by Melody Anne
Good. She didn’t want to talk much. She just wanted to get this night over with. Maybe she should speed up her plan. He had seduction on the brain, so wouldn’t now be the perfect opportunity?
No. She wasn’t strong enough yet to carry through. And she didn’t think he was hooked on her enough to make an impact when she walked out on him. Before she could make a decision one way or the other, Tyler stood up and held out a hand.
“Let’s dance.”
The way he said the words, he might as well have been telling her to drop her pants and let him take her right there. Seduction was burned into every fiber of Tyler’s being. She didn’t say anything, but she suddenly found herself pulled from her chair and being led to the intimate dance area.
Tyler didn’t pause as he pulled her close, making her feel like it was only the two of them on the dance floor the moment his arms wound behind her back. The instant sizzle between the two of them should frighten her enough to pull away, but instead she found her hands drifting upward until they rested on the back of his neck.
“Do you come here often, Tyler?” She was only speaking to break the intensity of the moment. His next words didn’t help with that.
“While dancing, there should never be talking. It’s a prelude to things to come,” he whispered, his breath fanning against her ear as he pulled her a little bit closer.
“It’s just a dance,” she said, infusing laughter she didn’t feel into her voice.
“Pay close attention, Elena. You’ll soon see that it’s never just a dance.”
Then his arms tightened behind her back, one shifting lower as he pressed her forward, allowing her to feel his hardness against her. He tucked her head against him as he leaned down and softly ran his lips against the edge of her ear, his hot breath sending a shudder rippling through her.
His scent, his breath, his hardness all surrounded her, pressed into her, entrapped her in this moment where the rest of the world fell away and it was just the two of them.
Elena had to pull away now or else she feared she might not be able to. Leaning back, she was then looking right into Tyler’s eyes, and what was reflected back at her took her breath away.
Passion. Excitement. Hunger. So much hunger.
She didn’t know who moved first – him or her – but suddenly their lips were clasped together and she felt like a person lost in the dessert getting their first sip of water in days.
Her fingers tightened behind his neck as she greedily sipped from his lips, submerging herself in the passion that so easily flowed between them. For a brief moment in time Elena forgot that he was the enemy, forgot that she had an agenda. She forgot everything except for how he was making her feel.
When he broke away, she whimpered her disapproval, and the passion in his gaze leapt even higher.
“Let me take you home,” he said, his voice pure silk.
It took a moment for the words to process in Elena’s muddled brain, but when they did, she immediately tensed. There was no way she was ready for this, not yet, not after that scorching kiss.
“I…um…not tonight,” she finally said, and then pulled from him. She was almost surprised when he released her. What she didn’t understand was her disappointment at him doing so.
They walked back to the table, and Elena couldn’t make herself sit back down. She couldn’t continue this night any longer. She was feeling too weak at the moment. All she had to do was rebuild the walls on her heart, she convinced herself.
“It’s been a wonderful night, Tyler, but I’m beginning to get a headache. I think it best if I go home a little early.”
His eyes narrowed the tiniest bit, but then he recovered. Turning from her, without saying a word, he signaled for the waiter. It didn’t take long and then he escorted her from the restaurant. The cool night air felt good, so good. She would regroup, figure out her next move, and get this entire plan of hers — this plan, which didn’t seem quite so great anymore — out of the way.
“I’ll take you home,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.
“I can get home just fine,” she said right back.
“I always make sure my dates get home safely, Elena. I take you home or this thing between us is done.”
His words weren’t harsh, just matter-of-fact. She wanted to walk away, to tell him to go to hell. But she knew that if she did that, she’d never have her victory.
“Fine. You can take me home,” she said in a taut voice.
He walked her to his car and held open the door. She gave him her address, then sat back, fuming. This wasn’t going well — not well at all. And she’d thought she was so smart. Maybe she’d forgotten that revenge was a dish best served cold, and she was still too hot. Too hot with everything to do about Tyler Knight.
She knew she had to do something to salvage this situation, but how?
They pulled up to her apartment complex, hardly the best place in the city, but far from the worst. He parked and came around to the passenger side.
She allowed him to open her door and help her from the low-slung sports car. And then the two of them walked in more silence to her door.
She wheeled around before she inserted her key into the lock, and she smiled at him. “Thank you for dinner. The place was even better than I’d expected. I’ve wanted to go there for quite some time.”
“Thank you for accompanying me, Elena. I’ve had a wonderful evening.”
“Really?”
“Didn’t you enjoy yourself?” he asked, taking a step closer to her.
“Yes, but then, you know, the headache,” she said with a nervous giggle. Oh, no. A giggle. What had she become?
“Do I make you uncomfortable, Elena?” he asked before lifting a hand and running his fingers through her hair.
“No … no.” Was she stuttering? What an utter disaster. Just kill her now and get it over with.
“I think I do. I think that it scares the hell out of you.” He moved the last few inches forward.
