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Authors: Rue Allyn

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BOOK: Deal of a Lifetime
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She backed away. Thank heaven! He didn’t know who’d been on the other end of the line. Whatever else he might imagine didn’t matter. “Think what you like. My kisses are no concern of yours.”

He crowded her toward the wall. “I disagree. Your kisses are very much my concern.”

“Your disagreement is irrelevant.” She waved a hand, hitting the wall as she backed into it.

“Let me demonstrate.”

His voice rasped her nerves, and his face consumed her vision. His body’s heat swamped her. The spicy citrus tang of his aftershave and a deeper, more elemental scent teased her. Afraid to look in his eyes, she stared at his mouth. The urge to taste him nearly overwhelmed her, and she bit her lower lip in self-defense. A shallow breath narrowed the too-small space between them. Any closer and her breasts would caress his chest. She felt dizzy, shivery, and hot at the same time.

“Tam.”

She felt his breathy whisper in her toes. Afraid not to look at him, she met his heated gaze.

“Kiss me.”

“No.”
Yes
. Unable to resist she shifted her head the tiniest bit. Her lips brushed across his.

Con followed that small hope, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth. He touched his tongue to her sensitive skin, and she moaned, opening for him. Sweet. So very sweet. Tam, everything he ever wanted, and all he ever needed.

Passion arced between them, her body sinking into his. Her hands clutching his arms, he longed to pull her to him. He couldn’t let her go, but he had to, for now. He had to regain her trust, get rid of the armor of denial that she hid behind, or he’d lose her all over again, and that might kill him.

He lifted his head, looking into her kiss-glazed eyes.

“Con?”

Never had his name sounded so much like wonder and want. He stroked her shining curls. He forced his hands away and stepped back. He knew he wore a dopey grin, but he couldn’t help it. He felt higher than the Tetons. “I’ll meet you downstairs. You might want to fix your lipstick.”

As Con left the room, his ego kicked him.
Idiot! You couldn’t tell her she was beautiful. All you could say was

fix your lipstick.”

I was trying to be considerate
, his conscience argued.

Yeah, right. I never should have left the room. I should have taken Tam to bed and spent the next three days there. Hell, she was willing.

She would never forgive me for trying to manipulate her with sex. Sex is all we’ll have unless we resolve our differences. I want more. I want everything, but sacrificing Tam’s confidence isn’t the way to get it.

He entered the elevator wondering how Tam would fare with Buddswell. Con had known the man for five years. Buddswell’s reputation as a womanizer was richly deserved and as legendary as the snack food king’s short-lived pro-basketball career. Their host deserved watching. Until Con was certain Tam returned his feelings, he didn’t want her going one on one with Buddswell.

Chapter Three

Standing near the bar, Con saw Tam step inside the wide double doors that opened onto the cocktail party. She’d progressed a scant yard, when at least two men offered her drinks. Every man here seemed to be on the hunt and not just for Buddswell’s contracts.

She shook her head, dismissing each man. Her eyes traveled in his direction.
That’s my Tamsin. She knows what she’s looking for and won’t accept substitutes
.

He watched her glance sweep the room, then settle on the area where he stood. If other women were present, he didn’t notice. She squared her shoulders.
She’s found her target. I’d better meet her halfway
. He excused himself to the group he was with and headed in Tam’s direction.

She walked toward him, her gaze fixed over his left shoulder. He supposed she needed to salvage some pride, after the way she responded to his kisses. He could play her game. He’d eat an entire humble pie, if it would get Tamsin back in his arms.

Ten feet and everyone would know she’d come straight to him. He raised his hands to take hers. Tam veered to the left, placing a knot of Buddswell staffers between them.
Where is she going
?

He dusted pretend specks from his suit jacket, then swiveled around the human roadblock to see Tam join the group surrounding Mike Buddswell. Con’s protective hackles rose, and he hurried to join them.

Buddswell held out his hand to Tam. The big man with the red hair looked at her as if she were one of his prize-winning snacks. She took his hand and smiled. She was just the kind of tasty morsel to suit the former basketball star. Even if she was up to the kind of games Buddswell played, Con couldn’t allow the man to take aim, let alone score. Caution be damned—time to steal the ball.

