Nicole Edwards - Temptation

Taking the stairs down to the main floor, Cole’s attention was drawn to two women sitting at one of the tables near the bar. He recognized Samantha McCoy immediately. The other woman, he’d never seen before, but he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from her. Sitting at the table, talking animatedly with Sam, Cole admired her momentarily. She was exquisitely beautiful, in a very sensual, extraordinarily exotic way.

Damn near tripping over the last step, Cole focused on his feet, slowing his movements because he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the black haired beauty. When her gaze landed on him, apparently drawn to his less than graceful entrance, Cole’s heart thumped hard in his chest.

Those eyes.

Even from across the room, Cole could see the glimmer of silver in her blue eyes, a color he’d never before seen. When one slight eyebrow arched, Cole tilted his head slightly, trying to read her intent. Oh, he’d seen that look before. Numerous times.

Women were attracted to him physically. He knew that. And without ego, he accepted it. He was a big man, which in general, drew attention, often unwanted, but attention nonetheless. At six feet, four inches, two hundred and seventy pounds of solid muscle, Cole would never be considered average. And thanks to his rigorous training regimen, he kept himself in shape.

He maintained eye contact with the woman until his attention was diverted to Sam, who turned to glance in his direction.

“Cole.” When she called out to him, Cole faltered only briefly, wondering whether he should just wave a hand, acknowledging Sam, or take this opportunity to be introduced to this woman.

His brain told him to head out the back door, as was his original intention, but his dick instructed him otherwise. Several steps later, Cole was stepping up to the table, being greeted by Sam with a quick hug.

“Cole, I’d like you to meet Sierra Sellers. Sierra, this is Cole Ackerley.”

When Sierra stood from her chair, all five feet of her, Cole nearly took a step back. The woman was tiny. And when she held out her hand, he hesitated briefly before returning the gesture and taking her small, cool fingers within his grasp. A powerful torrent of desire spiked his blood stream at the contact, causing Cole to abruptly pull back.

“Nice to meet you, Cole.” Her husky, seductive voice slid over him, making the hair on the nape of his neck stand up.

“You too.” How incredibly eloquent, Ackerley.

“I hear you’re attending the conference in Vegas as a representative of CISS.” Sam stated, interrupting his temporary lapse in cognition.

“Yep.” Ok, maybe it wasn’t temporary.

“Sierra’s attending, as well. She’s new to the Dallas area, establishing her interior design company here, hoping to meet some potential clients at the conference.”

Cole couldn’t speak, so he nodded his head. Good Lord, he looked like a total idiot, but his vocabulary skills had suddenly been rendered useless.

The sound of footsteps from behind him jolted Cole, making him turn in time to see one of the McCoy brothers walking down the stairs. Logan. That certainly wasn’t Luke all decked out in an Armani suit. But it wasn’t the suit that was the main difference in the brothers. Logan had a gleam in his eye, an easiness about him that Luke hadn’t seemed to inherit, which set the otherwise identical brothers apart.

“Cole.” Logan greeted, holding out his hand.

Cole gripped Logan’s hand, returning the hand shake. “Logan. Good to see you.”

“Same here.” Logan slid his hands into his pockets. “Alex tells me you’re attending the conference this weekend. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to have a beer at some point.”

Again, Cole couldn’t seem to find his voice, the thought of Sierra’s eyes boring into him was a clear distraction, one that he couldn’t seem to shake. Just when he realized that he needed to say something, do something, so he didn’t look like a clumsy idiot, Luke McCoy descended the steps and Cole’s heart damn near plummeted to his toes. His heartbeat increased, and there was a sudden roaring in his ears. It was a visceral reaction, one only Luke managed to instill in Cole.

Well, that was until he’d laid eyes on Sierra Sellers.

“I look forward to seeing you in Vegas.” Cole managed to choke out, seconds before he headed in the opposite direction.

He might look like a stammering fool, but that was nothing compared to what would happen if he was within ten feet of Luke. After what had happened between them months before and the fact that Luke had successfully avoided him since, Cole hadn’t been able to look the man in the eye. And it had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with the fact that he longed for an instant replay of that night.

Which was another first for Cole.

Hell, the day had been full of them already, and as he walked through the doors leading to the parking garage, Cole wondered just what this weekend had in store for him.

Sierra’s attention was drawn to the omnipotent male descending the stairs. As far as appearances went, and the way that both Luke and Logan carried themselves, Sierra was pretty sure she had never seen two men look so much alike, yet so vastly different. There was something intensely masculine, and yes as Sam mentioned, very reticent about Luke.

Though Logan was the mirror image, and sexy as hell in his own right, there was something more demanding about Luke, something darker, more intriguing. She glanced quickly at Sam, who was smiling back at her knowingly.

“Don’t worry. You aren’t the only woman who has had that reaction.” Then she lowered her voice a little. “Like I said earlier, brace yourself.”

Sierra watched Luke move toward them, briefly glancing toward Cole who was exiting through the main doors at the same time.

Was it her imagination, or was Cole leaving because of Luke? She hadn’t gotten a good read on the incredibly handsome man because he had seemed incredibly nervous, or maybe that had been her.

When their eyes met, Sierra had felt an intrinsic longing reflected in the midnight blue gaze staring back at her. She’d been surprised by the all-consuming heat that rushed over her.

Hadn’t she just been thinking about Luke and the way the man seemed to make her libido awaken from a decade long coma? It seemed ironic that she would have a similar reaction to another man so soon afterward.

Hormones. That’s what it was. Luke must have awakened her to the point that she was now flooded with them.

“Let’s go next door and get a bite to eat while these two have a few minutes to talk.” Logan’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts and had her attention returning to the couple standing beside her.

Not to mention the man fast approaching, whose eyes were riveted to the doors that Cole had just exited. Interesting.

Sierra felt the butterflies take flight once more. Just being near Luke was short-circuiting her insides and now she was going to be left alone with him. She took a fortifying breath and then graced him with a smile. She could do this.

Surely she could do this.

When he smiled back at her, a sexy, crooked, mischievous grin, Sierra knew she’d need more than courage to get through the next few minutes.

“I hear you need a date for Vegas.” Luke stated as he took the seat that Sam had been sitting in, motioning to the chair across from him. The man clearly didn’t have a problem with getting to the point.

“Depends on who you ask.” Sierra stated, returning his playful grin and easing into the chair.

“Not that I have any doubt you could find one on your own.”

Was he flirting with her?

Sierra took in Luke’s rugged features, his midnight black hair and hazel eyes that were more green than brown, thanks to the forest green polo shirt he wore. His thick, well groomed eyebrows were halfcocked while his sexy lips were tilted into a smirk as he waited for her response.