Seducing the Wolf (57 page)

A chill ran through Taylor. If her father could eliminate his wife’s former lover, what would stop him from destroying Manning’s company?

“I was afraid of him,” Elyse admitted tremulously. “He vowed to ruin me if I fought for custody of you and your brothers. He knew people in the court system. Judges who would side with him, lawyers who would get me blacklisted in the legal community. I wouldn’t be able to work at any law firm or teach at any university. If I even
considered
running for office someday, he threatened to expose me as an ‘adulteress whore’ who’d had a child with my lover. But that wasn’t even the worst of his threats. The worst—” Elyse’s voice broke, and she clapped her hand over her trembling lips as tears spilled from her eyes.

Taylor got up and went to join her on the sofa, putting a comforting hand on her knee as Elyse continued shakily, “He said he would tell you and Tru all about my affair, and he would turn you both against me. I couldn’t bear the thought of him poisoning your minds and making you hate me so much that you’d want nothing to do with me. So I backed down, Taylor. I agreed to let him have custody of you and your brothers. I let him take Micah, who wasn’t even his flesh and blood. I surrendered my children, and that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Taylor’s heart ached with compassion and sorrow for what her mother had gone through. “You have to forgive yourself,” she implored her. “You were given an impossible ultimatum. No one could fault you for the difficult choice you made. When I accused you of not fighting for us, I didn’t know all the circumstances. But let me assure you that we never stopped loving you and missing you, Mom. We always looked forward to your phone calls and visits. Not living with you didn’t stop Tru from being a mama’s boy, which he still is to this day. As for me, I never went anywhere without the necklace you gave me after my first recital, the one with the violin charm. And sweet little Micah said a prayer for you every night at bedtime, and he slept with your picture under his pillow.”

Elyse smiled tenderly as more tears streamed down her face. “After he died,” she whispered, “I imagined Jonas waiting at heaven’s door to greet him with open arms. It comforted me to think of them having each other.”

The poignantly endearing sentiment brought tears to Taylor’s eyes. “I think they do have each other,” she said softly. “In fact, I bet they’re working on one of Micah’s jigsaw puzzles even now as we speak.”

Mother and daughter shared a warm, teary laugh.

“Baby?” The sound of Manning’s deep baritone announced his return home.

Elyse and Taylor swiped at their watery eyes before Taylor called back shakily, “In the living room.”

She heard the solid tread of his footsteps moving swiftly through the foyer.

“I hope you’re ready for me, darlin’, because I’m
hella
ready for—” At the sight of Elyse, Manning pulled up short, his hands dropping from the shirt he’d started to unbutton.

After an awkward beat of silence, Taylor said sheepishly, “Hey, baby. We have company.”

“Uh, yeah, I see that.” He smiled courteously at her mother. “Hello, Mrs. Vaughn.”

“Hello, Manning.” Elyse’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “It’s nice to see you again. You have a beautiful home.”

He inclined his head. “Thank you. I didn’t know you were coming to town.”

“Neither did Taylor. I dropped in unexpectedly. I hope I’m not intruding?”

“Not at all,” Manning murmured, approaching the sofa. When Taylor lifted her face to his, he brushed a soft kiss across her mouth and searched her eyes. His furrowed brows and rigid jaw let her know he didn’t like what he saw. He could read her moods, and he could tell that she’d been crying. He probably thought her mother had come there to pressure her into marrying Aidan.

Before Taylor could tell him otherwise, he took her hand and tugged her up from the sofa, then sat on a nearby chair and pulled her down to his lap. When her mother lifted a brow at the blatantly possessive gesture, Manning looked back at her as if to say,
She’s mine. Don’t even think about trying to take her away from me.

A shadow of a smile touched Elyse’s mouth, and her eyes glinted with respect. “I owe you an apology, Manning.”

Manning had begun rubbing Taylor’s back in slow, lazy circles. Upon hearing her mother’s words, his hand stilled in surprise.

“I’ve always prided myself on being a good judge of character,” Elyse continued solemnly. “When I first met you, my instincts told me you were an upstanding young man who genuinely loved my daughter. I should have trusted those instincts, but I didn’t. For more than twenty years, I believed the absolute worst of you—that you took Taylor’s virginity and then deserted her the first chance you got. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. You and Taylor were both victims of her father’s malicious cruelty, and for that I am profoundly sorry. I hope you can forgive me for not only doubting your love for Taylor, but for speaking ill of you all these years.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Mrs. Vaughn,” Manning said quietly. “You love your daughter, so I know how hard it must have been for you to see her hurting when she didn’t receive my letters. It was only natural that you’d think the worst of me, and I don’t hold that against you.” He paused a moment. “Going forward, the only time I’ll ever have a problem with you is if you try to interfere in my relationship with your daughter, if you try to separate us in any way. As long as that doesn’t happen, we should be fine.”

Elyse held his unflinching gaze for a long moment, then slowly leaned back against the sofa with an approving smile. “I like your style, Manning Wolf. I can always admire and respect a man who shoots straight from the hip.” Her eyes twinkled. “We could use more people like you in Congress.”

Manning smiled languidly. “You flatter me, Senator Vaughn, but I think I’ll leave politicking to those who have the patience for it. How long will you be in town?”

“Just tonight. I’m staying at the Four Seasons.”

“You were,” Manning countered smoothly. “And now you’re staying here.”

Elyse blinked. “Well, I—”

“I’m sure you and Taylor would enjoy spending more time together. And I have more than enough room to accommodate you. So there’s really no reason you shouldn’t stay with us tonight.”

“Are you sure?” Elyse teased, arching an amused brow at his partially unbuttoned shirt. “I wouldn’t want to interfere with your plans to ravish my daughter.”

