Tempting Mr. Forever

by Sara Daniel

Her lab table had been covered by a white tablecloth. In the middle, a pair of candles blazed from Grandma MacDermont’s best candlestick holders.

  “Your idea of a business dinner has nothing in common with mine, and since we’re in my lab, we’ll stick with my definition.” Using every ounce of her bravado, Penelope blew out the candles.

  Ethan stood on a stool and pushed the test button on each of the new smoke detectors on the ceiling, blaring a nerve-pinching sound. Then he stepped down, struck a match, and relit the candles.

  “If you blow them out again, I’ll assume you want to skip business and go straight to seduction and hot sex.” He held out a chair for her. “Tell me about your business goals.”

  Too weak to stand, she sat. Fine. She’d given him the shortest business dinner of his life. “I want enough income to feed myself and pay the bills. Eventually, I want a place of my own.”

  “What about saving for retirement, creating a perfume empire, and passing on the great Penelope MacDermont legacy to your children?” He ticked off the ambitions normal entrepreneurs probably had when they started their businesses.

  Like she needed to add to the unwanted MacDermont legacy in the family. As for children, she would never subject an innocent child to such an inept, awkward mother. She hadn’t remembered her nephew’s birthday party. Her own kid would die of starvation before she surfaced from her latest perfume creation to feed him.

  The school years wouldn’t be any better. Kids were cruel to those who didn’t fit in. She had normal parents and had been an outcast. Her child would become a laughingstock. “I’m a realist.”

  “You can aspire to something better than burying yourself from the rest of the world.”

  A gorgeous, suave, confident man with a social life to die for would never understand her. Or at least, he should have a great social life, which begged the question of what he was doing with her.

  “I’m perfectly happy buried in the lab with no human interaction.” She stuffed a forkful of gourmet takeout in her mouth.

  “Then a makeover is in order.”

  A makeover. Once again, she’d been found lacking in the appearance department. Not surprising, but the knowledge still stung. She lifted her wine glass and carried it to the sink. After dumping the contents down the drain, she filled the glass with tap water and reseated herself. “I don’t put a lot of stock in shallow, superficial appearances.”

  “You use your perfumes to bring out the aura of a person. Outward appearance can be used to showcase inner beauty. In the case of your business, you’re projecting your belief in its ultimate success.”

  “I thought you wanted to achieve that by charging through-the-roof prices.”

  He grinned and lifted a sandwich triangle to his lips. “We’re going to do both.”

  “Isn’t that perpetrating a fraud or something?”

  He laughed, surrounding her with a sexy baritone timber. “Letting everyone know how beautiful you are and charging what your product is worth is not fraud.”

  “But charging me for advice that’s total bunk is. This meeting’s over. Goodbye.” He’d almost convinced her he had a decent strategy. But he only wanted to find a way to make her easier on his eyes. She was not and never would be beautiful.

  “If you want to eat burned Pop-Tarts and mooch off your sister for the rest of your life, that’s your prerogative. As you said, the meeting’s over.” Gaze smoldering as he stared at her, Ethan blew out the candles.

  * * * *

  After dinner, Olivia cleaned her apartment while Austin and Caleb played with airplanes in the sitting room and Liam lay on a blanket under their airspace. With Austin’s resentment long gone, the pendulum swung so far in the other direction she worried over how quickly his attachment blossomed.

  She needed to worry about her own attachment too. She owed Caleb a kiss. As soon as they tucked their child chaperones in bed, he’d collect. And she planned to give him more than the little comfort kiss he’d bestowed on her earlier.

  “Aw, not bedtime yet,” Austin moaned, as she entered the sitting room. Next to him, eyes half closed, Liam slurped on his fist.

  “You guessed it. You’ve had a busy day. And you have school tomorrow.”

  “Okay, but I want Caleb to tuck me in bed.”

  “I’ll come as soon as I settle Liam in his bed.” He picked up the baby and brushed his shoulder against hers as he passed her, flooding her with heat and stealing her breath.

