His One Desire (3 page)

Of course he had no desire to commit himself to a TV show,
but he wouldn’t need to. All he had to do was show up in New York, wreak a
little well-deserved havoc in Kali’s life, and leave—spell broken and closure
achieved.

It was the perfect plan.

Or at least, it was the perfect plan until she’d barreled
into him in the hallway, and he’d grabbed her arms to keep her from falling.

The first thing he noticed was that she smelled exactly the
same—like clean laundry that’s been hung out in the sun to dry, so that all you
wanted to do was bury your face in it and breathe. It was that scent that made
him hang onto her, out of sheer instinct, even after she started to pull away.

After that, he noticed other things. Her silky brown hair
was cut short, and even though he felt a brief pang of loss for the long
tresses he’d once adored, he had to acknowledge that the new look suited her.
With her big eyes and dark brows, she looked like Audrey Hepburn in Roman
Holiday.

She was wearing glasses now, which gave her already serious
face an almost severe look. He was willing to bet she wore them for that
reason, convinced that it would make people take her more seriously…or keep
them at a distance.

She still dressed conservatively—boring as shit, in other
words—and wore hardly any makeup.

But those were just details. His first sight of her hit him
like a punch in the gut, with the same impact he’d felt so many years ago. And
in that moment, he knew that Joe had been right. He had to shake loose of
whatever hold she still had on him.

She obviously resented his presence here with every fiber of
her being. It gave him some satisfaction to know he could still affect her,
even if it was only negative. It was also obvious that no one she worked with
knew that they’d gone to high school together, which made him wonder what else
she was keeping to herself.

“They don’t know who you are, do they?” he asked softly as
they stood in front of the elevators.

Her head whipped around. “I don’t know what you mean,” she
said tightly, just as the elevator doors slid open.

There wasn’t anyone else in here, which meant they’d have a
few moments alone—especially if he stopped the elevator between floors, which
he did.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She stretched out a hand for the control panel, but he
grabbed her wrist before she reached it.

It was the first time he’d touched her bare skin. For a
split second, both of them froze. Sensation radiated through his body from that
single point of contact, and he had to fight the sudden urge to pull her
closer.

Then she jerked away and went for the panel on the other
side of the doors.

“Just give me one minute, Kali.”

Her hand stopped just before she touched the panel. After a
moment she let it drop, but she kept her back to him.

He had a perfect view of the nape of her neck, which was
almost unbearably tempting.

“Why are you here, Luke?” she asked, her voice wary. “What
do you want from me?”

“Maybe I just want to see you again.”

Her shoulders stiffened. “If that’s really all you wanted,
you could have Skyped me or something.”

“If I had Skyped you, would you have answered?”

A short silence. “That’s not the point. The point is—”

“Would you mind turning around? I’m having a hard time
connecting with the back of your neck.”

Actually, he had no problem at all with the back of her
neck. He’d like to devote hours to the back of her neck. But he was feeling
oddly desperate to look into her eyes again.

She gave a heavy sigh as she turned, folding her arms and
glaring at him.

Her short hair framed her face perfectly, highlighting her high,
wide cheekbones and full mouth. Even with her jaw tense and her brows drawn
together in a frown, she was still the loveliest woman he’d ever seen.

“What you’re doing is
unconscionable
.”

He leaned against the wall of the elevator and grinned at
her. “Yeah? And what is it you think I’m doing?”

“You know perfectly well. Pretending to be interested in
Ghosts
.
Getting Tom excited for nothing. He thinks you’re going to save his job, did
you know that? The network’s ready to let him go, and then you come along like
some
deus ex
machina
, the wonderful miracle that’s going to
save his job and my show.”

He zeroed in on her last comment. “Is your show in trouble,
then?”

She pressed her lips together, and he could tell she hadn’t
meant to let that slip.

He’d let that one go for now. “I’m sorry about Tom,” he said
instead. “I hope he doesn’t lose his job.”

