The Case For Temptation

“We need to go,” she said, her gaze lingering on his lips. His insides gave a kick that was a whole lot of desire but even more regret.

He exhaled. “How are we going to do that?”

“We get off this bed and say goodbye at the door.”

“I don’t like that plan.”

“Okay. You stay here and I’ll pick up my things on the way out.”

“That won’t work, either.”

Her eyes glistened as she smiled. “I think we’re out of options.”

He came closer and brushed his lips over hers. “Not quite.”

Drawing back, she gave him a playful, admonishing look. “We don’t have time for another shower.”

“No?”

She laughed softly. “No.”

“Okay. Get ready for Stone’s option number two.”

He leaned up on an elbow, resting his jaw in his palm as she pushed to her feet and turned to face him.

Waiting, she cocked her head. “I’m listening.”

Looking at her awesome nakedness, he was stuck.

“Yeah. I forgot.”

Smiling, shaking her head, she headed for the bathroom. “And don’t you dare follow me.”

He spoke to her through the open doorway. “The walk of shame.”

She called back. “What about it?”

“I, for one, would love to see you in that gown again. But we can call one of the boutiques in the lobby and have something in your size sent up. Shoes, too.”

Easy. Done.

“That’s sweet, but I don’t need an Edward Lewis.”

Jacob was on his feet, still figuring that out—Edward who?—when she returned to the room. She was wearing the T-shirt he’d peeled off before they’d flipped on the shower faucets. It almost came down to her knees.

Striking a hands on hips model pose, she asked, “How do I look?”

“Like a goddess.”

She blinked and then laughed, but he’d never been more serious in his life. Which made this even harder...what had to be done. They needed to have one more conversation. Better that she found out now, and from him.

While Teagan searched for her shoes, he pulled on his drawstring pants and then rummaged around in his bag for a shirt, which turned out to be a starched business number. Even when he headed off to chill with the Rawsons for a couple of days, he packed one—along with a dark blue jacket and dress pants. That’s what lawyers did. Those who ran a firm on Lexington Avenue, at least.

Teagan had slung her heels over her shoulder. She was ready to go. But before she could say another word—It’s been nice...see you next wedding—Jacob spoke up.

“I’ll walk you to your hotel room.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.” He looked down at himself, his mismatched clothes, his bare feet. “We can do the walk of shame together.”

“I’m a big girl. I don’t need anyone to hold my hand.”

“Then hold mine.” When she gave a maybe not look, he added, “I won’t beg. Unless I have to.”

She surrendered a smile. “Okay. But remember, we have flights to catch.”

He held up one hand and put the other out, horizontal and palm down. “I swear on the Bible. Best behavior.”

Her brows pinched and for a moment he thought she was going to say he was trying too hard. Maybe, but not to make an impression or to cling. He liked Teagan, more than any woman he’d known, but he didn’t have a stalkerish bone in his body. When he finally said what needed to be said, he wanted Teagan to be in the position of power. In her own space. Closing the door in his face if need be.

Moving out of the bedroom, she collected her gown and evening bag while he found the key card. They took the elevator to her floor and made their way down the hall. After she’d swiped and stepped inside, he did it.

He came clean.

“I need to ask you something,” he said. “Confirm...something. Your surname. It’s Hunter, isn’t it?”

Her smile was tight. “Jacob, I told you that last night when we met.”

“I, uh, didn’t catch it.”

“It’s okay. All’s forgiven.”

Rubbing his temple, he muttered, “I wish.”

“What was that?”

“I didn’t realize it until we spoke over breakfast. About your family. About your brother. Wynn Hunter.” All your cards on the table now, bro. “He’s the Wynn I’m looking to sue.”

Teagan’s shoulders slumped. Finally, she exhaled. “What a crap note to finish on.”

Crap was right. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry that you want to take down my brother? Or sorry that you didn’t share this with me before the shower?”

“The last one.”

“That’s what I figured.”

