Possessed By Passion

An excited Pauline interrupted her thoughts. “Good morning, Hunter. I think we might have our first client.”

“Do we?” Hunter asked, her gaze switching from Tyson to Pauline.

“Yes. Dr. Tyson Steele is here to see you about designing his home.”

Hunter found that hard to believe, especially after what he’d told her two nights ago. He was more interested in seducing her than anything else. “Is he?”

“Yes, I am,” Tyson said.

She tried ignoring the slow, languorous heat that flowed through her body at the sound of Tyson’s deep, husky voice. She looked back over at him and wished she hadn’t. She’d thought he was sinfully handsome when she’d seen him at the nightclub, but as he stood in the sunlight streaming through her office window he looked triply so. The man was totally gorgeous, one hundred percent male perfection. He looked like scrumptious eye candy in his jeans and dark gray hooded sweatshirt. For her, there was just something about a nice male body in a pair of jeans and it was almost too much for her this early in the morning.

“In that case, Dr. Steele, you and I definitely need to talk,” she said, moving toward her office.

She heard Tyson close her office door behind him the moment she set her briefcase on her desk. She turned around and fought back the urge to moan. The way he was leaning back against the closed door, he was sexiness personified. And his razor-sharp green eyes were on her. Why, today of all days, had she worn a dress, one shorter than she would normally wear? Shorter but still appropriate for conducting business. Yet from the way Tyson was staring at her, one would think otherwise. In fact, one would think she didn’t have on any clothes at all. Sexual vibes were pouring off him in droves and she could feel desire flowing through her veins.

Clearing her throat as she tried getting control of the situation, she said, “Please have a seat, Tyson, and tell me just what it is that you want.”

Realizing that wasn’t a good question to ask him, she rephrased it. “Tell me what design of home you’re interested in.”

* * *

Tyson thought she had asked the right question the first time. He certainly had no problem telling her exactly what he wanted. But first he had to get his libido back in check. It had begun smoldering big-time when he’d glanced up from his conversation with her administrative assistant to see her standing there. She was what sexual fantasies were made of, and when it came to her he had plenty.

She was a constant visitor to his nightly dreams. If that wasn’t bad enough she’d also crept into his daytime thoughts. All this from a woman he hadn’t seen in years. Usually he didn’t waste time fantasizing about any one woman before moving quickly to another. But it seemed he was focused on Hunter McKay and no one else, and he couldn’t figure out why.

Eli thought he was obsessed with her and Tyson was beginning to wonder if that was true. He had never been obsessed with a woman before and was convinced he only wanted her in his bed, nothing more. Every time he thought about them having sex his pulse went crazy. He couldn’t help wondering if there was more to his desire for Hunter than her being the one who got away. Why was he turned on by almost everything about her? Like her dress, for instance.

He knew it was just a dress, but on her it looked simply fantastic. He especially liked the way it complemented her legs. The other night she’d been wearing slacks so today was the first time he’d seen them. Now it came back to him that in high school, she had been a majorette, and the one thing he had liked was that she had a gorgeous pair of legs. She still did. And in that dress and a pair of three-inch pumps, she was definitely presenting challenges to his peace of mind. She looked neat, professional and way too appealing.

“Tyson?”

Hunter’s voice brought his focus back to their conversation. He stepped away from the door and slid into a chair across from her desk. Doing so put him in close proximity to her and he enjoyed inhaling her scent. She was wearing the same perfume she had the other night and he thought the fragrance was definitely her signature. He met her eyes and said, “I have no problem telling you what I want.” He let that statement hang in the air between them for a moment before adding, “As far as a design for a house, of course.”

“Of course,” Hunter said, moving around her desk to sit down behind it. “Before I can help you there are a few things I would need to know,” she said, picking up a notepad and pen.

“Like what?”

“Like the location of the property the house will be built on. I need to verify there aren’t any restrictions in the area that might prevent you from building the type of home you want. And I need to make sure your lot is large enough to fit whatever design you have in mind.”

He nodded. “I find your inquiries interesting. Why don’t we have dinner tonight and talk about them?”

She leaned back in her chair and stared at him. “We need to discuss it now, Tyson, because I have no intentions of having dinner with you.”

“Why?”

“Because after work is my time. A business dinner means extending my work time into my pleasure time.”

