Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  A surge of fire heated his body when he spotted her working her way through the tables and back to theirs. He swept the thoughts aside and readjusted himself. At least the table would prevent her from noticing the bulge in his pants.

  Damn his dick. It had a mind of its own and half the patience he did. He needed it to go down, not salute him.

  Once she took her seat, he put on his best smile and waited for her to glance his way. He needed to focus on their plan, not the one he had to fuck her. “I meant to ask if you’d come up with any ideas on where to go this weekend.”

  “I’ve mulled over a couple ideas. I think the important part is keeping things casual. The less pressure Ally feels, the better. I put enough on her by asking her to do this.” She gazed down at his cup and frowned. “What happened to your coffee?”

  Shit. He had to think fast. “Oh, that… The lid was loose. It fell off when I picked it up. I thought I was going to drop it and gripped it so hard that I crushed the sides.

  “I see that… Okay then, back to our discussion. I’m not sure what you had in mind, but if you want to get together during the day, we could go to Hilton Head or Tybee Island.” She took the final sip of her coffee then set it aside. “Or if you want to wait until evening, I know a low-key bar with good food, better music, and killer drinks.”

  Laughter rumbled his chest. “I like the way you think, doll.”

  “Well, you know me. My horns support my halo.” She teased him with his prior words. “Do I need to remind you that some of my crazy ideas are the ones that got us into trouble?”

  “Touché. Guess we’ve always been alike, haven’t we? We’re polar opposites of Jonah and Ally.”

  Her lips lifted again. “You have no idea.”

  “I bet I do.”

  Neither said anything as they stared at each other. Why was he putting himself through this? She obviously wanted him or was at least curious enough to see if she might. He could fulfill his fantasies of her and be done with it.

  So what if she always thought about him as the same troublemaker she once knew. There wouldn’t be anything between them but memories of their time together. He needed to get over this idea of her longing for him once he was gone. She was too beautiful to spend many nights alone. In fact, he wasn’t sure if she was single. She acted as if she was, but he needed to know. He wasn’t a cheater and he wasn’t about to make her one.

  Before he could find the nerve to ask, Cassie placed her phone in her purse and stood. “I need to go. I have another stop to make before I head to the airport.”

  “I won’t keep you. I’ll get with Jonah and figure out a time to meet up this weekend. We’ll finalize our plans from there.” He pushed off his seat and stood when she turned toward the door. “I need to go too. How about I walk you to your car?”

  “Wow, Theo. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a gentleman.”

  He shrugged then motioned for her to lead the way. Maybe this plan to seduce her would work after all. The more he poured on the charm, the more she saw another side of him. It’s exactly what he wanted.

  The rest would work itself out before the weekend.

  After they collected their things, they made their way through the coffee shop and out the door. A short trek around the side of the building led to a parking lot full of cars. Theo observed the different makes and models, challenging himself to find hers before they approached it. The black Benz in the back row kept gaining his attention. A moment later, its lights flashed when Cassie disengaged the alarm.

  Once they neared it, she slowed her stride and leaned into the body as she faced him. “Thanks for walking me out. Enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll see you tomorrow at the studio.”

  “Yeah, I’ll see you there… Hey. I uh…” Damn. He was really going to do this. “Is your boyfriend going to get upset with us for spending so much time together? I mean, it’s mostly professional, and Saturday was just to form a plan for Ally and Jonah.”

  “Boyfriend?” she snickered as he stopped a couple of feet in front of her. “Don’t worry, Theo. There’s no boyfriend to piss off. I’m not into serious relationships. Guess Mr. Right hasn’t come along yet.”

  It was the best news he’d heard all day. He crept closer until a foot remained between them. “Well, I could be your Mr. Right Now.”

  Cassie lowered her eyes down his body and back. “Sweetheart, you couldn’t handle me.” She pulled the door ajar, but Theo shut it. Her brows tightened with confusion. “Is there something else?”

  “Yeah.” His voice grew raspy. “There’s something I gotta know.”

  “What’s that?”

