Brenda Jackson - Sensual Confessions

Defenses?

“Besides,” he continued, interrupting her thoughts as a cocky grin spread across his face. “I sort of like the thought of you chewing me up. You can even go ahead and bite me a few times and I won’t complain.”

He took a step forward, standing in front of her. “But what I will do, Sam, is retaliate in a way that will have you moaning for days and groaning for nights.”

A shudder passed through Sam’s body at his threat. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep and was still feeling tired. Or it could have been that Blade was standing too close to her and his scent, the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes were all getting to her. Or it could have been the fact that it had been more than four years since she’d been intimate with a man. And the last time had been so quick she would’ve missed it if she had blinked. Not only had it been rushed, it had been thoroughly unsatisfying.

She stared at him. “You’re sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

A soft smile touched his determined lips. “Yes.”

She shook her head. When they had been doling out arrogance, he had been first in line, she was sure. There was nothing wrong with being confident, but this man was as conceited as they came. “Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re wrong.”

“Then prove it.”

Famous last words, she thought. But he was beginning to annoy her. “I don’t have to prove anything. I told you how I feel. It would be so much easier on the both of us if you respected that.”

“And I will once you answer my question. Just what type of man does interest you, since I don’t? Based on what you said last night, you have no problem with a man who’s not into long-term relationships, so just what turns you on, Sam Di Meglio?”

She glared at him. “A man who respects my wishes, for one.”

He took a step closer to her and put both hands on her desk, effectively pinning her in between. He smiled faintly. He smelled heavenly. And her heart was beating like crazy in her chest.

His mouth was inches from hers. “And I will respect your wishes,” he said in a silky voice that sent all kinds of erotic sensations through her body. “But first, since you won’t answer my question, let me give you my opinion and tell you what I think.”

She breathed slowly and deeply, inhaling his scent through her nostrils. “You really don’t need to bother.”

His smile widened a bit as he leaned closer to her. “Humor me.”

His breath was hot on her lips and she fought back the urge to do more than just humor him, to do something crazy like stick her tongue out and lick his lips from corner to corner. So she did something probably even worse; she concentrated on those lips. They were beautiful, firm and full, curved and clearly defined and shaped in a perfect bow.

She would be the first to admit she was one of those women who were drawn to a man’s lips. Even though he’d ended up being a deceitful ass, Guy’s lips hadn’t been all bad. But no one’s lips could compare to the ones she was staring at now, the ones sending shivers through her body, making her feel hot all over, so much so that she wanted to remove her jacket, take off her blouse, slip out of her skirt, take off her bra and panties and…

She blinked. What in the world was happening to her? What could she be thinking? What was he thinking? She opened her mouth to ask Blade that very thing, when, too late, she realized he’d been waiting for her to do just that.

Before she could draw in her next breath his mouth captured hers and began eating away at it like she was his breakfast and he intended to devour her right up until lunch. The moment his tongue touched hers, stroked it in such a way that blatantly reminded her how long it had been since she’d engaged in foreplay with a man, he conjured up all those deep-seated, wild fantasies no other soul knew about, not even Mac and Peyton.

Any thoughts of what Mac and Peyton didn’t know fled Sam’s mind when Blade deepened the kiss. She knew she had to do something before he went any further or before she succumbed any more to his passion. If that happened, considering the last time she’d been intimate with someone, he could drag her to the floor and she wouldn’t put up much of a fuss. In fact she might be the one dragging him first.

She had no idea just how long they’d been kissing or how long they would have continued had the intercom on her desk not buzzed, and if their secretary, Priscilla Gaines, hadn’t chosen that moment to say, “Ms. Madaris wanted me to remind you of the meeting this morning, Ms. Di Meglio.”

Sam drew in a deep breath as Blade reluctantly let go of her lips. “Bad timing, wouldn’t you say?” he whispered, straightening his physique and taking a step backward.

She exhaled, still wondering what the hell had happened. She shook her head, sending a mass of curly locks flying around her shoulders as if that would help screw her head back on, not only right but tight. She knew at that moment that this man was dangerous to any woman. He was smooth and lethal all rolled into one. She wondered how many hearts he’d already broken and how many more he would be breaking. Maybe not intentionally, but with total disregard for the fact that although he might not fall in love with a woman, some would ultimately fall in love with him and painfully watch as he swaggered out of their life without even a backward glance.

“I’d better leave and let you get back to work now,” he said, smiling as if coming to her office and kissing her senseless first thing in the morning was an everyday occurrence. “I’ll be returning to Houston later today, but I plan to come back to Oklahoma City in about three weeks.”

She frowned. “Why?”

His smile widened. “The Mosley Building, or have you forgotten?”

She had forgotten, sort of. “Why do you need to come back? I thought your construction crew would be taking over now that things have been finalized.”

He chuckled as he smooth out his jacket. “Not yet. As chief engineer, I’m hands-on from start to finish. That means you’ll be seeing a lot of me for at least the next six months or more.”

Her entire body stiffened when she remembered his spiel at dinner last night. For Pete’s sake, she didn’t want to see any more of him. Less of him would serve her nicely. She had let her guard down with him today, and judging from the smirk on his face, he evidently assumed he’d gotten the upper hand. “I don’t want to see more of you, Blade.”

The smile that appeared on his face at that moment would have been priceless to any other woman. “You need to stop doing that, you know,” he said as he headed toward the door.

She crossed her arms over her chest again. “Doing what?”

He glanced back over his shoulder and paused long enough to reply, “Saying one thing when you mean another.”

She glared at him. “I mean what I say, Blade. You just can’t seem to get the message.”

He put his hand on the doorknob and angled his head to the side to look at her, a pose she found unnerving. “No, Sam. I read you loud and clear, and if you do mean what you say then you need to stop sending mixed signals. I’ll see you in three weeks.”

He opened the door and was gone.

“So there you have it,” Peyton Mahoney said, as she threw her pencil in the middle of the conference table. “According to the photo lab, those pictures were doctored.”

A disgusted look appeared on Mac’s face. “So Clarissa Penton lied to us. Those are not pictures of her and Sidney Gresham in bed together.”

“Nope. So what do we do now?” Peyton asked.

“There’s only one thing left to do,” Mac replied, as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Get her on the phone and ask her to meet with us. We’ll let her know what we’ve found out and advise her to get someone else to represent her. We should also suggest that she drop the charges, and let her know what can happen if she doesn’t.”