Forged of Steele Bundle (53 page)

Instead of saying anything when he reached her, he took hold of her hand and gently pulled her closer to him. Then he leaned down and gently touched his lips to hers. He pulled back, cupped her jaw and intently studied her lips. She defi
nitely looked like a woman who’d been well kissed all afternoon.

“What are you going to tell Odessa if she asks what happened to your lips?”

Lena’s shoulders shrugged, but he saw the mocking challenge in her gaze and immediately sensed some sort of withdrawal taking place. It was a withdrawal he refused to have.

“I don’t know. Got any suggestions?”

He returned that look by cocking a challenging eyebrow. “You can always tell her the truth, Lena. That we got carried away today and—”

“I don’t think so.”

He smiled. “I figured as much. I guess you can claim you got swollen lips from sipping too long on a soda bottle.”

She lifted her own brow. “Can that happen?”

He chuckled. “It happened to Donovan once, or so he claims.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, if she asks I guess that’s one excuse I could try.” She then glanced at her watch. “I need to go, Morgan.”

“Okay, and we need to talk. Will Odessa be at the day care again tomorrow?”

“No, she’ll be at home all day watching her soaps.”

He nodded. “Will you have dinner with me tomorrow? We can make it early. You and I need to talk.”

She inhaled deeply. Yes, they did. “Okay, what time?”

“How about four? Is that time good for you?”

“Yes, that time is fine.” She turned to leave and remembered he was still holding her hand.

“Hey, not so fast,” he said, looking into her eyes. Then slowly he lowered his head and kissed her, gently and deeply.

Before releasing her he whispered into her ear, “And get on your computer tonight. Around ten. I want to talk to your twin.”

Sensations rushed through Lena’s body as she remembered their last conversation and how they had come close to playing out that fantasy in his kitchen. But still, she wasn’t certain exchanging sexual banter in cyberspace again was a good idea. “I might be busy.”

“If you’re not, then pop into my space.”

She nodded and quickly turned and left.

O
dessa had been so chatty about how her day and evening had gone that if she’d noticed anything odd about Lena’s lips she hadn’t said anything. Despite her initial concern, by the time she had gotten home, taken a shower and eaten a salad for dinner, Lena was too keyed up to worry about how her mouth looked. Her main concern was her future.

Morgan had left her with the impression that the business deal between them was still in place, but she needed to know for certain, which is why she had readily accepted his invitation to dinner.

After getting her mother settled for the night she had slipped into a nightgown and gone into her room to read some real estate literature she’d received in the mail. She tried ignoring her laptop that was sitting on the desk in her room. And she tried not to notice the time. It was after nine. Close to nine-thirty.

Moments later she glanced at the clock again. It was ten. She sighed and glanced over at her laptop. Should she or shouldn’t she? Hadn’t she gotten into enough trouble with Morgan today? Okay, she would admit that after the type of afternoon she’d had it would only be natural to want to spend time talking to him again. But why not by phone instead of cyberspace?

She quickly knew the answer to that one. She and Morgan had crossed the lines of professionalism on their laptops in a way that they could never retract. And although she had claimed it was her twin being naughty and not her, her behavior this afternoon had proven differently. And on top of that, there was something relaxing and comforting, as well as daring, in having a private, intimate and provocative conversation with someone you knew, yet didn’t really know at the same time.

Deciding to stop fighting the impulse, she tossed the magazine aside and got out of bed and
reached for her laptop. Taking a deep breath she quickly logged on. It was almost ten minutes after the hour. Had he checked to see if she’d logged on and when he found out she hadn’t had already logged off? She inhaled deeply again, knowing there was only one way to find out.

She signed on with her Internet server and sighed in relief when his name was still there. Leaning back against the headboard she settled into a comfortable position and waited. She didn’t have long for action when Morgan clicked on, invading her space.

Lena?

She clicked a response.
Yes, I’m here.

Thanks for dropping by.

And then their fun time began.

Morgan asked the first question.
What’s your favorite sport?

Lena chuckled. That would be a quick response and she typed it in.
I really don’t have one.

Umm, have you ever played Sex by Design?

She lifted a brow and her fingers went to work.
No. How is it played?

Easy. All you need is one woman and one man.

She shook her head, grinning as she clicked a response.
Good. I don’t go for that kinky stuff.

Neither do I.

Good to know. So, how do you play it?

You think of a word, the first one that comes to your mind, and the other person has to come up with some sort of sexual story about it.

