Seducing the Wolf (35 page)

Taylor wanted nothing more than to spend the night making hot, passionate love with Manning. But as he slid behind the wheel of the Phantom, an image of Aidan intruded upon her conscience, dousing her with cold reality.

She reached over and put her hand on Manning’s thigh, feeling his muscles clench beneath her fingers.

“Baby girl,” he groaned roughly. “I’m so fucking hard right now, it’s probably best for you not to touch me. Especially right there.”

She blushed, quickly withdrawing her hand. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to get your attention.”

“You never lost it,” he assured her, adjusting himself in his slacks.

When she said nothing, he glanced at her, searching her face in the shadowy interior of the car. “What’s wrong?”

She hesitated, biting her lip. “I…I can’t spend the night with you.”

His expression darkened.

“Not because I don’t want to,” she hastened to add. “God knows I want you more than anything, Manning.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that I still have a boyfriend. I know you don’t want to hear that,” she added when his jaw hardened, “but it’s the truth. I haven’t ended things with Aidan—”

“But you’re going to.” It wasn’t a question.

Taylor stared at Manning, feeling the heat and frustration rolling off him in waves. She nervously moistened her lips. “You have to understand something. Aidan and I have been together for three years—”

“I don’t care if it’s been twenty,” Manning growled, turning in the seat to face her. “It wouldn’t change the fact that you don’t love him.”

“I love him in my own way,” Taylor argued.

“But it’s not enough, and you know it.”

She swallowed hard. “You don’t understand—”

“I understand perfectly.” Dark, blazing eyes bored into hers. “I understand that every time I touch you, you tremble like you’ve never been touched before. I understand that every time I make love to you, your body responds like I’m the only man you’ve ever known. I understand that your eyes glow when you look at me, and when I make you laugh, it comes straight from your soul. And I understand, darlin’, that even after all these years we’ve been apart, I’m still
here
”— he gently tapped her temple —“and
here
”— his finger touched the bare skin where her heart was racing wildly.

She stared at him, unable to speak. She felt exposed, stripped down to her core.

But he wasn’t done with her just yet.

As she watched, he took out his cell phone and pressed a button. Seconds later, the fiery notes of a violin concerto wafted up from her lap. When she looked down at her satin clutch and realized that he’d called her phone, heat flooded her face.

He stared at her with a look of ecstatic triumph. “You gave me a ringtone.”

Taylor hesitated, then jerked her head in a nod. She felt embarrassed and foolishly transparent. She’d barely been there a week, and she’d already given him a special ringtone.

“What song is that?” he asked quietly.

“Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major.” She paused a moment. “It’s considered one of the greatest and most challenging works ever composed.”

“And you chose it for me.” Manning sounded awed and humbled.

She moistened her lips. “I wanted something that would capture your intensity. Your strength and complexity…your passion.”

Manning gazed at her, a soft smile curving his mouth. He was clearly pleased.

At that moment, she was poignantly reminded of all the times she’d played her violin for him, cheering him up after he’d had a bad game, making him feel better when he caught the flu, taking his mind off the pressures of preparing for an upcoming science competition. She’d watch him close his eyes as he savored her music, and she’d smile and think whimsically to herself:
Music soothes the savage beast
.

Manning let the concerto play until her phone went silent. As Taylor observed him, he seemed calmer than before, almost pacified.

She took advantage of it. “I need to speak to Aidan face to face. He deserves to hear about us in person. Until that happens, we need to put the brakes on”— she gestured at the space between them —“this.”

Manning frowned. He clearly didn’t like the sound of that. “Isn’t that like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Her tone was resolute. “I can’t keep betraying Aidan. Once was bad enough, let alone all the other times.”

A muscle tightened in Manning’s jaw. “When do you get back from your trip?”

“Sunday. I’m leaving on Friday afternoon.”

“Can I see you tomorrow night?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He scowled. “Why the hell not?”

She gave him a knowing look. “Every time we’re alone together, we end up in bed. Or on a table or sofa or—”

“I get the point,” he grumbled.

Taylor bit back a smile. “Besides, Ken and I are having dinner tomorrow night with Danisha Orton and her mother.”

Manning heaved a frustrated breath. “If I can’t spend time with you before you leave, at least let me take you to the damn airport.”

“Thank you for the offer—”

“But you’d rather catch a cab. Right?”

“Yes.” She gave him a rueful look. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be difficult. But I need a day to clear my head and get myself together before I talk to Aidan. Seeing you…being with you…It complicates things.”

Manning examined her with narrowed eyes.

She waited, barely breathing.

Finally he nodded. “All right. I’ll agree to your terms.”

“Thank you.”

“On one condition.”

Taylor eyed him warily. “What?”

He held her gaze. “When you get back, I want you to check out of the hotel and come stay with me.”

Her mouth ran dry. “You want me to…stay with you?”

“Yes. At my house.”

She stared at him, her pulse beating erratically at the base of her throat.

“Do we have a deal?” he murmured.

She felt herself nodding slowly. “Yes,” she whispered.

His eyes flashed with satisfaction—and something like relief. He caught her hand and pressed her fingertips to his lips, then settled her palm on his thigh and started the car.

As the V12 engine purred to life, Taylor teased, “I thought you didn’t want me touching you.”

“I’m not gonna see you for almost four days,” he said with a surly grin. “I’ll take all the touching I can get.”

24

F
or the second time that week, the Bentley was waiting for Taylor when she emerged from the university’s performing arts center on Friday afternoon. When she saw Mr. Haley standing at the back door, she rolled her eyes in amused exasperation.

