by Erika Wilde
He mentally kicked himself for handling the situation so poorly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so rude. I woke up alone and I assumed you’d left.”
A small, tentative smile curled the corner of her mouth. “There you go, making assumptions again.”
“I’m afraid it’s a bad habit I’m going to have to learn to break.” Propping pillows against the headboard to lean against and keeping the covers pulled to his waist, he patted the mattress next to him. “Sit down and enjoy your coffee with me.”
She climbed up on the bed and sat with her legs crossed. Taking a sip of her coffee, she studied him over the rim of her mug, then spoke. “I hope you’re not berating yourself for last night.”
He winced, wondering how in the hell she could read him so well. It was an unnerving feeling since he usually kept his emotions under lock and key. “About last night…”
She cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Don’t you dare tell me it was a mistake, or that you regret what happened.” Her tone was light and playful, yet her soulful gaze told another story, that last night had been more than a frivolous tryst for her.
He sighed. No, he harbored no regrets, and that bothered him when he knew he ought to feel some kind of remorse for sleeping with her. “It won’t happen again,” he said softly.
A brown brow arched delicately. “You sure about that?”
He didn’t miss the subtle dare in her question, and it almost made him smile. He wasn’t sure about anything anymore when it came to her, but he was going to do his damnedest to live up to the pledge he’d made to her father. Keeping her at arm’s length was more to her benefit than his own, and she’d thank him later for doing the right thing.
“There is something I need to talk to you about before I go,” she said, drawing his gaze back to hers.
Cole braced himself. Here we go, he thought, suspecting they were about to embark on the dreaded morning-after conversation of how last night had changed things between them and where their relationship was headed now that they’d become lovers. The discussion was inevitable and something he wouldn’t avoid talking about if it meant Melodie left with a better understanding of where things stood between them.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked casually.
She took another drink of her coffee, then set the mug on the nightstand behind her. The movement caused the front of the shirt she wore to gape open, revealing the creamy slope of one bare breast. His mouth watered for a taste and his dick throbbed with renewed desire. That quick, he ached to pull her beneath his hard body and bury himself in her soft, feminine warmth.
She folded her hands in her lap, her expression serious. “I want to work on the Russell case with you and attend the charity event next week as your date.”
His mouth opened, then snapped shut again, her statement leaving him dumbfounded. He’d been prepared to divert a heartfelt spiel about how right they were for each other, not another campaign to convince him to let her accompany him to Thornton’s mansion to read Elena’s love letters.
Then a disturbing thought occurred to him. “Did you sleep with me in hopes that I’d change my mind about you working on the case with me?”
She leveled her gaze at him. “I slept with you because you’re a very sexy man that I’m attracted to, and I know better than to think that sex would sway you into changing your mind about anything,” she said wryly. “But I do think I’ve proven in many ways that I can handle the job. I’m familiar with the case, I’m capable of acting the part of your date, and you’ve seen for yourself that I can read an erotic love letter.”
She wrote them damn well, too, he thought.
“So, since you’ve yet to hire anyone for the job after interviewing at least a half-dozen women with more silicone than brains, I’m asking for you to give me a chance.”
He chuckled at her apt description of the women Noah had sent his way, and couldn’t disagree with her point. “Why do you want this so badly?”
“Because I like the excitement of the business. I always have, and I want to be in a more active role for the agency. And then there’s the fact that I’m discovering that I like stepping over the line of decorum every once in a while. Being sensible and practical has its time and place, but being adventurous has definitely made my life more interesting.”
And it was wreaking havoc with his. “I’ve already warned you that it could be dangerous,” he said, and finished off his coffee. “If we’re caught, Thornton would have every right to press charges and we’d most likely spend the night in jail and be slapped with a lawsuit. And if any of that happened, your father would never forgive me.”
She reached for his empty cup and set it next to hers, then stretched out on her side next to him. “Why don’t you let me worry about my father?”
He eyed where his shirt rode up on her thighs and wondered if she was wearing any panties beneath, then shook the thought from his head before he gave into the urge to check for himself. “Because your father trusts me to look after you and he doesn’t want you getting hurt in any way. And if something happened to you, I’d feel responsible.”
She sighed, the sound laced with impatience. “I’m absolving you of all responsibility when it comes to me, Cole, and I’d be happy to tell my father that, too, if it would help ease your conscience.”
“No!” he said so abruptly that she actually flinched at his rough tone. Clearing his throat, he quickly gained his composure and softened his voice. “I mean, let’s leave your father out of this.”
“Exactly,” she said smugly as her fingers toyed with the sheet draped over his lap, teasing him with her flirtatious behavior. “Let me accompany you to Thornton’s, and it’ll be our little secret that I’m working on the case.” She winked playfully at him.
He narrowed his gaze, but his attempt at sternness was betrayed by the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re trying to blackmail me?”
“There’s no blackmail involved. I’ve worked hard for you and the agency these past two years and I deserve this chance.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Consider it a promotion if you like. I’m also perfect for the job, and I think you know it, too, or else you would have hired another woman by now.”