Once she got rid of the two men who approached her, Tam had no trouble finding Buddswell. Even cropped short, his shock of bright red hair wasn’t easily missed, especially since he towered over his nearest companions. He was larger than Con and blatantly athletic. To Tam, Con’s slim strength appealed more. Still, the athlete’s physique and sports background made the snack food king an excellent advertisement for his healthy products.

That background was her way in. She’d done her homework and would use what she knew about basketball to garner Buddswell’s attention. Then, she’d impress him with her knowledge of his present and potential markets.

She wound her way through the crowd, fending off men all the way. As she approached, she heard Buddswell growl.

“Bryant, Bryant, Bryant—he’s a good man and a better basketball player. The way the newspapers and the fans fawn over him, you’d think no one else ever played the game.”

The men around Buddswell nodded as if he’d uttered the Beatitudes.

“I don’t know, Mr. Buddswell,” Tam interjected. “I think Bryant would admit that he couldn’t have made any marks on basketball without greats like Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Bird and Cazzie Russell.”

Buddswell leaned forward, taking a good look at her nametag and her chest. “That’s very perceptive of you, Ms. Donal. Are you acquainted with Kobe?”

“No.”

“I must introduce you to him sometime. Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us, I think Ms. Donal needs a drink.” He grasped her elbow and moved. The group parted before them.

“Do you know more about basketball than a few names, Ms. Donal?” They edged away from Mike’s admiring group.

“I played in high school and college.”

He checked her nametag once again before guiding her toward the bar. She was forced to move with him.

“Donal, Donal? My manager briefed me on a reservation mix up involving someone of that name. Would that be you?”

“I am,” she responded, pleasantly surprised.

“Are you satisfied with the present arrangement?”

Much as Tam wanted to put distance between herself and Con, now was not the time to complain to the man she wanted to impress. “I would be upset if a competitor suffered a disadvantage, simply because I can’t give up a room I can afford not to use. Why do you ask?”

“As owner I want to ensure the comfort of every guest, also because your suitemate’s heading this way and looking like thunder.”

“Oh dear.” Annoyance tightened the skin around her eyes, while a flutter took up residence in her belly.

“Please tell me if there’s a problem,” Mike urged.

“Only in Connor’s mind.”

“Does he know that?” Buddswell fixed his gaze on her mouth.

“Mr. Buddswell, I have no interest beyond the professional in any man at this conference.”

The tall man sighed. “Very tactful of you and very wise.”

Con arrived at that moment, saving Tam from the necessity of a reply.

“Mike, I see you’ve met my close friend, Tamsin Donal.”

“Business acquaintance,” corrected Tam.

Con glowered.

Smiling, Buddswell pushed on. “We just finished talking about the art of the slam dunk and were about to get down to bargaining positions.”

Tam was taken aback. Mike made it sound as if they’d been talking about sex.

“S’that so, Tam?” Barely leashed fury roughened Con’s voice.

“Well, I, uh…” she stammered. “I certainly intend to discuss TLC Distribution’s contract offers with Mr. Buddswell.”

“I intend to give your company’s offer every consideration. Assuming the plan lays out better than other offers, I see no reason why you and I—I mean our companies—couldn’t climb into bed together.”

If Tam hadn’t caught the twinkle in Buddswell’s eye, she would have been mortified at his bald innuendos. The man was teasing. She smiled at him and looked at Con.

Con wasn’t smiling. Tension ticked in his jaw.

What was wrong with him? He’d known Buddswell for years. Surely Con recognized the man’s style of humor.

She took Buddswell’s arm and once again moved toward the bar. “You offered me a drink earlier. I’ll accept, if you’ll listen to a suggestion I have about the bids for your southwest US distribution contracts.”

The red-haired man inclined his head. “That’s a small price to pay, if I can have your charming company a bit longer.” Mike might be teasing, but Con was dead serious. He grasped Tam’s other elbow. “You’ll have to share, Buddswell. Since O’Neal Corp. is bidding for exclusive rights. I have a vested interest in any deal concerning Buddswell’s and all competitors, especially my close friend here.”

