Possessed by Passion (13 page)

Chapter 14

H
unter paced her office, calling herself all kinds of fool for being nervous about Tyson's visit. And she also tried convincing herself the dress she'd chosen to wear to work that morning had nothing to do with knowing he would be dropping by. So what if it was a tad shorter than the ones she normally wore to the office? Tyson telling her how much he liked seeing her legs had nothing to do with it. Nor was that the reason she'd replaced her comfortable pumps with a pair of high heels.

She glanced at her watch. Pauline would be leaving for the day in less than five minutes. Had Tyson deliberately timed his arrival when he figured they would be alone? She shook her head, telling herself she was jumping to conclusions. Tyson's visit to her office might just be strictly business. There was a possibility he had questions about those preliminary house plans. Yes, those same house plans she'd already dismissed as inconsequential. She knew he had no more intention of building a house in the country than she did. But she had put her time, concentration and energy into them. That was why she had billed him for them anyway. And she hadn't been cheap. He could be questioning the size of his bill, but a personal visit wasn't needed for that.

The buzzer on her desk sounded and she inhaled deeply before crossing the room to push the button. “Yes, Pauline?”

“I'm about to leave, Hunter. Do you need me to do anything before I—”

When she heard a voice in the background she knew her conversation with Pauline was being interrupted by someone. “Excuse me, Hunter. But Dr. Steele is here. He said you are expecting him.”

There was no need to tell Pauline to send him in because at that moment, her office door opened and Tyson walked in. She glared at him, a little put out that he assumed he could just walk into her office whenever he felt like it. But then that thought faded from her mind when her eyes roamed over him. No man could wear a pair of jeans better.

Nor could a man remove them better, either
.

She tried not to remember that night in her apartment when he had stripped out of his jeans for her. Remembering also made her recall just what he was packing behind the zipper of those jeans.

“If there's nothing else you need for me to do then I'll see you tomorrow, Hunter.”

At that moment she realized she still had Pauline on the line. “That's fine, Pauline. Enjoy your evening and I'll see you tomorrow.”

She clicked off the line and lifted her chin at Tyson, but before she could give him a piece of her mind, he asked, “How's your mother?”

“Mom's fine. Thanks for asking.” So, okay, it was nice of him to inquire...but still. “It would have been nice if you'd given me a time as to when to expect you, Tyson.”

He actually looked remorseful. “Sorry about that. It was late last night when I called you and—”

“Trust me. I know how late it was.”

A small smile touched his lips as he leaned back against the closed door. “I couldn't sleep and figured if I couldn't sleep you shouldn't be able to sleep, either. Sounds pretty juvenile, doesn't it?”

“Yes, especially since I wasn't responsible for your inability to sleep.”

He straightened and took a few steps into the middle of the room. Hunter's stomach immediately knotted and her breathing suddenly seemed forced. The man was testosterone personified. And why did those thighs, those hard muscular thighs that had ridden her so many times, look perfect in his jeans?

“But you are responsible, Hunter,” he said, interrupting her intense appraisal of him. “That's why I'm here.”

Hunter frowned. What he was saying didn't make much sense. “Okay, so you can't sleep at night and for some reason you think I'm to blame. If that's the case, what do you expect me to do about it?”

“Give me a week. I want a week in your bed since a mere night didn't do a damn thing to eradicate you from my system.”

* * *

Tyson looked at the beautiful woman with the shocked look on her face. At some point he needed to stop astonishing her this way. He'd gotten the same reaction from her that night at Notorious after stating his plans to seduce her.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, readying himself for what was to come. She could get mad or glad. Either way he intended to get his week. Hell, he needed that week. When time ticked by and she didn't say anything, just sat behind her desk and gazed at him like he was stone crazy, he finally asked, “Well?”

Tyson knew he'd pushed too hard when a furious expression finally overtook her expression. She eased out of her chair to come around her desk and stand in front of him with her hands planted firmly on her hips. He could actually see fire in those gorgeous brown eyes of hers and should have had enough sense to step back, but he didn't. The way he saw it, he didn't have anything to lose at this point and he intended to stand his ground.

“You sex-crazed womanizing ass!” she said in a loud, angry voice. “What's wrong, Dr. Steele? That little nurse didn't work out for you so you thought you could just show up here demanding more sex from me because you need it? Let me tell you just where you can—”

“I don't just need sex, Hunter,” he interrupted her in a voice that matched her volume. “I need
you
. And what little nurse are you talking about?”

“I'm talking about that ER nurse who was flirting with you yesterday. And I saw you flirting back.”

A fierce frown covered Tyson's face when she brought up Macy Phillips. “For your information, Macy Phillips was on my ‘to do' list, along with several other women,” he snapped.

“Then by all means do them. What's stopping you?” she snapped back, getting in his face.

“You're stopping me, dammit, and I don't know why,” he retorted, hating he had to admit such a thing. “Ever since that night I saw you at Notorious, I haven't wanted another woman. I haven't thought of anyone else. I figured that once I made love to you my life would return to normal. But things have gotten worse for me. For some reason you aren't out my system. I dream about you at night. I think about you during the day. My cleaning lady has been to my place twice since that night you were there for dinner, but I swear I can still smell your scent.”

To Tyson's surprise Hunter took a step back. It was as if his words had finally gotten to her, were now sinking in. So he decided to plunge forward. “So I came up with a plan.”

“Another one?” she asked flippantly.

“Yes, another one,” he said, more than a little agitated. “There has to be a reason I can't get enough of you, and whether you want to admit it or not, I'm not out of your system, either. I can tell. Anyone who's within ten feet of us can pick up on the strong sexual chemistry between us. I think your mother even picked up on something.”

“She did,” Hunter said in a somewhat calmer tone. “I told her there was nothing going on between us but I don't think she believes me.”

