by Shayla Black
Not the time or place to start sweating, Reeves.
The only thing that would have made the previous night better would have been to sleep next to Lauren all night and wake up to her kiss in the morning.
Soon… He promised himself that.
“Good morning.”
At the sound of his voice, she started, then sent him an embarrassed smile. “Oh, I didn’t hear you come in. I was off in space somewhere. Morning.”
Weariness surrounded her eyes. They looked a bit puffy. Red and tired.
“You didn’t sleep well.” Noah frowned in concern.
“No.”
“Something wrong?”
Lauren hesitated, like she was weighing whether she should say anything about her evening with her stranger.
“Just…a lot on my mind. You?”
Noah kept his disappointment that she didn’t open up to himself. “Yeah. I didn’t sleep, either.”
But for an entirely different reason, he was sure.
Last night, Lauren had given him everything he’d asked for, responded so completely it had blown his mind. Certainly, a woman like her wouldn’t give herself with such abandon without feeling a damn thing for her lover, right? That assumption had led him to vomit out the contents of his heart.
Mistake number one.
Noah himself should be slowly wooing her into “I love yous.” Mr. Mysterious shouldn’t be spewing them. Yes, he’d felt so connected to her after making love that he was sure his heart was hard-wired into hers. But he had to keep remembering her emotions. Her reluctance. Her fears. And stop being an impatient bastard.
After sleepless hours tossing and turning and wishing Lauren’s soft, sweet curves were curled up beside him in slumber, he now had a refined strategy for wooing and winning the skittish, stubborn woman.
“Sorry to hear you didn’t sleep well.” She offered him a consoling smile, then lifted the coffee to her glossy lips and took a deep drink of her caffeinated heaven.
Noah smiled when she groaned. The woman loved her coffee.
She’d barely finished groaning when she said, “I came in a little early to get started on the focus groups, since we have limited time to complete them. Do you have a few minutes this morning to review some of the action items with me?”
“Sure. Meet me in my office in five?”
Lauren nodded. “Thanks.”
Grabbing her cup, she disappeared around the corner, heading toward her cubicle. Noah poured his own cup and mentally reviewed his strategy as he wandered back to his office.
A few minutes later, Lauren entered, setting her files and laptop down on the little round table in the corner. “Ready?”
“Can I ask you a question first?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
Noah paced closer, leaned in, bracing his hands on the little table between them. He waited, watching as she regarded him with passing curiosity. As his stare continued, her regard changed. Awareness. Wariness. Now he had her attention. Now she wasn’t all business. He held in a smile.
“The woman I told you about the other day at lunch, the divorcée,” he began.
Lauren looked away but not before he saw her face change. Cool. Struggling to collect. A flash of pain.
Oh, sugar… I’ll kiss everything and make it better once you let me.
“What about her?”
He pretended he didn’t notice how guarded her voice was. But it was damn hard to miss.
“I’ve been trying to tell her how I feel about her, how serious I am.” He paused, waited for her to look his way again with those soulful brown eyes. “It’s not going well.”
She hesitated, like she was wrestling with herself. Answer? Don’t answer? Noah understood. If she wanted to ask his advice about another man, he’d be weighing her happiness against his need. In this case, he was convinced they were the same. But if their situations were reversed and he had to watch her pine for another man…he’d be none too happy, either.
Finally, she spoke. “You really think she’s going to make you happy? You’ve never been the sort of man for just one woman.”
“I’ve wanted to be. I was just waiting for this woman. I need to convince her she’s the one.”
“But if she’s been hurt, like you said…”
Noah nodded. He was pretty sure Tim had shaken Lauren’s confidence as a woman and her belief in a happily ever after. He made a mental note to wallop his old pal upside the head next time they played poker.
“I can almost guarantee she has been.”
“And how long ago was her divorce final?”
Noah tried to be vague. “At least a year.”
“Still, I’ve been divorced for nearly two. And emotionally, the marriage was over shortly after Cass was born. If this woman has only been divorced for a year, then talk of love and marriage is too much too soon.”
