Naughty by Nature (19 page)

She almost skipped
to the front door of Wolf’s building and pressed the buzzer.  He’d invited her
back to the office to review the project now that they had additional insight
from their visit to Peterborough.  At least that was what he’d said.  Fine
excuse, but Tessa knew better.  He wanted to see her just as badly as she
wanted to see him.

She’d been glad
for the excuse to leave her parents at the house.  Surprisingly, since their
visit with the Spencers, they’d been a whole lot more loving to each other. 
Maybe the serenity of the Spencers had rubbed off on her crazy family? 
Whatever it was, she was happy for the change.

But at the moment
her parents were the least of her concern.  Right now she had a man to seduce. 

She grinned to
herself. 
Wicked Tessa.  You’re supposed to be here to collaborate on a
project, remember?
  Yeah, tell that to her screaming hormones.

When Wolf came
down to get her, her heart jerked when she saw how sexy he looked.  He was
dressed simply, in jeans and a black turtleneck sweater, but his hair was all
messed up like he’d just run his fingers through it and he had a five o’clock
shadow that made him look dark, handsome and rugged.  She could hardly wait to
get her hands on him.  God help her if she'd read him wrong and he’d really
invited her to work and not to make out.  She didn’t think her system would be
able to take it.

But, she soon
found out, she needn’t have worried.  As soon as they stepped out of the
elevator and into his office he locked the door behind them.  Then he took her
wrist in his strong grip and not saying a word, practically marched her down
the hallway to his private office.  You’d think she was under arrest…not that
she minded.

As soon as they
were inside Wolf slammed the door shut and pressed her back against the door. 
“What took you so long?” he growled.  “I’ve been dying to do this all day.”

“But I’m only ten
minutes late-” Tessa got no further.

Wolf’s mouth
descended on hers, cutting off her air, making her breathless from the force of
his kiss.  His tongue slid between her lips and then he was plundering her
mouth like a man who’d been starving for a week.  As he kissed her he laced his
fingers into hers and raised her hands above her head, pinning them against the
hardness of the door, trapping her between him and the solid mass at her back. 
She could not move.  All she could do was moan as he took his pleasure.

Wolf's kiss
deepened and as he leaned into her Tessa could feel his rock-solid hardness
pressing into her leg.  Oh, how she wanted to reach down and rest her hand over
his throbbing member.  But she could not.  Her hands pinned to the door, her
body immobilized by his, all she could do was writhe against the front of his
jeans.

That seemed to do
the trick.  With a groan, something sounding like frustration, Wolf released
her hands just long enough to slide his arm behind her back and peel her off
the door.  With that one arm he lifted her off her feet and carried her across
the room to his desk where, with a sweep of his free hand, he sent everything
flying.

Wolf laid her on
her back on the broad, bare desktop and then he leaned over and was kissing her
again and she was kissing back, just as ravenous for his lips.  She gasped when
he pressed his thigh into her groin, sending sparks shooting through her body. 
God, she wanted him so much.  If he wanted to take her right there on top of
the desk she’d let him, she was that turned on.

Wolf pulled back,
pushed her leather jacket open and began to unbutton her blouse.  When he
pulled down the top of her bra and his hand covered her right breast, she
arched her back at the sweetness of that sensation.  His palm, so rough against
her nipple, was sending thrills throughout her body and she wanted more.

She groaned when
he lowered his head and covered the nipple with his mouth.  Then he was sucking
on it, stoking the glowing embers between her legs.

“Yes,” she
whispered.  “Oh, yes.”

He groaned and was
shifting his mouth to her other breast when a loud buzz made them both jump.

Wolf
straightened.  Quickly, he pulled her blouse together then went to answer the
intercom.  He pressed the button.  “Yes?”

“FedEx.”

“I’ll be right
down.”  Wolf released the button then looked over at her.  “Don’t go anywhere,”
he said, and Tessa could see that he was still breathing hard.  “I’ll be right
back.”

