Fool for Love: Fooling Around\Nobody's Fool\Fools Rush In (17 page)

K
ATE REREAD
the note and sipped her tea. She was glad she had waited until this morning to reply to the note, waited until she had recovered from Eric's latest assault on her senses so she could think more clearly.

She bit her lip. So Neil Powers wasn't the most exciting man she'd ever met—at least he was insightful and attentive. And accommodating. She had a feeling that dating Neil would be conflict-free. Unlike…

Kate frowned and hit the send button, then settled
back with her tea to watch a Sunday news magazine on TV. The anchor's mouth moved, but unfortunately it was Eric's words that kept creeping into her head like a bad song.
There's something between us, Kate, and it's inevitable that we get together. Forget that you're my boss—we're man and woman first.

She emitted a dry laugh. The man's ego was big enough to be taxed. And that kiss…

She gave herself a mental shake and decided to take a book to the pool. They weren't scheduled to depart for Pensacola until late this afternoon, and she was feeling confined. Unfortunately, the only book she had with her was
How to Make an Effective Sales Call.
She donned a modest green one-piece bathing suit and a pair of shorts and headed to the outdoor pool, which was crowded. She found a chaise in a semi-shady spot a few feet away from the activity and tilted her face up to enjoy a few minutes of sun before diving into her less-than-riveting reading material.

And that kiss…well, Eric had really overstepped his bounds there. Did he think she would be receptive to him after the way he'd behaved? That she'd be willing to hitch her reputation to his runaway train? She wet her lips, reliving the intense pressure of his determined kiss. Hard, skilled…promising.

“With that smile on your face, you must be thinking about something good.”

Her eyes flew open. Eric stood over her, brown and buff and wearing black trunks.

“Nice day, eh?”

At the sight of his bare broad shoulders, she swallowed. “You're blocking the sun.”

He moved and walked over a few feet to grab an empty chaise. “Mind if I pull up a chair?”

She frowned. “Actually, I'd rather be alone.”

“That's no fun,” he said, dragging the chaise close, then dropping into the chair. “I hope you know that my dry cleaner is going to charge me a small fortune to get the food stains out of my clothes.”

She turned over on her stomach and reached for the book. “Don't even think about trying to expense it.”

“Need some lotion on your back?”

“No.”

“Towel?”

“No.”

“Cocktail?”

“No.”

“Whatcha reading?”

Without looking in his direction, she held up the cover, then reread the same paragraph for the third time.

“Do you work
all
the time?” he asked.

She looked up. “Do you talk
all
the time?”

“Pretty much—it's my only flaw.”

She lowered her sunglasses. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“Yes.” He sighed. “Kate, I want to call a truce.”

She arched an eyebrow. “A truce?”

He nodded. “I really want to land this deal with Lexan.”

At the uncharacteristically genuine tone of his voice, her mouth softened. “And?”

“And…I need your help.”

She frowned, wary. “How so?”

“I'm not connecting with the buyer.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“He doesn't like me.” He shrugged. “Go figure.”

One side of her mouth slid back. “How do you know he doesn't like you?”

He winked. “Believe me, I can tell when someone does or doesn't like me. Besides, he called this morning to cancel our meeting tomorrow.”

She blinked. “We're not going to get the business this quarter?” With Eric leaving, it could be a while before someone could take over major accounts. She hadn't even thought about a replacement.

“I did talk the guy into rescheduling to Tuesday.” His grin was sheepish. “I told him I had my boss with me and I couldn't leave town without bringing you by.”

The smallest of smiles lifted the corners of her mouth. “I'm your Trojan horse?”

“Something like that. The thing is, the buyer really does like our line of electronic games, I can tell. So, I'm thinking our odds of getting the business will improve if we hit him with a tag team presentation.”

She weighed the benefit of the business to Handley versus having to work closely with Eric on a presentation. Since he was leaving the company soon, this would be a good way to find out as much as possible about Lexan and his other accounts without raising his suspicion. And she had agreed to accompany him on this trip to learn more about direct sales—this might be her only chance to pitch directly to the customer. Then she frowned. “Do I have your word that there will be no funny business?”

He held up his hand. “Scout's honor, boss.”

She turned over and sat up. “What would I have to do?”

 

E
RIC COULDN'T REMEMBER
the last time he'd been nervous on a sales call, but his hands were sweaty as he held open the door and allowed Kate to precede him into the building that housed Lexan Electronics' headquarters. Some of his apprehension was due to the fact that he did want to close this business—his bonus was riding on a healthy order, and he preferred to leave Handley with a bang. But he conceded that much of the tightness in his chest was due to the fact that Kate would witness him either close the deal, or crash and burn.

