When Morning Comes

by Harmony Evans

  Autumn placed a finger to her lips. “Shh...do you know what time it is?”

  “Yeah. It’s way past time for you to tell me the truth, and I’m not leaving until you do.”

  Autumn stared at him a moment and then stepped aside. “Come in. But you can’t stay long.”

  She closed the door, locked it and put her hands on her hips. “What makes you think I knew you lived in the same building as me?”

  Isaac opened his mouth to speak but then shut it to ponder her very logical question. He knew she had a good point. It was almost as if he was accusing her of lying to him, of hiding something. But why would she do that?

  “Let me guess,” Autumn continued quickly. “Your ego is so big that you thought I moved in here to try to meet the wealthiest bachelor in New York City. You probably think that’s why I wanted to work at Paxton, to get close to you. Didn’t you?”

  “No. I—I thought...” He ran a hand over his head, feeling like a fool. “Listen, Autumn. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  When Autumn furrowed her brow and looked at him like he was crazy, suddenly he knew the reason he was acting like a paranoid fool.

  “Ever since Felicia, I—” he blurted.

  “Felicia?” Autumn interrupted. “What does she have to do with this?”

  Isaac cursed inwardly for even saying that woman’s name out loud. Even though he’d made it clear that he wasn’t interested in her, she was still causing trouble for him. She was like a curse.

  “I think we better talk,” she acknowledged, gesturing toward the living room. “Please have a seat.”

  Although Isaac was sure nothing good could come from talking about Felicia, he nodded and followed her across the room.

  As Autumn cleared stuff from the couch, he admired the way her robe cleaved to her hips and draped over her round bottom.

  She stacked a bunch of files on the floor next to her, sat down and crossed her legs.

  Isaac sat down carefully as he was starting to get a little aroused at the sight of her bare feet. Her toenails were painted a light pink and were almost begging to be sucked.

  He stared at her, almost not believing he was in the same room with her. It was so different from seeing her in the office. He liked it. The playing field was leveled.

  Here he was just a man. And she was just a woman.

  A woman he wanted to know and to savor, and maybe...to love.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re staring at me. What did I do now?”

  He exhaled and shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just that you’re even more beautiful at eleven at night than you are at eleven in the morning.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Are you saying I look bad in the morning?” she huffed, not noticing that her robe had fallen open just enough to reveal the lush curves hidden beneath lace.

  “No!” Isaac reached for her hand. “I’m saying I could look at you twenty-four hours a day. Is that wrong?”

  She ignored his hand and instead pulled her robe closed again so roughly that a few tendrils of hair escaped from her bun and skimmed her shoulders.

  “You don’t have to flatter me, Isaac.”

  “I can if it’s true and if it will bring a smile back to your face,” he said warmly.

  “I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and scanned the room. “You caught me at a bad time and this place is a mess.”

  “Working on a Friday night? Even I don’t do that!” he teased, pointing at the stack of paperwork on the floor.

  “Have you looked at a calendar lately, Isaac? The Witterman pitch is a week from today. I thought it best to keep the momentum going on it.”

  Isaac knew the timeline was closing in on them, which was part of the reason he was glad Autumn lived in the same building. It would make working on the project all the easier, plus the added bonus that he could be alone with Autumn without anyone knowing.

  The other reason was that he had to convince her to keep his children a secret.

  “I’m sure Sterling would appreciate all your effort if he knew,” Isaac said.

  “Well, I don’t plan on telling him. I don’t think he’s interested in the mechanics of how it’s put together. All he cares about is the end result, and that’s what I’m going to deliver.”

  Isaac leaned back against the cushions. “You’re going to deliver?” he said, aghast. “Aren’t I part of this team?”

  Autumn pursed her lips. “Of course. I didn’t mean to offend you.” She glanced down at her lap. “But after our conversation this morning, I just thought—”

  “That I didn’t want to work with you because you rejected me?” he offered.

  She looked up and nodded, and Isaac could tell she was embarrassed.

  “And I thought you didn’t want to work with me.” Isaac smiled. “I guess we were both wrong.”

  Autumn smiled back. “You mentioned Felicia earlier. Where does she fit in all this?”

  “She tried to seduce me a couple of months ago and I wasn’t buying it. Besides, she’s Sterling’s daughter. If I were to get involved with her, I might as well kiss my career goodbye.”

  He sighed. “Anyway, ever since that happened, I feel that she’s out to get me.”

  “I see. And do you have any proof of that?”

  “No, not yet, but if she found out I have children, I know she would tell Sterling, and he would not be happy. He’s not exactly pro-family. He feels that work should come first, no matter what.”

  “What made you decide to adopt?”

  Isaac paused and heaved a deep sigh. Under Autumn’s inquisitive gaze, it wasn’t easy to hide. So he decided to take a risk.

  “I grew up in a foster home. I know what it’s like to be a slave to the system that is supposed to help you. I have money. I have a nice home and I sure have enough love to give. When I met Devon and Deshauna, I knew they needed me, and quite frankly, I needed them, too. I can’t let anything break us apart.”

