MrTemptation (12 page)

She looked at him. “I wish this morning was over.”

His expression darkened. Whatever troubled him, he wasn’t
sharing.

The car finally pulled up to a bagel shop teeming with
people. A line of hungry New Yorkers continued out the door.

“Mother used to take me here when I was little,” Cadence
said, recognizing the place immediately. Even the green-and-white-striped
awning was the same. Nostalgia added to her discomfort as they climbed out of
the Escalade. She’d avoided these places where she and her mother had gone and
she’d never visited Ground Zero.

Except she’d booked a room at the Michelangelo. It’d been
the place she’d thought of first when she needed the comfort of something
familiar.

“Mine too,” Preston was saying. “I used to come here before
school started each day.”

Cadence could picture him grabbing breakfast on the run.
“Too bad we never crossed paths.”

“We did.” He guided her to the end of the line with a hand
warming her lower back.

She couldn’t help but notice how the other females and a few
of the males in the crowd watched them. She prickled with resentment and then
let the emotion free. He attracted the ladies. She should leave it at that.

“We did? Tell me,” she urged, claiming him with a hand
around his arm.

“It was awhile ago. You were alone. I was alone. You ordered
an ‘everything bagel’ with butter, lettuce and tomato. I was behind you in line
and you dropped your credit card. I picked it up for you.” He gave her an easy
smile. The memory was a good one. “I recognized you instantly.”

Cadence couldn’t remember the chance meeting at the bagel
shop. How could she have missed him? How remarkable he remembered what she’d
ordered.

With clarity, she understood she’d wounded him all those
years ago when she’d ignored him.

She’d always been so cautious, picking her friends with
care, not really trusting they wanted to be her friend, except for their own
gain or bragging rights. She’d missed out on knowing many different kinds of
people.

He motioned for her to walk ahead of him but Cadence stayed
where she was.

“Preston,” she started but stopped.

How those green eyes took her breath away. She needed a
second to recover. Had he noticed? She hoped he had.

“I feel like we need to get something out in the open.”
There was a time when she wouldn’t have been so bold in a public place. Right
now she didn’t care who was listening.

He narrowed his eyes, sizing her up. She imagined he was a
very good attorney, giving his clients one hundred percent. He was giving her
his full attention now and she hoped she was more than a client to him.

“I’m sorry. I never intended to ignore you. My teen years
were controlled so carefully by my father, especially when he was mayor.”

His expression thawed slightly. “You lived in a fishbowl.
You had to be careful.”

“I walked around with blinders on.”

“Yeah, you did.”

She squeezed his arm, felt his strength. “I’d like to be
friends.”

He leaned closer. His aftershave smelled wonderful. “Me
too.”

“Maybe more than friends?” She cocked an eyebrow.

“Let’s just take it one day at a time.”

“Okay. One day at a time.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her
tight. She released his arm and wound her hand around his waist. He tensed and
she knew this time it was a good thing.

Standing here with him, she felt warm and fuzzy inside. The
anger that’d dogged her since Victoria dropped the bomb after her grad party
evaporated into ancient history.

As the line inched forward, they stayed joined at the hip. A
couple? Maybe. She knew for certain he cared about her. He’d remembered what
kind of bagel she’d ordered, for heaven’s sake.

Cadence spotted a group of Columbia students leaving a table
and she made a beeline to claim it. Luckily the table was located in the back
of the café. They would be able to talk in private.

Preston joined her, carrying a bag and two coffees. He sat
down, his long legs cramped in the small space. She looked around. There wasn’t
another table empty.

“Are you comfortable?” she asked.

“I’ll manage,” he replied, just as James Bond would have.

She opened the bag and smelled the freshly baked aroma of
the bagels. All seemed right with the world. She took one out and handed it
over to Preston with a napkin. She helped herself to the second one.

She wanted to tell him that she hoped a trip to her room was
on the menu today but didn’t. The moment was perfect just as it was.