Talk about performance anxiety.

The lobby was an impressive display of tile, glass and chrome, but Eric only had eyes for the woman who walked in front of him.

In the last day and a half, they had gotten along better than he could have imagined because they'd been focused on one objective. He wanted the account badly enough to repress his natural urge to flirt with Kate, and in return, he'd watched Kate slowly let down her defenses. The drive to Pensacola yesterday had been downright enjoyable. He had shared his approach to other major accounts, and together they'd assembled a dynamite presentation for Lexan.

Although in his opinion, the vision of Kate in a cream-colored suit was enough to clinch the deal.

The problem was, while his respect for her over the past couple of days had grown exponentially, so had his lust. He had no choice now but to leave
Handley because he knew for certain he wouldn't be able to hide his desire every time he saw her.

The buyer, David Jyles, greeted them with his normal brittle tone, but as Eric predicted, Kate had him eating out of her hand in no time. She asked endless questions about their operation, using her relative ignorance of sales to her advantage. At the end of their allotted thirty minutes, the buyer called his secretary and asked that his schedule be cleared so he could spend more time with the “good people from Handley.”

Pangs of jealousy barbed through Eric's chest when the man swept appreciative glances over Kate, but he could tell Jyles was also responding to her genuine manner and her savvy questions.

He remembered a couple of sentences he'd read in the secret admirer note that he'd seen when he was looking over Kate's shoulder at the electronics show—why
was
someone as amazing as Kate still single? And did she have a broken heart in her background?

Funny, but he'd never thought about Kate having broken his heart when they were in Vegas. She'd gotten under his skin, into his brain, and she continued to plague various other parts of his body…but his heart?

“Eric,” Kate said in a tone that indicated he had missed something.

He blinked. “I'm sorry—yes?”

“Mr. Jyles asked to see our samples.”

Eric leapt into action, unlocking his sample case and lapsing into the presentation he and Kate had perfected. He demonstrated the twelve handheld
games while she took on the role of liaison, seemingly as skeptical as Jyles at first, asking lots of questions to help guide the buyer toward “yes.” An hour later, Jyles was exhibiting signs of wanting to be asked for a deal. Eric went for the close and waited.

Jyles clasped his hands on his desk and twiddled his thumbs. He glanced back and forth between Kate and Eric. “I have to be honest with you—I'm really happy with Travister, the line of games we carry.”

Eric's stomach twisted in disappointment.

“But,”
Jyles continued, “I'm willing to supplement our current product line with, say, four Handley games.”

Supplement, not replace. A strategy, Eric recalled, that Kate had suggested in her sales meeting. And his response, he recalled, had been
I don't do things small.

His mind raced. Even if Jyles placed an excellent order for the four games, it wouldn't be enough for him to hit his numbers for a sales bonus. He'd been complacent this quarter, counting on his ability to land this account in a big way—the McDaniels way. It would be the same end result for him if Jyles bought four games or none. And if he bought four, that would make it harder to sell Mixxo games to him a few months down the road.

But four games would give Handley a toehold with a big player.

Eric swallowed. He felt Kate's gaze on him, unaware of his inner turmoil.

“Four games would be a great beginning,” he heard himself say, then he stood and extended his hand to Jyles.

 

“I'
M SORRY
you won't get your bonus this quarter,” Kate said, sipping the dessert wine they'd ordered. She
had
felt for him during the presentation to Jyles. She'd understood it was hard for him to swallow his pride and take the lesser deal—the deal she had suggested…especially since he wouldn't see the benefit of the business.

“That's okay,” he said lightly. “There's always next quarter.”

She sipped again, fighting the urge to tell him that she knew he wouldn't be around next quarter. He'd made a sacrifice today for Handley, so she owed him the courtesy of letting him announce his departure.

“We were good together,” he said, his eyes twinkling. He lifted his glass. “To us.”

She hesitated, then clinked her glass against his. As they sipped, the atmosphere changed. The smile left his eyes and was replaced by desire. Longing pooled in her stomach, sending warning signals to her brain. The last few days had been too enjoyable, too relaxed. She'd let down her guard, and he'd managed to slip past her defenses.

“I guess this is it,” he said. “Our last night.”

She nodded, unable to speak. Certainly unable to respond to his subtle invitation.
Our last night on the road. No one has to know.

