Temperatures Rising

by Brenda Jackson

  With her hand, she waved aside any of her uncle’s concerns. “Everything’s fine,” she lied. “Terrence and I understand each other,” she added, wishing that were true. She and Terrence did not understand each other. After two weeks of good behavior he was back to being difficult.

  Her uncle studied her. “Are you sure? Because if not, I can talk with him.” He smiled. “I think he makes a pest of himself with you because he likes you.”

  Sherri had to refrain from telling her uncle that Terrence didn’t like her, he wanted her. There was a difference. “I doubt that’s true, but like I said, Terrence and I understand each other. Don’t worry about anything back here. Just go on to Memphis and work out a good deal with Wilkins. I’ll take care of everything while you’re gone.”

  Chapter 5

  J ust when she’d thought her and Terrence’s paths wouldn’t be crossing any more that week, she ran into him, of all places, on the elevator. And to make matters worse, he was the lone occupant.

  “Going down, Sherri?” he asked, his voice lowering to too husky a pitch for her peace of mind. And it didn’t help the situation to know that for some reason he had invaded her dreams last night in ways he hadn’t invaded them before. They had been sexy. Naughty. And in her dreams he had been the one going down. The memory of it had the insides of her thighs feeling damp. Now there he stood, leaning against the wall and looking sexy as all outdoors.

  “Yes.” She hesitated a moment before stepping in and moving to one side, a safe distance away from him. The man was way too much temptation.

  “Don’t think you can control yourself in here alone with me?” he asked in a teasing voice.

  “I’m the one who should be asking you that,” she said, snapping out the words. Too late, she wished she hadn’t when she saw the darkening of his eyes. The look he was giving her had the pulse beating erratically at the base of her throat.

  “Since you brought it up,” he said, his gaze roaming her figure from head to toe, “I was going to be a gentleman and control myself, but now I don’t think I will.”

  She backed up and lifted her chin. “You will force me to do something against my will?” she asked.

  He smiled that sexy smile of his and she knew she’d lost the battle already. That darn dimple did her in. “No, but I may force you to admit something you’re being rather stubborn about. Although our relationship goals in life are different right now, this very moment in time, we want each other and there is no way you can deny it.”

  “I do deny it.”

  “Let’s see for how long.”

  He moved away from the wall and reached out and pushed the button to stop the elevator. Then he took the few steps separating them. She refused to back up, determined to hold her ground with him.

  “I need this kiss, Sherri, so if nothing else, please humor me,” he murmured in a low voice.

  The words he’d spoken had come as a surprise, and despite her reason for not wanting it to happen, she inwardly admitted that she needed the kiss, as well. So she did what he asked and humored him, although when his mouth settled on hers it was obvious neither of them was amused. Instead they were filled with one gigantic need.

  Judging by the depth of their kiss, it was a need they were determined to fill. Just like the two other times their mouths had been joined, what they were experiencing was ultimate pleasure. The kind that slaughtered your senses, sent shudders through your body. As if they had a will of their own, their bodies pressed closer together in a way that bordered on indecent.

  Sherri’s purse fell to the floor when she wrapped her arms around Terrence’s neck and sank even deeper into the kiss. She felt heated sensations all the way to her toes. This was the reason she’d tried to resist him. He had a way of making her not think straight. The last thing she should be doing with him was locking lips, getting some tongue play.

  Yet that was exactly what she wanted to do—and she was enjoying every minute of it.

  When he pulled his mouth away, she nearly moaned in protest. But he didn’t move his mouth far. His tongue played around the corners of her lips. His actions ripped into what little control she had left. She felt overwhelmed by desire.

  “Tell me I can come over tonight, Sherri. Let’s finish up what we started here,” he whispered against her moist lips.

  She was tempted to concede. He was stirring up emotions within her that she’d never had to deal with before. The only excuse she could come up with was that her hormones were obviously out of whack. How long had it been since she’d been intimate with a man? Two years? Probably longer than that given the fact that she and Ben had never made love on a frequent basis. Whenever they could fit it into their schedules had worked well for them…or so she had thought. She’d found out later he’d been making love to someone else, a woman who worked for him. Someone who had no qualms about banging her way to the top. Sherri drew in a deep breath, not wanting to think about Ben’s betrayal.

  “We’ve held this elevator up long enough. Time to get out of here,” Terrence said, breaking into her thoughts and taking her by the hand.

  As soon as the elevator door opened, he stepped out and tugged her with him. Luckily they were in the parking garage, because he then pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. Sherri felt weak in the knees and felt blood rush to her head with every precise stroke of his tongue.

  When he pulled back, she held on to him because it seemed the world around her was spinning. “Do I get to follow you home and spend some time with you?” he asked.

  She looked at him, making a quick decision. She had tried to avoid him for two weeks and look what happened. Now she was behaving like a woman in heat. She needed to do whatever it took to get him out of her system, and if spending one night with him was the answer, then she would go through with it. Terrence had an allure she could not resist. At least not tonight.

  “I need to think about it,” she said softly.

