely nice and no matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise, she liked him.

  As they moved from table to table, Anne identified the political and business leaders present but it was the children who caught Sunny’s interest. They were so full of awe to begin with, gradually relaxing when they understood that they were with people just like them.

  One little boy with a big wide smile and a gaping hole where his front teeth ought to be caught Sunny’s attention. “What’s your name?” she asked, holding out her microphone.

  The boy ducked his head and she had to lean down to hear. “My name’s Octavius Henry Lawson.”

  “And what did you do to earn an invitation to the banquet?”

  “I cleaned the trash out of the vacant lot, all by myself.”

  “That sounds like a big job,” Sunny said. “How long did it take you?”

  With a worried frown, Octavius Henry Lawson looked up at the elderly woman sitting with him. “A long time.”

  “All summer,” she said. “Some of that junk, and the rats, was bigger’n he wuz, but he didn’t give up. Now,” she said with pride, “we got us a little park with swings, all because of my grandboy.”

  “You must be very proud of him,” Sunny said, then added for the benefit of her television audience, “as we all are. These youngsters have all given their time to make our city a better place. Tonight, they are being rewarded.” She lowered her microphone and said, “That’s enough for now, Walt, let’s take a break until the speeches start. Thank you, Anne. You’ve been very helpful.” She almost escaped as she turned and headed toward the outer hallway of the elegant Commerce Club where the event was being hosted.

  “Ms.Clary!”

  Almost. Ryan Malone was bearing down on them. She let out a sigh and stopped. “Yes?” She turned back to face him and regretted that she hadn’t kept walking.

  “How do you like the club?”

  “The club? The building is very nice.” She was puzzled. Surely he hadn’t stopped her to discuss the facilities.

  “I’m glad you like it,” he said, staring at her as if she’d left her clothes back at the station. Walt, the rat, had ducked into the hallway and disappeared, leaving her alone with Malone in the entranceway. “Is there something you need from me, Mr. Malone?”

  “Oh, yes, ma’am. You know it. We’ve pretty well covered what we both need and want. I just thought tonight might move us closer. Are you impressed? I’m giving you another good-news story. Don’t I deserve something in return?”

  He was smiling at her, daring her to admit he was making progress. She was no coward. So far he’d pursued and all she’d done was back away. Maybe it was time she stopped. She put her hands on her hips. “You’re right, Malone, why don’t you just give me a great big kiss right here in front of everyone and get it over with?”

  He looked startled for a moment, then grinned, raising one wicked eyebrow. “I don’t think so,” he said, and took her by the hand. “Come with me.”

  “Now wait a minute. I wasn’t serious. I can’t leave the building.” Sunny tried to shut down the aggravating little voice that kept saying, you brought this on yourself. At the same time she realized that she wasn’t really fighting him. It had been that way from the start. Her words said no but her body refused to listen.

  Seconds later, he pulled out a key and opened a room off the corridor marked, Sales and Marketing. He pulled her inside and, before she could protest, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.

  She hadn’t known a man could kiss like that. She didn’t know she could return such a kiss. Maybe it was because they were in the dark and she couldn’t see him. Maybe it was because she was so ready that she was on the verge of exploding. Oh, Pop, I hope you’re right about following your instinct. She kissed him back.

  Ryan felt the change immediately. She was pushing with her palms, but then the push gentled and she sighed and leaned against him, all soft and clinging. He heard warning bells ringing that said this wasn’t a woman out for easy sex, but there was no way he could stop. The furious churning abated and he felt something strangely gentle. And finally, his fingers left her shoulders and captured her hair. Even the red strands, now caught between his fingers, felt hot.

  He groaned. Or maybe the sound came from her, and pulled back. Resting his chin against her forehead, he tried to still his breathing. She didn’t speak and neither did he. Then came a knock at the door, followed by “Sunny?”

  “Walt!” she said, and jerked away. “Yes?”

  “They’re about to start the speeches,” he said. “You want me to video the mayor?”

  “Yes. Go on in, Walt. I’ll just finish up what I’m doing and join you.”

  “Sure thing,” he said. “And don’t forget to turn on the light on your way out.”

  Sunny heard the sound of his laughter, then only the sound of her breathing. “Mr. Malone,” she finally said.

  “I wish you’d call me Ryan.”
r />   “I wish I’d called a cop. Turn on the light, please.”

  She didn’t want a light, didn’t want to see the aftermath of the heat wave she’d just experienced but she had to face the world and she didn’t have time to find a ladies’ room.

  The soft light of a lamp suddenly pierced the darkness. Ryan Malone stood behind the desk, staring at her incredulously. “I’m not going to apologize for kissing you, Sunny. I’ve wanted to do that again since that first time—a real kiss, not just a quick touching of the lips. If I was too rough, I’m sorry. I’m not usually like that.”

  Malone seemed to be as confused about what was happening as she was. And this time, she’d responded to his kiss. Maybe she ought to be blunt and tell him the truth, even if it cost her a meeting with Lord Sin. She’d started out telling herself that she’d go along with his preposterous proposition if it meant getting the story, but somewhere along the way that was changing. To what, she wasn’t sure. She finally raised her gaze and looked at him.

  Atlanta’s most eligible bachelor’s hair was mussed. Had she done that? And his tie was crooked. She grinned. “You look like you’ve been making out. If my face looks anything like yours, you might have well have kissed me back there in the banquet hall where everyone could see.”

  “That can still be arranged,” he said.

  “I don’t think so. It’ll end up on the nine o’clock news and my career will end up in the toilet. Is that what you want?”

  This time he didn’t smile. “The last thing I’d want to do is interfere with your work, Sunny. Maybe we’ll save the kiss until after the awards ceremony.” There was a seriousness about him that wasn’t there before. “There’s a bathroom right through that door,” he said, looking at a narrow door by an antique table. “You’ll find anything you need,” he said.

  She hesitated, wanting nothing more than to start the evening over. But she couldn’t let him know how profoundly she’d been affected. “Thanks,” she said, opened the door and switched on the light. She was facing a mirror over a porcelain sink. The mirror reflected a woman she’d never seen before. Her hair was flying wildly, as if she’d just wakened. Her lips were swollen and red. She looked like she’d just been made love to and no amount of repair was going to change that. Still, she had to try. Splashing cold water on her face removed some of the flush. A drawer revealed a comb with which she managed to restore some sort of order to her hair.