Lena frowned.
That’s a lot of typing.

Abbreviations are accepted.

Okay.

I’ll let you go first and you give me a word.

She paused a moment to think hard. She glanced around the room and smiled when she saw something on her dresser and decided not to make things easy for him.
Cotton balls.

Cotton balls?

Yes.

There was a long pause and then he began typing.
Picture this. You and me together, naked in bed. Like we were this afternoon.

Heat shivered through her bloodstream.
Okay I got the picture.

And I take a bunch of those little cotton balls and strategically place them to cover your front. You know, that particular area between your legs. They will fit you like a perfect triangle. Then I use my mouth to remove them, one by one. The object is not to let one fall. Each time I remove one I get to lick the area where it had been.

Lena swallowed. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, tight, and her nipples felt hard against her nightgown. She couldn’t help but type and ask.
What happens when they’re all gone?

Then I get to taste the entire area; nibble and lick as much as I want. Then I get to use my mouth and place them back and start the game all over again. So what do you think?

When visions of him doing that engulfed her mind, what Lena really thought was that they had to be nuts to be having this sort of conversation, especially when the most prolific and exquisite sensations flowed through her body.
I think we’ve said enough for tonight.

Chicken. Where’s your twin?

Some place safe. Good night, Morgan.

Good night, Lena.

Morgan was standing at the window the next day thinking about his and Lena’s cyberspace chat of the night before when his secretary’s voice on the intercom intruded into this thoughts.

“Yes, Linda, what is it?”

“Edward Dunlap is here to see you.”

Morgan raised a brow before saying, “Please send him in.”

A few minutes later Edward walked in. He was in his late fifties, the same age as Morgan’s father. In fact, his father and the man had been business associates for years before Edward had chosen a life of politics. He had been elected as Charlotte’s first African American councilman and remained in that office for years. From there he had become a state representative and was now eying a position in Congress. In recent years he had appointed himself as Morgan’s mentor, determined to see him enter the political arena.

“Edward, this is a surprise,” Morgan said, crossing the room to shake the older man’s hand.

“Yes, and I hate to come unannounced but this meeting is important. Word has it that Roger Chadwick will be holding a press conference in a few hours to announce his candidacy. So you know what this means?”

Morgan leaned back against his desk. Yes, he knew what that meant. If he was going to announce his own intentions to run for that same seat, now was the time to finally make up his mind. “Yes, I know what it means, Edward, but there is someone I need to discuss this with.”

Edward nodded. “And that brings me to another
reason I’m here. There’s a rumor floating around about you.”

Morgan lifted a brow. “What rumor?”

“That you’re thinking of getting married.”

Morgan couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips. “That’s no rumor. I am getting married.”

“I think we need to discuss that, Morgan.”

“Discuss what?”

“Your choice of a wife.”

Morgan cast him a glance that nearly bordered on anger. “Excuse me?”

“I said your choice of a wife. I understand you’re thinking about marrying Lena Spears, which comes as a surprise because I wasn’t aware you were serious about anyone.”

Morgan frowned, wondering if the man assumed he had to know everything about his business, personal or otherwise. “Yes, I’ve asked Lena to marry me.”

“I’m sure you know family name, style and connections are everything.”

“To some people.”

Edward shook his head. “Don’t kid yourself. You’re a Steele about to run for office. You don’t need to consider marrying any woman who won’t be an asset to your career. Lena Spears is
a nice woman, but she won’t do as a wife for you. Now, take Senator Hollis’s daughter. I understand she’s—”

“No, you take Senator Hollis’s daughter,” Morgan said, after having heard enough. “For God’s sake, Edward, this is the twenty-first century. Lena won’t be the one running for office, I will. And who I decide to marry is really no one’s business.”

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s not, Morgan. I met with a few people earlier today and the rumor of your possible engagement came up. They asked that I come and meet with you to discuss it.”

Morgan straightened his stance, getting angrier by the minute. “In that case, tell them you have met with me and discussed it. And that my response is that in my opinion Lena Spears has more style and beauty in her little finger than most women have in their entire body. I’m marrying her and if the masses don’t like it, then I’ll run without their support.”

“You won’t win.”

Morgan chuckled. “I might not get their vote, but if they feel the way they do about the woman I intend to marry, then I don’t want their vote. They only represent a small population of Charlotte’s society. I refuse to believe that the majority of the
people in this town is that narrowed-minded and shallow. Good day, Edward.”