Her heart pounded against her rib cage, her pulse throbbed in her ears. She wanted him more than she'd ever wanted any man, more than she'd wanted him six years ago. There was no good end to the sexual fascination she had for Eric McDaniels. The wisest alternative seemed to be evasion.

“I think I'm going to call it a night,” she said
abruptly, setting down her glass and rummaging for her credit card.

“Go ahead,” he said, his voice gruff. “Let me get the check tonight.”

She looked up and saw the message in his eyes: Go.
Now.
“Okay,” she murmured. “Good night.” Kate didn't wait for him to respond and practically race-walked out of the restaurant and to the elevator. She stabbed at the up button, feeling the pull of his body calling to hers.

When the doors opened, she rushed inside the elevator and leaned into the wall until she was delivered to her floor. She fumbled with her electronic door key, but eventually got in. The air-conditioning was a blast of relief to her fevered face. One more night—she only had to get through one more night.

But she kept looking back to the door, wavering. Would she forever regret not taking Eric up on his subtle offer? Maybe making love with him again would be the one thing that would release her from the hold he seemed to have on her. In her present state of mind, the ramifications seemed hazy and obscure, but she reasoned that nothing could be as bad as this unbearable longing.

She walked to the door and took a deep breath. Just as she reached for the knob, she heard a rustle of footsteps on the other side. She looked through the peephole and at the sight of Eric, his jacket slung over his shoulder and his head down in thought, her heart soared. When she opened the door, his arm was up in the knocking position.

He blinked in surprise. “Kate. I…um…”

She exhaled and bit into her lip. “Me, too.” Then she stepped aside to let him in.

T
HEY WERE LOCKED
in a frantic kiss before the door closed. Kate opened her mouth to receive his tongue, heady with the knowledge of what was to come. His jacket fell on the floor. She splayed her hands on his back, frustrated at the fabric barrier between her hands and his skin. They began to undress each other, still kissing, touching, murmuring. She reveled in the warm, smooth skin of his biceps, explored his back and waist. He slipped her bra strap down her shoulder, kissing a trail of fire across her collar bone.

Kate gave in to his touch, arching into his body, hurrying his mouth to her breasts. He unhooked her bra and covered her nipple with his lips, licking and drawing her into his warm mouth, kneading her flesh with his hand. She cried out, pushing her hands into his thick hair, skimming her nails across the nape of his neck. He pulled away long enough to tug at the waistband of her skirt. She took over to speed things along, and by the time she had stripped down to her lacy cream-colored panties, he was completely nude,
his erection hard, the velvety knob already wet with wanting her.

He held her at arm's length and emitted a groan of appreciation that weakened her knees. She went into his arms for a full-body-contact kiss. His arousal pressed into her stomach, sending moisture to the V of her thighs. He brushed his hand against her stomach, then lower to tease her wet curls with his fingers, fondling the tiny nub that resided there. She gasped and leaned into him, pulling on his shoulders and arms, raking his back.

He scooped her up and carried her the few steps to the bed, lowering himself on top of her, moving her hair aside to kiss her neck and her ear. She undulated against him and he moaned, then clasped a budded nipple in his mouth. Age-old desire flooded her midsection, and she captured his erection in her hand. He inhaled sharply against her breast, then kissed her again, hard, using his tongue and teeth to kindle a like response.

Their feverish fingers and tongues were tinged with desperation, as if they both knew they might never get the chance to touch each other again. Suddenly he reached down to clasp her stroking hand. “Enough,” he said hoarsely, his eyes hooded. “I can't take much more, Kate.”

“Then make love to me,” she murmured.

His breath rasped out and he kissed her again, briefly. “Don't move.” He pulled away and left the bed, grabbing his pants off the ground, getting protection, she realized. Seeing his hands shake filled her with warm satisfaction—she affected him as much as he affected her. She took the condom from
him and rolled it on. He lay down next to her and turned her over to face him, then pulled her knee over his hip, aligning them sex to sex.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her neck and inhaling. “You smell so good. Kate, do you know how long I've wanted you?”

Any response she might have had was obliterated when he cupped his hand behind her hip and thrust into her ready body. She gasped and clawed at his shoulder. He rocked into her fully, breathing hard, then was still, allowing her to become accustomed to his length. She reveled in the exquisite fullness and contracted around him, pulsing slowly at first, then moving against him with more intensity. He slid into the rhythm she chose, using his thumb to stroke her sensitive folds.

Kate was powerless against the passion that consumed her. Eric instinctively knew her body and her needs. She buried her face against his shoulder, inhaling the scent of him, resurrecting a buried memory that she had been there before, had kissed this very patch of skin, had loved it then and loved it now.