  He nodded. “Promise me you’ll give it a lot of thought.”

  She stared up at him, becoming hypnotized by the eyes staring back at her. Deep. Dark. Hungry. He wanted her. There was no doubt in her mind. And she wanted him, but she had never been a person to engage in casual affairs. After her fiasco with Ben, maybe it was time to grab what she could and not believe in the forever after.

  There was something about Terrence, the way he looked at her, the arrogant way he acted around her. In a way, she liked his arrogance. He was a self-assured man. Confident. A man who was persistent in going after what he wanted.

  “I promise,” she said softly, not sure what was happening to her to even consider such a thing.

  A struggle was taking place within her, and she wasn’t sure of the outcome. The only thing she did know was that since day one she had fought her feelings, tried to ignore her desires for Terrence, and it wasn’t working. She hated to admit it, but he had been a part of her every thought even when she hadn’t wanted him to be. Evidently he felt being smooth and debonair didn’t work with her and was now behaving like a bad boy. She’d never messed with bad boys before. All the guys she’d dated in the past, even Ben, had gotten a stamp of approval from her parents.

  “If you make a decision in my favor, I’ll be at home tonight. I won’t be at Club Hurricane,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.

  She doubted she would make a decision about anything tonight. She knew that any affair with Terrence, even a one-night stand, was destined to change her life forever. He was determined to set fire to a passion within her that had been left dormant for the past two years. Her nerve endings tingled at the thought of that happening.

  “I’ve got to go,” she said, moving away toward her parked car.

  “All right. And I hope to see you later. You do have my address, right?”

  She nodded. Although she’d never been to his home, she knew his address. It was within a mile of where she was currently living. “Yes.”

  And then she walked away and forced herself not t
o look back.

  Feeling a sense of impending doom, Terrence stood with his hands deep in his pockets and watched Sherri walk away. Never had any woman’s decision meant so much to him that it had his stomach tied in knots. From the beginning he’d thought that he was the one calling the shots.

  Now he wasn’t so damn sure of that.

  When he’d first seen her he had quickly decided she was someone worth looking at, and there was no harm in looking. Once he’d discovered she was Warrick’s niece, any thoughts of hitting on her vanished, although he’d seen no harm in a little innocent flirtation. But then he discovered looking and flirting weren’t good enough. He wanted to touch and taste her, to join their bodies together. The more he’d seen her, the more he had wanted her. Now he was driven with an impulse to strip her naked each and every time he saw her.

  She affected him like no other woman had. For two weeks they had tried avoiding each other and he’d been fine with it, deciding a woman with marriage on her mind was the last type of woman he needed to get involved with. Yet the moment he had glanced at the glass booth and seen her in it, it was as if a part of her had called out to him, had made his desire for her keener, his obsession with sharing a bed with her even more defined.

  He stood there and continued to watch as the car she’d gotten into drove off and disappeared. Now the waiting would begin. Taking his hands out of his pockets, he walked toward his car, thinking he needed to make love to her like he needed to breathe.

  For him to want any woman that much wasn’t good. But for the time being, he was trapped by his desires and only she held the key for his release.

  Sherri walked into the house, thinking that during the drive home her head should have cleared and her senses should have been back in check. But if that was the case, then why was she contemplating taking a shower, changing into something sexy and paying Terrence a visit?

  And why on the drive home had she felt the need to constantly remind herself that she was a forever-after kind of girl, and just because Ben hadn’t appreciated her that didn’t necessarily mean the next guy wouldn’t? On top of all that, she also reminded herself she didn’t have the time to put into an affair, long or short. Her concentration was on her work at the station. She felt good knowing her uncle believed in her capabilities enough to leave her in charge of everything and everyone.

  Including Terrence.

  But only technically, since being in charge of the station included responsibility for anyone associated with it.

  She moved through her living room and headed straight for the kitchen, needing a cup of tea. She always thought better while sipping tea.

  A short while later she was sitting at the kitchen table sipping tea and trying to decide what she should do. Why would a logical person like herself even contemplate doing something so illogical as having an affair, and with of all people, the Keys’ bad boy? A man with a reputation as a ladies’ man. A man who never, ever intended to marry. What was the sense in that? She took a sip of her tea and summed up the answer in five words.

  She needed a memorable experience.

  She was twenty-seven and had yet to experience the big O. At least not a real one. She hadn’t ever told anyone, including Kim, that her time in bed with Ben had always left her so unsatisfied that she had begun wondering what all the hoopla was about regarding sex. Though Ben had never complained and had in fact several times complimented her on the degree of passion she could generate in their bed, she’d always inwardly felt shortchanged. She smiled, thinking that she would love to see Ben now and confess that all those times she’d actually been faking it.

  Her smile quickly vanished when another thought crossed her mind. What if Ben had been faking it, as well? What if the reason he had left her for another woman had nothing to do with her spending more time on the job than with him? What if that had only been his excuse for her replacement?

