A moment of silence was all it took before he said, "Because I wanted you."
A faint smile took shape on her lips, and then she asked, "For what reason?"
For what reason? A lump formed in his throat. Why was she asking all these questions?
"For what reason, Uriel?" she repeated.
He hesitated before replying, then thought, what the h.e.l.l. He would tell her just what she wanted to know. "s.e.x," he said, and just in case she didn"t hear it, he said it again, louder this time, "s.e.x." "s.e.x."
She was out of her seat in a flash, and he had to draw back when she got in his face. "You"re mad at me for wanting you for s.e.x, but you just admitted to wanting me for the same thing. Please explain that!"
Annoyance rushed through him. "There"s nothing to explain. It was what it was, and you knew it from the beginning. But you you had ulterior motives in what you did." had ulterior motives in what you did."
She stared at him, her brows arched and chin tilted. She backed up and returned to stand by the sofa. "I needed to be inspired to finish my aunt"s novel. I finished it and I told her agent the truth, and she will tell the publishing company the truth. If the work is acceptable, they will publish it as Flame Elbam."
She didn"t say anything for a moment, and then said, "Finishing that ma.n.u.script meant a lot to me, Uriel, and I appreciate your giving me what I needed to do it. No man had ever really and truly made love to me before, and I knew you could and would do it right. What was wrong with that?"
He got on his feet, quickly covered the distance separating them, to stand in front of her. He tightened his hands into fists at his sides, or else he"d be tempted to strangle her. He suddenly felt out of control. Untamed. "What was wrong with it was that you should have told me!"
Refusing to retreat, she dragged in a deep breath and then let it out before asking, "And if I had, Uriel? Would you have done anything differently? Would you have?"
He frowned. "That is not the point."
She threw up her hands in frustration. "And what is the point? You got what you wanted and so did I. In fact, I got more than I ever dreamed of getting, Uriel, because for three weeks I made love to the man I have loved since I knew what love was about, or thought I knew what it was about. Even that day ten years ago, I had this huge crush on you. And I always dreamed you would be the first boy I kissed. I got to share so many firsts with you, as well as seconds, and I don"t regret any of it."
She paused, held his gaze and said, "Yes, I wanted you to inspire me. Yes, you did. And yes, maybe I should have told you about it. But you wanted to have an affair with me. You asked and I consented, whatever the reason. You got from me what you wanted. Now I plan to get from you what I want, then I will leave you in peace."
Uriel"s mind was too wrapped up in her admission of her love for him to pay attention to what else she was saying. He saw her kick off her shoes, but didn"t realize what she was about to do until her hand went to the zipper of her skirt.
"What do you think you"re doing, Ellie?"
"What does it look like?"
And with that smart-a.s.s response, her skirt dropped to the floor, leaving her clad in a pair of black lace bikini panties. He frowned at her. "Lady, you"ve got a lot of nerve."
She threw her head back and laughed. "Glad you think so." She reached out and grabbed his jeans by the waist. Before he could resist, she had pushed him back, and they both went tumbling onto the sofa, with her landing on top of him.
He glared up at her. "Is there anything in particular that you"re trying to prove?" he asked, not believing how she was carrying on.
"Yes," she said, holding his gaze. "Let me know when it"s starting to work."
And then she lowered her head and kissed him, seducing his mouth with the sweetest pair of lips he had ever known, and then tangling with his tongue. He didn"t resist-didn"t even try-when their mouths began mating with a hunger that would not be denied.
When she finally pulled her mouth back, she whispered against his lips, "I love you, Uriel. It"s always been about love for me. Even when I knew you were going to leave me at the end of the month, I still wanted to be with you because I loved you. You could only inspire me because I loved you."
He stared up at her and then he knew. Her name was still written on his heart. It hadn"t gotten erased. It could never get erased. He pushed a wayward strand of hair back from her face, and he studied her features and knew that one day he would have a daughter who would look just like her.
"And I love you, too, Ellie," he said huskily, admitting what he should have figured out long before he actually had. "I realized it before leaving the lake, and I had been headed over to tell you that day when I heard you talking on the phone to Darcy."
She nodded. "Had you hung around and listened to all of the conversation, you would have heard me tell Darcy of my decision to tell you everything because I loved you."
Cupping her behind the neck, he brought her mouth down to meet his, and their tongues mingled in a kiss that was beginning to burn him inside out. He could feel the thudding of her heart against his, and then he realized something, her nipples pressing hard against his chest.
He pulled back. "You"re not wearing a bra," he said in disbelief.
Ellie couldn"t help but laugh. "No, I"m not. I started not to wear any panties either, but with the split in my skirt, I thought that might be too much. Either way, I"d planned on making you incapable of speech for a while."
Uriel smiled. "What have I created?"
Her features took a serious turn when she said, "A woman who will love you forever."
