Possessed by Passion (5 page)

She raised a brow. “You cook?”

“No. But for some reason women are impressed by the size of a man's kitchen.”

She fought the urge to laugh. “Are they?”

“Yes. Some think if they get in your kitchen and cook you a good meal then you'll sweep them off their feet.”

“Hasn't worked yet, I gather.”

“When I sweep them off their feet I head for the bedroom and not the wedding chapel as they would like.”

For some crazy reason the thought of him heading for the bedroom with any woman annoyed her. “What's the range of square footage you want?”

“Minimum of thirty-five hundred and max of fifty-five.”

“That's a lot of house for a single person.”

He smiled. “I figure I'll eventually have plenty of nieces and nephews and would want a big enough place for them to enjoy themselves when they come visit their uncle Tyson.”

Over the next half hour Tyson continued to add on to his wish list. And there were a few things she suggested that he hadn't thought about. With additional land, a home in the country would be different from one built in the city. Already ideas were forming in her head and she couldn't wait to get started on this project.

“I think that will be enough information for now,” she said finally, putting her notepad away. “I should have some preliminary sketches for you within a week to ten days. You can call Pauline and make an—”

“I prefer calling you directly.”

“Why?”

“I just do.”

“I hired Pauline for a reason.”

“Tell that to your other clients.”

She glared over at him. What she should do is get up, thank him for lunch and leave. But he was her client and at the moment he was the only one she had. She pulled her business card out of her purse and scribbled her mobile number on the back of it. “Don't call unless it's about business.”

He took the card and slid it into his pocket while smiling at her. “I'm beginning to think you don't like me.”

He didn't know how close to the truth that was. Just when she thought he might have some redeeming qualities, he proved her wrong. “Time for me to get back to the office. Thanks for lunch.”

“We need to do this again. Maybe dinner the next time.”

Deciding not to address Tyson's suggestion, she stood. “Goodbye, Tyson.” And then she walked off. Try as she might she couldn't ignore the heat of his gaze on her back...and especially on her backside.

Chapter 5

A
week and a half later, with his heart heavily weighing him down, Tyson entered his condo. Losing a patient was never easy. Although Morris Beaumont and his family had known the risks, the married father of two—and grandfather of four—had chosen to have the surgery anyway. And he hadn't survived. Delivering the news to the Beaumont family hadn't been easy. They had been hoping to beat the odds and had taken the news hard.

Tyson clenched his jaw, trying to keep his emotions at bay. Sure, he was a doctor, saw people dying every day, and accepted death as part of life. But still, doctors were human. Caring and experiencing grief didn't make one weak, as some people thought. Staying detached, as one of his professors had stressed in medical school, wasn't always easy.

Needing a beer, Tyson headed toward his kitchen to grab one out of his refrigerator. This had been a rough week with a full load of scheduled surgeries and a few unscheduled ones as well. One such emergency had been a newborn with a hole in her heart. She was doing great and if her condition continued to improve, she would be leaving the hospital and going home in another week.

Because of his workload, he hadn't followed up with Hunter, nor had she followed up with him, which probably meant she hadn't completed the initial sketches she'd talked about. Over the next number of days, which he had off, he'd get in touch with her.

The first thing on his agenda was getting laid. He needed sex like he needed this beer, he thought, popping the tab and taking a long, pleasurable gulp. He licked his lips afterward. He was beginning to feel restless and edgy. At least twenty-four hours of sleep would alleviate the former problem, but the latter would only be relieved between the legs of a woman. But not any woman. Hunter.

He took another swig of his beer. That thought filled him with concern. When had he begun lusting after just one woman? Even worse, when did his dreams just center on one woman? At night, whenever his head hit the pillow, he deliberately shut out unpleasant thoughts and only allowed his mind to conjure up pleasant ones. Hunter always headed the list.

Why was he focused on getting her to the one place she'd made it clear she didn't want to be, which was his bed? And why did he think that once he got her there the real thing would be far better than any dream?

Tyson's cell phone rang and the ringtone indicated which brother it was. He pulled the phone off his belt. “What's up, Mercury?”

“Just checking on you. Mom told us why you didn't make last Thursday night. You okay?”