But she appeared calm, as though he’d admitted to liking baseball more than hockey. Where was the name calling? The face slapping? He wanted to sue the pants off her brother, for Pete’s sake.

“I thought you’d be more cut up about it,” he said.

“Oh?”

Maybe he hadn’t been clear. “I intend to decimate Wynn when I get him on the stand.”

“I assume that’s what clients pay you for.”

He dragged a hand down his face, shifted his weight. “You told me how close your family is. When news of this hits, when your brother receives the verdict...it will affect the entire Hunter conglomerate.”

Again. Totally unruffled.

He lowered his voice. “I don’t play around in a courtroom, Teagan.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Got it.”

Then it hit. Her reaction.

Well, of course.

“You’d already worked it out,” he said.

“When you said the case hadn’t been filed yet. Before we shared that shower.” Her mouth hitched to one side. “I didn’t want to spoil things, either.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“I told you. I grew up with the constant drama of big business. Everything’s about control and making sure you’re top dog. Kill or be killed.” Leaning against the doorjamb, she sighed. “No, I’m not mad. I’m just over it.”

So... Okay, then.

This didn’t have to be goodbye. Of course, they would want to be completely transparent from now on. No more misunderstandings. No holding things back.

He told her, “We won’t be able to see each other while I’m working on that case.”

“Conflict of interest.”

And then some. “But sometime in the future...” Finally giving in to a smile, he edged forward. “We really need to see each other again.”

When he moved in to seal it with a kiss, she stepped back.

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible,” she told him, “and I think you know why.”

Jacob looked like he wanted to laugh, but Teagan wasn’t joking. Now that they had reached the crossroads, this was as serious as it got.

“You said you weren’t angry,” he said. “You said you understood how things work in the corporate world.”

“Right. You’re trying to bring down my brother. His company. My family’s name. I understand perfectly.”

“So you are mad.”

“You have principles. So do I.”

Standing in the hall in those smoking sweatpants and an overly starched business shirt, he looked so blindsided—for once, so not in control. The moment he’d realized that the man he wanted to sue was her brother, he should have spoken up. But, to be fair, that wouldn’t have changed her decision now. She couldn’t continue to see someone who was determined to use a courtroom to destroy a member of her family.

However, given the circumstances, she obviously didn’t hate the guy. She wanted to show some understanding. Soften the blow.

“I really enjoyed our time together. It was exactly what I needed.” More than Jacob, or anyone else, could ever know. “But this is where it ends.”

He cocked a brow. “In a hotel hallway?”

“That was your choice.” She would have much preferred to have this conversation in private.

“Would you ever have said anything? That you knew?”

“I thought I would if you asked for my number and called.”

He ran a hand through his drying hair and scrunched his toes in the carpet. “There’s no way around this?”

“Not unless you drop your client. Drop the case.”

His jaw tightened. “You know I can’t do that.”

Sure. “I understand.”

Jacob studied her like he was sizing up an opponent. Then he squared his shoulders and summoned a nondescript smile. “I’m glad we did this face-to-face.”

“Me, too.”

He nodded and then nodded again. “This isn’t going to end with a kiss.”

“Afraid not.” When he nodded a third time, her chest squeezed and she added, “Put yourself in my place. You’d do the exact same thing. Family is family, Jacob. Blood is blood. You can’t turn your back on that.”

His eyebrows hitched and his gaze dropped to the floor.

“You can if your family sucks.”

Teagan blinked. She must have heard wrong.

“Can you say that again?”

“Nothing,” he muttered. “Forget it.”

“Jacob, did you actually say what I think you said?” That my family sucks? The idea was too juvenile, too spiteful, to comprehend.

He only exhaled and wrapped it up. “I should go.”

Before she could think to pull back, he dropped a quick kiss on her cheek and left, striding back down the hall, disappearing into the elevator. It was all she could do to stop from calling him back to bawl him out.

What a jerk. And to think she’d practically fallen for that guy. Who was one hundred percent definitely not her type.

