Read Twin Temptations Online

Authors: Elizabeth Lapthorne

Tags: #Paranormal, #Contemporary, #Romance, #Werewolves, #Erotic, #Adult, #Fiction

Twin Temptations (4 page)

BOOK: Twin Temptations
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Chapter Four

Samantha smiled in the darkness as the sounds of the gala dinner grew dimmer and dimmer. She hadn’t bothered to fight Callum when he had insisted on this walk. They needed to talk and she didn’t want to spoil the dinner for herself by having to think too much about what needed to be said.

Her mind wanted to do one thing, her body another. And while this impressive debate raged within herself, she also tried to keep uppermost in mind that she was supposed to be asking intelligent questions about the two lost cubs and trying to find if Callum had had anything to do with it.

And so, in the split second she had been given to decide whether or not to “follow”

Callum out here, she had decided to spend a few minutes privately out here in the darkness of the garden, the scent of the earth, wind and trees around her, rather than spend half the night stewing in her own doubts and questions. When the music from the ballroom was just a faint sound, barely heard, and the night wind whispered softly between them both, both she and Callum halted beneath the leafy branches of a tree.

“You should be arrested for wearing such a dress,” he said softly, roughly. Samantha laughed.

“Not even my
father
could get me for public indecency in this dress. Besides, it’s positively chaste and Victorian compared to what some of our guests are wearing.”

“Those Victorians were a rather sexually enlightened group, Sammi, darling.”

Callum replied with a wicked grin and an evil twinkle in his eye. “Besides, I don’t feel the overwhelming urge to strip anyone else I’ve seen tonight, baby. Only you.”

Samantha shivered as he said her name with such an intimate familiarity. A part of her felt like they had just made shattering love and were lying next to each other in bed, sharing a pillow and whispering soft words to each other. She pulled herself from the hazy fantasy. She needed to keep her mind on real, legitimate matters, not indulge in dreams, she reminded herself sternly.

“Tomorrow I will be coming into the office,” she started, not letting Callum even get a word in to argue. “Mostly to look over the records and anything you might have on the cubs. Is that okay?” she finished, more for politeness’ sake than as an actual request.

She watched as Callum literally shook himself and cleared his throat. When he spoke, his voice was still deep, but sounded practically normal once again.

“Sure. I have a few leads I’m chasing, but nothing much. A fresh set of eyes might be exactly what’s needed.”

She smiled, knowing he couldn’t see her clearly in the dark. Clenching her hand into a fist, resisting the temptation to reach out and stroke his jaw, or worse, rest her head against his chest and listen to his heartbeat.

Plenty of times she had been to social affairs with men in tuxes, but none of them looked as handsome or debonair as Callum.

Samantha averted her face and drew in a deep breath of fresh air, but she could still scent him. His scent had not changed in the months they had been apart, he was still musky, darkly masculine and smelled of wood and the wild. Knowing it was a mistake, and at this single moment not caring, she turned her face toward him again and stepped forward to close the distance between them. She wrapped her arm around his waist and drew him in to her. Lifting her head slightly she took her time kissing his lips. Light and color exploded around her, rocked her world. She had been right, he did still taste hot and spicy and so delicious that she could barely cope with it. He quickly took over the kiss. She felt his hand splay over her back, draw her up into the heat of his body as his mouth opened to plunder her own.

Callum’s tongue slid into her mouth, teasing and playing erotically with hers. They tangled, hands seeking skin underneath clothing, both breathing deeply as the fire of their kiss raged out of control.

Samantha had never felt like this, not with any of her previous lovers, casual or not. As she tasted him, reveled in the spicy, masculine taste invading her senses, she breathed deeply of his scent and felt her heart momentarily stop, and then pound furiously fast.

He is definitely your One,
her mind screamed at her.
Mate with him! Mark him as yours
so no other woman can get to him!

She didn’t need a True Mate, didn’t
want
to give the potential for devastation and heartbreak to anyone just yet. But at the same time, she couldn’t deny the attraction and potent reaction she had to Callum.