“We can make it both.”

Her mouth flattened into a hard line. “No, we can’t, and I don’t have time to play games. If the only reason for your visit is to—”

“Try my hand at seducing you?”

She held his stare. “You warned me the other night that would be your main objective.”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “It still is. Trust me. I haven’t changed my mind about it. But I do want to talk about a house design, as well.”

Tyson was serious about that. Although he would admit he’d initially had an ulterior motive for seeking her out today, all it had taken was for him to wake up to the noise outside his window to know he had put off moving long enough. Currently, he leased a condo in a very prestigious area of Phoenix not far from the hospital. It was large and spacious and had a great view of the mountains. But unfortunately it came with some drawbacks. Like the close proximity of his neighbors. Over the years he had gotten used to car doors slamming, horns honking and the early morning ruckus of parents hustling their kids off to school. Maybe it was time to pursue his dream of living in the countryside.

She was still staring at him, as if she was trying to figure out if he really was serious about getting a house designed. He decided to put her mind at ease. “What you might see as a problem is the fact that I haven’t purchased the property yet. It doesn’t matter, Hunter. You design my house and when I get ready to build it I’ll buy enough land for it to sit on.”

She was still staring and he had no problem with her doing so because he knew she was also thinking about him. Sizing him up. Trying to figure him out. He wished he could tell her not to bother because he was too complex for her to try.

“I need to ask you something, Tyson,” she finally said after a few moments had passed.

“Yes?”

“When did you decide you wanted a house designed, and why did you come to me?”

He could tell her about his conversation with Eli yesterday, but decided to omit that part. “To be honest with you, I hadn’t given much thought of designing a house. I live in a condo and that suited me just fine. However, I knew you were an architect and I knew my plans for you, so I decided I wanted to see your work.”

“Let me get this straight,” she said, sitting up in her chair. “You planned to seduce me so you came up with the idea to have me design a home for you. A home you never thought about owning until after you saw me the other night. You would go to all that trouble to get a woman in your bed?”

He couldn’t help the smile that curved his lips. “No. I wouldn’t go to all that trouble to get a woman in my bed, Hunter. But I would go to all that trouble to get you there.”

She frowned. “Don’t waste your time.”

“It won’t be. I know women, Hunter. I can read them as well as any book that’s ever been published. You gave me the same looks I was giving you at Notorious. The ‘I want to sleep with you’ looks.”

“I was not!”

“Yes, you were. Maybe you didn’t realize you were doing so, but you were. The sexual chemistry between us was strong that night. I felt it and I saw no need to play games. That’s why I told you my intentions up front. Did you honestly expect me not to explore all those heated vibes you and I were giving off that night?”

“But to invent this—”

“I didn’t invent anything. What I’ve done is take another look at my living situation. Of my brothers I’m the only one who doesn’t own a home. Never gave much thought to doing so. My condo is not far from the hospital and pretty convenient to everything I want. But this morning I noticed things I had chosen to ignore. Like the closeness of my neighbors. The noise and such. And the more I thought about it, the more that house in the country, the one I had thought about building years ago when I first got out of med school, suddenly appealed to me again. So I thought—”

“That since I was an architect and you had plans to seduce me anyway, that you would kill two birds with one stone?”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

* * *

Hunter shook her head. After a minute she said, “That night after I left the club I thought about you a lot.”

“You did?”

She heard the delight in his voice. “Yes, I did. I tried convincing myself that I imagined it. There was no way that at after eighteen years you were as arrogant and conceited as you were back in high school. But, Tyson, I was wrong. You are. You assume all you have to do is say what you want and you’ll get it. You love women, although you’ll never fall in love with one. You enjoy sharing your bed with them but that’s about all you’ll ever share. You—”

“Don’t blame me,” he interrupted. “Blame my father.”

She lifted a brow. “Your father? What does your father have to do with it?”

Tyson smiled. “I’m Drew Steele’s son. My brothers and I inherited his genes. We got some from Mom, of course, but the womanizing ones came from my dad. He used to be a player of the worst kind in his day, and even got run out of Charlotte because of his scandalous ways.”

“And you’re actually using your father’s past behavior as an excuse for yours?”

