When he was completely immersed within her, she watched him close his eyes and she knew he was fighting for control. “I think…I’ve died…and gone to heaven,” he said, the strain of his struggle evident in his husky voice.
Tilting her hips, she felt him sink into her a fraction more. “Take me to heaven with you, Caleb,” she whispered close to his ear.
His big body shuddered and a groan rumbled up from deep in his chest a moment before he opened his eyes to stare down at her. The hungry need in the hazel depths matched her own and as he eased himself back, then forward, she wrapped her arms around him and joined him in the wondrous dance of love.
Holding her gaze with his, he set a slow pace that tightened the pit of her stomach and made her feel cherished in a way she’d only dreamed of. He must have realized the delicious sensations within her were building to a crescendo because he strengthened his thrusts and Alyssa found herself straining to reach the summit.
She was suddenly there and, as the coil inside her burst free, she cried out his name as she shattered into a million shards of brilliant light. Tightening her arms around him, she tried to absorb him into her very soul as she rode the waves of utter and complete fulfillment. No more than a second later, she felt Caleb tense, then heard him call her name as he found his own release from the storm.
When he collapsed on top of her, she held him close as her heart filled with an emotion like nothing she’d ever felt before. She’d done her best to resist. But in that moment, she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she’d done the unthinkable. She’d fallen in love with Caleb Walker.
The following Friday afternoon, Caleb sat at his desk tapping his ink pen on the polished surface as he stared off into space. As far as work went, he hadn’t been worth a damn all week. All he’d done was sit around with a sappy grin on his face and think about how fantastic the past weekend had been and how totally amazing Alyssa was.
Her response to his touch had been everything a man could ever dream of, and he’d been just as hot for her. They’d spent the entire time making love, falling asleep in each other’s arms, then awakening to make love again.
When his lower body tightened, he took a deep breath and willed himself to relax. All he had to do was think about her and he got aroused so fast it made him dizzy.
But his desire to be with her wasn’t just physical. Once he’d gotten to know the real woman behind those baggy suits and owlish glasses, he’d found that she was warm, compassionate and had a great sense of humor.
He grunted. How on God’s green earth had he ever thought her to be anything like Leslie Ann?
Even if he hadn’t checked the personnel records and found her employee evaluations, he would have figured out that Alyssa had used her brains and education to get where she was with Skerritt and Crowe. She’d worked her cute little tail off and hadn’t had to step on anyone’s toes to get the promotion to operations manager six months ago.
But Leslie Ann had taken the easy way to the top. She’d done anything and everything to climb the corporate ladder. Hell, he could even remember a couple of times when she’d bragged about taking credit for the hard work of those working under her. And her barracuda instincts hadn’t stopped there. He had no doubt that she’d have crawled off her deathbed just for the chance to attend a party where she could schmooze with the big boys. Nor was she above kissing a few executive rear ends along the way to get what she wanted.
Disgusted with himself for wasting two years chasing after such a selfish, self-absorbed woman, he shook his head. Leslie Ann had never been, nor would she ever be half the woman Alyssa was. And somewhere between walking into her office that first day and sitting here thinking about their weekend together now, he’d fallen for her.
His heart stalled and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. When had Alyssa gotten past his defenses? Why hadn’t he seen it coming?
He sat for several long minutes feeling as though he’d just been run over by the Tennessee Titans’ entire defensive line. His timing couldn’t have been worse. He’d barely taken over running Skerritt and Crowe and he hadn’t attended one of his classes at the university, let alone earned a degree.
Propping his elbows on the desk, he buried his head in his hands. Now that he’d found Alyssa, he wasn’t about to let her go. But what could he do about the situation? There was no way in hell they could build a relationship unless he came clean and told her who he was and that he didn’t have anything more going for him than a high-school education.
He raised his head to stare blindly out the plate-glass window at downtown Albuquerque. He’d boxed himself into one hell of a corner.
How was he going to tell her that he was a fraud, that he wasn’t really qualified to run a financial consulting firm? And how would she react when she found out that he was one of Emerald’s grandsons?
“Caleb, you have a call on line one.” Geneva’s voice coming through the intercom broke into his unsettling thoughts.
He depressed the talk button. “Take a message, Geneva.”
“It’s Mrs. Larson,” Geneva said, as if in awe of Emerald.
Great. Just what he needed right now—a conversation with his manipulative grandmother. “Thanks, Geneva. I’ll take the call.”
Taking a deep breath, he picked up the phone. “Hello, Emerald.”
“Caleb, darling, how are you?” Emerald Larson might be at least three-quarters of a century old, but she looked and sounded like a much younger woman.
“I’m tied up with something pretty important right now.” At the moment, his newly discovered feelings for Alyssa and trying to figure out what he was going to do about them took top priority. “Could I call you back this evening?”
“Of course. You have the number at the mansion, don’t you?”
“It’s on speed dial at the house.”
“Good. I retire around ten,” she added. “I’ll expect your call before that.”
Before he could say another word, she hung up. “Well, goodbye to you, too,” he muttered, replacing the receiver.
He briefly wondered what Emerald wanted, but he quickly dismissed the call when Geneva’s voice once again came across the intercom. “Caleb, you’re needed in the break room.”
“Can’t it wait?”
When Geneva failed to answer, he impatiently walked over to open the door to the outer office. The secretary was nowhere in sight.