Beyond Temptation
Morgan glanced around. The Racetrack Café was a popular place in town to grab something to eat and to wet your lips with a drink. Owned by several race car drivers on the NASCAR circuit, it had become one of Donovan’s favorite hangouts mainly because his best friend, Bronson Scott, was now one of the drivers on the NASCAR circuit.
Donovan finished off what was left of what he was drinking. “So you did have your meeting with Lena?”
Morgan frowned. “How did you know about our meeting?”
Donovan gave his brother one of his cocky smiles that was known to grate on his nerves before motioning for the waiter to bring him another drink. “To answer your question, I knew something was up with you this morning at the meeting in Chance’s office. Most of the time you sat there like you were zoned out. I figured you either had had a rather good night or you were finally putting together a solution to your problem.”
They paused in conversation long enough for the waiter to drop Donovan another drink off and to take Morgan’s order before Morgan turned narrowed eyes back to his brother. “My problem?”
Donovan chuckled. “Yeah, and don’t play dumb. All of us know how you have the hots for Lena Spears.”
The hots didn’t come close to covering it, Morgan thought, leaning back in his seat. However, Donovan, who didn’t yet know the meaning of one woman for one man, was the last person who needed to know that. “And just who is all of us?”
Donovan grinned. “Me, Chance and Bas, mainly. We’re the ones who’ve been putting up with your bad-ass moods since meeting the woman. Some days you act like it’s our fault that she’s not interested in you.”
Morgan didn’t like Donovan’s assumptions. “She is interested.”
“Could have fooled me. In fact she’s doing a good job of fooling a lot of people since she hasn’t given you the time of day. How many times has she turned you down for a date, Morgan?”
“None of your damn business.” The waiter placed his beer in front of him and it was right on time, Morgan thought, taking a swallow straight from the bottle. It was either that or smashing Donovan’s face in.
“Well, you know how I feel about any man running behind a woman. Downright disgusting. It should be the other way around,” Donovan said, taking a sip of his drink. “And I understand you’re going out of town for a few days to hang out with Cameron in Atlanta. I’m sure sometime during your visit the two of you will have a pity party since he’s just as messed up over Vanessa as you are with Lena.”
Morgan’s features grew dark as he glanced across the table at Donovan. “Cameron and I are meeting to discuss a business venture we’re both interested in and not for any damn pity party.” When Donovan merely shrugged Morgan felt the need to add “I hope I’m around when you suffer your first heartbreak.”
“Sorry to disappoint you but it won’t happen. There isn’t that much woman in the world, Morgan. Why settle for just one when the world is filled with so many of them? And now that the Steele Corporation has signed on as one of Bronson’s sponsors for NASCAR, and I get to go to many of the races, the pickings are even better. I never knew so many good-looking women were interested in fast cars. Man, if you could only see them. They look just as good with their clothes on as they do with them off. There’s this one sista who has a tattoo on her—”
“Hey, spare me the details, Donovan,” Morgan said, holding up his hand.
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
Morgan shook his head. “Trust me, I believe I do.”
Donovan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin as he studied Morgan. Within a year’s time two of his brothers had made it to the altar, and it seemed Morgan was hell-bent on making it three. He liked his sisters-in-law true enough and was happy for his brothers, but his dream girl was one who was no more interested in marriage than he was. Like him the only thing she was interested in was a good time.
“So tell me, Morgan, why did you want to meet here instead of back at the office?”
“Does there have to be a reason?” Morgan asked, putting his bottle down.
Donovan released a long-suffering sigh. “For you, yes. So spill your guts. Get it out.”
Morgan glanced away for a moment and when he returned his gaze to Donovan he saw the questions lodged in the darkness of the eyes staring back at him. Knowing he couldn’t waste any more time he said, “There are two reasons that I wanted to meet with you. The first is to let you know that I met with Edward Dunlap again.”
Donovan nodded and lightly rubbed his chin, regarding his brother intently. “Does that mean you’ve finally made a decision about running for that city council at-large seat in the fall?” he asked his brother.
