"Whether I should remain your housekeeper. Like I said on Monday, we have a number of other ladies who can-"
"No. And if you"re basing your suggestion on the kiss we"ve shared, forget it."
She glared up at him. "You"re being difficult."
He raised what she thought was an arrogant brow and said, "Sweetheart, you"ve never met a Steele at a time when he"s being difficult, and trust me, you wouldn"t want to. What I"m being is realistic. I know what I want, just like I know what you want. If I didn"t before, I do now. Your kiss said it all. Stroke for stroke. Lick for lick."
She tilted her head back and she knew that defiance-in all its glory-was s.h.i.+ning in her eyes. Fine! So she"d never met a Steele being difficult. Well, he was about to meet a Ford when she was. "I"m not one to act mainly on physical attraction. I will not be pushed into an affair with you."
He chuckled. "I don"t plan to push, Natalie. I plan to seduce, and when I do, babe, you won"t stand a chance."
Natalie inhaled a deep breath. In all her twenty-six years, she had never met a man quite like him. He actually thought he was all that. He figured all he had to do was snap his fingers and they would go tumbling between the sheets. Maybe that was how easy it had been for the other women he"d encountered, but he would see that she was cut from a totally different mold. Because of her mother"s wild and reckless ways, she"d grown up with a very sensible mind. She"d done without s.e.x for over five years and could very well do without for another five-even ten or twenty if she had to.
She was about to open her mouth to give him the dressing down that he deserved when he said, "No more arguing tonight, Natalie. Come on, let"s go back inside."
A moment of indecision raced through her. Should she not argue anymore with him tonight and let him have the last word, or should she give a blistering retort? She had a feeling any type of rejoinder from her would fall on deaf ears. Besides, her aunt always said that with some people you have to show them rather than tell them. "Fine, let"s go inside."
And without waiting for him to say anything, she headed for the door.
"Don"t try and get tight-lipped on me now, Nat. What is going on with you and Donovan Steele?"
Natalie glanced over at Farrah. As soon as she had gotten back inside, she had waited only long enough for Farrah to return to the table from off the dance floor with Xavier to announce that she was ready to go.
"Trust me. You don"t want to know," she said, glancing out the window at all the bright neon signs they were pa.s.sing.
"Yes, I do. You tell me about you and Donovan, and I"ll tell you about me and Xavier."
Natalie glanced back over at her. "Is there a you you and Xavier?" and Xavier?"
Farrah laughed. "Not the way you make it sound, no. Like I told you earlier tonight, after what Dustin did I won"t ever let another man get close to my heart again."
Natalie nodded. "He seems nice."
"He is, but I was married to a nice man, remember? Or at least we thought he was nice. To some he might still be nice, but Dustin"s main problem was that he didn"t know how to keep his pants zipped for anyone but his wife."
The bitterness was still there in Farrah"s voice, and Natalie wondered if it would ever go away. "Would you see Xavier again if he were to call you?" Natalie asked.
"Depends on the reason. If he calls because he"s interested in a long-term affair then, no. But if he contacts me for a booty call, then maybe."
Natalie knew her friend actually felt that way, and that was sad. Farrah had always been the dreamer, the one who wanted marriage and kids, the house with the white picket fence. The one who"d believed in forever after.
"But I won"t have to worry about Xavier wanting to pursue anything serious," Farrah said. "I recalled hearing his name before and then I remembered where. He"s one of those men in the Bachelors in Demand Club."
Natalie raised a brow. "What"s the Bachelors in Demand Club?"
Farrah glanced over at her when the car came to a stop at a traffic light. "I heard some of the single women at work talking about it one day. It seems that years ago, six close friends from Morehouse made a pledge to each other the day before graduation that not only would they stay in touch but they would become G.o.dfathers to each other"s children, and that the name of each of their first sons would begin with the letters U to Z. They kept their promise, and all six sons became G.o.dbrothers to each other. Most of them are now in their late twenties or early thirties. A few years ago, for some reason the six decided to form the Bachelors in Demand Club. In other words they are bachelors in demand, men who aren"t interested in settling down until they"ve sown their wild oats, so to speak. Rumor has it that each of them has his own heartbreak story to tell so now they intend to go through life making sure there isn"t a repeat by guarding their heart."