Over the years his mother had deemed Thursdays as family dinner night at their parents' home. Eden Tyson Steele expected all six of her sons to be present and accounted for, grudgingly or otherwise, unless one had a good excuse. Tyson and his brothers knew their mother used the Thursday night dinners as a way to show her sons that although their father had once been a die-hard womanizer, after meeting her all that had come to an end. She wanted them to see with their own eyes that a man like Drew Steele, who'd been known for his wild ways, could fall in love one day, marry and be true to one woman for the rest of his days. Galen, Eli and Jonas had gotten the intended message. The jury was still out for him, Mercury and Gannon. As far as Tyson was concerned, the jury could stay out for him because he wasn't changing his mind about marriage.

He was having way too much fun being single and sharing his bed with any woman he wanted.

Except for one by the name of Hunter McKay. The one he wanted with a passion.

“Tyson?”

He'd almost forgotten his brother was on the phone. “Yes, sorry. Rough stretch at work. I plan to sleep it off.”

“Good idea. I'm leaving town later today for Dallas. Might have a new client with the Cowboys.”

“That's good.” Mercury was a former NFL player turned sports agent. He enjoyed what he did and traveled a lot.

“I thought I'd check on you before I left. By the way, I visited with the twins yesterday. They're so tiny.”

Tyson figured there was no need to mention to Mercury that most newborns were. “Yes, they are. But they'll grow up fast and be walking before you know it. Getting into all kinds of stuff.”

“I can't see laid-back Galen trying to keep up with them.”

Neither could he, but then he hadn't figured his oldest brother would ever marry, either. “What's Gannon up to?” His youngest brother had taken over the day-to-day operations of their father's trucking company when the old man had retired a few years ago. Gannon even enjoyed getting behind a rig himself every once in a while.

“Gannon is planning to drive one of his rigs for a pickup in Florida later this week.”

“That's a long ride.”

“Yes, but knowing Gannon, he'll have fun along the way.”

Tyson frowned. That was what worried him. While growing up, since he and Galen had been the oldest two Steeles, his parents—especially his mother—had expected them to look out for Gannon, who was the baby in the family. Although Gannon was now thirty-two, Tyson was discovering that old habits were hard to break. “I'll talk to him before he hits the road.”

“It might be a good idea for you to do that. I'll talk with you later, Tyson.”

“Okay and have a safe trip.” Tyson clicked off the phone and returned it to his belt.

After he finished off the last of his beer, he released a throaty, testosterone-filled growl. It was a testament to how long he'd gone without a woman, which was so unlike him. He needed to step up his game, be the conqueror he knew he could be. Turn up the heat and do what he had warned Hunter he planned to do and seduce the hell out of her.

A smile touched his lips as he headed for his bedroom. First he would get the sleep he needed and then he would make it his business to seek out the object of his passion. Hunter McKay thought she'd given the last word, but he had news for her.

* * *

“Yes, and thanks for calling, Mrs. Davis. I'm looking forward to meeting you as well.”

Hunter hung up the phone as a huge smile touched her lips. That would be the third new client she'd gotten in a week. It didn't even bother her that all three referrals had come from Tyson. The first, Don Jamison, was a colleague of Tyson's at the hospital. Dr. Jamison and his wife were new to town and currently living in an apartment. They had recently purchased land on the outskirts of town and were anxious to build their home.

Tessa Motley's mother was a patient of Tyson's. When she had mentioned that she and her husband planned to build a house on property that Tessa had inherited from a grandmother, Tyson had recommended Hunter.

Then there were the Davises, an older couple with dreams of building a house on beachfront property they had recently purchased in Savannah.

Hunter rose to her feet and walked over to the coffeepot to pour herself a cup. Her thoughts couldn't help but dwell on the man who'd helped to give her business a kick start. It has been two weeks since she'd seen or talked to him. She had called and left a message with him two days ago that the preliminary sketches for his house were ready. However, he hadn't bothered to call her back.

In a way she should be glad he'd given up on pursuing her, but for some reason she wasn't. Mainly because if he wasn't chasing her that meant some other woman was holding his interest now. Why did that bother her? Probably because he still managed to creep into her nightly dreams, which were getting steamier and more erotic. Going without sex for four years had finally caught up with her. Even now the thought of being seduced by Tyson Steele wasn't as unappealing as it had been originally. She took a sip of her coffee, not believing she was actually thinking that way.

She turned when she heard the knock on her door. “Come in.”

The door opened and the very subject of her thoughts walked in. Tyson strode in with the casual arrogance that was so much a part of him. She was forced to admit the man was the most sensuous piece of artwork she'd ever seen. So much so it was mind-boggling. He was the last person she'd expected to see today and his surprise visit had her breathless.

He gave her a sexy smile that made her knees weaken. She could actually feel the sexual chemistry sizzling between them. “Hunter.”

