Possessed By Passion. Brenda Jackson
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I hear something about her getting married some years back?”
“She’s a divorcée now. I saw her tonight at Notorious and got that much out of her. And it was a nasty divorce.”
“How do you know?”
Tyson stretched his long legs out in front of him. “She called her ex a bastard.”
“Okay, her ex was a bastard. That doesn’t explain why you’re here at midnight.”
Without hesitation Tyson said, “I want you to find out information on her.”
Eli rolled his eyes. “Do I look like a friggin’ detective?”
“No, but she’s an architect and as president of Phoenix’s business council, you would know if she’s set up her own business in town or was hired by an established firm.”
“And you want to know that for what reason?”
Tyson’s lips curved into a smile. “Because I plan to seduce her. And before you conveniently forget your own reputation before marrying Stacey and start acting holier-than-thou, just for your information, I gave Hunter McKay fair warning of my intentions tonight.”
“You actually told her that you plan to seduce her?”
“Yes. You know how I operate, Eli. I don’t play games and divorcées are my specialty. I’ll be doing her a favor, especially if her ex was the bastard she claims he was.”
Eli frowned. “You claim you gave her fair warning, so now I’m going to give you the same, Tyson. I had a plan for Stacey, although my plan was different from yours. My plan backfired. In my case it was for the best. My advice to you is to tread lightly and with caution, or you’re liable to get possessed by passion. Once that happens, it will be all over for you.”
Tyson frowned. “Possessed by passion? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’re cocky enough to think that once you get Hunter McKay in your bed, you’re going to blow her mind.”
Tyson smiled confidently. “Of course.”
“Have you given any thought to the possibility that she’ll end up blowing yours?”
Tyson stared hard at his brother. “No, I haven’t given it any thought because that won’t be happening.”
Hunter studied the older woman sitting across her desk. Pauline Martin had come to her highly recommended by Hunter’s brother, Bernie, who was a good friend of the woman’s son. Ms. Martin’s husband had died last year and she wanted to do something other than stay in the house and stare at the walls. The administrative assistant position seemed perfect for her. From the interview, Hunter had known she was just what McKay Architecture Firm needed. Now if she could only get some clients.
She was scheduled to meet with an advertising firm later that day to discuss ideas on how she could promote her business. There were a number of architectural companies in Phoenix and the key to succeeding was to make sure hers stood out.
Hunter stood. “I’m looking forward to us working together, Pauline, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thanks, Hunter.”
An hour or so later Hunter had snapped her briefcase closed to leave for the day. Starting over in a business wasn’t easy but, as her parents had reminded her that morning when she’d stopped by their house for breakfast, she was a fighter. What Carter had done was wrong, but instead of getting bitter, she had to do better. She had to look ahead and not look back. No matter what, she couldn’t let him break her.
And more than anything, she couldn’t believe all men were like Carter Robinson. Had he really expected her to remain his wife while he engaged in all those affairs? And when she had confronted him about it, he’d only laughed and told her to get over it. He’d said she wouldn’t leave him because she had too much to lose, and that no matter what she accused him of, his family would stick by his side.
And they had.
Even his mother, who’d said she sympathized with Hunter over her son’s wretched behavior, had stuck by him in the end. For Hunter, that had hurt more than anything because she’d assumed she and Nadine Robinson had had a good and close relationship. At least they had until the day Hunter had decided to bring her eight-year marriage to Carter to an end. Then Nadine had proven Carter right. Blood had been thicker than water.
Even with Carter’s high-priced divorce lawyer, at least the judge who’d handled the divorce had sided with her and ordered Carter to give her fifty percent equity out of the company. He hadn’t even wanted to do that. And the judge had been more than fair in making sure he did the same with their home, as well as all the other assets Carter had acquired over the years. Some she hadn’t known about until the day the private investigator she’d hired had uncovered them.
So now she was back in Phoenix. In a way she felt like a stranger in her own hometown, since she’d made Boston her home ever since enrolling in MIT for her graduate degree. She’d been working a few years when she’d met Carter at a fund-raiser her architecture firm had given. He was a member of the Boston Robinsons, a family that took pride in their old-money status and the rich history that came with it.
They’d been married three years when she’d first found about Carter’s affairs. He swore they meant nothing and begged her to forgive him, and she had. He became attentive for a year or two, and they’d even tried having a family, but with no success. Hunter wasn’t exactly sure when his affairs had picked back up again, but she’d begun noticing the usual—lipstick on the collar, the scent of another woman’s perfume and suspicious text messages. That’s when she hired a private investigator. The PI’s report had been the last straw. There was no way she could remain married to Carter after that, regardless of what her in-laws thought. In the end, they had sided with Carter in his campaign to destroy her.
She drew in a deep breath, refusing to give in to her sorrows. Somewhere out there were women in far worse situations than she. Her grandmother used to repeat that adage about making lemons into lemonade and Hunter intended to do just that.
At that moment the image of Tyson Steele came into her mind. Not that it had actually ever left since they’d run into each other last night. In fact she had dreamed about him. Of all things, in her dream she had let him do what she had refused to let him do eighteen years ago, and that was to take her in the backseat of a car.
Hunter shook her head. She couldn’t believe how scandalous that dream had been and it was even worse that she had totally and thoroughly enjoyed it. Luckily it had been just a dream and not the real thing. But the dream had been enough. She had awakened panting, with heated lust rushing through every part of her. It had taken a long cold shower to calm down her body.
During the four years of her sexless life, the last thing she had thought about was having an affair. So why now? And why Tyson Steele? He was arrogant, confident and too cocky to suit her. They hadn’t held a conversation for more than a few minutes before he was telling her of his plans to seduce her.
She shook her head as she headed for the door. Some men’s attitudes simply amazed her. But then again, he was a Steele. Hearing three of his brothers had married meant there could be hope for him, but she wouldn’t be crazy enough to put any money on that assumption.
But what really should be hilarious was that Tyson Steele thought he could seduce her. She figured he’d been all talk and that his words had been meant to get her sexually riled up, and they had...to a point. After her shower this morning her common sense was firmly back in place. All it had taken was a look around her apartment to remember all she’d lost because of a man. The last thing she needed was to get involved with another man for any reason.
But what about just for sex?
She almost missed her step when the idea