Seductive Memory

by Altonya Washington

  “Damn you, Linus,” she murmured again, tossing willpower aside and indulging in another of the pastries.

  Memories—some of them, at least—were beautiful, but they had their place. It was now the present, and she had to consider the fact that he could be into something shady with the likes of Hayden Bormann. She couldn’t disregard Miranda Bormann’s law school teachings then. She was to look beyond into what was less apparent. Compassion and generosity aside, she believed that what she’d sensed of his suave ruthlessness was still spot-on. Did it take precedence over the integrity she’d also sensed?

  Paula shook off the thoughts in favor of gorging herself on more of the pastries. She was happy to discover they still worked wonders on calming busy minds. The miniature pastry cups were flaky, buttery and filled with either strawberries, apple slices or raspberries. How the baker managed to cut them so small yet detailed lent to their novelty and priciness.

  She was softly moaning by the time the tenth pastry, one apple-filled, settled on her tongue. It was then she sensed she wasn’t alone. Linus stood watching her from his office doorway. Arms folded over what she knew to be a superb chest, he rested along the doorjamb. He wore the same smile he had when they stood across from one another weeks earlier.

  Paula brought a hand to her mouth and swallowed the rest of the pastry. She forbade herself to cough when a few morsels got stuck in her throat. Reaching for her cup, she gulped down the rest of the tea to wash it all down.

  “Morning,” she greeted him in a no-nonsense manner, knowing all the while how easily he could see through her facade.

  Linus was the only one who had firsthand knowledge of how powerfully the treats affected her. The reaction was close to orgasmic. He had remembered that very well and had evidently made himself scarce in hopes of giving her a false sense of privacy. He had arrived in the office to find her in the grips of the delight he knew she’d find in the unexpected gift.

  “Morning,” he returned her greeting while pushing off the jamb and shutting the door at his back. “Good as you remember?” he asked.

  “You know they are,” she said.

  “Guess you don’t get that the way you used to.”

  She cursed him once again, that time in silence. Oh yes, he knew damn well what he was doing. He knew damn well where his provocative queries had her mind traveling.

  “They aren’t the only ones in the world.” She found a small measure of delight when she noticed the wattage of his smile dimming just a fraction.

  The effect didn’t last long. “No,” he said. The cunning allure of his smile returned, and with it, Linus’s gaze flared with want and determination.

  “But they’re the best,” he finished while rounding the square cart where she stood.

  Paula told herself to hold her ground. You’re the woman, not the girl. You’re the woman, not the girl, she chanted. Already her legs were feeling syrupy and molten, as molten as the chocolatey color of his eyes. Other parts of her body reacted similarly and she told herself to get a grip. He hasn’t even touched you...yet. He hadn’t touched her, but that wasn’t the overarching issue just then.

  They hadn’t been alone together like this in...hell, she couldn’t remember. No, that wasn’t true. She remembered all too well, and that was the problem. Linus was right; it wasn’t easy to find pleasure in anything less than the best.

  You’re the woman, not the girl. She reiterated the chant.

  Linus was acknowledging that very thing though in a much different way. Paula was the woman—all confidence, accomplishment and seductive presence. She enhanced the girl he’d lost his heart to. The one who unknowingly still held it a willing captive.

  “With the bakery closed, I didn’t know anyone was still making those.” She shared the words in a rush while reaching for one of the Wet-Naps on the cart and cleaning microscopic crumbs from her fingers. All the while, she wished he’d say something. The way he stood there—dark, smoldering, with bone-deep sex appeal—had her seconds away from swooning.

  “I had Estelle call around to some of the bakeries,” he said. “I heard a few of them had come into the original baker’s recipes when he retired.”

  Paula was stunned and forgot her unease over his closeness. “How’d you come by that news?”

  “I was there when he had his going-out-of-business sale. The baker had no heirs, and the media made a big deal of highlighting the city’s new talents who’d be featuring some of his most popular dishes in their menus.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t remember who got the one for his pastries.”

  Paula knew her amazement was thoroughly evident. “You actually went to something like that?”

  Linus chuckled, the amber glints flickering in his gaze as amusement took hold. “I brought a heap of stuff back to the office for everybody to pig out on. Tig and Eli made gluttons out of themselves, but everybody walked away satisfied.”

  He seemed to sober then. “I only went because I thought you’d be there.”

  His admission tossed Paula back into reality. She finished with the Wet-Nap, tossing it into a nearby wastebasket en route to making a mad dash from behind the cart.

  Her intentions were thwarted when he took her arm effortlessly. She was then tossed back to three weeks prior—Linus had taken her hand and she had thought she’d melt. Her reaction to him now was just as immediate and even more intense.

  “Linus.” Her voice carried on a breathy chord. “Don’t do this.”

  “What?” Linus used phony confusion to his advantage. “This?” He massaged her upper arm as he moved closer.

  Paula could only bow her head and just manage to mouth his name then.

  “This?” he prompted, nuzzling the spot behind her ear while his free hand cupped her cheek.

