Susan Mallery - Tempting

Alex stood. "I know there will be consequences. I said I'll deal with it and I will."

"You have to learn to walk away."

The words shouldn't have surprised him. Mark was nothing if not a consummate politician. "I don't walk away where my family is concerned."

"Then I hope you're ready to give up the law, because it's about done with you."

***

Dani walked into the restaurant and wasn't surprised to find a crowd. The parking lot had been overflowing with cars. What she didn't expect was to be attacked by several reporters with flashing cameras and tiny, digital tape recorders.

"Have you met with your father today?"

"How long have you known you're related to Senator Canfield?"

"Did your mother's husband know about her affair?"

Dani drew in a deep breath, then held up both hands. "If you'll be quiet for a moment, I have a statement I'd like to make."

They were instantly silent.

Power, Dani thought humorously. I must remember to use it for good.

She cleared her throat. "This is a privately owned restaurant. It is not public property or in the public domain. You are more than welcome to order a very expensive dinner, complete with cocktails and dessert, and tip really well, or you can leave." She looked at her watch. "You have thirty seconds to decide. Then I'm calling the cops and having you arrested for loitering."

A couple of the reporters headed out. One moved toward her.

"You can't do this," he said. "You're a story."

She dug her cell phone out of her purse and flipped it open. "Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen."

The man swore and left. Seconds later, the foyer of the restaurant was empty. Dani breathed in a sigh of relief, then headed for the tiny office she shared with Bernie. Her boss met her in the hallway.

"Impressive," he said. "I didn't know what to do with them. We've never had reporters here."

Dani shook her head. "I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to be a problem for you."

"Hey, maybe they'll mention us in the paper. That could be good for business."

He was taking this far better than she could have hoped. Still, he couldn't be happy about reporters lurking around the restaurant.

She went to work. Business was good. Dani made several rounds, checking on guests and making sure there were no reporters getting in anyone's way. A little after nine, she saw a single man seated at a corner table.

She recognized him immediately and felt her entire body go on sex-alert. Hormones hummed something that sounded a lot like "Take me. Take me now."

She walked to the wine cellar and pulled out a favorite bottle, then returned to the table. Alex rose when she pulled out a chair.

"Unless you were expecting someone else," she said.

He smiled. "No. Just you."

Simple words that shouldn't have meant anything. But there was something about the way he said them that made her go weak at the knees. Good thing she was already sitting down.

"Are you eating or just visiting?" she asked.

"I'm hungry."

"The ravioli on special is excellent. I'd highly recommend it."

"Then that's what I want."

Was it her or had his voice gotten lower and sexier? It was all she could do to keep from fanning herself.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm still taking it all in. The press was here earlier."

"Your boss told me. He said you handled them perfectly."

"I appreciate the praise, but I'm not taking credit. I told them to buy dinner or get out."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. It worked."

"Would you really have called the police?*' he asked.

"In a heartbeat."

Dani ordered for them and asked the server to let her know if anything needed her attention. He poured the wine, then left.

Dani took a sip from her glass. "I'm making a mess everywhere I go. Should I quit my job?"

"No."

"But they'll be back. Until something more interesting comes along, they're going to mess with my life."

"If you quit, they win. You're not a quitter."

There was something in the way he made the statement. "You know this how?"

He shrugged. "I've heard."

"What, exactly?"

Alex looked uncomfortable, which she hadn't expected.

"When you first showed up, I had you investigated," he said.

He waited for the burst of anger, but there was only resignation. "A thrilling by-product of being part of the Canfield family?"

"You claimed to be the senator's daughter. What else was I supposed to do?"

She wanted to say he could have believed her, but that was too naive. After what she'd been through today, she understood the need for caution.

"So what did you learn about me?"

"The basics. Date of birth, where you went to school, how much you have in the bank. That sort of thing."

She sipped her wine. "None of that says I'm not a quitter."

He hesitated for a second, then said, "I know about your first marriage. To Hugh. I know he was injured and you stood by him. You did whatever was necessary to get him up and functioning. You could have walked away, but you didn't. Even knowing he was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, you married him."

A polite way of saying even though they would never have a normal sex life, she'd married him. "I loved him," she said. "More fool me."

"Because you got a divorce? It happens.”

It had happened to him, too, she thought. "Apparently your research isn't as thorough as you thought. Hugh left me about a year ago. He claimed I hadn't grown enough as a person in our marriage. I can't tell you how much that pissed me off. If I hadn't grown, it had been because I was busting my ass, taking care of him. Pushing him, as you said. But it turned out to be a bunch of lies. He was having an affair. Maybe several. That's why he wanted out of the marriage."

Alex's expression didn't change. "Then he's a fool."

"Good answer."

Two and a half hours later Alex walked her to her car. She knew he would and she knew what would happen when they got there. It was like being in high school again, and dating a guy she had a serious crush on. The evening was just a prelude to what they both wanted… the kissing.

Now that she was an adult, there were other, more interesting pleasures, pleasures she wasn't ready to think about yet. Not with Alex. But kissing seemed safe.

