Craving Him (Sinful Nights Book 6) Read online

  Craving Him

  The Sinful Nights Series, Book 6

  By Elizabeth Lennox

  www.ElizabethLennox.com

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  Or on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Elizabethlenno1

  Copyright 2019

  ISBN13: 9781950451104

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Author’s Note:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note:

  For all of my wonderful subscribers, please be aware that this novella was “Andrea’s Story” that you all received for free several months ago. The only changes to this story is a bit more polish. Thank you for being such wonderful readers, and I promise to have many more free novellas for my subscribers as well as the free monthly introductions.

  If you haven’t subscribed already, you can do so here: https://elizabethlennox.com/subscribe-for-free-stories/. In the past, subscribers have received about three free novellas from me each year (but I can’t guarantee that number – it is just an average). Subscribers receive these stories for a limited time before they are offered for sale on the retail sites.

  These novellas are usually based off of characters from my full novels – just tangential characters that call to me for their own story. In some cases, these tangential characters have grown into full novels, but other times, they are just short, fun stories that I pull together quickly, then polish up and send out into the world.

  Because these novellas aren’t part of my original plan when developing the series and the series’ characters, the novellas don’t usually come out in the right sequence. In the case of “Craving Him”, Andrea was the lawyer who helped Reid Jones in Book One of the Sinful Night Series. (Click here for details!)

  I hope you enjoy this novella and the bonus novella that follows!

  Chapter 1

  Exhaustion from another eighteen hour day made the climb up the stairs to her building feel as if Andrea was climbing a mountain. It didn’t matter that there were only three steps up to the lobby, they still felt…insurmountable. With a groan of determination, Andrea Wellington trudged up the stairs, holding the two, precious bags of Chinese carryout as if they were an infant. But since it was about two o’clock in the morning and she hadn’t eaten since…maybe noon…she was tired, hungry and ready for a glass of wine. Maybe two, she corrected as she smiled to Walter, the doorman for her building.

  “Another rough day, Ms. Wellington?”

  Andrea leaned heavily against the polished wooden countertop, handing one of the warm bags filled with battered chicken and garlic sauce to the friendly doorman. “Walter, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Andrea? Especially at night when no one else is around?”

  The man smiled, his old eyes crinkling with humor. “You do realize that it’s Friday night and there are residents coming in from a fun evening on the town, right?”

  Andrea blinked. “Friday?” She paused, trying to orient her mind. “Are you kidding? Is it really Friday night?” When had that happened? The last time she blinked, it was Monday. Or maybe Tuesday? She wasn’t sure, but was positive that her eyes burned from exhaustion and her feet were in so much pain, she could barely feel her toes anymore.

  The kind doorman chuckled, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling with his humor. “Yes ma’am. I know that going out and having fun…” he stopped, realizing where his comment was going. “Well, you haven’t been out for a fun night in a while, have you?”

  Andrea smiled. Sort of. “Yeah. It’s been a while.” The exhaustion from another long workday evaporated as the painful memories assailed her. Memories of the nights she’d left work early, wanting to be with Mike. Laughing with him. Talking with him. Making love with him. She’d never slept more deeply than those few months when he’d held her in his arms, the steady beating of his heart under her ear…it had been a blissful few months.

  But those days were over, she told herself, lifting her chin and reminding herself to not give him a call. It was over between them. She had to keep moving forward.

  “Tough day at work?” he asked, peering eagerly inside the bag.

  She hefted her package higher into her arms. “Aren’t they all?” she laughed, and pushed away from the counter, forcing her feet to carry her to the elevator. “Good night, Walter. Enjoy your dinner!”

  The man might have waved or said something, but Andrea was too tired to turn her head. She pressed the button that would take her to the fifteenth floor, stepped into the elevator, and leaned back against the wall of the elevator cab. Closing her eyes, she promised she’d be fine in just a few minutes. She still needed to read through the depositions from earlier today and figure out the language on the contract, get a few more...

  The dinging of the elevator woke her with a start. Looking around, she tried to figure out what had just happened. Elevator. Chinese food. Dinner!

  “Right!” she snapped, jerking away from the wall of the elevator. How many times had she fallen asleep on the short ride up this stupid building? Too many, she thought as she stuck her hand between the now-closing doors, prompting them to open again. “Forget the wine. Maybe coffee would be a better idea,” she muttered as she headed for her condo. Keys, she thought. Keys were…in her purse! Nope, they were in her hands.

  She slid the key into the lock and turned, sighing when the door to her condo opened. She kicked her shoes off, sending them flying. She didn’t care where they landed, as long as they were no longer on her feet.

  “Yes!” she sighed with relief as her feet flattened onto the slate foyer of her condo. “Oh yes!” She thought about leaning back against the door, just for a moment, to savor the feeling. The sensation of having her shoes off was almost painful as her feet slowly flattened out, but this was a good kind of pain. A delicious relief from the ache that plagued her feet from the moment she stepped into the office each morning. She refused to think about the fact that her poor, wounded feet would need to slip into another pair of those horrible shoes in…maybe a few hours. Nope, she couldn’t think about that now. She needed to focus on eating and pouring that delicious glass of wine. Oh, and depositions and contracts and clauses that should be….