Natalie pushed a curl out of her face and asked, "And you think Xavier is one of these men?"
"Pretty sure of it, but of course I didn"t ask him about it to be certain. I do recall that there are two of them living in the Charlotte area, Xavier and a man by the name of Uriel La.s.siter. The other four are spread out over the country."
Natalie didn"t say anything for a moment and then she asked, "What do you think is Xavier"s story?"
The traffic light changed to green and Farrah put the car in gear to begin moving. "Don"t know his hang-ups, and I"m not going to worry about what they could be. In addition to being pleasing to the eyes, he was also great company tonight, but that"s about it. He didn"t suggest that we see each other again so I"m leaving it at that."
She quickly glanced back over at Natalie when traffic slowed again. "Enough talk about Xavier Kane. I want to know about you and Donovan and what went on when the two of you went out back."
Natalie rolled her eyes. Did Farrah not miss anything? "What do you think went on?"
"A quickie perhaps?" Farrah asked with a smirk.
Natalie couldn"t help but grin. "No. Sorry to disappoint you."
"Heck, I bet the one who"s really disappointed is Donovan Steele. When Xavier and I got back to the table and you announced that you were ready to leave, he actually looked like he could throttle you."
"Whatever."
"At least I know he kissed you," Farrah said, grinning. "And real good."
Natalie frowned. "And how do you know that?"
Now it was Farrah"s time to roll her eyes. "Good grief, Nat. Take out your compact and look at yourself. Your lips are still swollen."
Not knowing whether Farrah was teasing or serious, Natalie took out compact and looked at herself in the mirror. "Oh," she said, touching her lips while at the same time feeling a tint of embarra.s.sment touch her cheeks.
"Yes, oh," Farrah said smiling. "But don"t worry. Your aunt will probably be asleep when you get home tonight and your lips will be back to normal in the morning."
Natalie closed her compact wondering what Xavier Kane had thought. What had anyone thought who"d seen her lips? Probably the same thing Farrah thought. She had been well and truly kissed. And they were all right. Donovan had kissed her in a way she had never been kissed before and had made her feel things that until tonight had been foreign to her.
"Will you be seeing Donovan again, Nat? So he can kiss you again?"
Natalie tried ignoring the flash of pleasure that shot through her body at that possibility. "That was our first and last kiss. I won"t be going out with him, which means the only time we could possibly see each other is when I"m there to clean his house. But those are the days he"ll be at work, and I plan to get in and out before he comes home."
"Good luck, Nat."
Natalie glanced over at Farrah. "And why are you wis.h.i.+ng me luck?"
"Because I think you"re going to need it. You asked me what I know about Donovan, and I didn"t finish telling you everything. What I didn"t say that I"ve heard is that he"s a man who gets whatever he wants, and tonight the look on his face made it pretty clear that he wants you."
Chapter 7.
"Hey, man, you weren"t at the top of your game today. What"s up with you?"
Donovan shot his brother a frown. "There"s nothing wrong with me Morgan, so get off my a.s.s."
Bas dropped down on one of the bleachers and took a huge gulp from his water bottle, and then said, "Sounds like we might need to play another game since that one didn"t seem to work out your frustrations, Don."
Donovan glared at his brothers, all three of them. It was a tradition that they play basketball at the gym every Sat.u.r.day morning to work off any compet.i.tive frustrations that might have built up that week. For the four compet.i.tive adult males it was their way of not b.u.t.ting heads Monday through Friday at SC.