She slowly sipped her coffee and eyed Preston as he gave her
a smoldering gaze from above the rim of his cup.

Maybe she should’ve risked a little hint in that direction.
He certainly looked willing.

“After we eat, we’ll head over to my mother’s condo on the
East Side and pick her up. From there we’ll go to Sparkle Industries. Now that
you’re in charge, you should know the lay of the land.”

“That’s only temporary, you understand? I know my limits. I
can’t run a company. Besides, I have a career waiting for me in art history.”

“That’s your call,” he said. He took a bite of his bagel.

Having voiced her objections, Cadence sat back. She was
grateful he hadn’t tried to convince her to keep the company. Running Sparkle
Industries was the furthest thing from her plans for the future.

She hadn’t been to her grandfather’s company in years, not
since her mother’s death. She’d assumed the business had been sold, the assets
going to her father. How extraordinary that her mother had managed to fool
everyone.

“Mom will fill you in,” Preston said in his reassuring
manner. “Once we’re finished showing you around, you can sign the appropriate
paperwork. I will point you in the direction of some excellent colleagues of
mine who will be more than willing to assist you with the sale of your sizable
estate if you want the help. After that, you are free to return to New Haven.”

Anticipation whooshed out of her. He was dismissing her. Had
she expected too much?

“But I hope you’ll spend some time with me first.”

Her emotions soared. “I would love to spend some time with
you.”

He looked intently at her, a slow smile curving his
delicious lips. “Good. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Your wait is over.”

He stood and pulled her to her feet. Her blood boiled with
anticipation, verging on a fever. Her legs felt heavy, her belly light. Her
skin tingled. He grasped her hand and drew her closer. Their thighs, chests and
everything between pressed together. Her pulse quickened. She swallowed hard as
warning lights began to flash. What did he intend to do? In a bagel shop?

But she didn’t have time to think about whether his moves
were a good idea.

He swooped down and captured her lips with his.

Chapter Seven

Cadence couldn’t breathe. She was suffocating. She didn’t
care. She would die happy.

The kiss was searing and lust driven. His mouth consumed
hers with a needy hunger. She returned his urgent kiss with a burning hunger of
her own, their lips slick and wet as their tongues tasted and swirled.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and oblivious to the
crowd, she reached her arms up to cradle the back of his head, running her
fingers through his short locks. His lips covered hers over and over. His
tongue explored the recesses of her mouth and she responded, tantalizing him
with some tongue action of her own. He tasted of coffee and minty mouthwash.

Shivers of desire ran up and down her entire body, settling
into the burning pit in her middle. Her breasts grew heavy, nipples tingled and
ached for his mouth, for his fingers. Her pussy grew slick, wetting her panties
in a flood of need.

She no longer cared for where they were but wanted him to
finish what he’d started. Wanted him to thrust deep inside her again and again.
Wanted to hear the slap of their bodies as they moved with fevered thrusts of
hips against hips. She reached on tiptoe to stay level with him, pressing her
body against his, and he pulled her tighter.

His cock pressed against the small of her belly, hard and
wanting. The intimate touch, the knowing of his desire and need for her only
made her pussy wetter. She pressed her hips closer to his to feel more of his
hard body against her. She reveled in every inch, couldn’t get enough of him as
their mouths explored and sucked.

Preston had planned to kiss Cadence but nothing prolonged,
just a sweet kiss. A promise for the future. But the moment his lips touched
hers, something more urgent entered his mind. The need to explore her, to take
her to bed and touch every part of her body, to fill her, couldn’t be denied.

He’d touched her last night, made her come but his fingers
had only stroked over fabric. He wanted to feel the slick warmth of her pussy,
stroke his fingers over the small nub of flesh that was her clit. He wanted to
lick her, taste her, drink in her essence.

He had waited so long for this. His cock, locked and loaded,
would explode at any minute. Her hands gripped his hair and she tugged closer.
To his surprise, she responded to him with a need that rivaled his own.

