Possessed By Passion

They’re discovering the healing powers of passion

Burned-by-love architect Hunter McKay came home to Phoenix to open her own firm, not rekindle her fleeting high school romance with playboy Tyson Steele. But when she runs into the sexy surgeon at a nightclub—and he unleashes that legendary Steele charm—Hunter fears she’s headed straight for heartbreak once again.

Tyson hasn’t forgotten the one who got away. A weeklong fling should be just enough to get the sultry beauty out of his system for good, even if he has to let Hunter set the ground rules. But the rules are suddenly changing for the no-strings bachelor. Can Tyson convince this sensual woman that he’s the real deal—that they deserve a second chance together?

Deciding not to believe him, she looked past his shoulder to the door. “How did you get into my office without Pauline announcing you?”

He shrugged. “I told her she didn’t have to bother. I like announcing myself. Besides, she was packing up to leave, and she told me to tell you that she would see you Monday morning.”

Hunter glanced at her watch. She hadn’t realized it was so late. That meant they were alone, and that wasn’t a good thing right now with her present frame of mind. The best thing to do was to send him packing. Picking up the manila folder off her desk, she offered it to him. “Here’s what you came for.”

Tyson moved toward her with calm, deliberate strides, and when he came to a stop directly in front of her, she tried ignoring the sparks going off inside her. Instead of accepting the folder, he reached out and brushed the tips of his fingers across her cheek. “That’s not what I came for, Hunter. This is.”

And before she could draw her next breath, he leaned in and captured her mouth with his.

Dear Reader,

They are back!

I love writing about men who defiantly reject the notion of falling in love. Men who honestly believe there is no woman out there who has the ability to tame their wild heart.

When I began writing about the Steele family, introducing them in my first book, Solid Soul, where my readers got to meet Chance Steele, I knew these men would be special. When I had accomplished the feat of marrying off all the Steeles in Charlotte, North Carolina, I gleefully turned my attention to their rambunctious cousins who lived in Phoenix. They are the ones known as the “Bad News” Steeles.

There are six brothers. So far we’ve married off Galen, Eli and Jonas. Now, in Possessed by Passion, you’ll get to see how Tyson Steele puts up a bitter fight until the end. Like his brothers, Tyson thinks he knows how to play the game and win. However, an old flame by the name of Hunter McKay shows him it’s not always a game. Once in a while, it’s all about possession. And when you throw passion in the mix, a lot of things can happen.

Thank you for making the Steeles a very special family. I look forward to bringing you more books of endless love and red-hot passion.

Happy reading!

Brenda Jackson

Possessed by Passion

Brenda Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

BRENDA JACKSON is a New York Times bestselling author of more than one hundred romance titles. Brenda married her childhood sweetheart, Gerald, and has two sons. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida. She divides her time between family, writing and traveling. Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net.

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To the man who will always and forever be the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr.

To all my readers who waited patiently on another novel about those “Bad News” Steeles, this one is especially for you.

And to my readers who gave me their love, support and understanding as I endured a difficult time in my life, I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart.

Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

Epilogue

Copyright

Chapter 1

“I understand you became an uncle last night, Tyson. Congratulations.”

Tyson Steele glanced over at the man who’d slid onto the bar stool beside him. Miles Wright was a colleague at the hospital where they both worked as surgeons. “Thanks. How did you know?”

“It was in this morning’s paper. Quite the article.”

Tyson shook his head as he took a sip of his drink. Leave it to his mother, Eden Tyson Steele, to make sure the entire city knew about the birth of her first grandchildren. Twins. A boy and a girl that represented a new generation of Steeles in Phoenix. Everyone was happy for his brother Galen and his wife, Brittany, but his mother was ecstatic beyond reason. Within the past three years, not only had three of her six die-hard bachelor sons gotten married, but as of last night she also had a grandson and granddaughter to boast about.

He wondered if Galen was aware of the article in this morning’s paper since he hadn’t mentioned it when Tyson had spoken to him earlier. Knowing their mother, Tyson wouldn’t be surprised if the announcement appeared in the New York Times next. A former international model whose face had graced the covers of such magazines as Vogue, Cosmo and Elle, his mother still had connections in a lot of places and had no shame in using them.

