by Donna Hill
He stared at her for a long moment. Even contemplating having Charlotte involved in his life—his political life was less than practical. But if there was one thing he knew about Charlotte Dupree, it was that when it came to behind-the-scenes dealings she always came out on top. She was a woman who knew what pie to keep her hand in.
“At least listen to what I have to say.”
Against his better judgment, he stepped aside and let her in.
Charlotte strolled in, looked around in that surveying way of hers as if every room that she walked into could potentially become her property. “Things haven’t changed much,” she said, dropping her purse on the couch. “The picture on the wall is new.” She turned to him, her magazine cover smile in place.
“You wanted to talk, and I’m sure it’s not about my taste in art. So talk.” He took a seat farthest away from her.
She pretended to pout. “You used to be such a gentleman. Can’t you even offer me something to drink? Or should I get it myself.”
“I’m sure you remember where everything is.”
She tsk-tsked and crossed the small space to the side bar. “Bourbon, right?” She bent over and pulled open the cabinet.
Preston averted his gaze. “Yeah.”
She poured them both a drink and came to stand in front of him. The hem of her short skirt met him at eye level. “Cheers,” she said, handing him his drink.
He didn’t respond.
Charlotte shook her shoulders and sauntered back to her seat. She sat down and crossed her long legs in slow motion, hiking her short dress up her firm thighs. For an instant, Preston wondered if she still wore the tiny silver clit ring. When they made love, it would drive her wild and him wilder. He glanced away and took a long swallow of his bourbon, letting the amber liquid burn away the image.
“Your fiancé know you’re here?” he asked, feeling suddenly nasty and edgy.
“I go where I want. Anthony doesn’t question me.” She sipped her drink and studied him.
“You want to get to the point of your visit?”
“I thought we could chat first, catch up.”
Preston sprung up from his seat and was right up on her before she could blink. He plucked the glass from her hand. “Goodbye, Charlotte.” He took her arm. “I don’t have time for your games. Come on. Let’s go.”
“All right, all right. Take it easy.” She shrugged to get her arm out of his grasp. “Tony is a lobbyist.” Preston frowned.
“He represents the oil companies.”
He let go of her arm. “What are you saying?”
“He’s looking for a team player. Someone to advocate for them against all of the new regulations that they could be facing. They’re willing to make it worth your while.”
Preston backed off, shaking his head.
“Just hear him out. What they are proposing could benefit thousands of businesses and families on the Gulf. But they need to get more Democrats on board.”
Preston held up his hand. “You’re asking me to get in bed with the very people who caused this catastrophe in the first place? You’re kidding right? This is some kind of hidden camera joke,” he said, his disbelief boiling to outrage.
Charlotte stood. She looked straight at him. “I think you know that when it comes to business I don’t joke around. I came to you because I know what this can do for your career—long term. It has the potential to take you all the way,” she said with meaning, her brow lifting to punctuate her point. “You can be the one whose name is remembered in restoring this part of the Gulf. The people will remember when the time comes,” she continued in an almost hypnotic cadence. She reached for her purse and took out a business card and handed it to him.
It was Anthony Paulsen’s card with his private cell phone number. Preston almost did a double take. He thought the man he’d seen her with was vaguely familiar, but he didn’t give it much thought. Charlotte was engaged to one of the most powerful lobbyists on Capitol Hill—without equal. He was young, talented and had the ear of all the right people.
“You’re engaged to Anthony Paulsen?”
She shrugged offhandedly. “At least think about it.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes. Okay. Happy now.”
“Why are you doing this? Why do you even give a damn? There must be something in this for you.”
She almost looked hurt. “I owe you,” she said simply.
Preston exhaled heavily. He looked at the card. “I’m not promising anything.”
His cell phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out, and his pulse leaped. Lee Ann’s number was illuminated on the screen. “Excuse me.” He turned his back to Charlotte and walked to the other side of the room before he answered.
Charlotte knew that move all too well. Her green eyes narrowed. She could barely hear his muffled conversation, which only confirmed her suspicions. If this had been any other time when he’d finished with his call he’d turn around and find her naked, spread out on his couch and waiting. She closed her purse. There would be plenty of time for that.
“Hey. I wasn’t sure if I was going to hear from you.”
“I’m sorry about this morning. I don’t know…I wasn’t thinking or maybe I was thinking too much.”
“No problem.” He cleared his throat and waited. This time he was going to let her take the lead.
“What time is your flight?”
“Nine.”
“Oh. Um…all packed?”
He thought about the mess upstairs. “Not exactly.”
“Well, I should let you go. I just wanted to say I’m sorry…and that last night was incredible.”
Preston felt as if a boulder had been lifted off his chest. “Yeah, it was.”
She giggled.
“Listen, I know it’s short notice, but if you felt like coming by here tonight, we could ride to the airport together. I have a car picking me up at seven. The driver could bring you back home or drop you off wherever you needed to be.”