  Hurrying her son through his routine, she hoped to have him asleep before Caleb returned, but with the disinfectant spray lining the bathroom counter and fans blowing through the doorway to dry the floor, each task took longer than usual.

  Austin babbled about Caleb’s ideas for improving his airplanes and making models out of Legos once he regained his privileges. His overnight ski trip with Bryce next weekend would allow him to connect with his real father so he wouldn’t try to fit others into the role.

  At last, she tucked him in bed and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”

  “Love you too.” He tightened his hold on her neck when she attempted to straighten. “You can spend more time with Caleb if you want. He’s not a stupidhead.”

  “I love you, Austin,” she repeated, stepping out the door.

  Caleb waited in the living room. “I keep telling you I’m a great therapist.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Austin accepted you when you stopped analyzing everything and related to him as a person.”

  He gave a single nod but otherwise didn’t reply as he entered the bedroom. She tried to listen to the conversation, but they whispered too quietly. Then Caleb patted Austin’s shoulder and returned to the living room.

  She closed the bedroom door and then faced Caleb. “About our kiss, I’d rather do it downstairs, so Austin doesn’t witness it.”

  “I’m not ready to collect yet.”

  Already heading for the staircase, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “You want to wait?”

  “What’s the rush?”

  She wanted it over with. No, she wanted to feel his mouth on hers. Soon. Now. “You hung a threat over my head.”

  Closing the distance between them, he traced his index finger over her bottom lip. “Do I threaten you?”

  Only her heart.

  * * * *

  Sitting on the stool in front of the lab table, Ethan clasped his hands behind his head, hoping his casual pose would relax Penelope. But if anything, the panic in her eyes seemed to blossom.

  “I don’t have a clue what you want from me, but I know I don’t have it,” she insisted. “You’re perfect for Olivia. Why are you trying to sweet talk me into bed instead?”

  His heart squeezed. Dropping his arms, he leaned forward. “We’re so alike, both living in the shadows of our extraordinary siblings.”

  She gaped at him. “We are nothing alike. You’re—” She waved her hand in a vague motion at his chest.

  He clasped her cheeks between his palms. “Don’t put yourself down. You have an amazing talent for creating perfumes. My brother, as much as it pains me to admit it, has a talent for seeing how relationships work and improving them. Your sister created an ideal world for vacationers to retreat from reality.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What’s your point?”

  “Everybody offers something to make the world a better place. Except me. I can help you sell what you have, but you have to come up with your wonderful product first. I can’t do a thing on my own.”

  “Didn’t you just spend an hour trying to convince me my product is worthless without your brilliant wisdom to bring it to the people who are willing to pay a mint for it?”

  She didn’t understand. He dropped his hands and backed away. He’d never agonized to anyone over his uselessness, and she had blown him off.

  “You’re using reverse psychology on me, forcing me to prove how great you are by letting you handle all my marketing and business decisions,” she accused. “If I don’t, I’ll have to l
ive with the nagging fear you’ll throw yourself off a bridge and it’ll be on my conscience.”

  She’d used a psychology trick of her own to point out the ridiculous foundation of his fears. He needed to retrench into his comfort zone. Standing, he rounded the table. “I’m glad we had this chance to get to understand each other. Now we’re ready for the next step.”

  She jumped to her feet, as if to escape.

  With his arms on either side of her, he trapped her against the table. “I’m talking about pleasure, not a death sentence. We’ll only go as far as you’re comfortable. Kiss me. I’ll stop as soon as you tell me to.”

  “I don’t get pleasure out of kissing.”

  He couldn’t imagine not getting pleasure from kissing her. “As a scientist, you know every hypothesis has to be tested to prove its validity.”

  “It’s been tested.” Her jaw clenched into a stubborn line he couldn’t wait to nibble on.

  “Not by me.” He bent his head and touched his lips to hers, determined to change her opinion to one of intense pleasure and desire. First though, he moved his mouth slowly against hers, so he wouldn’t scare her.