She was so matter-of-fact that he could only stare at her and wonder if she was right. Had he subconsciously found fault with all those other applicants because once she’d made the suggestion to accompany him to the charity event no one else compared?
“What do you say, Cole?” she prompted, her eyes dancing with hope and a fresh eagerness he couldn’t bring himself to dash. “I swear I won’t disappoint you.”
He knew that to be true. She was well qualified for the job. She’d issued a very convincing argument, one he could no longer realistically refute. “Fine, you’ve got the job.”
She squealed with unfettered glee and leapt on top of him, hugging him tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
His body immediately responded to her enthusiastic embrace, hardening in a single rush of heat and desire. Her soft breasts felt like heaven against his chest, and he resented the thin sheet that separated his naked lower body from her soft thighs, which he wanted to spread out over his. Forgetting his vow not to touch her, he smoothed a hand down her back and over her hip. But before he could slip his fingers beneath his shirt to find out if she was naked, too, she lifted up on her hands and met his gaze, shattering the sensual moment.
“I promise you won’t regret your decision,” she said, grinning down at him.
The adoring look in her eyes made his pulse race. “Just remember that I’m in charge and you do as I say, no questions asked.”
“I swear I will.” She kissed him chastely on the cheek, her face wreathed with triumphant happiness.
In the next instant she moved off him and the bed, leaving nothing but cool air washing over his heated flesh. Scooping up her clothes from the floor, she headed for his bathroom, saying over her shoulder
, “I’ll get dressed and you can take me to get my car. I’m sure you have plenty to do today and I don’t want to get in your way.”
No, he really didn’t have any plans, just work that he could easily put off until Monday. As she closed the door behind her and he sat alone in his bedroom with a raging hard-on with no relief in sight, he had the oddest feeling that he’d just experienced his first brush-off.
He rolled his shoulders and stacked his hands behind his head, confused and baffled by all that had just transpired in the past half hour.
There had been no talk of a relationship, and no mention of the tempting letter she’d written that stated she’d never get enough of him. It was as though last night and the fantastic sex they’d shared had never happened at all.
She was getting under his skin and throwing him off balance, and he had no idea what to expect from her anymore. She’d become an enigma, unpredictable and spontaneous, a woman full of sensual secrets that drew him. Seduced him. Thrilled him.
And now that he had intimate knowledge of how amazing it felt to be buried deep inside her, he had no idea how he was going to resist her allure.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“How in the world did you manage to convince my brother to let you accompany him on the Russell case?” Joelle asked Melodie, her amused voice drifting over the partition separating the boutique’s dressing room from the viewing area.
“It was all a matter of showing him I was the right woman for the job,” Melodie replied as she hung the four dresses she’d selected on the hook next to the mirror in her small cubicle. The charity auction was three days away, and she still needed an outfit for the black-tie affair. “And I do have to say, it’s been fun doing so.”
“I just bet!” Jo chuckled, the sound laced with mirth. “I have to give you credit, Mel. He’s a hard man to convince when he’s got his mind set on something, but he’d have to be half-dead if he didn’t see all the changes in you over the past week and a half.”
Cole had seen plenty, Melodie thought as she stepped into a slinky, glittery sheath. More than his sister or anyone else realized. He’d seen her naked, flushed with passion for him and writhing with desire beneath his hard, strong body. He’d seen her at her most uninhibited, and her most vulnerable. She’d shared nuances of her personality with Cole no other man had ever glimpsed before.
While he was familiar with the reliable, efficient secretary he’d hired, he was gradually discovering facets of the new woman she’d become. And she was fairly confident that he liked the fascinating combination, though a part of her couldn’t help but wonder, when the case was over and there was no need to be quite so flashy to get his attention, would he still be so intrigued by her? Or was he only drawn to the bold, daring creature she’d recently become?
Day by day she was distinguishing what she liked best about the changes she’d made to her appearance and what she didn’t care for. She loved certain aspects of being a sensual woman with naughty inclinations, but ultimately wanted to be true to her inner self and be comfortable in her own skin. And that meant tossing out her wilder, brazen antics and finding a balance somewhere in between.
Melodie straightened the dress over her figure, not caring for the way the metallic material scratched her skin when she moved. She preferred soft, silky material against her flesh, a recent luxury she’d come to enjoy with the lingerie she’d bought and the clothes she’d chosen to wear. The more sensuous fabrics reminded her of the way Cole’s lips felt skimming along her belly and thighs. The smooth, sleek friction of satin and silk aroused her senses and kept her body and mind in touch with her newfound sensuality.
Even now, heat flowed through her veins and her nipples were taut and tingling, aching for Cole’s touch to soothe the restless hunger that had grown over the past few days.
“The black sheath doesn’t work for me,” she called out to Jo, who was waiting for her to model the dresses for her. “I’m going to try on the next outfit.”
“Okay,” Jo said around a yawn. “Take your time. This chair is real comfy and I haven’t had my afternoon nap yet.”
