Her Lover's Legacy

by Adrianne Byrd

  It worked.

  Right up to the point when she climbed into bed, turned off the lights and drifted off where once again Malcolm awaited her.

  Malcolm tossed and turned throughout the night. Nothing he did could get the image of Gloria out of his mind. The woman who had awakened him and stirred his passion in the back of that limo had been the polar opposite of the businesslike, straitlaced executive assistant who’d always run his father’s office like a five-star navy general.

  The woman who’d writhed on his lap and cried out his name in the most sensual, erotic voice he’d ever heard was like no fantasy nymph he’d ever met before. And one he wished to see again.

  Of course, there was just one catch—Gloria Kingsley apparently had no plans of letting him ever see that side of her again.

  Malcolm grabbed a pillow and smashed it over his head in tormented frustration. Still, his body craved what it had been denied. How did he expect to sleep when all he could think about was how delicious she’d tasted?

  In the next moment, Malcolm climbed out of bed and paced around his dark bedroom while he tried to make sense out of what he was feeling. By 2:00 a.m. he contemplated driving back over to Gloria’s place and banging down the door. However, he’d run the chance of her either calling the cops or the good folks down at the local mental institution.

  Sound reason convinced him not to chance it.

  What if he called? Malcolm’s gaze slid to the cordless phone on the nightstand next to his bed. He calculated the odds of her answering the phone. And if she did answer the phone—what should he say?

  “Hey, can I come over so we can finish what we started?” He groaned at the notion. That would get him a fast introduction to Mr. Dial Tone.

  No. He would need charm and finesse if he ever hoped to meet that uninhibited seductress again. And he wanted to meet her again.

  Badly.

  By 3:00 a.m. Malcolm found himself in the living room and rummaging through those old campaign tapes until he found, played and froze the images of Gloria.

  This time when he studied her face, it was as if he was seeing her for the first time. True, he’d always seen her beauty, but now he noted other things: the spark in her eyes that reflected curiosity and adventure, the firm line of her jaw that radiated strength and determination.

  As Malcolm stared at Gloria’s profile, his blood stirred once again and he remembered the sweet taste of her puckered nipples and how silky and hard her clit felt against his hand.

  His growing erection pulsed and throbbed against his leg until he eased a hand down the front of his black boxers in order to get some release. The moment he wrapped his hand around his lengthy hard-on, he sucked in a sharp breath and groaned out her name.

  Gloria tossed and turned against her bed’s satin sheets. Her hand was planted deep between her legs while she recalled in vivid detail how Malcolm had lapped hungrily at her breasts—every other stroke she felt the soft graze of his teeth against her sensitive nipples.

  Her breathing grew choppy while she made lazy figure-eight strokes along her swollen clit while her other hand squeezed and pinched her breasts.

  Finding a good rhythm, Malcolm allowed his eyelids to lower while his mind transported him back to the limo. Instead of his hand, he imagined that he had penetrated her hot, tight body and her rocking hips were stealing a part of his soul.

  With each pounding thrust, Malcolm ground his teeth together in hopes to prolong their coupling. Yet it was impossible. Gloria’s body grew tighter as she rushed toward her building crescendo, forcing Malcolm’s breathing to morph into a chaotic chug.

  Gloria’s body was on fire. So close to her orgasm, she’d locked her knees together, but her hand continued to stroke and caress. Her blood was close to boiling when she began to quiver and shake. Her gasps heightened its pitch. Malcolm’s name tumbled from her lips repeatedly. Perspiration beaded across her brow as she now entered the realm of delirium.

  The next imaginary stroke of Malcolm’s cock detonated Gloria’s orgasm. She tossed among the pillows as a strangled cry of release filled her bedroom.

  Growling, Malcolm’s orgasm sped toward him with the power and force of a locomotive and then collided and shattered his soul into a million pieces. When he opened his eyes to see Gloria’s smiling face still frozen on the screen he realized that he was far from being satisfied.

