Heart of Steel (24 page)

     “I’m coming up with a few ideas.”

     “No, about our working relationship. About the contract.” Her eyebrows lowered in a slight frown. “There could be complications.”

     With one swift movement he lifted her up and on top of his body, positioning her so her knees straddled his hips. Her hair fell in glorious waves down her back and brush against his skin. Her flesh glowed like burnished gold against the dying embers of the fire. Their figures threw shadows against the wall, mirroring their image.

     “I’m going to take care of everything, Chandler.” His hands cupped her heavy breasts. He watched her emerald eyes glitter with desire. “We’ll work it out. The only complication we need to worry about right now is how I’m going to slake this hunger I have for you day and night.”

     A sensual smile curved her mouth. She tossed her hair with a shake and laughed. It was a low husky growl, a sexy sound that made his gut clench. At that moment, she reminded him of an ancient pagan goddess; a free spirit who let her body guide her in her pleasures, whose eyes mirrored the wildness in her soul. She leaned over him. Her hands ran teasingly down his chest in a light caress.

     “Then we should do something about that complication, shouldn’t we?”

     She lowered her mouth to his, her tongue tracing the outline of his lips, slipping between them in a slow, sensual rhythm that made his breath catch in his throat and a low moan rumble from his chest. His hips were held captive by her legs as she moved her mouth down his body. She nibbled on his neck, her teeth scraped the muscles in his shoulders, and she playfully bit and licked at his masculine nipples that tightened in response to her touch. Her hands explored the carved flatness of his stomach and roamed lower, tickling the hairs on his inner thighs. She moved inward, cupping his shaft that throbbed and grew even harder beneath her fingers. Logan fought for control when she squeezed him lightly, stroking him, whispering hot words of what she wanted to do to him, with him.

     The living room windows shook beneath the driving onslaught of wind, rain and thunder. Trees bent and danced in the storm, casting dark shadows on the wall.

     She continued the teasing, sensual torment, moving her mouth down his body, her breath warm and moist against his skin as he waited in anguish, torn between ordering her to stop and begging her to continue.

     “I want to do everything you’ve done to me,” she whispered against him. “I want to drive you to the ends of pleasure and pull you back again, until the only thing you can think about is how deeply you can get inside of me, over and over again.”

     Logan felt the first touch of her mouth on his core, felt her taste him tentatively, then with more boldness as she drove him to the edge of his control. His hands clenched into tight fists at his side, and a steady stream of both a curses and a prayers escaped his lips. He pulled her back up the length of his body covered her mouth with his.

     This time she was the one to pull away to reach for the wrapped packet, taking the necessary precautions. Then she took him inside of her with one single motion.

     A flash of lightning lit the room. The house shook with a crack of thunder. The shadows on the wall joined together in an ancient steady rhythm, Chandler’s head thrown back in ecstasy, Logan’s hands grasping her hips, holding her in place while the plunging motions melded into one. They arched together as another explosion of thunder ripped through the air, the sound overpowering their passionate cries as they came together for the last time. Then Chandler slumped over Logan, his hands holding her tightly to him, their breathing mingling together as the storm raged outside, and they drifted into sleep, clasped in one another’s arms.

     “Do you think it’s time?”

     She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, unsure. They both stared at the two objects on the table as they tried to decide what to do. “If we don’t do it now you may never have the courage.”

     “Which button should I press first?"

     "Answering machine first. Then Blackberry," she said.

     They both took a deep breath. Logan reached out and tapped the blinking red light. After a series of strange clicking noises, the answering machine rapidly beat out the messages accumulated over the two day period. Logan wrote them out on a notepad while she eased back on the couch, her head settled in his lap.

     The thunderstorm had tapered off during the night and left the morning cool and damp. After a leisurely shower and breakfast, Logan dedicated himself to finding a locksmith willing to work on Sunday. After much cash passed hands and Chandler was safely back in her car, she picked up a change of clothes, then headed back to his house.

     Still wrapped up in each other, they continued to ignore the real world until the sun sunk low on the horizon. With her head resting comfortably against his thighs, she'd just convinced herself to check her own messages when a deep familiar voice boomed over the speaker. Logan’s pen stilled in mid-air. Chandler winced.

     “Logan, I don’t know where the hell you are, but we need to discuss something about Jim Chrisetta. That lovely lady of yours has been causing some trouble around here, and we’d better get to the bottom of it. You know the number. Call me back.”

     The machine clicked.

     When she looked at Logan’s face she decided to ease herself out of his lap, both for convenience and safety purposes. He frowned. Gray eyes held a deep warning. She quickly gathered her courage and reminded herself they were lovers. She had no reason to fear him.

     “Chandler, is there something you forgot to mention this weekend?”

     She swallowed hard and cursed her unruly hormones for making her forget to tell him about her little encounter with Thomas Weatherall. “Well, actually, something did slip my mind.”

     “Do you know who that was?”

     She nodded. He remained silent and put the pad down on the coffee table. She fought the surge of irritation that flooded through her when she realized how fast he reverted back to the cool, logical businessman who had first greeted her. She realized then how much she loved the man who spent the weekend with her.

     “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

     “If you’d stop acting like my sixth grade teacher who discovered I didn’t do my homework, maybe I’d feel more comfortable.”

     One black brow shot up. “This must be pretty bad.”

