Dangerous Magic by Jayne Ann Krentz

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Sleeping her way to the top was not Elissa Sheldon's style…

Sure, she had skills and intelligence, but senior work colleague Wade Taggert was convinced that Elissa had slept with a married man to advance her career. Elissa was furious at Wade's assumptions and was very tempted to quit her job--but when he had the nerve to blackmail her into an affair of his own, the opportunity for revenge was too sweet to pass up.

The trap was set. She would manipulate him into falling in love with her, and when he was on his knees begging her to marry him...she would shoot him down for the dirty dog that he was. But what she didn't count on was falling in love herself…

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the insult wash over her in an icy wave. The only thing which kept her from drowning under the impact, she realized dimly, was the internal rage which rose to meet it. But that, too, was a problem because it took all her not inconsiderable will to master the fury before it mastered her.

"Would you," she said quite clearly, her low, slightly husky voice sounding incredibly restrained to her own ears, "mind repeating that?"

Her blue-green eyes, normally so alive with humor and a contagious enthusiasm for life, darkened rapidly to green flames, but the effect was lost on the tall, hard man standing at the window behind his desk. He had his back to her, apparently absorbed in watching the Seattle business-day traffic fifteen floors below.

"You heard me, Miss Sheldon," Wade Taggert growled softly. "I merely pointed out that you picked the wrong man to sleep with in your efforts to secure the promotion to head the editing and graphics department." He paused significantly. "You should have tried your wiles on me. Not Martin Randolph."

For an instant longer Elissa simply stared, appalled, at the lean, powerful masculine back across from her. Wade Taggert was dressed all wrong, she thought as a finger of near hysteria touched her mind. He ought to have been wearing skins and carrying a spear instead of being attired in a conservative dark suit, white shirt, and tie. But perhaps such clothing was de rigueur for the modern-day predator.

"Mr. Taggert," Elissa began a little desperately, all thought of the promotion disappearing in the face of the potential ramifications of his outrageous insult,"there is some mistake! I don't know where you got the idea that I would...would lower myself to that sort of behaviour, but you're wrong! I suppose you're one of those men who assume any woman anxious to get ahead in the business world will do anything to climb her way up the ladder, but I can assure you that you owe me an apology in this case!"

But even if he got down on his knees and apologized, Elissa realized as she tried to contain her anger, there was no way in the world she could continue to work for this man. His accusation would always be the dominant factor between them, making any sort of business relationship impossible.

"I saw the necklace, Elissa." The deep, heavy-timbred voice was curiously devoid of intonation, almost weary-sounding, as Wade Taggert turned around at last.

Elissa met the shock of his icy gray eyes and wanted to turn and flee. Only her fierce pride and grim determination to set him straight kept her in the chair. Facing Taggert was a formidable task at any time, but when he was in this remote and glacial mood, all normally intimidating features were magnified.

He was thirty-five years old, and none of those thirty-five years looked to have been easy. He had recently been appointed manager of the Seattle office of the computer-design firm for which Elissa worked, and the office grapevine rumored him to be in line for the chief executive officer position of the company. Elissa didn't doubt it. Wade Taggert had made his way rapidly and ruthlessly up through the ranks in a relatively short time, and there was no reason to think he wouldn't keep going. He had done a lot for CompuDesign, and the company would undoubtedly keep rewarding him.

The image of a predator hardened in Elissa's mind as she absorbed the sight of him outlined against the city skyline. Taggert's near-black hair was cut in an unfashionably severe line, revealing wings of gray at each temple. Heavy brows framed deep-set eyes which ranged from the present wintry gray to a strange silvery color, depending, Elissa supposed, on the light. The planes of his face had been chiseled with an iron hand, leaving the tanned skin stretched tautly over the commanding cheekbones and a square, aggressive chin. Fine lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes, making it appear as if he had spent a fair amount of time outdoors. There were harsh grooves etched at the sides of his stern mouth. And, as was the case with most efficient predators, there wasn't an ounce of extra weight on the man. Broad shoulders and chest tapered to lean waist and hips which were emphasized by the close, conservative cut of his clothes.

Elissa felt his gaze raking her as she sat tensely in the chair, and she realized he was taking in the neat tailored green suit along with the short, sassy style of her dark auburn hair, which was cut into the nape and made a perfect frame for the slightly slanting sea-colored eyes. There was no great beauty to be discovered in the face, she knew, although her small, firm chin, faintly tip-tilted nose, and well-drawn cheekbones went together in a reasonably attractive fashion. It was the expressiveness of those features and the overall impression of laughter and challenge which drew the occasional second glance. Her five feet four inches of slender height put her at a disadvantage, she felt, compared to her accuser's six feet of coordinated strength. But her clothes were expensive and fit the small, gentle curves of her breast and hip well without being overpowering.

Very coolly, Elissa crossed her legs in a small gesture of feminine challenge. She was twenty-seven years old, and she hadn't gotten this far without having learned something about staying calm under fire. She would not let this man see how badly affected she was by the unexpected and shattering scene.

"What necklace, Mr. Taggert?" she demanded, lifting her chin and narrowing the blue-green eyes a bit further to let him know she didn't appreciate his use of her first name.

"The one Randolph gave you the other night, presumably for services rendered. Too bad he didn't have the power to repay you in full, but you should have verified that before getting involved with that sort of bargain. If it makes you feel any better, he did put your name in for consideration," Taggert drawled bitingly.

