“Quentin is my friend. No, make that a brother to me.” Sage circled away from Ian until she was close to the exit.
“Right!” Ian stood up. “You wanted me to believe that you and he were more than friends. Well, you succeeded, my dear. I admit defeat.” Sage had both angered and aroused him. She was unpredictable and different from all the other women he’d encountered. Most would be throwing themselves at him because of his wealth and social position, but Sage was doing her best to resist him and he had to admit it was one hell of a turn-on.
“Ian Lawrence admits defeat,” Sage threw at him. “Why would you do a thing like that?”
“Because then I can admit how much I want you.” Ian took a dangerous step toward her.
Sage retreated farther to get away from him until her back was against the cabin door. Her hand reached behind her for the handle, but Ian grabbed it seconds before he crushed her to him.
His mouth claimed hers, devouring its softness. Sage’s calm was completely shattered at the hunger of his kiss and when he swept her weightless off her feet and onto the bed, Sage was lost.
His arms encircled her, just as his lips recaptured hers, but this time, they were more demanding than the last. Her lips seemed to part of their own volition and when they did, Ian’s tongue dipped inside to explore the slick inner linings of her mouth. He continued his journey and dived deep into the hollows of her mouth. Sage moaned softly, lacing her hands around his neck and arching to meet him. He tasted so good and so uniquely Ian. Her mouth squeezed around his tongue and Ian groaned.
He felt exultant that Sage was reaching out for him. Whether she wanted to admit it, she wanted him, too. All her protests were pure stubbornness and he intended to have his way. The tips of his fingers caressed the satin softness of her neck, down and back up again. Then his hand crept lower and he softly stroked the side of her thigh.
“Ian.” She whispered his name breathlessly and Ian took it as a sign of encouragement, especially when she pulled his shirt out his pants and slid her hand underneath it to caress his back.
With deft fingers, he quickly untied the knot at the nape of her neck and eased the dress down to her waist. She looked ravishing and utterly feminine lying there with her breasts rapidly rising and falling. Her breasts were perfect globes, high and round, but seeing was not enough. He wanted to taste them, to touch them and feel their texture beneath his fingertips.
His hand reached out to cup her breasts. He found them full and the nipple hard and it caused the bulge in his trousers to grow. Prying her hands from his chest, he slid them down to his torso to the fly of his pants and helped her unbutton the trousers so she could slide her hand inside.
“Please, Sage, touch me,” he grated just as his mouth latched hold of one hardened peak and suckled. Sage nearly screamed when she felt Ian’s mouth on her breasts. He was doing deliciously wicked things and she wanted to return the favor. Her palm enclosed around his shaft. He was hot, hard and thick. When she squeezed, he groaned out. “Yes, yes. Tighter, yes, that’s it.”
The incoherent chant went on until Ian had to have another taste of her mouth and greedily ravished it. He was desperate with wanting.
Sage felt the same. Her breasts ached and the mound at the apex of her womanhood was throbbing with need. She didn’t stop Ian when he lifted her dress, pushed her bikini panties aside and wove his fingers through the nest at her thighs. She was hot and slick and ready for him. Sage wanted Ian to possess her and he would have, if it hadn’t been for the knock on the door.
“Ian, it’s Jeffrey. It’s time for the toast to officially launch Craze.” Knock. Knock. “Ian, are you in there? Did you hear me?”
Ian paused from above Sage. Seconds before, Sage’s eyes had glazed over with desire and she would have given in, but the knock on the door had killed the mood and he could see her mentally pulling away. “Yes, I heard you, Jeffrey. I’ll be right up.” Reluctantly, he rose from the bed and began zipping up his trousers.
Horrified by her wanton behavior, Sage sat up and pulled the halter over her heaving breasts. She tried to retie it, but her hands where shaking.
“Let me help you with that.” Smiling, Ian came toward her as he pushed his shirt back down inside his pants.