Edward stared at him and shook his head for a moment before turning and walking out the door.

“For Pete’s sake, calm down, Morgan.”

Chance, Bas and Donovan watched as an angry Morgan paced back and forth around his office. As soon as Edward had left, Morgan had summoned his brothers. After he’d told them about Edward’s visit and what had been said, they had gotten just as angry as Morgan. But not quite.

“I can’t believe Dunlap actually said that to you,” Donovan said, shaking his head as he sat in one of the chairs in the room. “I can see him saying that to me since he never liked me anyway.”

Bas rolled his eyes. “Might be from that time he caught you
almost
making out with his youngest daughter in a parked car right in front of his house.”

“Hey, she asked for it,” Donovan said in defense. “What was I supposed to do?”

Chance shook his head. “Turning her down might have been the decent thing to do,” he said sarcastically. “But let’s get back to the issue of Morgan and Lena.”

Morgan stopped his pacing and met Chance’s gaze. “There’s no issue. Who the hell do they think they are, deciding what woman is appropriate for me?” he asked angrily. “It’s nobody’s business who I marry.”

“Damn right it’s not, now let’s go kick some asses,” was Bas’s quick reply.

Now it was Chance who rolled his eyes. Everyone in Charlotte knew that of all the Steeles, Bas had always been the hothead, the one ready to not only start trouble but put an end to it as well. He’d always been known as the not-so-sterling Steele, a reputation he’d garnered proudly until he turned twenty-one, dropped out of college and had to face the real world…and a man by the name of Jim Mason—Jocelyn’s father.

“Just think how that sounds, Bas. Fighting never solves anything. What we need to do is to put our heads together. Whether you want to admit it or not, Morgan, you’re going to need Edward and his group’s support.”

“Then I don’t want it, and in that case I won’t run.”

Chance shook his head. “Think hard on that before making a decision. Have you discussed any of this with Lena?”

“No.”

“Don’t you think you should? Especially if the two of you are getting married, which is a mystery within itself. Two weeks ago she wasn’t giving you the time of day,” Chance said, eying his brother curiously. “What happened?”

Morgan stared at his brothers, and since he wanted to make sure they understood the depth of his feelings for Lena he said, “Love happened. I fell for her that night of the charity ball. I just thought I wanted her. But it’s more. I love her.”

Chance and Bas slowly nodded, indicating they understood. They had been there, done that and were still doing it. However, it was Donovan who was looking at him with what amounted to pity in his eyes.

“Okay, then,” Chance said, smiling, as if satisfied with what he’d been told. “I suggest you talk things over with Lena. I probably won’t go so far as to tell her about Edward’s visit, but I think she at least deserves to know you’re thinking about running for a political office.”

Morgan nodded, knowing Chance was right. He and Lena had a dinner date later that day. He would tell her of his decision then.

Lena glanced around. She was lucky that although she’d arrived at the restaurant early, there had been a table reserved for her.

McIntosh Steak House and Seafood was a popular restaurant in town. Simple and elegant it catered to businesspeople with money, the power brokers of Charlotte. The interior spoke of old money with its plush carpeting, the rich-looking furnishing and the expensive art collections of oil paintings on the walls. Service was always magnificent, the food always tasty. Sometimes people traveled for miles just to dine here.

The waiter had already brought her one glass of wine and had come to see if she wanted another when she glanced up and saw Cassandra Tisdale and a couple of women she recognized as being in the woman’s inner circle, including her cousin Jamie. She immediately got cold chills.

She hoped they would pass by the table and not see her as they were leaving the restaurant, but it seemed that was one layer of hope that wouldn’t be granted.

“Well, if it isn’t the woman who thinks she’s going to be the future Mrs. Morgan Steele.”

Lena glanced up, smiling. She refused to let Cassandra’s snide comment rattle her. “Hi, Cassandra, Debra, Karen and Jamie. I see the four of you are leaving.”

“Yes, we are,” Debra Kendall said, almost apologetically. And not for the umpteenth time Lena had to inwardly question why someone as nice as Debra would hang around with someone like Cassandra. Maybe she believed that sooner or later her kindness would rub off on Cassandra.

“So, what do you think of Morgan running for office?” Karen Smith asked, after looking at Cassandra and getting her cue.

“Excuse me?” Lena asked.

Cassandra smiled. “Oh, didn’t you know? Now that Chadwick has announced he’s running for office, speculation is high that Morgan will, too. He’s very well thought of in this town.”