Seductive Reasoning

by Cheryl Gorman

  Seth wanted to punch him. “I needed to drop by the office.”

  Mark rocked back on his heels, obviously pleased with himself. He turned his attention back to Kate and smiled. “It’s too bad Seth was on that show. I guarantee that if I were in Seth’s place, we would be in a place a lot more interesting than this office.”

  Seth clenched his hands into fists under the desk and fought to hold his temper in check. How dare he say something like that to her? But he couldn’t allow his feelings to show, not to Mark or to Kate. If she knew he had feelings, any kind of feelings, she would use them against him. “What are you doing here, Casanova? Don’t you have a hot date or something?” Seth changed the subject in an effort to cover up his irritation.

  “Or something.” Mark gestured absently. He grabbed the other chair, pulled it close to Kate, and sat down. He reached out and grasped her fingers. “So what do you say we blow this Popsicle stand, leave old stuffed shirt here, and go for lunch?”

  Kate pulled her hand from his, stood up, and smoothed down the front of her dress. “I kind of like it here. Besides, I have a bet to win.”

  A bet. All she cared about was the money. This had nothing to do with him. That’s what he wanted wasn’t it? The money and winning was all he cared about. Then why did her words annoy him? Why did they make him want to hold her close and never let her go?

  Mark feigned a broken heart and rose from his chair. “Another time then.” He nodded at Seth, winked at Kate, and then disappeared out the door.

  Seth stayed quiet the whole way home. He sat rigidly in the driver’s seat. He answered a question if she asked him something, but his answers were short and blunt. Kate wondered what she could have possibly done to make him angry. And he was angry all right. About what, she hadn’t a clue. But if she was going to seduce him, she had to break through his anger or at least find out the source so she could move forward with her plan. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  Another short response. “It’s not nothing. It’s something. Come on. Spill it. Did I do something wrong?”

  “No.”

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Then what? Everything was fine until we went to your office. Was it your friend Mark? He was just flirting. I can handle him.”

  Silence.

  “We need to clear the air. Mark doesn’t bother me. Look, there’s nothing here between the two of us but a bet, so why should it bother you if Mark flirts with me?”

  He yanked the truck abruptly to the side of the road in front of Kate’s house and cut the engine. He jerked in his seat and unbuckled his seat belt. Anger vibrated off him. Wow, this was a side of Seth she’d never seen before, and it excited her. He was usually so controlled.

  “It doesn’t bother me.” He ground the words out between clenched teeth.

  Kate fought to hold back her smile and lost. Laughter bubbled out. “Well, I’d hate to see you when you were bothered.”

  Something seemed to snap, for Seth slid across the seat, wrapped her in his arms, and clamped his mouth to hers. He gripped her thigh and pulled her into his lap without lifting his head. He kissed her with deep thrusts of his tongue until her head spun and her heart felt as though it would leap from her chest. Heat plunged between her legs, making her grow wet and heavy. A moan slipped up her throat.

  Seth let her go, shoved her from his arms, and climbed from the truck. He rounded the front of the vehicle, yanked her door open, and waited for her to climb out. As soon as she cleared the truck, he slammed the door and marched to the front porch of her house.

  Arousal shimmered over her body, and her blood pounded through her veins. She walked to the porch, slipped the key into the lock, and turned to him. “What was that all about? Why did you kiss me like that? And don’t tell me you’re sorry, because you’re not.”

  “Just thought we needed to clear the air.”

  “Clear the air? We nearly cleared the decks in front of God and everybody.”

  A smile quirked the corners of his mouth. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Seth gently pushed Kate’s hand from the knob and opened the door. He held it open until she entered, then closed the panel with a soft click. He handed her the keys, then made a beeline for the stairs.

  “Wait. It’s time we addressed the issue of when we knew each other before.”

  Seth started up the stairs. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Well, I do.”

  Seth continued up the stairs, ignoring her comment.

  “You can’t keep walking away, Professor. Sooner or later you’re going to have to face what’s between us.”

  Chapter Six

  Kate laid out ingredients for soft shell tacos on the kitchen island while Seth sat working on his computer. The kitchen window over the sink stood open, and the sound of kids playing, the distant hum of a lawn mower, and the chirp of birds filled the air. Her scent, the sound of her dress swishing against her legs as she moved about the room, and the silent pad of her bare feet on the kitchen tile nearly drove him to distraction.

  Seth had avoided Kate’s request to discuss their relationship when they were in college. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to tell her how much he had wanted her back then or how much he wanted her now.

  Here he was again with the woman who made him want to let go of his inhibitions, to free himself from constraint and just go for it. He watched her fanny move beneath her dress as she walked from the stove to the island. Her toes were painted bright red. Her breasts, he knew from feeling them against his chest, were soft, round and female.

  She’d gathered her hair up in a clip and exposed the back of her long, pale neck. He wanted to put his lips just there. In fact, he wanted his mouth on her for hours. He couldn’t see a panty or a bra line, and he wondered if she was wearing anything under her dress.

  God help him if she was naked.

  He allowed himself a good, long look before she turned and caught him staring at her. He jerked his gaze back to his computer. He was fully erect from just watching her. Her dress wasn’t provocative or sexy, just feminine and simply made. It drove him wild.

  Dammit! In order to win, he had to keep his mind off Kate’s delectable body.

  Kate set out placemats, plates, and silverware. “Are you hungry?”

  Seth’s head shot up and he met her gaze. Hungry. Oh, yeah. “Sure. Let’s eat.”

  Kate and Seth spent some time in silence while they put together their tacos. Seth couldn’t keep his eyes off her as she raised a taco to her mouth and took the first bite. She licked her lips and savored the flavor. He heard a low hum of satisfaction deep in her throat. Would she make the same sound when she climaxed?

