A native West Virginian, JULE McBRIDE had her dream to write romances come true in the nineties with the publication of her debut novel, Wild Card Wedding. It received a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best First Series Romance. Since then, the author has been nominated for multiple awards, including two lifetime achievement awards. She has written for several series and currently makes her happy home at Blaze®. A prolific writer, she has almost fifty titles to her credit.

Naked Attraction
Jule McBride

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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Table of Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Copyright

Chapter One

WHEN ELLIE LEE STRETCHED and opened her eyes, she found herself staring straight into Robby Robriquet’s baby blues. They captivated her gaze, warmed her insides, then continued holding her attention as surely as his arms had held her the previous night. “How long have you been watching me?” she croaked sleepily.

“All my life.”

“Impossible. You were born first.”

“All your life,” he corrected.

Shifting her gaze, she let it drift down a hard, muscular bare chest coated with wild, tangled raven hair. She eyed the sheet wound around his torso, then returned her attention to his face, her lips parting in frank appreciation of his heart-stopping good looks.

Damn, she thought. They just didn’t make many studs like Robby, especially not around Banner, Mississippi. He had a strong, Romanesque nose, unusually full lips, a face so sculpted that it could have been crafted from marble. His eyes were as piercing as the rays of a hot sun, as blue as a summer sky, and as deep as an ocean.

She had blue eyes, also, and dark hair, just as he, and if the truth be told, she’d started dreaming years ago about how cute their babies would look. She’d had a crush on Robby since she’d first laid eyes on him, when she was twelve years old, but only in the past year, since he’d finished his M.B.A. and returned to Banner, had he finally realized she’d turned into a woman.

So much for all the heartbreak years ago. Countless times, she’d put on sexy hot pants and halter tops, hoping to wow him if he came to the Lees’ house to visit her middle brother, Cordy, often with J. D. Johnson in tow. Ellie’s best friend, Susannah, had been just as lovesick, but J.D. had been her focus. The two girls had tried everything to get the boys’ attention, whether getting stuck while climbing trees, or shrieking like banshees while practicing gymnastics in the yard.

Nothing had seemed to work. The boys would run off, to hunt or fish, totally oblivious. Everything was different now, though. J.D. and Susannah had been married for six years. And exactly six months ago, Robby had dragged Ellie to bed, acting as proprietary as a caveman. Ever since, they’d managed to meet at every possible moment, despite hectic schedules.

That was the other great thing about Robby, she thought, still eyeing him. He worked even harder than she, a trait she’d never found in another man. In fact, she thought Robby worked too hard, something she’d previously never guessed she could see as a flaw in another human being. But how could she help it? Business was important, but she wanted Robby in bed all the time, too, and because he always said he had to work, it could be downright maddening.

Yes, now she understood all the young men she’d discarded during her own college years. Often they’d complain, calling her a workaholic, but now…

Robby was gazing at her bare breasts, his dazed eyes darkening with lust. “Hey, gorgeous,” she whispered. “I think I’m reading your mind.”

“What? Like Mama Ambrosia?”

Mama Ambrosia was a local fortune-teller. Ellie shook her head. Lifting her hands, she squeezed his shoulders, drawing him closer, enjoying the warmth and smoothness of his skin. “No. What I see in your thoughts is far too suggestive for a stranger’s clairvoyant eyes, even a professional’s.”

He glanced at the clock, his glistening teeth flashing as he smiled. “Well, sweetheart,” he drawled, “I figure we’ve got time for a quickie before we get to work and have to pretend we’re only colleagues.”

“You’ve been a bad boy on the job,” she returned, stroking his pectorals with a fingernail.

He was all innocence. “Bad?”

“A hand up my skirt during a meeting. Pinching my butt at the water cooler. A box of condoms appearing magically in my purse,” she enumerated.

“That wasn’t me,” he defended. “That was the condom fairy.” She smiled. “If we don’t tell my father about our affair soon,” she said, dragging his mouth down for a quick, wet kiss, “he’s going to guess.” Her father, otherwise known as Daddy Eddie, was the owner of Lee Polls, a century-old family-run polling company for which both she and Robby worked.

“Then we’d better hurry and have sex, so you’ll have time to run home, change and do something about your mussed hair.”

She smirked. “You really are a workaholic. It’s Saturday.”

“And I’ve got to work, anyway.”

Frowning, she considered. She loved Robby, she really did, but she was beginning to wonder if he’d ever feel completely comfortable in his own skin. He’d been so young when he’d lost his mother, only three, and he scarcely remembered her. Worse, his dad, Charlie, had seemed to go off the deep end after the loss, taking up drinking and gambling. At least, that was the story around town.

He’d been in prison for years now, for manslaughter. Even before that, Charlie had embarrassed his son. Nightly, he could be found spending his paycheck at a local watering hole called the Night Rider, running up a tab, then going further into debt by placing bets with a man suspected of being the town bookie, Max Sweeney. Sheriff Kemp had often looked the other way, just to spare Robby, who, from an early age, had so often dragged his dad out of the bar and home for the night.

