Her nipples felt taut with her just thinking about how she responded to him, greedily taking what he was offering and then falling into peaceful sleep afterward. And when she would wake after her catnap he would be there, wide awake, with dark eyes staring down at her, focused, intent, hungry. His breathing would get shallow and she would automatically melt in a pool of succulent desire.

She heard a sound downstairs and knew that now was the perfect time to get up, get dressed and get out. The last thing she needed was for him to walk into the room while she was still in bed. If nothing else, she had discovered that when it came to Morgan Steele, she had little, if no, resistance left.

Slipping out of bed she began putting on her clothes. When she had awakened that morning she'd been a little confused, and now she was more confused than ever about just what was happening between her and Morgan.

Morgan pulled himself out of the pool after taking one last lap around it. Never in his life had he felt so rejuvenated, so bursting with energy...and so filled with love.

Now he fully understood how Chance and Bas felt. He clearly comprehended those possessive stares they would give their wives, and realized why on those days they would rush home from the office or show up late from lunch with twisted ties around their necks and silly grins on their faces.

He now had a firm handle on what emotions his two older brothers were dealing with. h.e.l.l, the only reason he had finally left Lena asleep to come downstairs for a swim was that, had he been in bed when she'd awakened, he would have been tempted to make love to her again.

Tempted, h.e.l.l! He would have made love to her just as sure as there was a Charlotte sky overhead.

He began drying off with the huge towel, knowing that he and Lena needed to talk. They needed to announce their intentions to marry to their families and to anyone else who wanted to listen. He was ready to go to the tallest building and begin shouting.

"I'm leaving now, Morgan."

He turned and saw her standing in the doorway that separated his family room from his patio. Seeing her standing there, looking as s.e.xy as s.e.xy could get, and remembering what they had shared most of the afternoon sent a shiver of deep desire combined with hot excitement through him.

He tossed aside the towel and began walking toward her. When he got within three feet of her he noticed the apprehension in her eyes, the uncertainty, and he wondered, how could she not know, not sense how he felt at that moment? But then he had to admit they hadn't had a normal relationship. He had been a man with a plan, first using business and then ultimate pleasure to seduce her, win her over. But he had a feeling he hadn't completely won her over. She was having doubts, and from the look in her eyes, lots of them.

He could get on bended knee and tell her to h.e.l.l with that business proposal. He wanted to marry her because he loved her. But would she believe him? He doubted it. Lena was a woman who would need more action than words, and that's just what he would give her. By the time she walked down the aisle to him, there would be no doubt in her mind just how deep his emotions were for her.

Instead of saying anything when he reached her, he took hold of her hand and gently pulled her closer to him. Then he leaned down and gently touched his lips to hers. He pulled back, cupped her jaw and intently studied her lips. She definitely looked like a woman who'd been well kissed all afternoon.

"What are you going to tell Odessa if she asks what happened to your lips?"

Lena's shoulders shrugged, but he saw the mocking challenge in her gaze and immediately sensed some sort of withdrawal taking place. It was a withdrawal he refused to have.

"I don't know. Got any suggestions?"

He returned that look by c.o.c.king a challenging eyebrow. "You can always tell her the truth, Lena. That we got carried away today and-"

"I don't think so."

He smiled. "I figured as much. I guess you can claim you got swollen lips from sipping too long on a soda bottle."

She lifted her own brow. "Can that happen?"

He chuckled. "It happened to Donovan once, or so he claims."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, if she asks I guess that's one excuse I could try." She then glanced at her watch. "I need to go, Morgan."

"Okay, and we need to talk. Will Odessa be at the day care again tomorrow?"

"No, she'll be at home all day watching her soaps."

He nodded. "Will you have dinner with me tomorrow? We can make it early. You and I need to talk."

She inhaled deeply. Yes, they did. "Okay, what time?"

"How about four? Is that time good for you?"

"Yes, that time is fine." She turned to leave and remembered he was still holding her hand.

"Hey, not so fast," he said, looking into her eyes. Then slowly he lowered his head and kissed her, gently and deeply.

Before releasing her he whispered into her ear, "And get on your computer tonight. Around ten. I want to talk to your twin."

Sensations rushed through Lena's body as she remembered their last conversation and how they had come close to playing out that fantasy in his kitchen. But still, she wasn't certain exchanging s.e.xual banter in cybers.p.a.ce again was a good idea. "I might be busy."

"If you're not, then pop into my s.p.a.ce."

She nodded and quickly turned and left.

Chapter 13.

Odessa had been so chatty about how her day and evening had gone that if she'd noticed anything odd about Lena's lips she hadn't said anything. Despite her initial concern, by the time she had gotten home, taken a shower and eaten a salad for dinner, Lena was too keyed up to worry about how her mouth looked. Her main concern was her future.

Morgan had left her with the impression that the business deal between them was still in place, but she needed to know for certain, which is why she had readily accepted his invitation to dinner.

After getting her mother settled for the night she had slipped into a nightgown and gone into her room to read some real estate literature she'd received in the mail. She tried ignoring her laptop that was sitting on the desk in her room. And she tried not to notice the time. It was after nine. Close to nine-thirty.

Moments later she glanced at the clock again. It was ten. She sighed and glanced over at her laptop. Should she or shouldn't she? Hadn't she gotten into enough trouble with Morgan today? Okay, she would admit that after the type of afternoon she'd had it would only be natural to want to spend time talking to him again. But why not by phone instead of cybers.p.a.ce?

