Craving Him (Sinful Nights Book 6)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  With intense regret, she tucked the dress back into the box, carefully wrapping the tissue paper around it again before pushing the lid closed.

  “That’s a shame,” Mary uttered, laying the files on Andrea’s desk before walking out.

  Andrea moved to her desk and dialed a phone number that she shouldn’t still remember. Almost immediately, Mike picked up, his deep voice sending shivers throughout her body. Awareness was not something she wanted to deal with right at this moment.

  “Andrea.” He said her name as if he’d been thinking about her already. As if he were smiling in anticipation. “You got the dress?”

  “Yes. But…”

  “Good.”

  She closed her eyes, trying not to picture him sitting in his huge office, holding the phone to his ear. She loved his hands. The way he used to touch her…! Those hands should be illegal. Focusing back on the present, she shook her head to banish the images of his hands on her. “I can’t go with you tonight.”

  His soft laughter caused all of those images to spill back into her mind. Darn it! How could he do that so easily? Did he have any idea of how that laughter affected her?!

  “Actually, as my lawyer, I need you by my side tonight. This is a business thing.”

  She hesitated. If she were being perfectly honest, her heart hurt just a teeny bit at his claim that this wasn’t social. But that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? She was calling him to tell him that she couldn’t see him socially! So, why was she hurt that this was only business?

  Spinning around in her chair, she faced the window but didn’t see the outside world. “A business thing? Why would you need me by your side at a social event tonight? I’m only your lawyer for the paternity issue.”

  “Exactly. I need you to be on my arm tonight to show the world and the press that I’m not a pariah.”

  That actually made sense. Darn it! “Yes but…”

  “And I don’t want another woman getting any ideas. I’m not dating anyone while this stupidity is happening. It wouldn’t look good. But as my lawyer, you can be by my side and handle any questions about the lawsuit that come up or react to comments about the asinine interviews that woman is still giving. I have complete confidence that you’ll handle all inquiries with finesse!”

  Trapped! Grabbing her pencil, she unconsciously tapped it against her chin, thinking hard as she looked for another excuse. “Mike, I don’t…”

  “You’re tapping your chin with your pen, aren’t you?” he laughed.

  Immediately, Andrea dropped the pencil, watching it land on her desk and roll another few inches. “No,” she answered honestly.

  He chuckled again. “Right. Regardless, I still need you at this thing tonight. Wear the dress. Otherwise, you’ll feel underdressed.”

  Her eyes moved over to the black box and she could picture herself in that dress. She could also imagine how glamorous she’d feel dressed in that piece of art.

  But…no! No dress. No gifts! “You know I don’t like gifts, Mike.”

  “It isn’t a gift. It’s a business expense. I could have just called you up and told you about the event tonight, told you that it was formal. But that would have meant you’d need to go out and get a dress. Trust me, I didn’t go out and get the dress either. I had my assistant call and make the arrangements. So, this isn’t a gift. All business.”

  Ugh! Did he have to think of everything? “Fine,” she snapped. “Six o’clock tonight.”

  “Good. I’ll see you then.”

  Mike hung up the phone, and leaned back in his leather chair, gazing out the windows of his top floor office. The skyline was amazing, but he didn’t see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. He was picturing Andrea in the dress he’d chosen for tonight’s charity function. He’d told her honestly that he hadn’t gone out to buy the dress himself. But that wasn’t the whole truth. He’d seen the dress in the window a few days ago and knew that it would look perfect on Andrea. With her pale skin and hair color, the red dress would glow against her skin.

  Glancing at his clock, he calculated how many hours until he’d see her in that dress. How long until he could hold her again. There would be dancing tonight. And all night, he would have her by his side, her hand on his arm or his hand on her back as he led her from one group of acquaintances to another. Until the moment he had to bring her home, he could be with her, hold her, and…and nothing else.

  But it would be enough. It had been too long since he’d talked with her, been with her. Damn, why had she done this to them?!

  The background file on her poked out from the stack of files on his desk. His chest ached at the pain she’d endured growing up. She must have been terrified, having so many stepmothers, each of them only temporary as she waited for her father to grow bored. To want more excitement in his love life. He could picture Andrea as a little girl, confused but resigned to yet another woman in her life, another set of rules and another standard by which she would be judged.

  Before he’d received that report, Mike had considered dating someone else, furious with her for walking away when he’d been falling for her. But after Andrea had walked out on him, he’d declined social invitations, not wanting to deal with it all. It had been fun doing the social scene with Andrea because they’d connected in ways that went beyond just the sexual. At the social functions, when someone said something ridiculous, he could glance in her direction and see the laughter in her eyes, know that she was thinking the same thing. And when they both tired of the superficial discussions, he would pull her out onto the dance floor and hold her close, slide his hand against her arm or her back…and the sexual tension would slowly increase until they both knew that they needed to leave, to head back to his place where they would make love until they were both out of breath.