  And wondered if he ever would be.

  Chapter 11

  Gloria woke the next day with a renewed determination to put last night’s embarrassing episode behind her. Today, what was left of the Harmon Braddock staff would learn when the governor would announce the date of the special election for the vacant Twenty-ninth District seat in Congress.

  The clock was ticking for her to convince Malcolm to run. A feat complicated now that she was too embarrassed by her behavior last night to face him again.

  Selecting a no-nonsense black suit and black boxed pumps, with her hair pulled and pinned into a tightly coiled bun, Gloria hoped the outfit would help erase the image of the wanton woman from last night.

  With any luck, Malcolm would help her pretend that the whole episode never happened.

  All hopes of that were dashed the moment she entered her office and found it filled with red roses.

  “Looks like somebody has an admirer,” Mabel sang out, coming up behind Gloria. “Sorry for last night. You were right.”

  “You read the card?” Gloria snapped.

  Mabel shrugged. “We were dying with curiosity. We didn’t think you ever dated.”

  “We?”

  Amelia Blake poked her head into the office and waved. “Curiosity usually kills the cat, but we were willing to take that chance.”

  Gloria drew a deep breath and silently counted to ten.

  “There’s just one thing,” Mabel said, watching her boss stomp over to her desk. “Didn’t you go to that cancer center fund-raiser with Malcolm Braddock last night?”

  Gloria hoped against hope that her face didn’t look as inflamed as it felt, but judging by the women’s immediate squeals, it was clear it was a lost cause.

  “The roses are from him, aren’t they?” Mabel asked, rushing up to Gloria and grabbing her arm as if they were suddenly new best friends. “We want all the juicy details.”

  Gloria smiled, and then gently but firmly pried her hand from Mabel’s grasp. “There’s nothing to tell,” she lied, and then eased behind her desk.

  The women’s faces fell.

  “You’re joking, right?” Amelia said, crossing her arms in preparation to stare Gloria down. “Honey, a man doesn’t clean a florist out of their stock of roses unless he either did something wrong or you did something right.”

  “Very right,” Mabel clarified.

  Gloria’s laughter was absent of humor, and her gaze darted everywhere but toward the two sets of eyes trained on her. “C’mon, now. You know Malcolm and I usually rub each other the wrong way.”

  “Please,” Amelia said, rolling her eyes and making herself comfortable on the edge of Gloria’s desk. “All that fake arguing you two do have never fooled anybody.”

  “Tell me about it,” Mabel grumbled in agreement.

  Amelia went on, “Whenever you two are in the same room together we have to turn up the air conditioner in order to cool the place down.”

  Gloria’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “You two are just playing devil’s advocates.”

  Mabel’s lips sloped into a half smile. “Are you saying that these roses aren’t from Malcolm?”

  Gloria scowled at being backed into a corner.

  “Aha!” The women shouted in unison and jumped to their feet. “We knew it. We knew it.”

  Gloria moaned as the women rocketed behind her desk and rolled her chair back so they could get up close and personal.

  Mabel was first to get her question out. “Did y’all do the do or did you just tease him a bit?”

  Amelia popped Mabel on the shoulder. “Of course she
just teased him. Gloria isn’t the type to just give up her goodies on the first date.”

  Gloria shrank in her seat in an attempt to become invisible.

  “Please.” Mabel turned to argue with Amelia. “When was the last time the girl has even gone out on a date? A girl can only suppress those urges for so long.” She glanced back at Gloria. “Am I right? You didn’t break him, did you? The man is still in one piece, right?”

  Mabel now popped Amelia’s shoulder. “Look, now you’ve stunned the girl speechless. Everyone knows Gloria is a good girl. Isn’t that right?” She eyed Gloria for confirmation.

  Gloria bumped her gums but words eluded her. Blessedly, the phone rang and she jumped to answer it. “Hello.”

  Amelia and Mabel continued arguing while Gloria tried to discern the voice on the other line.

  “Hello,” she repeated.