“Oh, you won’t interfere,” Manning drawled roguishly. “Just because all these windows are made of glass doesn’t mean the bedroom walls are.”

Elyse threw back her head and laughed as Taylor blushed. When she shot Manning an aggrieved look, he grinned unabashedly.

Elyse sighed, dabbing tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes. “Since it seems the matter has been settled, I’ll call my driver and have him bring my suitcase.”

Manning smiled. “Good. While you’re waiting for him, you and your daughter can have dinner. I couldn’t decide what to bring you from the restaurant,” he explained to Taylor, “so I just ordered two different entrées. Desserts too. Crème brûlée and something else I can’t remember.”

Taylor smiled. “That worked out perfectly.”

“Yup. I’ll put the food in the kitchen.” He kissed her warmly on the lips, then lifted her off his lap and stood. “If you lovely ladies will excuse me, I’m gonna hop in the shower. It’s been a long day.”

As he sauntered out of the room, Elyse rose from the sofa, draped an arm around Taylor’s waist and sighed. “You never stood a chance, darling.”

“Of what?”

“Resisting that man. Not only is he absolutely gorgeous, but he’s virile as hell and unapologetically alpha. A force of nature if I ever saw one.”

“I know.” Taylor heaved a sigh. “You’ve always warned me to avoid domineering men.”

Elyse snorted. “When he comes in a package like
that
, one must make an exception.”

After they ate, Taylor gave her mother the grand tour of the house, enjoying her delighted reactions and exclamations.

After years of being on her own, it amazed Taylor how easily she’d settled into living with Manning. It felt perfectly natural to share a bathroom with him, to shower with him every morning, to come home together and end the day wrapped in each other’s arms. She felt like she belonged there, which was dangerous given the uncertainty of her future with Manning. The summer music residency ended in ten days, at which time she was scheduled to return home to Paris. That was the plan.

But was it what she wanted?

And what about Manning? What did
he
want? She knew beyond a doubt that he loved her and wanted to be with her, but was he willing to follow her back to Paris if she asked him to?

“Darling?”

Taylor blinked at her mother, embarrassed to realize that her mind had wandered in the middle of the tour.

She forced a bright smile. “Let me show you the library.”

After the tour, Manning made some popcorn and joined them in the home theater to watch a tense political thriller, which was enjoyable despite Elyse’s insistence on pointing out inaccuracies. Her indignant guffaws and rolling eyes had Manning and Taylor cracking up at her. When the movie ended and she grudgingly admitted that it had been “pretty entertaining,” they all burst out laughing.

It was only later, when Taylor was lying in bed, that her thoughts returned to the tumultuous developments of the day. Her father’s vicious threats and her mother’s shocking revelations swirled riotously through her mind, making her stomach churn.

One phone call is all it would take to put Wolf Biotech on the FDA’s shit list.

I had an affair…I cheated on your father.

I guess you are your mother’s daughter after all.

Your father is punishing you for my sins.

It’s not too late for you to come to your senses. But you’re running out of time….

“Hey.” Emerging from the bathroom, Manning lay down on the bed and spooned against Taylor’s back. His breath was a cool, minty caress on her nape. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been off since I came home.”

Taylor swallowed tightly. “Have I?”

“You know you have. Tell me what’s wrong.”

She hesitated. “My mother shared some things with me. Things about the past…”

Manning gently stroked her hair. “Like what?”

Her eyes burned with unshed tears. “I’ll tell you,” she promised quietly. “But not tonight. I just…I just need…”

“What?” he murmured tenderly. “What do you need, sweetheart?”

Taylor turned, curling into his body as his arms wrapped protectively around her and tucked her tight against him. “Just hold me,” she whispered, closing her eyes as a few tears escaped. “That’s all I need right now. You holding me…”

37

T
wo days later, Mr. Haley drove Manning and Taylor to DeKalb Peachtree Airport. He pulled right up to Manning’s Gulfstream, handed their luggage to the crew and wished them a good trip, then stood watching with a smile as they boarded the private plane.

The luxurious interior boasted custom leather seating, rich mahogany paneling and a plush bedroom suite. It even had a domed ceiling that changed color to simulate day, dusk and night.

Once the plane left the tarmac, Manning and Taylor were served cocktails and lunch while music from her latest album played softly from hidden speakers.

Taylor still hadn’t told Manning about her father’s threats or her mother’s painful revelations about the past. Though she wanted to confide in him, it never seemed to be the right time. Not during their morning commute, and not on the way home after a long day apart from each other.

Last night, his family and friends—bearing food and wine—had come over to visit them before they left for Paris. Throughout the festive evening, Manning’s heated gaze had followed Taylor from room to room as she laughed and mingled with their guests, thoroughly enjoying her role as hostess. As soon as everyone left, Manning had pounced on her, tossing her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and whisking her off to bed. He’d kept her up half the night, making love to her with an insatiable ferocity that had her alternately sobbing with pleasure and begging for mercy.

No wonder she was ready for a nap the moment she finished eating lunch.

She sighed languidly, letting the sweeping notes of Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto wash over her as she lounged on the sumptuous leather seat next to Manning. “I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“Yes?” Manning murmured as he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, a soothing gesture that lulled her into a deeper state of relaxation.

“Your great-grandfather was a member of the Omega Psi Phi chapter at Morehouse, right?”

“Right.”

“And since then, many of your male relatives have become Omegas.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You, Michael, Magnum and Marcus attended Morehouse”— she couldn’t suppress a yawn —“but Marcus is the only one who didn’t join the fraternity. I was just wondering why.”