Miles’s beeper went off and with an anxious sigh he said, “Need to run. I got an emergency at the hospital.”

“Take care,” Tyson told his colleague, who moved quickly toward the exit door. He then glanced around. Notorious was a popular nightclub in Phoenix, but not too many people were here tonight due to the March Madness championship basketball game being held in town. Usually, on any given night, Tyson could have his pick of single women crowding the place, but not tonight.

His brothers had tried talking him into attending the game with them, but he’d declined after his team had been eliminated in the previous round. It didn’t matter one bit when they’d laughed and called him a sore loser. So what if he was.

Tyson took another sip of his drink and checked his watch. It was still early, but he might as well call it a night since it seemed he would be going home alone, which wasn’t how he’d envisioned spending his evening. Taking some woman to bed had been at the top of his agenda. Scoring was the name of the game. Women hit on him and he hit on women. No big deal. It was the lay of the land. His land anyway.

He stood to leave at the same time the nightclub’s door swung open and three women walked in. Three good-looking women. He sat back down, thinking that maybe the night wouldn’t be wasted after all.

Not to be caught staring, he turned around on the bar stool. The huge mirror on the wall afforded him the opportunity to check out the women without being so obvious. Good, he noted. No rings. That was the first thing he looked for since he didn’t believe in encroaching on another man’s territory. Tyson figured it must be his lucky night when they were shown to a table within the mirror’s view. The women were so busy chatting that they didn’t realize he was checking them out.

For some reason his gaze kept returning to one of the women in particular. She looked familiar and it took a second or two before it hit him just who she was.

Hunter McKay.

Damn. It had been years. Eighteen, to be exact. She had been two years behind him in high school, and of all the girls he’d dated during that time, she was the only one with whom he hadn’t been able to score. She’d had the gall to ask for a commitment before giving up the goods, and unlike some guys, who would have lied just to get inside her panties, he’d told her the very same thing then that he was telling women now. He didn’t do commitments. His refusal to make her his steady girl had prompted her to end things between them after the first week. It had been the first time a Steele had ever been shot down. For months his brothers had teased him, calling Hunter “the one who got away.” He frowned, wondering why that memory still annoyed him.

When he’d returned to Phoenix after medical school he’d heard she attended Yale to fulfill her dream of being an architect. After college she had made her home in Boston and returned to town only occasionally to visit her parents. Their paths had never crossed until tonight.

He’d also heard she had gotten married to some guy she’d met while living in Boston. So where was her ring? She could be getting it cleaned, resized or...maybe she was no longer married. He couldn’t help wondering which of those possibilities applied.

Hunter had been a striking beauty back then and she still was. It had been that beauty that had captured his interest back in the day and was doing so now. It didn’t appear as if she’d aged much at all. She still had that young-girl look, and those dimples in both cheeks were still pretty damn pleasing to the eyes.

The shoulder-length curly hair had been replaced with a short natural cut that looked good on her, and he couldn’t help it when his gaze lingered on her lips. He could still remember the one and only time he’d kissed her. It has been way too short, yet oh so sweet.

He felt an ache in his groin and didn’t find it surprising since it was a familiar reaction whenever he saw a beautiful woman. But it was Hunter who was affecting him, not the other two women. He remembered them from high school as well, but had forgotten their names. What he did recall was that they had been Hunter’s best friends even back then.

“Ready for another drink, Doc?”

He glanced up at Tipper, who’d been the bartender at Notorious for years. “Not yet, but do me a favor.”

Tipper grinned. “As long as it’s legal.”

“It is. Whatever drinks those three ladies are having, I want them put on my tab.”

Tipper glanced over at the table where the women sat and nodded. “No problem. I’ll let their waiter know.”

“Thanks.”

