Seducing the Wolf (16 page)

He couldn’t believe it. What were the odds of Taylor and Caitlyn—two women from his past—coming back into his life within days of each other? And why did Caitlyn have to show up
now
, of all times?

Saul chuckled dryly. “Well, I was just about to wax eloquent about Ms. Spencer’s qualifications, but since you two are already acquainted—”

“Oh, don’t let that stop you,” Caitlyn urged. “By all means, wax away.”

Saul laughed as Manning rounded the large desk to greet Caitlyn. A hug seemed inappropriate since she was there for a job interview, so he shook her hand instead. Her eyes glinted wickedly as she clung to him, stroking his palm with her thumb before he discreetly withdrew from her grasp. It was then that he noticed her wedding ring was missing.

“I was going to take Ms. Spencer to lunch,” Saul told Manning. “If you’ve got some free time, maybe you could join us.”

“I wish I could,” Manning said ruefully, “but I’m swamped with meetings all day.”

“Then you’ll have to make it up to me,” Caitlyn purred, smiling at him. “I suggest dinner.”

“I’m fine with dinner if that works better for everyone,” Saul interjected, blithely oblivious to the fact that Caitlyn’s invitation had been solely intended for Manning.

Before he could respond, Saul’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. “I’m sorry. I have to take this call. Would you two excuse me?”

“Sure,” Manning said.

“Take your time,” Caitlyn added sweetly.

As soon as Saul left the room, Caitlyn flung her arms around Manning’s neck and hugged him tight, pressing her supple body against his. “God, it’s good to see you again.”

“You too, Caitlyn.” Manning pulled away and smiled at her. “I didn’t know you applied for the general counsel opening.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” she explained, transferring her designer purse to her other shoulder and coquettishly flipping her hair loose from the strap. “You were out of town when I came for my first interview, so I decided to wait until I was called back for a second one—which I knew I would be.”

Manning lifted an amused brow. “Confident, aren’t we?”

“I have every reason to be.” Caitlyn winked at him, then swept an appreciative glance around the suite and whistled. “
Someone’s
really come up in the world. The last time we saw each other…what was that? Nine years ago?”

“I think so.”

“Yes, it was nine years ago. You were renting office space in some rundown building well off the beaten path. And now look at you, reigning from your throne high above downtown Atlanta.” Caitlyn gestured to the wall of windows that overlooked glistening skyscrapers and the iconic gold dome of the state capitol in the distance. “I bet your dick gets hard every time you see this magnificent view.”

Manning choked out a laugh. “I wouldn’t go
that
far.”

“Hmm. But you can. Go far, I mean. You can go
very
far.” As her suggestive gaze dipped to his crotch, Manning could only shake his head at her.

“You haven’t changed at all.” 

She grinned unabashedly. “You make that sound like a bad thing. Is it?”

“I don’t know. I’m still deciding.”

Caitlyn laughed as Manning headed toward the wet bar that showcased sparkling crystal decanters filled with top-shelf liquor.

“Something to drink?” he offered.

“Mmm. Not at the moment.”

Manning poured himself a glass of water as Caitlyn sashayed toward the spacious seating area. Her ass was small but firm, her calves sleekly toned. The last time he saw her, she’d been coming off a nasty divorce. Still reeling with pain and anger, she’d flown to Atlanta for the sole purpose of tracking down her old flame to have a fling. Manning had been shocked when she’d showed up unexpectedly at his office and invited him out to dinner. Afterward they’d gone back to her hotel room and spent the night together. Three days after she returned home to Connecticut, she’d sent him a box of Cuban cigars along with a note thanking him for taking her mind off her troubles. Less than a year later, she was remarried.

Manning watched now as she lowered herself onto the gray leather sofa, set her purse down and seductively crossed her long legs. Lifting her eyes to his, she patted the seat beside her.

Chuckling softly, Manning sauntered over and obligingly sat down.

“Atta boy.” Caitlyn smiled, her hazel eyes roaming across his face. “God, you’re just as gorgeous as ever. It’s not fair.”

“What isn’t fair?” he drawled. “Last I checked, you haven’t exactly turned into a gargoyle.”

She sighed. “Yes, but I’ve had a little work done.”