He reached out and brushed his knuckles against the softness of her cheeks and said, "And I am a man who will love you forever, as well." He kissed her. "There"s something I think you ought to know. If I didn"t know any better, I"d think your Aunt Mable had a hand in all of this."
She lifted a brow. "In all of what?"
"That publishing company. Vandellas Publishing. Donovan and I own it. I didn"t know it was the one that was publishing your aunt"s work until I heard you talking with Darcy. Just so you know, I plan to remain impartial. It will be the editor"s decision as to whether you did your aunt"s ma.n.u.script justice. If you did, then it will be published."
Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "And if I did a good job and they want another book from Flame Elbam, would you let me write it?"
He shrugged. "I don"t see why not."
"And will you inspire me again?" she asked, leaning in closer and using the tip of her tongue to trace around his lips.
"Baby," he said in a quivering breath, "all you have to do is ask."
"I"m asking."
He stood up and pulled her into his arms. As he quickly moved toward the bedroom, he glanced down at her and smiled. "That"s one request that you don"t have to make twice."
Epilogue.
"How did you manage to get married before I did?" a disgruntled Donovan Steele asked Uriel, as the two stood with Uriel"s five G.o.dbrothers for another wedding picture.
Uriel rolled his eyes and remembered something Ellie had once asked him. "Would you like some cheese to go along with your whine?"
Donovan frowned. "Funny."
Uriel shook his head. "Hey, at least the product trade show was a huge success for the Steele Corporation, so I guess you can"t have everything. Now, smile for the camera, Don."
After the photo was taken, Donovan strolled to where his fiancee was standing with his relatives. There was no doubt in Uriel"s mind that Donovan would try to work on Natalie again, to move up their wedding date. Uriel and Ellie had decided not to wait, and figured a Thanksgiving wedding would suit them just fine. They had a lot to be thankful for.
Ellie had accepted a position at La.s.siter Industries, and they made Charlotte their primary home, but kept Cavanaugh Lake as their weekend getaway, deciding to keep Uriel"s lake house as a guest cottage for any visitors.
The editor at Vandellas Publishing had loved the story and could not believe it had been written by two different people, and had asked Ellie to continue writing as Flame Elbam. Ellie had agreed to do one more book, and she would see how that worked out before doing another.
Uriel smiled as he glanced around the room, looking for his wife, but he didn"t see her anywhere. He then scoped all the people who had come to see him and Ellie pledge their love and life to each other. It had been a beautiful affair.
He breathed in deeply when he saw his mother with her boy-toy, but didn"t feel so bad when he noted his father was too occupied talking to Donovan"s aunt to notice. Or maybe Anthony La.s.siter no longer cared, which was even better.
"How much longer for the pics, U?" Xavier leaned over and asked.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Winston jokingly asked. "It"s too early in the day to be making booty calls, X, so chill."
Uriel knew Winston had only been joking, but he had a feeling W"s words had hit a nerve with X, and he couldn"t help but wonder why. He then glanced over at Zion. "Thanks for the ring, Z," he said to his G.o.dbrother, who had flown in from Rome a couple of days ago.
Zion smiled. "Only for you. I hope she liked it."
Uriel chuckled. "Are you kidding? A wedding set designed by Zion. Come on, man. She loved it."
"I hope you know you"re no longer a member of Bachelors in Demand," York decided it was time to point out.
"Whatever," Uriel said, rolling his eyes. He then saw his wife reenter the ballroom with her best friend Darcy. He hadn"t forgotten Darcy"s role in Ellie"s two escapades involving him. He left his G.o.dbrothers and moved toward his wife to give her a huge kiss.
When the wedding planner came to grab Ellie for a second, he was left standing with Darcy. "I hear you"ve moved to New York," he decided to say, while sipping his punch.
She eyed him warily. "Yes, what about it?"
Uriel smiled. "No reason." He knew that, although they were both part of the wedding party, Darcy hadn"t officially met York; but Uriel planned for them to meet before he and Ellie left on their honeymoon to Paris. He hid his smile, thinking that an introduction ought to be interesting.
Ellie returned to his side. "The photographer is ready for us to cut the cake."
"All right, but I need to talk to you about something for a minute." He glanced over at Darcy. "Please excuse us for a second."
The moment they stepped out of the ballroom and rounded the corner, he pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. She surrendered, and he pulled her closer into his arms and kissed her with a hunger that made her moan.
When he finally withdrew his lips from hers, she pulled in a deep breath. "What was that about?" she asked.
A smile curved his lips and he said, "Inspiration."
Books by Brenda Jackson
Kimani Romance
*Solid Soul
*Night Heat
*Beyond Temptation
*Risky Pleasures
In Bed with the Boss
*Irresistible Forces
Just Deserts
The Object of His Protection
Temperatures Rising
*Intimate Seduction
Bachelor Untamed
*Hidden Pleasures
Star of His Heart