When he left, pulling
the door shut behind him, Tessa blinked and sat up.  She felt like she’d just
been in a whirlwind.  If they hadn’t been interrupted she was almost certain
that in the next couple of minutes they’d be way past just petting.  Goodness. 
It was like, with Wolf, she’d lost all sense of self-control.

Still, she
couldn’t just sit there waiting for him to come back.  She looked around.  The
place was a mess, with papers and folders scattered all over the floor. 
Although unlikely, what if the FedEx guy came back upstairs with Wolf? 
Quickly, she buttoned her blouse and slid off the desk.  She stooped down and
began gathering the papers strewn on the floor.  She was stacking them on the
desk when one of them, about half of a letter size sheet of paper, caught her
eye.  The paper was thick and smooth and only had two words, ‘Forever lovers’.

Tessa felt her
heart tighten.  This was not good.  She flipped the paper over and on the other
side was the picture of a woman so perfect she looked almost too good to be true. 
Jet-black hair hung over her shoulders and down her back.  Hazel eyes were
fringed with thick, black lashes and her crimson lips curled in a haughty
smile.

But that wasn’t
the most striking thing about the picture.  The thing that had Tessa’s eyes wide,
her chest heaving as the anger rose inside her, was the fact that the woman was
naked.

She was sitting on
a bed, the whole length of her back visible, her lower half hidden in the sheet
and she’d turned to look over her shoulder at the camera.  The most intimate
areas were covered with the sheet she clutched to her chest but still, she was
naked.

Tessa’s eyes
filled with sudden tears.  She blinked then wiped them away with the back of
her hand.  How could Wolf do this to her?  He’d led her on, all the while
knowing he already had a lover.  The jerk.

When Wolf walked
back into his office carrying a FedEx box she was standing in the middle of the
room and his eyes immediately went to the photo in her hand.  A guilty look
flashed across his face.

“Who is this?”
Tessa demanded as she held it up so he had a good look.

Wolf frowned and
his lips tightened then he walked past her and rested the box on the desk.  He
turned and took the photo from her stiff fingers.  “My ex,” he said, then threw
it onto the desk.

“Vanessa?” Tessa’s
eyes narrowed as she watched his face, trying to read the emotions there.

He nodded.

“But why do you
still have her photograph in your office?  You still…love her?”

He shook his head,
his face grim.  “No.  She sent it here.  We hadn’t been in touch for over a
year then out of the blue she sent me that.”

“Just like that? 
With no explanation?” What kind of cock and bull story was he feeding her?  It
made no sense.

“She called,” he
said, his voice flat and his face emotionless.  “She wants me back.”  He folded
his arms across his chest.  “But rest assured, Vanessa and I are over.  I have
no intention of getting back together with her.”

“You’re…sure?”  Her
heart was clenching and unclenching like an angry fist in her chest.  “A woman
told me once…old fire sticks are easy to rekindle.”

“No.”  He shook
his head, almost vehemently, making her wonder if he was trying to convince her
or himself.  “Nothing like that," he said.  "We’re over.”

But Tessa wasn’t
too sure about that.  And all of a sudden she was not at all hot for him anymore.

Wolf took a step
forward and made as if to reach out for her.  Was he crazy?  After what she’d
seen did he think they’d just pick up where they’d left off?

She stepped away
from his outstretched hand.  “I’ll meet you in the conference room,” she said. 
“You said you wanted to discuss the Peterborough trip so that’s what we’ll do.”

And she walked
out, not even bothering to check if he was following her.  From here on her
discussion with him would be strictly business.

There was no way
she’d be intimate with him now.  Not until she was sure of where she stood with
Wolf Spencer.

******

Tessa grunted as
she dropped the bag of groceries on the kitchen table.  She flopped down onto
the chair and rested her chin on the bag, right on top of a head of lettuce. 
It wasn’t that she was tired.  It was just that she had a lot on her mind.

