Tempting

by Susan Mallery

  After lunch at P.F. Chang's-ordered by Dani, to keep up their strength-they headed to Nordstrom.

  “The perfect place for shoes," Dani informed him as she linked arms with Bailey and led the way.

  "They have a fabulous selection and the employees are always great to work with. You'll love it."

  Bailey's big smile widened. "Can I get any color I want?"

  "Of course," Dani told her. "These are your birthday shoes. They have to be special. Maybe red or purple or something with a cool pattern? I always wanted red suede pumps when I was a teenager. My grandmother said they were tacky, but I still wanted them. Maybe I should buy some now."

  Alex walked just behind the women and briefly allowed himself to enjoy the fantasy of Dani in high-heeled red suede pumps and nothing else.

  It worked for him in a big way.

  They entered the store and found their way to the shoe department.

  Alex also shopped at Nordstrom, although usually at the downtown store. He walked into the men's department, told them what color suit he wanted, tried it on, was fitted and gone in less than thirty minutes. If he needed shirts or ties, Frank, the man he worked with, had a selection ready for his approval. For him, shopping for clothes was about as interesting as shopping for groceries. Wasn't the point to get what you needed and get out?

  But women were their own country, he reminded himself, with different expectations and different customs.

  "Look around," Dani told Bailey. "I need to check on a couple of things."

  She walked toward the counter in the corner, Alex smiled at his sister. "Are you having fun?"

  Bailey nodded but didn't smile. Instead she pressed her lips together, then drew in a shaky breath.

  "Are you mad at me?" she asked, sounding terrified to hear the answer to her question.

  "No," he said quickly. "Why would I be mad at you?"

  "Because. Before. I talked to that man and you hit him and got into trouble."

  "Honey, no." He walked over and hugged her. "Bailey, that had nothing to do with you. You didn't do anything wrong. I love you."

  She gazed up at him, her eyes filled with tears. "You sure?"

  "I promise."

  She had never been the problem and he hated thinking that she'd been worried all this time.

  "I love you," he told his sister.

  She smiled. "I love you, too. But you're not my favorite brother."

  The start of their familiar game let him know she was okay now. "Sure I am. Who else could be your favorite?"

  "Ian."

  "No way."

  "Way."

  "Crazy girl."

  She grinned. "That's loco to you."

  "Loco it is."

  He put his arm around her. He loved all his siblings, but he had a special place in his heart for Bailey. He had no idea why, but he welcomed his need to take care of her.

  Suddenly the combination of hugging Bailey, the store setting and a sense of protecting his own caused him to remember another time in a store. He couldn't remember how long ago it had been. Two years? Three?

  He'd been married to Fiona at the time and the three of them had gone to some store. Bailey had tripped and banged her arm. She'd been in tears from the pain and he'd been holding her. Fiona had offered a tissue from her purse when an older woman had stopped.

  "Your daughter is lovely," the stranger had told Fiona. "She has your hair."

  "That is not my child," Fiona had said forcefully. "She's my husband's adopted sister."

  Later he'd wondered why Fiona had felt it so necessary to distance herself from Bailey, both by biological and familial connection. Had she been afraid someone would think she was flawed?

  It had been a small thing, but it had stayed with him. Finding her on the table, having sex with another man might have been the end of their marriage, but it hadn't been the only reason he'd left her.

  Dani returned with a handful of shoes. "What do you think of these?" she asked. "Now before you say anything, I want you to know that there will be much trying on of shoes. This is an important decision and not one to be made lightly." She eyed him. "No whining from the male contingent."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Good. Bailey, we're going to need some help." She pointed at the two men who stood just behind her. "This is Eric and this is Cameron. They are your shoe slaves."

  Bailey covered her mouth with her hand and giggled before ducking behind Alex.

  Dani reached for her and dragged her toward the leather chairs.

  "Sit," she said sternly and pointed. "You're the princess today, young lady. We're here to make you happy."

  Bailey continued to giggle. Eric winked at her, while Cameron said her hair was a beautiful color of red. Alex slid close to Dani.

  "Your doing?" he asked, nodding at the two guys.

  "I said today had to be exceptional. They'll flirt in a nice, safe way. I want her to feel special."

  "You've gone to a lot of trouble for a girl you barely know."

  Dani stared up at him. "I know as much as I need to. I like Bailey. I'm not a saint, Alex. Don't get any weird ideas. I'm acting selfishly because it makes me happy."

  "I get that."

  He also got that she wouldn't see her actions as anything extraordinary. But he knew better. He knew exactly what kind of person bothered and what kind didn't.

  Dani collapsed next to Bailey and kicked off her shoes. "I'm thinking something flashy," she said as Eric, or maybe Cameron, slid a pair of magenta suede pumps on her feet.

  "Me, too," Bailey said. She had on the same pair.

  Dani pushed herself into a standing position. Bailey tried to do the same, wobbled, then collapsed back into her chair. Dani sighed. "I see we have some work to do. Gentlemen?"

  Eric and Cameron each took a hand and drew Bailey upright. When she was balanced, Dani walked in front of her.