  “It wasn’t an accident,” said a strange and rushed whisper.

  “What?” Gloria frowned and glanced up at the caller ID screen to read Unknown Number. “What wasn’t an accident?”

  Click.

  A second later an automatic recording instructed, “If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and dial your number again.”

  “Humph. That was weird,” Gloria said.

  “At the very least we know that you kissed him,” Mabel said, determined to get something out of Gloria.

  “Ladies, do you mind?” Gloria said, reaching the end of her patience. “This is still a place of business and I have a ton of work to do.”

  Mabel looked outraged. “What—you’re just going to leave us hanging?”

  Amelia shook her head and laughed. “I told you we weren’t going to get anything out of her. When it comes to gossip, honey-child’s lips are sealed tighter than Fort Knox.”

  “I’m thinking that’s what makes her such an exceptional executive assistant,” a deep baritone said, silencing the women.

  All eyes turned to see Senator Ray Cayman filling the open doorway.

  “Good morning, ladies,” he greeted them, tilting his groomed salt-and-pepper head toward them. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

  “Oh, no,” Amelia said with a quick smile, and then elbowed Mabel to signal it was time to make their exit.

  “Hello, Senator,” Mabel said, practically mooning over the handsome septuagenarian. “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee—tea?”

  “No. I’m fine. Thank you.”

  Mabel bobbed her head, but it wasn’t until Amelia gave her a quick shove did she think to leave the office. “All right, then. I guess we’ll just leave you two alone.”

  Still smiling, Cayman nodded and then waited.

  When the women finally made their exit, Gloria sighed in relief. “I’m completely in your debt,” she said, chuckling.

  Cayman glanced around the office. “I think you have every rose in the state of Texas in here.”

  She laughed. “I think you might be right.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  So much for thinking she had escaped inquiring minds. “Um. Not exactly.”

  “Ah. I’m being nosy, aren’t I?”

  Gloria shrugged as she slid on her glasses. “Well…”

  A long strained silence drifted between them.

  “Was there something you needed, Senator?” she asked, noting the oddity of him just showing up unannounced.

  “No. Well…” He paused. “It sure is strange without Harmon around,” he said softly.

  Gloria nodded sadly. She hadn’t stopped noticing the large void Harmon left. Knowing how far back the senator and Harmon went, Gloria understood completely what he was going through.

  Cayman stood as if he had more to say but didn’t know how to go about saying it.

  Gloria didn’t know what to do, so she kept her eyes averted and braided her fingers while she waited. It’d always pained her to realize that when it came to these sorts of things, she was severely lacking. She had always dealt with grief and disappointment by keeping busy. “Worrying and tears are a complete waste of time,” her mother had drilled into her, and it had become her personal decree.

  As if noticing the silence, Cayman cleared his throat and offered her a weak smile. “You’re probably wondering why I stopped by,” he said, and moved to the vacant chair before her desk.

  Gloria smiled.

  “It’s about last night,” he offered, sitting down and adjusting his tie. “I wanted to feel you out about whether you thought Malcolm had given any serious thoughts about what we discussed last night.”

  Gloria’s interest piqued. “About running for his father’s seat in Congress?”

  Cayman nodded. “I’ve talked with a few of my constituents and…” He met her gaze. “Can I be honest with you?”

  Nodding, she leaned forward in her desk. “Everyone is practically salivating at the thought of Malcolm stepping in and continuing his father’s work. People love the work he’s been doing for the community. Hell, he fared much better than any of us after that Katrina nightmare. If we get his name on the ballot, he’s a shoo-in.”

  Gloria hid her delight behind a well-cultivated poker face. “Has the governor announced when the special election will take place?”

  “This morning. Four months from today,” Cayman said. “So if we’re going to do this, we need to make our own announcement soon.”

  She agreed but realized that she hadn’t really made a dent in convincing Malcolm to pursue a career in politics. Truthfully, she wondered if she ever could. Even Harmon had failed in the endeavor. What made her think she could do it?