Loved
him
now.

The realization of her feelings for Eric fueled her desire, sent her to a higher physical plane. She moved her hips in a deliciously slow dance, clasping the length of him, delaying the stroke of his hand against her. She felt her climax building from that unidentifiable, mysterious place that is nowhere, then suddenly everywhere at once. She nipped at his ear. “I'm going to come,” she breathed.

He flicked his tongue against her ear. “I want to hear you, Kate.”

The hum in her body suddenly converged into one point, shooting to the surface, bringing spasms of pleasure that sent her body bucking against his. She cried his name over and over. Just as she was descending, floating, he rolled her beneath him and plunged into her with a guttural noise. He whispered her name against her breasts, and gathered her close. Their bodies were perfectly attuned. She met him stroke for stroke, faster and deeper until he shuddered and collapsed into her. “Kate…Kate.”

She sighed and held his head against her neck as he recovered, wanting to fold herself into him. How could she have fallen for him…again? What about this man made her want to risk everything? He kissed her neck, her chin, then pulled her over to face him and smiled. “Wow.”

“Yeah, wow,” was all she could say.

“So,” he said with a little laugh, “are we going to get together and do this every six years?”

She wasn't sure what she expected—a profession of undying love? A request to take her out sometime? His class ring?—but her heart shook with disappointment anyway. It was great, it was quick, it was over. She conjured up a smile. “Who knows where we'll be in six years?”

“True,” he murmured, and she waited for him to tell her he was leaving Handley. He didn't. Instead he left the bed and went into the bathroom—to dispose of the condom, she assumed.

She lay there, her sweat-covered body now chilled,
a dull ache in her chest, dreading what was to come. She got up and quickly redressed, then placed his clothes on the foot of the bed.

Eric emerged from the bathroom, took in her state of dress and gave a little laugh. “I guess you don't want me to spend the night.”

Kate hugged herself. “I don't think that's a good idea. Let's not make this more awkward than it has to be.”

He looked at her, his expression unreadable, then lifted his hands. “Okay.” She turned away while he dressed.

“You can dispense with the false modesty, Kate. We've just seen everything there is to see.”

She refused to turn around, though, mostly because she was afraid her face wore a telltale expression. “What time are we leaving tomorrow?” she asked over her shoulder.

He grunted. “How about nine o'clock? That way I can drop you off at the office before three in the afternoon. I assume you want to get back to work ASAP?”

“Of course,” she said, sounding prim even to her own ears. “After all, we're finished here.”

“Yes, we are,” he said. “Good night, Kate.”

She turned, suddenly panicky. “Eric?”

He was at the door, but turned back. “Yeah?”

“I'm sure you understand how…that is, I wouldn't want everyone—”

“Relax, Kate,” he said with a laugh. The McDaniels charisma was back—carefree, nonchalant, casual. “This stays between us. Trust me.”

K
ATE STUDIED
the screen and exhaled slowly to ease the guilt pangs in her chest. So she'd be using Neil Powers to get over Eric—men did it all the time. Besides, if given the chance, Neil might turn out to be the man of her dreams. If last night's episode had taught her anything, it was that she was wasting time—and love—on Eric McDaniels.

She signed off her computer, packed it up, and wheeled her luggage toward the elevator, wincing when her overused hip and calf muscles contracted. It wasn't bad enough that Eric was the first man she'd slept with in a long time—if he knew that she'd fallen in love with him, he'd never let her live it down.

In Eric's eyes, it would be the ultimate joke. On her.

 

E
RIC STABBED
a button on his cell phone, listening to the ring while keeping an eye out for Kate. His bad mood was getting worse every minute. When Winston's voice mail kicked on, he swore under his breath. After the beep, he said, “Winston, it's Eric. Where the hell are you? Look, man, I changed my mind about the April Fool's gag on my boss, okay? So cancel the e-mail that was supposed to go out tomorrow to the distribution list I gave you. Got that?
Cancel the e-mail.
And give me a call to let me know you got this message.” He hit the end key, and re
turned the phone to his inside jacket pocket, irritation guiding his every movement.

Then make love to me,
she'd said.

Damn, what a fine damn mess he'd gotten himself into. Damn it. Setting up his boss for a humiliating stunt. Sleeping with her. And now…damn it, damn it, damn it, he was having all these weird
feelings
for her. Protective. Concerned.
Loving.
He pulled his hand down his face. This was bad.

When the elevator doors opened and Kate alighted looking every inch the smart, successful, sexy woman she was, Eric's gut clenched.

This was very, very bad.