“Like you care,” she snapped.

He raised an eyebrow. “How do you know I don’t?”

“Because you and I both know why you’re really here.”

“And why’s that?”

“To get back at me.”

It took an effort to keep from smiling in satisfaction.
“Yeah? Get back at you for what?”

Too late, she realized her mistake. Now she’d have to talk
about what she’d done. Out loud. To him.

She did her best to sidestep. “You know what I’m talking
about. For…for how things ended between us in high school.”

No way was he letting her off the hook that easily.

“Refresh my memory, Caroline. How did things end between
us?”

Her jaw tightened. “I go by Kali now.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I know. The Hindu goddess of destruction.
Very appropriate.”

She glared at him. “She also represents creativity and
female power.”

“And female sexuality,” he added.

She blushed so intensely that he could actually see the
color rise in her cheeks. He stared, fascinated. All these years after high
school, could she still be that shy about sex?

Her eyes slid away from his, and then she reached for the
control panel and started the elevator again.

“Your minute’s up,” she said tersely, not looking at him.

“Everyone here knows you as Kali. I bet that means they
don’t know who your father is. Do they?”

She stared straight ahead, her eyes fixed on the elevator
doors. “Since my father isn’t a part of my life anymore, I’ve never felt a need
to talk about him with my coworkers.”

The big shot director wasn’t in her life anymore? That was a
surprise. Still…

“I’m sure he played his part, though.”

“Played his part in what?” she asked suspiciously.

“In your current job. You can’t tell me you got a gig like this
without dropping a name or two along the way.”

She jerked her head around to look at him, and then checked
the floor display to see that they were between the third and fourth floors
before she reached out to stop the elevator.

In the next instant she was facing him down, stabbing a
forefinger towards his chest. “I didn’t name drop to get where I am. That’s why
no one here knows who my father is. Because I didn’t want to be accused of
using connections to get ahead.”

Man, she was pissed. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes
narrowed into slits, and all he could think about was hauling her against his
body and kissing that soft, sweet mouth—in spite of the fact that all Kali
wanted to do with her mouth was spit fire at him.

He was hard for her. Christ, he was hard for her. His one
rational thought was that he couldn’t let her see the power she still had over
him. No, not him: his cock. His cock had always had a mind of its own when it
came to this woman.

So he reached out to restart the elevator and said something
calculated to drive her—or any self-respecting woman—insane.

“You’re cute when you’re angry.”

The elevator doors opened, and he stepped out into the lobby
with a feeling of relief. But the relief was short-lived, as he turned to see
her coming out of the elevator after him. In the sunlight that spilled in
through the lobby windows she was even more beautiful, her skin glowing and her
eyes snapping, and every inch of her crackling with life.

“You arrogant piece of—” She stopped suddenly, realizing that
they were once again in a public place.

He smiled down at her. “Yes? You were saying?”

Her chest rose as she took a deep breath, and his eyes
dropped to her breasts. What was she wearing under her boring outfit? Boring
underwear to match? Or did she secretly indulge in red lace and thongs?

“Look,” she said, her voice cool in spite of a slight
tremor. “If your goal was to come out here and rattle my cage, you can consider
your mission accomplished. So you can go back to L.A. now.”

The funny thing was, that
had
been his goal. Up
until he’d seen her, all he’d wanted was to rattle her cage and get a little
closure.

And now?

Now, his mind and motives were in turmoil. He wasn’t sure
what he wanted from Kali Jones anymore.

But he knew he hadn’t gotten it yet.

“Have a good weekend, Kali,” he said, before walking away in
long, easy strides. All around him, people stopped what they were doing to
watch him pass. He wondered for a moment if Kali was watching, too, but he
didn’t turn to find out.

Have a good weekend, Kali.

No hint in those words as to his next move. But she had to
believe that whatever entertainment value she possessed wouldn’t be enough to
keep him in New York for long. His life and career were in Hollywood, and
sticking around to torture her would have to have a diminishing appeal.

