Tender Loving Passion: Temptation and Lies

She couldn’t have been more stunned if he’d slapped her. “For me?”

He offered a sad smile. “I’d always told you we’d have a place of our own one day.” He lifted the bottle of vodka and poured some in a silver tumbler, followed by the apple martini mix and crushed ice. “I’m a man of my word.” He capped the tumbler and shook it vigorously. “Got my divorce, too.” His piercing look at her from over his shoulder held her in place.

Mia was speechless. A divorce. A house. It was everything she’d wanted. But it was too late. She was in love with Steven. And she couldn’t let Michael’s powers of persuasion or his unrelenting charm, this fabulous house or the fact that he was a free man dissuade her.

He crossed the room and handed her the drink.

“Thank you.”

He raised his glass. “To old friends.”

Cautiously, she touched her glass to his.

“I wanted to thank you for the referral,” she said, needing to break the invisible hold he had on her.

He shrugged dismissively, walked a few paces and sat opposite her in the armchair that matched the couch, both covered in a butter-soft ecru-colored fabric that was so lush, the cushions so thick and soft, you could sink into it and never get up.

“I’m sure you didn’t need the business. But I thought you’d be perfect for what they wanted.”

“How would you know?”

He offered a slight smile. “As I said before, I’ve followed your career. I’ve even attended some of your events. Incognito, of course.”

That confession shook her. “Why?”

He took a short swallow of his drink, studied the contents for a moment before speaking. “It was my way of staying in your life.”

The answer was delivered so softly, so sincerely that it twisted her heart.

This couldn’t be the man that Jean claimed might be behind an illegal escort service. This was the man she’d once loved. Standing before her was the man she’d prayed he would one day become. There was no way that the two could be one and the same.

“What are you thinking about?”

The gentle nudge of the words drew her back from her thoughts.

“Just that I never thought I’d see you again, especially like this, and that you’ve been following my career.” She shifted her glass from her right hand to her left. “Which events did you attend?” she asked, the beginnings of a smile flickering around her mouth.

Michael chuckled. “The one on the yacht last year.”

A flash of that event ran through her mind, along with the fact that the clients had turned out to be behind an identity theft ring that Danielle uncovered.

“How come I didn’t see you? Why didn’t you say anything?”

There was that shrug again. “I made sure that you didn’t. I can blend in when I need to. Besides, there had to be at least three hundred people there and you were pretty busy.”

“You could have said something.”

“I thought it best not to. The last thing you wrote to me was not to contact you. So I figured the last thing you wanted was for me to show up at one of your events.”

That bit of truth stung. She remembered the letter and the weeks that it took to compose it and finally mail it. She glanced away.

“How have you been, Mia?” he asked gently. “Without me. How have you been?”

What could she say? That she struggled to get him out of her system for nearly five years? That there were still times when she thought of him, remembered how they were together, the emptiness that she felt when she walked out of his life? Of course she couldn’t say that.

“I’ve managed. My business keeps me busy.”

All of a sudden, she looked up and he was standing over her. He took her glass from her hand and put it on the table, then took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

“I’ve missed you. Each and every day I’ve missed you. Everything that I do, dream or plan—you are in my thoughts. I want you back, Mia.”

Her heart thundered. Her entire body was on fire. She could feel his energy wrap around her, draw her in, break down her will. And then his mouth was on hers and she couldn’t move.

His mouth was warm, all-encompassing and incredibly sweet. She remembered those lips, the feel of them against her own. But when his tongue tentatively glided across her lips, then into the recesses of her mouth, she began to shake and he held her—held her firmly against him and she felt his longing, his need press hard and heavy between her thighs.

Her thoughts spun in a million directions at once, then crashed.

She pulled away, turned her head and stumbled back. “I can’t do this.” She shook her head.

He reached for her but she held up her hand to stop him.

“Don’t.”

Michael stepped back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She dared to look at him. All she saw was longing and sincerity in his expression.

Michael exhaled. “Can we start over?”

She sat down before she fell down and clasped her hands together atop her weak knees to keep them from shaking.

What she wanted to do was run as far as she could. But she couldn’t do that and she couldn’t alienate him. She needed to get inside his business, inside his life. But what was she willing to do to accomplish that?

Mia forced a tight smile. “Sure.”

Michael seemed to sigh in relief. “Great. And to show you I really mean it, I’m gonna sit right here and not move a muscle until you’re ready to go.” He sat down on the lounger, folded his hands, pressed his knees together and plastered a contrite look on his face. The visual effect was hysterical and Mia burst out laughing.

Michael grinned. “That’s how I like to see you, with that pretty smile on your face.”

Mia smothered the rest of her giggles. “Can we talk about business now?”

Michael leaned back, then stretched out on the chaise longue. “Absolutely.” He gave her the Reader’s Digest version of Raven, the star he was hired to debut. She was nineteen for the public, but she was really twenty-two. Great voice, painfully shy, inked a major deal with Atlantic Records and her CD was scheduled to “drop” in two months. All the industry execs were to be invited, the cable stations, media and selected guests.

“Sounds simple enough. So why do I hear a but in there somewhere?”

“Our star doesn’t want to do it.”

“Oh... Why?”