Places In My Heart. Sheryl Lister

lips, scorching hot tongue—and every inch of his lean, muscular body had been pressed against hers while his strong hands caressed her back. She wanted to wrap her hands around his sexy locs and keep right on kissing him.

      She sat up abruptly at the sound of knocking on the door. Malcolm poked his head inside. “Did I wake you?”

      She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. “No. Drummond gone?”

      “Yeah. It’s getting kind of late, so you should stay the night. We can go riding tomorrow.”

      “Okay.” She hadn’t planned to spend the night, but Malcolm knew the offer of going for a ride on his motorcycle would definitely make her stay. And clothes weren’t a problem since all five siblings kept a stash at each other’s houses. All three of her brothers were protective of Morgan and her sister, Siobhan, and didn’t like them to be out at night alone. But since Siobhan had gotten married last weekend, responsibility for her safety now fell to her new husband.

      She followed her brother back down to the kitchen. “I took care of the side dishes, but wasn’t sure what you wanted to do with all this meat.” There were trays of ribs, chicken, hot links and salmon.

      “I’ll freeze some of it for sure, but Brandon and Khalil are coming over tomorrow, so it won’t go to waste.”

      Morgan laughed. “You know Brandon’s going to be happy, especially since we aren’t having a family dinner tomorrow.” Brandon was the second oldest, after Siobhan. Morgan and Malcolm were the youngest. Their tight-knit family still got together at their parents’ house for dinner at least one Sunday out of the month.

      “Yep. He’ll probably take home leftovers. Khalil, on the other hand, will just eat the salmon and vegetables.” They both laughed. Khalil was third in line, and the model turned fitness buff ate healthy at least 95 percent of the time. “A couple of guys from the team said they might stop by, too, so I’ll send some stuff home with them. Grab some Ziploc bags and let’s finish.”

      She wanted to ask if Omar was one of the guys, but refrained. She was not supposed to be thinking about him. Reaching into the drawer, she got the bags and began filling them.

      They worked in silence for a few minutes and then Malcolm asked, “What’s up with you and Drummond?” He came around the island to where she stood adding hot links to one of the bags.

      “Nothing.”

      “So, all that heat the two of you were generating in my family room was nothing. I’m not blind, Morgan. He’s usually one of the first to leave, and I couldn’t figure out why he stayed longer than usual. Until you came into the room.” He angled his head. “Did something happen between you earlier? Like when I found you upstairs?”

      Malcolm didn’t miss anything when it came to her. “We spoke briefly when I came in for a glass of tea. If this is the part where you tell me he’s got lots of women and I should stay away from him, you can save your breath. I know what kind of man he is and I’ve read the headlines.”

      He folded his arms and continued to study her. “Actually, I wasn’t. But seeing as how you’re all on the defensive, maybe I should be concerned.”

      Morgan zipped the bag and pushed it over with the others. “Please. Now, I’ll admit the man is fine and has a body that’s out of this world, but I have no interest in seeing my face added to his long list of groupies. Been there, done that. And I have enough problems as it is dealing with this lawsuit.” She worked as an attorney in her family’s home-safety company and had just been appointed the lead on the suit that alleged one of their bathtub safety rails broke and resulted in someone being injured.

      “How’s that going?”

      “I’m not sure yet. We’re still waiting on a couple of reports, but it doesn’t look good. We could use a miracle right about now. I’m only two years out of law school, and this is my first big case. I don’t want to let Daddy down.”

      He slung an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “Just do your best. That’s all you can do.”

      She leaned into his embrace. “I know. Thanks.” Morgan glanced around the kitchen. “Do you need me to do something else?”

      “Nah, I’ll take care of it.”

      “You could hire someone to do this kind of thing.”

      Malcolm shook his head. “You know I don’t like a lot of strangers in my house. Having the housekeeper here twice a month is enough.”

      She smiled. “What time are we riding?”

      “I’m sleeping in, so we can go around eleven. Night, sis.”

      “Good night.”

      Morgan went upstairs, showered and climbed into bed. She tossed and turned for hours, unable to get Omar’s kiss out of her mind. Then she recalled him wanting to talk to her. She could probably ask Malcolm for his number. No way. As curious as she was, she knew the best thing would be to forget all about that conversation. And the kiss.

       Chapter 2

      Morgan sat at her desk Monday morning, poring over the information she had been given on the lawsuit. “Not good, not good,” she muttered. A sixty-one-year-old woman had suffered a fractured hip, a broken wrist and a multitude of bruises and contusions. She groaned and lowered her head to the desk. Why me, Daddy?

      “You okay, Morgan?”

      Her head snapped up. “Hey, Brandon.”

      Her brother Brandon entered and folded his tall body into one of the chairs in front of her desk. “What’s wrong?”

      She pointed at the stack of papers in front of her. “This doesn’t look good for us. Did you see the list of all Mrs. Sanderson’s injuries?”

      His lips settled in a grim line. “I did, but this has never happened before. We tested and retested those rails before they went to market, and I can’t believe one just...just broke.”

      “Me, either, but until I can get a look at it, this is all I have to go on.”

      “What do you mean? You haven’t gotten the rail yet?”

      Morgan shook her head. “I requested it and the original packaging, as well as the purchase receipt. As soon as I get it, I’ll know more. Of course, their lawyer is insisting a neutral third party be present to make sure I don’t tamper with the evidence.” Clay Porter reminded her of one of those slick attorneys only out to make money for themselves.

      Brandon’s brow lifted. “He said that to you?”

      “Yes. He’s a pompous ass. At our first meeting, the first thing he said to me was, ‘Can you bring everyone some coffee, honey?’ I told him I’d ask my secretary to handle it. He had the nerve to laugh when he found out I was handling the case and mumbled something that sounded like it would be his easiest case. It took everything I had not to slap that smug smile off his face.”

      “I can make sure one of the more experienced attorneys attends the next meeting if you want.” Brandon headed up the home safety division of the company and was in line to take over as CEO once their father retired. The company had a smaller division that focused on gym equipment that her brother Khalil designed to make his fitness center more accessible.

      “I thought about that at first, but no, thanks. I’ll take care of it myself.” No way would she let that old weasel intimidate her. “Are we still getting a lot of negative press?”

      “Not as much as in the first couple of weeks. But I’ll be glad when Siobhan gets back.” Siobhan was the PR director and had a way of handling the press unlike anything they had ever seen.

      “Me, too. She left Melvin Wilkins in charge, didn’t she?”

      “Yeah.