  Her lips remained tightly closed and her body tense, as if she expected him to pull back and ridicule her. Whoever had hurt her was an idiot not to see Penelope’s true beauty and sensuality. Before he could enjoy it, he had to make her believe in it.

  He added a little more pressure to her lips, but she tensed even more, so he relented and tried a different approach. He nibbled on her bottom lip, tugging, sucking, and teasing until her lips curved against him.

  Yeah, babe, we can make this fun. He didn’t lift his head or speak aloud though. If she took his coaxing for patronizing or mocking, he’d lose his chance. She wouldn’t grant him another one.

  He continued making love to her lips, adding more pressure. When had he last taken so long with a closed-lip kiss? Likely never, which meant he’d missed a delightful array of tastes and textures.

  A small groan tore from her throat, reverberating through his veins, encouraging him to move to the next level. He licked the seam of her lips. She immediately tensed again.

  Trust me, Penelope. He stroked her short, silky hair as he nibbled on her lip, and at last she relaxed and opened for him. The urge to thrust nearly overpowered him, but he didn’t give in. She hadn’t allowed many, if any, other men this opportunity. He wouldn’t violate her trust.

  He tasted her with a tenderness in direct contrast to the frantic pulsing of his desires. She rewarded him by clutching his shoulder. Coming from Penelope, the simple gesture meant everything. She had reached for him.

  Wrapping his arms around her, he tangled his tongue with hers, coaxing her to participate. Then he withdrew in an effort to convince her to follow him into his territory and kiss him. She didn’t, but the little moans she emitted each time he pulled away drove him to consume more of her sweetness.

  He caressed along her spinal column and neck, loving the beat of her pulse beneath his thumbs. Roaming lower, he caught her bra strap through her shirt and fiddled with the latch.

  Flattening his hands against her back, he wrenched his mouth free. He should have gradually ended the kiss, but he could no longer give himself in half-measures. Holding her in his embrace, he stroked her spine, trying to regain control of his breathing. Trying to regain any control at all.

  “Now,” he managed, “you have proof of pleasure in kissing.”

  Chapter 13

  “You have to kiss me right now,” a woman shouted, pounding on the door.

  Caleb crossed the room and opened his bedroom door. Penelope stood on the other side. “Excuse me?”

  “I need you to kiss me,” she repeated.

  He hoped he’d heard wrong, but apparently not. He didn’t want to kiss her. He wanted to kiss Olivia, to explore the yearning they shared. “Slow down. Let’s sit and you can tell me why a kiss is so important.” He gestured to his desk chair, thankful he’d closed the suite door between himself and Liam so the disruption wouldn’t wake the baby.

  She darted her gaze around the room, broadcasting a host of second thoughts. Unfortunately, those misgivings didn’t stop her from stepping through the doorway.

  Ethan leaned against the hall wall, his expression bemused but intense. He straightened and started to follow Penelope.

  Caleb blocked his path. “What are you doing?”

  “Watching.”

  Like hell. He had no intention of kissing a woman while his brother graded his technique. But if he closed the door, he risked giving Penelope the wrong impression about their level of intimacy. She’d demanded a kiss from him when they were separated by a closed door. God knew what she’d demand locked in a bedroom with him. He turned his back on Ethan to tackle the problem she represented.

  She stood rigidly next to the chair, watching him with wide eyes. She didn’t want him to kiss her.

  “I’m not going to kiss until we talk,” he said.

  “Well, that’s a problem because I don’t want to talk. I want to kiss.” She glared at him.

  Like hell she did. He remained on the opposite side of the room. “You came to this decision because?”

  “I want to know if kissing you is like how I’ve been kissed before or how it is with Ethan.”

  “You want to compare me to my brother?” He whipped his gaze between them but then settled on her, since Ethan wanted to turn the debacle into a spectator sport. “I thought we were friends. Why are you demanding we get physical?”

  “You’re angry?”