  With a heavy sigh, Andrea carried her precious cargo into the kitchen, then flipped on the lights and looked around at the pristine area. When she’d bought this place two years ago, she’d completely gutted the kitchen and living area, making it one big, open area with sleek appliances and tall, white cabinets. She’d spent an afternoon buying colorful plates, bowls, and glasses, adding pops of color to contrast with the white cabinets.

  It had been her celebration for making partner at her law firm. She’d had big plans for this kitchen, she thought. Huge plans! Andrea had pictured herself making scones and cakes, decorating Christmas cookies and making fun, silly Halloween desserts. She’d anticipated dinner parties where her friends and relatives could relax and enjoy good food and wine. There was a back wall with counter space and tall cabinets and then another counter on the other side of the aisle, but only with under-counter cabinets. From here, she could see her whole living room plus the floor to ceiling windows beyond that showed off the gorgeous lights of Denver.

  S
he’d been told that she had a fabulous view of the Rocky Mountains that rose majestically just beyond the city of Denver, but after two years, Andrea still hadn’t seen them. Most nights, she worked late into the night, coming home after dark. Unfortunately, she also left before the sun came up each morning. Any mornings when she was here and the sun might reveal those magnificent mountains, she was too busy rushing around to leave and get to the office, or reading a contract or report. So that beautiful view might be there, but Andrea wouldn’t know.

  Turning away from the view, she lugged her Chinese food over to the spotless counter. But Andrea didn’t put the food down. She couldn’t. Frozen, she stared at the counter, memories flooding her mind, making her body ache. There, right by her sink, she’d…well, that was where she and Mike had…

  Blinking, she turned away from the scene where he’d made wild, passionate love to her. The heat from that night had been out of this world!

  That time was gone, she told herself firmly. Mike was no longer in her life. He’d proposed and…well, she couldn’t handle that! Marriage? No way! She’d learned very early on that marriage was pointless! A sham!

  Why?! Why had Mike gone and ruined something so perfect?

  Well, perfect for the moment. Andrea knew that love never lasted. It was hot and beautiful in the beginning…at least, it had been with Mike. Mike was tall, handsome, and devastatingly charming. He was amazing! The most amazing lover anyone could dream of!

  Granted, after six months of happiness in his arms, she’d started to pull away. But only because she knew that the end was inevitable, she reminded herself. Relationships always ended! Romance never lasted! Happily ever after was a complete fantasy! Just check out the current divorce rate!

  Andrea tossed the chopsticks into the trash, grabbing a fork with one hand while pulling the box of shrimp, chicken, and beef out of the bag. But as the savory smells hit her, she pulled back again as memories clouded her mind. Memories and images…of Mike feeding her the savory bits, and kissing her after each bite. Mike teasing her to try a bite of the broccoli, then eating it himself when she refused. Mike touching her face and pushing the food away as he stripped off her clothes and…

  “Enough!” she snapped, closing the lid on the food. She whipping open the sleek, stainless steel refrigerator and…stopped. Staring right back at her was a completely full pizza box, a carry out of her favorite Italian restaurant, and three other takeout boxes. All from the past week. All untouched because the memories were too painful. Even after all these months, she couldn’t eat in her beautiful kitchen because of the memories!

  “This is ridiculous,” she chided herself, as she stuffed the bag of food into the fridge and slammed the door. “No wonder my kitchen is spotless!” she grumbled, stalking into her bedroom, stripping off her clothes along the way. She dumped her suit and silk blouse into one hamper and her bra, stockings and panties into the other. Andrea had a cleaning crew that came in every Monday. They cleaned, vacuumed and took her suits and blouses to the dry cleaners, and laundered her other clothes. By the time she came home from the office Monday night, everything was back in her closet or drawers, cleaned, pressed, and stored away.

  Now that was a luxury provided by her job that she could appreciate, she thought as she pulled an old college tee shirt over her head. Quickly, she brushed her teeth and washed her face, then padded barefoot to the bed, slipping between the sheets. Moments later, she was fast asleep.

  Chapter 2

  “I need those contracts on my desk by nine o’clock, Jeff,” she told the associate assigned to her. “Mary, can you get me the Conrad files? I need to…”

  Mary, Andrea’s amazing administrative assistant, jumped up from her desk to intercept Andrea before she could get to her office. The unprecedented move startled Andrea, whose thoughts were focused on all of the tasks that she had to get done today.

  Pulling back, Andrea blinked at her assistant. But she had a briefing with a client in…glancing at her watch, she tried not to cringe at how little time there was before her client showed up.

  “Yes Mary?” Andrea asked, looking up from the notes she’d written while brushing her teeth this morning. “We have John Hembra coming for a meeting in less than ten minutes.”

  “You have a newish client,” Mary announced.

