Moonlight Kisses

by Phyllis Bourne

  “But you of all people should know I can’t be bought.”

  His smile deepened, revealing a dimple she hadn’t seen before. “They’re hot.”

  Me, too, thanks to you. Sage crossed her legs under her desk. She intended to keep them that way until this surprise visit of his was over.

  “Are you sure I can’t tempt you?”

  Her stomach growled again as the smell of doughnuts filled the office. Sage huffed out a sigh and gave into it. “Well, since you’re already here.”

  He pulled away from the door frame and strode toward her with the ease of a man comfortable in his own skin. Bringing his free hand from behind his back, he produced a bouquet of brilliant yellow flowers.

  “Also for you.”

  Sage eyed his offering. The cheerful mix of sunflowers, yellow Gerber daisies and alstroemeria blooms instantly brightened her office. They’d be a sweet gesture coming from anyone else. However, Cole Sinclair had an agenda. One that conflicted directly with hers, and she’d best not forget it.

  Finally, she rose from her chair and took the flowers from her nemesis’s outstretched hand. She hesitated before bringing them to her nose to inhale their sweet scent. “These aren’t laced with hemlock, are they, Mr. Sinclair?”

  “It’s Cole, remember?”

  “Well, Cole.” Sage continued to inspect the sunny bouquet. “Did you hide a listening device in these posies that would make you privy to my office secrets?”

  He chuckled. The deep, rich rumble made her toes curl inside her five-inch heels. One brow lifted as his brown eyes bored into hers. “Have you done something that would make you feel paranoid around me?”

  “I take it you’ve seen the billboard.” Sage acknowledged the obvious.

  He nodded. “Oh, I saw it all right.”

  Rounding her desk, she crossed the room and stepped out into her outer office. She retrieved paper plates and a vase from a cabinet. When she returned, Cole was lifting the lid on the box of doughnuts, which he’d deposited on her desk. Sage passed him the paper plates and stuffed the flowers into the vase. Cole topped one of the paper plates with a warm glazed doughnut and handed it to her, along with a napkin imprinted with the doughnut chain’s logo.

  “I brought you coffee, too, but your security guard appropriated it as part of the bribe,” he said.

  “Would you like some?” Sage told herself it was the least she could do since he’d come bearing gifts. “It’ll only take a second. My assistant insisted on one of those fancy single-serving brewers for our offices.”

  “No, thanks. I’m an earlier riser. I’ve already had coffee this morning, plus I ran three miles.”

  Sage told herself it wasn’t another one of the similarities they shared. Plenty of people ran three miles and drank coffee in the morning.

  He plucked a glazed doughnut from the box. “But I’ll take one of these off your hands.”

  Leaning shoulder-to-shoulder against the front of her desk, they chewed simultaneously as they each polished off a doughnut. Sage broke the brief silence. “While I’m not entirely shocked to hear from you today, this isn’t at all what I expected.”

  “Let me guess, you were waiting for me to call or storm in here ranting, ready to take your head off.”

  “Something like that.”

  He helped himself to another doughnut and placed a second one on her plate. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t my visceral reaction. I was furious.”

  “I’ll bet,” Sage said. “But you seem pretty chill now.” Suspiciously so, she thought.

  “You can’t think when you’re angry.” Cole bit into his doughnut and slowly chewed.

  “And I take it you’ve been thinking.”

  “Oh, yeah.” He sounded casual and friendly, but there was no mistaking the unspoken promise in his seemingly innocuous words. Sage heard it loud and clear: watch your back.

  “So is this all part of your strategy?” She glanced over her shoulder at the flowers and half-empty box of doughnuts on her desk.

  “Actually, the flowers are my way of acknowledging that the billboard was a brilliant move on your part. I foolishly underestimated you,” he said, “and you found a way to make me pay for it and at the same time advertise your brand.”

  Sage scanned his face, unable to believe what she was hearing. This time he’d genuinely shocked her, and she had to do a double take.

  Not many men, or people for that matter, were able to openly admit to a mistake or being bested. Yet Cole had done so with no reservations. Once again, he’d raised himself in her esteem.

  Too bad he was after her company.

  “Bravo.” Cole inclined his head in a slight nod. “In your shoes, I might have done the same thing. After all, the best defense is a good offense.”

  Sage blinked. Those had been her exact thoughts when she’d hatched the idea for the billboard. It was becoming increasingly harder to brush off their similarities as mere coincidences.

  “I don’t suppose this makes us even,” she said finally. Deciding to stop at one doughnut, she placed the plate bearing the uneaten one on her desk.

  Having already demolished his second pastry, Cole wiped his hands with a napkin and tossed it in the wastebasket. “Not by a long shot.”

  He turned and focused his attention on her, leaning in until his face was scant inches from hers. “Besides, you have something I want.” Sage shivered as the deep voice dropped to a husky whisper. His warm, sweet breath fanned across her face. “Now I want it even more.”

  Sage slammed her eyes shut and swallowed hard, silently willing the parts of her body shifting into Overdrive back to into Neutral. She should have stayed behind her desk with her legs tightly crossed, because this man was on the verge of talking the panties right off her.