As much as Donovan didn"t want to admit it, Morgan was right. He hadn"t been at the top of his game. And it was all Natalie Ford"s fault. There was no reason the woman should not have slept with him last night. No reason at all.
"Do you think we need to play another game for your benefit, Donovan?"
Chance"s question interrupted Donovan"s musings. He glared at his oldest brother. "No."
"Good, because I need to get home and get Alden," Chance responded glancing down at his watch. "Kylie is hosting a baby shower for Lena and Jocelyn, so Alden and I are getting lost for a while."
"Can I get lost with the two of you?" Morgan asked grinning.
"Include me in," Bas readily said. He glanced over at Donovan. "What about you, kid? You want to hang around with a bunch of happily married men?"
"No, I have better things to do with my time. Things married men only dream about doing," Donovan said, using a towel to wipe the sweat off his face.
"Don"t be so sure of that, Donovan," Chance said grinning. "We hate to disappoint you, but married men can have just as much fun with their wives as single men have with their girlfriends-probably even more. Why is it that we, the married Steeles, are the ones in a good mood today, while you"re the one who still needs a frustration adjustment? Doesn"t sound to me like your girlfriend is doing her job."
Donovan"s eyes narrowed. "I don"t have a girlfriend."
"Hmm, then maybe you should consider getting one," Chance threw over his shoulder as he, Bas and Morgan headed into the locker room, leaving Donovan glaring at their backs.
Donovan stared at the phone for a moment after hanging it up. He could not believe that he had just broken a date with Jean Carroll of all women. Jean, the one who came ready with her own set of handcuffs. And it was Natalie Ford"s fault.
Ever since he had kissed her last night, his mind and body had started playing tricks on him. First, he had awakened after a night of dreaming about Natalie with a hard-on that wouldn"t go away, even after he"d relieved his bladder and taken a cold shower. He had finally gotten it to act right by the time he had slipped into a T-s.h.i.+rt and jogging pants to meet his brothers for a game of basketball.
Then it had been the taste of her in his mouth that wouldn"t fade. He had brushed his teeth, gargled several times and still whenever he smacked his lips he could taste her-that sweet, sensuous taste that had electrified his mouth while kissing her.
And lastly, it was the way she had felt in his arms, how soft and cuddly her b.u.t.t had felt beneath the palms of his hands. He didn"t want to touch another woman quite that way any time soon. His erection was throbbing for just one woman. If he didn"t know better he"d think Natalie had cast a spell on him.
He was about to get up and head toward the kitchen when the phone rang. He checked the caller ID to make sure it wasn"t Jean calling him back to try and change his mind about their date tonight. He sighed in relief when he saw it was his roommate and friend from college, Uriel La.s.siter. Over the years, he and Uriel had maintained a close relations.h.i.+p.
He picked up the phone. "Uri, how are things going, man?"
"I"m still tired from last weekend at the races, but I called to give you some good news."
"What?"
"That publis.h.i.+ng company in Colorado that we had our eye on last year is back on the market."
Donovan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, so what do you think?"
Uri chuckled. "I think that if you"re still interested, I"ll have an updated portfolio on your desk by Monday morning."
"Hey, that"ll work because I"m still interested." His cousin Taylor was his wealth-a.s.set manager and she was doing a fantastic job of managing his finances, but right out of college he and Uri had formed their own co-op. They"d started out flipping houses, and it became such a moneymaker that they expanded and began buying small companies and reselling them for a profit. The co-op had become so successful that they had invited a few select others to join in over the years. Uri had left his job as an insurance executive to handle the business end of things on a full-time basis.
Donovan talked to Uri another fifteen minutes before they ended the call. Standing, he stretched his body before heading toward the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. For the first time in years, this was a Sat.u.r.day night and he didn"t have anything to do.
He gave her a slow, s.e.xy smile as he moved toward the bed, his gaze moving over her naked body, seeing everything but zeroing in on the area between her legs. The nipples on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s automatically hardened and she released a deep breath. He was pretty potent if the size of his erection was anything to go by. And his muscular body was masculinity at its perfection.