“I think you’re awfully full of yourself,” she told him.
He leaned down and spoke against the corner of her mouth. “I am very sure of myself.”
She could push him away, tell him the night was over, but that wasn’t what a seductress would do. No, a woman who wanted a man to pant over her the rest of the night would grab him, initiate the kiss.
So that’s exactly what she did.
She took control of his mouth, easily gaining access as she kissed him with everything she had.
Soon, the kiss had her knees shaking, had her body on fire, and still she carried on. She was running her hands up the back of his head and pulling him even closer. This was so much more intimate than in the restaurant because she knew a nice comfortable bed was only a door, well, two doors, away.
She couldn’t think that! It was a game… She was forgetting that, though, the longer his lips caressed hers.
His fingers glided up and down her side before he moved them downward and cupped her bottom, and then pulled her up. He was so hard. The ache flaming inside her neglected body reminded her that it had been way too long since she’d felt something like satisfaction with a man – with this man.
The longer he touched her, the more she was reminded of that night in the limo. It had been amazing – that was, until he’d dismissed her.
This wasn’t good!
When he pulled back, his eyes dilated, his breathing heavy, she wondered whether she would be able to stop when the time came. What if they both came? That would ruin her plan.
“Good night, Elena.”
Tyler shocked her when he turned her key in her door, pushed her inside, shut the door and then walked away. She didn’t move for at least two minutes. Her breathing took that long to get under control.
If each meeting with Tyler left her this off balance, she really should abort her mission. Then again, Elena had never been a quitter.
Chapter Eleven
Do you want some company?”
&
nbsp; Elena choked on the bite of sandwich she’d just taken as Tyler interrupted her. He quickly began patting her back, and she finally managed to swallow and then reached for her drink.
“What are you doing here, Tyler?”
“I was in the area and saw you sitting here,” he said. He joined her on the bench once he was assured he wasn’t going to have to give her the Heimlich maneuver.
“You were in the park on a Tuesday afternoon?”
Tyler smiled as he watched her trying to process why he was there. He wasn’t one to leave things in the air. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out Elena’s last name, and from there to figure out where she worked — and where she enjoyed eating her lunch.
They’d been seeing each other for three weeks now, and he had no doubt she was playing some sort of game. They’d only been on a few outings. Most of their relationship was through the phone, and she still shared nothing of herself with him. He knew he should cut his losses and walk away, but he couldn’t, and he was hardly happy about that.
“Yes, I come here often,” he said. “It’s a great place to run, or to come to sit down for lunch. Sometimes I enjoy simply sitting on the benches and letting my mind clear of all the chaos from a busy day.”
“I … um … just didn’t realize you worked around here,” she finally muttered.
“We’ve never talked about my work, so how would you know where I spend my days?”
He could see he had her flustered. He’d been pretty sure she had known exactly who he was from the first time they’d met in the bar. Now, he had no doubts. This woman was after something, and what he suspected was she had some sort of ploy to extort from him. He just didn’t see how she planned on doing that. Maybe that was why he was still seeing her. Because he hated to have questions go unanswered.
“I guess that makes sense,” she said, quickly recovering with a false laugh. Then she placed her hand on his leg and gently rubbed it.
Her ploy of touching him so he would quit asking questions almost worked, as he wanted this woman so badly he was pretty much walking around with a permanent erection. But it was Tyler’s turn to be in control. Her touch sent flames through his body. But he also knew that his touch on her caused her intelligence to dim. So he fought back with a touch of his own, grabbing her hand and winding his fingers through hers.
The problem with all the touching was that he wasn’t sure who it affected more – him or her. Only time was going to tell. He would have this woman, though, that was something he had no doubt about.
“You must work nearby,” he said, looking out toward a group of nearby office buildings.
“Yes, not far from here. If it’s a nice day, and it isn’t very often here, I enjoy coming down to the park for lunch and a walk. I was just finishing up and getting ready for a little exercise,” she said, pulling her hand away from his and gathering up what was left of her lunch.
She got up and threw the leftovers and the wrappings in a nearby trash bin.
“I have time. I’ll walk with you. Then you can show me where you work,” he told her, linking their hands together again.
“If I take you by my workplace, there won’t be any mystery between us anymore. Then things aren’t nearly as exciting,” she said, again with the shaky laugh.
“At what point do we just open up?” he said, stopping her when they came to a stand of trees.
He walked her a little off the trail so they could have some privacy.
“What’s the rush, Tyler? We’re having a good time,” she said, resisting him, but only a little.
“I’m not in a hurry, Elena. I just might want to know a little bit more about the woman I plan on taking to my bed.”
“Do you always know the women you take to your bed?”
Tyler was taken aback by the hostility of that question.
“Since I’ve grown up, I do,” he said with hesitation.
“So not always.” It wasn’t a question.
“No, not always. You know what they say about boys being boys,” he told her with a laugh he didn’t feel.
Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit before she masked her expression. “Yeah, I guess boys will be boys,” she told him.