Tipper walked off and Tyson’s gaze returned to the mirror. At that moment Hunter threw her head back and laughed at something one of the women said. He’d always thought she had a sensuously shaped neck, flawless and graceful. He’d looked forward to placing a hickey right there on the side of it. It was the place he would brand all the girls in high school who’d gone all the way with him. It had been known as the Mark of Tyson. But Hunter had never gotten that mark. What a pity.

His cell phone pinged with a text message and he pulled his phone out of his jacket to read his brother Mercury’s message. My team is up four. Be ready to celebrate later tonight.

Tyson clicked off the phone and rolled his eyes. When hell freezes over, he thought. If his brothers thought he was a sore loser, then Mercury could be an obnoxious winner, and Tyson wanted no part of it tonight. After returning the phone to his jacket, he let his gaze return to the mirror and to Hunter. He couldn’t help but smile when he made up his mind about something. Her name might be Hunter but tonight he was determined to make her his prey.

* * *

Hunter McKay appreciated sharing this time with her two best friends from high school—Maureen Santana, whom everyone fondly called Mo, and Kathryn Elliott, whose nickname was Kat. Both had been bridesmaids in her wedding and because they’d kept in touch over the years, they’d known about her rocky marriage and subsequent divorce from Carter Robinson. Mo, a divorcée herself, thought Hunter had given Carter far too many chances to get his act together, and Kat, who was still holding out for Mr. Right, had remained neutral until Carter had begun showing his true colors.

“Here you are, ladies,” the waiter said, placing their drinks in front of them. “Compliments of the gentleman sitting at the bar.”

Their gazes moved past the waiter to the man in question. As if on cue, he swiveled around in his seat and flashed them a smile. Hunter immediately felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach, a flutter that should have been forgotten long ago. But just that quickly, after all these years, it had resurfaced the moment she stared into the pair of green eyes that could only belong to a Steele.

“Well now, isn’t that nice of Tyson Steele,” Mo said with mock sweetness. “I wonder which one of us he wants to take home tonight.”

“Take home?” Hunter asked, while her eyes remained on Tyson. For some reason she couldn’t break her gaze. It was as if she was caught in the depths of those gorgeous green eyes.

“Yes, take home. He doesn’t really date. He just has a history of one-night stands,” Mo replied.

“Do we have to guess which one of us he’s interested in?” Kat asked, chuckling, and then took a quick sip of her drink. “If you recall, Mo, that particular Steele was hot and heavy for Hunter back in the day.”

“That’s right. I remember.” Mo turned to Hunter. “And if I recall, you dumped him. Probably the only female in this town with sense enough to do so.”

With that reminder, Hunter tore her gaze from Tyson’s to take a sip of her drink. In high school, Tyson, along with his five brothers, were known as the “Bad News” Steeles. Handsome as sin with green eyes they’d inherited from their mother, the six had a reputation as heartbreakers. It was widely known that their only interest in a girl was getting under her dress.

Galen Steele, the oldest of the bunch, had been a senior in high school when she’d been a freshman. Tyson was the second oldest. After Tyson came Eli, Jonas, Mercury and Gannon. Each brother was separated the closest in age by no more than eleven months, which meant their mother had practically been pregnant for six straight years.

“Tyson gave me no choice,” Hunter said, finally replying to Mo’s comment. “I liked him and for some reason I figured he would treat me differently since his family had been members of my grandfather’s church. Boy, was I naive.”

Kat chuckled. “But like Mo said, when you found out that you’d be just another notch on his bedpost, at least you had the sense to dump him.”

“I didn’t dump him,” Hunter said, sitting back in her chair. She didn’t have to glance over at Tyson to know he was still staring at her. “When he told me what he wanted, I merely told him I saw no reason for us to continue to date, because he wasn’t getting it.”

“That’s a dump,” Mo said, grinning. “And be forewarned, nothing about the Steeles has changed. Those brothers are still bad news. Hard-core womanizers. Getting laid is still their favorite pastime.”

“At least three had the sense to get married,” Kat added, taking another sip of her drink.

“Oh? Which ones?” Hunter inquired.

“Galen, Eli and Jonas.”

