Brenda Jackson - The Elliotts - Mixing Business with Pleasure

Erika felt a quick rush of heat and resisted the urge to lower her window for a cold breeze. “One condition,” she told him.

“What is it?”

“You let me play during the first fifteen minutes. If I don’t pass muster, then you can put me on the bench.”

He paused, then nodded. “Deal,” he said.

“Any news on your attorney’s return from his honeymoon?”

“Still out of town,” he said. “I’ll let you know when he gets back.” The driver pulled in front of Erika’s brownstone. “Let me walk you to your door.”

“Absolutely not,” she said, grabbing her purse and unlocking her door.

“You don’t trust me?” he asked.

Erika didn’t answer because the truth was she didn’t know who she mistrusted more in a situation that put her in close quarters with Gannon—him or herself.

Gannon put Erika in for all three games. His uncle Daniel and cousin Cullen were clearly out for blood.

Erika spiked the ball just over the net, squeezing out another point for Pulse.

Gannon’s brother Tag caught his breath. “Good thing you got Erika. It looks like Daniel and Cullen brought in a relative of the Jolly Green Giant,” he said of Margo, the six-foot-four-inch woman playing on the opposite team. “What did they say her position at Snap is?”

“Temp,” Gannon retorted, wiping the perspiration from his face. “If she worked there over a week, I’d be surprised.”

“I repeat—good thing you got Erika since Charlie hurt his ankle.”

“Yes, it is. My serve,” he said, catching the ball as Cullen tossed it to him. The only downside of having Erika on his team was that his gaze and attention frequently dropped to the movement of her tight rear end. It had been tough to keep his eye on the ball when she offered such a tempting view. He knew what she looked like naked. What she felt like. The knowledge brought out primal instincts that didn’t have anything to do with volleyball.

Cullen shook the edge of his T-shirt against his chest. “Seems to me Erika isn’t officially working for Pulse yet, Gannon. I could have sworn I saw her headed for the fifteenth floor instead of the twentieth floor.”

“You’re just scared,” Gannon said, tossing the ball above his head and hitting it hard and fast over the net.

His uncle Daniel smacked it back, directly in Erika’s direction. Another woman would have ducked, but not Erika. She hit the ball with her head. Tag rushed forward and sent it across the net.

Cullen spiked the return, but Erika set it up again, this time with her fists. Gannon spiked it just inside the boundary.

Daniel groaned, then chuckled. “Gannon, you act like we’re competing for the position of CEO.”

“We’re not?” Gannon said to his uncle and sent another hard serve over the net. Five minutes later Erika won the last point.

“All right!” Tag gave Gannon a high five and turned to Erika. “You saved our butts.”

“That’s an exaggeration,” she said with a breathless smile. “But you’re welcome. I’m glad I played one-on-one last week with the teenager I’ve been mentoring or I might have faded after the second game.”

“Not you,” Gannon said, lifting his hand to hers for a high five, then closing his hand around hers for just a moment. Erika’s cheeks were pink and her face glowed from exertion. Her curly hair strained to be loosened from the elastic band that kept it from her face. The way she looked now reminded him of how she’d looked when he’d taken her to bed that first time. “How do you manage to look good even when you’re sweaty?” he asked in a low voice.

The color of her cheeks deepened and she pulled her hand from his. “Nice try, but you owe me now,” she told him quietly.

Gannon wondered what she meant and made a mental note to ask her later.

“Gotta run,” Margo said. “Sorry about the loss, Mr. Elliott,” she said to Daniel.

“Not your fault. I hate to admit it, but I think they wanted it more. Thanks for coming. Hey, Erika,” Daniel called. “I’m sure we could find a place for a woman with your talents at Snap.”

Gannon felt a quick kick of irritation. “Butt out,” he said, stepping in front of Erika.

“Whoa,” Cullen returned with a wide grin. “Territorial? You think she can get your father into the CEO office?”

“Who’s eating Pulse’s dust right now?” Gannon asked, playfully egging on his cousin.

“This was volleyball, wasn’t it?” Erika asked. “You are family, aren’t you?”

“Yes to both,” Daniel said. “But we like to win.”

“At everything,” Gannon added, extending his hand as his uncle ducked under the net.

“The important battles won’t be finished until next year,” Daniel reminded him.

“Eleven months and two and a half weeks,” he corrected. “But who’s counting?”

Daniel and Cullen chuckled. “Can’t join you for a beer,” Cullen said. “I have plans.”

“Me, too,” Tag said.

“That gives me an excuse to hit the hot tub and pretend my knees aren’t killing me,” Daniel said. “See you later. Nice meeting you, Erika.”

Gannon grabbed a towel from the sidelines and scrubbed his face. “How about a shower and I take you to dinner as a thank-you for your participation?”

“Is that your way of saying I saved your butt?” Erika asked, resting her hands on her hips.

Gannon shook his head and snapped the towel at her, intentionally missing. “Never. But I’ll still take you to dinner.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, then sighed. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

A ripple of surprise slid through him. “Why?”

She shrugged. “History repeating itself and all that,” she said.

“I wasn’t asking you to go to bed. Besides, you want to have my baby—”

She lifted her hand. “Wait a minute. I want to have my baby. I just want your genes.”

His ego took a hit, but he recovered. “If you want my genes, then you must like something about me.”

She sighed. “Unfortunately,” she muttered and turned away. “I need to go.”

He grabbed her arm. “Wait. You said I owed you.”

“Right. One more reason you need to give me your genes. I’ll see you Monday.”

Watching her walk away, he felt the drag of irritation and something else in his gut. He frowned when he figured out the feeling. He still wanted Erika in his bed. She would be disgusted to know that she brought out in him the sexual urge to conquer and occupy.

She tempted the hell out of him, but he needed to keep a lid on his impulses. Since he hadn’t been in day-to-day contact with her, he’d thought the chemistry between them had waned, but being around her reminded him of how hot it had been between them. Being around her left him with a nagging feeling of sexual deprivation.

He swore under his breath. Erika made a good point about history repeating itself. His grandfather had hammered it into his head that he needed to set an example for his generation of Elliotts. It wasn’t as if he was a randy eighteen-year-old. He’d been able to shelve his attraction for Erika before. No reason he shouldn’t be able to do it again. He just needed to dive into work as he always did.

Erika accepted a last-minute dinner invitation from Jessica and Paula. The three women met at a seafood restaurant. Paula mentioned Erika’s position at EPH and the host seated them immediately and their cocktails were served in record time.

“That was low,” Erika said, taking a sip of her martini and promising to limit herself to one tonight. “He probably thinks this will earn him a review in one of our magazines.”

“You never know. You may mention this place to the right person and ta-da,” Paula said, glancing at the menu. “Saturday night and none of us has a date. How sad is that?”