“It’s wonderful to see you again, Mr. Haley, but I specifically told your stubborn employer that I’d take a cab to the airport.”

The driver’s mouth twitched. “Just following orders, Miss Chastain.”

“Well, I’ve already called a cab. It should be here any minute.”

“Already came and left. I was instructed to pay the cabbie for his trouble and send him on his way.”

Taylor heaved an exasperated breath.

Dark eyes twinkling, Mr. Haley relieved her of her carry-on suitcase and stowed it in the trunk of the car. Ignoring the back door he opened for her, Taylor walked to the front and climbed into the passenger seat.

Mr. Haley grinned at her as he ducked behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb. “I hope you won’t be too mad at him.”

Taylor scowled, shaking her head. “He’s always been hardheaded, but it seems he’s gotten much worse over the years.”

Mr. Haley laughed. “He probably has. But in his defense, he’s a very powerful man, and he didn’t get where he is by being passive. His tenacity has served him quite well.”

“That’s true.” Taylor couldn’t help smiling. “How long have you worked for Manning?”

“Seven years. And if it makes you feel any better, you’re not the only one who’s been on the receiving end of his stubbornness. He insists on giving me three days off every week whether I like it or not—which I don’t. He browbeats me into keeping doctor’s appointments and taking my blood pressure meds. He pays me above and beyond what any driver should be making and gives me generous holiday bonuses, even though he knows I don’t need the money. Since I love going fishing, he bought me a boat to commemorate my fifth-year anniversary in his employment, and he named it after my late wife.” Mr. Haley shook his head, his voice turning gruff with affection. “In many ways, Manning has been more of a son to me than the two I raised.”

Taylor was deeply touched by the older man’s words, though she wasn’t surprised to hear that Manning was such a caring and generous employer. He’d always had a heart of gold, which was one of the many reasons she’d loved him so damn much.

She smiled knowingly at Mr. Haley, endeared by his loyalty to Manning. “Are you trying to get him off the hook?”

He grinned. “Is it working?”

“Hmm. Maybe.”

They shared a warm laugh.

When they arrived at Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Taylor hugged Mr. Haley and thanked him for the ride.

“No thanks necessary. It was my pleasure.” He smiled softly at her. “In the seven years I’ve worked for Manning, I’ve never seen him as happy as he’s been since you came to town. I don’t know what happened in the past, and it’s none of my business. But I hope the two of you can move beyond it and find your way back to each other.”

Taylor was still pondering Mr. Haley’s words while she waited to board her plane.

Taking out her cell phone, she called Manning. When he answered on the first ring, she drawled without preamble, “I thought we had a deal.”

His low chuckle drifted over the line. “You said I couldn’t take you to the airport. You didn’t say anything about Mr. Haley.”

“You know very well what I meant,” Taylor retorted. But she was smiling.

“I miss you,” Manning said huskily. “Not being able to see you these past two days has been pure torture. You don’t know how many times I’ve had to stop myself from getting in the damn car and coming to you.”

Taylor closed her eyes, heat curling down her spine and spreading through her stomach. “Thank you for respecting my wishes,” she murmured.

“It wasn’t easy, darlin’. Just know that I’m gonna be all over you when you get back on Sunday.”

She let out a breathy little laugh. “I’ll consider myself forewarned.”

“Good,” he said with a chuckle. “Listen, I’m heading into a meeting, but I want you to call me when you get there so I’ll know you arrived safely. All right?”

“I can do that.”

“You’d better.” She could hear his smile, feel his warmth. “Have a good trip, sweetheart.”

“Thank you. See you Sunday.”

Forty minutes later, she was comfortably ensconced in her first class seat.

As the plane hurtled down the runway and lifted into the air, she stared out the small window, her mind traveling back to the last time she’d had to part ways with Manning….

The moon was bright and full as she rode her bike down the dark street, her legs pumping as furiously as her pounding heart. It was late, well past her ten o’clock curfew. If her father woke up and discovered her gone, she’d be in serious trouble. But she didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore. Micah was dead, and tomorrow she was being sent away to live with her mother in Washington, D.C.

Tears welled in her eyes, slipped out from beneath her glasses and trailed down her cheeks. She wiped them away, but she knew there were more to come.

After turning down another street, she reached a large white house with black shutters and pretty rose beds. Over the past two and a half years, this house had been her sanctuary, a place where she’d experienced so much laughter and joy. As she stared at it now, her chest tightened painfully and fresh tears stung her eyes at the realization that after tonight, she would never see this place again.

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she climbed off her bike and wheeled it up the driveway, moving as quietly as possible. When she reached the entrance to the backyard, she propped her bike against the tall wooden fence and carefully unlatched the gate.

Her pulse pounded as she crept across the large yard, sidestepping the football one of the boys had left outside. As she passed the silent swimming pool that shimmered under the moonlight, she could hear echoes of splashing water and laughter mingled with her squeals as she’d frolicked with Manning and his brothers on a lazy summer afternoon.

When she made it to the side of the house, she looked up at Manning’s bedroom window. It was dark, the curtains drawn closed against the night.

Her heart drummed in her chest as she began climbing up the trellis draped with vines and fragrant roses. When her finger got pricked by a loose shard of wood, she barely noticed. She was already hurting so much that the pain from the splinter had about as much impact as a pebble tossed into an ocean.

Reaching the upper story of the house, she climbed off the trellis and carefully made her way across the narrow ledge to Manning’s bedroom window. She rapped her knuckles lightly against the glass and then held her breath.