Exclusive / a Touch of Heaven

by Samantha Chase

  He could tell she was tempted and hoped it wasn’t just because of the assignment. That maybe, just maybe, she wanted to spend the time with him too. “I—I don’t think my editor would like it or…”

  “She’s already been notified,” he said softly.

  “But…how? How did you know?”

  “Taylor, the agreement was always an open-ended one. It was written up as a two-week deal to get things going but…let’s just say Wade doesn’t necessarily like to work under time constraints.”

  “But surely he understands deadlines. I mean, he does have a publisher he has to report to, doesn’t he?”

  He nodded. “Absolutely, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about him, it’s that he also knows the importance of having the time to get the job done right. So I don’t want you to feel rushed. You have all the time in the world to make this article everything you want it to be.”

  She looked at him warily. “How—how come I didn’t know about this?”

  “Probably because your editors are overzealous and want this piece as soon as possible. If they told you to take your time, they may have feared missing the next issue deadline.”

  He knew it all made sense and yet—he couldn’t be sure she’d believe it. Her face was so expressive that he could see the conflict waging within her. He watched every play of emotion on her face and was even mildly amused by how transparent she was. He stepped in close—needing to feel the heat of her, to smell her perfume. “Will you stay?” he asked, noting her look of panic. “I mean…if you need to.”

  Taylor stepped toward him, leaving barely a breath between them. “Do you want me to?”

  Mike closed the distance and claimed her lips with his. It was what he’d been wanting to do all morning. Who was he kidding, it was what he never wanted to stop doing last night. He sipped at her lips, giving her time to stop him if she wanted to, but her arms came up to twine around his shoulders and then her fingers threaded into his hair, and he took that as the green light. “Taylor,” he murmured against her lips.

  Honestly, he didn’t want to talk. That was all they’d been doing since she’d arrived. Now that he’d had a taste of her, he wasn’t willing to let it go at just the one kiss last night.

  Or ten years ago.

  His arms wrapped around her, and her breasts pressed against his chest as they embraced tighter than was possible on the swing last night. His tongue gently teased at her lower lip—he didn’t want to rush her—but Taylor was having none of it. Her tongue, as delicate as her movements were, teased and tormented him.

  Did she have any idea how much he wanted her? How long he had dreamed of being able to kiss and hold her like this? His mouth left hers so he could get some much-needed air and so he could kiss her cheek, her throat—which smelled so sweet he felt intoxicated. “I told myself I wouldn’t do this again. Not yet,” he said.

  With her head arched back to give him more room to explore, Taylor sighed. “And I told myself I wouldn’t either.” She moaned when he bit down gently on her skin. “We’re really bad at keeping promises to ourselves.”

  His tongue ran from her earlobe to her collarbone. “I’ll feel bad. Later.”

  “I won’t,” she purred.

  “Good. Because I won’t either,” he said in between kisses. His hands held her hips, his fingers gently kneading her curves.

  “Mike?” she whispered.

  “Hmm?”

  “Stop talking.” And she smiled when he did just that and came back to devour her lips. It was intense and yet so innocent at the same time. They were standing in the kitchen; his hands hadn’t done more than stroke her back and hold her hips, yet Taylor felt ready to explode in his arms.

  Taylor took her arms from his shoulders and her hands caressed the strong column of his throat. Then she massaged his shoulders before moving down his arms and squeezing his biceps. When he groaned with pleasure, she moved her hands to his chest and he wished she would push his shirt aside.

  Something in her touch ignited a strong desire in Mike. Releasing his grip on her hips, his hands skimmed up to her waist and then slowly, ever so slowly, moved up her rib cage to just under the swell of her breasts. Taylor’s breath caught in her throat at the contact and she let out a small growl of frustration. He was on the verge of losing control and had to mentally count to ten to calm down and rein himself in. He felt like a teenager with his first girl. The thought made him chuckle against her lips.

  “Patience,” he whispered as his hand crept even more slowly—if that were possible—to her breasts.

  Taylor cried out as he cupped, then squeezed, then simply teased her nipples with his thumbs. Her response to him was more of a turn-on than he could ever have imagined. All he could think of was finding more ways to please her. She was beautiful and sexy, and to know that he had her panting in the middle of a kitchen had him ready to lay her down on the nearest surface and give them both what they wanted. An idea was starting to form when suddenly she stiffened in his arms.

  And not in a good way.

  “Mike?” she said softly, but his mouth was already working its way down to join his hands. Taylor was momentarily speechless as his mouth closed over one distended nipple and then she cried out at the pleasure of it. When she called out his name this time, it was more of a plea to keep going rather than to stop.

  She said his name again—this time with a little more clarity, and he instantly raised his head. Her hair was disheveled, her lips were swollen, and her breath was ragged. “I’m sorry,” she said, as he was trying desperately to catch his own breath. “But I can’t do this. Not here. Not like this.”

  He came out of his own daze and looked around. “Oh…God, Taylor,” he said with a hint of self-loathing and took a step back, lowering his head. “What the hell was I thinking?”

