Seducing the Wolf (20 page)

She smiled at him. “You didn’t have to let me crash your meeting. I could have hung out in the reception area until you were free.”

“I know, but I was afraid you’d leave if I kept you waiting too long.” He gave her a knowing look. “Tell me you didn’t think about it.”

She blushed, biting her lip. “I did,” she quietly admitted. “I shouldn’t be here, Manning.”

“But you are, and I’m glad.” His eyes roamed across her face. “Seeing you walk through that door was the highlight of what has been an absolutely crazy day. I don’t care why you came. I’m just happy you did.”

Everything inside Taylor melted.

“Manning…I…” She trailed off, her gaze lowering to the strong, masculine column of his throat. She wanted to kiss him there, wanted to feel the vibration of his deep voice when he groaned with pleasure.

Slowly lifting her eyes, she saw him staring down at her, his lids at half mast.

The air between them pulsed with heat.

The moment was interrupted by the sudden buzz of the intercom on his desk. “Dr. Wolf? The reporter from the
Journal-Constitution
wants to know if Wednesday at nine works for you. That was the only opening in your schedule.”

“That’s fine, Larisa. Thanks.”

Still holding Taylor’s gaze, Manning brushed the pad of his thumb across her lower lip. Her nipples hardened against her bra, and she felt a delicious tightening between her thighs. It was all she could do not to draw his thumb into her mouth and suck on it.

“Can I make you a drink?” he murmured.

“Yes, please.”

As he turned and started toward the wet bar, Taylor couldn’t help admiring the way his broad shoulders tapered down to his lean waist, the way the muscles in his round ass flexed as he walked.

Sinking back into her chair, she drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly.

“How does a martini sound?” Manning asked.

“Good. But I’d prefer whiskey if you have any.”

His brow shot up. “Whiskey?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “You sound surprised.”

“I am. I never pegged you as a whiskey girl, Taylor.”

She shrugged. “I can be.”

His eyes glinted. “When you need liquid courage?”

Her face heated. Was she that transparent? “Do you have some or not?”

Manning chuckled softly. “Relax, darlin’. I got you.”

Taylor watched as he pulled out two highball glasses and poured two fingers of whiskey into each. Picking up the drinks, he walked back over to her and handed her a glass. When their fingers brushed, a shiver of awareness tingled down her spine.

She stared up at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze to her drink. She took a small sip and swallowed, savoring the velvety smooth notes of the whiskey. She didn’t have to see the label on the bottle to know that it was an expensive brand. Very expensive.

Manning stood over her, watching her intently. “Good?”

“Mmm.” She sampled a little more, tasting hints of spice, smoke and rich oak. “Excellent.”

Manning smiled. Taking her free hand, he gently tugged her up from the chair and led her over to the leather sofa. He pulled her down beside him, bringing her so close that their hips and thighs touched.

As heat suffused her body, she ducked her head and sipped more whiskey.

“Easy with that,” Manning murmured, his voice laced with humor. “It sneaks up on you if you’re not careful.”

Taylor swallowed, feeling the slow burn of the alcohol down her throat. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

A grim smile twisted his lips. “Let’s just say I have a longstanding love–hate relationship with whiskey.”

Taylor studied him, intrigued by the undercurrent of pain and sadness in his voice. For the first time since her return, she wondered if he was plagued by the same demons that had haunted her for years. She’d always assumed that he had somehow escaped the guilt and nightmares, and she’d resented him for it. Resented and envied him.

But maybe she’d been wrong all along.

Maybe Manning had suffered as much as she had.

Unsettled by the thought, Taylor watched as he contemplated his whiskey, then brought the glass to his mouth and drank deep. When he closed his eyes, he didn’t look like he was savoring the rich undertones of the liquor. He looked like he was swallowing something bitter and ugly. Something he wanted to forget.

Taylor reached over, gently touching his forearm.

His eyes opened, latching onto hers. The dark anguish she saw made her breath hitch.

They stared at each other for the length of several heartbeats.

“Manning,” she whispered.

He blinked, her voice breaking the spell. He held her gaze a moment longer, then looked away and set his glass down on the table. She watched as he rubbed an unsteady hand over his face and slowly exhaled.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah.” He offered her a small, rueful smile. “Sorry about that. It’s been a long day.”