  He raised his hands and cupped her cheeks. As he lowered his lead, he leaned his body into hers and made one, slow sweep with his lips. On the second pass, he pressed harder. Her mouth parted. The heat of her breath warmed his face, but he didn’t lose focus. He slid his tongue into her mouth and swirled it with hers. Her body relaxed as she leaned into him more.

  Damn, she tasted sweet—sweet as a Georgia peach. She was definitely one of those, and by god, he wanted to sample her nectar. But he couldn’t. This was about seduction. It was about enticing her to want more. He couldn’t get carried away, no matter how much he wanted to.

  As he eased away, he pecked her lips once more. The corner of his mouth kinked when she released the breath she’d been holding and opened her eyes. Had he left her breathless? Fuck, he hoped so. But if not, she would be before he was finished with her.

  “I think maybe you’re the one who couldn’t handle it.”

  She stammered for a response but no words formed. Good. He had her right where he wanted her. Now it was time to leave her hanging. As he opened her door, he motioned for her to get inside.

  “You better get going. You don’t want to be late to the airport.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Theo flung his guitar pick across the room then slumped his shoulders. The repetitious pounding in his temples turned into a thumping force that consumed his thoughts. This was not his day. Hell, this hadn’t been his week.

  Hard to believe it was already Friday.

  He stared across the room. Jesse, Allen, and Jeff were gone, had been gone for the last hour. He hadn’t expected them to stay. They did what they were meant to do. He was the one fucking up shit.

  “Why don’t we call it a day, Theo?”

  He turned toward the glass partition where he saw Josh, as well as one of the sound producers, sitting inside the booth. Both looked like they’d spent a full day doing manual labor. No smiles warmed their rugged faces, no brightness lit up their eyes, and the way the sound producer stretched his neck on each side said his muscles were as stiff as Theo’s.

  Nodding at both reluctantly, he slid his guitar off his knee and onto the floor. At the same time, Josh’s voice echoed over the speaker again. “We have a couple more days to get this demo right. Don’t stress it, Theo. Everyone has a bad week.”

  Theo didn’t answer. He gave Josh a curt nod and rose to his feet. Josh could sugarcoat this all he wanted, but Theo knew the truth. The music sucked. He sucked.

  Jonah would be pissed when he found out the past week of sessions were a loss. It meant his time, money, and advice had been wasted. No way would he listen to anything Theo had to say after that. He would blame Cassie for being the reason nothing was accomplished.

  Yeah, she distracted him whenever he noticed her, but she wasn’t the sole source of his problem. Did Jonah even know she worked at the studio? He hadn’t mentioned it. As far as Theo knew, she’d only been in contact with Josh.

  “Enjoy your weekend.” Josh’s voice hummed over the speaker again as he waved his hand and exited the sound booth just before the producer.

  Silence surrounded Theo. He could hear his pulse inside his ears, even the way it quickened when his phone buzzed on the table beside him. A text displayed across the screen in a bubble with Jonah’s name.

  I’m here. Be inside in a few.
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  Damn it… It was the one thing he didn’t want. Facing Jonah in his current mood wouldn’t end well, especially if his brother was in the same mood. God knows he’d been in a foul one earlier this week. As much as Theo wanted to leave for the evening, it would be best to pull an all-nighter and work on the issues he’d found with the music.

  He swept the corner of each paper lying beside his phone. Neither he nor Jonah had approved of the lyrics on the stack of pages. It was a suggestion by one of the label executives his brother knew.

  Each word he scanned made him cringe. If he couldn’t sing something that wasn’t personal to him, he sure as hell couldn’t sing the crap on these papers. Southern Scandal wasn’t some boy band on the rise. They were a southern rock and blues band. Their songs held weight from emotions, experiences, and epiphanies.

  Their songs were about real life.

  “You in the zone?”

  Theo turned toward Jonah’s voice and shook his head. “Taking a break. It’s going to be a long night.”

  Jonah moved around the door and further inside the room. “Why? I just saw Josh leave the parking lot.” He gazed around the room as well as the sound booth window. “Where is the rest of your crew?”

