Tempting Taylor

by Beverly Havlir

  “Compromise?” she echoed.

  “Yes. Compromise. None of the things you’ve mentioned are an absolute deal breaker.” He raised a hand and gently drew her hair away from her cheek. “So Taylor, tell me, what else have you got?”

  “There’s the very simple reason that you’re not a friend,” she blurted out.

  Her pulse jumped when he slapped a palm on the fridge door, caging her in. She clutched the salad dressing to her chest as if it were a lifeline.

  “I assume you were watching the game today, checking off possible candidates?” he asked casually, as if they were talking about the weather. As if their bodies weren’t nearly touching. As if her nipples weren’t turning into two hard points that were just screaming for attention…

  She didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer.

  “Would I be correct in saying that none of those men out there are ‘friends’ in the truest sense of the word, and that they are mere acquaintances at best?”

  “W-What’s your point?”

  Cooper plucked the bottle from her unresisting hands and placed it on the counter. He then took a half step closer, eliminating what little space was left between them. “With that reasoning, I would say I am definitely qualified. Don’t you agree?”

  Taylor’s breath hitched in her throat and syrupy warmth invaded her bones. This close, she could see lighter flecks in his gray eyes. Oh no. She was in deep trouble here. Between her legs, a hot, sweet pulsing began. Moisture gathered in her pussy. Her breasts felt heavy. It was an arousal mirrored in Cooper’s face, in his body language. The air thickened and became sexually charged.

  He moved infinitesimally closer. His right hand tunneled through her hair, tilting her head back. The protest she was about to say lodged in her throat and remained unspoken at the heat in his gaze. Robbed of speech, her thoughts in disarray, and arousal eating away at her sanity, Taylor didn’t resist when he swooped in for a kiss.

  It wasn’t a slow, get-to-know-you kind of kiss. Not the tentative, this-is-our-first-kiss melding of lips. Oh no, not this man. He took her lips and made them his, his tongue slipping inside without hesitation. The kiss was confident, masterful, and damn it, she fell for it like a ton of bricks. She moaned softly and did as he silently commanded, opening her mouth wider and tangling her tongue with his.

  Fire licked at her skin. His big hands grabbed her hips and hauled her closer, plastering them together from the chest down.

  She was in deep, deep trouble…

  Kissing Taylor Sanders felt so damn good that he didn’t want to stop. Cooper smothered a groan and pulled her closer, holding her against him tightly. The taste of the kiss exploded in his head, further blurring logical thought and blocking out everything else. Getting her alone in the kitchen had been an opportunity he couldn’t waste. Every time he came close, she skittered away, nervous and scared. Overhearing her disqualifying him from being a friend with benefits had only strengthened his resolve to get her alone to himself. Just the thought of her with another man was enough to drive him insane. He didn’t bother questioning his reaction. Taylor had affected him like no other woman from the first time they’d met and he’d be damned if he stood off to the side and watched her pick somebody else to be her lover.

  Restlessly, his hands roamed her back, homing in on her ass, cupping the globes and hauling her even closer. Unable to help himself, he ground her against his hard cock, hating the layer of clothes that separated them. All he wanted to do was slip his cock inside her and pound his way to heaven.

  Jesus. When was the last time he’d felt this way? He couldn’t remember ever feeling this screaming, absolutely uncivilized urgency that was eating away at his sanity, urging him to behave like a caveman and drag her off somewhere and fuck her six ways to Sunday.

  Cooper broke the kiss and traced the line of her graceful neck, nipping along the way, alternately nuzzling and sucking the soft skin he found at the base of her throat. She gripped his arms tightly, her head thrown back, her lips parted soundlessly. Buoyed by her response, he fingered the strap of her dress and pushed it down impatiently, needing skin on skin, seeking and finding her breast.

  He exhaled sharply when he cupped one in his palm. Her breast wasn’t small but not too big—it fit perfectly in his hand, crowned by a tight pale nipple that begged to be sucked.

