Operation Saving Daniel (Entangled Covet) (9 page)

“Lissa!”

The call came from outside the room and he swore savagely. Gritting his teeth, he tried to bring himself under control. After taking a deep breath, he leaned away from her and withdrew his hand from between her thighs. She was staring down at him, her eyes blank, as though she didn’t quite get what was going on. He tugged up the straps of her dress and lifted her to her feet with his hands at her waist.

She almost fell, and he tightened his grip, giving her a little shake.

“There’s someone coming,” he said.

Her huge eyes blinked up at him, but she seemed to come out of the sensual trance and she steadied in his arms.

“How do you do that?” she asked.

“Do what?”

“Manage to make me lose it totally while you’re still paying attention to what’s going on around you.”

“Good hearing.”

“Yeah, right.”

Swaying, she rested a hand against the desktop but waved him down when he moved in to help. “I’m fine,” she said.

His glass was on the desk and she picked it up and drained it. “So where does this leave us?”

He breathed in, sensing who was approaching. Julia and Sophia. Crap.

“Nowhere,” he said. “It leaves us nowhere.”

…

The pleasure pulsated through Lissa’s body. Between her thighs, she was hot and soaked with need. They’d been so close, and now she couldn’t believe she had nearly made love in the middle of a party.

But Daniel had the ability to make her totally lose her sense of what was going on around her. To forget everybody and everything but him.

He’d retreated back behind that cool façade, but when she lowered her gaze the telltale bulge in his pants was obvious. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, and that made her feel slightly better.

He sank down into the chair, and she moved so the big desk was between them. When she glanced down at herself, her nipples were stiff points against the silk of her dress, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about that.

Someone rapped on the door and it opened immediately. Obviously, whoever it was didn’t feel the need to wait for an answer. Why was she unsurprised to see Sophia standing in the open doorway? Julia was behind her and she gave a shrug as if to say,
I couldn’t stop her
.

Lissa reckoned she probably hadn’t tried too hard. After all, hadn’t this been the purpose of the plan—at least the original one—to have Sophia catch them in a compromising position. Of course, that plan had been drawn up before Sophia threatened to rip her limb from limb if she touched Daniel.

Jim made up a third, and Lissa sighed with relief. No one would make a scene with Jim around.

“Darling,” Sophia purred. “We missed you.”

She oozed across the floor but Daniel’s body stiffened as she got close. Clearly he didn’t want her to touch him. So why the hell was he marrying the woman? What hold did she have over him?

Julia edged into the room to stand beside her and leaned in close. “I brought Dad. I thought she’d be less likely to cause a scene if he was here.”

“Good thinking.” Lissa viewed the happy couple for a moment longer. Something was wrong and she was going to find out what. “I think I’m going to slip out of the room before anyone notices me going.”

“I’ll come with you.”

But Lissa couldn’t resist one glance back at the door. Daniel stared after her with something close to despair on his face.

Chapter Nine

Daniel paced the floor of his office. He had work to do, but his brain refused to cooperate. He’d gotten up the morning after the party, his mind churning with a mixture of anticipation and dread, only to find Lissa already gone, which should have been a relief. Instead, the disappointment when he’d finally accepted he wouldn’t ever see her again had almost brought him to his knees.

Four days later, and he hadn’t heard from any of his family, either. It was better that way. Really it was.

Restlessness gnawed at his insides, and his skin stretched too tight. The moon was waxing; in two days it would be full. Usually he managed to blank it from his mind, but this month was different. This month, Wolf refused to be soothed. Instead, he stalked within the confines of Daniel’s body, raking his claws against his inner skin, howling to be free.

He’d always felt as though he was in charge of Wolf. In fact, he was only just discovering that had been an illusion. Wolf hadn’t wanted anything before, except to run free under the full moon, and Daniel had never been able to deny his beast that. Now Wolf wanted something else. He wanted Lissa.

Join the queue.

Daniel wanted Lissa as well.

He couldn’t get her out of his mind. She haunted him, day and night.

What could she think of him, though? That he was the sort of man who would make love to one woman when he’d gotten engaged to another that very same day. Lissa probably thought he was a lying, cheating bastard. And he couldn’t explain. Besides this way, it was better. Better she never saw him again, never discovered what he really was.

Inside Wolf howled.

Daniel had always dismissed the whole wolf and his mate thing as a load of crap. Now he wasn’t so sure. He wished he’d listened more to pack law, but he’d relied on his science to tell him everything he needed to know about werewolves and dismissed pack law as fanciful rubbish. And now he was paying the price.

He needed information. Someone who could tell him what the hell was happening to him. And how he could stop it.

He thought of Joe, the second of the pack Betas. There had been no repercussions from the night of the last pack meeting when Daniel had prevented the attack on Sarah. He hadn’t seen the two assailants again and Joe had kept quiet. Could he be trusted?