A week later, when Jacob Stone tracked down her business number, Teagan was still fuming. But she’d gotten over her urge to let him know how childish his parting jab at her family had been. She preferred to simply never hear from him again. So she told her receptionist to let Mr. Stone know that she was preparing for an overseas vacation. And a trip was indeed penciled in. So she wasn’t lying.

And dealing with the likes of him, so what if she was?

Five

Jacob slammed the phone down, which wasn’t like him, or hadn’t been in a long while. He’d learned to control his temper, roll with the punches, get his frustrations out in other ways. And, hey, what he’d heard just now wasn’t exactly a surprise.

The receptionist at High Tea Gym in Seattle had politely but firmly stated that Teagan was unable to take his call. Ms. Hunter was about to head out of the country and hadn’t scheduled a date for her return. She’d be sure to pass any message along.

Translation: Move on, pal.

The night he and Teagan had spent together in LA had ended with a massive twist. She was related to the defendant in an upcoming defamation suit. The bigger reveal? They had both been aware of the fact before diving in for an even steamier shower/bedroom finale the next morning.

Jacob swung his high-backed chair toward the window, set his elbows on the armrests and steepled his fingers under his chin as he took in the incredible view of the Chrysler Building. When they’d met, Teagan couldn’t have known that a Hunter lawsuit was in his pipeline. She would never have feigned interest purely to gain an advantage...to glean some inside information on her brother’s pending case, perhaps. She definitely wouldn’t have sex to hold the incident over his head. Nevertheless, a headline had built up in his mind’s eye: Sleazy New York Lawyer Sleeps with Defendant’s Sister.

But, conspiracy theories aside, Teagan refusing to speak with him now was more about how they had parted than why. She had said no one should turn her back on family. He’d responded with a dig about doing just that if the family concerned didn’t deserve loyalty. He might have used the word “sucked.” But he hadn’t meant her family. He’d been talking about his. He was a master at keeping any residual feelings about his background and not being good enough at bay, but at the worst possible moment that old serpent had reared up to bite him in the balls.

The office intercom buzzed. Jacob ignored it. He needed time to cool down, get a grip.

He’d had relationships with women before and, other than one he refused to think about ever again, he’d always been the party to walk away. Everyone got dumped sometime.

Grow up, Stone. It’s water under the bridge.

He heard a tap on the door, then his secretary’s voice.

“Mr. Howcroft is here,” Waverley McCune said in a subdued tone. “He knows he doesn’t have an appointment.” Her voice lowered to almost a whisper. “He says he’s tired of ‘all mouth and no trousers,’ whatever that means.”

Jacob continued to glare at the view, biting his thumbnail now, which he hadn’t done since ninth grade, but whatever.

“Jay? What would you like me to tell him?”

Jacob swung his chair around at the same moment Grant Howcroft strode into the room, hands fisted at his sides.

“This bloody well has to stop! I’ll see that bastard on his knees before this is through.”

Tamping down the air with his hands, Jacob pushed to his feet. “Take a seat, Grant.”

The older man threw himself onto a tufted leather couch while Waverley pressed the bridge of her Mr. Magoo eyeglasses back up her nose and quietly closed the door.

“Have you seen social media this morning?”

Jacob moved to the front of his desk, leaned against the edge and folded his arms. “You mean the small-time blogger opinion piece?” Yeah. He’d seen it. The other pieces concerning Howcroft, too.

“I want them shut down.” The older man dabbed at his brow with his jacket cuff. “I want them shut up!”

“These things take time.”

“While my career goes down the bloody toilet?”

“We’ll get compensation.”

“Tattered reputations don’t mend that easily, Jakey boy.”

“When the truth comes out they do.”

Howcroft scratched at his wiry ginger-gray hair. “According to this latest piece, I’m a sodding drug lord now!”

“It’s a piggyback small-time troll.”

Grant wasn’t listening. “How do I come back at that? I ask you. How?”