With a sigh, Noah sat in the chair right across from her. He’d known she would say that. He just hoped now that she’d listen to a different perspective.
“I’m trying to respect that. Honestly. But I’ve waited so long… It doesn’t have to be a serious relationship today, and I wouldn’t push so hard, except that she’s shutting me out to everything but casual friendship. I do want to be her friend—but so much more.” Noah closed his eyes. In no way did he have to feign his frustration, fear, and heartache. “It’s tearing me up. I don’t know how to coax her into compromise. I don’t know how to convince her that I won’t hurt her. Ever.”
“You really mean all that.” She sounded surprised, nearly shocked. A dawning realization peppered her tone, laced with shades of pain.
Noah gritted his teeth again, hating the fact all this fucking subterfuge was necessary. Damn the willful woman. Damn Tim for marrying her without loving her in the first place. It chapped his hide that he couldn’t just grab the woman, tell her he loved her, and kiss her until she melted in his arms and agreed to stay there forever. He’d never hurt Lauren, just love her.
“I do mean it. Men don’t always express their love easily, and to be thwarted so utterly is tough.”
“Love?” She’d definitely morphed from surprised to shocked.
“I’m not going to marry someone I don’t love.”
Lauren swallowed, her face pale. But she sent him a businesslike nod, clearly trying to hide her upset. “Of course not.”
“Suggestions on how to deal with this situation?”
“Well…no.” She sat across from him, worrying her hands into a knot and looking anywhere but at him. “I’m afraid I’m the last person you should ask. Something similar happened with me last night. I didn’t handle it—”
“Mr. Mysterious?”
“He really shocked me. I handled it badly. I probably hurt his feelings. But that’s different. I don’t even know who he is.”
“True, but given his single-minded pursuit, I’d say the guy has feelings for you.” He shrugged, trying to play it casual. “I guess I’m asking what it would take for you to start looking at someone as a potential lover and mate.”
She sighed. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it much. I mean, he’d have to be good with the girls. He’d have to be steady. I’ve got enough on my plate, so I don’t need to be supporting a grown man. I’d have to feel a spark. I think that was my mistake with Tim. We married because everyone expected it and I let my mom convince me that steadiness was way more relevant than spark. This time, I’d want both.”
“I’m steady and I’m pretty sure this woman and I have spark.”
Lauren chewed on her lip. Noah could tell she didn’t like this conversation. Good. He didn’t want her liking the thought of him with another woman. He didn’t want anyone but Lauren, and the sooner she accepted the two of them together, the faster all this would end.
“Make her laugh,” Lauren went on, amazing him.
She was putting what she thought were his needs above her own? That had to say something about her feelings for him…
“Make her feel good about herself and about being with you. Press a little, but not too hard. If the spark is really there and you truly care about her, she won’t be able to resist forever.”
Bless her for the straightforward answer…and the means to help him tackle her reluctant heart. “If I do all those things, do you think she’ll hold out more than another few weeks?”
She sent him a lost expression with so much sadness in her eyes. Noah knew she could have no idea that her heart was written all over her face. “Knowing your persistence, your charm, and not to mention your ability to plan any situation just the way you want it, she may not last another ten minutes.”
“That’s exactly what I want to hear.”
* * * *
“Kat, I’ve really screwed up,” Lauren spoke over her sedan’s Bluetooth as she clutched the steering wheel and navigated the five-o’clock traffic from downtown Dallas to the ‘burbs north. “You’ve got to help me.”
“You’re not the dramatic one,” Kat teased. “That’s my job. So whatever you did couldn’t be that bad.”
“No?” she challenged. “Remember Noah Reeves?”
“Oh, yes. Yummy bachelor. Tim’s buddy, the one you work for now, right?”
“Yes on all counts. And I’ve got this…crush on him. Which is crazy. He’s a total playboy, and I don’t need a broken heart. I’m trying to forget it. All the while, he’s asking me advice on how to get some other woman, a divorcée, to give him the time of day.”