She nodded, carefully putting her drink down. “Maybe I should go.”

“Not a chance in hell.” Manning caught her hand, linking their fingers together. The simple joining sent frissons of pleasure coursing through her veins.

“Talk to me,” he coaxed. “Tell me how the first day of your residency went.”

Taylor smiled, her mood brightening. “It was wonderful.”

“Yeah? How so?”

She told him about the violin masterclass she’d taught that morning followed by the individual sessions. Manning asked questions and listened intently as she described some of the students who’d made the biggest impressions on her, particularly Danisha Orton. The whole time she talked he never looked away from her, never released her hand. 

When she’d finished speaking, he warmly remarked, “Sounds like you found your budding Taylor Chastain.”

She laughed. “Looks that way, doesn’t it? She reminds me a lot of myself at her age. She doesn’t know just how good she is, what she’s capable of. But when she gains that inner confidence, she’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with.”

“No doubt.” Manning smiled. “I can’t wait to attend the closing performance.”

Taylor smiled. “I think you’re going to enjoy it. Those kids are very talented. I expect great things from them. Not just for the concert, but in their music careers as well. And speaking of great things,” she added, glancing around the enormous suite, “this place is amazing, Manning. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I got here. It’s really impressive.”

“Thanks, Taylor,” Manning said simply. “The company has grown some over the past few years, so I’m grateful for that.”

Taylor guffawed. “You’re being way too modest. Your company has grown
exponentially
, not
some
.”

His eyes twinkled. “I stand corrected.”

They grinned at each other.

“I was wondering,” Taylor mused.

“Wondering what?”

“Your executive vice president. Dr. Navarro. He wouldn’t happen to be your childhood friend, Yuma Navarro, would he?”

“Yup,” Manning confirmed. “That’s him.”

“Really?” Taylor exclaimed delightedly. “I remember how close you guys were in high school. How cool that you ended up going into business together!”

“It
is
pretty cool,” Manning agreed, smiling.

“How did it happen? You must have kept in touch over the years.”

“For the most part. Navarro was at Harvard while I was at MIT”— he’d always called Yuma by his last name —“so we hung out a lot. I told him all about my plans to start a biotech company one day, and he thought it was a great idea and told me to look him up when I was ready to make my move. After completing our doctoral programs, we went our separate ways. He accepted a job back in Colorado and I came back to Atlanta to work for one of the big pharma giants. The pay and perks were excellent. But I wasn’t happy there, and I still wanted to do my own thing. So after saving up some money, getting some experience under my belt and making the right contacts, I struck out on my own.”

Taylor nodded, listening with rapt absorption. She’d missed so much of Manning’s life. She was hungry for every detail, every brushstroke that would fill the blank canvas of the past two decades.

“I didn’t get in touch with Navarro right away,” he continued. “I was focused on getting the startup off the ground, and that took all of my time and energy. And then things started happening. I was developing products that attracted investors with deep pockets, and before I knew it the business was exploding and I needed more employees, as well as a better organizational structure. I tracked Navarro down and asked him what he thought of becoming my executive vice president.” Manning chuckled. “He quit his job the next day and hopped on the first thing smokin’ out of Colorado. He’s been my right-hand man ever since.”

“That’s wonderful, Manning,” Taylor enthused. “I’d love to see him again.”

“He’d love to see you too, but he’s away on business this week. You’ll have to come back on Monday and catch up with him, then I can give you the grand tour and introduce you to some other folks.”

“Um, well…” Taylor wavered. She hadn’t planned on returning to Wolf Biotech. One visit was dangerous enough.

But Manning overrode her reservations. “You’ll come back on Monday,” he said smoothly and decisively. “I’ll send Mr. Haley to pick you up from Emory and bring you here.”

Before Taylor could object, Larisa’s efficient voice came through the intercom. “Sorry to interrupt again, Dr. Wolf, but Saul Rutledge wanted me to confirm your dinner reservations. Will you still be joining him and—”

“No.” Manning held Taylor’s gaze, his grip tightening when she tried to withdraw her hand. “Please let Saul know something else came up and I won’t be able to make it to dinner.”