Manslaughter had been too much to overlook, though. And while Ellie was glad her own father, Daddy Eddie, had intervened and offered Robby a job at Lee Polls after high school, her heart had broken when she’d seen just how hard Robby had worked, losing too much sleep, not to mention nights and weekends, always sweating the smallest details.

His determination had earned Daddy Eddie’s trust, and he’d often claimed Robby was more valuable than all his own sons combined. Not that Ellie’s ne’er-do-well brothers had minded, not even when Daddy Eddie had sent Robby to college and graduate school. Robby had worked odd jobs, too, not wanting to take charity and trying to make clear he was pulling himself up by the bootstraps. Now, no matter how successful he became, Robby seemed to think he owed Daddy Eddie something, which he didn’t.

Yes, that was the problem. Robby idolized her dad, since Daddy Eddie was the exact opposite of what Robby’s had been, but it was sure putting a damper on romance. Robby feared Daddy Eddie’s reaction—despite all that he’d achieved, was he good enough for the man’s only daughter?

Robby had turned out to be loyal and hardworking, whereas every one of Daddy Eddie’s sons—Gil, Cordy and Kyle—was worthless when it came to running Lee Polls. They preferred to hunt, fish, play golf and chase women. So, although it was a family business, Ellie and Robby, who reported directly to Daddy Eddie, did most of the work.

“You’re really going into the office?” she asked.

“You’re not?”

“Only after I meet Susannah for breakfast.” Saturday breakfast was usually set aside for her best friend.

Robby’s voice was low, sexy. “Then we’d better get a move on. Kiss me, baby.”

She wiggled her eyebrows as he pushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. “Where?”

“Here.” Leaning, he gingerly toyed with her breast, brushing the gold charm that hung from a chain around her neck. Engraved on the metal were the words Remember the Time. She and Susannah had the matching necklaces made years ago, and both still wore them always.

Robby palmed a breast, bending and roughening the sensitive skin with his chin stubble before flicking a tongue across the nipple, sending a shock of longing to her core. Her hips arched, her chin tilted back and for a moment, she simply got lost in the pleasure. Easy enough, as both hands found her, pushing her breasts upward from beneath. As he squeezed hard, her mind spun dizzily, her nipples tightening further, straining for the touch.

Throatily, she whispered, “I thought I was supposed to kiss you, not the other way around.”

He merely locked his lip to a bud and kept suckling, the silken wetness making her shiver. With a sigh, she pressed her thighs together tightly, as if to hold in the delicious sensations he was soliciting. Soon, he’d be on top of her, she knew. Or she’d be on top of him. And then…

He blew on the flesh he’d just dampened, then caught a nipple and rolled it between his fingers, causing goose bumps of anticipation to rise all over her skin. “Oh, Robby…”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.” But she wanted to say she could come from nothing more than this kind of sweet teasing. She gasped as his huge, warm hand slid downward, over her ribs, then her belly. Arrowing his fingertips, he urged apart her smooth thighs as his mouth found her neck. He was all tongue now—stroking the column beneath her chin as she shifted her weight and let him untangle her legs.

“Wider,” he drawled softly.

Was this really happening? she wondered vaguely as she gave him increased access. Was she really sharing a bed with the heartthrob of her adolescent years? It had become clear the relationship was headed for so much more. Already, they were in serious terrain. Inseparable and intense, their lives completely intertwined.

A soft senseless murmur escaped her lips as his fingers grasped her curls, toying with them. He tugged playfully, then a slick finger slid open her lower lips completely, and she could only suck another breath through clenched teeth as he circled the nub of her clitoris. “You’re so good…” she whispered. “But it could be better…”

“Better?”

His voice was catching now, and the one word was nearly lost in his throat, since his breath was quickening. Yes, she thought hazily, as he probed where she was growing so slick and damp for him. As he thrust a finger inside, testing the moist heat, preparing her, she arched once more, turning in his arms, her nipples peaking, becoming painfully taut, every fiber of her being craving his mouth once more.

Instinctively, her hand rose, threading in his hair, her heart stuttering as the wild, bed-tossed strands of jet-black ran through her fingers feeling like water. As he pushed another finger inside her, she gasped, her fist tightening, closing around the wisps of his hair, pulling his face closer so her mouth could brush his. Electrifying, she thought. Heavenly.

Then for another moment, she shut her eyes. Sensations cascaded over her like a waterfall. Tension built, climbing, threatening to shatter. When she opened her eyes again, he was watching her, his blue eyes as warm as summer, his smile inviting. “Feels good, huh?”

His hairy chest slowly rising and falling with the pace of his increasing breath. “Yeah,” she whispered as he visibly shuddered, then slid a finger from inside her and moved on top of her.

She loved him. That’s all she could think as she looked into his eyes, her heart racing. But she had to get him to commit. She’d wanted him her whole life, and this past six months had been pure torture. Always, he’d been the only man for her. Sure, she’d fooled around at college, but no one could hold a candle to Robby. She wanted more…

“Honey,” she began, her voice a soft drawl, her heart hammering harder as his legs fell between hers. She could feel the heat and power of his erection now, touching her through the sheet that had tangled between them.

He rested on an elbow, a hand beneath his cheek and flashed a bad-boy grin. “Yes, honey?”