“We really shouldn’t…” Samantha pulled away, but Callum put a finger to her mouth before she could finish the sentence. Callum didn’t move his hand from her back, continued to hold her close, and she breathed his scent in one last time before wrenching herself from his arms.

“Why exactly shouldn’t we be doing this, Sammi? I have no other commitments, and there is no way you can convince me you didn’t enjoy that kiss.”

Samantha felt her stomach flop, but ruthlessly kept herself under control.

“We’re going to be working together,” she started, mentally slapping herself. She was supposed to be seeing if he had anything to do with the disappearance of the cubs!

Not to mention keeping an eye on his investigation. Samantha embraced her anger with herself. If she could keep angry and ignore the aching need within her, everything would be much easier and she would do a better job for her twin.

“I don’t see why we can’t work together on the case and not spend time out of work hours together, Sam,” Callum said patiently, with a dogged persistence Sam couldn’t help but admire. “What aren’t you telling me, darling?” he asked suspiciously, causing her heart to accelerate.

Damn him for being savvy to her!

Samantha turned around and headed back toward the ballroom with long strides.

“Sam!” She shivered as she felt Callum call out and grab her arm again. Thankfully, he didn’t try to stop her, only held her gently as they walked back to the dinner party together.

“Fine, don’t tell me what’s going on right now,” he conceded, “but at least admit to me how you enjoyed the kiss.”

Samantha bit her lip and looked at Callum.

In the better light, she could only stare at the handsomeness of his face. His blond hair was mussed, and she remembered the soft, silky feel of it in her hands just moments earlier.

“Fine,” she said softly, disgusted with her inability to lie to him. “I enjoyed the kiss, but that doesn’t make it right. I don’t fuck people that I work with. Besides, personally I think finding those two lost cubs is far more important than us rolling around ripping up the sheets, don’t you?”

She held his gaze, refusing to flinch under the steely, penetrating glare he gave her. His eyes were like emerald fire, piercing her every secret. She felt incredibly grateful he couldn’t read her mind, scour her heart and see her secret desires and worries.

“I know those cubs are more important right now,” Callum agreed, “but that’s not everything that seems to be running around that damned head of yours.”

Sam shivered as Callum continued to study her carefully.

“What are you afraid of, Sammi?” he asked more softly, as if he really cared. Samantha steeled her resolve to resist this sexy man. He would surely unknowingly rip her battered heart to shreds given half the chance. He might mean well, might find her sexually appealing, but her heart simply couldn’t afford to be devastated a second time. Samantha had already been burned once in the past, and she had no intention of repeating the experience again.

“I wouldn’t have thought a woman like you would be scared of anything,” he continued easily, concern mingled with a hungry curiosity shining brightly in his eyes. Samantha
did
flinch at that.

“I’m scared of plenty of things, Callum. I just refuse to let anything as petty as being afraid ruin or change my life. Dinner will have been served by now, and frankly I don’t want to have to answer awkward questions from Alexander, my father or my uncles. Do you?”

Callum smiled as he gently moved a few of her long curls behind her ear and adjusted the thin strap of her gown with the ease and familiarity of a man who had such a right.

“I think it would be fairly obvious to all and sundry what occurred out here,” he commented, not without a bit of smug male pride. “But for now I’ll let this slide. Understand this, though, Sammi—we haven’t finished this conversation.”

Samantha brushed past him to enter the door.

“We have if I say so,” she said, enjoying having the parting shot for once. As she re-entered the slightly stuffy ballroom, she could feel the heat of his eyes track her movements. Sitting down next to Alexander, she ignored her twin’s curious and slightly amused look, just like she ignored the intensity of Callum’s eyes upon her. Raising her eyebrow to her twin arrogantly, knowing he at least wouldn’t embarrass her in front of all their guests, she began to make polite conversation with the richly dressed matron seated on her other side.

The evening passed agonizingly slowly, and Samantha found her concentration shot to hell. She struggled valiantly to ignore the ache between her legs every time she felt Callum’s eyes fall upon her, his gaze feeling hot and electric. More times than she cared to admit, she felt her attention straying to watch where Callum sat on the other side of the room, only to have her eyes skitter away when he, obviously also feeling her eyes on him, turned his burning gaze to meet hers.