The offer was more than tempting. She wanted to see him and make sure that everything she felt and had experienced wasn’t some fluke. But she also considered the drama that her last foray had wrought.
“Say yes,” he gently urged. “I’ll come and get you.”
“I need some time.”
“Is an hour enough?”
“Yes.” She moved around the room looking for what she’d need to take with her. “I have an eleven o’clock class tomorrow. I hope you won’t mind if I bring some work with me.”
“Bring whatever you want.”
“How about if I drive you to the airport tomorrow?”
“You sure?”
“Yes, it’ll be easier all the way around. I’ll drive my car to you tonight and drop you off in the morning. Then I can go straight to the university and not have to worry about transportation.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am.” She paused. “Are you?”
“I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Bye,” she whispered and disconnected the call.
He palmed the phone and turned with the smile still on his face. He’d totally forgotten about Charlotte.
She was looking into the mirror of her compact and fixing her lipstick. “She must be important.” She pressed her lips together and snapped the compact shut.
“She is.”
Charlotte started for the door. “Who is she?”
“None of your business.”
She snickered. “Have it your way.” She opened the door then turned to Preston. “It was good seeing you. Almost like old times.” She reached out and brushed her thumb along his bottom lip. He grabbed her wrist. She laughed. “Think about the offer. Tony will be in DC at the end of the week. So will I.” She walked out.
Lee Ann finished putting her things together in a small overnight tote, got her notes for class and put them in her computer bag. She opened her flowered makeup case and dropped in a handful of condoms. Her heart
thumped. She placed her two bags near her bedroom door, took a last look around then went downstairs in search of her sisters.
She heard voices coming from the kitchen and peeked in. Justin was sitting at the table with Melba, the housekeeper and cook.
“Hi.” She buzzed Justin’s cheek and gave Melba a light squeeze.
“Hey, sis.” Justin took a large bite of his apple. “What’s up?”
“Dom and Desi around?”
“I saw Dominique go out back,” Melba said. “I haven’t seen Desiree.”
“Thanks.” She grabbed an apple from the bowl and walked through the kitchen to the enclosed sun porch and pushed open the sliding glass doors.
Dominique and Desiree were taking laps in the pool. Desiree spotted Lee Ann first and signaled her sister. They stroked to the edge and hoisted themselves up onto the deck.
Lee Ann held a towel in each hand.
“Thanks,” they muttered and lightly dried off.
“I got your note.” She looked from one sheepish face to the other. “I apologize for not calling anyone. That was wrong. But me having a life of my own isn’t.”
“Do you like him?” Desiree asked softly.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. And there will be times that I’m not going to be here—while I figure it out,” she added with a soft smile. “But I promise to give you guys a heads-up. Okay? Like now.”
The twins’ identical looks of surprise were almost comical.
“I’ll see you all tomorrow evening.” She kissed each of their cheeks and turned to leave.
“Have fun,” Desiree called out.
“Do something I would do,” Dominique said.
Lee Ann shook her head in amusement as she slid the door closed behind her.
Preston finished putting away all of the things he didn’t need and put what he did back in a black carryall. He set it by his dresser, checked his bedroom one last time then jogged downstairs just as he heard a car pulling into the driveway.
He crossed the hall and glanced into the front room. Two glasses sat on the coffee table. One with a clear red imprint of Charlotte’s lips. He snatched them up and took them into the kitchen. Even as he stuck them in the dishwasher he wondered why he felt the need to hide them from Lee Ann.
The bell rang. He pressed Start and went to answer the door.
Where Charlotte’s presence was like a storm brewing, Lee Ann was sunshine and rainbows, the prize after the fury.
“Hey,” he greeted.
Her eyes flitted from his face to his chest and back again. “Hi.” She shifted her bag on her shoulder.
“Here, let me take something.”
She handed him her computer bag. Preston put his arm around her waist and closed the door behind them.
“You can use the office next to the kitchen if you want to work.”
“Where will you be?” She set her bag down near his bedroom window, linked and unlinked her fingers then ran her hands along her denim-covered thighs.
Preston came to where she stood, close enough to see the flecks of gold in her eyes and feel the warmth of her body wrap around him. “Wherever you want me to be.”
Lee Ann’s stomach fluttered. She sunk into the depths of his eyes and lost herself.
Preston leaned down and kissed her so tenderly that she could have imagined it was a fantasy if it was not for the heat she felt on her lips.
“Hmm. You are real.” His fingers threaded through her short hair, eased her closer. “You won’t get any work done if we keep standing here much longer.”
She ran her tongue across her bottom lip and made herself breathe. “I can work anywhere.”
He took her hand. “Hungry?”
“A little.”
“I’m starved, but I’m not cooking and neither are you. I have a drawer full of menus in the kitchen,” he said, leading her back downstairs. “We can order something and have it delivered.” He pushed through the swinging door of the kitchen.
Lee Ann hopped up on one of the bar stools at the island counter and hooked her legs around the stems. The dishwasher hummed in the background.