“I want to ask you something.”

“Anything.”

“When are we going to tell my dad?”

“Tell him?”

“You know. About us.”

They were at a crossroads. Daddy Eddie was retiring in just one more week, and he’d already told her he was naming her head of the company. President, she thought now, with a sigh of happiness. It was more than she’d dreamed possible. Robby aside, running Lee Polls had always been her dream, too. The venerable company had been housed in Banner since 1898, and a Lee had always been at the helm. Never a woman, of course.

Until now. That was mostly due to the fact that none of Ellie’s brothers had possessed an interest in facts and figures, nor the knack for math that it took to analyze statistics. By contrast, Ellie could eat and breathe mathematics. And so, it had been she, not her male siblings, who had spent hours visiting her dad at work.

By age five, she’d picked out her own office, right next door to Daddy Eddie, and on her tenth birthday, he’d placed a gold plaque on the door, engraved with her name.

“How ‘bout that, Ellie girl,” her dad had said. “One day, all this really will be yours.”

Now that same office was stacked high with statistical manuals and files of client information. Soon, as her father had always promised, that old plaque would come down and the new one would replace it. The one that said, “President.”

“Daddy’s retiring in a week,” she suddenly whispered in a rush. “We don’t have much time, Robby. I want him to know…how things are between us.”

Dammit, why was she so spineless? So closemouthed? Why couldn’t she just say she really wanted to get married? After all, her best friend, Susannah, had been married for six years now, even if her and J.D.’s road had turned a little rocky. And yet…even though she was a modern woman it wasn’t really a woman’s place to ask a man for his hand. Hell, she was going to be the president of a company by this time next week, but there were still some things in life a man had to do.

Besides, there was another uncomfortable fact, in that Robby was going to report to her. As macho as he was, she could only hope he wouldn’t have trouble dealing with that. Certainly, they’d traded a lot of jokes about the possibility. And he didn’t seem to mind…

Why should he? she thought now. The company had been in her family for a century, and she’d grown up under the strict tutelage of her father. Oh, Robby was good, of course. Better than she at some aspects of the job, in fact. Maybe he was even completely on a par. But the bottom line remained. Having a Lee in the top spot was an unbroken tradition. “Really,” she began again. “We need to talk to Daddy.” She started to continue, but something in his eyes stopped her, and instead, she squinted and said, “What?”

“I…I have something to ask you.”

Her heart pounded against her ribs. He was going to ask her to marry him, she realized. Right now. In this very instant of time. Inadvertently, her lips parted and she breathed in deeply, bracing herself. She wanted to savor this moment, so she could remember it always. “Yes?”

“Would you mind terribly if…”

Her cheeks heated, her heart bursting with feeling. He was such a guy. A man’s man. Of course it wasn’t easy for him to ask…“If?” she encouraged.

“If your dad gave me the job?” He paused. “You know, running the company.”

Everything froze. For a second, all thoughts were vanquished from her mind. Surely, she hadn’t heard right. “What?”

“He…pulled me aside last week.”

“Last week!” That was impossible. Daddy Eddie had pulled her aside last week.

“I know you’re going to be mad, but just hear me out. I think he knows, or suspects, or…”

“Suspects what?”

“That we…”

Barely aware of her actions, and working on sheer revulsion, she squirmed out from under him and got up, taking the sheet with her. “That we were sleeping together?” she managed, whirling to face him. Not that she knew why, but just now, he’d become a stranger before her very eyes.

“I think it’s possible,” Robby said, reaching and trying to grab her hand, which she snatched away. “Oh, c’mon, don’t be a spoilsport,” he teased.

“Spoilsport?” she could only echo, turning on him, then leaning to gather her clothes. Quickly, she slipped a knit dress over her head and shoved her feet into ballet flats, not bothering to find her panties as he rose from the bed and closed the distance between them.

Two large hands clamped on her waist, and against her will, she shuddered as he drew her against him. She might hate him at the moment, but his body was hard, hot, male and naked, and he’d left her half aroused. Suddenly, she ached for him.

“Your dad and I talked about it,” he said firmly.

Didn’t he understand that he might as well have slapped her in the face? That this was the ultimate in the loss of trust? “Whatever we’ve done here…” she managed to begin, her voice raspy, altered by the horrible sting of betrayal. “In this bedroom, and at my house…”

“I didn’t tell him anything, Ellie.”

“That’s not the point.”

“And the point is?”

“Look, we never talked about it. But mixing business and pleasure was a really bad idea. I see that now,” she managed.

His grip tightened. “Liar. You know how serious this is,” he muttered, sounding stunned.

“Well,” she defended. “I guess I did feel we had an understanding…that you and I were a couple.”

“We are.”

“But we were going to tell Daddy about us. You and me, Robby. Together.”

Dammit, this was par for the course. Like when her dad and brothers created their own little club. Her mom had tried to turn her into a girly girl, but Ellie had inherited her father’s talent and knack for business. And now…she was nowhere.

Left out in the cold. If the job was really Robby’s…she could never look at him again.

Her words were barely audible. “How could you?”

He knew what the family company meant. It was in her blood and belonged to her.