  “Probably the same thing I was,” she said, her tone light, as if she was trying to break the tension. “That we both wanted to do that. I’m just not the type of person who’s willing to do…it…in a stranger’s kitchen.”

  He stared back at her as if he didn’t quite understand her. “What do you…?” And then it clicked. “Oh. Right.” Walking over to the window, he took several deep breaths and pulled his fingers through his hair. It took several minutes for him to turn around again and when he did, he looked more relaxed. “Okay, let’s admit that we obviously have an attraction to one another, right? I’m not going to pretend we don’t, Taylor, so please don’t ask me to.”

  She shook her head. “I—I wasn’t. I couldn’t.”

  “I guess, then, we just need to try our best to be a little more aware of where we are when we get…the urge…to do that again. Okay?” She nodded. “Good. Let’s agree then that what just happened isn’t a bad thing and we’ll continue it later.” Taylor blushed, and even that was sexy as hell on her. “In the meantime, let’s get back to business.” He took a moment to gather his thoughts and regain some sense of professionalism, for both their sakes. “We were talking about the possibility of you staying longer if you need to and your worries about the article.”

  He took another deep breath. “First things first—don’t worry about what Wade is going to think about the article. Don’t put that kind of pressure on yourself. We’ll print the document out downstairs so you can look it over and have it ready to sign and get it over to Newslink and—”

  “Downstairs?” she interrupted. “There’s a downstairs?”

  He had the decency to look mildly ashamed. “I wasn’t going to show you just yet. But seeing that we’ve had a slight change of events here, I think it’s safe to show it to you.”

  “Safe?” she repeated, feigning offense.

  He leaned in close and gave her a wicked grin. “Sweetheart, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface on many things. I can’t bring it all out at once.” He winked and turned away, but not before catching
Taylor’s soft gasp and the widening of her eyes.

  Chapter 6

  It wasn’t quite as exciting as she’d hoped.

  But then again, Mike hadn’t let her see what she wanted to see. The entire lower level was finished and housed an impressive home gym, a theater room, and Wade’s office. That’s where the printer was, but Mike had essentially held Taylor off at the door while he made a copy of the document for her. Taylor had been dying to go inside the office—especially to find out if this was where Wade did his writing—to touch things and look at what was on the shelves, but Mike had explained it was something his boss wanted to show her in person, and that she needed to be patient.

  Pfft. Patience. It was highly overrated.

  To say that she was disappointed was a given. Her enthusiasm returned—somewhat—when she got to see what equipment the gym sported: aside from weight machines and treadmills, there were also stationary bikes. “Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “The man must enjoy keeping in shape,” she observed, walking over to one of the bikes and staring at it in awe. “I’ve always wanted one of these. It would be great in the winter months. I have a regular outdoor bike, and I had to buy it at a garage sale.” She ran her hands lovingly over the bike and then noticed Mike’s amused expression. “I know it’s weird to get so excited over a bike, but it’s my favorite hobby.”

  “Wade says you are to have full access to the gym while you’re here,” he said with a smile. Next, he took her to see the media room, and soon they found themselves back up in the kitchen. “If you’re interested, we can take a ride into town. I’ll show you some of the highlights and maybe we could grab lunch. What do you think?”

  She thought it sounded like a date but kept that observation to herself. “Sounds good to me. Let me get a jacket and my purse, and I’ll meet you outside.”

  Rushing up the stairs, she ran into her room and was outside within a matter of minutes as Mike was pulling another SUV out of the garage. She wanted to ask him if this was his car or one of Wade’s, but wasn’t sure how to phrase it without possibly insulting him. Not that it mattered whose car it was—there would be time to find out about Wade’s tastes later. “So where are we going?” she asked as she climbed in.

  “Into town. There’s not a whole lot there—lots of mom-and-pop stores—but there’s a great diner where I figured we’d go for lunch. I eat there often.”

  “Really? But you’re such a good cook.”

  He smiled at the compliment. “Sometimes it’s nice to go out and let someone else cook. Plus, it’s not as much fun cooking for one.”

  She was going to ask how often he cooked for two—or more—but thought better of it. They drove the rest of the way in silence as Taylor sat back and enjoyed the scenery. When they pulled up in front of the diner, Mike was at her door before she even had the chance to open it, and helped her out. Taking her hand in his, he led her into the restaurant and Taylor couldn’t help but smile.

  This was definitely a date.

  * * *

  For such a small town, they were certainly able to kill a lot of time. Lunch at the diner was way better than she had expected, and it seemed like everyone who came in knew Mike. She met what seemed like dozens of people, and for each one who stopped by the table, Mike made sure to introduce her, engaging in conversations that centered on the other person—not Mike. Taylor made a mental note of that—the man certainly was humble and didn’t like any attention on himself. She admired that.

  After their lengthy lunch, they walked hand in hand around town. Mike took her into just about every store, and he was able to give her the history of each of them along with the history of the town itself. It wouldn’t make for anything interesting in her article, but it would make for good filler material if she needed it.