Then, as if she realized she'd gone soft, her spine straightened and her voice became firm. “And don't you dare stand there and tell me what I don't have out of my system. You have no way of knowing that.”

He lifted his chin. “Don't I?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “No, you don't.”

“Are you saying that you don't still want me? That you don't go to bed with thoughts of me inside of you? Kissing you? Tasting you? Riding you hard?”

He saw heat flare in her eyes at his words. He also saw blatant desire that fanned the flames of what he was feeling. “Well, are you?”

She squared her shoulders and glared at him. “I'm not saying anything.”

“Then it's admission by omission.”

“I am
not
admitting to anything. If I'm not out of your system then that's your problem, one you need to deal with on your own. Contrary to what you seem to think, you're out of my system, Tyson. Nothing you say or do will prove otherwise,” she said haughtily.

A slow smile spread across his features. “You think not?”

* * *

Hunter didn't like his tone, nor the “let me prove differently” look in Tyson's eyes. For once she felt she might have said too much, tossed out a dare she hadn't intended to make. And now he had that predatory look on his face. The one that meant he intended to prove her wrong. She took a few more steps back and came to a stop when her backside hit against her desk.

“Isn't tonight Thursday? You're having dinner with your folks, right?” she asked.

“What about it?”

During their talk over wine and cheese in her bedroom, he mentioned that over the years his mother had insisted on Thursday dinners as a way to show her six sons that married life would be wonderful. Tyson had stated that as far as he was concerned, the only thing his mother was showing him was what a great cook she continued to be. For him it was the delicious meals that were the draw.

“I wouldn't want you to be late for dinner,” she told him.

A smiled curved his lips. “Are you trying to get rid of me, Hunter?”

She leaned back against her desk. “What do you think?”

“I think it's time I show you that you want me as much as I want you.”

A slow stirring erupted in the pit of her stomach when Tyson began walking toward her. His expression was serious, his eyes dark and honed in on hers. Her heart pounded in her chest with every step he took. She was tempted to run, but her feet felt cemented in place. Besides, from the look on Tyson's face she knew that he wouldn't think twice about chasing after her.

Did she even want to run?

She frowned at the doubt that clouded her mind. Of course she wanted to run, to escape, to get the hell out of here.
Umm, maybe not
, she thought when Tyson stopped and kicked off his shoes and then took the time to remove his socks.

Hunter had a pretty good idea where this was going, and a part of her wanted it more than anything. She hadn't been completely honest by claiming he was out of her system. But a week-long affair wasn't necessarily the answer. It might work for him, but she ran the risk that he'd get even more under her skin.

As she continued to look at Tyson, he straightened and went for his shirt, undoing the buttons and easing it from his chest and broad muscular shoulders. Hunter tried not to remember the feel of that chest rubbing against her hardened nipples, but she failed. She heard herself moan.

“You said something, Hunter?” he asked, staring at her with a predatory look.

She swallowed and shook her head, unable to speak for a moment. When she could, she said, “No, I didn't say anything.” But she knew she should. She should speak up and put an end to this madness. But a part of her was curious to see just how far he would go before she sent him packing.

And speaking of packing... He eased his jeans down his legs to reveal a pair of sexy briefs and it was obvious just what he was packing between those massive thighs.

“Is there a reason you're removing your clothes in my office?” she asked, deciding she needed to say something before he went any further.

He smiled over at her as he inserted his fingers in the waistband of his briefs. “Yes, there's a reason.”

And then, without saying another word, he lowered his briefs and showed her the reason. In all its arousing and throbbing glory.

* * *

As far as Tyson was concerned, the worst thing Hunter could do at that moment was lick her lips. Major bad timing on her part. Especially when he saw the sexual hunger in her eyes.

Then she lifted her chin. “I won't be removing my clothes, Tyson.”

He stood in front of her totally naked and he couldn't help noticing she had a hard time zeroing in on his face. Instead her gaze kept straying to his groin. “I don't recall asking you to take your clothes off, Hunter, mainly because I intend to take them off for you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You wouldn't dare.”

He chuckled. “I would. And I will.” He took a step toward her.

“If you come any closer, I'll scream,” she threatened.

His mouth curved into a smile. “Baby, you're going to be screaming anyway, so one more scream is a moot point.” He trailed a finger down her thigh. “You want to convince me you didn't wear this short dress just for me?”

“Think whatever you want.”

“In that case, I think you did wear it just for me,” he said, loving the feel of his fingers on her bare skin. “And I want to thank you properly for doing so.” Then Tyson lowered his mouth to hers.

* * *

Hunter knew the moment Tyson's tongue touched hers there would be nothing proper about this kiss. She was proven right when he began devouring her mouth with an intensity that had her fighting back moans. Pushing him away was not even a consideration. Instead, she eased up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

When his hand began easing up her dress, instinctively, her legs spread apart. Just like the last time, his touch was like an aphrodisiac, making her crave things she shouldn't have but wanted anyway. And topping the list was Tyson. She wanted him doing all those naughty and sinful yet delicious things to her.

Her thoughts were suddenly snatched from her mind when Tyson's fingers settled between her legs. Oh, yes, she remembered these fingers and just what they could do to her, how they could make her feel. He knew how to work them with a skill she found astounding. The man had an uncanny ability to take her breath away.

He broke off the kiss and stared down at her, deliberately holding her gaze while his fingers worked their magic inside her, making her moan, gasp and then moan again. “You sure you want this?” he asked in a deep, husky voice. “After all, you claim I'm the only one with the problem. That I am out of your system.”

Hunter knew he was toying with her, trying to make her admit something she had adamantly refuted. “You're wet, Hunter,” he said, moving his fingers in slow, circular motions inside her. “I like stirring you up this way, and do you know why?”