Possessed By Passion

She held his gaze and the sexual tension surrounding them began mounting. He had been referring to what he wanted off the menu, hadn’t he? With Tyson, one could never be sure. She’d discovered that often his words had a double meaning. “That was fast,” she said, breaking his gaze to look back down at her menu.

“I’ve never been accused of being slow, Hunter.”

She glanced back up at him again. “And what did you decide to get?”

“The pork chops. That’s what I usually get whenever I come here.”

She nodded. He had been talking about what was on the menu, after all. “The pork chops sound good.”

“They are and that’s what I want for now. What I really want I’ll put on the back burner until...”

She glanced up to find his focus totally on her, making the undercurrents between them sizzle even more. “Until what?”

“I can bring you around to my way of thinking.”

Hunter couldn’t help but chuckle.

“And what do you find amusing, Hunter?”

She leaned forward in her chair. “For a minute there I thought this would be one of those rare times that you would be good.”

“I am good. Always.”

His words flowed through her and with supreme effort she tried not to imagine just how good he would be. “I was referring to your behavior.”

“Now, that, not always. According to my mother I can push the envelope at times.”

She bet. Hunter was glad the waiter returned and with the amount of food Tyson ordered it was apparent he hadn’t lied about being hungry. She wondered where he would put it all.

As if reading her thoughts, he said, “I plan to work it off later.”

“I don’t doubt that you will.”

He reached across the table and his fingers caressed her hand. “I don’t mean with another woman, Hunter. I have a membership at the gym.”

She wondered what had given away her thoughts and figured it must have been her tone. Why had the thought of him sleeping with a woman bothered her? And why did him caressing her hand send shivers of desire through her? “You don’t owe me an explanation. What you do and with whom is your business, Tyson. And need I remind you,” she said, pulling her hand back, “that this is a business meeting?”

“Duly reminded,” he said, smiling. “Temptation got the best of me.”

Although she wouldn’t admit to it, temptation had almost gotten the best of her, as well. She had loved the feel of his touch and could still feel the imprint of his hand on her skin. It was becoming pretty clear that this attraction between her and Tyson could lead to big trouble if she wasn’t careful. Deciding to break up the sexual tension flowing between them, she steered the conversation to an innocuous topic. “So how are your niece and nephew?”

He lifted a brow. “I take it you read that article in the paper, as well.”

She shook her head. “No, Mo did and mentioned it the other night.”

He took a sip of his water before answering. “Brittany and the twins are home now. I got a chance to see them before they left the hospital yesterday and they’re doing fine. Galen is doing okay, too. In fact, he’s on cloud nine.”

“I can’t picture him married.”

“I couldn’t, either, but it happened. And I’ll admit there’s something pretty special between him and Brittany.”

“She’s not from here, right?”

“No. She’s from Florida. She was in town on business when they met.”

“Have they named the twins yet?”

“They gave my mother the honor and she came up with Ethan and Elyse.”

A smile spread across Hunter’s lips. “Oh, I like that.”

“My brothers and I figured she couldn’t help but seize the opportunity to give the twins names starting with the letter E to match hers.”

Then he smiled and Hunter was amazed he could be even more handsome. But he was.

* * *

As they ate, Tyson tried not to glance over at Hunter. Conversation between them had stopped, and he couldn’t help wondering what she was thinking. Although whatever thoughts going through her head were a mystery to him, those going through his own head were not. Simply put, he wanted her. How could a woman he hadn’t seen in eighteen years hold his interest like she was doing? It didn’t make sense. No woman had ever gotten to him this way and without any effort on her part. At least not any conscious effort. He doubted she was aware of just how alluring she was without even trying.

Even wearing a pantsuit he didn’t miss her small waist and sexy curves. And on more than one occasion when he’d glanced at her while they were eating, he hadn’t missed the hardened tips of her nipples beneath her blue silk shirt. That meant she wasn’t as immune to him as she pretended to be. And when he had reached out to stroke her hand, he’d felt the sparks and knew she had, as well.