  She took pictures of some of the older buildings, and at one point Mike stopped someone he knew and asked them to take his and Taylor’s picture together. It meant more to her than it should have to finally have a picture of just the two of them, but she couldn’t help it. In the back of her mind she had a feeling that once she printed the photo, it was going to become the new inspirational picture that could replace the Montauk lighthouse.

  Not maybe. Definitely.

  The weather wasn’t as cool as she’d feared, but as they continued to walk and the sun began to set, the chill started to come back. She shivered and Mike pulled her close. “Tomorrow’s supposed to be warmer. We’ll be able to enjoy being outside a lot more.”

  She looked up at him and arched a brow. “We’ll be outside again tomorrow?”

  He nodded. “Actually, we’re taking a bit of a road trip tomorrow. I’m going to take you to Wade’s second home. It’s on the coast and we’ll probably end up staying there the night. I thought it would make a great addition to your article—you could tell a little more about him.”

  She gave him a warm smile. “Is it big like the farmhouse?”

  Chuckling, he hugged her close for the briefest of moments before leading her back to the car. “You know, I don’t remember you being this nosy or impatient when I knew you before.”

  Now it was her turn to laugh. “Well, you get enough unpleasant surprises and you learn to be cautious and know what you’re getting into beforehand.”

  Mike stopped in his tracks and instantly sobered. “I just wanted to give you another view for your article, that’s all.”

  If Taylor didn’t know any better, she’d swear he was panicking. But why? “I wasn’t accusing you of anything,” she reassured him. “I was just answering your question—or, rather, defending your observation. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  He shook his head, feeling slightly foolish. “You didn’t and…I shouldn’t have gotten defensive. It’s just…after what you told me last night about you and Ed, I didn’t want you painting me with the same brush, you know?”

  She nodded. “I don’t. I could never.”

  That pleased him. “C’mon. Let’s get back to the farm. I’ve got some work to do and I’m sure you want to get some work done on the article and maybe put a call in to your editor about the document we sent over. And then I’ve got a couple of great steaks I want to grill for dinner.”

  While it all sounded good, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that he wasn’t talking about picking up where they’d left off earlier. Mike was going to read her like a book. They got back to his vehicle and he unlocked the doors, opening hers. As he helped her inside, he captured her hips with his hands and leaned in to kiss her thoroughly. “What was that for?” Taylor asked, feeling slightly breathless when he released her lips.

  “That was a preview of what’s to come for dessert.”

  * * *

  The alarm went off way too early for Taylor’s liking. She had gone to bed early—not by choice—but hadn’t slept well.

  Last night held so many promises. She and Mike had shared a wonderful dinner out on the back porch with the help of a couple of heat lamps, and they talked until Taylor’s voice was almost hoarse. As soon as they had cleaned up the dinner mess, Mike got a call about a problem with some of the cattle and he’d left. He had apologized profusely but told Taylor not to wait up for him. He wouldn’t be back.

  Staring up at the ceiling, she let out a long breath. It wasn’t as if she’d expected much—not really—but she had been looking forward to the dessert he had alluded to earlier. The practical side of her reminded herself that she had only been there for a couple of days and it was too soon to be thinking about getting physical with him. But the little devil sitting on her shoulder reminded her that she’d been fairly close to Mike years ago and it wasn’t like he was a stranger.

  And then it hinted at how long it had been since she’d had sex.

  Stupid devil.

  Rising from the bed, Taylor told herself that today was a new day. They were going out of town—and sp
ending the night somewhere else—so maybe it was all for the better. Knowing this was Jonathan Wade’s primary residence made her a little uneasy. She shouldn’t even be considering getting physical with Mike here. She had hoped he would take her to his place. It was true there was the possibility he lived on the property, but Taylor knew she’d prefer going there and doing whatever they were going to do than doing it here.

  Okay, stop thinking about doing it, she admonished herself as she gathered up her things and headed for the shower. It was bad enough that she had erotic dreams of him all night long. She had tossed and turned and was now feeling more than a little on edge. The hot spray did wonders for the tension in her tired muscles but little for her wayward thoughts.

  By the time she was downstairs making coffee, Taylor had begun to wonder if they were still going out of town. She had no idea what a “cattle emergency” even was or if Mike had gotten any sleep last night. For the moment, she relished time alone in the kitchen to clear her mind.

  Staring out the big window and looking toward the barn, she sighed. “Did you sleep okay?” the deep voice said behind her and she very nearly jumped out of her skin. Mike placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her when she turned around. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Taylor’s hand went over her heart to try to calm it. “Well, you did,” she said, forcing a smile. “Sorry.” She shook her head to clear it. “I slept fine, what about you? How late were you out there?”

  Stepping away, he poured himself some coffee. “It was after two when I finally crawled into bed,” he said wearily.

  “Does this sort of thing happen often?”

  He shrugged and took a long drink from his steaming mug. “Not really, and when it does, it can’t be helped. I’m used to it.”

  “If you want to postpone our trip, that’s fine with me. I’m sure I can find something to do around here to keep me busy.”

  Mike placed his mug on the counter and considered her. “What would you do?”