Sensual Confessions - Brenda Jackson [15]
Mac glanced over at Sam. “What do you think?”
Sam had been staring into space, but now looked across the table at her two friends. “The way I feel right now, I want to call her in and kick her you-know-what for wasting our time.”
Mac couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. She saw that Peyton was doing a better job than she was at holding back. Both of them were well aware that Sam was in a lousy mood and had been since Blade left. They were also aware that Sam and Blade had spent almost twenty minutes together in her office before he’d finally departed, and that was only after Priscilla had reminded Sam of their meeting. They had both noticed that although Sam had reapplied her lipstick, her lips were kiss-swollen nonetheless.
“I think,” Mac said, “that we go with option one—call her in and let her know we won’t be representing her in her sexual harassment case against Sidney Gresham.” She glanced at Sam again. “You might want to take a chill pill before she arrives, Di Meglio.”
Muttering something under her breath, Sam stood and walked over to the coffeepot to pour a cup. “I don’t need a chill pill. What I need is my head examined.”
“Um, Blade Madaris was that bad, Sam?” Peyton asked, grinning.
She turned around and stared at her friends for a long, steady moment before rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “No, he was that good,” she said in a disgusted tone. “Damn it.”
From the stares and arched eyebrows, she immediately knew what Mac and Peyton assumed. “For crying out loud, stop staring at me like I don’t have any panties on. We didn’t go that far. Jeez. He was only in my office for twenty minutes. It was only a kiss.”
Peyton stood as she gathered her folders. “Hey, a woman and her man can do a lot in twenty minutes. And please don’t ask me how I know.”
Since Peyton was the argumentative type and no one was in the mood for a debate this early in the morning, they didn’t say anything as she left the room. As soon as the door closed behind her Sam felt Mac’s eyes shift to her.
“Sam, if Blade is making a nuisance of himself and is harassing you, I can have Luke talk to him.”
Sam waved off her words as she returned to her seat. “It’s not that serious, Mac. He’s not harassing me. There’s a difference between a man openly pursuing a woman and when he’s harassing her.”
“And usually the difference is the attitude of the woman,” Mac pointed out. “Do you or don’t you want to be involved with Blade?”
“No, I don’t and I’ve told him that. But of course he thinks he can change my mind. I think he sees me as some kind of conquest. I’m the one woman not falling at his feet, not eagerly crawling between his sheets. He wouldn’t be a true-blue player if he didn’t get the woman who rejects his advances, namely me.”
She leaned back in her chair, stared into her coffee and then added, “He thinks I’m being defensive, whatever that means. And I didn’t help matters this morning by letting him kiss me.”
“Mmm, sounds interesting.”
Sam looked at her friend. “Damn it, Mac, it was better than interesting. I’ve never been kissed like that before. The man makes using his lips and tongue some sort of art form.”
Mac chuckled as she stood up. “Must be a Madaris trait. And I hope you know that unless you put your foot down and give him a reason not to, Blade will be back, and he won’t give up until he gets what he wants.” She shook her head. “Neither of you are acting rational. I’ve known Blade for more than seven years, and I’ve never known him to pursue a woman the way he’s chasing you for any reason, conquest or otherwise. I’ve known you even longer, and I’ve never known you to let a bona fide player get under your skin.”
Sam didn’t say anything for a moment and then said, “He claims I’m sending mixed signals.”
“Are you?”
She paused, then admitted, “Possibly. You and Peyton of all people know how I handle players.”
“Yes. Which has me wondering why you’re handling him differently?”
“He’s Luke cousin. Besides, my parents