“You think I sabotaged you?”

“Did you?”

He was starting to look furious. “He came to me, Ellie, not the other way around.” Despite the fire in his blue eyes, which were turning to ice, an uncharacteristic pleading tone had crept into his voice. Not that she cared. He was the one who’d put himself between a rock and a hard place.

He added, “What should I do, Ellie?”

“Take the job, I guess,” she burst out. So what if Daddy Eddie was her father, not his? So what if she’d worked around the clock for years, just as Robby had? Once more, her lips parted in astonishment. Suddenly, she blurted out, “I don’t believe you—”

He was incredulous. “You think I’m lying?”

“Yes. It just can’t be true.” Quickly, she wiggled from his grasp, strode to the bedside table and lifted the phone receiver.

She caught him squinting at her. “What are you doing, Ellie?”

“Calling Daddy Eddie.”

Robby’s face fell. “Don’t.”

“Why?” Her eyes pierced his as Daddy Eddie’s phone rang.

“I’m sure he wanted to tell you.”

“Well, he didn’t, now did he? And I think you’re lying.”

“Why would I?”

She offered a mean shrug. “Spite?”

Robby’s gorgeous blue eyes widened a fraction. “Look, Ellie, I know you’re upset, but we can work through this…”

Ellie didn’t see how. Thankfully, her dad finally picked up. “Daddy?” Before he could respond, she continued. “I…uh, stopped by Robby Robriquet’s place just now, to…uh, pick up some files for work—”

“This early in the morning?”

“Yes. And it’s not that earl—”

“For a Satur—”

Damn her dad for interrupting and trying to distract her. “Daddy,” she said in a rush. “Robby swears—”

“I didn’t swear,” interjected Robby. “I just said—”

“That you’re promoting him over me next week when you retire, and he’s been chosen to run Lee Polls.” Been chosen. The words echoed in her mind. How could her own father deny her? “I told him this was ludicrous. Completely, utterly impossible. And I know you’ll be glad that I stepped in and corrected him.

“Why, you and I have talked about my appointment for years, ever since I was a little girl. Right, Daddy? And you know I have the highest credentials, not to mention more time with the company, overall. I mean, if you count the years I worked there in high school…”

Realizing her dad hadn’t jumped to her defense, she let her voice trail off. A long pause followed. And then her daddy said the impossible, “It’s true, Ellie.”

She barely heard what he said after that. Just a jumble of justifications, really. He suspected she was going to want to get married and have a family someday, he said, and that he didn’t want work to get in her way forever, since he loved her so much. He’d always felt badly that her brothers hadn’t done their share, so thank God for Robby. Besides which, her mother agreed Ellie needed to focus more on other aspects of life.

“Like marriage? Having a family?” Her jaw dropped. Sure, she’d been about to propose to Robby, but that was when she was going to be president of her company, too. But now…

“How far back in time did you have to go,” she finally managed, “to find a speech like that one, Daddy? The Middle Ages? The Dark Ages? Did you go to a museum?” How had her father, who had always been so supportive, morphed into a caveman? “Did Mom talk you into this?” she accused.

“No, Ellie, and this has nothing to do with your qualifications. You know that. When it came down to brass tacks, I just want a man running my ship. And that’s my right.”

“That’s illegal, I think,” she muttered.

“Well, I doubt my own daughter’s going to take me to court.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“You don’t see it now,” he said firmly. “But you’re going to want more out of life down the road.”

“I’ve been running your ship for years,” she ground out, her eyes now fixing on Robby’s. Seconds ago, those gorgeous baby blues had looked so sweet and nonthreatening. They’d turned her knees to water. Now they seemed cold and calculating, vicious and predatory. What had she ever seen in him?

“Yes…I’ve been helping you for years, Dad. My good-for-nothing brothers, your lousy sons made sure of that!”

“Ellie, please hear me out—”

She slammed down the phone, fuming. Lee Polls was hers. It was in her history and her blood. Nobody was taking it away, not even her lover—ex-lover, she mentally amended—Robby Robriquet.

Except he had.

She grabbed her purse and headed for the door and when he grasped her from behind, she shook off his touch. “Bastard,” she muttered, hating that her body still tingled from his touch as she opened the door and stepped outside, into air that was crisp for November in Mississippi. “Get away from me.”

“Ellie,” he called from the porch as she headed for her car. “You didn’t even let me talk. I want to be with you. Always. Forever. You and me. We can work this out.”

“Yeah, right,” she shouted. “You want to get married and have kids and—”

“Yes! Yes, that’s exactly what I want!”

“And I’ll cook and clean for you while you go off to my office.”

“Dammit, Ellie!”

If it had been any other company but Lee Polls, maybe she could have gotten over it. Her heart stretched to breaking. “That company is mine! Mine!”

“Come back, Ellie!”

“No…you go back inside and put on some clothes, Robby,” she called over her shoulder. “Otherwise Sheriff Kemp might arrest you for indecent exposure. And besides, don’t you have to hurry up and put on your suit and tie? Don’t you have a job to go to? My job? In the company that belongs to my family?”

“Dammit, I know this is sensitive.”