“Keep away.” Sage held up her hand. “I’ve got it.” Somehow she retied the sash and quickly scooted off the bed. What had gotten into her just now? If Jeffrey hadn’t knocked on that door, she would have had sex with Ian.
“Sage…”
Sage shook her head. “Don’t say a word.”
“We can’t deny what almost happened just now.”
“Oh, yes, we can,” Sage said, adjusting her dress over her hips. “I, for one, am going to ensure this never happens again.” Sage swung open the door and rushed out. When she returned to the deck, Sage searched the crowd for Quentin. She found him by the bar having a beer. “I need to get off this bloody boat.”
“We’ll be back shortly.” He inclined his head to the steadily approaching dock. “Did something happen?”
“Nothing I’d care to expound upon.” Sage avoided Quentin’s questioning eyes and stared at the water, which was much calmer than how she felt inside.
Ian returned to the deck shortly after Sage so as to not arouse suspicion and took center stage. He knew Jeffrey suspected something as he was waiting for him at the top of the stairs, but Ian was too much of a gentleman to mention that had he not interrupted them, they would have given in to the passion.
Sage watched Ian give his speech on his new magazine and what a great benefit it would be to the publishing community, but she heard none of it. Her emotions were a roller coaster. She’d just been saved from a very dangerous perch which she’d allowed herself to get on. As much as she denied it, she wanted Ian. And now that he knew she wanted him, he wouldn’t give up his pursuit. The problem was, Ian Lawrence wasn’t the commitment kind. If she allowed herself to give in to the all-consuming passion between them, how long before he tired of her? A night? A week? A month? Not to mention the potential ramifications if their affair was ever made public. She couldn’t afford the risk. Somehow, she would have to find the strength to resist him.
Chapter 6
Ian was furious and threw the sales reports he’d been reading across the room just as Jeffrey walked into his office.
“Is everything okay?”
“No, everything is not okay.”
Sage was avoiding him. She hadn’t returned any of his phone calls in nearly two weeks. She’d even gone as far as to refuse the trinkets and flowers he’d sent to her office. She told the delivery boy to take the flowers to the hospital and donate them to the children’s wing. Ian was not going to take this lying down. He was determined to have Sage and not even the woman herself was going to get in his way.
“Is there anything that I can do?” Jeffrey inquired even though he suspected Ian’s foul mood had something to do with a certain five-foot lawyer.
“No.” Ian rose from his chair. “I will handle this myself.”
Sage was a realist. She had a battle ahead of her. Brock Campbell had a fire lit under him because she’d just beat him in court and didn’t want another loss. She had to be prepared for war. She couldn’t be bogged down with unnecessary emotions like getting involved with her client. She had to prove to the Lucas Johnsons and the Peter Waggoners of the world that she was not just a pretty face. Brains went with the body.
She threw herself into her work, reading case law and beginning the arduous task of interviewing some of L.E.’s New York staff. She needed to find out if there was any validity to Lucas Johnson’s claim that he was passed over for a promotion and was relocated from L.E.’s corporate headquarters to a lesser office in Los Angeles where he encountered racism. Had Lucas, a senior-level executive, really been demoted with the relocation and his position given to a white colleague? Was that colleague paid more than him?
The HR department claimed the answer was no. Although Lucas had done a
great job in the corporate office, relocating him was considered a promotion as that office needed a strong helm and Ian had felt Lucas was the right person for the job. His salary was commensurate with his title and Sage found nothing askew in what he was paid in comparison to his white counterparts. All of this was welcome news to her ears, but she still had the obstacle of Bruce Hoffman ahead of her. She needed to interview the accused and find out exactly what transpired between him and Lucas.
Focusing all of her energy on her case load had helped her wrangle herself free of a potential disaster with Ian. Avoidance was the name of the game. She’d ignored his phone calls and when she’d seen him once in the L.E. hallway during her interviews, she’d ducked into the ladies’ room before he saw her.
She was very pleased with herself and was smiling smugly when Ian burst through her office door one afternoon in the middle of May. “Ian!” Sage stood up. “What are you doing here? And don’t you know how to knock?”