  And he did.

  He leaned down and pulled her soft, supple flesh into his mouth and nearly lost all control. All the blood seemed to drain from his head and pool in his cock, filling it near to bursting. It strained against the zipper of his jeans, demanding to be let out and be part of what was happening.

  Dimly Cooper heard Taylor moan, spurring him on to suck harder. Her fingers plunged in his hair and pulled him closer. He knew he was hardly being gentle, but she was with him every step of the way and didn’t protest or tell him to stop.

  Wanting the taste of her lips again, he reluctantly let go her breast and reached up to kiss her. Her lips were so soft and so damned kissable. He ran his tongue over her lower lip, tenderly biting down, slowing the pace. Lingering. Savoring. She whimpered in protest and tried to get him to deepen the contact with sexy licks of her tongue. The action ramped up his arousal, but he didn’t give in. Instead, he teased her with short, wet contact and drove himself crazy in the process.

  He pushed her dress up over her thighs, skimming the silky skin, searching and finding the spot between her legs. A groan escaped his lips when he skirted the edge of her lacy panties with his fingers. Breathing heavily, he leaned back. “Look at me, Taylor.”

  Her eyes fluttered open, the dark-green orbs slumberous. He plunged a finger into the wetness of her pussy. She was so tight. He could only imagine how it would be to have his cock buried deep inside her. Her eyes glazed over, and he barely restrained himself from unzipping and plunging into her wet heat.

  “Tell me again I don’t qualify. Deny this.” He thumbed her clit, nudging the sensitive bundle of nerves.

  She shuddered and her head fell on his shoulder. She uttered something he didn’t hear.

  The fragrant skin of her neck beckoned once more, and he gave in to the urge and sucked. Marking her as his. He didn’t question the surge of possessiveness that threatened to choke him. It was new and unfamiliar, but undeniable. He wanted to post a “hands off” sign for every other man to see. From the first day he’d met Taylor, nothing had gone the way he expected it to. Everything he felt about her was too strong. He wanted her with an intensity that grew stronger every day, until it couldn’t be denied any longer. It had been twelve long fucking months of hell, walking around with a boner that wouldn’t go away, a need that wasn’t relieved by jacking himself off thinking about her. It was galling at first when no other woman held his interest for long. He always found them lacking. Their eyes weren’t as green as Taylor’s. Their hair wasn’t that interesting shade of red mixed with blonde. He’d never been partial to redheads, but Taylor Sanders had been the star of his fantasies. She drove him crazy with wanting her.

  She pulled away. He loosened his hold but he refused to let her go, unable to relinquish the advantage he’d just gained. Taylor Sanders wanted him. That much was undeniable.

  “I want you.”

  Her eyes widened, the pupils still dark with arousal.

  “I don’t do pretty words. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I want to fuck you. So bad that it’s eating away at me. Right now I’m this close to putting my cock inside you and to hell with everything.”

  Taylor’s heart was pounding so hard she was afraid it was going to jump out of her chest. It took her a moment to recover her wits. The words he used were crude, but strangely enough, she didn’t recoil from hearing them. If anything, they intensified the arousal coursing through her veins. Somehow she’d always suspected that underneath the outer trappings of wealth and refinement there was a rough edge to Cooper. She blinked, hungry and, damn it, unfulfilled. Ignoring the tight ball of need that parked itself in her lower belly, she b
owed her head. “This can’t happen between us.”

  His erection was a potent force nudging the “v” of her thighs. “Look at me and tell me that to my face.”

  A shudder tore through her. “Y-You agreed to an interview. How can I do that with professionalism when…when—”

  “When you want me?”

  “This still can’t happen between us.” All her senses screamed in protest but she ignored them.

  “Because?”

  “Because my interview with you is very important to me and to the e-zine,” she choked out, wincing at the unsteadiness in her voice. How the hell was she supposed to talk with his erection rubbing intimately against her pussy, maintaining the maddening contact that made a mockery of her words? “I do not want to be the subject of nasty gossip. I don’t want any hint of unprofessionalism whatsoever when I write the article.”

