Haddison turned from the window the moment Kennedy walked in. Knowing she was on her way up to his office, he hadn’t been able to just sit at his desk, but instead had to stand. Now she was here, and as he’d expected, she looked beautiful and professional in her business suit.
“You wanted to see me, Haddison?”
He wanted to do more than just see her but kept himself from expressing that fact. “Yes, Kennedy, please have a seat.”
He watched her sit down in the chair on the other side of his desk and felt heat settle in his mid-section when she crossed her legs. He couldn’t stop himself from looking. Nor could he stop the desire that drummed through him. When she met his gaze, deep longing thickened the blood in his veins. His intense stare was obviously making her nervous. When she licked her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue, his gut clenched.
“I brought the McConnell file, as you asked.”
He pulled his chair out to sit down at his desk. “Thanks.” He reached for the file and their hands touched. The air around them shimmered and he had the feeling that she felt it, too. Their gazes met again, and he saw her pulse throbbing at the base of her throat.
Reluctantly, he lowered his head to glance down at the folder on his desk and opened it, knowing he’d used it as a ruse to get her here because he’d wanted to see her. He’d needed to see her.
He wasn’t sure how many minutes passed while he studied the papers in front of him. Seeing them and not seeing them. His concentration was focused on how her very feminine scent filled his office. He fought the urge not to glance up and look at her.
“What’s the real reason I’m here, Haddison?”
He had no reason to lie. “I wanted to see you.”
She slowly nodded, then got up. Would she walk out the door? Then a smile touched her lips. “Now you see me, Haddison.”
Yes, he saw her, and she looked good. “Yes, I see you.”
“Is that all you wanted to do was to see me?”
Was she deliberately tempting him? There was only one way to find out. He stood and slowly walked around his desk toward her. “No.” Upon reaching her, he picked up a remote off his desk and locked his door.
Putting the remote down, he looked at her. “There’s a lot I want to do, Kennedy. I had to see you again.”
She looked intrigued. “Why?”
He honestly wished he had an answer to her question. Hopefully, he could explain. “I honestly don’t know. All I know is since being with you Saturday night and holding you in my arms, I’ve ached to be with you.”
He paused and glanced down at the carpet beneath their feet, knowing he wasn’t making sense, but was unable to explain it any better.
Ever since he’d become an FBI agent, he’d never had a woman in his life. His attention had been directed elsewhere, and he’d pretty much given up his life in an effort to make this world a safer place to live. One that was free of hardened criminals who would kill just for the thrill of it.
While working undercover, he had constantly lived with people like that, been surrounded by such filth, while fighting hard not to get consumed by them. He’d never wavered and had the scars to prove it — the one on his cheek was just the beginning. He considered it a battle scar, one he would never forget or regret having. For years, it had been his lifeline, keeping him from crossing the line between good and evil.
Knowing Kennedy was waiting for an answer, he lifted his head…and looked into the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. “I don’t know what’s going on with me. All I know is while I was an agent, I was consumed with my work and the cases I had been assigned, so I put women on the back burner. Now that I have time for a life, I want one.”
He could tell by her frown that his words hadn’t come across the way he’d wanted. He’d told her before of his desire for a social life. But now he wanted more. He wanted her.
“So, am I merely a convenience, Haddison? A way to ease back into that normal life you’ve done without for years? To help you reconnect with your life as a bachelor, a single man, a—”
“No,” he said, refusing to let her continue. “It’s more than that. Even when I did date, I was never a womanizer. I did have a real relationship once, with a woman I loved and wanted to marry.”
“What happened?”
He could tell her it was none of her business. But then he remembered her sharing details of her breakup with that asshole she’d found in bed with another woman. “I decided to stop being a cop and became an FBI agent. Chelsea didn’t like that and gave me an ultimatum. It was either her or the Bureau.”
He paused, then added, “She wasn’t the only one who wasn’t happy with my decision. After losing my dad the way we did, Mom had never wanted me to go into law enforcement. And even though she was gone by then, I remembered her disapproval. The uncle who raised me wasn’t impressed either. But it was my life, and the decision was up to me. I felt that if Chelsea had truly loved me, she would have understood.”
Kennedy didn’t say anything for a minute, then asked, “Since you’re no longer with the FBI, have you tried looking her up, to see if the two of you could rekindle what you once had?”
“No. It was over eleven years ago. I’ve moved on, and so has she. She had her dreams and I had mine.”
He paused, then said softly, “I need you to know that my desire for you is not one of those ‘one and done’ things, Kennedy. You stir a restlessness in me that I’ve never felt before. I see you and I want you. I don’t see you and I want you. I think of you all the time. And you were right. I called you here to do more than see you. I desperately need this.”
And then he pulled her into his arms.
HADDISON B. WOLF WAS A master kisser. Desire that she only felt when her lips were connected with his, whenever their tongues mingled, was heating her skin and rushing blood through her veins. He kissed her like he had all the time in the world. Even if it meant making that time.
Sensations were stirring inside of her, making her crave things she hadn’t had in quite a while, like a roll between the sheets, a night of passion…being sexually possessed by this magnificent man.
Never had her cells felt so electrified, the area between her legs so stimulated, and all because of this man who had literally knocked her off her feet when they first met. And he was doing it again. Only she wasn’t expecting an apology for this. If she didn’t know better, she would think he was staking a claim. On her.
Kennedy wasn’t sure just how long they kissed before Haddison finally released her mouth. He continued to hold her around the waist, keeping her on her feet.
“I want another date,” he whispered against her lips.
She had to fight hard to regain her senses. “We have another date. Saturday night. To the movies.”
“I can’t wait until then.”
She couldn’t help wondering if they were talking about their movie date or something else. “To take me to the movies?” she decided to ask for clarification.
She could tell from the smile that curved his lips that the movies weren’t the only thing on his agenda.
“I’d like to share my way of watching movies with you tonight.”