“You’re just like your father,” she yelled, striking the lowest blow she could think of. “You wanted my job and you took it, but you’re not getting me, too.”

Maybe he said something else, but she’d never know. She was already in her car. Tears were flowing freely, and she didn’t bother to stop them. By the time she’d become cognizant of her actions, she was sobbing deeply, her shoulders shaking. Through a haze of tears, she just kept moving. She stopped at her house and packed bags that would last her a while. At first, she had no idea where she might go.

Hodges Motor Lodge was an option, but that was too local. Besides, everyone would know to look for her there, since it was the only motel in town. So she made a plane reservation. Yes, she needed a vacation. Screw Lee Polls. Daddy Eddie and Robby had decided they could run the place without her, so let them.

“Just see how far they get!” she declared. They could never find the Thomas files, they didn’t have a clue about how to land that lucrative account with the Clovis family, or the contracts for upcoming national elections. Besides, her own client list was on her laptop, which she would take with her, and they’d play hell trying to decipher her notes.

“Within a week, the whole place will shut down,” she vowed. Once her bags were piled high in her car, she sped toward Delia’s Diner. Thankfully, as soon as she had breakfast, and told her best friend, Susannah, about her plan, she’d be getting far away from Banner, Mississippi.

But Susannah wasn’t at Delia’s yet. So Ellie sat in the car sobbing some more, which felt good, then she finally shoved on her sunglasses to hide her eyes. Delia’s Diner was gossip central.

She waved at a few people inside the restaurant, ordered coffee and noted that Sheriff Kemp was at the counter, flirting with Delia again. Ellie had to concentrate on not crying now; otherwise, everybody in Banner would know something was wrong and start grilling her. So she stared into space, barely noticing when her best friend came in and seated herself in the booth.

Susannah was the sister Ellie had never had. As much as Ellie loved her, though, she was always embroiled in some new drama surrounding her husband, J.D. Ever since he’d become a country star, the marriage had been heading south, and all the arguments about leaving the man had been discussed before today. So, even though Ellie was numb, her mind reeling from her own life-altering circumstances, Susannah didn’t even notice, due to her own difficulties. This made it easy to order breakfast while murmuring all the usual consolations.

Even when Susannah announced she was finally leaving her husband, Ellie merely kept nodding. Susannah threatened this at least once a month, after all. Almost as often as she threatened to kill J.D.

The man was still breathing, however, and Ellie doubted Susannah would ever free herself from the increasingly problematic relationship. Suddenly, Susannah pushed unruly wisps of blond hair from her eyes, and said, “You’ve been crying, Ellie.”

Only then did Ellie notice she’d removed her sunglasses. She guessed she’d removed them when Delia had put down their breakfast plates. Eggs could be a little unappealing seen through dark lenses. “All morning,” she said, although it wasn’t strictly true.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so fixated on J.D. What’s wrong?”

The story came pouring out. When Ellie was finished, Susannah gasped. “And Robby accepted the job?”

Ellie nodded.

“That snake in the grass! What are you going to do?”

In that instant, Ellie knew. “Go to New York and start another polling business to compete with Daddy and Robby.”

She’d been considering a vacation, but why not make it permanent? She’d done business in New York and had contacts there. Maybe such a plan would work. Had Susannah, herself, been sincere about her own plans to leave J.D.? “Come with me, Susannah.”

“To New York?” Susannah said. “To do what?”

Ellie’s mind was racing as she started offering ideas, then she finished by declaring, “To have sex with a lot of men. Every guy I can.”

She could see Susannah’s throat working as she swallowed hard. “That…uh, sounds ambitious.”

Ellie almost smiled. “I’ve always been ambitious,” she agreed.

“Well…okay. Yes. I’ll come with you.”

“Good.” But could Ellie really make this work? Could she build a competitive polling company from the ground up, then maybe even use it to take over Lee Polls? More important, could she find a man sexy enough to replace Robby Robriquet?

Chapter Two

Eleven Months Later

NEWSPAPER BUSINESS REPORTER Derrick Mills wasn’t nearly as good-looking as Robby. He was taller, less stocky, with dark hair and eyes. Still, Ellie assured herself as she took in his tailored gray suit, she would have jumped into the sack with him, if not for one little problem. Derrick was married. So she’d just have to stay on topic and continue answering his questions. Most important, she needed to gauge when it would be best to drop her bombshell.

She’d been planning her strategy for months, and now the moment was near. She had to fight not to grin. Yes, the gimmick she was going to announce would kill a few birds with one stone. She’d generate business, create media buzz for herself and erase the memory of Robby Robriquet from her life forever. And why not? She believed in her skills of statistical analysis, didn’t she? And she wanted to find someone she’d like as much as Robby.

Love as much. When the words entered her consciousness, she tried to ignore them. But she had loved the man. Surely, no one would ever turn her on in the same way. Besides, for so long, she’d just unconsciously assumed she and Robby would have…

A wedding.

A house with a picket fence in Banner, Mississippi.

Babies.

And, of course, share the joy of combined careers. Lastly, the sparks of their passion would never burn out. With one look, Robby had always set her on fire. In the office of Lee Polls, they’d shared so many laughs, too, especially since they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. Now, just thinking about her ex-lover, her skin warmed, her heart missed a beat, her palms started to sweat…

“Ms. Lee?”