A week had passed
since she’d found the photo of Vanessa and she was still upset.  Wolf had
called at least five times within the past week, trying to explain, but somehow
she could sense that Vanessa would no longer be relegated to the past.  She
looked like a woman who went after what she wanted, and what she wanted was
Wolf.

He had asked her
to have lunch with him, then dinner, but she’d given him every excuse in the
book – she was late for class, she was busy, she had a headache.  Of course,
he’d known she was only avoiding him.  But she’d had to.  How else could she
protect herself from hurt?

But, Tessa had
begun to realize, it was not going to be so easy.  She’d known Wolf almost
three months and she’d become so attached she couldn’t stop thinking about
him.  The irony was, she’d started out not even liking him, not when she’d
thought he was a grouch.  Now she was missing him so much she couldn’t even
think straight.  It looked like the tables had turned and the joke was on her.

With a sigh she
got up and began to pack the groceries into the cupboards.  What better way to
spend the weekend than to be doing mundane tasks, sorting the groceries, cleaning
the house, doing the laundry?  Yeah, right.  Who was she trying to fool?  None
of those would keep Wolf from dominating her thoughts.  She missed him too
much.

Tessa was trying
to shove a large tub of maple nut ice cream into the tiny freezer compartment
when her cell phone began to vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans.  She gave
up the fight with the tub, dumped it on the kitchen table and slammed the
fridge door shut. 

She dug the phone
out of her pocket.  It was Wolf.  Despite herself, her face broke into an
involuntary smile.  “Hello, Wolf,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant.  Instead,
she sounded breathless.

“You’re having dinner
with me tonight.  My house.  Seven o’clock.”  Just like that.  No greeting, no
preamble, just an order.

“Is that so?”
Tessa couldn’t help asking.

“Yes, that’s so.” 
He responded immediately and there was no smile in his voice.  “I’m tired of
this game.  We’re adults and we should start acting like it.  We need to talk.”

He was right, of
course.  She couldn’t keep avoiding him forever.  And besides, it had been a
whole week and she really wanted to see him.  “All right,” she said with a
sigh.  “Dinner at your house.  What should I bring?”

“Just yourself,”
he said.  “See you later.’”  He hung up, not even waiting for her goodbye.

Well, it was
settled.  She’d be seeing Wolf tonight and she was glad.  Maybe she’d overreacted
about this whole Vanessa thing.  If Wolf had moved on then so would she. 

That evening Tessa
dressed casually but elegantly in a white spring dress that flowed all the way
to her ankles.  She put on a colorful sweater over it and she was ready.  The
days were a whole lot warmer now so she doubted that she’d need any more
clothing than that.  And anyway, if all went well, she would have Wolf to keep her
warm.

She was almost at
his house, maybe only five minutes away, when her cell phone rang.

“I’m sorry, Tessa,
but I had to rush out to the office.  There was a little emergency there.  I
thought I’d make it back to the house in time.”

Tessa’s heart sank. 
Was he calling off their date?

“I won’t be at the
house when you get there,” he continued, “but just wait for me.  I’ll be there
in ten minutes.”

“Okay.”  She hung
up the phone, wondering what sort of emergency would have him rushing to the
office on a Saturday night.  She hoped it wasn’t a burglary, or worse, a fire.

Wolf solved the
mystery when he arrived at the house exactly nine minutes later.  He was all
smiles as he approached Tessa as she sat in her car.

She gave a small
sigh of relief.  The emergency could not have been that bad, not if he was
smiling.

Wolf reached down
and opened her car door then held it wide so she could slide out.  “Thanks for
waiting.  The guys were working on an urgent project and I had the keys to the vault. 
Sorry I couldn’t be here when you arrived.”

“The keys to the
vault?”  She smiled up at him.  In sandals, the top of her head just barely
reached his shoulder.  Standing this close, she had to tilt her head back to
look into his eyes.  “What do you have in there?  Gold bars?”