Her soft curves pressed into him provocatively and it was
all he could do to keep his hands only on her waist. He wanted to run them down
her back and grip her ass. He wanted to rip open her shirt and feel the weight
of her breasts, taste the nipples he could feel pebbled against his chest.

There was work to be done. Appointments to keep. Papers to
be signed.

Fuck business, I want her.

Cadence heard a strange noise in the background but she gave
it no importance.

Her reverie was quickly broken when Preston straightened.

Confused at his abruptness, head spinning, she could hear
the entire bagel shop applauding.

Her face heated to the boiling point. She had never kissed a
man with such passion before. It was as if he were born to kiss her, born to
make her body come alive. She had been waiting her whole life to meet a man who
could kiss her like this.

She could have wiped the table clean of everything on it and
continued their lustful tryst right there and then. That would’ve given their
audience something to clap about.

Preston leaned in to whisper in her ear, “You look
thoroughly kissed, kiddo.”

A small smile lifted her lips. It would do no good to hide
her emotions from him. He saw right through her as no one else had.

“Let’s get out of here.” He wiped his lips off with the
paper napkin.

“Seriously.” She popped the last bite of her bagel in her
mouth.

His fingers were warm and strong as he grasped hers and they
headed for the door.

She was still amazed, still in shock at what they had done.
PDAs had been strictly forbidden when her father was in office. Her picture
would’ve been on the front page of every paper in town if she’d kissed a man in
public.

Her swollen lips would never be the same. Preston brought
out a side of her that she’d kept hidden. She was excited but at the same time
apprehensive about other things he would entice her to do. Or maybe she would
entice him to do.

She smiled, and not for show.

Preston helped her slip into the waiting SUV. Too bad they
couldn’t share the same seat. How fun would it be to sit on his lap? She wanted
to hug him with her thighs and give him a ride he’d never forget.

It would take supreme effort to behave like a lady.

Preston grabbed her hand. He raised it softly to his lips as
he tenderly kissed each finger. This time she didn’t shy away when Frank asked
where they wanted to go next.

“My mother’s condo,” Preston said as he continued kissing
her. Each kiss was filled with tenderness, emotion, desire.

“Yes, sir,” Frank replied, and he turned out into the
traffic.

As they gazed into each other’s eyes, she was reminded of a
scene straight out of the movies, the happily ever after scene. The limo slowed
down. Preston leaned toward her, she grew hot with anticipation. His breath was
warm on her face and he was so close that if she just leaned toward him a
millimeter more, their lips would touch.

“You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” he said.

“I’m beginning to get that message,” she replied.

His finger trailed up her arm. Goose bumps followed his
path. Each stroke became more desired than the last and she shuddered in
anticipation of what he might do next. When his hand finally reached her face,
he stroked a line from the tip of her ear to the bottom of her chin. She closed
her eyes and waited for the luscious, silky feeling of his full, warm lips on
hers. The moment never came.

Frank stopped the SUV. He took out his cell phone and spoke
briefly. “Your mother will be right down,” he told them.

“Okay,” Preston said. They immediately pushed apart so they
were in their own seats.

Cadence fussed her hair, making sure it was straight. She
checked her clothes. She knew he hadn’t even been close to causing any
disturbance to her hair or clothes but she didn’t want to look like a
disheveled hussy either.

Preston buttoned his coat. She wasn’t the only one trying to
hide something.

Her hands stilled in her lap as an elegantly dressed older
woman came out of the building. She was stunning to look at, a woman who had
truly stayed beautiful as she aged. Her thick blonde hair was cut at a perfect
angle to frame her oval face. Her beige suit was beautifully tailored. She wore
a multicolored silk scarf around her neck.

Preston exited the car and opened the door for his mother.
She kissed him on the cheek. Cadence felt a pang of envy. Preston and his
mother were obviously close. She wished her own mother could be here.