It was a risk, but if Sophia found out he was talking to Joe, maybe she’d see it as a sign that he was integrating into the pack and not interested in Lissa.

He reached into his top desk draw and pulled out a photo—Lissa when she’d just turned eighteen. His family had held a belated party for her over the Easter holidays, and he’d snapped the picture when she hadn’t been paying attention. She was laughing at something Julia said and looked young and carefree. Her black hair was down to her shoulders, her golden eyes glowing. It was four months before she was due to seduce him and vanish.

He was still staring at her face when the phone on his desk rang, and he picked it up warily.

“Mr. Melville, Melissa Jackson is in reception and she says she won’t leave until I tell you she’s here.”

“Thanks, Gretchen.” He studied the picture a second longer, then slid it back into the drawer. “Send her up.” And he slammed the phone down.

What the hell was she doing here? Did she have no clue of the danger she faced? Sophia would find out. The business was riddled with her spies. An image of Bab’s torn and broken body flashed before his eyes. He didn’t think he would ever recover if the same thing happened to Lissa.

So he’d see her quickly, tell her he could never see her again, and that would be it. Because even if he succeeded in defeating Ethan and Sophia, he could still never be with Lissa. He would be unable to hide what he was forever, and she would come to hate him for it.

But that was the future. Right now, he was going to see her. Inside him, Wolf stopped his pacing and wagged his tail.

…

Daniel’s top floor office was bigger than the reception area, and it took Lissa a few seconds to locate him. His back to her, he was standing in front of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring down at the city below.

He didn’t turn as she entered, made no indication he even knew she was there. But his shoulders were stiff, every line of his body radiating tension.

She moved to stand beside him. Breathing in deeply, she smelled that musky, almost feral scent she had come to associate with him. Aftershave? She thought not.

Finally, he turned to her. He appeared tired, dark shadows under his eyes, his mouth held in a stern, uncompromising line. It didn’t matter; he was beautiful, and Lissa’s heart rate picked up as she studied him.

She’d put off this meeting as long as possible. Obviously, he needed time and a bit of space. It was ironic, really. Ten years ago she’d been the one needing space, now it was Daniel.

But she had an idea that there was more going on, so she was here to tell Daniel that if he explained why he’d changed and why he was forced to marry Sophia, she would leave them alone. If he refused, she wasn’t quite sure what she would do—stalk him maybe. Until she found out what was going on in his not-so-perfect life.

One thing she wasn’t going to do was even think about sex. They were going to talk. That was all. In which case maybe she should back away. Put some distance between them, and maybe a big piece of furniture such as that desk. It was a huge desk, long enough to lie down on.

Where the hell had that thought come from? There was absolutely no reason for her to lie on Daniel’s desk. Unless he was lying on there with her. Maybe on top of her. Or underneath her. Or…

Shit, she hadn’t been in here five minutes and she was already thinking sex.

“Lissa?”

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the entirely inappropriate vision of Daniel and her going at it on top of his polished mahogany desk. “Yes?”

“What do you want?”

To strip you naked, push you down on that desk, and have my evil way with you.
Luckily, she didn’t say it out loud. She’d gone for years without thinking much about sex, but now she simply had to be in the same room as Daniel and it was the only thing on her mind. And not only her mind—her body as well. Beneath her loose-fitting shirt, her nipples were hard little points and between her thighs, well she was soaked. She cleared her throat. “I just want to talk.”

He turned so he faced her fully and took a step closer. “Really?” He breathed in deeply. “Why do I find that hard to believe?”

Crap, he was doing that, I-can-smell-your-arousal, thing again. She hated that, really hated it. He should keep his nose out of her personal space. Besides, he couldn’t really smell her, could he? She gave a surreptitious sniff and nothing. “Believe it,” she snapped.

“I agreed to see you because my receptionist said you wouldn’t leave unless I did. But I’m rather busy, so say whatever it is you have to say and perhaps I can get on with some work.”

“I want to understand why you’re marrying Sophia.”

He gave a completely over-the-top sigh. “We’ve been over this, though granted you were rather inebriated at the time so you might not remember.”

“I remember. I just don’t believe you. I saw you together. You can’t stand her touching you.”

He pursed his lips and considered her. “Okay. I’ll tell you something, but I want this to go no further. My family isn’t to know.”

Sounded interesting. “Go on. Your secrets are safe with me.”

“Of course they are.” Was that sarcasm in his voice? “It’s not as if you don’t tell Julia everything. Well, this time, you can’t.”

She frowned. “I told you I won’t. I’m capable of keeping my mouth shut.”

“I’m marrying her for business reasons. We’re coming up to a big vote regarding the direction of the company. She has shares I need. She wants to get married—”

“Why?”

“That’s her business. Maybe you should ask her, though I don’t think you’d be her first choice for a girlie chitchat.”

No, probably not. Did she believe him? She wasn’t sure, but it sort of made sense. “Don’t you want to marry for love?”

