Eternally Yours. Brenda Jackson

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      Eternally Yours

      Brenda Jackson

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      Clayton Madaris’s time has come, and this book is

       dedicated to all my avid readers who agree with me.

      Contents

      Acknowledgment

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Acknowledgment

      SPECIAL THANKS

      To my family and friends for their continued support.

      To Denise Coleman, Lynn Sims and Chimeka Hodge, who helped with my Christmas shopping so I could meet my deadline.

      To Brenda Arnette Simmons for her feedback on the finished product.

      To attorney Cecil Howard of Tallahassee, Florida, who took precious time from his busy schedule to talk to me and who helped me to understand the fundamentals of family law.

      To a very special and dear friend, Syneda Walker.

      I appreciate the friendship and most of all, the laughs and good times.

      And last but not least, to my Heavenly Father, who makes all things possible.

      Chapter 1

      “Your bed or mine?”

      Clayton Madaris glanced up from his meal and gazed into the eyes of the woman who'd asked the question. She was beautiful, and her sensuous proposition was something any man would jump at. No hot-blooded male in his right mind would ever think of turning it down.

      So why was he contemplating doing just that?

      An impassive expression masked his handsome features. His hesitation had nothing to do with the fact that he'd just met her that morning. Like him, she was an attorney attending a convention in D.C. He had come to enough of these conferences to be prepared for the expected. One would be surprised just how many unmarried, as well as married people took advantage of the three-day convention to engage in short, no-strings-attached affairs. In all his thirty-five years, there had never been a time when he'd been hesitant about making love to a willing woman, granted the situation wasn't a risky one.

      So what was wrong with him tonight?

      His dinner companion undoubtedly was wondering the same thing and had no plans to stick around and find out. He sensed her agitation with his silence. Her eyes narrowed. “I won't make the same offer twice,” she said quietly. There was a feverish edge to her voice.

      Clayton nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. He knew her type. She was a woman hungry for physical intimacy. Her eyes had sent him silent, intimate messages all day. There was no doubt in his mind that although he'd just disappointed her by not jumping at her offer, she wouldn't give up on him. She would make the offer again.

      His smile was slow. “Sorry. Not tonight…”

      Evidently not happy with his response, she pushed her plate aside and stood, giving him a measured look. “Perhaps another time, then?”

      Clayton stared up at her before answering. “Perhaps.”

      After she left he simply sat, quietly eating the rest of his meal and drinking his coffee.

      A short while later, after taking care of the dinner bill, he rode up the elevator alone to the fifth floor. During the ride he tried coming to terms with his sudden lack of interest in an affair. It wasn't like him to turn down any woman's advances or not make a score or two of his own. It definitely wasn't his style. Enjoying the opposite sex was something he had been overly fond of doing since his first time with Paula Stone when he'd been sixteen.

      So what was his problem now?

      The huge metal elevator doors swooshed open. Taking a deep breath he stepped out and began walking down the long hallway leading to his room. Opening the door to his suite, he walked into the sitting area, then through open double doors to the large bedroom.

      He leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb, looking at the king-size bed. No one, especially those who considered him a player of the third degree, would believe he'd actually slept in the huge bed alone. And definitely not by choice.

      He smiled as he pushed himself away from the door. There's a first time for everything, he thought, removing his tie and jacket and going into the bathroom. Peeling off the rest of his clothes, he stepped into the shower, dismissing the fact he'd taken a shower just before dinner.

      Since becoming an attorney over ten years ago, he'd discovered his most soothing moments were in the shower while warm water caressed his skin. It was during that time he possessed the ability to blank out any thoughts other than those needing his undivided attention. In the end, whatever plagued his mind was usually put in perspective. At the moment, he needed to think about why he'd just refused an offer of no-strings-attached sex.

      Adjusting the water, he picked up the scented soap and lazily lathered himself as he mentally analyzed the situation.

      For some reason, he was becoming bored with the way his life was going. Somehow he was getting tired of his routine of chasing and bedding women. He twisted his lips in a wry grin. Now that was a laugh, especially since the main reason he had constantly shunned any sort of commitment with a woman was the fear of that very thing—boredom. He was the type of person who found any kind of routine deadly. He'd always been afraid of committing himself to someone only to lose interest with that person and end up feeling trapped.

      His thoughts fell on his two older brothers, Justin, the physician, and Dex, the geologist in oil exploration. Both were happily married and neither appeared bored. If anything they seemed to be having