  Cooper’s jaw tightened. “And the interview matters that much?”

  She pulled in a shaky breath. “Yes it does.” Taylor regretted saying so, even though it was the truth.

  He closed his eyes and buried his face in her neck. After a moment, he gave her a hard kiss. The breath left her lungs in a rush, and her toes curled. “Get your fucking questions ready, Taylor. Next time we see each other, we’ll get this interview over with. That’s the only chance you’ll get.”

  He released her. Feeling bereft, Taylor slumped against the refrigerator, boneless and weak. Cooper turned back to her once more, his hand on the doorknob. “And Taylor? Forget the friends-with-benefits idea. No one else but me.”

  Then he left.

  * * * * *

  Several days later, Taylor was still smarting from Cooper’s arrogance. “Forget the friend-with-benefits idea,” she snickered under her breath. “No one else but me,” she said with a huff. He was that sure of her?

  Well, if she were being honest with herself, her response to him had made it pretty obvious that there was serious physical attraction going on between them. Serious? More like explosive. She could honestly say that she’d never been turned-on as fast as when she’d been with him, and that in itself was pretty damn scary.

  Something on the television in the far corner of her office caught her eye. The cameras showed Cooper, surrounded by reporters jostling for position. Picking up the remote control, she turned up the volume and listened to the reporter state that Bettina Hathaway’s claims against Cooper for fraud and irregularity in acquiring the publishing company had been dismissed. The camera focused on Cooper standing behind his lawyer, sunglasses shading his eyes. She grimaced as reporters kept on trying to address their questions to him, which he steadfastly ignored.

  The press trailed after Cooper as he made his way to a waiting car, the cameras panning to show the vehicle pulling away from the crowd. The reporter came back into view, breathlessly summarizing the morning’s activities, ending with a little tidbit about Cooper being named the most eligible bachelor of the year.

  She sighed. His was a life she didn’t envy. Always under the microscope, living in a fishbowl. It was the kind of chaotic existence that she had briefly experienced as a young girl. One she didn’t want to ever repeat. The nightmare of having her life dissected in the papers, every juicy detail exposed, was unthinkable. Getting involved with Cooper would expose her to intense scrutiny. The press followed his every move and she wanted none of that. She would much rather write about the news than be the news.

  Her cell phone buzzed. Turning away from the TV, she clicked on the text message.

  I hope you have all your questions ready. C.

  Cooper? She typed a response. How did you get my number?

  No more than a minute later, his reply came through. I may have persuaded Emily to give it to me.

  With a little huff, she texted, Persuaded?

  His answer was quick to arrive. I can be quite charming when the occasion calls for it.

  No doubt, she typed and hit send.

  How about dinner tonight?

  What, like a date?

  Let’s get this interview over with. Then on to more important things.

  Taylor flushed. She knew exactly what he was referring to. Sorry, busy tonight. I’m going out.

  She jumped when her office phone rang seconds later. “This is Taylor.”

  “You have a date tonight?” Cooper asked without preamble.

  Ruthlessly squelching the butterflies suddenly having a party in her tummy, she answered in a level tone, “Hello to you too.”

  “Did you forget what happened between us the other night?”

  How could she forget? That had been the most intense, most exciting moment she’d had in a year. She’d nearly come, for heaven’s sake. And in record time too. It had been embarrassingly easy for him to arouse her.

  She swiveled her chair around to face the window. Even over the phone, the man had the power to unnerve her. “I signed up with an online dating site. It’s research for a future article.” It was the truth, of course. She was planning an article on internet dating sites, and tonight was her first “date”.

  “We agreed that you can interview me at a time and place of my choosing. I choose tonight.”

  “Not fair.”

  A low chuckle rang in her ear. “No.”

  This interview was going to be the death of her. She was never going to know peace until this was over with. No peace of mind. No peace for her body either.