“By addressing the heart of the lies. By going after the one with the money.” Wynn Hunter and his big-time “untouchable” media arm. “We only need to meet the standard for actual malice and prove the accusations are unfounded, which they are.”

Then the wrong would be righted and Hunter Publications could kiss both sides of Howcroft’s butt.

His client’s brow was beaded with sweat. Jacob poured him a glass of water and brought it over.

Howcroft downed half and then closed his eyes at the same time he grit his teeth and his trembling lips turned white.

“I want to see Wynn Hunter destroyed. The rest of his blood-sucking family, too.” An image of Teagan flashed into Jacob’s mind while Howcroft took another mouthful then eased out a shuddering sigh. “How far away are we from getting this done?”

Jacob went into the fundamentals of where they were with the case. Today was only Thursday, so there wasn’t much to add since Monday when they had spoken last. But when a person’s life was falling apart, Jacob understood—minutes could feel like years.

Howcroft pushed back into the couch as his eyes darted around the room. “Maybe I should do a runner. Hole up somewhere in Mexico until this thing blows over.”

Jacob’s chin went down. What happened to wanting to see Wynn Hunter destroyed? “We agreed. This is a process. Now we need to hold our course.” Then go for the jugular.

“You know I was born a charwoman’s son,” Howcroft said, like Jacob didn’t research the shit out of his clients’ backgrounds. “My first job was as a filing clerk. Respectable, but rubbish pay. I got into theater and climbed the industry ladder from assistant stage manager to walk-on parts. Those first few years were brutal, mate. Young people nowadays don’t know the half.”

Jacob disagreed. There were lots who did.

“There were a few TV appearances,” Howcroft went on, “the move to Hollywood, then the role that launched my career. Instant overnight success, the papers said. There were parties, marriages... And, yes, I made mistakes.”

Jacob saw how Howcroft’s eyes were edged with moisture and worried he might cry. But his client found his feet and tried to square his hunched shoulders instead.

“I don’t know if I can...”

Jacob felt a prickling at the back of his neck. “Know if you can what?”

Putting up his hands like he’d heard and said enough, Howcroft headed for the door. “I’ll be in touch. One way or another. Probably another.”

Which was code for what exactly? “Are you saying you want to put the lawsuit on hold?”

“I’m saying I don’t know if I want to continue, period.” Howcroft swung open the door. “In fact, drop the whole bloody thing. I need time to get away. Clear my head.”

“You want to drop the lawsuit?”

But Howcroft was already gone, which left Jacob wanting to slam the door the same way he had slammed down the phone earlier. He wasn’t pissed at his client. The guy had every right to be upset. If he wanted to put a brake on things, it was his time and his dime.

The thing that stuck in Jacob’s craw was the situation with Teagan. If it hadn’t been for this lawsuit, their time together would have ended on a very different note. She’d have taken his call today...if the time they had spent together had meant more to Teagan than simply letting loose. If she hadn’t planned to somehow set him up.

After thinking that all through again, Jacob made another call. Not to High Tea Gym this time. To people who had never let him down before and weren’t about to now.

The moment the image popped up on her laptop screen, Teagan knew why her eldest brother and his bride were video calling. Good news. The best. And when they actually said the words, Teagan promised herself to look happy for them both because she was. Genuinely thrilled.

Attending their wedding last year, hearing their vows and seeing the love they so obviously shared, Teagan had no doubt that Taryn and Cole would last until death do them part. Now, her brother looked proud, but also calm. A huge difference from his former everything depends on me demeanor—as if the fate of Hunter Enterprises rested solely on his shoulders. But Taryn’s appearance struck Teagan even more. With her long hair draped around her shoulders like a thick, glossy mantle, she looked radiant. Blissfully content.

The couple said it together. “We’re pregnant!”

“Ohmigod! Congratulations!” Teagan sucked down a breath and bolstered herself. “When did you find out?”

With an arm around his girl, Cole replied, “Four months ago. Taryn wanted to keep it under wraps for a while.”

“I figure I’ll be showing soon,” Taryn added. “So time to let the cat out of the bag.”