She snapped to attention, then searched her mind, trying to remember what the interviewer had asked. “Was my decision to start Future Trends influenced by my father’s appointment of Robby Robriquet to run Lee Polls?” she prompted.

“Yes,” Derrick returned. “Was it?”

“Of course not!”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. I’m very happy here. Who wouldn’t be?” She waved a hand to call his attention to the surroundings. She’d revamped a two-bedroom apartment in a brownstone, the same one she’d initially shared with Susannah when they’d first arrived in New York nearly a year ago.

Since then, Susannah had reunited with J.D. and Ellie had retooled the place into an office. New gray carpet, simple black lacquer desks and classic plum window treatments had made the apartment look trendy and upscale.

“But it was assumed you, not Robby Robriquet, would have that position?” Derrick Mills prompted.

Silently, she damned the reporter for rubbing salt in the old wound. “Not really,” she denied. “Or, to whatever extent I assumed that, I’m not sorry.” She offered a wry smile, hoping Derrick would fill in the blanks.

“Not sorry that Lee Polls has trended downward in sales and contracts? Some of its oldest customers have jumped ship since you left, you know.”

“Sometimes it’s either sink or swim.”

“And you’re swimming while Lee Polls is sinking?”

“You said that, Mr. Mills, not I.”

“But where do your ultimate loyalties lie?”

“With myself.” She arched a brow. “I mean, do you think I should retain family loyalties merely because Lee Polls has been run by Lees for so long?”

“I wondered.”

“None whatsoever. Business is business, Mr. Mills. We all know that.”

“Clearly, you do. No wonder you’re so successful. Many might have experienced the Robriquet appointment as a setback, but instead, you opened Future Trends within a week of your father’s decision. There have even been rumors, saying that you now intend to sell your new business already, for a hefty profit, once more proving your lack of sentimentality. ”

“Quite the contrary. I’m looking for acquisitions, although not for sentimental reasons.”

“Lee Polls?” He eyed her. “Are you considering buying your family’s company and merging it with Future Trends?”

“Again, you said it, not I.” She laughed lightly. “Although nothing’s in the works quite yet.” But if she was quoted in the newspaper, Robby might start to sweat, she thought. And after what he’d done to her, she wouldn’t mind making him squirm.

“People might take such a move as vindictive.”

“Well, I’ve never cared what people think of me.”

“Fair enough.”

“But as I said, I’ve got no feelers out right now.” She smiled once more. “I’d need to find more office space first, anyway.”

“Three rooms could be cramped after a merger,” he conceded, glancing from where they were seated to what had been the living room a few months ago.

Following his gaze, Ellie tried not to grimace. Her only employee, Angelina Carrella, had seemed excellent on many levels, at least initially. She was neat, prompt and efficient. However, love had entered her life, and now the girl was ruined. An engagement had followed, and ever since, Angelina was distracted and absentminded. Yes, in only a few short months, she’d transformed from a demure assistant into a brazen spitfire who spent half the day on the phone with her fiancé, Antonio, or the various relatives from whom she was soliciting funds to pay for an absurdly lavish wedding.

Each day, Ellie was treated to the very last thing she needed to see—pictures of gowns, flowers, cakes and bridesmaids’ gifts. One minute, the wedding would be black and white, then pink and blue, then red and green. Plans had begun for Valentine’s day, then Christmas, then Antonio’s birthday. Every step in the direction of finalizing a decision caused lengthy phone fights.

Even worse, despite Ellie’s clear instructions to behave while Derrick Mills was on the premises, at least, Antonio had now arrived to take his sweetheart to lunch. By the looks of it, and the very loud smacking sounds, if the two didn’t leave soon, they might well wind up making love on Angelina’s desk.

Ignoring the trajectory of her interviewer’s gaze, Ellie continued, “Well, most of the analytical work is done by computer here, and I often meet clients in their own offices.”

Derrick Mills was still watching the couple. “Looks like you’ve got lovebirds around.”

So much for ignoring them. “She was an excellent assistant before the engagement,” Ellie quipped with a wry smile.

“A wedding can be so exciting,” Derrick said on a sigh.

Great. He was a romantic. Ellie couldn’t help but notice he began toying with his wedding ring. “A newlywed yourself?” she guessed.

“Almost a year ago.”

About the time Ellie was leaving Robby. “I’m happy for you,” she managed, very much doubting she sounded sincere.

Not that he seemed to notice. When his eyes found hers again, they held that dopey dazed look of the truly loved. “No man in your life at the moment?” he prodded.

She tamped down the images the words conjured…Robby’s hot body slick with soapsuds in the shower, asleep on his back with a sheet draped over his hips like a loincloth, lifting her off her feet and whirling her in a circle. “Afraid I have too little time.”

His eyes were on Angelina and Antonio again, and when she followed his gaze once more, Ellie realized it was no wonder. The Latin lothario had his sweetie nearly backed against the desk now, his hands on her hips, a huge, lusty Cheshire grin on his face. The hem of Angelina’s skirt was rising dangerously high on her thigh. Heat rose in Ellie’s cheeks. The other day, she’d returned from a client meeting and found the couple nearly sprawled across the couch. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but there was definitely a tongue kiss, thus a reminder of the passion she’d once shared with Robby.