His voice slipped past her ear, and he watched her shiver. How could she calmly flirt that way? No, she wasn’t his wife—yet—but she knew the score. He supposed she was trying to put him in his place. She’d find out his place was right beside her.

Tam stopped, forcing both men to release her. “Business acquaintance.”

The term emerged from Tam’s lips in unison with Buddswell. She exchanged a look with the taller man and burst into shared laughter.

Con didn’t laugh. He clenched his fists at his side and broadened his stance. He wanted to break Buddswell’s jaw. Con cast one quick glance at Tam. Her amazed stare acted like a full blast from a fire hose. He sobered and relaxed. What happened to the caution he resolved to use with her? Regaining her love required more finesse.

Buddswell laughed louder. He lassoed Tam with one arm, slapped the other around Con’s shoulders and moved them all forward. “C’mon you two. If we’re going to talk business, I’d rather do it with a glass of whiskey in my hand.”

****

Tam waited as Con slid the key card into the slot, opening the door to their suite.

“I don’t know how you persuaded Buddswell to agree to a private appointment tomorrow before the contract bidding starts,” Con remarked.

She preceded him into the sitting room, dropping her purse atop the credenza. “He wanted to buy me a drink. The appointment was the price of my time. You were present. You heard what I told him.” She raised her hands to take the pins from her hair and felt Con’s lean fingers there. His touch was light, whispering over her head and against her nape. Tiny shivers tightened her nipples and swirled in her abdomen. Her hair tumbled free. Con’s hands remained on her nape. Heat seeped into her skin, loosening knots of tension. Her knees wobbled.

“I’m willing to bet Mike has a different kind of negotiating in mind than you. I’d better come with you.”

If she hadn’t been so entangled in the sensations his fingers created, she might have quashed that idea. “You don’t have much confidence in my ability to control negotiations with Mike. I think I’ve already proven I can handle him. He didn’t get that drink for nothing, and at the same time, I showed him that I wouldn’t just drop into his lap like some dewy-eyed basketball groupie.”

Con’s fingertips waltzed slow circles up her neck to just behind her ears and down again.

Rolling waves of warmth joined the tiny shivers sending shocks from toe to scalp and back. “Maybe you did, and maybe Buddswell just likes a challenge. I know for a fact he’s a trophy fanatic, whether the trophy is a world championship, a wild animal, or a desirable woman.”

Desirable? Did Con really see her that way, or was she still just an object he’d decided he wanted? Her head fell forward. She found it hard to concentrate. “Possibly, but if he sees me as a challenge, that means I’ve got his attention. My job is to focus that attention on business, not pleasure.”

“You mean pleasure like this?” Con’s low question vibrated through her entire body. He moved; his heat warmed her back from nape to toe. His lips pressed soft and firm below her earlobe. His hands stroked to her hips, resting there and rocking her bottom into his pelvis.

“Mmm.”

He set up a slow rhythm, then released her hips. Momentum or longing kept her moving, she wasn’t certain which. Right now, she didn’t care as long as he kept touching her. His marvelous hands circled her shoulder blades. He pushed gently on one shoulder and pulled on the other. Tam turned. The credenza pressed into her back. She broadened her stance. For balance, only for balance.

Con stepped closer. He blocked the light, filling her world.

“Tam.” His lips brushed her name across her mouth in a yearning, wanting echo of her own desire. His fingertips whispered over her cheek and temple into the hair at her crown. “I smell peaches and think of you. Seeing Buddswell close enough to do this, drove me mad.”

“He…” Tam tried to explain.

Con stroked a hand up her bare arm.

Her breath caught. “…was teasing you.”

“No,” Con insisted.

“No?”

“Buddswell’s a master at seduction. I’ve seen him operate. You’re the one he was teasing.”

The uncomfortable image of the huge, redheaded man in Con’s place filled Tam’s mind. She jerked her head up. “OW!”

She put one hand to the spot where her skull impacted Con’s chin and pushed him away with the other.

“You’ve got an awfully hard skull.” He rubbed at his lower jaw.

Anger throbbed in time with the pain that attacked her skull. How could he undervalue her so much and still want her? “You’ve got a head full of rocks if you think I’m in any danger from Buddswell.”

BOOK: Deal of a Lifetime
2.4Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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