  When she opened her eyes, his gaze was locked on her lips.

  “Is this your idea of keeping friends close and enemies closer?” The mocking tone she’d hoped for fell flat, her question echoed in her ears like a breathless pant.

  “You’re not my enemy, Sage,” Cole murmured. “You’re a challenge.” He raised his hand and brushed his knuckles down the side of her cheek. “And I do love a challenge.”

  Clearheaded, a snappy comeback would have been on the tip of Sage’s tongue. However, her brain had taken the backseat in her headspace, allowing a wave of longing so powerful it drew her to him like he was magnetized, to take the wheel.

  “That lip shade is beautiful on you.” His eyes never leaving her lips, Cole swiped the pad of his thumb across a sticky spot near the corner of her mouth. Sage stood mesmerized as he slowly licked the sugary glaze from his thumb, while her imagination conjured up illicit images of him licking her everywhere.

  “What’s it called?” He asked.

  “Taste Me.”

  “You just read my mind.” Cupping her chin in his hand, Cole leaned in and his brushed his lips against hers.

  Sage steeled herself against the pleasure of the brief contact. The protective wall guarding her emotions cautioned her to put an end to this, before she lost control. She lifted her hands to his chest with every intention of pushing him away.

  Before she could, Cole withdrew and stared into her eyes. “Kiss me, Sage,” he said, the deep melodic tone both a plea and a demand. “And bring it. Don’t hold back.”

  Sage shivered at the sexy command. She was a woman accustomed to giving orders, but right now she wanted to follow his...just this once.

  Fisting the sweater in her hands, she tugged him to her and kissed him hard. Sage felt his arm around her waist as he pulled her flush against him.

  She gasped and Cole deepened the kiss. His tongue swept inside her mouth and slowly stroked hers. He tasted of doughnuts, sinfully sweet, and if her body’s reaction to him was any indication, the man wa
s just as addictive.

  Encircling her arms around his neck, Sage melted into his hard body. She savored the languid movements of his mouth that were somehow reminiscent of the cadence of his easy Southern drawl. Absorbed in the sensual demands of his tongue and the bulge pressing against her belly, she lost track of time and place.

  Cole wrapped his free arm around her. His hand gripped her ass, and she moaned as he ground against her. It was all too much, and at the same time, not enough.

  “Morning! What are you doing here so...”

  Sage jumped at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice. Cocooned in Cole’s powerful embrace, she turned to find Amelia standing in her office doorway, mouth wide open.

  Damn, Sage thought at the exact same moment Cole muttered the expletive aloud. She extricated herself from his arms and watched as he ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. The expression on his face mirrored her thoughts. A few moments more, and they would have both been naked, tasting more than each other’s mouths.

  Sage exhaled. By now her assistant had recovered enough for her initial surprise to have morphed into a grin too wide for her face.

  “Cole Sinclair, this is my assistant, Amelia Brown,” Sage said, regaining her composure.

  Amelia looked pointedly from Cole and back to her, still grinning like a loon.

  Sage shot her a glare, and the young woman quickly excused herself. “Carry on, General,” she said, as she exited. “I’ll be at my desk if you need me, reading one of my far-fetched romance novels.”

  Chapter 7

  Cole grasped Sage’s hand, wishing the contact would whisk them back to the moment before her assistant had interrupted. When her body heat had seeped through his clothes, and he could taste her sweet surrender as she sighed into his mouth.

  “I appreciate both breakfast and the company,” Sage said matter-of-factly.

  He raised a brow to indicate her casual tone wasn’t fooling him. Not after the kiss they’d just shared.

  She met his gaze head-on. “Anything more would be a bad idea.”

  “Why? We’re both adults, and neither of us has felt this attracted to anyone in a very long time.” He ran his thumb along the back of her hand. It trembled in his before she pulled away. “Don’t bother denying it,” he continued. “You want me just as much as I want you.”

  “We both know it’s more complicated than that.”

  “It doesn’t have to be,” Cole countered.

  Sage shook her head slowly, defeating any hopes he had of picking up where they’d left off. “You want more than I’m willing to give.”

  “Are we talking about your company or you?”

  “Both.”

  She rounded her desk, and he turned to watch her slide into the chair behind it. Taking the hint, he prepared to go.

  “You’re making a mistake,” he said. “On both counts.”

  The cold morning air greeted him as he walked back to his black Dodge Challenger. Too bad it wasn’t a kick in the behind, Cole thought.

  What was the matter with him?

  The same man who’d shown no mercy when going after companies to add to the Force Cosmetics portfolio turned into an amnesiac in this woman’s presence.

  One look at that pink-painted frown on her angelic face, and he’d promptly forgotten his reason for showing up at her office. A glimpse of her legs in those heels and pencil skirt, and Cole had barely recalled his own name.

  He started up the car, and briefly debated whether to return to his town house on the other side of town to change or wear one of the suits he kept at work. Sage Matthews still had his mind, making the simplest of decisions difficult.

  Her throaty whisper echoed in his head as he automatically drove in the direction of the Espresso building.

  Taste Me.