“They’re in that beginning phase,” she offered.

Derrick Mills turned his attention to her once more. “It’s amazing how long such a phase can last,” he said cheerfully. “My wife and I hope it will go on forever.”

It won’t, she wanted to ensure. She knew better than these lovesick fools. And between Mr. Hearts-and-Flowers and the two love bunnies in the next room, it was downright hard to conduct this business meeting. “Uh…do you have any more questions to ask?”

Glancing down at the pad on his knee and riffling through the pages, Derrick considered. “Sorry. At any mention of romance, I just…”

Ellie raised a hand and held it up, palm outward. “No need to explain.” Sighing, she prompted, “Your next question?”

“I use the old-fashioned stuff,” he continued absently. “Paper. The electronic devices drive me crazy. So I’ll need just a second to collect my thoughts.”

While she waited, Ellie smoothed her skirt and recrossed her ankles. The rust-orange suit and shoes she’d chosen looked amazing, but weren’t comfortable. Still, a photographer had arrived with Derrick, and she wanted to seem her best. If a picture did make the paper, Robby would see it, since he always read their popular publication.

Robby. Again! Cutting off the thought, she wondered why the damnable man kept invading her mind. The affair was over. Period. And yet she sometimes awakened, more than she wanted to admit, her sleep-hazy mind full of dreams about the raw sexual passion they’d shared.

“Well,” Derrick began. “I believe I’ve got everything I need. I’m struck by your success. So is my boss. That’s why he sent me here. I really wanted to meet you personally, rather than just speak on the phone, and now that I have, I’m truly impressed.”

So the article was going to be a good one. She fought the urge to shout with joy. “Thank you, Mr. Mills.”

“In under a year you’ve built an amazing company. You’ve cut the overhead so much—”

“There’s virtually none.”

“And many of the clients you previously handled at Lee Polls have remained loyal.”

“To me, yes. A lot of…my father’s clients followed me, too.”

“Any idea why? Robby Robriquet is an excellent and talented manager.”

But Robby wasn’t bringing home the bacon. He was best with numbers, she with finding new business. Oh, Lee Polls was doing well enough, but she’d been a third of its lifeblood for years. And as far as she knew, her dad really had retired. Not that she’d spoken to him.

“Mr. Robriquet is skilled,” she admitted. In fact, in her weaker moments, she hated to see him lose business. She knew how hard he worked, what it meant to him. He was every bit as talented as she, too, but…“The stars were with me.”

“Celebrity clients?”

She chuckled. “That, too. On that score, moving to a larger city where I can network more easily has helped. But I meant the stars of fate. I’ve just had a good run lately.”

“You’re too modest. You called a few long-shot elections, one national. In fact, so far this year, your polling data has been more accurate than anyone’s in the political arena, at any level of politics, local or national. Your analysis has constantly exposed glitches in data, where others have missed them. You’ve called new trends, too, and that has allowed you to make particularly accurate assessments.”

“There was the John Lewis campaign,” she agreed, speaking of a senatorial race in the South. “We got lucky there. Then the Wally Willis congressional call. We correctly determined the way Billings Corporation, the pet manufacturer, should drive its new business, as well, which had immediate, positive results for them, and their stock prices soared.”

“Results that were nothing short of amazing,” he agreed. “Do you care to share your secret?”

She laughed. “You want me to divulge the fine print of my pact with the devil?”

“A lot of people would like to know.”

“Just good footwork,” she assured him. “Solid data collection and long hours of analyzing numbers.”

“A lot of people don’t believe that, you know.”

She squinted. “Believe what?”

“That you don’t have a secret. Your predictions can be downright uncanny in their accuracy. People would pay a small fortune to understand how you do it.”

She laughed. “Who? Bookies and weather forecasters?”

“Among others.”

“I could tell you about my crystal ball,” she joked. “Or the cards I throw. Maybe even the special tricks I use with the I Ching. But I’d be lying. And anyway, starting this business hasn’t been a bed of roses.”

“Could have fooled the public.”

She frowned. “I had some difficulty when I was first getting started. New work was coming in, but…” Robby was still a constant distraction. “I was busy then, helping my friend Susannah Banner open a restaurant in this neighborhood, a sweet little country place named Oh, Susannah’s.

“My wife and I eat there all the time, and I knew you and Ms. Banner were friends.”

“You’ve heard of Susannah?”

“In name only. Her husband’s famous, and the restaurant’s had great reviews. It’s wonderful, as I said.”

“So is Susannah.” Ellie absently lifted a hand, touching the charm she wore. Now she just wished Susannah was in New York. A few days ago, she’d returned to Banner and J.D., after flying in to check on the restaurant. During the visit, she hadn’t mentioned Robby, of course, but no doubt, Susannah saw him regularly. Yes…she was treating Ellie with kid gloves, afraid any mention of Robby would send Ellie into a funk. At any rate, Ellie knew Robby and J.D.’s previously shattered relationship had been repaired, so they were pals again, and that meant Susannah was probably often in his company.