  She took another sip of tea and thought about all those possibilities. A short while later she knew she had to know the truth. Could she satisfy a man in bed? Could a man satisfy her? She nervously placed her cup back down in the saucer. Maybe she was thinking too hard. She’d never underestimated herself as a woman. She was healthy, in good shape, dressed nicely. Men looked at her, Terrence wanted her. But all they saw was the book’s cover. What was really on the pages? What if she wasn’t capable of delivering when a man needed it the most?

  She had to know the truth.

  Convincing herself that she was doing this more for herself than for Terrence, she made her decision. One night with Terrence ought to give her the answer she wanted. One night and not any more and she would make certain he understood that. To make absolutely sure she wouldn’t be another notch on his bedpost, she went to get her cell phone from out of her purse.

  She called Terrence. He answered on the first ring. “Hello, Sherri.”

  She frowned. At times she detested caller ID. “Hello, Terrence. I’ve decided not to come over to your place. But you’re more than welcome if you’d like to come over to mine.”

  He didn’t say anything for a second, and then, “I’d love to.”

  “And, Terrence, just to make sure things are absolutely clear, tonight is the only night you’ll get invited to my home. There will only be tonight for us. There will not be any repeats.”

  Again he didn’t say anything for a second, and then, “I’ll be there shortly.”

  Sherri hung up the phone. She refused to be just another notch on his bedpost, but he could definitely be a notch on hers.

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  Chapter 6

  B y the time Sherri had showered and changed into something more comfortable, Terrence was ringing the doorbell. Although her outfit, a printed skirt and blouse lounging set, was supposed to be relaxing, she found that she was a nervous wreck.

  Twice she was tempted to call Terrence and tell him that she had changed her mind, but each time she decided to go through with it. She deserved to know the truth about herself.

  Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. He stood there, not surprisingly looking positively jaw-droppingly sexy. The man was as macho as they came. He had changed out of the outfit he’d had on at the station and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a pullover. His hair appeared damp, which meant he’d showered and shaved.

  “Terrence, welcome to my home,” she said, attempting to add a degree of warmth and hospitality to her smile. “Won’t you come in?”

  “Yes, I definitely want to come in,” he assured her, stepping over the threshold when she moved aside.

  When she closed the door and turned, he was standing in the middle of her apartment and glancing around. “Nice place, Sherri. It suits you.”

  She chuckled, not sure what he meant by that. “Thanks.” She gestured toward the sofa. “Please have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?”

  “No thanks, I’m fine,” he said, sitting down.

  “All right, then I’ll get dinner—”

  “Dinner?”

  She saw the surprised expression in his eyes and understood. Evidently he’d assumed that he would be escorted immediately to the bedroom. “Yes, dinner. After the wonderful meal you had prepared for me at the club, there was no way I could invite you over and not return the hospitality. Although I didn’t have time to prepare anything, so I ordered from a nice Chinese restaurant around the corner. I understand you like Chinese food.”

  “And who told you that?” he asked, looking at her intently.

  “Um, I think I overheard one of the technicians mention it one day during lunch. So do you enjoy Chinese food?”

  He leaned back in his seat. “Yes, I enjoy a number of things and Chinese food happens to be on the list.”

  “Good. It will only take me a second to set things up.” She turned toward the kitchen.

  “Sherri?”

  She turned back around. “Yes?”

  He met her gaze, and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he defini
tely had an agenda. He confirmed it when he asked, “Dinner isn’t the only thing I’m getting tonight, right?”

  Her reaction to his bold question was instantaneous. Her nipples hardened and heat began forming between her thighs. “Why? Is there something else that you want?” she asked, trying to keep her body from quivering.

  He smiled, and her gaze shifted from his eyes to his mouth. She immediately recalled the kisses they’d shared, and just thinking about the intensity of them had goose bumps forming on her arms.

  “Yes, there’s something else I want. Do you want me to tell you what it is?”

  She swallowed deeply. Not at any time did she doubt that he would. “I don’t think that will be necessary, and as far as what else you’ll be getting tonight, we will have to see. Some things are better when they are not planned or expected.”

  He shook his head. “I happen to disagree. I have nothing against spontaneity, but it’s nice to know what’s in store. Accidents can happen when things aren’t planned or expected.”

  She nodded, catching his drift. But in this case, as he would find out later, he had nothing to worry about since she was in good health and on the pill. “True, but a smart man and woman are always prepared regardless.”

  Deciding not to say anything else on the subject, she moved toward the kitchen.

  Terrence watched Sherri walk away. He was definitely prepared, since he’d put several condoms in his wallet. And just in case they decided to make it an all-nighter, he’d put a few in his jeans pockets, too. To be quite honest, although he’d hoped that she would, he’d been sort of surprised that she had called him. He wasn’t sure of the reason, but he was not about to complain.

  He heard her moving around in the kitchen and decided to check out the various paintings on the wall. A friend once said you could tell a lot about a woman by the pictures on her walls. In that case, Sherri must love animals, because he noticed several framed portraits of them. And one could safely say she liked live plants, judging from the many she had. Obviously she did a good job keeping them alive. Too bad he couldn’t say the same about himself.