Inconveniently Tempted

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “Megan?”

  She blinked again and pulled her thoughts back to the present. He was looking at her strangely. Had she said something? Had she revealed how much she ached for him? Had she actually muttered the words that whipped through her mind?

  “I have to go,” she blurted out and turned around, hurrying towards the elevator. She pressed the button, but even though she had her back to him, Megan could feel his eyes on her.

  She almost sighed with relief when the elevator arrived. She turned around to face the computer lab. He was still there, standing now with his hands fisted on his hips. Watching her. A strange look in his eyes that she couldn’t read.

  Thankfully, the doors to the elevator closed before she could do something foolish. Like step out of the elevator and beg him for another chance. Promise that she’d never die and she’d never leave him.

  That was an absolutely stupid reaction, she told herself.

  Because she couldn’t promise him that.

  Jake continued to stare at the elevator doors long after they’d closed.

  After that strange look in her eyes, Jake was…confused. No, it was more than just confusion. It was…he wasn’t exactly sure. When he’d first seen her, everything had been black and white. She’d left him years ago and he hated her, resented her. All of those negative verbs that went along with a soul-deep betrayal.

  But….after that look, Jake felt…something. Something odd.

  What had she been thinking as the elevator doors closed? That look…it was…was she longing for what they’d had? For what she’d abandoned? Surely he was wrong. He’d misinterpreted her involvement years ago. So yeah, he was just misinterpreting her now. That’s all it was and he shouldn’t fool himself into thinking it was anything more.

  He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the stress that had been building over the past several days. Being around Megan was harder than he’d anticipated. Now that she was here, working on the project and he’d gotten a good look at the coding she’d developed, he was even more in awe of her. What she’d pulled together on her own was nothing short of brilliant. Her coding was innovative and incisive and she’d taken directions with her analysis that he hadn’t thought of when he’d tried doing this years ago. Her idea was truly going to revolutionize the medical industry.

  And yet, she wasn’t a snob about her abilities. She’d found a few errors in others’ coding today and had just…fixed them. He’d noticed the errors as well, and had been going to tell the person who had made them, but by the time he’d gotten around to it, she’d already fixed the issue.

  When someone suggested something, she considered the idea carefully. And most of the time, she would smile brightly, thank the person for their idea, and ask them to go for it. She never balked at incorporating other people’s ideas into her own work. She wasn’t a prima donna, she was a collaborator who wanted to create the best product possible so that it worked. She didn’t seem to need the credit so much as she needed the help.

  Damn, she was good!

  “Stop it!”

  Jake swung around at the unexpected command, his eyes focusing on his twin brother. “What are you doing here so late?” he demanded with a grumpy voice, turning to walk into his office. Correction – he walked into the space he was using during this project for his office. His official office was right next door to his brother’s on the executive floor. But during major projects, such as this one when he was taking a more personal role, he maintained an office in the computer lab as well so that he could be more hands on and close enough to help with any issues that came up.

  Jackson followed him and Jake knew that his brother wasn’t going to let up on the inquisition.

  “Stop, Jake.”

  Jake turned around, glaring at his brother. “I’m going to my office, Jackson. It isn’t a crime.”

  Jackson followed Jake into the office that was bigger than normal, but only a fraction of the size of his executive office.

  His brother’s eyes were hard, but concerned as he stood in the doorway, his arms holding a stack of files as he looked at Jake with an intensity that he normally reserved for others. “You were looking at her. You’re here late at night.”

  Jake pretended to look for something on his desk, unwilling to look at Jackson at the moment. His twin knew him too well and would see his confusion. “Of course I was looking at her. She works on the team now. I look at her, speak to her, collaborate with her. Nothing nefarious, Jackson”

  Jackson leaned against the door frame. “You weren’t looking at her as you would an employee. You were looking at her as if she were a gazelle.”

  That description startled him. Jake barked a sudden laugh and stopped shifting the papers to look at his twin. “A gazelle? When did you turn all poetic on me?”

  Jackson was unfazed by his twin’s derision. “She’s a gazelle, Jake. And you’re the lion. You want her.”

  Jake stiffened, no longer amused by his brother’s imagery. “I don’t.” He looked back down at his desk, finally pulling out the file he needed.

  “She’s a beautiful woman.”

  Jake’s head snapped up, his eyes flaring with a fury unlike anything he’d ever felt before. “Stay away from her, Jackson.”

  His brother’s eyes widened and Jake knew that he’d just revealed more than he’d intended. Not intentionally, but Jackson understood. And he still wasn’t sure what the hell was going on in his head. “I don’t like her,” Jake stated firmly.

  “Like and want don’t need to happen at the same time, brother dear.”

  Jake didn’t respond, just gave his brother a look that was clear he didn’t believe him. They were too similar and both men needed to like and admire a woman before pursuing a relationship with her. Even if only for a night.

  “You know I’m right,” Jackson defended stubbornly. “In this case, it seems particularly true.”

  Jake didn’t take the bait. “She’s an employee.”