Hunter vaguely remembered Eli but she did remember Jonas since they’d graduated in the same class. And she couldn’t help but recall Galen Steele. He had gotten expelled from school after the principal found him under the gymnasium bleachers making out with the man’s daughter. His reputation around school was legendary. “So, Galen got married?”

“Yes, a few years ago, and his wife just gave birth to twins,” Mo explained. “Last night, in fact. The announcement was in the papers this morning. It was a huge write-up in the society section.”

Hunter nodded as she tried ignoring the fact Tyson still had his eyes on her. “What does Tyson do for a living?”

“He’s a heart surgeon at Phoenix Baptist Hospital,” Mo responded.

“Good for him. He always wanted to be a doctor.” She recalled their long talks, not knowing at the time their conversations were just part of his plan to reel her in. Unfortunately for him, she hadn’t been biting.

“Don’t look now, ladies, but Tyson has gotten up off the bar stool and is headed this way.”

Although Kat had told them not to look, Hunter couldn’t help doing so. She wished she hadn’t when Tyson’s gaze captured hers. He’d been eye candy in his teens and now eighteen years later he was doubly so. She couldn’t miss that air of arrogance that seemed to surround him as he walked toward them. He appeared so powerfully male that every step he took conveyed primitive animal sexuality. There was no doubt in her mind that over the years Tyson had sharpened his game and was now an ace at getting whatever he wanted.

He was wearing a pair of dark slacks and a caramel-colored pullover sweater. She was convinced that on any other man the attire would look just so-so. But on Tyson, the sweater emphasized his wide shoulders, and the pants definitely did something to his masculine build.

“I understand whenever a Steele sees a woman he wants, he goes after her. It appears Tyson’s targeted you, Hunter,” Mo said as she leaned over. “Maybe he thinks there’s unfinished business between the two of you. Eighteen years’ worth.”

Hunter waved off her friend’s words. “Don’t be silly. He probably doesn’t even remember me, it’s been so long.”

It took less than a minute for Tyson to reach their table. He glanced around and smiled at everyone. “Evening, ladies.” And then his gaze returned to hers and he said, “Hello, Hunter. It’s been a while.”

Hunter inhaled deeply, surprised that he had remembered her after all. But what really captured her attention were his features. He was still sinfully handsome, with skin the color of creamy butternut and a mouth that was shaped too darn beautifully to belong to any man. And his voice was richer and a lot deeper than she’d remembered.

Before she could respond to what he’d said, Mo and Kat thanked him for the drinks as they stood. Hunter looked at them. “Where are you two going?” she asked, not missing the smirk on Mo’s face.

“Kat and I thought we’d move closer to that big-screen television to catch the last part of the basketball game. I think my team is winning.”

Hunter came close to calling Mo out by saying she didn’t have a team. She knew for a fact that neither Mo nor Kat was into sports. Why were they deliberately leaving her alone with Tyson?

As soon as they grabbed their drinks off the table and walked away, Tyson didn’t waste time claiming one of the vacated seats. Hunter glanced over and met his gaze while thinking that the only thing worse than being deserted was being deserted and left with a Steele.

She took a sip of her drink and then said, “I want to thank you for my drink, as well. That was nice of you.”

“I’m a nice person.”

The jury is still out on that, she thought. “I’m surprised you remember me, Tyson.”

He chuckled, and the sound was so stimulating it seemed to graze her skin. “Trust me. I remember you. And do you know what I remember most of all?”

“No, what?”

He leaned over the table as if to make sure his next words were for her ears only. “The fact that we never slept together.”

Chapter 2

Tyson thought the shocked look on Hunter’s face was priceless. He also thought it was a total turn-on. Up close she was even more beautiful. There had been something about her dark, almond-shaped eyes and long lashes that he’d always found alluring. But what was really getting to him was her lips, especially the bottom one. The curvy shape would entice any man to want to taste it. Nibble on it. Greedily devour it.

She interrupted his thoughts when she finally said, “And if you recall that, then I’m sure you remember why.”

