Hot and Heavy (Some Like It Hot 2)

Oh, but he wanted to, Cole thought, no longer shocked by his sinful thoughts where Melodie was concerned. Too easily, he could envision her sprawled on his king-sized bed, his own aroused body covering hers as his fingers sank deep into her silky hair and his mouth tasted her lips, her neck, her pert breasts and tight nipples. Oh, yeah, he wanted, and there was no sense in blatantly tempting himself with what he couldn’t have.

“Look, I refuse to put Melodie in that kind of position.” Or himself for that matter. “If, for some reason, something on the case goes wrong, I don’t want to risk losing a damn good secretary.”

Noah looked as though he was struggling not to burst out laughing at Cole’s ridiculous excuse, but managed to keep his expression composed. “Whatever you say.” Standing, he pocketed the information Cole had given him on Jerry Thornton. “I’ll get right on the surveillance and let you know what I find out.”

Cole nodded succinctly, grateful that he was no longer under his brother’s scrutiny. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Once Noah was gone, Cole deliberately buried himself in follow-up work on current cases to keep himself occupied and busy. Unfortunately, his secretary had more distracting matters in mind. Every time she walked into his office to deliver paperwork or discuss a case report with him, his gaze strayed unerringly to her swaying hips and shapely legs as she glided toward his desk in a slow, tantalizing stride. More times than he cared to admit, he caught himself staring at the soft roundness of her breasts beneath her blouse and had even witnessed a sensuous glow in her eyes when he dared to meet her gaze. Hell, even his ears perked up when she answered the phone, just so he could listen to her speak in that soft, husky tone of voice that matched her new, alluring packaging.

He was completely and totally aware of Melodie, in every way imaginable. Just as she’d intended, no doubt. And with every inviting smile she cast his way, coupled with a few accidental brushes of their bodies as they passed in the hallway, she added fuel to the fiery flame burning deep inside him.

By the end of the workday, he was tied up in knots, and so mentally and physically aroused he was ready to come out of his skin with a mere whisper of a touch.

The now familiar swishing sound that accompanied Mel’s approach down the hall to his office put his unruly hormones back on full alert. With effort, he tamped down his dick’s eager response, and by the time she’d entered the spacious room, he’d schooled his features to reflect casual interest.

It had been blessedly quiet for the past hour. At a quarter after six, the front-end phone was silent, and both Noah and Jo were gone for the evening—which left him all alone with Melodie. His muscles tensed at the realization. Normally, that wouldn’t be a cause for concern, considering more often than not she worked late with him, but that was before she’d turned herself into an impudent minx.

“Can I run something by you, Cole?” she asked, her tone as serious as her expression.

Ahh, business he could handle. A piece of paper in her hand legitimized her request and made his shoulders relax again. “Sure. What is it?”

“A letter.” Instead of taking one of the chairs in front of his desk, she came around to where he sat and settled herself on a cleared spot of polished mahogany to his left. “One I’d like to read to you, if that’s okay.”

She crossed one slender leg over the other—in the same prim and proper way she’d done a hundred times before while taking notes for him on a case. Except she’d never sat on his desk in such a brazen manner, and she’d never worn a skirt so short it ought to be deemed illegal for all the wicked, decadent thoughts it inspired.

He leaned back in his leather chair to put much-needed distance between them. “Is this for a case?”

She appeared momentarily nervous, which quickly ebbed into an adorable look of perseverance. “Yes, it is.”

Curiosity edged out the caution nagging at his conscience. “All right. Let’s hear it.”

Her chest rose and fell as she inhaled a deep breath, then her thick lashes lowered and her gaze dropped to read what she’d written on the piece of stationery in her hand. She cleared her throat before starting.

“You’ve been in my thoughts all day long, and now we’re finally together,” she began, her soft voice at first a bit unsteady. “I’ve caught you watching me when you think I’m not looking and it excites me to know that I’ve captured your attention, and that you might possibly want me as much as I’ve wanted you. Your gaze drifts over me, as soft as a caress and as warm as a sultry summer night, making me breathless with anticipation.”

Certain he wasn’t prepared to hear the rest of her letter that was taking on a very provocative slant, he offered up a protest to stop her. “Mel…”

“Shhh, let me finish,” she scolded gently, though there was no mistaking that reading her erotic letter out loud was taking a huge dose of courage on her part. She shifted on his desk and slowly recrossed her legs, the movement echoing the restlessness stringing his own nerves and body tight.

“You’ve become my sensual awakening, and now my body hungers for the intimacy of your touch.” Lifting her hand, she feathered her fingers along the pulse fluttering in her throat and gradually skimmed her hand downward to the vee in her blouse as she continued to mesmerize him with her words and actions. “I ache to feel your strong hands stroking my cheek, my breasts, and heating the soft skin along my stomach and thighs. My heartbeat quickens at the thought of experiencing such exquisite pleasure, and even now I’m trembling deep inside, waiting, hoping that you’ll be the one to ease the intense longing that grows with every passing second.”

She brushed loose tendrils of silky hair behind her ear, and her tongue darted out to dampen her bottom lip, making her mouth glisten like a ripe, juicy peach. “Show me all your passion and desire, and I’ll expose my every need. Tease me, please me, and make my fantasies come true.” She lifted her smoky gaze to his, her dark irises rimmed in brilliant gold. “I’m waiting for you. Make me yours.”

Cole was so caught up in her sensual monologue that, in his very vivid imagination, she was already his. And his aroused body echoed the sentiment. There was no doubt in his mind that she was attempting to shake up his composure and shamelessly seduce his mind, his thoughts. And her ploy was working, considering he could only think of one thing: fulfilling hot, illicit fantasies. Hers, and his own. Together.

The temptation to touch her was overwhelming, and it took monumental effort to resist the urge to reach out and place his hand on her silky leg and smooth his palm up her thigh, then beneath the hem of her skirt. To find out if she was just as aroused as she’d made him.

He clenched his hand into a tight fist on the armrest of his chair and asked as calmly as he could manage, “Where did you get that letter?” His voice sounded gravelly to his own ears.

She tipped her head, causing her softly layered hair to sway over her shoulder and along her cheek, beckoning him to test the luxurious texture of those strands with his fingers. “I wrote it today, during my lunch break. What do you think?”

“You definitely earn an A for creativity,” he replied without thinking.

A satisfied smile made an appearance on her glossy lips. “It was easier than I thought to write the letter, even kind of fun, but I was more concerned about reading it.” Her gaze held his, pulling him into the guileless pools of deep brown staring intently at him. “Did I do okay?”

Any better and he would have embarrassed himself with how turned on she’d made him. “You did fine, Mel.” Feeling too damned stimulated, he stood up and paced to the window on the other side of his office, pushed his hands into the pockets of his slacks to conceal his semi-erection, then turned to face her again. “Is there a point to why you felt compelled to read me such a personal letter?”

“Of course, there’s a point.” She slipped gracefully from the surface of his desk and glided toward him, a mi