  "The trick is to keep your weight forward and low. Those skinny heels will kill you if you let them. But you don't want to go too far forward or you'll fall on your face and that's never pretty."

  With Bailey laughing, Dani demonstrated an exaggerated walk, complete with swinging hips and fancy turns. Bailey followed her, staggering only a little. She nearly fell on the turn, but one of the guys caught her and held her arm while she straightened.

  "I'm walking!" she cried as she moved through the center of the shoe department. "Look, Alex. I'm really walking in high heels."

  His baby sister was growing up, he thought as he watched Bailey get more confident with each step. She and Dani returned to their chairs and tried on another pair of shoes.

  Two hours later the decision had been made. Both Bailey and Dani had purple suede pumps with impossibly high heels. They elected to wear their shoes out of the store. He trailed behind, holding their shopping bags.

  He liked Dani a lot. He wouldn't have slept with her otherwise. But today he saw a side of her he hadn't expected. A side that impressed the hell out of him. She was more than a pretty face-she had a giving heart. She was smart, sexy and she cared about people. Which made her an amazing woman. Someone he shouldn't let get away.

  ***

  "We really shouldn't be doing this again," Dani said as she followed Alex into his kitchen. She had the pizza they'd stopped for and he carried a six-pack of beer. "We're going to get caught."

  "We've already been caught."

  "Interesting point." She wasn't about to challenge the Fates by saying it couldn't get worse. It certainly could and that was a place she didn't want to go. "So long as we don't get caught again."

  He put the beer on the counter. "Are you worried? Would you rather leave?"

  "No, I'm good." She liked spending time with him and the potential for another close encounter in his bed was enough to make her stroll across hot coals. "You survived our shopping expedition. You must be so proud."

  "It was easy duty," he told her. "I like hanging out with you and Bailey."

  She was sure he meant the w
ords casually, but they still caused her to get all squishy inside. "Your sister is a lot of fun. I hope she loves her shoes."

  "Do you have any doubts?"

  Dani smiled, remembering Bailey's excitement. "Probably not. Those guys at the store were really great. I'm going to send a letter to their boss and tell her what they did."

  Something flashed in Alex's eyes.

  "What?" she asked. "Are you mad I had them be extra nice to her?"

  "Why would I be mad about that?"

  "I don't know. What were you thinking? You looked weird."

  "How flattering."

  "You know what I mean."

  He shook his head. "It was something totally different. Something I should let go."

  She set the pizza on the counter and moved toward him. "Want to talk about it?"

  He shrugged. "I'm still pissed about Mark getting those charges dropped. I have to deal with him-I just don't know what to say. I'm not willing to leave the campaign. I owe him my loyalty. But what he did was wrong."

  "Even though it helped you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

  "In my book."

  She put her hands on his chest. "Maybe doing the wrong thing for the right reason is okay sometimes."

  "Do you really believe that?"

  She sighed. "No, but it sounds good." She stared into his dark blue eyes. "While we're on a vaguely uncomfortable topic, I have a subject of my own."

  He covered her hands with his. "Which is?"

  "Your mother. I kind of overheard her talking to someone earlier. They were talking about me, about us. She said all the right things, but she seemed…" Dani hesitated, then decided she wasn't about to tell Alex his mother had been crying. "She was sad," she said instead. "I'm hurting her, aren't I?"

  "She's dealing with a lot. You're one more thing. But you didn't do anything wrong. You were just looking for your father. The rest of this is incidental."

  It felt like more than that to her, Dani thought. "I don't want to make her life harder. I admire everything she does. I don't want to be responsible for anything bad in her life."

  "You're not."

  Dani didn't agree with that. "But if she could have children of her own-birth children-don't you think she would have? Aren't I a reminder of what she couldn't have?"

  "No more than any of us."

  Which she didn't believe. "I don't know the answer," she admitted. "Sometimes I think about just disappearing."

  He tugged her a little closer. "Running away won't fix the problem."

  "I'd be less visible."

  "Is that really what you're going to do?"

  "No," she admitted. "I don't want to leave. I just hate that she's in pain because of me. This whole family thing is complicated."

  "Especially our family.”

  She laughed. "We are totally twisted. If someone tried to write a movie of the week about us, all the producers would say it was too unrealistic."

  "Some of it is real enough," he said before bending down and kissing her.

  She closed her eyes in anticipation of the gentle yet firm brush of his mouth against hers. The contact was as warm and welcoming as she remembered. She raised her arms so she could wrap them around his neck and pressed her body to his.

  He was hard. Hard and confident and deliciously sexy. He was everything she'd ever wanted and exactly what she needed. A strong man with a sense of right and a need to take care of what was his. Did that include her? Because she could sure use a little being taken care of.

  He teased her lower lip with his tongue and rational thoughts faded away. She gave herself up to simply feeling the long, slow strokes of his hands as he moved them up and down her back. She surrendered to the wicked marauding of his tongue as he slipped it inside her mouth, moving lazily to kiss him back.

  When he reached for the buttons on her blouse, she stepped out of her shoes, then went to work on his shirt. They bumped into each other, laughed and kept on working. He moved to her skirt next. When it fell to the ground, he swore.