“You refused my flowers,” Ian stated, shutting the door behind him. “And the necklace I sent.” He’d been shocked when Tiffany had called to tell him that the Jean Schlumberger 18-karat platinum diamond bracelet he’d sent had been returned. He’d never had a woman turn down one of his gifts.
His tall, looming presence filled Sage’s office and his intoxicating cologne wafted through the air, sending Sage’s hormones into overdrive. She loved a man who smelled good.
“Yes, I returned them.” Sage walked past Ian to her console and unscrewed a bottle of water. “They were completely inappropriate. I am not one of your little playthings, Ian.”
“I never thought that you were,” he replied. He’d enjoyed watching her curvy figure strut across the room. Although she tried to hide the luscious bottom he’d encountered on the yacht under a pencil skirt and matching jacket, Ian remembered. “I happen to enjoy giving gifts.”
“Because it’s just money, right?” Sage replied, spinning around. “You’re used to throwing money around like it’s water, Ian. I can’t be bought with a shiny piece of jewelry.”
Ian was stunned by Sage’s reaction. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” All of the women he’d encountered usually enjoyed the trinkets that showed his affection. Obviously, Sage was different, which made Ian even more intrigued.
“You did.” Sage folded her arms across her chest and walked back to the safety of her desk. He didn’t see anything wrong because he was rich. Wealth was a lifestyle for him. It just went to show that they had fundamental differences and were worlds apart. “I hope you realize now that a personal relationship between us is completely out of the question.”
“I refuse to accept that, Sage.” Sure, they came from different backgrounds, but that didn’t make them unsuitable. It just made Sage more of a challenge for him.
“You’re going to have to because I’ve already compromised myself too much to begin with. Going forward, our relationship will be purely professional and if you can’t accept that, then perhaps you should find yourself another attorney.”
Ian leaned down with both his hands flanking Sage’s desk and peered into her brown eyes. “Those are bold words for someone whose personal advancement hinges upon the success of this lawsuit.”
“Which I will win,” Sage fired back. “And I won’t let anyone or anything jeopardize my standing with this firm. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am.”
“All right.” Ian retreated and stood up to his full six-foot-three height. Sage refused to give any inch, but he wasn’t a man to walk away from a challenge. He would wear her down in time.
When Ian smiled at her, all of Sage’s senses heightened and awareness of his arresting male presence flowed through her entire body. She did her best to act as if he had no effect on her. Her assistant saved the day by interrupting on the intercom to tell her that Dante was waiting to see her. Sage told her to send him right in.
Sage was relieved when Dante opened the door and her heightened color subsided because it marked the end of a highly charged conversation with Ian. “This is most certainly a surprise.” Dante so rarely left his kitchen.
“If you’re busy, I can wait,” Dante replied, glancing at the other gentleman in the room. “I know I don’t have an appointment.”
“Like you would need one.” Sage came forward and kissed his cheek and gave him a warm hug. Black slacks and a black polo shirt were his only attire, but Dante looked as handsome as ever. His hair was closely cut and his goatee and mustache were trim.
“Ahem,” Ian coughed from behind her.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sage replied and tugged Dante forward. “Dante, this is Ian Lawrence. Ian, this is Dante Moore.”
“Nice to meet you.” Sage noticed how Dante eyed Ian suspiciously.
“Likewise.” Ian shook Dante’s hand.
“Now if you’ll excuse us, Ian.”
Ian turned and glared at Sage. Was he being dismissed? After fully reading the dossier on Sage from cover to cover, he knew Dante, like Quentin, was not a threat.
“I’ll leave for now,” Ian said on his way out. “But we’ll see each other again, real soon.”
“So that’s the infamous Ian Lawrence who has you all hemmed up,” Dante commented.
“I am not hemmed up.” Sage motioned for him to join her on the adjacent couch. “Sit.”
“That’s not what Quentin said after your cruise a couple weeks ago,” Dante said, plopping down beside her.