As dessert was being brought forth, Samantha sighed internally, knowing as soon as her table had finished she could politely excuse herself. She also had a sneaking suspicion that now that the end of dinner was in sight, Alexander would not be denied too much longer.

“Tell me you didn’t…do anything…out in the backyard,” he whispered into her ear. She turned, a slight blush on her cheeks, but only anger in her eyes.

“Of course not,” she hissed back at him. “I’m working with Callum. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on him.” Unfortunately, her angry, indignant whisper didn’t upset her twin in the slightest. Worse still, as always, he could see right through her.

“He knows what we are, Sammi,” Alexander said calmly, striking more fear into her heart than she could have possibly given him credit for. “You can’t and won’t be able to just throw him off like all your other lovers. And he’s not anything like that dickhead Jonathon. He isn’t going to use you to try to get a good story about the family and then dump you and break your heart.”

“Damn you, Al,” she said, her voice no less furious for all its softness. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? How did he find out?”

When Alex just shrugged and dug into his rich double-chocolate cheesecake, Samantha could only sit there and try to sort out her conflicting emotions. After a moment of enjoying his cheesecake with more gusto and sinful indulgence than it deserved, Alex began to talk quietly with her once again.

“I told Bella a year ago or more. When Callum came to work with us on the wolf foundation, she asked if she could share the secret with him. I knew how special he is to her and saw no reason not to tell him. Why, darling sister? Is there a problem?”

Samantha stared at her twin, opened and then closed her mouth again. She refused to bare her soul any more to her twin tonight. Besides, likely he knew
exactly
what her problem with Callum knowing about her was.

If he were still interested in her, even knowing what she was and what she was capable of doing, it would be a million times harder for her to keep her distance and

protect her heart from him. The speed and ease at which her desire was growing also didn’t help her attempts to keep her distance. Alexander watched her, a twinkle in his eye, showing her that she was not concealing her desire for Callum at all well either. Needing some time and privacy to sort herself out, Samantha stood up and politely gave her farewells to the table. As she pushed her chair back, she felt Alexander in her mind, the easy, comfortable mental conversation a special twins link they had shared their entire life.

Well done, Sammi. That was so calm and convincing I might have believed it myself.
Shut the hell up
, she replied back with an unconvincing amount of force. She smiled and could feel his answering cheeriness.
Go…I don’t know…kiss Bella or do something
useful. I’ll be in the office tomorrow morning to look over the files.
She bent down to kiss her brother on the cheek and could feel his worry and concern for her as he stroked her bare shoulder. Standing back up and weaving her way between the tables once more, she could feel hot emerald eyes track her passage out of the room toward the front entrance.

She felt no surprise as a warm, solid hand came around her waist, holding her close while she waited for the valet to bring her small car around.

“Escaping, my dear? So unlike what I would have assumed of a strong, modern woman like yourself.”

Samantha smiled at him. A part of her heart felt relieved that he knew about her being a werewolf, but her mind was in even more turmoil now.

“Ever heard of discretion being the better part of valor, chump?” she replied sassily.

“What say we cut the crap and go look at those files now?” she added, needing to buy herself some space and time as well as wanting to take a small measure of control back for herself.

One golden brow arched and gave her a rush of smooth confidence. Samantha felt pleased with herself—she had obviously surprised him. She tried not to feel smug, but it was supremely difficult not to. She
loved
the thought she could put him off balance.

“Now?” Callum replied, a little startled. “You’re really leaving?”

Samantha shrugged idly.

“It’s either that or I…” She swallowed the sentence, long years of habit stilling the words in her mouth. It was then that Samantha realized that this was Callum and she could be honest with him. “I would go for a run,” she said, slightly warily. “I need to clear my head. Both exercise and work do that for me.”

She didn’t want to add that she would have gone for a run in wolf form. She neither wanted to bring up
that
conversation here and now nor did she feel she needed to go into more detail. All that mess could wait until later. Callum nodded, genuine understanding glinting in his eyes. Samantha smiled, but quickly wiped it from her mouth.

BOOK: Twin Temptations
8.87Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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