When the cowboy walked away, Tag turned his attention to the beautiful woman now staring intently at him. He knew what she wanted. And as much as he’d like to think it was him that she was after, he knew better. The sexy journalist was after the tidbit of information he’d garnered from Luke McCoy earlier.
As much as he wanted to tell her the answer right here and end her suspense, he wasn’t going to. Where was the fun in that? Not to mention, this wasn’t the place to do it. Figuring that taking her up to his private room would give away more information than he was willing to at this point, he decided on a different tack.
“What time can I meet you at your office in the morning?” he asked, sipping his bourbon.
“Tomorrow?” The single word dripped with disappointment, but he had to give her credit, he didn’t detect a hint of it on her stunning features.
A smile threatened as Tag kept his eyes on her, watching to see the telltale sign of her anxiety. She wanted this exclusive, he knew she did. But, if he wasn’t mistaken, McKenna wanted something else, as well.
“Yes. Tomorrow. Unless you won’t have time to see me.”
Her lengthy pause, as she regarded him, intrigued Tag.
“No. Tomorrow’s fine. I get to the office around six, and I should be there for most of the morning.”
“Six? You’re out a little late for a woman who gets up so early.”
“Don’t worry about me, Mr. Murphy. I’m quite capable of deciding when is too late,” she retorted before pushing her chair back.
He’d successfully pissed her off. He hadn’t necessarily been trying to, but the back and forth between them led him to believe it was what she expected. She was still wary of his intentions even after dinner and that little tease of a kiss that still made his dick stir when he thought about it.
“I’ll see you in the morning then,” he told her and then turned away as though brushing her off.
“What time?” she asked, and he heard the exasperation in her voice. McKenna was used to controlling the situation, making those she interacted with bend to her will, but she would soon learn, Tag wasn’t the type of man she normally did business with. Nor was he the man who would bow at her pretty little feet and give her everything she demanded.
“What time, what?” he asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
“What time will you be at my office?”
“I’m not sure. I guess it depends on what I do tonight. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”
McKenna glared at him and then stormed off. Tag enjoyed watching her walk away, but he’d have much preferred to see her on her knees before him.
If he had anything to say about it, she’d be doing more of the latter real soon.
Chapter Six
*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
McKenna was in her office promptly at six o’clock the next morning, armed with a large coffee and an even larger dose of frustration. She was still pissed at Tag for leading her on the night before, insinuating she would get the answer she wanted before the night was out. He hadn’t actually committed to giving her an answer, but yes, she had assumed. Shame on her.
Now, she was expecting him to show up, at his own leisure, to give her an answer.
Well, she’d be ready for him.
That morning, when she crawled out of bed and into the shower, she’d decided it was time to don the power outfit. The one that made her feel as though she could conquer the world. Every woman had one and hers just happened to be a tight black mini skirt, a sheer black shirt and the black camisole beneath it. To top off the ensemble, she had on her favorite platform heel, thigh high boots because she was a woman on a mission.
She’d pulled her hair up on top of her head, clipped it in stylish disarray, and that was that. As always, she didn’t use a lot of make-up, but this time, she’d accentuated her eyes, knowing that men seemed to salivate when they got a good look at her eyes. Exotic, people called them.
Pulling her chair up to her desk, she opened her laptop and began prepping today’s article. She finally received the edits, and she just needed to make a couple of tweaks to get it prepared for publishing. McKenna was going to be prepared for Tag, no matter what time he decided to show up.
“Depends on what I do tonight,” McKenna mocked him out loud, her fingers digging into the keyboard.
The audacity of that man.
With her fingers flying across the keyboard, McKenna managed to immerse herself in the juicy details that she would be posting later that day. Obviously so engrossed in what she was doing she hadn’t realized what time it was until there was a knock on her office door.
Glancing at the clock on the computer, she saw that it was after nine, which meant Whisper was somewhere in the office.
“Come in,” she called out, but didn’t get up from her chair, nor did she look up from what she was doing. McKenna knew who it was because if it was her assistant, she wouldn’t have knocked. She’d be damned if she was going to appear eager for this conversation.
Truth be told, it was killing her.
“Morning,” Tag said in that overly charming twang of his, which she had to admit caught her attention, and she slowly allowed her gaze to slide from the computer screen to the man standing just inside the door of her office.
Oh, Lord! Have mercy.
Tag Murphy was a powerful, confident man when he was sporting one of those fancy, expensive suits, but what she saw before her nearly had her eyes bugging out of her head.
Gone was the buttoned up attorney, and in his place was the intimidating, mouthwatering man wearing a pair of faded, well-worn jeans and a long sleeve, black button down shirt. She wasn’t surprised to see he was wearing long sleeves because now that she thought about it, she’d never seen Tag wear anything else.
“Morning,” she whispered, still staring at him with renewed interest. Gone was all of the animosity she’d built up overnight and in its place was scorching hot lust.
When Tag closed the door behind him, then engaged the lock, McKenna bit her bottom lip.