  Andrea pulled back again, trying to hide her irritation. “I thought I asked you to keep my morning free.”

  Mary nodded, but didn’t move out of Andrea’s way, the sparkle to her assistant’s eyes caused Andrea to hesitate. “You did. I did. But this is…”

  “I don’t care who it is,” Andrea interrupted, waving the contract in her hand. “You know that I have to get these filed by noon or…”

  “It’s Mike Mancuso,” she announced as Andrea stepped around her.

  Andrea froze. Her mind stopped. Her heart stopped. Mike. He was here? No! Impossible! He’d proposed, she’d said no. He’d asked her why. She’d walked out on him. She hadn’t heard from him since.

  Why was he here? No, it couldn’t be Mike! Not Mike Mancuso! Impossible! She was just thinking it was Mike Mancuso because of the memories from last night. Mike wasn’t in her office.

  Okay, that was stupid. It was very possible! Mike was the firm’s biggest client. Biggest by far! She wasn’t the lawyer assigned to assist his company, but Andrea knew that Mancuso Holdings generated billions of dollars in revenue and had her law firm on retainer. Because of the enormous influence Mike had in both the Denver and international business world, Mike was the kind of man that everyone dropped everything to help. He was that important. That meant that the biggest and baddest of lawyers in the firm worked on his legal issues.

  But Andrea hadn’t ever cared about his business influence. She’d cared about him. Deeply! Perhaps too deeply. So…why had Mary allowed Mike to come here? As the most amazing administrative assistant, Mary knew just about everything about Andrea’s life. So she definitely knew what Mike meant to her. “Why is he in my office?” she asked, her eyes wide as Andrea fought the surge of excitement.

  “He asked specifically for you, Andrea. When George asked why, Mr. Mancuso just said that he wanted the best and that was you.”

  “Oh no!” Andrea groaned. That kind of comment was going to cause some major problems with the managing partners. Unfortunately, she couldn’t worry about that right now. Because Mike was in her office! “Do you know what he wants?”

  Mary shook her head, pulling a pen out of her hair. “No idea. He wouldn’t say, but I put him in your office and brought him coffee. Do you need me to bring anything else?”

  Andrea had no idea. “Not yet. I’ll let you know.”

  She moved to her office doorway and paused, her hand on the doorknob. Mike was here. Her heart pounded so hard, she thought she might just pass out. Taking a deep breath, she nodded once for confidence, and pushed the door open.

  And froze.

  Goodness, he was taller than she remembered. His shoulders wider. His appeal more powerful. He stared at her, his crystal blue gaze intense in a way that never failed to make her heart pound.

  “Andrea,” he greeted, his voice sexy and deep. That voice…! So many times, he’d used that voice to tell her what he wanted. Sexually. He was a commanding lover, never letting her shy away from trying something new. And boy, he was good at inventing new stuff! Oh, so many positions! Each one more amazing than the last! And the way he’d touched her, his fingers just knew where to move, where to slide against her skin to make her want to scream!

  Her gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips. Those lips had done things to her that…she blushed, thinking about all of the ways he’d used his mouth to bring her pleasure.

  Clearing her throat, she pulled her gaze away from his lips, reminding herself that she was a professional. “Mr. Mancuso,” she replied, reminding herself that he was a client now. Although, why he was here in her office instead of the managing partner’s office, she had no clue. “How can I help you today?” />
  He pushed away from her desk where he’d been leaning. “So formal,” his voice teased. “I would think after everything between us, that you’d call me by my first name.”

  She blushed again, eyes on the floor between them. “Yes, well, that was in the past. Unless my assistant misunderstood your presence here, you’re my client now.” She gestured to the small table set up in the corner of her office. She’d gained that table and chairs when she’d made partner. Before, anytime she needed to meet with a client, Mary would have had to reserve a conference room, because her office had been too small. It was a source of pride to have an office large enough to hold a desk, plus the table and chairs for small conferences.

  Mike moved towards the table as his eyes moved up and down her figure. Andrea shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he’d noticed her weight loss. Not that she’d needed to lose weight. But yeah, she’d been a bit on the…softer…side of things. Rounder. After their breakup, she’d lost weight. A good ten pounds, probably.

  Sliding her hands over her hips, she wished she’d worn a prettier suit today. As soon as she realized what she was thinking, she pushed the thought away. Mike was in her past! He…wanted things that weren’t realistic!

  Focusing on the present, she pulled a pen and notebook out of the pile of stuff perched on the small table. Looking up at him, she refused to think about the past. “Right. What can I do for you?”

  He waited until she was seated, then sat down opposite her. “You look tired,” he commented.

  Her hand flew to her cheek. “I do?”

  “Are you sleeping well?”

  She couldn’t answer that. Because no, she wasn’t sleeping well. Whenever she slept, she dreamed about him, about being with him again. When she was awake, her body hurt, wanting to feel his strong, muscular arms around her. Andrea wanted to lean her head against his broad shoulders and feel his warmth, but resisted the urge. Past. Present, she reminded herself firmly.