  “Megan Carmichael is a consultant,” Jackson snapped. “She’s not even close to being an employee and you know that since you purposely arranged it. I read the contract.”

  His brother was right, but Jake wasn’t going to admit it. Megan was a private consultant. She didn’t fall under anyone’s authority in the company. The way the contract was structured, she could walk away for any reason at any time.

  Still, Jake wasn’t ready to analyze his actions. With an impatient sigh, he looked over at his brother. “Did you have something in particular you wanted to discuss, or did you stay late tonight just to piss me off?”

  Jackson stepped into the room and dumped a stack of files on Jake’s desk. “I always have a reason. You might not like it, though.”

  Jake looked at the stack, not sure what they represented, but he suspect that he wasn’t going to like whatever was inside of each folder. “What’s this?”

  “These are the files for the next several projects that have been proposed. If we’re going to move forward with a proposal to win them, we need your help to review the technical details.”

  Jake glared at the stack, then at his brother. “You could have asked Mike to review all of these.”

  Jackson chuckled as he turned to leave. “I could have, but then I would have missed the longing look that the lovely Megan sent your way.”

  And with that, Jackson left the office, chuckling to himself.

  When Jackson was gone, Jake sat down in his chair, contemplating the day. Jackson was right – Megan was beautiful. She was smart and sexy and had a ready smile for everyone. Had Jackson been telling the truth? Did Megan…long for him?

  As soon as he asked the question in his mind, Jake sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. “What the hell am I doing?” he grumbled and stood up. Hefting the stack of files, he tucked them under his arm, grabbed his keys, and left the lab. He needed a shot of scotch and several hours of sleep.

  Chapter 4

  Megan rolled over, punching her pillow. But
sleep continued to elude her. It was two o’clock in the morning and she was running on fumes, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Jake standing in the lab as the elevator doors closed. He’d looked so…hungry. Confused and angry, but mostly hungry.

  She’d done that to him.

  Frustrated and exhausted, Megan shoved the blankets aside and got out of bed. “Time for warm milk,” she announced to the silent, darkened room.

  In her kitchen, she poured milk into a saucepan, turned the heat on underneath the pan, then moved over to the small table to wait while the milk heated up.

  Thinking of the past, her thoughts turned back to years ago…

  No, that wasn’t a good idea because her mind didn’t go to the departure or the weeks and months of heartache as she tried to get over Jake. Her traitorous heart went to the erotic moments they’d shared. The times in his bed, in his apartment, on his couch, or when he’d just pull her off to a secluded place and kiss her until she was aching for him. All those times…once he’d gotten her hot and bothered, Jake would lift his head, looking down at her lust-filled eyes and laugh. Possibly tease her a bit more. Eventually, they would make it back to his place and she’d push him onto whatever flat surface was immediately available and have her wicked way with him.

  Or he wouldn’t let her.

  Megan groaned, trying really hard not to think about the times he’d pinned her hands above her head and made her even more desperate for him. She wasn’t sure which she liked better.

  “This is pointless!” she whispered furiously. Looking at the clock, the numbers told her that it was still insanely early. Unfortunately, she knew that she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight. She might as well go into the lab and get some work done.

  With a sigh, she contemplated her schedule. “I’ll leave early tonight and get some sleep,” she promised herself as she turned off the stove and climbed the stairs again. A shower revived her mind enough to function. And a large mug of coffee finished the job. She contemplated breakfast, but she wasn’t in the mood. “Tonight,” she promised. “I’ll make something delicious for dinner tonight.” With that, she closed the fridge door and grabbed her keys, heading out the door.

  Twenty minutes later, she was pulling into the parking lot of JJH Technologies. It suddenly occurred to her that she might not be able to get into the lab so early in the morning. Yesterday, Jake had met her in the lobby and escorted her down to the lab. Would her badge allow her to activate the elevators during non-business hours?

  “No time like the present to find out,” she muttered as she stepped out of her car. “Eerie,” she whispered as she looked around at the empty parking lot. There were a few cars here, but she supposed those were the security people who worked the night shift.

  Walking through the doors, she stepped up to the guard who smiled in greeting.

  “Good morning, ma’am,” he greeted her politely.

  “Good morning. I’m working with Jake Hughes on a project, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to work in the lab without the others around. Can you…”

  “I’ll call Mr. Hughes to ask him.” And before she could stop him, he picked up the phone and dialed a number. The phone was answered almost immediately. The guard nodded at whatever was being said and then hung up.

  “He’ll be right up, Ms. Carmichael.”

  Megan stared at the friendly man, not sure what he was saying. “I’m sorry, but I’m a bit exhausted from lack of sleep. But…who did you just speak with?” she asked.

  “Mr. Hughes arrived about thirty minutes ago, ma’am.”

  For some reason, Megan’s first instinct was to turn around and head right back out to her car. Jake was here? They’d be alone? Again!

  The deep voice stopped her before she could move. “You look like you’re about to bolt,” Jake observed.

