Beyond Temptation

Figures, she thought, jotting the information down. She couldn’t help the visual that suddenly flashed through her mind of a sleeping Morgan tangled in silken sheets. “What about the size of the kitchen?”

“What about it?”

She tried not to roll her eyes to the ceiling. “Do you cook a lot? If so, then you might want a home with a large kitchen.”

He shrugged. “No, I don’t plan on spending a lot of time in the kitchen but my wife might.”

She lifted her head from the paper and met his gaze. “Wife?”

“Yes, or perhaps I should say future wife.”

“Are congratulations in order?”

“No. But I’m making sure I cover all bases since I don’t intend to move again. Whoever becomes the future Mrs. Morgan Steele will be moving into that house with me.”

“What if she doesn’t like the decor?”

“Then she’s free to change it.”

Lena nodded. “What about your present home?”

“I want you to sell it.”

“All right. Anything other than the swimming pool and large bedroom that you’re looking for in the new house? Do you have a preference for carpet or wood floors?”

Again he shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. Which do you suggest?”

She shrugged her own shoulders. “Either is fine, it’s a matter of taste.”

“All right, I guess you can show me both.”

“That won’t be a problem. Now, for your present home, I would need to see it and I prefer that you’re there with me when I do.”

“Why?”

“So you can point out some things about it that I might overlook, key selling points. We can do a tour and you can tell me things you like most about your house that might hook an interested buyer.”

“Okay, you can arrange a date and time with my secretary,” he said, trying not to sound too anxious. “I’m flying out tomorrow on a business trip and won’t be back until the end of the week.”

“That’s fine and I’ll get on this right away.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate it.”

She stood and glanced over at him. “Any particular time frame you’re aiming for to be in your new home?”

“Not particularly. How long do you think it will take?” he asked, coming to his feet as well.

“I don’t anticipate it taking long. There are several new subdivisions going up around Charlotte. Is there a certain price range I need to stay in?”

“No. If it’s something I want, then I intend to get it.”

Another heated sliver passed down her spine with his comment. It seemed he had been looking directly in her eyes when he’d made the statement, but of course she knew she was again imagining things after studying his impassive expression. “All right, then. I’ll be in touch when you return. I hope you have a nice trip.”

“Thanks.”

She gathered her briefcase and headed for the door.

“Lena?”

She glanced back over her shoulder. “Yes?”

“How’s your mother?”

Lena couldn’t help but smile. No matter when she saw Morgan, he was always kind enough to inquire about her mother. “Mom is fine. Thanks for asking.”

“You’re welcome.”

Lena quickly made it to the door. Without looking back she opened it and stepped out, grateful for her escape. She could handle only so much heat shivering down her spine.

When Lena made it to her car she leaned back against the seat, letting her neck relax against the headrest before snapping her seat belt in place. She had been in Morgan’s presence less than thirty minutes, but from the way her heart was beating it seemed longer.

There were times when a part of her longed not to be the responsible and sensible person she was. Every once in a while she was tempted to become her Gemini twin, the one who wasn’t the good girl; the one who wouldn’t hesitate to let her hair down, throw caution to the wind and walk boldly on the wild side. And the first thing she would do is take on a man like Morgan Steele and see if she could hold her own with him. Just the thought of having a one-night stand to feed the sudden, intense hunger she would get whenever she watched a romantic movie, or indulged in those romance novels her secretary would pass on to her, made her breasts tingle.

If she ever became her wannabe mischievous twin, that meant having the courage to trade her sensible four-door sedan in for that two-seater convertible she always wanted—and turning her nighttime fantasies into reality by behaving in such a way that would blow a fuse just thinking about. She didn’t want to dwell on all the naughty pleasures she would have.

Lena immediately dismissed the thoughts of her less than sensible twin, knowing she could never do anything like that. Her life was what it was and she couldn’t change it. She wasn’t the mischievous twin, she was the good one who had responsibilities that took precedence over anything else, including her desire to have Morgan Steele in her bed. Her mother came first.

She was her mother’s sole caretaker and had been since her father’s death six years ago. Her mother’s health began failing her soon after her husband passed, making it hard for her to get around at times. A part of Lena believed it was due more to loneliness than anything else because a lot of her mother’s problems were more emotional, especially the bouts of depression.

Her parents had had a rather close marriage and Lena was born after they had already been happily wedded for close to twenty years. A number of miscarriages had convinced her parents they would spend the rest of their lives childless, and Lena had been a big surprise to her forty-three-year-old father and her forty-year-old mother.

Growing up in the Spears household, she had always felt loved and cherished by her parents and she missed her father dearly. For that reason she clearly understood the depth of loss her mother felt and the bouts of occasional depression that had followed. Even now on occasion, Lena would wake up during the night and hear her mother calling out for her father in her sleep, and it always brought tears to Lena’s eyes that anyone could have loved someone that deep and strong. It was on those nights after getting her mother settled back down that she would acknowledge the depth of her own loneliness and restlessness and give in to her fantasies of Morgan.

She inhaled deeply as she started her car. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. In a few hours it would be time to pick her mother up from the adult day care. She went there twice a week for social enrichment and interaction on the recommendation of her mother’s social worker. Although it had put a huge dent in her budget, so far it had been a month and Lena hadn’t received a call from the day care’s director letting her know her mother had begun withdrawing, which usually was a clear sign that she was headed for another bout of depression.

Lena smiled thinking she had an idea as to why. Her mother had been talkative a lot lately when Lena had picked up her, and had told her about Ms. Emily, a newcomer to the day care. It seemed that she and Ms. Emily, who was also a widow in her early seventies, had struck up a friendship and Lena was glad about that. Her mother was someone who didn’t warm up to people easily.

And speaking of warming up…she allowed her thoughts to return to Morgan. Everything about him spoke of the dynamics of a man who was used to having his way. Well, unfortunately, she had shown him the few times he’d come on to her that she wasn’t putty in any man’s hand. The only thing the two of them could ever share was friendship. And after her last serious talk with him about three months ago, he hadn’t asked her out again, so she could only assume that he’d finally gotten the message if today was anything to go by. He had acted strictly business.

The last few men she’d fancied herself as possibly having a serious relationship with had painstakingly informed her that as long as she came with extra baggage—namely her elderly mother—no man in his right mind would be interested in marrying her.

She had decided if that was the case, then she would live the rest of her life single and not worry about indulging in a committed relationship because she and Odessa Spears were a package and would remain as such until their dying days.

Deciding she didn’t want to spend the rest of the day thinking about the things she would never have, she shifted her thoughts to the things that she could have—namely a big sale if she located Morgan the house he wanted, and if she sold the one he now owned. Pulling off such a feat would pay a hefty commission and she would do her best getting him just what he wanted. And she knew exactly what she would do with the money. She would get her mother involved in even more enrichment programs for senior citizens as well as plan a cruise for the both of them. It had been a while since they’d gone on a vacation together, and it was time that they did.

“You’re late, Morgan. You know I don’t like keeping Shari waiting.”

Morgan slid into the booth across from his brother and glanced up into Donovan’s annoyed features and rolled his eyes. “Shari today, Kari tomorrow, whatever. Besides, it couldn’t be helped. I had an important meeting that I needed to keep.”