Although dinner had been good. Lots of getting-to-know-you conversation that had her liking Alex more than she should.

He pulled her into his arms. She went willingly, pressing her body against his, enjoying the hard planes of his chest and the way they fit together. Despite her brief affair with Ryan, she was still getting used to kissing a man while they were both standing. She liked it.

He brushed his mouth against hers, using just enough pressure to let her know he was serious, but not so much that she wanted to step back.

His urgency aroused her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, angled her head and parted her lips.

He swept inside, teasing her tongue with his. They circled and danced; he moved his hands up and down her back. She moved closer, wishing for more contact from him. But he didn't oblige. It was too soon and they were in public. They were taking enough of a risk, making out like this.

As he nipped her lower lip, she found she didn't really care if anyone was watching. Not when desire swept through her, making her lean in closer. He cupped her butt, causing her to surge against him. Her belly nestled his erection.

He was hard, she thought, delighted it had been so simple to arouse him. She liked that in a man.

She must have laughed, because he pulled back slightly and stared into her eyes.

"Want to share the joke?"

"I just… You're, um…" She glanced down then back at him. Thank God it was dark. Otherwise he would see her blushing.

"Dani?"

She dropped her hand to his crotch and lightly touched him.

"Are you offended?"

She grinned. "No. I'm impressed. There was one other guy after Hugh. A disaster. One before him, a million years ago. But mostly I've been dealing with a paraplegic. Our sex life was different. A lot of work for me. I didn't mind, at least not while things were good between us. We were in love and I wanted us both to be happy."

"But it wasn't easy?"

"No."

"I can be easy."

She laughed again, then kissed him. "And here I thought you'd be a stuffy lawyer."

"Me? Never."

Dani drove out of the Bella Roma parking lot and realized she didn't want to go home. The thought of the press lurking around her small house gave her the creeps. She pulled to the side, of the road to figure out where she should go instead.

All of her brothers would welcome her, but she wasn't comfortable barging in. Her list of girlfriends was pitifully small. Between working and taking care of Hugh, she hadn't had time for much of a social life. Which left only one person.

She punched in the numbers on her cell. The call was answered on the first ring.

"Hi. Did you see the paper?"

"Of course. It could be worse. When Reid was in the paper, they said he was bad in bed."

"Okay, that helps with my perspective. I don't want to go home. There are reporters everywhere."

"Then come here. I have a perfectly good gate I'm willing to use on your behalf."

"Are you sure?"

"Where else would you go?"

An interesting question, Dani thought as she pulled into the open garage at her grandmother's house. When she stepped out of her car, she hit the button to close the garage door, then went inside. Gloria was waiting for her at the top of the stairs.

Dani climbed to the first floor. "I really appreciate this," she said. Or at least that's what she meant to say. Instead she burst into tears.

Gloria pulled her close and hugged her. "I know it's not all right at this minute, but we'll make it all right. I promise."

***

Katherine poked her fork into the small scoop of pasta salad on her dinner tray, but she didn't bother to eat any. She couldn't. Her stomach had been a mess all day. She knew the cause was an unfortunate combination of stress and pain, but knowing the reason didn't make it any better.

She felt as if she'd been run over and left for dead on the side of the road. Every part of her ached. Getting through the day, smiling at her children, pretending everything was fine had taken all she'd had and then some.

The newspapers lay where she'd left them, the headlines clearly visible on the leather ottoman. She'd known the news would come out-it always did. But so soon? And like this?

A few friends had called to check on her. They'd been kind. She'd heard the questions in their voices but no one had come right out and asked if she was the reason she and Mark had adopted. Perhaps they hadn't needed to ask. Perhaps they already knew.

It shouldn't matter, she told herself. Being unable to have children was no big deal. It happened to thousands of women. They went on to lead fulfilling lives. She had, as well. She loved her family. She wouldn't change anything about it… except possibly to have given Mark what that other woman had been able to provide.

She heard his footsteps on the hardwood, floor. He came into her study and sank down at the end of the sofa.

"What a day," he began, after kissing her on the mouth and touching her cheek. "Talk about hell. We're caught up in damage control. The way the press got the story makes it more difficult to spin, but we're working on it. We haven't run any poll numbers, but the consensus is this won't hurt us too much. With the right slant, it could really work in our favor."

"That's something," she said calmly, when what she really wanted to do was scream at him. Couldn't he tell this was hurting her? Didn't he know that she was devastated?

If she had to guess, she would say he hadn't had time to think of it yet. He was too caught up in his campaign.

"Have you talked to Alex?" Mark asked. "He hit that damned reporter. He's going to be charged. There's a problem I don't want to deal with."

"He was defending Bailey. I'm sorry there are going to be consequences for him, but I can't regret what he did. It was the right thing."

Mark stared at her. "You're right. We can leak that to the press. No one likes anyone taking advantage of a child." He smiled. "You're brilliant. You should be on my payroll."

It was a familiar comment. She was supposed to follow it up by saying she would rather be in his bed. Tonight, she couldn't.