Sage chuckled. “You guys are such gossips.”
“Call it what you will,” he replied. “But I know what I just walked in on and there was some serious sexual tension coming off the two of you.”
“Okay, there is an attraction,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Have you acted on it?”
“No!” Sage exclaimed but then backtracked. “Well…not entirely.” The mind-shattering kiss in the car and the lusty session in his yacht cabin flashed in her mind.
“But you want to?”
“I don’t.” Sage shook her head.
Dante grinned. “Liar.”
Sage’s mouth broke into a smile. She hated that he knew her so well. “So what brings you here?” She changed the subject. “I can’t recall the last time you visited me at the office.”
Dante noted the switcheroo but answered anyway. “I’m interested in opening another restaurant.”
“Oh, Dante, that’s great!” Sage bounced up and down on the couch. “When? Where? What type of cuisine?”
“Slow down!” Dante held up his hands to fend off her questions. “There’s a space in Harlem near Malik’s community center that I love and…I was hoping you might help me negotiate the lease terms.”
“Of course,” Sage replied. “Like you have to ask? Whatever you need, I’m there.”
“Good, I brought over the standard lease for you to review.” He pulled out a large legal-size document.
Sage smiled. “I’ll look it over and get back to you.”
“Thanks, Sage.” Dante rose and headed for the door but stopped when he reached the doorway. He paused for a moment.
“Was there something else?”
“If you want my opinion, you’re entirely too cautious. Perhaps you need to live a little and have a little fun. Maybe Ian Lawrence is exactly what you need. But whatever you do, don’t fall in love with the bastard!”
After Dante had left, Sage thought about his parting comment. Was he right? It had been years since she was seriously involved with any man and she couldn’t remember her last fling. After James, she’d shied away from romantic entanglements and focused on her career. Had it made her afraid of taking risks? And should she take one with Ian?
“How’s your seduction of the lovely lawyer going?”
“Not too well. I need some time alone with Sage. Any suggestions?”
“Well—” Jeffrey rubbed his chin “—I would imagine she would need to interview some of the staff at Lawrence Enterprises in L.A. for the lawsuit, and while you’r
e out there, you can look over that new acquisition.”
“Hmm…” Ian thought about it for a moment. Jeffrey had a point. What better opportunity to seduce her than at his Malibu home? It was romantic and secluded. It would give him plenty of time to ravish her body and finally get the pint-size beauty out of his system.
He hadn’t been able to get Sage out of his mind. The way she tasted, the way she smelled, the feel of her skin against his hands, the woman had completely encompassed his thoughts. Ian had never felt this way about a woman. He had never had a woman bewitch him like Sage Anderson had.
Women had always come easily for him. The problem was once he had his fill, he was done with them. But for the first time, he’d met his match. It made her irresistible.
“Sounds good. Arrange for us to stay in L.A. at the Four Seasons, then we’ll head to Malibu,” Ian replied and turned around. “Oh, and Jeffrey, make sure we have the penthouse suite.”
“Consider it done.”
“Good.” Before long, Sage would be all his.
Chapter 7
“Ian Lawrence is looking into acquiring another holding for Lawrence Enterprises and he’s asked one of our staff to accompany him to Los Angeles to consult,” Elliott Greenberg said when he called Sage into his office for an informal meeting several days later. “And we’d like you to be that person, Sage.”
“But why me? I’m already working on the lawsuit.”
“Why not you?” Peter Waggoner peered at her long and hard, so much so that Sage gulped hard. Did he suspect something? “As lead counsel on the lawsuit, you’re certainly more up to date on Lawrence Enterprises’ business than any of us. Lawrence obviously isn’t happy with his current firm and this just might be the opportunity we need to get our foot in the door. Plus, he requested you.”
Ah, there’s the rub, Sage thought. He requested her. This was all part of an elaborate plan on Ian’s part to seduce her. He knew if he dangled his company’s business in front of the senior partners, they would jump at the chance to become L.E.’s corporate counsel.
If You So Desire Page 7