So she could have asked about Robby, but somehow she’d refrained. She didn’t want Susannah guessing at her heartbreak and doing the worst possible thing—playing matchmaker.

Derrick Mills was watching her. “Would you like to share anything more, Ms. Lee?”

Ellie thought over the past months, and the mystery surrounding J.D.’s supposed death after an explosive device had been detonated aboard his boat, The Alabama. As it turned out, J.D. escaped the wreckage unscathed, but he’d used the opportunity to walk away from his old life and start fresh. By pretending he’d really died, he’d been able to clean up his hard-living ways and win back his wife.

Due to those incidents, Ellie had been forced to return to Banner, however briefly, to attend J.D.’s funeral. It was the last time she’d seen Robby. Even a couple months later, she still felt raw from the experience. He’d looked as good as ever, dressed in a dark suit, and he’d been incredibly kind to Susannah, too, helping her make arrangements, so Ellie couldn’t help but feel touched.

She, too, had put aside past animosities. In the brief time they’d spent together, they were thankfully never alone. And they hadn’t talked business, nor about their affair, only about Susannah and J.D. Maybe they should have, she thought now. Maybe it would have been better for her and Robby to yell and scream, instead of being civil. Maybe that could have healed the ache that plagued her every time she imagined his face.

The vision of it swam in her mind now. The high forehead, straight nose, full lips. His skin was always glowing from a combination of good health and sun exposure. Swallowing hard, she tried to push away an image of his eyes, but she couldn’t. They were sparkling, arresting, deep with knowledge. She and Robby belonged together, Ellie suddenly thought. Every time she thought of him, she knew she’d made a mistake.

Robby was her fate, her destiny. And yet she was powerless to return to him. This office represented her innermost self, too. Even if her parents would fault her for it, work fulfilled her as nothing else could.

Whatever the case, she thought, returning to the topic at hand, Susannah and J.D. were back together, as happy as peas in a pod. “I don’t think I want to elaborate on J. D. Johnson and Susannah Banner any more than I already have,” Ellie finally decided.

“My only remaining question concerns what you see in your immediate future.”

She smiled, thinking the phrase sounded catchy, and making a mental note of it. “The future of Future Trends?” Before he could respond, she continued. “Funny you should ask. I am about to do something totally unprecedented in the history of the polling industry.”

Derrick took the bait, leaning forward. “And you’re going to let me announce this in my article?”

Astute fellow. “Of course.” She flashed a smile. “I’m going to put my money where my mouth is.”

“How?”

She glanced toward the front room. “As you’ve made clear, you’re no stranger to the necessity of passion. And ever since Angelina and Antonio became engaged, I’ve been inspired…”

Now Derrick was beginning to look a little confused.

“By using my polling skills and talents with statistical analysis,” she said, “I’m going to find a mate.”

Derrick chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”

Slowly, she shook her head. “As you know, today’s marketing strategies include tricks unimaginable a generation ago. Today, there are databases chock-full of information about everyone. With nothing more than my computer, I can access a world of data about you—where you go, what you earn, where you shop, what you buy, what you do for entertainment, who you know, what you read…”

“I get the point.”

She laughed softly. “Scary thought, isn’t it?”

“If misused.”

“Well,” she assured him, “I’m in the process of putting my data gathering and analytical skills together to demonstrate why everyone should use Future Trends. After this, everyone will understand that we can make any correct prediction, right down to what you’re going to have for dinner tonight.”

“You’re already blowing people out of the water.”

“Maybe. But this will be spectacular. Within two weeks, I expect to finish crunching my numbers. In addition to available data, I’ve requested focus groups and questionnaires, the results to which Angelina is entering into our private database now. And from all the existing information in the country, I expect to find the man with whom I would be the most compatible.”

“Of course you intend to meet him before you marry him?” Derrick teased, looking incredulous.

“I would not have to,” Ellie assured him. “That’s how much I stand behind my methods, but…” Pausing, she shrugged gamely. “I can’t expect anyone else to play by my rules, and so…”

“So?”

“The announcement will be made next week.”

“And what do you expect to come from this?”

She flashed him a grin. “Besides publicity from you for Future Trends? Mr. Mills, I’m not sure you appreciate the full gravity of what I’m saying. This man will be The One. I will be able to do anything with him…and everything. I can bed him, wed him. Make mad, passionate love. He will be my alter ego and very best friend. That’s what I’m looking for, and—”

“My, my,” her interviewer interjected. “This is interesting, indeed. Other papers may want to follow this, watch the story unfold.”

It was what she’d been hoping for. If things went smoothly, she could actually make a mint in new business, and garner the resources for taking over Lee Polls, if she chose to do so. She took a deep breath. “Let me just finish by saying that I know two things. First, and I speak as a statistician.”

“To say?”

“The numbers never lie.”

“And…”

“Second, as a woman, I’d say…”

He leaned even closer. “Yes?”

“I always get my man.”

He would be better than Robby Robriquet in every way. Sexier. Smarter. Richer. Hotter in bed. And the only remaining question was his identity.

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