“Like I said, it’s in the genes. But since my father is happily married to my mother and has been for over thirty years, I figure there’s hope for me and my brothers. At least my mother is convinced there is and she might be right. Three have gotten married within a three-year period. Not that I have any interest in getting married, now or ever.”

“I don’t blame you,” she said, not able to stop herself. “I tried it once and once was enough.” He would never know just how much she meant those words.

“Are you going through the ‘I hate all men’ stage?”

She tried not to notice the breadth of his shoulders when he leaned back in his chair. Or the way his jeans stretched tight over his muscular thighs. “I have no reason to hate all men, Tyson. In truth, I don’t hate my ex. I pity him.”

He held her gaze. “So the reason you won’t share my bed has nothing to do with him.”

“No. It’s mainly because of your attitude.”

“My attitude?”

“Yes.”

“What’s wrong with my attitude?”

“You act entitled.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. I guess it’s from women always letting you have your way. Giving you whatever you want. They make it too easy for you.”

“And you intend to make things difficult, Hunter?”

A smile touched her lips. “I intend to make things impossible, Tyson.”

“Nothing is impossible.”

He stood and she couldn’t help but admire how sexily his body eased out of the chair. “And since you won’t have dinner with me, how about lunch tomorrow?”

“Give me one good reason why I should.”

“Because I’m a potential client who merely wants to discuss ideas about the kind of country home I want you to design for me.”

Hunter stared at him. Was he really serious about wanting her to design his home? There was only one way to find out. “Lunch tomorrow will be fine. Make an appointment with Pauline on your way out.”

“No, I’m making one with you now. Put me on your calendar for tomorrow. Noon. At Gabriel’s. I’ll meet you there.”

He headed for the door. When he reached it, he turned around and smiled. “And you look good today, by the way. Good enough to eat.”

And then he opened the door and left.

Chapter 4

Hunter was convinced she should have her head examined when she arrived at Gabriel’s the next day at noon. Meeting Tyson for lunch wasn’t a smart move. So why was she here? Even if Tyson wanted her to design his country home there were ulterior motives behind it. He had been up front about his plans for her. It was all about seduction. Plain and simple. But he would discover there wasn’t anything plain or simple about it.

The last thing she needed was to get mixed up with Tyson, or any man for that matter. She had put her divorce behind her, moved to be closer to her family and start over in her business. Hard work lay ahead of her and she had very little time to indulge in an affair. Besides, hadn’t a failed eight-year marriage proved she was lousy at relationships?

“May I help you, madam?”

“Yes,” she said, glancing around. “I’m meeting Tyson Steele for lunch.”

The maître d’ smiled. “Yes. Dr. Steele arrived a few moments ago and requested one of our private rooms in the back. I’ll lead the way.”

“Thanks,” she said, following behind the man. A private room? In the back? She didn’t like the sound of that and had a mind to turn around and walk out. But Tyson was a client. And so far, he was the only one she had. She kept telling herself that once the advertisements she’d approved finally ran, business would pick up. She certainly hoped so.

The maître d’ opened the door then stepped aside for her to enter. She looked around and saw Tyson. He stood and she could feel the air between them sizzle. She knew he felt it as well when she saw heat smoldering in the depths of his green eyes.

He must have come straight from the hospital since he was still wearing his physician jacket. Tightening her hand on her briefcase, she moved forward and tried to fight the attraction she felt toward him. “Tyson.”

“Hunter. Glad you could join me.” As if only realizing his attire, he took off his white coat. “Sorry, an emergency detained me.”

No need to say she hoped it wasn’t anything serious, because he was a heart surgeon, so anything he did was serious. “No problem. I know your time is valuable so we can go ahead and—”

“You look good again today.”

“Thanks.” Knowing they would be meeting for lunch, she had worn a pantsuit. The way he had checked out her legs yesterday had been too unnerving. “As I said yesterday, usually a client has purchased property, but since—”

“We’ll discuss business later. Let’s order first. I’m starving. I’ve been in surgery all morning and missed breakfast.”

“Oh. Of course.” She glanced down at the menu and tried ignoring the tingles of awareness going through her. It wasn’t easy sitting across the table from such a sexy man. So far he seemed all business and hadn’t said anything she considered inappropriate. She wouldn’t hold that compliment on how she looked against him. In fact she appreciated him making the observation. Carter had stopped telling her how good she looked even when she’d gone out of her way to please him.