     She rose from the sofa. Words bubbled out as she paced the room and tried to search for a way to describe the situation. “Of course, you know how upset I was when you told me you were going to fire Jimmy. I was going to leave the entire situation up to you, until Jimmy came to me on Friday and said he was going to be fired.”

     “How would he know that? Tommy and I spoke privately.”

     “He’s a smart man. He knew his screw up was pretty bad, and he could see how Tommy may want to get rid of him before completing the merger. He figured your hands would be tied.”

     “So he came to cry on your shoulder?”

     Chandler stopped pacing to shoot him a warning look. “He needed to talk to someone, and I’m honored he felt he could trust me. He couldn’t discuss the matter with his wife because he was terrified of not being able to provide for his family.”

     “Okay, so you told him to talk to me, and he went on his merry way.”

     She pushed the hair away from her face. “Well, not exactly.”

     “What did you tell him?”

     “I told him he was finally free of his insecurities. I told him he could do what he wanted, explore his options, make a new career for himself. I showed him that working for your company was not what his entire life was about.”

     Logan swore. “Why didn’t you tell him to come see me? You had no right to get involved with this.”

     “I had every right the moment he came to me for help. And he understood what I was talking about. He actually agreed with me!”

     He groaned and rubbed his temple. “Okay, so you encouraged him to quit the business entirely and he agreed. Then what happened?”

     Not liking the way he described her advice, she paced more furiously. “Well, then I realized I’d have to do something to help him get his old job back. I knew he wasn’t suited to the one you promoted him to, so I went down to personnel and asked some questions about his old job.”

     “Theresa gave you this information?” he asked in amazement.

     “Of course. She told me she’s going to start taking classes at the Yoga and Arts Center.” Logan rubbed his temple harder. “I found out there was another position similar to the one he had so I knew we had a shot.” She paused, knowing this was the delicate part of the story. “I decided to talk to Tommy Weatherall.”

     He stiffened. Every part of his body grew tense. His nostrils flared slightly. Chandler rushed on and tried to explain before the explosion.

     “You have to understand I thought this was the best way. You told me you didn’t have a choice in the matter. I figured if I went to talk to the source of the problem, I’d have a shot at explaining the situation and get him to understand.”

     His voice dropped. “Do you realize you could have caused problems in the merger by going behind my back?”

     She stood her ground, glaring at him, hands on hips. “A human being is more important than any business deal. You told me not to get emotional when I tried to explain how I felt about the situation.”

     Logan struggled with his temper. “I assume you tried to convince Tommy not to insist I fire Chrisetta?”

     She nodded. “Yes. I explained the problem and told him about Jimmy’s dedication to his family and the baby on the way. I told him it would be a mistake to let him go.”

     “And he agreed to let him stay?”

     She paused. “Not exactly.”

     Logan let out an impatient breath. “What exactly did he say?”

     “He said he understood my position but he’d have to stay with his original decision.”

     “So, you left.”

     “No." His eyes narrowed. “I told him most of your employees were very loyal and always stuck together. I explained that once they discovered the real reason Jimmy was fired, they could become very difficult to work with when the merger was completed. I told him the error Jimmy made shouldn’t be counted against him, because the Vicomdata manager used Jimmy’s feelings of friendship and loyalty against him. The man tricked him. Once the other employees discover those circumstances, they’ll back Jimmy up.”

     Silence descended. Logan tapped the pen he held against the edge of the coffee table. The rat-a-tat-tat seemed loud and nerve wrangling against the deadly quiet. “You threatened him.”

     “No, of course not! I gave him a picture of what the future could hold if he made the wrong decision.”

     “You threatened the man who could dissolve this merger for the sake of one employee. This merger will actually create new business and new jobs for many more workers. But worse, you jeopardized my standing in my own company by sneaking behind my back, giving Thomas Weatherall the impression I don’t know how to run my business.”

     “No, I didn’t mean—I didn’t want to give him that impression at all. Why can’t you understand?” she cried out. “Dammit, you used a corporate spy! You were totally unethical, and it’s not fair to punish Jimmy because he was acting like a human being!”

     The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. “I don’t involve myself in unethical or illegal activities. I planted Charlie there for certain reasons, and Jimmy was well advised ahead of time. You may not like it, but there are things I need to do for the sake of my company.”

     “Why do you always have to be so damn rational and cold-hearted about every decision you make? Why do you have to be such a, such a—businessman!”

     With one swift movement he rose from the couch and closed the distance between them. Dragging her against his body, he lowered his head and kissed her fiercely, parting her lips with a single thrust, conquering and invading her mouth with all the hot passion he showed her throughout the weekend. Her body melted against his and she responded just as fiercely to the kiss.

     When he pulled away she gasped for breath. Logan’s eyes burned like twin flames of smoke. “Do you think my actions around you are rational and cold-hearted?” He pressed his thumb over her swollen lips. “Do you think when I take you in my arms I’m making the logical decisions you always accuse me of? Lady, from the moment you walked into my office you’ve thrown my life into chaos. Invading my thoughts and dreams was bad enough, but now you’re taking over my business piece by piece.”

     He bent toward her. “I’m angry because you didn’t come to me first. You knew how I felt about the situation but you still couldn’t resist trying to save yet another human being from the big, bad world of corporate America. Dammit, do you really think I’m the type of person to make a decision about firing one of my employees without thinking it through? After the time we’ve spent together, in bed and out, I thought you’d at least trust me.”