“Really?” Manning was surprised by the admission, but not because he hadn’t already suspected the tinkering of a plastic surgeon. He’d dated enough superficial women to be able to detect the work of Botox on crow’s feet and smile lines. Caitlyn had always been unabashedly vain about her beauty, so it didn’t surprise him that she’d undergone cosmetic surgery to eradicate any imperfections Mother Nature had dared to inflict upon her. What shocked him was that she’d actually copped to it.

“How much is ‘a little work’?” he couldn’t resist asking.

She shrugged. “A nip here, a tuck there. They were anniversary gifts from hubby number two.” A sharp, bitter smile twisted her mouth. “Of course, I could have nipped and tucked every damn inch of my body, and it still wouldn’t have stopped the cheating bastard from banging his twenty-year-old secretary.”

Manning grimaced. “Is that what happened? Is that why you’re here?”

Caitlyn smirked. “Are you asking me if I came to Atlanta for another revenge fuck?”

“Did you?” Manning countered calmly. “Did you leave your husband?”

“We’re separated.” Caitlyn eyed him with amused speculation. “Your secretary looks young. Pretty too. Have you fucked her yet?”

Manning frowned. “Of course not.”

“Why not?”

“She’s barely out of Spelman, and I don’t fuck my employees.”

Caitlyn laughed, low and mischievous. “I bet
she
wants to fuck
you
. I bet her pulse races every time you walk by or smile at her. I bet her little panties get wet whenever you say her name—”

“You need to stop.”

“—I bet she secretly fantasizes about being summoned to your office after hours. I bet she imagines you lifting her skirt, bending her over that humongous desk of yours and banging her until she cries. And who could blame her?” Caitlyn purred, looking Manning over as if she were a horse breeder inspecting a thoroughbred for purchase. “You’re so damn hot, baby. So virile and sexy. At the risk of sounding trite, you really put the ‘man’ in Manning.” Her eyes twinkled. “I bet you’ll never need Viagra.”

Manning made a face. “Not anytime soon, I hope.”

Caitlyn smiled, coyly dancing her fingers up his thigh. “About that revenge fuck—”

“Aw, hell nah,” Manning laughed, jerking away from her. “There’s no damn way you can work here.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t wanna be lodging sexual harassment complaints against my own general counsel, that’s why.”

“Then don’t lodge any complaints.” She winked. “Just lodge yourself in me.”

Torn between amusement and exasperation, Manning shook his head at her. “You’re crazy as hell, you know that?”

She grinned. “So you’ve always told me.”

Manning couldn’t help smiling as her words triggered memories of their childhood. Caitlyn was the hot girl who’d lived down the street from him, the babe who drove a red Camaro and wore skimpy cutoffs to wash her car in the dead of winter. At some point Manning had gotten on her radar, though she was sixteen and he was fourteen. He remembered the night she’d climbed the trellis at the side of his house to sneak up to his bedroom. Even though he knew there’d be hell to pay if his parents caught them, he’d let Caitlyn inside, pulling her through the open window. All thoughts of getting grounded—or killed—had flown out his mind the moment Caitlyn removed her trench coat to reveal her butt-naked body.

She was his first, the wild and wicked girl who popped his cherry.

Several years later, while she was at Yale and he was at MIT, they’d run into each other at a national student leadership conference in Boston. After catching up over coffee, one thing had led to another and they’d wound up having sex. It was hot, quick and satisfying—just what they’d both needed at the time. Even if they’d wanted more from each other, neither was available. Caitlyn had a boyfriend, a fellow law student she would eventually marry. And Manning had still been heartbroken over losing Taylor.

In the years that followed, he’d occasionally caught himself wondering if his life would have turned out different if he’d fallen in love with Caitlyn instead of Taylor. Would he and Caitlyn be married with kids by now? Would he be happy?

He didn’t think so. But he would never know.

Shaking off the thought, Manning took a sip of water and settled back against the sofa, sinking deeper into the plush leather. “So what’s going on with you?” he asked Caitlyn. “Why are you looking for jobs in Atlanta?”

She sighed. “I need a change of scenery. Connecticut doesn’t feel like home anymore.”

“You’re from Colorado. Ever think about going back?”

“I have,” she admitted. “But I don’t know if I want to drag Ally to the other side of the country.”

“Ally?”

Caitlyn smiled. “My daughter.”

Manning stared at her in surprise. “You have a daughter?”

“I do,” she confirmed, retrieving her cell phone from her purse. He watched as her manicured fingernails slid across the screen, pulling up a photo that she showed to him.