“Yes, I remember,” he said, holding tight to her gaze. “You weren’t one of those high school girls who slept around. You wanted me to make you my steady girlfriend and I had no intention of doing that.”

“You just wanted me in the backseat of your car,” she said.

He smiled. “The front seat would have worked just fine, trust me. I wanted you and my goal was to get you. For me it was all about sex then.”

“Just like it’s all about sex for you now?” she asked smoothly.

“Yes.” He had no problem being up front with her or any woman, letting them know what he wanted, what he didn’t want and, in her particular case, what he’d missed out on getting. She was the lone person in the “tried but failed” column. He intended to remedy that.

“I heard a while back that you’d gotten married, Hunter.”

She took another sip of her drink and he remembered the one and only time he’d sampled the beautiful lips that kissed her glass. “Yes, I got married.”

He looked down at her ringless hand before glancing back up at her. “Still married?”

“No.”

Her response was quick and biting, which only led him to believe the divorce had been unpleasant. That might be bad news for her, but he saw it as good news for him since he was known to inject new life into divorcées. Over the years he’d taken plenty to bed, not necessarily to mend their broken hearts, but mainly to prove there was life after a shitty marriage.

“How long ago?”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Why do you want to know?”

“Just curious.”

For a second, she didn’t respond, and then she said, “Two years.”

He nodded as he leaned back in his chair. “Sorry to hear about your divorce,” he said, although he was anything but. Although his parents had a great marriage and it seemed his three brothers’ marriages were off to a good start, he was of the opinion that marriage wasn’t for everybody. It definitely wasn’t for him and evidently hadn’t been for her.

“No need to be sorry, Tyson. I regret the day I ever married the bastard.”

He’d heard that line before. And as far as he was concerned there was no need for her to expound. It really didn’t matter to him what she thought of her ex. What mattered was that divorcées were his specialty. He would gladly shift her from his “tried and failed” column to his “achieved” category. Every one of his senses was focused on getting her into his bed.

“So what brings you back to Phoenix, Hunter?” he asked with a smile.

* * *

Hunter was glad a waiter appeared at that moment to place a drink in front of Tyson. Evidently he was a regular, since the man had known just what to give him. It took only a minute but that had been enough time to get herself together and recover from Tyson’s charismatic personality. It was quite obvious that he was a man on the prowl tonight and had set his sights on her. Mo and Kat had said as much, but at the time she hadn’t believed them. The man had been a player in high school and eighteen years later he was still at it. She couldn’t help wondering why he hadn’t gotten past that mentality.

“Now, where were we? Oh, yes. I asked what brings you back to Phoenix.”

She took another sip of her drink. There was no way she would tell him how after their divorce and the dissolution of their partnership, her architect husband had underhandedly taken all their clients. Starting over in Boston would not have been so bad if he hadn’t deliberately tried to sabotage her reputation as an architect. Tyson didn’t have to know that because of her husband’s actions she’d decided to start over here. Instead of telling him all of that, she decided to tell him the other reason she’d come back home.

“My parents.”

He lifted a brow. “Are they ill?”

She shook her head. “No, they aren’t ill. My brother thinks they’re having too much fun.”

Hunter realized just how ridiculous that sounded and added, “A few months ago they purchased ‘his and hers’ Harleys, and before that they signed up to take skydiving lessons. Lately, they’ve been hinting at selling the house and buying a boat to sail around the world.”

Tyson appeared amused. “Sounds to me like they’re enjoying life. Maybe your brother needs to take a chill pill.”

“Possibly, but his hands are full right now with his teenage sons and he feels Mom and Dad are driving him as crazy as they claim he’s driving them. I decided it was best I came home to keep peace.” Hunter had no idea how she would manage to do that. Her parents were intent on having fun and her brother was intent on getting them to act their age.

“You’re an architect, right?” he asked her.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“Someone mentioned it at one of the class reunions that you never attended.”

He was right, she hadn’t attended any. At first it had been school keeping her away, and later trying to build her career and finally trying to save her marriage. Although Carter had made sure they attended all of his high school reunions, he had been dead set against attending any of hers, and as usual she’d given in to him.