Melodie laughed, shaking her head. “I swear, that baby has given you the best excuses to eat and sleep.”
“I’m storing up on the sleep. From what everyone is telling me, I won’t be getting much rest after the baby arrives.”
Letting Jo relax for a few more minutes, Melodie stripped out of the first gown and put on the second, a lace slip dress that puckered in all the wrong places but did amazing things for her cleavage. She trailed her fingertips over the swell of her breasts and closed her eyes, imagining that Cole was in the cubicle with her, wishing it were his hands stroking her sensitive skin instead of her own.
It had been five days since they’d had sex, and neither she nor Cole had brought up the erotic, unforgettable night they’d spent together, though the sexual tension between them at the office was at an all-time high…just as she’d intended, she mused with a secretive smile curving her lips.
Remembering an excerpt from The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad about how men wanted what they couldn’t easily have, Melodie had put the advice to good use the morning after their night together. Since she’d shown him how good it could be between them physically and emotionally, she’d decided she was then going to let those actions speak for themselves. Without pressure or smothering demands, she was giving Cole time and space to adjust to the change in their relationship, and though at times he still seemed confused by the change in her behavior, her strategy of being friendly and playful seemed to be working.
It had been difficult to resist opportunities to kiss Cole, but she’d managed to refrain and the anticipation between them had only increased. She’d allowed no touching beyond casual caresses and accidental brushes, but had indulged in a whole lot of teasing and long, lingering, seductive looks that seemed to keep him in a high state of awareness where she was concerned.
She’d been extremely careful not to give him any reason to throw up barriers or withdraw from her. As a result of the playful friendship she’d established with him at the office, they’d formed a tentative, fragile bond. She felt optimistic that they might be able to work past Cole’s reservations toward her and, in time, give an intimate relationship between them a chance.
Changing into the third garment, a bandeau-style dress, she stepped from the room to get Jo’s opinion. “What do you think?” she asked, twirling for her friend’s inspection.
“Hmm. I can’t say I love it,” Jo said candidly, rubbing a spot on her belly where the baby seemed to be kicking a lot lately. “I think you could find something much more flattering.”
Jo’s honesty was the reason Melodie had brought her along to find an appropriate dress. She’d never had a mother or sister to give her advice, and she valued Jo’s judgment.
“I can’t say that it screams ‘buy me’ either,” Melodie agreed, and flicked her finger at the bulky silk corsage sewn onto the waist of the gown. “I think it’s this gaudy flower that makes me think of a prom dress.”
“I think you’re right,” Jo said, grinning.
Returning to the changing room, she put the bandeau dress into the “no” pile, then turned to the final gown hanging on the hook. She’d saved her favorite choice for last, and she hoped it fit her.
“What’s been going on with the Russell case anyway?” Jo asked from the other room. “I’ve seen Elena in the office a few times this past week.”
Melodie took off her bra, since the dress was completely backless. “She’s been briefing us on the layout of the mansion and giving us details of where and how to find the box of letters she needs me to read.”
“Must be some pretty hot stuff they wrote to one another if Elena won’t let Cole read them.”
Removing the fancy black velvet halter dress from the hanger, Melodie carefully slipped the gown over her head before replying to Jo’s comment. “I’m sure she feels the letters are too personal and private to share with just an
yone.”
Melodie could easily understand Elena’s special request that a woman read the correspondence between her and her lover. Melodie’s own letters to Cole were very intimate and provocative, written from her heart and soul, for his eyes only, and she’d be very reluctant to let anyone but Cole read them.
With a shimmy of her hips, the fabric fell into place. The beaded halter top molded to her breasts and the tailored skirt draped perfectly along her waist as if it had been custom-made for her. The hem grazed her ankles, and there was a sexy slit in the leg that flashed a good amount of thigh when she walked. Striking a sultry pose, she held her hair up on the top of her head and let a few tendrils curl around her face and neck, completing the sophisticated look.
Oh, yeah, this dress was the one.
She bit her bottom lip and stared at her reflection, and while she was still amazed at her own transformation, she came to a stunning realization. Despite the outwardly conservative appearance she’d grown up with, she’d always been a seductive, sensual woman inside. It had just taken the right man to unleash all the daring, wanton impulses lurking just beneath the surface of her good-girl facade.
And no matter what ultimately happened between her and Cole, she had him to thank for giving her the courage to be such a confident, independent woman.
* * *
Cole’s gaze kept returning to the smooth, bare expanse of Melodie’s back as they mingled in the crowd of people attending the charity auction at Thornton’s mansion. Something was different about the way she looked tonight, but he was having a heck of a time putting his finger on what it was.
When he’d arrived at her place a few hours ago to pick her up, he’d been bowled over by the woman who’d answered the door. She looked gorgeous and mouthwateringly sexy in her black velvet gown with the thigh-high slit, and her hair swept up onto the crown of her head, exposing the sensitive flesh at the back of her neck and the slender column of her throat. It was all he could do not to bend his head and sink his teeth into all that soft, pale flesh and mark her as his.