If Only You Knew. Gwyneth Bolton

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      Chapter 3

      She looked like a woman riding to her death sentence, Carlton thought wryly as he eyed Latonya in the back seat of his limousine. It almost seemed as if the warm, vibrant woman who had been in his arms fifteen minutes ago had been a mirage. The expression on her face showed a woman not too happy about the prospect of having dinner with him.

      After crossing the line and kissing her, he knew that he wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to have her more than he’d ever wanted anything else in his entire thirty-five years of life. But if he were honest, he’d admit he’d known that before he kissed her. He’d tried to ignore his feelings. Hell, he even tried to be extra harsh on Latonya, hoping it would force her to stay clear of him. However, when he found she could gladly stay away from him, he’d started coming up with reasons to make sure he could be around her.

      He wondered if working on the Biltmore project had caused a wrinkle in whatever relationship she had with Jeff Weatherby. The two of them were always flirting. Hell, Latonya always playfully flirted with the rest of the guys in the department—everyone except for him. What he wouldn’t have done to have her bat those sparkling eyes at him.

      In the short time that he had known her, she had managed to get under his skin in a big way. The way she kissed him once she had loosened up suggested that sex with her would be a delightful encounter. Passion leaped from her at his touch. When he kissed her, he swore he felt electric currents shoot through his system. He needed to find a way to get her out of his system and—after kissing her—he figured a more intimate arrangement might just do the trick. If they had sex, he’d be over his infatuation and they would be able to continue working together. He usually didn’t hold any woman in his mind very long after he’d been inside her.

      Permanent relationships just weren’t his style. He’d learned early in life that love and commitment never came to a good end. The things he’d witnessed with his own parents made him more than a little gun-shy when it came to long-term relationships. Love wasn’t something he was looking for.

      Carlton glanced at Latonya again. Calling her a very beautiful woman felt like a huge understatement. Her flawless face was the color of rich toffee. And when she was happy, her brown eyes danced with passion and vibrancy. Her auburn hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. He’d always imagined what her hair would look like when it wasn’t pinned up. When she’d come into the office with it down, she looked prettier than he ever could have imagined. She wore a pair of drab navy-blue slacks, and even they were sexy on her. Her body had such delicious curves that he salivated just thinking about them. She made those boring nondescript business suits she wore look like something that could be found in a lingerie shop.

      He’d been struggling to keep his eyes off her all day. When she’d come and stood by him, it was all he could do not to pull her onto his lap and kiss her senseless. He barely made it out of the office to catch his breath. No woman had ever had such an impact on him.

      It was a good thing she’d been able to work, because he could barely focus on anything but her. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t kept catching him while he stared at her. Always in control of his emotions, he felt thrown off balance by the woman.

      That’s why he’d made up his mind to face whatever attraction there was between them head-on. He was tired of running from it. It was out of character for him to run from anything or to deny himself something he wanted. He decided that must have been the reason Latonya was causing such strange feelings in him. Once he faced the feelings and they explored them, he would be fine.

      Sitting as far away from him as she could possibly get, Latonya twisted her hands nervously in her lap as she gazed out the window. If he didn’t know better, he would think she was running scared.

      He pulled out a bottle of wine from the minifridge, hoping if she had something to drink that she would loosen up a bit more.

      Clearing his throat, he implored, “Latonya, look at me.”

      She turned slightly and glared at him.

      Well, that’s progress, he reasoned. At least she showed some emotion. He handed her a glass of wine and she took it hesitantly.

      “You can drink it. It’s not poisoned.”

      Rolling her eyes, she turned to face the window again. Her hand shook as she sipped the wine.

      Her jittery nervousness sparked a deep desire in him to ease some of her discomfort. Sliding closer to her in the seat, he placed his arm around her. She jumped and spilled the glass of wine.

      “Why are you so jumpy? Relax,” he whispered softly, picking up the glass and placing it in a holder.

      He bent his head to kiss her. Her lips were soft and inviting. She tasted like the sweet wine and a hint of peppermint. Once he worked his tongue into her mouth, he felt any thirst he had ever had being quenched. She sighed just before she relaxed into his embrace and a sharp jolt raced through him at the sound. Suddenly he was struck with so much need he almost couldn’t concentrate.

      She was intoxicating and addictive, and he couldn’t pull away from her if he wanted to. He allowed his hands to explore her luscious body. He pulled her closer until he almost had her on his lap. Still it didn’t seem close enough. If he could have inhaled her, injected her into his veins somehow, he would have done it.

      He pulled away and took a ragged breath. If he didn’t stop kissing her, he would wind up quickly taking her in the back of the limo, and he didn’t want that to happen. He wanted to savor every moment. The woman had wreaked havoc with his libido and his emotions and he fully intended to take his time to see if she offered all he’d imagined.

      “We should probably stop,” he managed to mutter as he tried without success to catch his breath and calm himself down.

      A red stain flushed her toffee cheeks and her eyes fluttered. Her face became the picture of embarrassment as she put some distance between them. Clearing her throat, she took a deep breath.

      “Mr. Harrington, I really would like you to reconsider this…dinner. I’m really not comfortable with it. I realize that there is some attraction. But this is not the best way to deal with it.” She cleared her throat again as she ran her hand across her navy slacks, picking off nonexistent lint. “I think it would be best if you just have your driver take me home.”

      “Do you really? Because now that I’ve kissed you, Latonya, I can honestly say that wouldn’t work for me at all.”

      She sighed and looked away, seeming emotionally torn.

      He ran his fingers over her long auburn tresses. “Tell me that you’re not attracted to me. Tell me that you don’t want this as much as I do.”

      With a face full of anger and passion, fueled no doubt by stilted desire, she turned to face him again. Instead of responding in words, she simply pursed her lips.

      The sight of her luscious lips closed so defiantly made him want to kiss her again. At least she didn’t deny she wanted him. He took a small relief in that as he continued to toy with her hair. Pulling her closer, Carlton whispered, “I’ll tell you what, you let me treat you to dinner since you worked so hard today. And we’ll just see how the night goes. Who knows, you might even have fun.”

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