He’d known that for years a number of the African American leaders around town wanted Morgan to strongly consider a political career. He had charisma, charm and an ingrained sense of doing what was right. His community service—as well as his public service record—was astonishing and included such notable accomplishments as leading Charlotte’s Economic Development and Planning Council.
Another plus was that Morgan had been born and raised in Charlotte. The Steeles were one of the first families to begin a black-owned business that now employed a lot of people and who didn’t hesitate to pay their employees a very decent salary.
Another plus Donovan knew Morgan had in his cap was the Steele Corporation’s infrastructure. They were a company that believed in being loyal to the people who worked for them. When they had a chance to make a bigger profit by outsourcing a lot of their production department, they had refused since it would have meant putting over five hundred people out of a job.
Yes, there was no doubt in Donovan’s mind that if Morgan ever decided to seek a political office he would get it. Some even had him pegged as the man who would eventually become the city’s first black mayor.
Only a selected number of individuals were born to be public servants, and he’d always felt that Morgan was one of them. And although Morgan downplayed such, Donovan knew that deep down Morgan did want to become a political candidate mainly because of his ingrained sense of always wanting to help people.
“No. I haven’t made a decision, but I am giving it more thought than I did before. Dunlap feels the time is right. He’s also afraid if I don’t run, Roger Chadwick will, and both you and I know if that happens he will hurt the city more than help it.”
Donovan chuckled harshly. “That’s an understatement.”
“I have to know that I have certain things in place before making my final decision, and one of them involves you,” Morgan said.
“Me?”
“Yes. You. I’d like you to be my campaign manager if I do decide to run.”
Donovan smiled proudly. That meant Morgan being a candidate was a high likelihood. “Consider it done.”
Morgan nodded. “Thanks. Now for the other reason I wanted to meet with you. I met with Lena today because I’ve decided to sell my house and plan to buy a new one. She’ll be handling both transactions for me.”
Donovan looked at him and shook his head. “It’s your house to do as you please with, but I’m surprised you’d want to sell it. You’ve always talked about how much you like your home. According to you it was the ‘perfect’ house.”
“It still is, which is why I wanted to meet with you.”
Donovan leaned back in his chair. The expression on his face was one indicating he was clearly confused. “Evidently, I’m missing some point here, so maybe you ought to go ahead and tell me what I got to do with you selling your house.”
Morgan picked up his beer bottle and took another sip. “Lena mentioned that once I put my house on the market she’d probably begin showing it to a lot of people.”
Donovan rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s usually how it works.”
“That’s all well and good,” Morgan said, ignoring his brother’s sarcasm. “But I don’t want anybody to buy it.”
“Then why in blazes are you selling it?”
Donovan waited for him to answer and when he saw Morgan wasn’t quick with any answers, he couldn’t help but laugh when he figured things out. “You’re pretty damn desperate to resort to putting your house up for sale just to get on Lena’s good side.” Donovan’s brows shot up. “But you still haven’t told me what any of this has to do with me.”
Morgan took another pull from his beer bottle. “I want Lena to try to sell it, but in the end I want to feel comfortable knowing the person buying it will take care of it.”
“And?”
Morgan sighed. “And I want you to be the one to buy it.”
First a grin spread across Donovan’s face as he thought Morgan was joking. But after studying his brother’s features and seeing Morgan was dead serious, Donovan began shaking his head adamantly. “No can do, man. I don’t need a place as large as your house. My condo is just fine.”
“But don’t you want your space?”
Donovan took another swallow of his drink and said, “I have enough space, thank you very much. I do one woman at a time, so that’s all the space I need. Besides, your house is on an acre of land. I don’t do yards. I never got along with grass. I don’t own a mower and don’t plan to buy one. It doesn’t bother me to pay those exceedingly high association fees for the golf course in my backyard, although I’m not a golfer. It goes with my image, one I want to keep. Besides, I always thought your place was too big for one person. I still do.”
“I need you to buy it, Don.”
“Aw, hell, Morgan, why me?”