She quickly knew the answer to that one. She and Morgan had crossed the lines of professionalism on their laptops in a way that they could never retract. And although she had claimed it was her twin being naughty and not her, her behavior this afternoon had proven differently. And on top of that, there was something relaxing and comforting, as well as daring, in having a private, intimate and provocative conversation with someone you knew, yet didn't really know at the same time.

Deciding to stop fighting the impulse, she tossed the magazine aside and got out of bed and reached for her laptop. Taking a deep breath she quickly logged on. It was almost ten minutes after the hour. Had he checked to see if she'd logged on and when he found out she hadn't had already logged off? She inhaled deeply again, knowing there was only one way to find out.

She signed on with her Internet server and sighed in relief when his name was still there. Leaning back against the headboard she settled into a comfortable position and waited. She didn't have long for action when Morgan clicked on, invading her s.p.a.ce.

Lena?

She clicked a response. Yes, I'm here. Yes, I'm here.

Thanks for dropping by.

And then their fun time began.

Morgan asked the first question. What's your favorite sport? What's your favorite sport?

Lena chuckled. That would be a quick response and she typed it in. I really don't have one. I really don't have one.

Umm, have you ever played s.e.x by Design?

She lifted a brow and her fingers went to work. No. How is it played? No. How is it played?

Easy. All you need is one woman and one man.

She shook her head, grinning as she clicked a response. Good. I don't go for that kinky stuff. Good. I don't go for that kinky stuff.

Neither do I.

Good to know. So, how do you play it?

You think of a word, the first one that comes to your mind, and the other person has to come up with some sort of s.e.xual story about it.

Lena frowned. That's a lot of typing. That's a lot of typing.

Abbreviations are accepted.

Okay.

I'll let you go first and you give me a word.

She paused a moment to think hard. She glanced around the room and smiled when she saw something on her dresser and decided not to make things easy for him. Cotton b.a.l.l.s. Cotton b.a.l.l.s.

Cotton b.a.l.l.s?

Yes.

There was a long pause and then he began typing. Picture this. You and me together, naked in bed. Like we were this afternoon. Picture this. You and me together, naked in bed. Like we were this afternoon.

Heat shivered through her bloodstream. Okay I got the picture. Okay I got the picture.

And I take a bunch of those little cotton b.a.l.l.s and strategically place them to cover your front. You know, that particular area between your legs. They will fit you like a perfect triangle. Then I use my mouth to remove them, one by one. The object is not to let one fall. Each time I remove one I get to lick the area where it had been.

Lena swallowed. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, tight, and her nipples felt hard against her nightgown. She couldn't help but type and ask. What happens when they're all gone? What happens when they're all gone?

Then I get to taste the entire area; nibble and lick as much as I want. Then I get to use my mouth and place them back and start the game all over again. So what do you think?

When visions of him doing that engulfed her mind, what Lena really thought was that they had to be nuts to be having this sort of conversation, especially when the most prolific and exquisite sensations flowed through her body. I think we've said enough for tonight. I think we've said enough for tonight.

Chicken. Where's your twin?

Some place safe. Good night, Morgan.

Good night, Lena.

Morgan was standing at the window the next day thinking about his and Lena's cybers.p.a.ce chat of the night before when his secretary's voice on the intercom intruded into this thoughts.

"Yes, Linda, what is it?"

"Edward Dunlap is here to see you."

Morgan raised a brow before saying, "Please send him in."

A few minutes later Edward walked in. He was in his late fifties, the same age as Morgan's father. In fact, his father and the man had been business a.s.sociates for years before Edward had chosen a life of politics. He had been elected as Charlotte's first African American councilman and remained in that office for years. From there he had become a state representative and was now eying a position in Congress. In recent years he had appointed himself as Morgan's mentor, determined to see him enter the political arena.

"Edward, this is a surprise," Morgan said, crossing the room to shake the older man's hand.

"Yes, and I hate to come unannounced but this meeting is important. Word has it that Roger Chadwick will be holding a press conference in a few hours to announce his candidacy. So you know what this means?"

Morgan leaned back against his desk. Yes, he knew what that meant. If he was going to announce his own intentions to run for that same seat, now was the time to finally make up his mind. "Yes, I know what it means, Edward, but there is someone I need to discuss this with."

Edward nodded. "And that brings me to another reason I'm here. There's a rumor floating around about you."

Morgan lifted a brow. "What rumor?"

"That you're thinking of getting married."

Morgan couldn't help the smile that touched his lips. "That's no rumor. I am getting married."

"I think we need to discuss that, Morgan."

"Discuss what?"

"Your choice of a wife."

Morgan cast him a glance that nearly bordered on anger. "Excuse me?"

"I said your choice of a wife. I understand you're thinking about marrying Lena Spears, which comes as a surprise because I wasn't aware you were serious about anyone."

Morgan frowned, wondering if the man a.s.sumed he had to know everything about his business, personal or otherwise. "Yes, I've asked Lena to marry me."

"I'm sure you know family name, style and connections are everything."

"To some people."

Edward shook his head. "Don't kid yourself. You're a Steele about to run for office. You don't need to consider marrying any woman who won't be an a.s.set to your career. Lena Spears is a nice woman, but she won't do as a wife for you. Now, take Senator Hollis's daughter. I understand she's-"

"No, you take Senator Hollis's daughter," Morgan said, after having heard enough. "For G.o.d's sake, Edward, this is the twenty-first century. Lena won't be the one running for office, I will. And who I decide to marry is really no one's business."

"Don't make the mistake of thinking it's not, Morgan. I met with a few people earlier today and the rumor of your possible engagement came up. They asked that I come and meet with you to discuss it."