  Dani glanced down at the thigh-high panty hose she'd worn that day. Normally she would have wrestled her way into regular panty hose, but on the off chance that she and Alex might do the wild thing, she'd gone for sexier lingerie.

  The bikinis were second cousin to a thong and matched her lacy bra.

  "You're killing me," he murmured as he pulled her close and cupped her rear. "Seriously. I'll be dead soon."

  "No, you won't. But I can keep the stockings on, if you'd like."

  He squeezed her curves, then bent down to touch the stockings on her legs. As he straightened, he dipped his tongue between her breasts, arousing her with damp heat.

  "You're a fantasy I didn't even know I had," he said before kissing her again.

  She got lost in the passion stirring between them, but also couldn't get his words out of her head. Was she his fantasy? She'd never really considered herself fantasy material. Still, a girl could dream.

  He nudged her backward a few steps. She took them, then turned and led the way into his bedroom.

  The space was as she remembered. Clean and masculine with oversize furniture and a fireplace big enough to live in. He hit the remote as they walked past. Flames jumped to life and provided soft, sexy illumination.

  The bed was still huge. Dani stretched out on it, then patted the space next to her. Alex pulled a package of condoms out of his nightstand, moved next to her and began to kiss her.

  He moved his tongue in a dance so erotic, she didn't realize he had reached behind her until her bra fell away. Cool air caressed her breasts, making her shiver. He dipped his head and took her right nipple in his mouth. He sucked gently, then circled the tip, moving around and around until she felt herself get wet and swollen.

  She clung to him, wanting him with a desperation that took her breath away. She wanted his weight on top of her, his erection between her legs, stretching her, taking her. She wanted to surrender to this man in ways she never had before. Giving herself, exposing herself. The need was so strong, it frightened her…but not enough to stop what she was doing.

  She reached between them and tugged at his belt. After unfastening it, she eased down his zipper then drew his trousers down his hips.

  He paused long enough to push them off. He'd lost his shoes on the trip into the bedroom and now removed his socks.

  His arousal strained against his boxers. She reached for him, but before she could touch him, he grabbed her around her waist and flipped them so she was on top.

  "You weren't willing to tie me up last time," he said with a smile. "How about being in charge?"

  "I live to be in charge."

  "Good."

  She was kneeling, straddling his midsection. When she would have gone back to allow him to enter her, he urged her forward.

  "All the way up," he said.

  "Why?"

  "You'll see."

  She did as he requested, slowly moving up his body. He shifted, sliding his shoulders between her legs, then running his hands up and down her stocking-clad thighs.

  She was about to protest that she felt too uncovered this way when he told her to, "Hang on."

  She grabbed the only thing she could-the headboard-then nearly screamed as she felt his tongue between her legs.

  He used his fingers to part her flesh so she was totally exposed to him. Then he moved against her, licking, sucking, but letting her set the rhythm with her hips.

  She held on to the headboard for support and rode him, rising up when she needed less pressure and sinking down when she needed more. Blood rushed to her groin, engorging her. Every inch of her felt sensitized. Heat and need and pressure built faster than she'd ever experienced before. She was close in seconds, yet desperate to prolong the pressure and not come-even though coming was inevitable.

  She moved faster as she got closer. He grabbed her hips and dug in his fingers as he helped her move, urged her on. She gasped, then cried out as her orgasm claimed her.


  She stiffened and parted her legs even more, wanting him to touch her everywhere. He sucked her until raw nerves made her shudder, then he backed off, kissing her, licking her, drawing out every last ounce of her release.

  She knelt there, leaning heavily on the headboard as she tried to catch her breath. Alex moved away. She heard the rustling of a plastic wrapper, then he was back, turning her to face him.

  She shifted and settled herself over him. He filled her, stretching her, making already sensitive nerves sing with excitement.

  Passion darkened his eyes and pulled at his features. A smile turned up the corners of his mouth. She braced herself on her slightly trembling arms and rocked back and forth. They both groaned.

  She was still swollen from her release, yet as he moved in and out of her, she felt her muscles begin to tighten again. He reached up and began to stroke her breasts. When he brushed against her nipples, her entire body squeezed around him.

  She rode him until they were both gasping and reaching, until he pushed in so deep, she couldn't help coming again. As the first shudder claimed her, he stiffened and rose toward her. Their eyes locked as they lost themselves in their mutual release.

  ***

  Dani hummed softly as she took the elevator to Walker's office. She'd stayed at Alex's the previous night and hadn't seen a single reporter as she'd left. Maybe the reality of her personal life wasn't so interesting anymore. Wouldn't that be thrilling?

  Even better had been the night" of lovemaking, broken by a few hours of sleep and cold pizza. She loved sleeping in his bed with his arms around her. She felt safe there. Being with Alex was something she could get used to but there were still thousands of complications.

  She reached Walker's office and half expected to see Cal and Reid there. But her brother was alone.

  "Just us?" she asked as he stood and walked around his desk to hug her. "I was braced for another explosive family secret. Not that I think I could take another one. It might push-me over the edge and send me screaming into the night."