“Because Chance, Bas and Vanessa already have homes, and Taylor and Cheyenne never stay in one place long enough to own anything but the clothes on their backs. You’re my only hope.”
“But I don’t understand. If you like your house, why are you selling it in the first place? You never did answer that question, although I have an idea.”
For a moment Morgan didn’t say anything. Then he said, “And your idea is probably right. Selling my house is part of my current plan and that’s all you need to know. I’m really hoping things don’t get that far, that Lena will realize my present home is the perfect one for us. But just in case things don’t go the way I want, I need to have a backup and I want you to be it.”
Donovan leaned back in his seat and released a long sigh, the second one in a matter of less than thirty minutes. He studied his brother, the one known to want the perfect everything. Three years ago he had built what he’d touted as the perfect house, and now he was willing to risk losing it for what Morgan saw as the perfect woman. Go figure.
“Is she worth all this, Morgan?” Donovan asked, truly needing to know.
Morgan didn’t say anything for a moment. It wasn’t that Donovan’s question had him thinking, it was just that he didn’t know what he could say to make his brother understand. But he believed that although Donovan didn’t have a clue how it felt to be undeniably drawn to one woman, one day he would. But for now the only thing he could do was answer the question as truthfully as he could.
“Yes, Donovan, Lena Spears is definitely worth it.”
Chapter 2
After glancing around the room for the second time, Lena finally looked over at Morgan. “How can you even think of selling this place? Your home is simply beautiful.”
Morgan smiled, pleased with her compliment. Her question was similar to the one Donovan had asked him last week, but of course he couldn’t provide her with the same answer. However, it sent a jolt through his stomach that she liked his home. He’d been hoping she would. “I’ve outgrown the place and would like something bigger, more elegant. Your job is to find me something more perfect than what I already have.”
He watched as she scanned the room again. It was just the living room. She hadn’t seen the rest of the house, and he couldn’t wait until she did. More than one person had offered to buy his home on the spot after seeing it, yet he had never once considered selling…until now, and only as a last resort. A part of him was still holding out that Lena would love it and want to live in it with him. But if she preferred living some place else, then he would gladly move.
“I’d like to know how you can outgrow something like this,” she said, reclaiming his thought. “In my line of business I’ve been through plenty of homes, but none ever took my breath away from the moment I walked through the front door like this one did. There’s no way this place won’t sell quickly.”
Her last statement was something he didn’t want to hear, which was the main reason he’d gotten Donovan involved. “Come on and let me show you the rest of it.”
An hour later he and Lena were sitting in his kitchen sipping glasses of iced tea. He tried not to make a big deal that technically this was the first drink they’d shared together alone. They had shared a drink that night at the charity ball, a glass of punch, while standing near the buffet table. And then at Chance and Kylie’s wedding they had stood next to each other drinking champagne. The same thing had occurred at Bas and Jocelyn’s wedding. But now he had her alone on his turf, and as he sat across from her watching her take slow sips of her tea, he couldn’t help noticing how her eyes seemed to take on a darker shade in the March sunlight. Seeing her eye color change did things to his insides. And then there was her scent, a luscious fragrance that nearly had him groaning.
“I know you get tired of hearing me say this, Morgan, but your home is gorgeous,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “I’ll be able to find a buyer with no problem, but to be honest with you I’m not sure I’ll find a place better for you to live. It’s just something about your home, the way you have it decorated, the layout. Even the yard is huge and just take a look at this kitchen.” She glanced around. “It’s a cook’s dream. Any woman would love to lose herself in here. How long have you lived here?”
He pulled his gaze away from her mouth. He’d been watching every word flow from it while thinking of a million things he’d love to do with it, and every one of them was increasing the rate of his pulse. “For about three years now. I bought the land six years ago but didn’t get around to building the house until then.”
He decided not to go into details that it had taken him three years from the time he had purchased the land to finally approve a design from the architect he’d hired. In his book everything had to be perfect. His brothers would often tease him about always wanting things just right, to the point that it would drive them crazy at times, but he always ignored their taunts. He couldn’t help that he was a stickler for how he wanted certain things he deemed important.