  “Or is it this?” He kissed her then, his tongue taking full possession in deliberate exploration.

  The sudden rush of pleasure infused her bones in a surge powerful enough to bring her to her knees. But Linus had a firm grip to prevent that, and Paula chanted her silent reminders that she was the woman, not the girl.

  Except the chants didn’t help at all.

  The girl was calling the shots, and the woman was happy to follow helplessly along. For a while, she made no effort to reciprocate the kiss. She was happy just relishing the sensation of having his tongue in her mouth. He made love to it as he would when he used his tongue to claim other parts of her body. He had a gifted tongue, and her persistent moans and shudders attested to that fact. It wasn’t long before she was eagerly returning his efforts. Slowly, she joined him in their sensual dance, rotating his tongue with hers, treating it to a lazy suckle and smiling when he moaned in turn.

  Linus shifted his hold then, taking Paula fully in his arms. Her shudders went into overdrive when she confirmed that his chest was still as superb as she’d remembered. Greedily, she splayed her hands across his muscle-packed torso while his roamed her back and hips. Quiet moans and gasps circulated in the air as their kiss intensified. Linus’s hand loosely cupped her neck, while his thumb beneath her chin kept her mouth perfectly positioned for his.

  His hand at her hip drifted, fingers taking hold of her pleated skirt until they were skimming the curve of her upper thigh and derriere. Paula’s arousal hit a new high, along with her panic. She used her hands at his chest to push him away while she drank in huge streams of air until her heart rate slowed.

  “Linus,” she gulped while nervously pushing bobbed curls from her face. “Linus, I—I didn’t come here for this.” She swallowed determinedly, hoping to dislodge the lump that had made a home in her throat.

  “I didn’t come here for this, Linus.”

  “Right.” He nodded as if to remind himself of what he already knew. “Right, we have to talk first. Paula, you have to know what happened that night had—”

  “Linus, no, no, that’s—that’s not wh
at I meant.” Paula blinked as though she’d surprised herself by the outburst.

  Following another steadying breath, she backed—or rather, stumbled—away to head for the chair in front of Linus’s desk. She’d put her things there when she’d arrived. Linus moved from behind the cart, which had her putting a chair between them as she searched her tote for the reason she’d requested their meeting. Locating the black portfolio, she pulled it free and presented it. But Linus didn’t accept.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “What I came to see you about. What we—what we should be talking about.”

  “And that is?”

  “It’d be easier if you just read it.”

  Linus’s features sharpened, and Paula felt the effects of the look dagger her heart. She understood very well then how he’d earned such a rep for no bullshit, for being a hard man to go through.

  “You came to see me about business.”

  It wasn’t a question. Paula nodded anyway, though still offering the portfolio.

  “Business you can’t even discuss with me first,” he added.

  “It’s better if you read this—just an overview, and then we can...talk.”

  Linus approached and studied Paula again at length before taking the folder. He turned away to begin to read, and Paula turned away for a very different reason.

  To finish recovering from his kiss.

  Chapter 4

  “You think I’m capable of this?”

  Ten minutes later, Linus had read through the summary and, from what Paula could tell, had given it a second read. The portfolio contained an overview of her conversation with Miranda Bormann. The entry was a timeline of sorts, chronicling dates beginning with Bormann’s initial discovery of the discrepancies regarding her finances, all the way to her nephew’s suspected visits to Joss Construction.

  “We just wanted to be thorough.” Paula had even included a snapshot of Hayden Bormann.

  Linus seemed to register no recognition of any of it. “But you? You really think I’d be party to something like this?”

  “This isn’t personal, Linus—”

  “The hell it’s not.” He slammed down the portfolio and turned away in disgust. The intensity of his voice didn’t match its volume, which remained quiet in its fierceness. He bowed his head, and Paula could see the muscle along his jaw working vibrantly.

  “This isn’t the way I do business.”

  “I know that, Linus—”

  “Do you? Do you really?”

  “Linus, please. I know you have a respected reputation.”

  A flicker of his earlier ease returned. “How do you know that?”

  Her smile was cool as she shifted a shoulder. “A good DA knows what businesses contribute most heavily to her city’s economy, and she knows who runs them.”

  “And still you come to me with this.” He sent another disgusted look toward the folder.

  “We were just covering our bases, Linus.”

  “And does it matter that I’ve never heard of Hayden Bormann? Or his aunt?”

  “Like I said, we’re just trying to cover our bases.”

  “Covering bases isn’t easy.” Linus considered. “Isn’t this kind of work a little below your pay grade? This is the kind of work for an ADA and his team of assistants, isn’t it?”

  “I work just as hard as everyone in my office, and this is personal. I owe Miranda Bormann.”

  “Why?”

  “She was my professor in law school. She’s a good woman who doesn’t deserve to be going through this—definitely not from someone in her very own family.”

  More of Linus’s anger seemed to drift away. Paula could almost see the transformation taking place as understanding filtered into his expression. When he looked to the portfolio a third time, his expression held more curiosity than disgust.