“What is going on here, Elena?”
“Nothing. I’ve just got a lot on my mind and I wasn’t expecting to see you down here today. That’s all,” she said with a laugh before brushing up against him.
Tyler had figured out that when she wanted him to stop talking she initiated physical contact. Who was he to push her away? It’s all he wanted from her, right?
That thought didn’t sit too well with him. He had to harden himself to that. She was obviously after money. It was the only thing he could think of. She was a lawyer, but she’d only been practicing for two years, and he was sure she’d built up quite a bit of debt going to school, and living in Seattle. Her apartment was nice, but she had a roommate. Still, a two-bedroom in a decent area of Seattle wasn’t cheap.
What Tyler couldn’t figure out was how she was planning on exploiting him. The other thing he couldn’t figure out was why he was allowing this to continue. Did he want her that badly?
Apparently he did.
“What do you want from me, I wonder,” Tyler said, trailing his fingers down her cheek. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but he didn’t regret his words.
“Why don’t you stop wondering and give me a kiss before I have to get back to work?” she said.
Without further hesitation, she wound her hands behind his head and pulled him to her. It didn’t matter how many times their mouths touched. His body exploded with each brush of their lips.
He’d never actually put this much effort into being with a woman before. Yes, he’d had a few longer-term relationships, including the one with the woman he’d been about to propose to, but those had started so much simpler, and he’d definitely bedded all of the others a lot faster than this.
“I want you, Elena,” he growled, breaking away from her tempting lips. “Tonight.”
She shook her head slightly, obviously trying to clear her thoughts. He could see that she was as turned on as he was. Why was she continuing to stall? Maybe she was just a tease.
“Patience, Tyler. The longer we wait, the better it will be,” she said, taking a step back.
“I’ve waited plenty long enough,” he told her.
“Then I guess a little while longer won’t kill you,” she said, taking several steps away.
“This conversation isn’t finished yet,” he told her. Reaching down, he untucked his shirt trying to cover up the affect she had on him so he’d be presentable in public. From the way he was throbbing, scraping painfully against his jeans, he doubted he’d manage it anytime soon.
The little minx obviously knew it, too.
“Gotta go. See you later.”
And she turned and practically ran away.
Tyler leaned against the tree and took deep steadying breaths. What he should do was march into her office, bend her over, and take her right there on her desk.
Not his style. He would wait. But not much longer.
Chapter Twelve
Elena found herself smiling even as she walked down a claustrophobic Seattle sidewalk. So many people. She really didn’t understand her smile; she just knew that she was in a good mood. The only negative was the fact that she’d spent a lot of time with Tyler this past month, and she was getting used to it, getting fond of his phone calls and of having him around.
After his sneak attack in the park last week, she’d had no choice but to let her guard down slightly. He’d been growing far too suspicious and her plan would never work with him constantly analyzing everything she did. So a couple days later when he’d asked her to go to dinner, she hadn’t hesitated.
The problem had been the walk through the park after dinner. She was getting far too comfortable with the man, and he was making her laugh much too easily without even trying much.
Could she go on with
this? She sincerely hoped so.
She stopped and stared at the door before her in surprise, and then she double-checked her phone to make sure this was where she was supposed to be.
This wasn’t the sort of place where a billionaire like Tyler would hang out. But it was the address that he’d given her. And the name stenciled on the front window confirmed it: Nascosto. It seemed to be a bit of a dive, and she was happy at the thought. Was he human after all?
Once she walked through the doorway, she glanced around and found Tyler sitting by the bar with one of his brothers. They both looked a little grim. She hadn’t wanted to run into any of his brothers. Tyler was her only target. The more involved she became in this, the harder it was going to be when the walls came crashing down. Scorn one brother and maybe they wouldn’t care so much, but scorn them all, and certainly they would seek some revenge of their own. Think about it, she told herself. Billionaires are dangerous. They didn’t become so rich by playing nice.
But she wasn’t about to wimp out at the first hurdle. Screw these fat cats. So, pasting a fake smile on her face, she walked up with an air of what she hoped to be total confidence and draped her arm around Tyler. Let his brother think what he wanted.
“I’m sorry I’m so late,” she said with a rueful laugh.
“It’s not a problem,” Tyler replied. “I was talking to my brother here.”
“Oh, your brother!” she exclaimed, and then almost winced at her fake enthusiasm. She should have studied acting in college. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Then Elena shocked herself when she stepped forward and gave the guy a hug. What in the world was she thinking? Her nerves had taken charge and screwed her over.
“What ever happened to handshakes?” Byron, Tyler’s brother, remarked.
She was instantly filled with hurt, and she didn’t know why. She’d barely spent any time with either Byron or Blake when she’d been young, but still, it stung that he had zero recollection of her. Hadn’t she made an impression on any of these men? Clearly not. He was just another of the wealthy elite who wouldn’t notice, let alone socialize with little ol’ her.