  Isaac flattened his palms together and realized they were slightly clammy. Embarrassed, he rubbed his hands together until they were dry, rather than wipe them on his clothes.

  Autumn smiled and seemed not to notice his discomfort. “That’s a wonderful story. And it sounds like everything worked out.”

  “It has so far, but sometimes I get a strange feeling that things are about to change.”

  Autumn shook her head. “Is that why you haven’t told anyone?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Besides the fact that it’s just wrong to keep them a secret, I’m supposed to claim them for health insurance purposes. But I’m afraid that if Sterling finds out that I have other priorities besides making money for Paxton, I could lose my job and my chance at making partner.”

  “That would never happen. You’re the most successful investment banker he has on staff.”

  “Oh no? He and I haven’t exactly been on good terms lately. It wouldn’t be hard for him to pluck a new graduate from Harvard Business School and groom him, like he did me, twelve years ago.”

  Isaac inched his body closer and reached for her hand again. “If I promise not to flatter you anymore, can you promise me that you won’t tell my secret?”

  She looked down at his hand briefly and laughed. “What if I like it when you flatter me?”

  “Then I will just have to find some other way to convince you to keep my secret.”

  Autumn lifted her eyes and tilted her head. “Sounds intriguing.”

  The seductive lilt in her voice put him at ease. He leaped from the couch and pulled her up with him.

  She giggled a little. “What’s going on?”

  “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

  Isaac held her hand and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling wind
ow that spanned the length of the living room.

  “Now look outside,” he commanded. “We’re forty-eight stories up. What do you see?”

  “Central Park West,” Autumn responded, confusion in her eyes. “What’s this all about, Isaac?”

  He applied gentle pressure on Autumn’s shoulders to turn her toward the window again. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close to him until her soft buttocks connected with his torso. When they rolled against the hard ridge of flesh beneath his sweatpants, he bit his lip to stop from groaning.

  He traced his lips along one ear and she trembled in his arms. “You want to know what I see?”

  At her nod, Isaac placed his cheek next to hers.

  “I see a city with a million secrets.”

  He moved his lips along the velvety-smooth skin of her jawline. “What’s one more?”

  She hitched in a breath as Isaac quickly untied the belt of her robe and slid it from her shoulders. The light swoosh as the garment fell to the floor was the only sound in the room.

  Isaac grew even harder at the sight of the thin ribbon of lace covering her otherwise bare shoulders and the deep vee of skin on her back.

  She was still facing the window as he kicked off his shoes and clasped his hands around her waist. At night, he wore no underwear under his cotton sweats so there was no mistaking his physical excitement, both by feel and by sight. When she wriggled her bottom against him suggestively and gasped, he knew she felt his need for her.

  He pulled her even closer to him and now he freely groaned aloud, fighting the urge to bend her at the waist and make her his, right now. He wanted to go slow, but she had made him so hard.

  Struggling to maintain control, Isaac decided he would explore her by touch first. He flattened his palms on her abdomen. It was taut and flat, just the way he liked it. He spread his long fingers wide until both hands nearly covered her middle.

  As he scaled his hands down even lower, she moaned deeply, the vibrations rolling from her body to his, and his fingertips stopped their journey a few inches below her belly button.

  Isaac patted the small mound of hair that tantalized him beneath her nightgown. The treasure of this woman would be his and his alone.

  “Are you wet for me yet, baby?”

  With a nod, Autumn whimpered and he reversed his movements, denying both of them. Slowly he trailed his hands skyward along her body until they enclosed her breasts, still trapped beneath the silky fabric. He didn’t even have to look at them to know they were beautiful, because they felt beautiful, so large and full in his palms, complete with nipples as hard as pegs.

  Isaac licked his lips at his discovery and circled each tip with the pad of his thumb, breathing hard as the surrounding areola puckered immediately at his light touch.

  “Oh,” Autumn cried out. She raised her arms above her head and looped them around his neck, giving him easier access.

  He bent his head and planted featherlight kisses down her neck as he massaged her breasts until she arched her back away from him and thrust her nipples into the air.

  Still standing behind her, Isaac lifted her nightgown to her waist. He slid the index finger of his left hand down the cleft of her buttocks and then, reaching around her waist, he slid the fingers of his right hand between her legs. She was slick and hot and ready.

  My God, he thought, thumping his penis gently against her soft ass, she’s so wet, so wet.

  She dropped her arms from his neck and moaned, and he used that opportunity to remove the nightgown. Tossing it behind him, he moved in front of her, watching her eyes move down his body and widen at the sight of his penis tenting forth in his pants.

  Autumn, her eyes glowing in the dim light, was now naked before him, and his mouth watered at the sight of her luscious body and all the curves and the shadows and the secret places he’d yet to explore.

  The fact that they stood before windows that spanned the entire length of the room added to the excitement of the moment for both of them.

  Autumn reached for him, touching the tip of his flesh jutting under his sweats, and that was enough for him to cave.