“Trying to clean up for company,” she teased, lifting her chin in the direction of the washer.
He cut a quick look at her before pulling open the drawer. “Yeah. My mama raised me right.” He shut the drawer and came to her with a handful of choices. “You decide. Whatever you want.” He sat down for a minute then got right back up. He went to the fridge. “Thirsty?”
“Some juice or cold water is fine.”
He took out a jug of filtered water, got two glasses from the overhead cabinet and poured for each of them.
Lee Ann was going over a Mexican menu. “Ever try them? How’s the food?”
“Pretty good.” He got back up and put the extra menus away. His eyes darted to the dishwasher as if he expected it to spill its contents and point a finger right at him.
“Let’s go up front.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I don’t know. You seem jumpy or distracted all of a sudden.”
“Naw. I’m good.” He walked ahead of her.
Lee Ann frowned for a moment then shook it off. Look for trouble, and you won’t have to look far, she could hear her mother say.
Preston turned on the stereo, pressed the CD button, and the sexy crooning of Kem moved across the room.
Lee Ann settled down on the couch. “I saw him in concert at the Essence Festival a few years ago. I’ve been in love with his music ever since.”
“The brother is no joke.” He sat beside her and draped his arm around her shoulder. “You decide what you want?”
Lee Ann turned into his arm, leaned her head on his chest. “That’s what I’ve been thinking about all day—what I want.”
“What did you come up with?” He traced the shell of her ear.
“That I want my own life.”
“I don’t understand.”
She thought about how she could explain, what words to choose so that she didn’t sound like an idiot.
“Last night—” her lashes fluttered “—was the first time that I stayed out all night, something that grown women do all the time. I know it sounds crazy, but for me it was an anomaly. My sisters left messages, texts, my father threatened to come back to Baton Rogue if I didn’t show up by morning.” She shook her head, embarrassed to have to tell him all this, but it needed to be said. He had to understand that, to her, what was happening between them was important enough to disrupt and defy the family that she loved and adored.
“The first time?” He echoed the words, and the implication was not lost on him. He drew her closer.
Lee Ann studied her hands.
Preston lifted her head with the tips of his fingers. “Look at me.”
Her eyes met his.
“For you to do what you did,” he stopped and started again. “That means something. I never had that. Since I was a kid, I pretty much did what I wanted. My mom was too busy trying to keep a roof over our heads to notice.” He rocked his jaw. “Look, there are going to be times when we’re going to want to be together. And I’m going to want your full attention and not have you worried about what your family is thinking.”
She flinched.
“No, listen.” He drew her attention back. “That means that we’re in this together. I have to get used to this family thing, and you have to be up-front with them.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I’m already working on that.”
He grinned, kissed her softly on the lips. “Then the rest is easy.”
Chapter 8
Preston stretched, his long, lean body, defined against the fitted white T-shirt. Lee Ann tried to keep her mind on finishing her tortilla and not thinking about the delights beneath that shirt.
“I’m stuffed.”
“Me, too.” She took their plates from the table and before Preston had a chance to react, she’d opened the dishwasher.
“You know you waste a lot of water just washing two glasses.” She took them out and put them on the counter. “Makes more sense to get a full load and do it all at once.” She lined up the plates on the rack and dropped the forks in the holder and shut the door. She turned to him and couldn’t place the strained look on his face. “I’m sorry. I don’t need to tell you how to wash dishes.” She sputtered a nervous laugh. “Old habits.”
“You have a lot of work to do?” he asked, changing the subject.
“It shouldn’t take long. I need to go over my notes for tomorrow.”
“How long have you been teaching?”
“Off and on for about six years. This year I have a poli-sci class. Freshman.”
“One of my majors. Maybe I’ll drop in one day and see you do your thing.”
“Don’t you dare!”
He walked up to her and pulled her close. “And why is that?”
His voice dipped down to her center and made it swirl. “I wouldn’t be able to concentrate,” she managed to say while his hands moved up and down her spine. Her fingers splayed across his chest.
“So if I sat in the room with you and did this…” He kissed her slow and sweet, flicked his tongue across her lips. “Or this…” the pads of his thumbs grazed her waist and moved up to the underside of her breasts. “You wouldn’t be able to concentrate?”
She swallowed. Her breathing escalated. “No…”
“Hmm.” He pressed against her, letting her feel what she was doing to him. “Then I guess I should let you get to work…so that you can finish as soon—” he kissed her “—as possible.” He took her mouth, savored the taste of her mixed with hot spices, pulling her as close to his body as space would allow. She felt like heaven on earth in his arms, and every fiber of him wanted to hold on to it, take her to bed and love her until she begged him to stop.
He pulled back, his eyes so dark and stormy when he looked at her that a shiver of fearful expectation rushed through her. He brushed his finger along her cheek. “The office is through there,” he managed to say.
Preston got her set up and then stretched out on the small tan lounge chair while she worked. His long legs hung over the edge.