  Cole had come within seconds of clearing her desk with a single swipe of his arm, shoving that skintight skirt up to her waist and tasting her until his name fell from those pink-slicked lips over and over again.

  Cole licked his own lips at thought.

  “Shake it off, man.”

  He merged the muscle car onto the expressway. Good thing his next move to convince Sage to sell him Stiletto was already in place, and like her in-your-face tactic, he’d designed it to do double duty.

  Cole waited for the smug sense of satisfaction he’d gotten every time he’d thought about what he had in store. The feeling eluded him. That damned kiss remained on his mind along with the quick glimpse of vulnerability he’d seen in her eyes.

  He shifted lanes as the downtown skyline came into view, speculating on whether to follow through with his plan. He’d never let the personal creep into business before.

  You’ve never encountered a woman like her, either.

  He was still debating if he should call it off when he exited the expressway. The morning rush hour had yet to start, and the streets leading to Espresso’s headquarters were clear.

  A traffic light switched from yellow to red, and Cole braked. Perhaps he should try a more low-key tactic to convince Sage to sell Stiletto. Maybe...

  Then he caught it out of the corner of his eye—that blasted billboard. He studied the insult to his family business, which could be seen for miles. It hadn’t changed since yesterday. The same man in drag stared back at him mocking his mother’s life’s work.

  Fortunately, the flashing reminder made Cole’s goal crystal clear. Time he started thinking with the head on his shoulders instead of the one below his waist. He’d show Sage Matthews the lengths he’d go to in order to get his hands on Stiletto.

  In the long run, it was the best thing for him, Sage and their companies.

  Seconds later, the light turned green, and Cole made a left and parked in the garage across the street from the Espresso building. His mobile phone rang as he crossed the street. Retrieving it from his jacket pocket, he saw the international caller on the small screen.

  Cole answered and a woman’s voice came through the line.

  “Ciao, Cole. It’s Marie Bertelli.”

  Marie? This was a surprise. He hadn’t talked to her in years. Not since he was still with Force Cosmetics, working out of their European headquarters in Milan. He briefly wondered what she wanted, but figured he’d find out soon enough.

  Automatically switching to Italian, Cole greeted her and inquired about her grandparents, who had always been gracious to him when he lived in Italy.

  Marie stopped him. “Oh, Cole.” She tut-tutted. “I speak Italian all day long. Talk to me in English, so I can hear my native tongue tinged with your exquisite Southern drawl.”

  “What can I do for you?” Her casual tone and pleasantries didn’t fool him. Marie Bertelli wasn’t one for idle chitchat. Neither was he.

  Her soft sigh sounded through the phone as he nodded at the security guard, who held the door open for him. “A few weeks ago, I read the most interesting article about you in the international edition of America Today,” she said.

  Cole frowned. He didn’t bother mentioning the article wasn’t actually about him. Stiletto had been the subject of the story, while the cheap shot at Espresso had only been a paragraph and, of course, that damned photo. Similar to the one Sage had used for Stiletto’s billboard ad.

  “As someone who also runs their family’s business, I can appreciate how busy you are nowadays,” Marie said.

  Cole walked to the bank of elevators and frowned at the signs on the doors. Two of the three were out of order, again. With an old building, it was always something. He hoped they’d be repaired by the time the workday started, and that the working one remained operable.

  He’d have to make some decisions concerning the Espresso building soon. Hopefully, one they could all live with, including Victor.

  Marie said his name on the othe
r end of the phone, and he returned his attention to the call.

  “I wanted to personally invite you to the Bertelli runway show later this month during Milan’s Fashion Week,” she said. “A new designer is making his debut for our men’s line, and I think some of his pieces would be a perfect addition to your wardrobe.”

  Cole pulled the phone away from his ear briefly and gave it the side eye. He stifled the grunt threatening to escape his mouth. “Now, Marie, you know as well as I do that men’s fashion week was last month. Besides, I’m sure the status of my closet isn’t the real reason you’re calling,” he paused to calculate the time difference, “at three in the afternoon on a workday.”

  “Well, now that you mention it...” She hedged.

  Here it comes, Cole thought. Marie Bertelli had a talent for finding an angle and twisting it around to benefit her family’s business. A company she probably loved more than her husband and children.

  “As you know, Italy has had its share of economic troubles in recent years. That combined with the long recession in America has taken a toll on our entire industry and Bertelli’s profits,” she said. “I need important people in the audience at our next show to attract the cameras and generate interest. I was hoping you could help me out. Also, Lola is on the list of models in the show.”

  He started to tell her there was no way he could go to Italy but hesitated. Fashion Week wasn’t until the week after Valentine’s Day. On the plus side, he could check on the condo he still had in Milan and see his baby sister.

  “I’ll be there,” he said finally.

  “Great,” she said. “Arrivederci. A presto.”

  Cole swiped a finger across the small screen and shoved the phone back into his pocket. He knew Marie liked to stir the pot and couldn’t help speculating what kind of drama she was cooking up now. Regardless, a few days an ocean away would be good for him. He could forget all about kissing Sage Matthews, and then his only interest in her would be acquiring Stiletto.

  If his next move hadn’t already convinced her it was her best option.

  * * *

  The remainder of the morning was a bust.