“Did you come with an answer for me?” she asked, not feeling nearly as poised as she had hoped to be when he arrived.
“I might have,” he drawled out slowly. “But first, we need to get a few things cleared up.”
She couldn’t agree more.
Standing from her seat, McKenna forced the starch back into her legs as she moved around to the front of her desk and leaned against the edge. She could exude the powerful executive every bit as much as he could; only she could do it in four inch heels. She crossed her arms over her chest, her legs at her ankles and waited for him to proceed.
The way his gaze lingered on her legs for longer than was appropriate in a business setting made her smile.
“That outfit normally work on men?” Tag asked, sounding just as cocky as he had the night before.
“I don’t see you complaining,” she retorted, straightening her back just slightly.
“Oh, honey, I’m not complaining, but I can tell you what you’d be wearing if it were up to me.”
McKenna didn’t even want to go there. She had a good idea.
“Cut to it, Tag. Are Luke and Logan interested in my offer or not?”
She watched him, feeling the intensity in those forest green eyes. He might’ve shed the power suit, but he hadn’t shed the dominant, alpha male that was obviously a part of his chemical makeup.
“There are some rules to this little endeavor, so before you get excited, you might want to read the fine print.”
The fine print?
Had he seriously drawn up a contract? Oh, fuck. No sooner had she thought it when Tag pulled a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket.
“Want me to read it to you? Or do you prefer to do that yourself?” Tag asked as he moved closer. His gaze was predatory in nature, and she felt like a gazelle that had just been cornered by a hungry lion.
“I can read it, thank you.” That should’ve come out a little bit more firmly
, but McKenna was suddenly having a hard time focusing on anything except the warm, hard male body standing mere centimeters away. The rich, musky scent of his cologne tickled her senses, and it was like a starburst of lust had been set off in her bloodstream. It was a heady thing, his smell.
He was holding the paper, and she had to unfold her arms from her chest in order to take it. The downside was the move also allowed Tag to see how her nipples had puckered – her body’s apparent approval.
She knew she should move, should return to her chair and read the contract word by word, but she couldn’t seem to get her legs to cooperate.
“Here, let me help.” Tag’s voice caressed her nerve endings while his breath grazed her cheek. He was leaning in closer, bending his head down so that his lips were close to her ear, and from this proximity she could feel the warmth of his body like an electric blanket set on high.
She didn’t want his help. At least, not for reading the contract. She’d be happy to accept it though, if he was offering to help her in other ways... namely to sate the maelstrom of lust that was raging like a wildfire in her veins.
She unfolded the paper, turning it right side up and then glancing at the first line.
Her breath caught in her chest.
“Is this even legal?” she asked, her gaze darting to his as he moved back slightly.
“Every word,” he assured her, but she doubted it.
“Length of contract is seven days?”
“That’s just for the exclusive. There’s another clause at the bottom. Be sure to read that.”
She wasn’t even close to the bottom, and she could barely breathe, her body no longer willing to hold herself up as she read all of the raunchy, libidinous things that he intended to “introduce” her to. Nowhere in the contract did it state that she would have to participate, but she had a sneaking suspicion that part was assumed. The funny thing, her body was totally onboard.
“You have to be kidding.” The words spilled out on the breath she managed to hold in.
“Never.” Tag was even closer than before, this time the hard plane of his chest brushing against her fingers where she held the paper in front of her. “You play by my rules for the next seven days, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
A week? McKenna wasn’t so sure she’d last seven minutes with this man, let alone seven days. “I don’t understand.”
“What’s not to understand?” Tag took the paper from her hand, placing it on the desk behind her, then tilted her chin up with the tips of his fingers until their eyes met.
And held.
“You want something that I can give you, and in return, I want something from you,” he explained, his voice low and calm, the opposite of everything churning within her as he stood so very close.
“And what do you want?” McKenna asked, trying to eliminate the tremble in her voice.
“You.”
It was then that the room faded, the only thing McKenna noticed was the warmth of Tag’s chest against her breasts, the rigid length of his erection pressing intimately between her thighs, the sultry, intoxicating scent that was so unique to him, and the mesmerizing heat swirling in his green eyes.
The answer should’ve been easy. The exclusive would likely launch Sensations, Inc. into another dimension, and the passion in Tag’s beautiful eyes promised so many things McKenna wrote about for her readers benefit. Now she had the opportunity to experience them with Tag.
Even with the experience she had in the lifestyle, she was still hesitant.
Promiscuous, McKenna wasn’t. Prone to heartache... that was more like it. In fact, she knew that this wild ride Tag would take her on would likely result in another devastating broken heart because she couldn’t resist being pulled into his orbit.
There was no doubt about it – McKenna wouldn’t survive this with her heart intact.
~*~*~
Tag had been hell bent on walking into McKenna’s office, handing her the contract and all but throwing her down on the desk and fucking her blind. But standing here, so close to her, inhaling her sweet, fresh scent and watching the confusion linger in her exotically beautiful eyes had him pausing.