“I understand you’re a doctor.”

He nodded. “Yes. A heart surgeon.”

She smiled. “And I bet you’re a good one.”

“I owe it to my patients to do my very best.”

And there was no doubt in Hunter’s mind that he did. She remembered he was devoted to whatever he did, even if he was chasing girls.

“I’m glad you’re back in Phoenix, Hunter.”

“Why?” She really couldn’t understand why he would be.

He leaned in closer. “Because we have history.”

She couldn’t keep the smile from tugging at her lips. “History?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of history?”

“I think of you as the one who got away.”

She had to keep from laughing out loud at that. “You mean the one who never made it to the backseat of your car?”

“Pretty much.”

“It’s been eighteen years. I would think you’d have gotten over it by now.”

He shook his head and chuckled. “I had. However, seeing you again brought it back home to me, so I’ve come up with a plan.”

She lifted a brow. “What kind of plan?”

“A plan to seduce you.”

Hunter’s breath caught in her lungs. His audacity was almost as great as his arrogance. What man told a woman he planned to seduce her? “Seriously? Do you think it will be that easy?”

The smile that appeared on his face almost made her heart miss a beat. Although all the Steele brothers had those killer green eyes, she recalled that Tyson and Mercury were the only ones with dimples. Why was it that whenever he flashed those dimples, her pulse rate went haywire?

“I didn’t say it would be easy,” he said smoothly. “What I said was that I had a plan. I see no reason that we can’t rekindle what we had years ago.”

“There’s nothing to rekindle. Need I remind you that we didn’t have anything mainly because you were only interested in one thing?”

His smile widened as he lifted his drink to his lips. Without saying a word, he was letting her know that nothing about him had changed and that he was still only interested in one thing.

“I suggest you go find someone else to seduce.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that. I want you.”

“You can’t always have what you want. That’s life.”

Whatever he was about to say was lost when Mo and Kat appeared. “My team lost,” Mo said, grinning. She glanced at her watch. “Tomorrow is a workday so we figured it’s time to go.”

Great timing, Hunter thought, and she stood.

Tyson stood as well and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’ll take you home, Hunter, if you aren’t ready to leave just yet.”

If he thought for one minute she would go with him, especially after admitting his plan to seduce her, he wasn’t thinking straight. “Thanks, but I am ready. It was good seeing you again, Tyson.”

“Same here, Hunter,” he said, and she thought she saw something akin to amusement in his eyes. “I have a feeling we’ll be running into each other again.”

Hunter hoped not. She had enough to worry about with her parents, without being concerned about Tyson Steele trying to get her into bed. “Good night.” She walked toward the door with Mo and Kat, feeling the heat of Tyson’s gaze on her backside.

As soon as they were out the door she turned to her friends. “Why on earth did the two of you leave me alone with Tyson?”

Kat grinned. “Because we knew you could handle him.”

“Besides, it was quite obvious you were the one on his radar and not us,” Mo added. “So how did it go?”

Hunter shook her head. “You guys were right. Nothing has changed with Tyson. He’s still looking for a pair of legs to get between.”

“And you didn’t make yours available to him again?” Kat asked, grinning. “What a shame.”

“For him I’m sure it was, especially since he told me of his plan to seduce me.”

Mo’s eyes widened. “He actually told you that?”

“Without cracking a smile or blinking an eye.”

Both Mo and Kat stopped walking to stare at her. “You don’t sound worried.”

Hunter stopped and glanced at her friends, lifting a brow. “Why would I be?”

“We’re talking about Tyson Steele, Hunter. The man who’s known to get what he wants. I heard from women that he’s so smooth you won’t miss your panties until they’re gone. And for him to already have a plan of seduction for you sounds serious.”

“Only in his book, not mine.”

Kat tilted her head. “And this from a woman who’s gone without sex for two years now.”

“Actually four. If you recall, Carter and I slept in separate bedrooms for two years before our divorce. You can’t miss what you never got on a regular basis anyway. I haven’t had an orgasm in so long I’ve honestly forgotten how it feels.”