  “Yes, I’m angry. You want me to audition to be your man based on whether I can kiss as well as some other guy. A relationship is based on more than good kisses.” He mentally repeated his lecture in the context of Olivia. He needed to consider the effect of their promised kisses on her son.

  Penelope slouched against the wall. “I didn’t realize how insulted you would be.”

  “Caleb, stop traumatizing her and give her a nice kiss,” Ethan said.

  “What’s in it for you?”

  “A lot, if you’re a lousy kisser.”

  No kiss with Olivia could possibly be lousy, but he couldn’t collect on the one she owed him. He’d nearly violated his cardinal rule of not involving himself with any woman who had children. Penelope had no children. He’d laid the groundwork of friendship with her and explored her world. Kissing represented the logical next step in their relationship. “All right. You can kiss me.”

  She squirmed toward the corner. “You have to kiss me.”

  Like who was initiating the kiss made a difference? He crossed the room and lifted his hand to her shoulder. She flinched, and he dropped his arm to his side. “If you change your mind, say so. I’ll stop as soon as you want me to.”

  He waited, but she remained silent, her dry, pursed lips raised toward his. He refused to glance at Ethan. He didn’t need his brother’s permission to kiss any girl, especially one he’d picked to model a Forever relationship.

  He lowered his head and brushed his lips over Penelope’s. She closed her eyes but otherwise showed no reaction.

  He didn’t feel anything either and could hardly count it as a kiss. Yet, he’d counted the same gesture as a meaningful physical expression when he’d shared a kiss with Olivia.

  Settling his lips on Penelope’s again, he let them linger, hoping for at least a tremor in his hand. She remained lifeless beneath him, and his thoughts returned to Olivia. He couldn’t even keep his mind on the woman he was kissing. Disgusted with himself, he broke off and backed away. “Does that satisfy whatever you were looking for?”

  She blinked at him. “That’s all?”

  If she expected him to cram his tongue down her throat, she needed to provide a cooperative effort. “It’s a good start.”

  Relief flooded her features. “Yes, I think so too. Thank you, Caleb, for proving my theory.” She hustled out the door before he could ask what conclusion he’d proven.

  Ethan sneered
at him. “You can’t reach first base with a woman. No wonder your marriage business is in shambles.”

  His temper snapped. “As the undisputed master of relationship screw-ups, you don’t have room to talk. I’ve let you tarnish Forever’s reputation by association. I won’t sit quietly while you doom my personal relationship.”

  Ethan arched an eyebrow. “Your relationship with whom?”

  “Penelope.”

  “Does she know you have one?”

  “I’m building up to it slowly.”

  “Good plan. I hope you stick to it.” Ethan turned and strode out the door with the satisfied swagger of a man who’d already established a personal relationship.

  * * * *

  With Liam in her arms, Olivia paused halfway down the basement stairs where Caleb had claimed he’d be finishing the perfume for his mother. After their flirtations and connection yesterday, she hadn’t expected to find him and Penelope hunched together over a book.

  She took a deep breath, trying to curb her jealousy. She had more important things to worry about, like how little time she might have left with Liam. “A tow truck just pulled your car out of the ditch and hauled it away. I hope that doesn’t mean you’re planning to leave soon.”

  “Please extend my reservation for another night,” he said, his tone so formal she might have imagined the heat and connection from the past twenty-four hours.

  “We’re browsing through the Forever books that you left down here,” Penelope said. “Caleb’s explaining his theories to me.”

  “Oh.” Of course he’d iced her out for interrupting. “Those theories aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Look what they did for my marriage.”

  The basement door opened, and a moment later Ethan appeared. “Ah, the lovebirds are planning their friendly marriage and two-point-five kids.”

  Lovebirds?

  Ethan stood behind Olivia, lifting a blanket over Liam’s face and engaging in a game of peek-a-boo until the baby shrieked with delight.

  Penelope’s eyes filled with annoyance. “What do you want?”

  “I talked to a couple investors who are interested in learning more about your business,” Ethan said. “I also found three potential clients willing to pay seven hundred dollars for a custom two-ounce bottle.”