  Isaac pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, and his heart pounded when her tongue slipped into his mouth first. He allowed her to take the lead for a while as she threaded her hands through his hair and kissed him with a fervor that left him gasping for breath.

  When he broke away, her eyes were ablaze with the kind of heat that he knew he would always strive to attain.

  Grasping her by the waist with both hands, Isaac bent his head to her breast. He flicked his tongue at one nipple, bouncing the stiff peak between his lips before launching into a full-on suck that had Autumn thrashing about in his arms.

  She held on to his head as he traced his hands from her waist to her ass. He held on, wedging his mouth and tongue underneath her heavy breasts, before planting a soft kiss on her navel. Moving his hands to her slick inner thighs, which were quivering from his touch, he knew it was time.

  Isaac sank to his knees on the carpet and buried his face in the heat of Autumn’s wiry curls, inhaling her earthy scent. Carefully, he spread her moist outer lips with his fingers until he exposed the sensitive core of her desire.

  Licking slowly, his tongue discovered every juicy curve and fleshy mound, while she writhed and moaned and at times cried out, bending and succumbing to the most secret of pleasures.

  And at that moment, neither cared about the aftermath of their passion. It was hidden in the subtle glow of streetlights, the seedy darkness of alleyways, the pulsing music of an after-hours club and the tangled sheets of a lover’s bed.

  Chapter 8

  Autumn awoke the next morning so drowsy she couldn’t even remember how she’d got into bed. Then her thighs began to tingle and the memories came flooding back. Erotic ones that made her burrow under her covers and wish the pleasure never had to end.

  Isaac.

  What that man could do with his lips, his tongue and his mouth should be illegal.

  Even though she was a private investigator, after last night, she’d break every law in the book to feel that way again.

  She yawned, and the fantasy was broken as she realized how close she’d come last night to revealing the truth about herself.

  When she’d met his kids, she was sure her cover was blown and that Isaac would somehow know why she was really at Paxton. But as soon as he appeared at her apartment, she knew that, logically, there was no way he could know. Her assumption had been the result of panic.

  Thank goodness she’d realized that in time; otherwise, she might not have had the fortune of a night she knew she’d never forget.

  It was clear that he wanted her and that she wanted him. But even after she’d decided to play along in their game of desire, she hadn’t expected Isaac to take himself out of the equation and focus completely on her needs.

  Her body still thrummed from his gift, orgasm upon orgasm, until she thought she’d go mad. No man had ever done that before so willingly, so expertly. And yet, she knew her satisfaction would not be complete until she was one with him.

  But that hadn’t happened. When she’d collapsed in his arms, shaking and nearly incoherent, Isaac had carried her into her bedroom and held her until she fell asleep. Why hadn’t he made love to her then, when he had ample opportunity? She found it noble that he refused to take advantage of her, and yet it raised her suspicions, too.

  She stretched and the covers fell away. Her skin had goose pimples in the cool air and she rubbed her bare shoulders, having forgotten to set the thermostat to her normal bedtime temperature. Just as she’d forgotten that she was supposed to be working on busting Isaac.

  She sat up and threaded her fingers through her hair, recalling Felicia’s request that she keep an eye on Isaac, drawing furthe
r suspicion that he’d done something wrong.

  Now she understood why Isaac was concerned Felicia would find out about his children. Turns out he was right to worry. The woman obviously didn’t take rejection well.

  It was clear to her that Felicia’s request would ultimately lead to revenge. As a high-ranking Paxton executive, it was entirely conceivable that she had access to some kind of information that she could use against Isaac.

  Sterling’s motive, on the other hand, appeared to be simply proactive. All he wanted was to protect his company’s and his shareholder’s interests. There was nothing bad or harmful about hiring an auditor, like herself, to check and recheck the accounting records. In fact, it was the smart thing to do.

  Sterling had told her that he opted not to bring his fears to the attention of the accounting firm that was already on retainer. Autumn knew that if they were doing their jobs—and probably being paid millions in fees to do it—they would have already discovered something was wrong.

  Still, maybe they had found something and informed Sterling, but Autumn doubted it because he had given her nothing to go on but a hunch and some old files.

  If Felicia had proof of fraud, did she share it with Sterling and all Autumn had to do was find it and vet it? Or were father and daughter each working alone?

  And here she was caught in the middle, not making millions in fees but instead dreaming about Isaac making love to her. If anything, last night was proof that her motives were definitely in the wrong place.

  Autumn swung her legs off the bed. Things were moving too quickly between her and Isaac. She had to put a stop to it. Before she fell in love with him and couldn’t let go.

  Her work had always come first. Her dedication to rooting out the corporate bad guys was what kept her getting up in the morning and why her clients kept calling.

  She’d inherited the cop gene from her father, a well-respected New York City detective, who had also graciously bestowed on her the tenacious work ethic that had eventually driven her mother away. Her father had been divorced for over twenty years and, from what she gathered, was happy living alone.