He gave her a long, cool stare. “No.”

“Why?”

“Jesus.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Do you never stop asking ‘why’?”

“Sometimes. Not often. I’m just trying to understand.”

“Has it occurred to you that it’s really none of your business?”

“Briefly. But you made it my business when you kissed me. You know, I came back with the intention of getting you out of my system once and for all.”

He’d been looking away, somewhere over her left shoulder, and now his gaze shot to her face. “I’m in your system?”

“Well, I’d rather hoped not any more. I was going to see you, prove there was nothing between us, and move on.”

“Move on?”

“Find a nice man, get married, have kids…”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. Lissa followed the movement and wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want him to think she was checking out his groin. Even if she was. In fact, did it seem a bit bigger than it should? That bulge couldn’t be normal, could it? She swallowed and peeped again.

“And now?” he asked dragging her mind from the entirely inappropriate contemplation with the size of his penis. Huge she reckoned.

She nibbled on her lip while contemplating the best way to explain. She decided honesty—up to a point. “Are you aware I’ve had a crush on you since I was twelve?”

Shock flashed across his face. Obviously, though Julia had told him as much, he hadn’t believed it.

“You pretty much ignored me and I thought that it was a nice, safe crush—you hardly noticed me.” Except for when she wasn’t looking, when according to Julia, he’d stared. “So I could indulge in a few fantasies—”

“Fantasies?”

“You don’t want to know.” Actually, from his expression, she guessed he did want to know, but she wasn’t telling him. They were definitely private. “So yeah, I had a few harmless fantasies, a few impossible daydreams about you. Until that last night, when I gave into the temptation to get you naked. Not because your sisters dared me, but because I wanted you. I thought just the once. But I should never have done it because afterward I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”

He scrutinized her as if fascinated, and her brows drew together.

“Hey, how did we get on to me? We’re supposed to be talking about you and The Evil One.”

His lips curved into a quick grin at the name, but then it was gone. “We’ve finished talking about me. You’re much more interesting.”

“I am?”

“Yeah, tell me more about this crush.” His voice had gone low and husky, and she’d gone hot and shivery. Behind his eyes, the darkness shifted. She knew she should be questioning him further about this business deal with Sophia, but her brain wouldn’t seem to stay on the subject. Instead, she trailed her gaze down over his long, lean body.

Oh yeah, it was getting bigger.

Suddenly, the no-sex thing seemed stupid. What was the reason anyway?

…

Lissa had been infatuated with him? Well, she’d done a bloody good job of hiding it.

But not anymore.

She was staring at his groin, and he really wished she wouldn’t. She might deny it, but the air was perfumed with the musky scent of her arousal. She couldn’t hide that from Wolf, and it was driving him wild. Finally, she raised her head to look into his face, her pink tongue peeked out to slide over her lower lip leaving it gleaming with moisture, and the banked fires in his belly roared into life.

He tried to remind himself of the no-sex thing, but it wouldn’t stick in his brain. Probably something to do with the fact that his brain had sunk down and was now inhabiting his cock, which was telling the rest of him what to do.

He suspected she was tempting him on purpose, not that it made any difference.

Just a taste.
Christ, when had he thought that before?

He moved in close against her, and she held her ground so his body brushed against hers. His desk was behind her, and he placed his hands on the curve of her ass and lifted her, settling her down on the smooth wood. When she didn’t protest, he pushed her farther onto the desk, nudging her legs apart with one knee, so he could step into the V formed by her thighs.

His arms went around her, his hands slid down over her back to grip the firm cheeks of her ass and pull her tightly to him. His cock had been getting hard since she’d entered the room, and he pressed himself against her.

“You were saying…?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. His head swooped down, and he took those succulent, pink lips, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and tasting her as he’d been starving to do since the party. Her hands came up to grip his shoulders, one sliding into his hair to drag him down against her.

Without breaking the kiss, he skimmed his palms over her thighs, then lifted them so she wrapped her long legs around him, and he ground his cock against her core. She whimpered words of need against his lips, and his mouth slid from hers to drop kisses over her cheek. He burrowed his head against her throat, breathed in the warm, spicy scent of her, and knew he would never get enough. She was his. Forever.

The thought made him go still. For him, forever probably wasn’t very long.

What the hell was he doing?

He concentrated on his breathing, counting each breath until he had the will to release his hold on her. Reaching behind, he loosened her legs from around him, and stepped back from between her thighs.

“Please,” she whispered, the need clear in her face.

His balls ached, and his pants felt too tight. He wanted her, but he had to prove, if only to himself, that he could control this. It was becoming obvious there was a connection between them; he wanted her with a desperation that was way beyond normal desire. But first he needed to understand whether it was merely him going through a temporary crisis, or some weird werewolf shit that wasn’t going to go away. He didn’t want to involve Lissa in his crap, but maybe he had no choice.