The sound of his voice actually made her skin tingle. What were the odds that the very man she'd been thinking about suddenly appeared? How strange was that? Somehow she found her voice to ask. “Tyson? What are you doing here?”

“I got the message you left on my phone.”

“That was two days ago.” She hoped he hadn't heard the testiness in her voice.

“I know. I slept for almost two days.”

Hunter fought back the temptation to ask the question that burned in her mind.
With whom?
Instead she put her coffee cup down and moved to stand in front of her desk. She felt the heat of his gaze with every step she took. Every other time, the fact that he closely watched her every move had annoyed her, but not now. It thrilled her.

When she reached her desk she turned and looked over at him to find his piercing green eyes staring her up and down. She fought back a heated shiver and asked, “Is anything wrong?”

“What makes you think something is wrong, Hunter?”

She wished it didn't do things to her whenever he said her name. “You're staring.” She'd worn a dress today and his gaze continued to roam up and down her legs.

“I am, aren't I? My only excuse is that you're good to look at.”

Carter had rarely given her compliments, so hearing them from Tyson definitely boosted her feminine confidence. He might be checking her out but she was doing the same with him. She couldn't help but appreciate how good he looked in his jeans and the way his shirt fit over his well-toned muscles. She forced her eyes away. “I'm sure that's a line you've used on a number of women.”

“No. It's not.”

Deciding not to believe him, she looked past his shoulder to the door. “How did you get into my office without Pauline announcing you?”

He shrugged. “I told her she didn't have to bother. I like announcing myself. Besides, she was packing up to leave, and she told me to tell you that she would see you Monday morning.”

Hunter glanced at her watch. She hadn't realized it was so late. That meant they were alone and that wasn't a good thing right now with her present frame of mind. The best thing was to send him packing. Picking up the manila folder off her desk, she offered it to him. “Here's what you came for.”

Tyson moved toward her with calm, deliberate strides, and when he came to a stop directly in front of her, she tried ignoring the sparks going off inside her. Instead of accepting the folder, he reached out and brushed the tips of his fingers across her cheek. “That's not what I came for, Hunter. This is.”

And before she could draw her next breath, he leaned in and captured her mouth with his.

* * *

Tyson hadn't lied when he'd told Hunter that this was what he'd come for. He refused to suffer through another dream where he'd kissed her madly without getting a taste of the real thing. And now he was discovering that no dream could compare. It didn't come close.

He'd known when he took her mouth that he risked getting his tongue bitten off. Evidently she needed this kiss as much as he did if the way her tongue was mating with his was anything to go by. He could taste her hunger in this kiss, and he could feel the passion and the desire engulfing them. He was greedily lapping up her mouth.

He'd kissed her once before, years ago behind the lockers at school. It had been way too short and at the time he hadn't known how to use his tongue like he did now. He hadn't known how much kissing could thoroughly arouse a man when done the right way and with the right woman.

Tyson wrapped his arms around Hunter's waist to bring her closer. Never had any woman's mouth tasted so delicious, so hot that it was heating the blood rushing through his veins. In seconds he had her purring and himself moaning.

He heard the folder she'd been holding fall to the floor seconds before she wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued to feast on her mouth. He moaned again when he felt her hardened nipples press into his chest. And if that wasn't bad enough, her scent was all around him, seducing him in a way no other woman had ever been capable of doing.

He knew this kiss was the beginning and was determined for it not to be the end. He had succeeded in breaking through her shell, but it was imperative not to push too hard and too soon. So he did what he really didn't want to do—pull back from the kiss.

Before she could say anything—he was certain it would be something he didn't want to hear right then—he leaned close and whispered against her moist lips. “Have dinner with me, Hunter.”

* * *

Hunter could only stand there, feeling weak in the knees, while she gazed into the green eyes staring back at her. One minute Tyson had been standing in front of her and the next he had his tongue in her mouth. And the minute she tasted it she was powerless to resist him.

His kiss had been possessive. It had sent her emotions in a tailspin, accelerating out of control. At the time, something had convinced her that she desperately needed the urgent mating of his tongue with hers and she'd given in to it. Now that the kiss was over, common sense had returned and she was thinking more rationally. At least she hoped so.

“Hunter?”

She drew in a deep breath. He had asked her to have dinner with him and there was no way she could do that, especially after that kiss. He had shown her what could happen if she lowered her guard with him just for one moment. “I can't have dinner with you.”

He frowned down at her. “You can't or you won't?”

It was basically the same thing in her book. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“Not to me, Tyson.”