  Megan spun around, bracing herself to face him. Unfortunately, her belated effort didn’t help. No amount of preparation could help her face Jake. He was too handsome, too raw. To powerful and too everything in her mind. She’d come across handsome men before, but none had ever given her the shivery awareness that Jake sparked in her just by speaking.

  As he approached, she noticed the tension in his shoulders, but all she could think about was how close he was, how powerful and amazing and…

  “Why are you here so early?” he asked, his voice gentle. That gentleness threw her off balance. She wasn’t sure what to say or even what to think. Then he lifted his hand, a finger softly tucking her hair behind her ear. “You look exhausted, Megan. Are you having trouble sleeping again?”

  Her breath caught in her throat. Years ago, she’d started to have trouble sleeping when she wasn’t in his arms. She’d admitted it to him one night and he’d pulled her closer. Megan remembered the first time he’d done that and sighed, an ache settling deep inside of her chest. A familiar ache, but it was still painful. Would she ever learn to forget and move on with her life? Probably not, she thought as she stared up at him. Especially not when he stood there like this, looking so concerned and wonderful and…sexy and powerful and…not hers.

  Shaking off the memories, she looked up into his eyes. “I had some ideas and needed to work on them.”

  “You just left at midnight, honey. By the look in your eyes, you didn’t go back to your place and sleep for four hours. You tossed and turned, didn’t you?”

  Swallowing hard, she stared up into his eyes, wondering if she could fudge her answer. Would being honest reveal too much? Or would he simply assume that her sleepless state had to do with excitement regarding the project? “Yes,” she admitted before she could think of a better lie.

  “Why?” he asked, his voice dropping lower. It felt more intimate and she hurriedly looked around. The guard had moved off to the other end of the counter and, at this hour of the morning, no one else was around. For all intents and purposes, they were alone.

  “I just…” she stopped, pressing her lips together. Megan couldn’t speak, couldn’t admit that she’d been thinking about him, about their time together. She couldn’t admit anything because…

  She didn’t know why. Because she was scared probably, she mentally chided herself.

  Going with an abbreviated version of the truth seemed like a better plan. “I had some ideas,” she told him. “I couldn’t get them out of my mind.”

  Jake continued to watch her and Megan held her breath, hoping he couldn’t read her thoughts on her face. Thoughts about the two of them. They were done. She’d lost him when her life had changed. She didn’t make the rules, Megan reminded herself. She didn’t have to like those damn rules. But she had to live with them.

  With a sigh that indicated he didn’t believe her, Jake turned and headed towards the elevators that would take them down to the computer lab. “What was your idea?” he asked, waving her through the security door.

  Idea? She’d had an idea? She caught a glimpse his butt, then quickly looked away. When he turned back to her, she jerked to attention and started following him.

  Thinking fast, she looked towards the night-dark windows, trying to collect her thoughts. “Uh…the instructions to push the data towards the converter…” she began, frantically trying to come up with something as he pressed the elevator button. Since no one else was in the building, the doors opened immediately.

  He looked down at her expectantly as she continued to explain her idea, even though she’d come up with it yesterday evening and had already started working on it. But she didn’t want him to know that she’d been floundering in bed, lost in the past, the way he used to touch her, make love to her, hold her at night in his arms. So she did the one thing she’d promised him never to do – she faked it. Of course, that promise had been made years ago and under completely different circumstances.

  He quickly picked up the conversation and added his own ideas, improving on what she’d been trying to create yesterday. “That’s good,” she replied, her excitement over his improvement giving her that cruc
ial spike in energy she needed.

  They stepped into the computer lab and immediately walked over to the terminal she’d been working at yesterday. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she pulled up the code, focusing on revising what she’d done only hours before. “Like that?” she asked.

  “Yes. But add in this,” he suggested and leaned over her, his fingers on the keyboard. Instead of looking at the computer screen, she watched his hands. They were beautiful hands, strong and commanding. A light dusting of dark hair peeked out from underneath the cuff of his dress shirt and her mouth watered, remembering what was underneath the expensive material.

  “Does that work?”

  She blinked and pulled her eyes away, focusing on the screen.

  Jake watched as Megan reviewed his work. Something was off with her. She was worn out and he knew that she hadn’t slept. But when he’d asked her about it upstairs, she’d lied to him. Oh, she’d come up with a good response, but it was a lie. A complete fabrication.

  He’d thought that he’d banished memories of Megan a long time ago. When she’d left him so abruptly with no explanation, he’d spent months going through their time together in his mind, trying to determine what had gone wrong.

  But in the end, he’d never understood. Now she was back and, although the circumstances for their time together were different now, he realized that he still knew her. Jake understood Megan in ways he’d never known anyone else. He could feel her emotions, sense them in ways he’d never felt with another woman. And he knew that she was hiding something. Something important.

  “Are you married?” he blurted, thinking that another man, a husband, might be something significant enough to create this odd tension in her.

  She jerked her eyes away from the computer screen and looked up at him. “Huh?” she blinked, trying to switch gears. “Married? No!” she replied quickly.