The newlyweds looked into each other’s eyes like life would always be this way. Bright and wonderful. Never a tear. Although they had been grounded enough to delay the announcement.

Teagan could recite the statistics in her sleep: more than eighty percent of miscarriages occurred in the first three months of pregnancy. When fertilized eggs that failed to implant were also factored in, around seventy-five percent of all conceptions didn’t go full term.

But this one absolutely would.

Teagan shored up her smile. “So, too early to know if I’m getting a niece or a nephew?”

“We’re not sure we want to find out,” Cole said.

“We’ll be happy no matter what,” Taryn added.

“Whichever it turns out to be,” Cole said, “we want another one.”

Teagan’s smile held firm.

More than one. Imagine that.

“How does Dad feel about being a grandfather?” she asked.

Cole’s eyebrows pinched. “We haven’t told him yet. These past months... It’s been tough, particularly recently.”

Teagan’s heart beat faster. “Has something happened?”

“No more attempts on his life. Unfortunately, no new leads, either.” Cole’s eyes grew darker. “I don’t think he’d care if that madman ever got caught as long as he could stop looking over his shoulder.”

“How’s Tate?” Teagan missed her youngest brother so much. He was cute and loving, and such a brave little soul.

“We have him over a lot,” Taryn said. “The baby, too. It’s easier now that Honey’s a little older.”

Teagan asked, “And Eloise?” His father’s young wife.

Cole grunted. “That woman is worse than ever.”

Eloise had a problem with the bottle—any bottle she could lay her hands on. She also had a problem with men. She’d come onto their father right after their mother’s funeral in her hometown of Atlanta. Eloise had been after a rich man, and Guthrie Hunter was certainly that.

But clearly being the new Mrs. Hunter wasn’t enough. Last year, hours before Honey was born, Guthrie learned that Eloise had tried to seduce Cole in the past. He’d been crushed. But, thinking of the children, he’d given her another chance.

After wrapping up the call, Teagan sat back in her office chair, thinking of how happy Taryn must be. But she wouldn’t let her thoughts spiral any further down that rabbit hole. She had Tate and Honey, and would be a first-time auntie very soon.

Wasn’t that blessing enough?

Pushing out of her chair, Teagan began packing up. She was due an afternoon off. Later she might call some friends. A new restaurant around the corner had rave reviews. Then again, she hadn’t had much of an appetite lately...not since those syrup-soaked pancakes the previous Sunday.

A moment later, Teagan said goodbye to the receptionist and left through the gym’s main sliding-glass doors. But while she was walking to her car, something caught her eye. A man was climbing out of a cab. Around six-two, killer build, wearing jeans, a casual pale blue button-down and the sexiest pair of shades on the planet.

Teagan’s heart hit her throat.

What the hell was Jacob Stone doing there?

He saw her, headed straight over and, in that instant, all the memories came flooding back. Talking, dancing, making love, and suddenly she was tingling all over again, ready to melt.

His clean-shaven jaw tensed as he stopped a short distance from her and removed his sunglasses. “We need to talk.”

“So you just dropped in from New York?”

“You wouldn’t take my call.”

“There’s a good reason for that.”

“Because of how we said goodbye. I can explain.”

Teagan’s heart was pounding against her ribs. Her legs felt as weak as cooked noodles.

I can explain.

Seriously?

Continuing on to the parking lot, she gave him the bird then retorted over her shoulder, “And stay away from clichés.” So lame.

“I grew up with a mother who believed her drug addiction was more important than her only kid,” he called after her. “My father was a grifter. He specialized in taking down the elderly and people with special needs.”

Teagan pulled up. Slowly turned around. “What did you say?”

“He would fix their pipes, mend broken furniture, but he was really casing their homes, making plans to break in and take anything of value. Cash was best, but jewelry, power tools and TVs worked, too. When I was six, he pulled a Houdini. Never heard from him again. His lousy bones could be rotting on Hart Island for all I know.”

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