For a woman who exuded such confidence, such drive, he felt the tension course through her veins as easily as he felt the warmth of her body pressed into his. She wasn’t pushing him away, but she might as well have been by the way she looked at him.
Uncertainty.
That’s what he saw when he looked at her. And that dark, possessive beast that lurked just beneath the surface roared loudly, insisting that this was one opportunity he’d been searching for. The chance he couldn’t let pass him by. Because no matter what happened a week from now, Tag had the next seven days to show this woman exactly how hot the fire between them could be stoked.
“Say yes, McKenna.” His fingers lightly brushed down the soft, smooth skin of her jaw, then trailing the long, sleek column of her neck, soaking up the baby soft feel of her skin.
He wanted to put his mouth there; to kiss a path over her warm, fragrant skin as he removed every stitch of her clothing until she stood before him completely vulnerable.
“One week, that’s all I ask.” He couldn’t resist trying to persuade her. Honestly, he thought convincing her would be the easy part, but Tag was beginning to realize there wasn’t anything easy about McKenna Thorne.
“One week. It’s that simple?” she asked, her eyes still locked with his.
Simple? Tag knew this would be anything but simple. Yet, he needed her to say yes.
He slid his finger back up the long, perfect column of her neck until he reached the bottom of her chin, and he tilted her head just slightly, offering him better access to those soft pink lips that beckoned him. Ensuring she knew what he was after, Tag glanced down at her lips, then back to her eyes. When her tongue darted out, swiping over her bottom lip before she pulled it in between her teeth, he groaned.
And then he kissed her.
Only this wasn’t a regular, run of the mill kiss. This was passion and fury laced with carnal desires as their mouths met and sought everything the other was willing to give.
McKenna’s arms came up to circle around his neck and Tag pulled her closer, lifting her easily off of the floor and sitting her gently on the desk behind her. Cupping her cheeks, he held her mouth to his, ensuring she wouldn’t get away, although she was kissing him back, seemingly just as invested in this wild, uninhibited kiss as he was.
Her soft, sweet moans had his cock jerking as he pressed between her thighs, his hips rocking against hers causing that damn short skirt to ride up. In less than five seconds, he’d been reduced to a horny teenager thanks to the smoking hot woman in his arms.
“McKenna.” Tag managed to break the kiss, both of them panting, yet neither of them pulling away. “If we keep this up, you’ll be naked in less than a minute.”
The seductive little smirk that tipped her kiss swollen lips nearly pushed Tag to his limits. Instead of sinking to his knees and burying his head between her luscious thighs, he pulled away, taking two steps back. If he had hair, he would’ve thrust his hands through it at that point. Instead, he simply stood there, staring at the one woman who single handedly stole every ounce of his common sense with just a kiss.
“I’m in.” McKenna grinned, standing up and adjusting her skirt, although it didn’t cover much more when it was in place than it had when he’d pushed it up farther up on her hips.
“Seven days,” he reminded her.
“I’m pretty sure I can handle you, Tag,” she said with another cocky smile. “But I’ve got a couple of amendments to the contract that I’ll be sending your way this afternoon. If you’re still interested, call me and let me know.”
Tag didn’t doubt for one second that she could say anything that would change his mind. For some reason, he had a feeling McKenna was way more experienced in his world than he’d given her credit for, and he was beginning to wonder whether or not he could han
dle her.
With a not so subtle adjustment, Tag resituated himself before turning his back on her and heading to the door.
“Starting tomorrow morning,” he informed her, “you’ll meet me at the club at eight o’clock sharp. Be sure to finish reading the contract so you know everything to expect.” It was his turn to smile. “And I’ll be waiting for those amendments.”
Chapter Seven
*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
McKenna was up with the sun the following morning, eager and anxiously awaiting the limousine that would be coming to pick her up. After she had amended the contract to suit her better, she’d sent it to Tag and received an email response. Not a phone call like she expected. That had made her smile.
According to the information in the contract, she would be taking a full leave of absence for the next week and had to be prepared to do so. That included packing her clothes and other necessities which she had done the night before.
As soon as she’d received Tag’s agreement to the additional terms, McKenna had called Whisper into her office and shared the details that she was allowed, having to make sure someone would handle Sensations, Inc. while she was away. To her delight, Whisper was eager to be in charge, and since McKenna trusted her with her life, there weren’t any issues.
Well, except one tiny one.
The seven days she’d be spending with Tag Murphy.
As soon as she read the fine print in the documents he’d provided her, she knew he’d set her up. But, little did he know, she was up for the challenge. Even if it would be the biggest one of her life thus far.
Being under Tag’s thumb for one whole week was going to be both exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. Considering the instructions he had included in his email response, she didn’t doubt Tag was out to see how far he would be able to push her.
As she stood in her kitchen, sipping coffee and watching out the front windows, McKenna let her mind drift back to the day before and the kiss they had shared. The full on mating of mouths was more than any kiss she’d ever experienced and the thought of it still left her flustered.
Infatuation - A Club Destiny Novel Page 6