FOREVER MINE(10)

Thes thought didn’t sit well with him that he could crave any woman this badly. And to top things off, he had walked into her office and had encountered something he had never dealt with before - jealousy when it came to a woman. That in itself was just plain ludicrous. Mike Kelly had never gotten jealous over a woman and had actually thought that he wasn’t capable of displaying that sort of an emotion. Today he had been proven wrong. Even now when he thought about the degree of lust he’d seen in the man’s eyes, he wanted to hit something.

“So, why aren’t you sorry?”

It suddenly occurred to him that Sonya had asked him a question. “Excuse me?”

She leaned over the table closer to him. His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips, and then they lowered to the V-neckline of her blouse. One thing he’d noticed about her was that she liked wearing blouses that revealed the upper part of her full and firm breasts, which was probably the reason that Theo guy had been leaning over her desk, all in her face and looking down dead at her chest.

“I asked why you aren’t sorry. Back at my office you apologized for interrupting me and Theo, but admitted that you actually weren’t sorry.”

Mike took another sip of his drink and decided not to divulge anything about the jealousy bit. “The man was all in your face,” he said. “He was annoying you.”

She lifted a brow. “How could you tell? You couldn’t see my face since he was blocking your view.”

“No, but I heard it in your voice. Trust me. I know how it sounds when you’re annoyed about something. I’ve heard it before since you’ve used that same tone on me several times.”

Sonya stared at him for a few moments and smiled before saying. “Now you’re making me sound like a shrew.”

“Sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

Mike returned her smiled. “Yes, I am this time. Really.”

He then reached across the table and took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. “And if you give me the chance I’ll make it up to yo.”

He knew the exact moment heat began engulfing her because he felt that same degree of heat overtaking him as well. It had been simmering below the surface from the moment she had slid into his car and the hem of her skirt raised a little and he’d caught a glimpse of her thigh. Now that they had finished lunch, what he wanted more than anything was for them to skip dessert and suggest they go to his place and whip up a little mouth-watering tasty tart of their own.

She pulled her hand back but he knew it was too late. He’d started her blood to burning. The same desire that was sweeping through him had to be doing the same thing to her. There was no way she could deny it and it was past time they did something about it. It was his opinion that if they were destined to burn then they might as well enjoy the fire.

“Come to my place tonight.”

She gave him a haughty look. “Give me one reason why I should.”

“I could give you plenty of reasons,” he said, murmuring low so that only she could hear. “Such as the fact that we want each other in a bad way, and I think it’s time to stop playing games and take us both out of our misery.”

“I’m not in any misery.”

He lifted a brow. “Aren’t you?”

She didn’t say anything, just sat there and stared at him. Actually, glared at him would be a better way to put it. Even though she didn’t like what he had said, the bottom line was that they both knew to deny his statement would be a lie. “Or better yet,” he said, deciding to push further while he had her wavering on the edge. “We can leave here and go to my place now. Why wait for later?”

Now it was Sonya who lifted a brow. “I have work back at the office that I need to do.”

“There’s work and there’s pleasure. Of the two, which do you think would be more rewarding and fulfilling?”

She sat there for a second, staring at him as if weighing his question. He let out a deep sigh of relief when she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone, punched in a few numbers and then said. “La’Trell, this is Sonya. I won’t be coming back into the office. I’ve decided to take the rest of the afternoon off and need you to lock up for me please. Thanks and you have a good weekend as well.”

She clicked off the phone and then looked back at him. Her eyes narrowed when she said. “Let’s get one thing straight. I won’t be begging.”

He smiled as he shoved back his chair at the same time he placed a pair of aviator sunglasses over his eyes. “You won’t?”

“No.”

A smile touched his lips. “We’ll see.”