  “They left an hour ago. They recorded some guitar solos and shit that didn’t require my voice. I’m the one behind.”

  “Okay. What seems to be the problem? Maybe I can help. I’m still a musician at heart.”

  Theo nodded. At least his brother wasn’t pissed…yet. He’d just arrived. There was plenty of time to see his face turn that awesome purple shade when he started yelling. And he would once Theo explained the reason why the demo wasn’t finished.

  Fuck…

  “I uh…I’m not feeling the music. The lyrics, I mean. They’re geared for mainstream boy bands after teenage girls with daddy’s credit card. You know this isn’t our music. Why are we wasting time with this crap when we should be working on our album?”

  “Theo, you knew about these songs before we came to Savannah.” His brother examined the papers and neared the table where they were stacked. “It’s not like they’ll be on your album. It’s just a demo, which I need by next Tuesday. I’ll be picking it up after my meeting with the investor. After I fly out Wednesday, you’ll have plenty of time to concentrate on your music.”

  “Why does the demo have to be this crap?” He scrunched the sheet of paper in his hand while waving it at Jonah. “Your connection should want to hear our songs, not this shit. Did you even read these? I’m assuming not since you seem okay with me doing a demo of this junk. Allow me the honor of making your ears bleed.”

  “Theo—”

  He raised his palm toward his brother and scanned the words again. “Oooh baby you’re so fine. You blow my mind. Gotta make you mine and bump and grind until the break of day… What the fuck, man? I can’t sing this shit.”

  Jonah growled. His body grew rigid as he turned his back to Theo. His shoes scuffed against the carpet with every step he made in the opposite direction. “I read the songs, Theo. Yes, I know they’re horrid. Jensen picks crap lyrics for everyone. It’s his way of seeing who is serious about their career.” He finally sat in the chair across from Theo and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Look at it like you went to college and pledged to a frat house. Singing this music is your form of being hazed. But doing it will get you into the fraternity. The music industry is your frat house, man. Make the pledge or go the fuck home.”

  Something inside Theo snapped. He gritted his teeth and slammed the paper back against the stack before approaching his brother. “I didn’t go to college.” He poked his chest with his finger. “I sure as hell wouldn’t join a frat house. You’re describing yourself, Jonah. I can’t fake a performance. That’s what I’d have to do to sing these bubble gum lyrics.”

  “Theo, I’m not going to argue with you. It’s just three songs. If you can’t sing three crappy songs to help you get ahead in this industry, I don’t know what else to say.” Jonah stood and patted his chest. “I’ve put my name on the line for you. Don’t make me regret it. If you want this bad enough, you’ll do whatever it takes.”

  He turned his back and made it three steps before Theo grew enraged. “Is that what you did, Jonah, when you left me in New Orleans? Did you do whatever it took to get ahead?”

  Jonah spun around and glared. The crease between his eyes deepened. His jaw set, and his face turned the funky purple shade it always did before he blew up. Things were about to get ugly. Real ugly.

  “Damn it, Theo, don’t you start on that shit again. I left New Orleans because I wanted to make something of myself. The band was going nowhere, and all you wanted to do is lay around, get drunk, and screw women. One of us decided to grow up.”

  “I did grow up!” Theo gritted his teeth as hard as he fisted his hands. “I know I screwed up in New Orleans. I couldn’t help it. My whole life went to hell because some punk wanted to mistreat women. I stood up for the right thing.”

  “Are you talking about what happened with Parker Pearson?” When Theo nodded, Jonah huffed. “You’re the one who chose to get in a fight during school.”

  “So you think it’s okay that he pushed Cassie against a wall and threatened her if she didn’t go out with him?”

  “I never said you shouldn’t beat his ass. I told you to wait until after school. You didn’t.”

  “I couldn’t. I’m sorry, but you would have done the same had it been Ally.”

  Jonah chuckled. He strolled over to the sound booth and stared at the glass. “You’re right. I would have done the same had it been Ally. But I was in love with her. Are you finally admitting what you felt for Cassie?”