“I might as well tell you that Donovan might be interested in buying this place,” he said, deciding now was as good a time as any to make that part known. He watched her arched brow rise in surprise.
“He is?”
“Yes, but I don’t want you to concentrate on him as a potential buyer just yet. Show it to others, see what they think and how much they’re willing to pay before I seriously consider Donovan’s offer. I promised him first dibs, but I want to be sure if I do I’m offering him a fair price.”
She nodded. “That sounds reasonable,” she said, glancing down at her watch.
Morgan noticed the gesture. “Do you have another appointment this afternoon?” he asked, knowing she didn’t. She had told him earlier that he was the last person she was scheduled to see that day, other than the lunch she had planned with Kylie around one.
She glanced up and met his eyes. “No, sorry if I appeared distracted for a moment but I was thinking of my mother. She went on a field trip with her adult day care today and usually I would have heard from them by now letting me know that she didn’t fare well. With no phone call I’m hoping that means she had a good time.”
He nodded. “Where did they go?”
“The zoo. How was your trip out of town?”
Sensing her need to change the subject he said, “It was great. I had a business meeting with a friend named Cameron Cody. I believe you met him at both Chance’s and Bas’s weddings.”
She nodded as she took another sip of tea. “That’s the guy who tried to take over your company at one time, right?”
Morgan chuckled, which he did every time he was reminded of that. “Yes, he’s the one. In the end Cameron wasn’t successful in doing that, but he was in forging a friendship with all of us…at least everyone except Vanessa. She never got over it.”
“But you and your brothers did?”
“Yes. We couldn’t help but respect a man like Cameron, a self-made millionaire. Although he was determined to add the Steele Corporation to his list of acquisitions, he wasn’t ruthless about it. He’s a sharp businessman, and the four of us couldn’t help but admire him for it. After it was all over we all became good friends.”
“I get the feeling Vanessa doesn’t care for him much.”
Morgan smiled. “No, she doesn’t.” He decided not to mention that after spending time with Cameron in Atlanta this weekend it seemed they had the same intentions regarding finally taking matters into their own hands to start relentlessly pursuing the women they wanted.
“I’d better be going. I don’t want to take up too much more of your time,” Lena said, coming to her feet.
It was on the tip of his tongue to try his luck and ask her out again, but he knew like all the other times chances were she would turn him down. Besides, the key to his plan being a success was getting her to assume he was no longer interested in her.
“You’re not taking up any of my time unnecessarily. I like this place and want to make sure whoever buys it is worthy.”
He stood and then asked, “So what’s the next procedure?” He watched as she opened her folder.
“As far as this house goes, it’s as good as sold. It has too many strong points for it not to be a quick buy. All the expensive moldings, the marble in the bathrooms and the bathrooms period. They’re beautiful and spacious and you’re using all the cabinet space to the best advantage. This house is rather large for one person. You’re evidently someone who likes his space.”
He shrugged. “Not really. I don’t mind sharing my space with the right person.”
“Well, to answer your question,” Lena replied, “what’s next is the installation of a lockbox. You don’t have a problem with me showing your home when you’re not here, do you?”
He wasn’t crazy about the idea but knew he couldn’t tell her that. “No, I don’t have a problem with it.”
“Good. I’ll try to call before I drop by with anyone.”
“That’s fine. Do whatever you need to do.” He came around the table to stand in front of her. “I’ll walk you out since I need to leave myself. I have to drop back by the office to finish up some paperwork and then I’m expected to show up for dinner later at Bas and Jocelyn’s place.”
Lena smiled as she stood. “I can’t help but smile every time I think of how Bas talked Jocelyn in changing their wedding date from June to February.”
Morgan grinned. “Chase did the same thing with Kylie. Both Jocelyn and Kylie got cheated out of June weddings because of my eager brothers. I’m glad Jocelyn was able to finalize everything she had to do so she could move from Newton Grove to here permanently. Otherwise, we would have been tempted to ask Bas to take another leave of absence or he would have driven us all nuts.”
