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Eternally Yours
Brenda Jackson
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