  Cayman cocked his head. “Well, what do you think?”

  She finally drew a deep breath and answered honestly. “Malcolm is his own man and driven by his own sense of right and wrong. While he may love working for change, he has a low tolerance for the whole political game.”

  Cayman nodded. “We all did—in the beginning. My question is do you think we can turn him around?”

  She sighed and confessed, “I’ve been working on it.”

  This time, he smiled. “Harmon always said you operated two steps ahead of everyone else. I’m glad to hear we’re on the same page.” He stood and she did likewise. “There’s a political fund-raiser next Wednesday hosted by Stewart Industries. Is there any chance of getting Malcolm to attend?”

  She started to say that the country had a better chance of balancing the budget, when an idea hit.

  “You’re thinking,” Cayman said, cocking his head. “What is it?”

  Knock. Knock.

  Gloria jumped as her eyes flew toward the door. Malcolm filled the space, wearing casual khakis and a loose-fitting T. In his hands was a lush bundle of red roses.

  “Looks like there are more roses in the state, after all,” Cayman joked as he approached Malcolm with his hand extended. “I’m almost afraid to ask what you did wrong, son.”

  Malcolm’s gaze slid toward Gloria, who quickly glanced away.

  “Well, hopefully it’s something I can fix,” he answered, accepting Cayman’s handshake. “If you two are busy, I can come back later.”

  “No, no,” Gloria answered, her friendly smile shaky at best. “The senator was just trying to convince me to go to a party but I was telling him as much as I wanted to go, I didn’t have an escort.” She tossed out the risky bait and then held her breath.

  Cayman glanced over his shoulder at her.

  “Well, if you really want to go,” Malcolm said, “I wouldn’t mind taking you. When is it?”

  Gloria beamed despite having used Malcolm’s guilt from last night to her advantage. “Wednesday night. You’re sure you don’t mind?”

  “No.” Malcolm’s smile broadened. “I’d love to take you.”

  Cayman chuckled. “Well, I guess that means roses really do work.” He patted Malcolm on the shoulder. “I guess I’ll see you two Wednesday night.” He winked and shuffled past Malcolm at the door.

  Gloria lowered back into her s
eat.

  Malcolm edged closer to her desk. “I guess you know what this means?”

  Confused for only a moment, Gloria laughed. “Yes. We are officially going on a date.”

  Chapter 12

  Gloria may have been gorgeous in black, a sizzling siren in red, but she was positively breathtaking in blue. The moment she opened her apartment door, Malcolm was speechless. The dress, the shortest he’d ever seen her in, draped her curvy body like a second layer of skin and had a way of making her legs look like tall stacks of brown sugar.

  “Looks like I’m not the only one who knows how to be on time,” she joked, sliding on a sheer blue jacket and grabbing her matching clutch bag.

  Malcolm stared.

  “Well, I’m ready,” she said with a careless shrug when it looked as if Malcolm was just going to stand there.

  At last, he blinked and ended his trance. “You look magnificent,” he said, knowing it was an understatement.

  “What? This old thing?” She stepped out into the hall; but as she brushed past him, he caught sight of the price tag still attached to the back of her dress.

  “Old thing, huh?” he said, barely containing his mirth as he grabbed the tag. “Forty-percent off is a pretty good deal.”

  “Oh!” She jumped, avoiding his gaze while her face darkened.

  “Here. Let me take care of that for you,” he offered, knowing from experience with his sister how to remove the tag without damaging the dress. “There you go. You’re all set to break men’s hearts.”

  Gloria glanced over her shoulder and looked up at him. “That’s the first time I’ve been accused of that.”

  He leaned in close and allowed the trail of her heavenly scent to wrap around him. “Has anyone told you that you’re not a very good liar?”

  Her blush deepened. “Only you.”

  He smiled and offered his arm. “Now, where is this party?” he asked, wondering if he was a bit too casual for the evening in his all-black attire.