Kat whistled. “That sucks.”
“Completely.
“Is he totally insensitive?”
“Not insensitive. Clueless. I’ve tried really hard not to let on…”
“At least I don’t have to kick his balls in for being a jerk on purpose—yet.”
“Listen to me. He wants to marry this woman. He’s never thought the word marriage in thirty-nine years, much less said it to anyone else. The minute I get interested in him, he’s all into white lace and promises with someone else.”
“I’m sorry, honey… You win some, you lose some.”
“Wait, it gets worse. I can’t forget Noah because, in the meantime, some stranger keeps coming into my house—”
Kat gasped. “Are you okay? Did he attack you? Did you call 911?”
“I’m fine.” Lauren sighed, wondering how she was going to explain this to her sister. She was supposed to be the level-headed one who bailed Kat out of scrapes, not the other way around. Damn.
“What happened?”
“He—he seduced me. It’s hard to call 911 when you wake up bound to your own bed, writhing in pleasure.”
“What???”
Lauren frowned. “That does sound bad, doesn’t it? Well…whoever this guy is, he’s damn good between the sheets.”
“You slept with a total stranger who snuck into your house? Like, he was there to steal your DVD player but since it was broken, he just decided to nail you instead? And you let him?”
“Not like that, Kat. He said he came there to be with me, to seduce me. He says he wants me and that I know him, but I can’t place his voice. He whispers a lot, tries to disguise his voice by talking low and gruff.”
“Are you sure you’re not confusing seduction with coercion? This is not like you, and I gotta tell you, I’m really worried. The kind of guy who sneaks into a stranger’s house in order to ‘be with her’ has some sort of psychological disorder that’s long, hard to pronounce, and shared by a list of serial killers.”
“It’s not like that. He’s not like that. It’s…” Realizing that she was defending the very situation about which she’d come to her sister for advice, Lauren fell silent.
“He’s not like that yet. You’re lucky that, so far, he hasn’t been, like, psycho lover who knows lots about knives and how to chop stupid women up into little bitty pieces.”
“No. Just the opposite. Last night, he said he…loves me.”
“Loves you? And you’re sure this isn’t the ‘love you to death’ kind of thing?”
“I know it sounds weird—”
“Um…yeah.”
“But he’s not at all threatening. Sexy, amazing, mind-blowing.” Lauren sighed. “But I—I just keep picturing Noah every time he…”
“He, what? Forces you to have sex with him?”
Lauren felt herself flushing hot. “He doesn’t have to force me.”
“Oh my… Unbelievable. You’re screwed in the head and every which way. You’re usually the practical one, but I’m going to give you the advice for a change.”
“No more berating?”
“No. It won’t do any good anyway.”
”Good. I need help. I’m tied up in so many knots, I can’t figure out what to do.”
“First, you’ve got to stop sleeping with someone you don’t know. Next time he comes over, demand to know who he is or tell him to get the hell out.”
“I’ve asked who he is…” she protested.
But she hadn’t demanded. Or threatened to scream the walls down or withhold her response if he didn’t reveal himself. With a guilty pang, she remembered that last night, she hadn’t even wanted to know who he was for sure. Because whoever he was…he wasn’t Noah. And as long as she didn’t know his real identity, she could pretend.
“Ask again,” Kat ground out. “Before he does his Norman Bates impression. Are the girls at the house when all this is—”
“No. They’ve been with Tim or Mom.”
“Good. Demand to know who he is. Then insist that he leaves. If he’s really interested, tell him to date you like a normal person.”
“It wouldn’t matter if Mr. Mysterious did. I don’t want anyone but Noah. And he’s…in love with someone else.” Lauren paused, white-knuckling the wheel. “I’m afraid, Kat.”
“Buck up, sweetie. It’s simple, not scary. You’re going to tell the night stalker to get lost because you want someone else. That usually sends a guy flying in the other direction unless he’s some sort of emotional masochist.”