  “I’m not admitting anything. Parker could have done what he did to any girl in that school and I still would have kicked his ass.”

  “Then you have to live with the consequences your actions brought. We are what we make ourselves.”

  Theo inched closer. “No, we’re what the Master Sergeant made us. You could have stood up to him when he threw me out of the house, but did you? Hell no. You stood by and watched me leave. Guess you didn’t want to give up your spot as the favorite son, did you?”

  Jonah bolted away from the sound booth and made quick strides toward Theo. His chest puffed up as he glared at him. “I gave up everything for you. I left the girl I loved so I could go with you to New Orleans. That doesn’t count for anything, does it?”

  “You didn’t give up Ally to go with me. You gave her up because Paula Jacobs threatened you. Don’t blame this shit on me.”

  “Then don’t blame your failures on me.”

  Their shouting ceased when they heard voices in the hallway. They grew louder as a wave of panic hit Theo. Hopefully, Cassie wasn’t still here. He couldn’t imagine her overhearing any of his conversation with Jonah or popping in to see what was happening. Luckily, the voices grew softer before fading completely.

  The urge to punch Jonah remained but lessened. He wasn’t sure if Jonah felt the same. If they did exchange punches, it wouldn’t be the first fistfight they had. Probably wouldn’t be the last either.

  After a moment of silence, Jonah cleared his throat. “I don’t want to fight with you. We are supposed to stick together no matter what. Family first, remember?”

  “Don’t use those empty words on me. They came from a man who didn’t put his family first. His duty to this country was his priority, then his friends, then his family. Or maybe it was just me he put last.”

  “Dad loves you, Theo. He made mistakes, but so did we. Maybe if you’d go talk to him, you’d see that.”

  Theo turned around and walked back to the table where his phone was sitting. He didn’t plan on bringing his father into this conversation. Now that he had, he wanted to escape. “Our father told me six years ago that he never wanted to see me again. I’m only honoring his request.”

  Jonah mumbled something under his breath about stubbornness, then his steps sounded behind Theo.
His brother wasn’t approaching him. He was moving toward the door. “I gotta go. I have a few things to do before the weekend starts. I’ll get with you tomorrow after we have calmed down.”

  As Theo fiddled with the tuners on his guitar, he exhaled slowly and shrugged. “You know where to find me.”

  Great. Jonah finally mentioned the weekend, which would have been the perfect time to bring up meeting Ally and Cassie. Now they were both too angry to discuss it. In Jonah’s current mood, he’d be closed to the topic.

  The room grew void of sound, but he could sense his brother’s presence. He turned toward the door and saw Jonah standing in the hallway. “Things happen for reasons we don’t understand. Of all the recording studios in the world, we ended up back in Savannah. Maybe there’s a reason. Go see Dad.”

  “Enjoy your evening, Jonah.”

  His brother scoffed at his remark but said nothing. A moment later, he disappeared from Theo’s sight. It was a predictable end to a shitty day. At least nothing about this night could get worse. He’d be holed up in this room, doing the only thing he could do right. Make music.

  Fuck the demo. Thanks to Jonah, he had enough new material to finish his album. He’d work on it tonight. Come Monday, he’d worry about the rest.

  ***

  The filing cabinet door clicked closed once Cassie shut it. She worked her way back to her desk and picked up her phone. There was still no text from Ally about tomorrow, even after she promised to give Cassie an answer by five.

  For the second time in the past week, Ally was late. Cassie hoped her friend wasn’t monitoring time on the watch Paula gave her. It was a pretty piece of jewelry, but it couldn’t keep time worth a lick. Of course, had it not been for the watch, Ally wouldn’t have arrived late for their date last weekend. They wouldn’t have gone to Midnight Blues or ran into Jonah and Theo. Still, it wasn’t like Ally to leave her hanging.

  Tapping the back button, a list of names populated Cassie’s screen, names of contacts that recently texted. Only one of those messages hadn’t been opened, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to read it.