"But you, in your infinite wisdom, disregarded the recommendation?" Elissa concluded evenly, unaware that the knuckles of the hand clenched in her lap had gone quite white under the force she was exerting. "You were very well qualified, being the supervisor of the technical writing department," he admitted.

"But I, er, bestowed my favors on the wrong man?" she gritted.

"I'm surprised at you, Elissa," he told her bleakly.

"You should have done your homework better."

"Could we get back to the little matter of the necklace? It appears to be the chief item of evidence."

"What about it?" He shrugged, turning slightly away and prowling across the room to sample the view from the side window. The advantages of a corner office, Elissa thought with a sigh. She knew what he was seeing from that vantage point: the busy harbor and Elliott Bay with its myriad white ferries gliding to and from the various islands. The Seattle winter day was as cold and gray as the atmosphere in the office.

"I only want to know where and when you saw me receiving the thing."

"After work the other night, down in the garage. You were standing with Randolph beside his car. I saw him take it out of the box and hand it to you."

"And on that basis you denied me a promotion and accused me of sleeping my way up the corporate ladder?" Elissa blazed.

He swung around and trapped her flaming gaze. "It's not the first time I've seen you under less than innocent circumstances with Martin Randolph. You were out with him the other night in the cocktail lounge in the lobby of the hotel down the street. He's a married man, Elissa, and you know it."

"If you know that, then you should know the necklace was a present he'd bought for his wife. I was merely admiring it," she shot back, still trying desperately to keep her temper from exploding completely.

"You put it into your purse," he retorted grimly.

"Don't lie to me, Elissa. It won't work."

"I'm keeping it for June Randolph's surprise birthday party, which happens to be tomorrow night. At my apartment, I might add! June and I are good friends."

"Then you shouldn't be having after-work drinks with her husband, should you?" Taggert snapped.

"Just how many such occasions have you witnessed, Mr. Taggert?" Elissa got out between painfully dry lips.

"Enough," he muttered laconically, walking back to his desk and dropping into the chair behind it. "Two or three, at least."

"And you're not in the least prepared to believe they might have been totally innocent events, are you?"

"It's a bit too convenient, Elissa. You didn't start meeting Randolph after hours until the time for this promotion drew close--"

"As close as June's surprise party! That's all that was being planned during those incriminating little meetings!"

"Don't try to play me for a fool," he ordered, leaning back in the large chair and eyeing her harshly. "On at least one occasion I saw you take the elevator upstairs. Randolph followed a few minutes later."

"I hope you enjoyed yourself playing I Spy," Elissa hissed, unable to believe what was happening. "If you knew that hotel well, you'd know the rest rooms are on the second level where the convention facilities are located. Good grief! What did you do? Hide behind the potted palms and conduct surveillance operations on your employees? Perhaps you should try working for the government!"

"I had to be sure," he stated flatly, ignoring her sarcasm. There was something very heavy and final in his dark voice. Elissa shivered involuntarily.

"And now you are sure?" she demanded, startled at the degree of her own anger. Never had she been so infuriated. She glared at her tormentor, her mind whirling with alternative courses of action.

"I think the evidence of my own eyes is fairly conclusive, Elissa," Wade Taggert said coldly. "There's really not much point in going through it again, is there? Why don't you just accept the fact that I found out what was going on and that your methods worked against you?"

"And Evelyn Keenan got the job, even though she's had less experience and has been with the company for a shorter time," Elissa stated.

"Are you going to accuse her of having slept with the right man?" he asked, one heavy brow lifting quizzically.

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped back in utter scorn. "Evelyn would never do such a thing!" Which was nothing less than the truth, Elissa thought moodily. Pretty, blond, hazel-eyed, and quite competent, Evelyn was also very much in love with her new husband.

"I must admit you're being fair about the matter, at any rate," Wade retorted. "You're right. Evelyn got the job because she was the second-most-qualified person around."

"The most qualified person having foolishly put herself out of the running by choosing the wrong man to seduce?" Elissa could almost feel the blood simmering in her veins now. Somehow she would find a way to take this man down a peg or two if it was the last thing she did on earth! "Tell me something, Mr. Taggert, did you put pressure on Evelyn to sleep with you and then have to give her the job anyway when she wouldn't?"

"No!" he flung back, sounding genuinely outraged himself. "Unlike you, I choose my bedmates from the unmarried crowd!"

Elissa felt the wave of red storming into her cheeks, and it became all she could do to maintain eye contact with that bitter gray gaze. In spite of the knowledge of her own innocence of the charges the man had leveled against her, it was difficult to meet the power in him on an even footing. My God! she thought wonderingly. If I had been guilty, I would have been crawling out the door on my hands and knees by now!

"I see," she managed gamely. "Then why didn't you simply come to me and tell me what the conditions for getting the job were?"

"Because," he grated softly, significantly, "I wanted to teach you a lesson."

"A lesson in how to choose the right man next time?" she rasped furiously.

"Something like that," he acknowledged sardonically. In an absent gesture, Wade reached out and picked up a yellow pencil lying near his hand. He tapped it gently on the blotter while he assessed her bitter gaze.

"If you're going to use such techniques to rise to the top of the heap, Elissa, you might as well practice them on me. I'm in a much better position to assist your career efforts than Randolph, and I hope this little matter of the promotion proves it."

"You," she gritted between fiercely clenched teeth, her slender body almost shaking now with the force of her emotions, "are the most unprincipled, egotistical, ruthless man I have ever had the misfortune to meet!"

"I think we understand each other perfectly," he shot back dryly.