  Mike accepted that he didn’t want any other woman. He’d learned over the past several months that he only wanted Andrea. He also knew that she hadn’t dated anyone either. She was waiting…for him, he hoped. For evidence. For proof that he wasn’t fickle, like her father. Mike understood her. He understood the way her mind worked. She needed evidence that he would be with her for the long term. That he wouldn’t leave her, abandoned and scared.

  He would prove that to her. Normally, Mike would eviscerate someone like Sylvia Litener. He would have taken care of her quickly and dispensed with the issue. How dare she claim that he was the father of her child?! He’d never even met the woman! How could a stranger even think that he would simply write her a check for any amount of money?

  And yet, he knew the answer to that question. Many people sued companies and wealthy…or even not wealthy…people because usually, the time and expense caused when one tried to defend against accusations like that was prohibitive. It was cheaper and faster to simply pay someone off than to go through the expense of fighting a lawsuit. It was a despicable practice, but it was the world they lived in.

  This time, the Litener accusations had been a perfect opportunity for him to prove himself to Andrea. And damn it, he was going to win her back. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. Not after experiencing the lack of warmth from her presence in his life over the past several months. No way!

  Chapter 4

  The ringing doorbell startled Andrea, even though she’d been expecting him. Mike was always punctual and she appreciated that. He respected other people’s time, never assuming that anything he had to hear, see, or do was more important than what the other person needed to hear, see, or do. It was a courtesy that he provided everyone in his life.

  She just wished he were a bit later this time because she needed a few more minutes to pull herself together.

  But she wasn’t going to get that, she thought as she carefully walked down the slate hallway to answer the door. Closing her eyes for a moment, she rested her hand on the doorknob, trying to compose herself, before nodding and opening the door wide.

  “Hello, Mike,” she greeted, stepping back for him to enter.

  His sharp
gaze took in her figure, sending bolts of awareness through her body. “You’re not wearing the dress,” he commented.

  Was he disappointed? With Mike, if he didn’t want one to know what he was thinking, no one would know.

  “The…uh…it didn’t fit,” she told him. Which was sort of true. It fit everywhere except her breasts. She had rather large breasts, which she hid from her co-workers with formal suits and dresses that de-emphasized her breasts. The strapless, red dress had fit her waist and hips, but her breasts were too…voluptuous. She needed more support. More help in keeping the girls…encased.

  “I told the woman about your size,” he commented, taking in the neck to calf, black crepe dress. “Nice pearls.”

  Andrea’s hand flitted to the conservative, double strand of pearls she’d chosen for the night. “Yes. Thank you.”

  He took her black cape, the one she’d bought on a whim one day several years ago specifically for these kinds of formal functions. Law school had prepared her for the social aspect of being a lawyer and she knew that dressing the part was almost as important as her legal experience. Coming across to the rest of the world as a competent lawyer was partly appearance and partly one’s reputation and intelligence.

  Hence, the expensive, but conservative black crepe dress. It hid her figure so that people listened to her. The pearls added the only bit of extravagance to her appearance, although she’d pulled her hair up into a complicated twist, adding a bit of romanticism to hear appearance.

  “Let’s go,” he said, draping the velvet cape around her shoulders.

  Did his fingers linger a bit longer than necessary on her shoulders and neck? She glanced up at him over her shoulder, her eyes catching his. The dark blue of his eyes deepened and she knew that he felt her shiver of awareness. It had been one thing when he’d done that to her over the phone earlier today. But now, when he could feel her body tremble in reaction, it wasn’t as safe. It wasn’t as…hidden.

  “You still feel it, don’t you?”

  With determination, and a strong sense of self-preservation, Andrea pulled her gaze away. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Why doesn’t it matter?” he asked, taking her clutch and handing it to her.

  “Because…you want more than I can give you.”

  She stepped around him, moving out into the hallway and waited for him to come out of her condo so she could lock the door.

  “What do you think I want from you?” he asked as she checked to make sure the door locked.

  “You want marriage,” she replied, using the excuse of tucking her keys into her clutch so she wouldn’t have to look up at him.

  He put a warm hand to the small of her back as he led her to the elevator. “That’s not true,” he replied as if they weren’t having an emotionally jarring conversation. As if his hand on the small of her back wasn’t reminding her of all the times he’d put his hand there while he made love to her, sliding his fingers higher. Or lower.

  He pressed the call button as his words hit her. “It’s not?”

  “No.” He turned to face her. “I don’t just want to marry you, Andrea.”

  “Just?” The word hung in the air between them, tempting for some reason and she held her breath, waiting for him to clarify.

  “I want all of you. I want you to mesh every part of your life with mine. I want to…”

  The words were too beautiful. Too tempting. She couldn’t hear any more, so she put her hand over his mouth, trying to stop the words from coming. Trying to stop herself from begging him to promise her everything she’d always wanted.

  Because she didn’t believe that was possible! It wasn’t possible! Her hopes were just that, pipe dreams that were unrealistic and impossible!

  She couldn’t…wouldn’t…believe that he could give that to her.