“I already know what I want.”

She glanced up and swallowed deeply at the look she saw in his eyes. She wasn’t imagining the sizzling undercurrents flowing between them. “Do you?”

“Yes.”

She held his gaze and the sexual tension surrounding them began mounting. He had been referring to what he wanted off the menu, hadn’t he? With Tyson, one could never be sure. She’d discovered that often his words had a double meaning. “That was fast,” she said, breaking his gaze to look back down at her menu.

“I’ve never been accused of being slow, Hunter.”

She glanced back up at him again. “And what did you decide to get?”

“The pork chops. That’s what I usually get whenever I come here.”

She nodded. He had been talking about what was on the menu, after all. “The pork chops sound good.”

“They are and that’s what I want for now. What I really want I’ll put on the back burner until...”

She glanced up to find his focus totally on her, making the undercurrents between them sizzle even more. “Until what?”

“I can bring you around to my way of thinking.”

Hunter couldn’t help but chuckle.

“And what do you find amusing, Hunter?”

She leaned forward in her chair. “For a minute there I thought this would be one of those rare times that you would be good.”

“I am good. Always.”

His words flowed through her and with supreme effort she tried not to imagine just how good he would be. “I was referring to your behavior.”

“Now, that, not always. According to my mother I can push the envelope at times.”

She bet. Hunter was glad the waiter returned and with the amount of food Tyson ordered it was apparent he hadn’t lied about being hungry. She wondered where he would put it all.

As if reading her thoughts, he said, “I plan to work it off later.”

“I don’t doubt that you will.”

He reached across the table and his fingers caressed her hand. “I don’t mean with another woman, Hunter. I have a membership at the gym.”

She wondered what had given away her thoughts and figured it must have been her tone. Why had the thought of him sleeping with a woman bothered her? And why did him caressing her hand send shivers of desire through her? “You don’t owe me an explanation. What you do and with whom is your business, Tyson. And need I remind you,” she said, pulling her hand back, “that this is a business meeting?”

“Duly reminded,” he said, smiling. “Temptation got the best of me.”

Although she wouldn’t admit to it, temptation had almost gotten the best of her, as well. She had loved the feel of his touch and could still feel the imprint of his hand on her skin. It was becoming pretty clear that this attraction between her and Tyson could lead to big trouble if she wasn’t careful. Deciding to break up the sexual tension flowing between them, she steered the conversation to an innocuous topic. “So how are your niece and nephew?”

He lifted a brow. “I take it you read that article in the paper, as well.”

She shook her head. “No, Mo did and mentioned it the other night.”

He took a sip of his water before answering. “Brittany and the twins are home now. I got a chance to see them before they left the hospital yesterday and they’re doing fine. Galen is doing okay, too. In fact, he’s on cloud nine.”

“I can’t picture him married.”

“I couldn’t, either, but it happened. And I’ll admit there’s something pretty special between him and Brittany.”

“She’s not from here, right?”

“No. She’s from Florida. She was in town on business when they met.”

“Have they named the twins yet?”

“They gave my mother the honor and she came up with Ethan and Elyse.”

A smile spread across Hunter’s lips. “Oh, I like that.”

“My brothers and I figured she couldn’t help but seize the opportunity to give the twins names starting with the letter E to match hers.”

Then he smiled and Hunter was amazed he could be even more handsome. But he was.

* * *

As they ate, Tyson tried not to glance over at Hunter. Conversation between them had stopped, and he couldn’t help wondering what she was thinking. Although whatever thoughts going through her head were a mystery to him, those going through his own head were not. Simply put, he wanted her. How could a woman he hadn’t seen in eighteen years hold his interest like she was doing? It didn’t make sense. No woman had ever gotten to him this way and without any effort on her part. At least not any conscious effort. He doubted she was aware of just how alluring she was without even trying.

Even wearing a pantsuit he didn’t miss her small waist and sexy curves. And on more than one occasion when he’d glanced at her while they were eating, he hadn’t missed the hardened tips of her nipples beneath her blue silk shirt. That meant she wasn’t as immune to him as she pretended to be. And when he had reached out to stroke her hand, he’d felt the sparks and knew she had, as well.

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