There was a pregnant pause. Then Larisa parroted dutifully, “Yes, sir.”

“And Larisa?”

“Yes?”

Manning glanced down at the platinum TAG Heuer watch encircling his thick wrist. “Why don’t you take off early today?”

“Oh, but I have to finish—”

“You can finish it tomorrow.” Manning’s tone was mild, but there was no mistaking the undercurrent of authority that made it clear he was issuing an order, not a suggestion.

“Yes, sir,” Larisa mumbled. “Enjoy your evening.”

“You too. See you tomorrow.”

Taylor shook her head at Manning. “You didn’t have to cancel your plans for me. I know you have other obligations.”

“It’s cool. It was an impromptu thing. Besides,” he added, his gaze softening on her face, “I’d much rather stay right here with you.”

Taylor’s heart skipped a thrilled beat. It was all she could do not to lean over and kiss him on that unbelievably sexy mouth of his.

Picking up her drink with her free hand, she took a sip of whiskey and sighed. “I don’t think your secretary is very happy with me.”

Manning eyed her quizzically. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, first you granted me access to the top floor without telling her first. Then you allowed me to sit in on your team meeting—a privilege your shareholders apparently don’t even enjoy. You just bailed on a previous dinner engagement because of me, and now you’ve sent the poor woman home early when it’s clear she wasn’t ready to leave.” Taylor smiled wryly. “I think it’s safe to assume I’m not her favorite person in the world.”

“Of course you aren’t.” Manning winked. “That would be me.”

Sputtering indignantly, Taylor snatched her hand from his and punched him on the arm.

He laughed, swiftly recapturing her fingers to splay them over his broad chest. His heartbeat was strong beneath her palm, his gaze warm and affectionate.

“Seriously though, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Don’t worry about Larisa or anyone else. You just keep bringing your beautiful self over here and brightening up my days.”

Taylor gave him the shyest of smiles. God, he made her feel fourteen again!

“I really enjoyed sitting in on your meeting,” she told him. “It sounds like you guys are working on some pretty groundbreaking stuff.”

“We are,” Manning confirmed. “That’s why this company exists. To develop innovative products to cure diseases, clean the environment and improve overall quality of life. As you heard during the meeting, we’ve got a number of lead products in phase two clinical trials.”

“Like that vaccine to defend the general population against bioterrorism?”

“Right. That’s one of them. As part of the funding we received from the Department of Defense, we’re also developing an antiviral specifically to protect members of the military from multiple flu viruses—both naturally occurring and bio-engineered viruses. Our drug is designed to mitigate flu symptoms by interfering with the influenza replication process and—” Manning broke off, rubbing his chin with a sheepish chuckle. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to geek out on you like that.”

Taylor laughed. “Are you kidding? Why are you apologizing? You know I always loved it when you talked geek to me.”

His grin was wide and boyish, and so hopelessly endearing she had to catch her breath. In that moment, she remembered just how much she’d loved him, how acutely she’d ached for him long after he was out of her life.

Gently rubbing the pad of his thumb over her knuckles, Manning continued, “I wanted to tell you about another drug we have in development. We didn’t discuss it during today’s meeting because it’s still in the pre-clinical trial phase. But I’m very excited about it. I guess you could say it’s one of my pet projects since it’s been in the pipeline for so long now.”

Taylor was intrigued. “What is it?”

Manning met her gaze. “We’re developing what we hope will be a breakthrough cure for autism spectrum disorder.”

Taylor went still, staring at him. “You’re working on a cure for…autism?”

He nodded slowly. “We’ve had setbacks over the years, and we’re still not ready to begin human clinical trials. But we’ve made some amazing progress, Taylor. We’ve also partnered with Autism Speaks, a national advocacy organization—”

Taylor nodded quickly. “I’m familiar with Autism Speaks. I’ve done some volunteer work and fundraising for them.” She stared at Manning, tears misting her eyes. To think that he could be close to discovering a cure for the illness that had afflicted her brother’s mind, leaving it as fragmented as the jigsaw puzzle pieces he’d often hurled around his room when he became overstimulated.