  Andrea hadn’t ever realized how silent this hallway could be. As she stared up into those expressive blue eyes, her heart pounded, her mind echoing those words again and again. A jolt of heat raced through her veins. Her thighs pressed more tightly together as she realized what she was doing. A split second before she was about to pull her hand away, his own hand snapped up, grabbing her wrist, holding her palm against his mouth. His lips nuzzled her palm, moving to her wrist where his teeth nibbled the pounding pulse there.

  She gasped, shocked and awed by his ability to turn every situation into something sexual. She leaned back against the wall, unaware of her submission. But he knew it and took full advantage of her reaction. His hard, muscular body moved closer, pressing her more firmly against the wall. His leg pressed between her knees and she couldn’t do anything other than shift, adjusting to him as he nibbled his way lower. She’d never realized how erotic it could feel to have someone nibble along the inside of her arm. She couldn’t have known how many nerve endings were there! It seemed impossible, but Andrea was ready to melt right here, right now.

  And then he was kissing her. All those memories poured over her. He didn’t release her hand but, instead, pulled it behind her, using the position to press her body up against his. Those memories reminded her of what she needed, how to fit her body more perfectly against his. How to use his body to pleasure her own. It was the dance they’d perfected during the beginning of their relationship and she desperately needed it now. She needed him!

  “Don’t stop!” she groaned when his mouth lifted from hers. But he wasn’t stopping. He was only moving his mouth from hers to her neck, kissing along the tense muscles there before his teeth latched onto her earlobe, causing her to groan and shift as her body throbbed with the need for a fast release.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t allow her that blissful release. Abruptly pulling back, he looked down into her eyes, glaring at her.

  “We need to go,” he snapped.

  He stepped away from her, but he kept his hands on her, pulling her against his side, not allowing her time to recover. She was trembling, shivering with the need for a release. He was good. Oh so good!

  The elevator pinged and the doors slid smoothly open. He held her close as they stepped into the cab. But as soon as the doors closed once again, she pulled away from him, moving to the other side of the elevator.

  “Why did you do that?” she demanded.

  Andrea suspected that he wanted to touch her again, but he kept to the other side of the elevator.

  “Because we both know that we need each other. And you’re too stubborn to admit it without proof.”

  Proof? Proof of what? “I don’t need that. I need…”

  “You need me,” he growled, pinning her against the wall, but he didn’t touch her. Not at all even though her body craved more of his touch. She was throbbing, aching for him to touch her.

  “I don’t need you,” she lied. “I don’t need anyone.”

  “That’s the problem with you, Andrea. You need proof. You need evidence that you can trust me. So, I’m going to give it to you.”

  “By torturing me?” she blurted out, angry now because she could smell him and she loved the way he smelled! He was like sex and man and…spicy hotness! Yeah, she was articulate in the courtroom but when Mike was near, she was a blubbering idiot!

  Unfortunately, the doors to the elevator opened on the lobby floor at that exact moment. Both of them turned to see that several other building residents were standing just outside in the lobby, waiting to get on the elevator for the ride up.

  “Great!” she snapped and ducked under his arm. The laughter that followed her didn’t help either! So by the time she slipped into the back of his limousine, she was ready for a fight! It wasn’t sexual frustration either. She was pissed off!

  “You’re such a jerk!” she hissed when he slipped in beside her.

  “Why? Because I force you to acknowledge things between us when you’d rather run from your fears?”

  “I’m not afraid of you!”

  “I know that you’re not afraid of me. You’re afraid of yourself.”

  She snorted inelega
ntly. “Right! I’m afraid of myself? What kind of psychobabble have you been reading lately?”

  “You’re afraid that I’ll be like your father. That I’ll leave you.”

  She turned, her mouth falling open as she stared up at him. “How do you know about my father?”

  “I researched you, Andrea. How do you think I know about your dad and his four marriages, not to mention the numerous broken hearts he’s left behind all over the country?”

  Oh, that was rich coming from a man like Mike Mancuso! And how dare he malign her father?! “I love my dad!”

  He shrugged. “You might love him, but you don’t approve of how he conducts his romantic relationships.”

  Andrea opened her mouth to argue, but the words wouldn’t come. Because he was right. She’d never really put words to how she felt about her father’s love life, but Mike was right. She hated the way her dad treated women.

  “I don’t think that our situations are similar.”

  “Sure you do. That’s why you won’t marry me. But more importantly,” he interrupted before she could argue with him, “that’s why you’re so afraid of admitting that you’re completely, madly in love with me.”

  She gasped and turned to glare at him again. “I’m not in love with you! We were having an affair! A steamy, mutually satisfying affair. It ended. We’ve both moved on.”

  “Yes, we were having an affair. And it was hot and steamy, I’ll agree with you there. But I don’t agree that it was over. It wasn’t nearly over.”

  “So, you admit that it would eventually be over? See? That’s exactly how my father conducts his relationships! That’s what I don’t want to get into!”

  “Andrea! Stop thinking that all men are like your father! I’m not like him in any way. I’ve never been in love. I’ve never felt anything like what I feel for you! As evidence of that, I’ve never fought for a woman before. You’re bringing out aspects of me that I didn’t even know existed. Nor am I overly happy about the way I feel for you, so you’re just going to have to deal with it!”