Six




By the time Sonya crossed over the threshold of Mike’s home, she was agonizing over the possibility that she might be doing some begging after all. From the time it had taken to leave the restaurant to arrive at his home, her reasons for not indulging in a physical relationship with him had lost some of its punch. It hadn’t helped matters that Mike had played dirty by leaning over and kissing her at practically every traffic light they’d come to; making her sensuously aware of the heat brewing between them and making her anxious for what awaited her when they got to his place.

And his kisses hadn’t been those barely-touch-your-mouth types. They were the kind that made your toes curl and made you feel like the earth was tilting on a lot more than its axis. It was as if he intended to demonstrate just how deeply and passionately she could be kissed in the time it took for a traffic signal to change from red to green.

But still, as much as she wanted him, a part of her refused to give in too easily. It just wasn’t in her makeup to do so with any man. If she did any begging, so would he. She was convinced that he wanted her as much as she wanted him, which meant she wouldn’t make things easy for him either. As far as she was concerned, being tortured was fair play.

She turned around and saw he was leaning against the closed door in a sexy stance, and staring at her with those intense blue eyes of his. She knew that look. This was a standoff and regardless of who begged first, the result would ultimately be the same – they would make out like sex addicts later.

“So tell me just what you want from me, Sonya.”

She squared her shoulders and met his intense gaze with one of her own. “You go first and tell me what you want from me.”

He smiled to make her aware that he knew even now she would play hard to get. “I don’t have a problem with going first,” he said. “Nor do I have a problem with telling you what I want from you. What I want is your permission to get underneath that skirt.”

Sonya felt a slow stirring in the pit of her stomach when Mike began walking toward her without breaking eye contact. She breathed in and out deeply with each and every step he took, forcing her feet to stay in place and not to move. For once she felt ridiculously out of her element with a man, but the closer he got with that predatory look on his face, the more she felt that perhaps she wasn’t feeling ridiculous at all.

In spite of that possibility, she intended to hold her own, no matter what. She then decided that ‘no-matter-what’ would definitely be a challenge when he slowed his pace to unbutton his shirt and toss it aside. And when he paused to remove his shoes and socks, she began tightening her hands into fists at her side. It was either that or cross the room to him and rub her hands across his muscular chest and broad shoulders.

She made a deep moan in her throat when his hand went to the zipper of his pants. She watched as he lowered the zipper. Moments later when he stood less than six feet away wearing only a pair of sexy black boxer shorts, she discovered she was no longer in control of her own thoughts or actions. That reality hit her and it hit her hard. Probably just as hard as he was…since it was so blatantly obvious that he was aroused.

She had discovered a long time ago that she was a deeply sensuous woman and it seemed Mike Kelly had the ability to knock that sensuality up a notch or two; something she thought was not possible. From the first she’d been conscious of everything about him, especially his ability to make her feel things no other man could.

“So, do I get your permission to proceed and get what I want?” he asked, coming to a stop in front of her.

Her senses focused on what he was asking of her. She was fully aware that once she crossed the line with Mike there was no turning back. A part of her chalked it up to the chance to go ahead and indulge in something she considered as the sweetest taboo. But then another part of her, the part that was questioning the wisdom of them becoming lovers, thought what she should be doing is coming up with excuses and reasons for not sleeping with him. But all she had to do was look into his eyes to know he wouldn’t accept any excuse. They were past the point of no return.

The latter is what she now understood and accepted. The reason she was going to make love with Mike was because it was something she wanted to do. Point blank. No questions asked and no explanations given. Possessing that frame of mind worked in the past for all her casual affairs, so why was she wasting time by analyzing things now?

“Yes, you have my permission,” she finally said looking into his eyes.

He didn’t give the arrogant smile she’d assumed she would get from him. Instead the look that suddenly appeared in his eyes made her feel oddly important, far more special than she had a right to feel. He was looking at her as if she was the only woman he desired and that wanting her, finally getting her, was something he actually needed. She knew to think such a thing was crazy, but still, the thought did something to her. It sent an excruciating thrill right through her. Maybe giving her that look was all part of his seduction scheme. If it was, she was falling for it.