She watched as he began to move closer and closer, and without waiting for him to join her on the bed, she pulled up and willingly went into his arms. Together they tumbled back onto the covers.
Natalie"s eyes flew open as she inhaled a long, deep breath. She"d just had another dream about Donovan. She couldn"t believe she was letting him interrupt her sleep this way. Typically, she wasn"t a hot and bothered woman, but there was something about Donovan that unleashed a s.e.xual desire she had never encountered before. Never before had she dreamt about a man making love to her. Or almost making love to her, she corrected, since so far in none of her dreams had they finished the act. She would always wake up moments before their bodies joined as one.
She inhaled deeply not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. In a way it was bad because she woke up curious as to how it would have been if they had. And it was a good thing because a part of her felt she really should not want to know.
But she did.
And that area between her legs was tingling to find out.
She glanced over at the illuminated clock on the nightstand. It was two in the morning.
Releasing a frustrated sigh, she pushed the covers aside and eased out of bed. She had brought her laptop with her to work on a few items for NASA while she was here. Last year she had received a national award for her work on stratospheric chemistry and ozone depletion. Her report had been embraced by the NASA Ames Research Center which had led to her working closely with the center last summer. Her findings had been put in a book that was doing quite well on the academic circuit. Now she was working again with NASA on a project to increase the rate of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
These studies had been her lifeline. When most people curled up at night with a good mystery novel, she much preferred curling up with her laptop to work on chemistry formulas. Very seldom did anything else consume her mind while working-definitely not the likes of any man. But Donovan Steele had somehow managed to seep inside the very essence of her brain that had always been off-limits. He had managed to invade a s.p.a.ce that had always been kept reserved for all her subscripts. Somehow she needed to get back in sync.
Her aunt needed her so she didn"t have the option to leave Charlotte. And she couldn"t have her aunt drop him as a client because he headed the dependable list. He paid his bill on time and had few, if any, complaints or last-minute changes in the schedule that could cause the agency loss of revenue or manpower. In other words, he was a model client, one you didn"t drop just because he intended to sleep with the cleaning lady"s niece.
Of course, as far as she was concerned, it was wishful thinking on his part. But still, those dreams wouldn"t go away. And to make matters worse, her conversation with Farrah last night still weighed heavily on her mind. It constantly reminded her that it had been years since she"d been intimate with someone and all because of one man.
At least Donovan had proven that Karl"s kissing claim was wrong. Could he prove the other claims were wrong, as well? Was she as terrible in the bedroom as Karl had accused her of being?
As she sat down at the desk in the room and booted up her laptop, she couldn"t help but inwardly call herself a fool for letting Karl mess with her confidence years ago.
Logging in to her Internet account, she went into the project folder that stored vital information when she wasn"t on-site at the campus lab. And just in case someone tried hacking into her computer base, she had all the information coded in a way that only she could decipher. Usually when she worked on formulas she felt she was in her element. But tonight she knew deep down she was using her work as an escape.
In fact if she was completely honest with herself she would admit to having used it as a way of escaping for a very long time. At that moment she couldn"t help but think about the vast differences between Karl and Donovan. Karl had been too brilliant for his own good and a.s.sumed because of his high IQ that everyone else was lacking. It had taken her years to realize that he hadn"t been comfortable with his own skin, which was probably why he took great pride in downgrading others.
The complete opposite was true with Donovan. He was arrogant but he was also comfortable in his own skin. It was obvious that he was a man comfortable with who he was and what he represented. Manly, in and out.
Sensations flowed through her stomach when she thought about just how manly he was. That was what had her in a bad way. She had five days to get herself together. On Friday she would return to his home, and she wanted to make sure that she was in and out of there before he got in from work. She had six more weeks to go, and she intended to avoid the man at all costs.