“They seem so happy.”
“They are, and so are Chance and Kylie. Marriage seems to agree with some people.”
“Well, yes, I’m sure it does.”
He watched how she quickly gathered up her belongings. He got the distinct impression that his closeness was bothering her. “I better get going,” she said.
“Okay, I’ll see you out.”
As he walked her to the door he said, “I’d like weekly updates. Will that be a problem?”
She glanced over at him. “No, that won’t be a problem. I’m checking on an area of homes a few miles from here. It’s a new subdivision but I don’t think the property is more than what you have now. You like a lot of land, don’t you?”
“Yes, more yard for my children to play.”
He could feel her gaze on him. “You want children?”
“Sure, one day. Don’t you?”
“Yes, but…”
He turned to her when they reached the door. “But what?”
“Umm, but nothing. I’ll see you later, Morgan,” she said, offering him her hand for a business handshake. “And I appreciate you allowing me to handle things for you.”
He glanced at her hand before taking it. “Like I said, you come highly recommended. One thing you’ll discover about me, Lena, is that I choose my business associates carefully.” As carefully as I choose my lovers, he decided not to add.
He saw the expression on her face the moment their hands touched. He also felt her response. Although she might wish otherwise, the chemistry between them was still there. He was tempted to lean in and kiss her. Take her mouth the way he’d thought of doing so many times. Once he slipped his tongue between her parted lips, there would be no stopping him. A kiss could be defined as friendly or intimate. Any kiss they shared would definitely be intimate.
The moment he released her hand she turned and he watched as she quickly began strolling down the brick walkway to her car, liking the sway of her hips as she did so. Today she was wearing another powerhouse business suit. This one was a mint green and brought out the rich brown coloring of her skin tone. Something else it brought out was the primal male inside him when he’d gotten close enough to notice she was also wearing a mint-green bra, which made him wonder what else under her clothes was the same color.
He sighed deeply as she pulled back out of his driveway. Part of his plan was to take things slow so she could get to know him, but all he could think about while sitting across from her at that table was speeding things up a bit, saying the hell with slow and taking her into his bedroom and making love to her like there was no tomorrow.
But he knew doing such a thing would only result in a satisfaction of overstimulated hormones and he wanted something a lot more out of a relationship with Lena. So for now the between-the-sheets fantasies had to take a backseat to what was really important, even if the waiting killed him, because everything he was doing now would be all worth it in the end.
Lena let out a deep breath as soon as Morgan’s home was no longer in sight. Talk about temptation, she thought, coming to a stop at a traffic light and pursing her lips. Each time her gaze had met his she had been tempted to reach across the table and trace her fingers across those delectable lips of his. That would have given her only a little contentment. What would really have satisfied the woman in her was to have plastered her mouth to his and kissed him the way she often thought of doing.
But that wasn’t all. She could vividly recall when he had shown her his bedroom. The moment she had seen the king-size bed with royal-blue satin sheets, an all-consuming need had spread all through her body. And when he had left her side to show how the remote to his window blinds worked, her gaze had devoured him, appreciating how his lean and firm thighs fit his designer trousers and how his broad, muscled shoulders fit the white shirt he wore. And just for a moment, when he had leaned across the bed to brush a piece of lint off the bedspread, she had imagined herself in that bed, tangled in those sheets with him. By the time she had taken a gulp of that ice-cold tea he’d prepared, she had needed it to cool off.
Inwardly she groaned when the traffic light turned green. She had to let go of this obsession since it would lead nowhere. She glanced at her watch again. She and Kylie had their regular lunch date, and today they would plan for Kylie’s baby shower.
She smiled thinking that her friend was having another baby after almost fifteen years. But this time the pregnancy would be totally different. Kylie was not that sixteen-year-old who had found herself facing a teenage pregnancy alone after her parents had turned their backs on her. Now she was a woman married to a wonderful man who loved her and who would make her baby a wonderful father.