  “Fine. When and where do I meet you?”

  “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  “Wait, you don’t know where I live—” But he’d already hung up. Taylor stared at the receiver in her hand and with disgust, slammed it back in its housing. He didn’t even bother to ask for her address, which meant he already knew where she lived. Really. The man had some nerve. He didn’t even say where they were going. How was she supposed to know what to wear?

  Chewing on her lip, she fired off an email canceling the date she’d arranged for tonight. Frustrated, she stood up and hurried across the hall to Emily’s office. “I’m in trouble.”

  With her characteristic patience, Emily looked up from her computer. “What’s up?”

  “I’m meeting Cooper for dinner tonight.”

  “And that’s bad because…”

  She threw up her hands. “How do I resist him? Every time he comes within ten feet of me, I get these crazy thoughts.”

  Emily stood up and walked around the desk to stand next to her. “Think of the e-zine. And keep your legs closed,” she added with a laugh.

  Taylor groaned. “I’m serious, Em. I don’t even know what to wear.”

  “Listen, whatever you wear, I know you’re going to look like a knockout. You always do. And you have a ton of clothes and shoes to choose from,” she ended dryly.

  “How do I know what to wear if I don’t know where we’re going?”

  “Then wear something that will fit in anywhere.”

  “Why are you always so rational?”

  “Because when it comes to Cooper, your brain turns to mush.”

  “See? You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Emily laughed. “You need to knock his socks off.”

  “I should,” she agreed slowly. Dressing up would give her the self-confidence to deal with him without turning into a blubbering, stammering idiot. And no more kissing. “Definitely no kissing,” she muttered to herself.

  “What did you say?” When she didn’t answer, Emily’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Taylor Marie Sanders. What are you not telling me?”

  “Okay, okay. We sort of kissed,” she admitted under her breath.

  “Kissed?” Emily repeated.

  “All right. We…we made out. There. I said it.”

  Emily sputtered. “Made out? When? Why wasn’t I aware that this happened?” She sat down and patted the space beside her. “Spill it.”

  After a momentary hesitation, Taylor confessed, glossing over the racy details of her encounter with Cooper. When she fini
shed, Emily gaped at her before bursting into delighted laughter. “He wants to be your friend with benefits? Oh Tay, you’re in deep trouble.”

  “Don’t I know it,” she muttered. “We have nothing in common, Em.”

  “Except you both have the hots for each other, which is the most important thing in this whole friends-with-benefits thing anyway.”

  “But don’t you see? It’s too strong…too…overwhelming.”

  Emily took her hands and held them. “Listen to me and listen well. If the situation was reversed, you would be the first to tell me to go for it. This is too good to pass up. Go for it.”

  “I can’t. Not until I finish this article. There can’t be any hint of impropriety attached to it. I’ve got to be objective and rational.”

  “Is the article that important?”

  Taylor frowned. “Yes, it’s a major coup for the e-zine. Our readers would love it, not to mention it will attract new subscribers. Don’t you think so?”

  “It would be nice to feature an article about Cooper, but I don’t think it’s the most important thing we’re talking about here. The e-zine won’t suffer if we don’t push through with the article,” she said quietly. “If we have to, we can always shelve it. Put it off for the next month. Or later on in the year.”

  She bit her lip. “You’re right, of course. It’s just a feature article, after all.”

  “One we can replace with some other feature. We both know that no other reporter will scoop you with Cooper. He won’t grant an interview to any other publication.” She smiled. “I think we have that advantage at least.”

  Emily was right. Cooper wasn’t likely to agree to an interview with anyone else.

  “Is that really what’s stopping you, people talking about you and Cooper?”

  Her shoulders slumped. “Even if I throw caution to the wind, I know it won’t last. He’s not exactly known for long-lasting relationships.”

  “Do you want a relationship with Cooper?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted, miserable. “I don’t know what I want. I’m so confused by this whole thing.”