He studied an image of a slender young girl posing proudly in a cheerleader uniform. She had bright green eyes, pale golden skin and honey-colored ringlets that hung down her back.

Manning smiled. “She’s beautiful, Caitlyn. She looks just like you.”

“That’s what everyone says.” Caitlyn sighed. “She’s got my personality too.”

“Then you’re in serious trouble.”

“Tell me something I
don’t
know.”

They both laughed as Caitlyn scrolled through more pictures, showing off her daughter in various settings. Leading cheers at a youth football game, performing at a ballet recital, modeling a frothy pink dress for Easter, sporting mouse ears at Disney World. 

Manning sipped his water. “How old is she?”

Caitlyn chuckled. “Eight going on eighteen.” She paused on a close-up of her daughter beaming into the camera. “She has your smile.”

Manning choked on his water.

As he began coughing, Caitlyn threw back her head and pealed with laughter. “
Gotcha!
”

“Jesus, Caitlyn,” Manning rasped. “You can’t fuck with me like that!”

“Oh, but I enjoy fucking with you. I enjoy it very much.”

Manning scowled at her, which only made her laugh harder.

Shaking his head, he swiped an unsteady hand across his mouth and set his glass down on the coffee table. “Yo, seriously. That shit wasn’t funny.”

“I know,” Caitlyn conceded, dabbing tears from the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist.”

“You should have,” Manning grumbled.

“Probably. But when have I ever done what I should?” She grinned impishly. “I wish I’d strung you along some more just to see how long it would have taken you to demand a paternity test.”

Manning grunted. “Not long.”

“Yeah. I figured as much.”

“And anyway,” he added, shooting one last glance at Ally’s picture before Caitlyn put away her phone, “I would have had serious doubts about being her daddy.”

“Why?”

His lips quirked. “Any children I have are gonna be chocolate.”

“Really, Manning?” Caitlyn scoffed. “You don’t think our children could come out looking more like me than you? You’re a brilliant scientist. Do I really need to explain genetics to you?”

“Not at all, sweetheart. I know exactly what’s running through my veins. When it comes to genes, it doesn’t get any more dominant than Wolf DNA.” Manning winked. “Nothing but chocolate thunder, baby.”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes, and he laughed.

A small smile played at the corners of Caitlyn’s lips as she silently contemplated him. After a few moments, she asked, “Do you want children, Manning?”

He nodded slowly. “I do.”

“That’s good,” Caitlyn said warmly. “I bet you’d make a wonderful dad. I can see you helping your kids with their math homework and science projects. They’d probably win first place every year at the science fair.”

“Damn right they would,” Manning asserted, grinning broadly. “Their projects would blow the competition outta the water.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Caitlyn laughed. “Since you come from such a big family, you’re probably gonna have a slew of kids. Enough to form your own basketball team with players to spare.”

“Hey, works for me.” Manning smiled. “I enjoyed having siblings. Even though my brothers drove me crazy at times, they were fun to have around. I’d want the same for my own kids.”

Caitlyn smiled a touch wistfully. She’d been an only child, and even though her parents had spoiled her rotten, Manning knew she must have gotten lonely sometimes.

“So,” he ventured, changing the subject, “how long have you and your husband been separated?”

“Four months.” Her smile turned brittle. “I stayed for as long as I could for Ally’s sake. She adores him. He was a lousy husband, but he’s been a good father.”

“I wish he would have been good to both of you,” Manning murmured sympathetically.

“So do I.” Caitlyn gazed at him, her expression softening. “When I found out I was pregnant, I wanted Ally to be your daughter. Even though I knew it was impossible because it had been months since we’d slept together, and even though I was already married to Chandler at that point, I still wished she was yours.” She paused. “Part of me still does.”

Manning didn’t know how to respond to that. He held her gaze for a long moment, then reached for his glass and downed the rest of the water, wishing he’d poured himself something stronger.

Caitlyn gave him a look of amused pity. “Poor baby. I’ve made you uncomfortable. I should probably apologize, but I’m not sorry for being honest with you. The truth is, Manning, I’ve never gotten over you. Not completely. Back in high school, I was devastated when you chose Taylor Chastain over me. If you don’t believe me, just ask my mother. I moped for weeks after you started dating Taylor. It wasn’t just my pride that was wounded—though losing out to a frumpy dork was a bitter pill to swallow,” she admitted sardonically.