Nodding, Lauren conceded the point. “True, but Noah is into this other woman. Once he catches her, and he will, then I’ll be alone again.”
“Let me get this straight. You’d rather be with some guy who sneaks into your house and tells you he loves you, even if you don’t know or love him back?”
Damn, when had Kat gotten so logical? “No. You’re right.”
“For a change, I am. And if you want Noah for yourself, you need to make a move before this bitch gets her claws in him. See if he feels anything for you before he gets too tangled up in this other woman.”
“Make a move, how? Like walk up to him and tell him I fantasize about him? He’s talking about marriage and babies with this woman. He wants to settle down. I was thinking more…fling.”
“Until this other woman says ‘I do,’ Noah is still an unattached man. Honey, if he’s got hormones, he’ll do fling.”
“It’s not smart. He’s my boss and Tim’s buddy. Maybe I should just get over it.”
“I know you. You’re not going to just get over it. And maybe it’s good you start dating or flinging or something again. Hell, prior to this brain blip, you’d lived like a nun since the divorce,” Kat pointed out. “Look, the boss-buddy thing you’ll have to work around. Don’t bring it up at the office. Don’t mention Tim. But if Noah rebuffs you, at least you’ll know, right? If he doesn’t…could be a hot night for my slightly older and uglier sister.”
At their running joke about which of the sisters was the uglier, Lauren snorted. “Yeah, uglier? Who went dateless on prom night? Not me…”
“Ugh! Always the same argument. Rub in it, why don’t you? Hey, at least I’m not so sex-starved that I’m letting some horny cat burglar in my panties.”
“That’s low. I won’t let him in my panties again.”
“You see the wisdom of genius Kat’s advice, do you?”
“Genius is a bit thick, bu
t yeah. I think so.”
“Go get rid of the psycho and bag your man, tigress.”
Tigress? At the moment, she felt like a whipped, wet kitten. That wasn’t any way to get Noah to notice her as a woman. But the reality of Kat’s advice was sinking in. She had to make a pass at Noah. Oh, yikes! Lauren grimaced. The very thought made her palms sweat and her stomach turn with nerves. “I’m, um…on it.”
“You don’t sound on it; you sound reluctant.”
Her sister was so perceptive sometimes. “Noah invited the girls and I over for a swim and a barbeque on Thursday evening. What should I do?”
“Really?” Kat sounded as if that was a vastly interesting fact. “Has he ever done that before?”
Lauren thought, then frowned. “No.”
“Interesting… Very interesting, in fact. Okay, let’s talk strategy. I have ideas…”
Chapter Eight
On Wednesday night, Lauren sagged into her Jacuzzi tub, glass of wine in one hand, and enjoyed the relaxing vanilla sugar bath salts. The candle sat on the counter near the door, flame bobbing as it burned, adding a golden sliver of light.
Well, she would be enjoying it if she could take her mind off Noah, Mr. Mysterious, her conversation with Kat, and the mess her life had become.
At least nothing was wrong with the girls, thank goodness. Her mother had wanted to keep them another day, which enabled Lauren to finish up a report at work so the focus groups could move forward. The extra time at the office had settled that part of her life. But now…with night descending and loneliness creeping in, she didn’t want to be by herself.
That wasn’t accurate. Not for anything would she take Tim back. The idea of a bar and the kind of guy she might meet there left her cold. She wanted Noah, fiercely—but not when he wanted someone else.
To add to her confusion, sultry nights like this one made her body crave what Mr. Mysterious could give her. She’d promised Kat that she’d tell the stranger to take a hike, and if he appeared tonight, she’d do her best to keep that promise. But everything about him, from the way he mastered her body, to the hard feel of him all over, and the tangy-salt taste of his skin, was pure fantasy. Add her unruly imagination to the mix, the one that encouraged her to imprint Noah’s face on Mr. Mysterious’s body and…well, it was a good thing he hadn’t appeared last night. Or so far tonight. She felt vulnerable.