“Here’s your keycard, Ms. Jones. You’re in room 515,” the
man behind the desk told her.

She smiled her thanks and headed for the elevators.

Here, at least, she wouldn’t have to worry about seeing Luke
Tanner. For the next few days she could concentrate on work and the beautiful
scenery surrounding this upstate resort. This would be a chance to regroup
professionally and emotionally, a chance to figure out a way to save her show
and Tom’s job without Luke, a chance to—

Halfway across the lobby, she froze. There was a commotion
at the entrance, and a ripple of excitement among the hotel staff.

Slowly, very slowly, she turned to follow the direction of
all the eyes.

Luke Tanner was coming through the door, surrounded by a
fluttering crowd of hotel employees and guests.

He glanced casually around the elegant lobby, and when his
eyes met hers he smiled. Then he waved.

The gaggle of fans around him turned to see who he’d waved to,
but Kali was already gone. She practically ran for the elevators, and she
breathed a sigh of relief when she found one waiting. Once inside she stabbed
repeatedly at the button for the fifth floor, keeping her eyes down until the
doors closed with a glacial slowness whose sole purpose seemed to be to make
her heart pound so hard it hurt a little.

Oh, God.

“What is Luke Tanner doing here?” she asked Tom twenty
minutes later. They had adjoining rooms, and she’d knocked on his door after
unpacking her things with hands that refused to stop trembling.

Tom shrugged. “He called one of the network bigwigs, told
them how excited he was to be talking to us about the show, and got himself
invited along for the weekend.” He led the way out to his balcony, gesturing
towards one of the lounge chairs and settling down in the other. “Sheila let me
know on the way up this morning. Apparently Luke also told them that the
network was lucky to have the two of us on their team, and that the prospect of
working with us was what sparked his interest in
Ghosts
. Of course
you’re the one he really wants to work with, but I’m pretty chuffed that he
mentioned me, too. It definitely scored me some points with Sheila,” he added
with satisfaction.

“You’re a wonderful producer, Tom. You shouldn’t need Luke
Tanner to remind the network of that fact.”

But as she stared out over the crystal blue lake and the
rise of the Adirondacks, she acknowledged, grudgingly, that it was a nice thing
for Luke to have done. Of course when they failed to get Luke’s signature on a
contract it could all fall apart, but…

“What are you wearing to the dinner tonight?” Tom asked. He
loved fashion, and her total lack of interest in clothes was a never-ending
source of pain for him.

She shrugged. “I brought a couple of dresses. Both black.
One of them even has some sequins on it. Happy?”

“Black with sequins. Not that one you bought last year for
the Emmys? Please tell me it’s something new.”

“Well, no. It’s the same one. But this isn’t an awards
ceremony or anything, just a dinner.”

“A formal dinner with the network executives—and Luke
Tanner.”

She bristled a little. “I’m not going to dress up for Luke.
Especially since every other woman there will. He doesn’t need any more sops to
his ego, believe me.”

Tom sighed. “We need to be at our best this weekend. You and
I both know that Luke might not do the show, so we need to leverage his
interest and our visibility while we can.”

She stared at him. “That’s remarkably pragmatic of you, Tom.
What happened to your wide-eyed optimism?”

He grinned at her. “It’s still there. In fact, it’s telling
me that tonight, for once, you’ll let me choose your outfit.”

“Tom—”

“I spotted something at the resort boutique that would be
perfect for you.”

“Tom—”

“Pretty please with sugar on top?”

She sighed. “Fine.”

“I’m really glad you said that, because I already bought the
dress.” He reached for a shopping bag on the other side of his chair and handed
it to her. “Consider it an early Christmas present.” He checked his watch.
“You’d better go or you’ll be late for your appointment.”

“What appointment?”

“At the spa downstairs. Hair and makeup and a mani-pedi.
Enjoy.”

“Tom—”

“See you at dinner, sweetie.”