  “She’s not out for blood, L. She just wants answers.” Paula slapped her hands to her sides in a bewildered fashion. “She’s holding out hope that there could be explanations here that go beyond shady dealings. If her nephew is up to something underhanded, she hopes his clients aren’t involved, that maybe they’re just unaware of what’s really going on.”

  Linus had retrieved the folder. Again, he was scanning its pages.

  “I know I could’ve been a little more up-front on what I wanted to talk to you about when I saw you yesterday with Barker—”

  “You don’t have to explain, Paula. Least of all to me.” He raised the portfolio. “May I keep this?”

  She waved toward it. “It’s yours.”

  “What’s your time frame on this?”

  “We, um, we wanted to be thorough,” Paula reiterated. “Professor Bormann says the questionable transactions only took place when she was out of town. She’s not planning on taking any trips for a while. This is a personal matter so...we’re on our own time.”

  Linus smiled. “You and Sophie must have the streets clear of crime if the DA has the kind of time to devote to something like this.”

  “I’ve got a good staff.”

  “Right. Another perk you’ll miss?”

  Paula gave a playful wince at his reference to their conversation in Mexico.

  “So did I read that wrong, or have you really had your fill of the big chair?”

  “It’s not an easy job.” She gave a refreshing smile. “It’s like Professor B says—there are all kinds of ways to serve.”

  “She sounds like a smart woman.”

  “The smartest,” Paula confirmed.

  Linus gave another look to the portfolio. “I’ll talk to my staff. Maybe they’ll remember something I overlooked.”

  “Thank you, Linus.” Paula began to collect her things. “And thanks for the pastries.”

  “Don’t you want to know where I got them?”

  “Hmph, my heart does. My hips might complain.”

  Linus’s liquid brown gaze began an immediate assessment, and Paula refused so much as a flutter of her lashes while she endured it.

  “Your hips have absolutely nothing to complain about,” he said, smiling when Paula made a hasty departure.

  * * *

  “Well, well, don’t you have work to be catching up on after all that time on your back?” Paula called out when she breezed into her office to find Chief of Detectives Sophia Hail-Rodriguez waiting to see her.

  Sophia’s gray eyes were alive with happiness and humor. “Oh! I wasn’t just on my back. I—”

  “Spare me.” Paula raised a hand.

  Sophia laughed as a sobering light crept into her gaze. “I’ve been trying to decide whether to give you the cold shoulder after the way you just left me during the most perfect moment of my life.”

  “Well, your yummy husband hung around, didn’t he?” Paula noted. “Doesn’t get more perfect than that.”

  “Correct.” Sophie inclined her head teasingly. “And he keeps trying to top himself on how perfect he can make things.”

  “That’s what they’re supposed to do, I hear.” Paula rounded her desk and went to shuffle through the mail she found there.

  “Too bad someone’s making that difficult for him.”

  “Oh? How so?” Paula’s question held an absent tinge as she continued to shuffle her mail.

  “Tig’s got an opportunity to get us away for a few more weeks of fun and sun, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get to go.”

  That caught Paula’s attention. She took her chair then, eyes lawyer-sharp and expectant. “Something’s up?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah.” Sophie sighed. “Trouble is, it’s been happening right under my nose and I didn’t know a thing about it.”

  “So we didn’t get them all?” Paula shook her head, understanding Sophie referred to the members of law enforcement they’d already rounded up in conne
ction to the money laundering racket they’d foiled.

  “Nah.” Sophia waved off Paula’s guess. “This situation happened a long time ago. I guess me and my bestie aren’t as tight as I thought. Otherwise, she’d have told me she was pining for a guy I’ve known almost as long as I’ve known my husband.”

  Realization had Paula rolling her eyes. Puffing out her cheeks as well, she stood and went to help herself at the bar near the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city of Philadelphia.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Sophia asked.

  Paula shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Don’t lie.”

  “Alright,” Paula snapped, balling a fist. “If it didn’t work out, I didn’t want to have to talk about it. Especially with you. As it turned out, it didn’t work out, so—”

  “Whoa, whoa. What do you mean, ‘especially with you’?”

  “Let it go, Soph.”

  “Uh-uh.” Sophia left her chair and joined Paula at the bar. “What is this? What’s going on with you? Eli and Tig say L is a mess.”

  “Well damn, have you all just gotten together and discussed this?”

  “Yes.”

  Even as Paula bristled in response to her answer, Sophia took pity. “Honey, we’re sorry. We just love and care about you both. It’s killing Tig and Eli to be so happy while Linus is so miserable.”

  Paula stilled. “Miserable?”

  “According to them, he’s been a mess since he saw you in Cortina.”

  “Oh please, you guys are making too much out of this now. Linus was just...caught up in the moment.”

  “And what about you?” Sophia challenged. “’Cause it’s clear you aren’t your usual take-the-world-by-the-scrotum self.”

  Paula sneered. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it. What I’d like you to mention though is why you wouldn’t tell me of all people about Linus? Why would you think it wouldn’t work out for you guys?”