  Stop it. If he could make it through the week without letting go and hold on to his control, then afterward he could make love to her to his heart’s content. A new goal formed in his mind. He would make love to Kate until they were both sated and satisfied, but not before he held the money in his hand.

  If she would still have him.

  She might not want to come near him once he won the bet, and her dreams of national lingerie sales dissolved.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Seth busied himself making a taco. “Just thinking about what I plan to do with the money when I win.”

  “You’re so sure you will win? You’re going to be very disappointed, Dr. Fallon.”

  Suddenly, he couldn’t stand her calling him Dr. Fallon. “Call me Seth. After all we’ve slept together.”

  Kate raised her brows, lowered her cute chin, and looked at him with those wide, cat green eyes. She blinked her thick black lashes like soot against her skin. “We’ve slept in the same bed, but we haven’t exactly slept together.”

  He shrugged. “Still it was really intimate.”

  “I admit a heated kiss and some out of control groping can be damned intimate, but not as intimate as it could have been. If you hadn’t stopped, we would have made love. Wouldn’t we?”r />
  He thought about the night before with her in his arms, her body snug against his, her mouth on his, and that he’d nearly made love to her. As far as he was concerned, the intimacy between him and Kate reached critical mass with that little nothing of a nightgown she wore to tempt him. Kate should give all men who came near her a warning that touching her once wouldn’t be enough. She presented a danger to any man’s self control.

  He shifted on the stool with his napkin over his lap. He didn’t want her to see his aching erection. He became hard every moment he spent with Kate. Once the week was over his libido should go back to normal.

  Maybe.

  Kate patted her mouth with her napkin and sipped her iced tea. She set down her glass, scooted her stool closer to him, and laid a hand on his thigh. He tensed at her touch. Heat shot straight to his groin. Geezus. He tried to brush her hand aside, but she clutched his fingers instead.

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “What question was that?

  “If you hadn’t stopped, we would have made love. Wouldn’t we?”

  Damn right. But he’d never admit it. “Maybe.”

  She smiled and propped her chin on her fist with her right elbow resting on the counter surface. “No maybe about it. We were both hot and ready. If I had pushed a little harder, you know what would have happened.”

  “What?”

  “We’d have been making love inside of two minutes.”

  Gulp. “Why do you say that?”

  She licked her lips and dropped her gaze to his mouth. “Because of what happened between us during college--or rather what didn’t happen.”

  Oh, back to that again. He straightened and tried to concentrate on his food. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  She laughed. “Yes, you do, and it’s time we talked about it. I have an idea that will make revealing how we felt about each other then a little easier for both of us.”

  “What kind of idea?”

  “Strip poker.”

  He was so shocked he laughed. Seth threw down his napkin, slid off the stool, and walked over to the window. He looked outside and tried to concentrate on the beautiful spring day, rather than on the image of Kate bare-ass naked holding cards in her hands. “How do you figure playing strip poker will help us reveal our feelings?

  “Because when you’re naked physically, the emotional walls tend to crumble. By the time we finish the game, we will have talked about our insecurities and our lust for each other, so the last wall to be breached will be making love.”

  Deep inside, Seth wanted nothing more than to get good and naked with Kate, but navigating emotional waters wasn’t something he enjoyed or was at all familiar with. He spent his time studying facts not feelings. He couldn’t deny that he wanted to know more about her. Besides, once he got her naked, there was no way he would walk away. Resisting her would be impossible. “How about truth or dare instead?”

  Kate was relieved and disappointed that Seth had agreed to play truth or dare with her. She was relieved because she wanted to know more about him, how he felt deep inside, how he felt about her in college, and why he chose to ignore her. She was disappointed because she wanted to know what it felt like to make love with him. On the other hand, he wanted to know more about her, and if they made love now, their time together would be over. She would win the bet but lose Seth in the process. Why did losing him make her feel empty inside? She was doing this only to further her designs, to make more money, so her family and Aunt Pandora would be proud of her. Wasn’t she?

  After the dinner dishes were washed and put away, Kate suggested they go out into the back yard. In one corner of the yard, she’d had an arbor built. The morning glory and clematis vines had gotten an early start with the mild April weather Denver had been blessed with. The slats of wood were nearly covered with green leaves and early flower buds. They would have plenty of privacy.

  Kate was glad of that. He’d nearly swallowed her whole sitting out in broad daylight in front of her house. There was a comfortable swing hung beneath the arbor big enough for two people.

  As usual, Seth moved to one end of the swing away from her, but she simply shifted closer to him until her thigh touched his thigh, her hip caressed his hip, her breast brushed the side of his chest, and their arms touched from shoulder to wrist. As if it were the most normal thing in the world, Kate entwined her fingers with his. Heat shot up her arm and her nipples stood at attention.

  She wanted him to touch her. She needed him to touch her, to hold her. Kate had used her sexuality as a shield against the world for years, a way to keep from revealing too much of herself. She didn’t want to admit to anyone that she was unsure of her sexuality. Kate remembered how Seth’s hands had felt on her skin the night before, how they had soothed and aroused at the same time. But did Seth’s touch help strengthen the shield she held up to the world or weaken it?

  She pushed her foot against the grass-covered ground and set the swing in motion. “I’ll go first. If you don’t tell me the truth--and we’re talking strictly about our relationship both now and in the past--then I will issue you a dare. You absolutely have to accept the dare if you don’t tell the truth.” She inhaled a deep breath. “Did you feel anything for me when we were in college?”

  “Well, I thought you were a lovely, intelligent young woman.”

  “That’s not what I mean. Were you attracted to me physically or emotionally?”

  Seth leaned forward and propped his arms on his legs. He turned his head and stared at her. The setting sun made him look unbearably handsome. A breath of wind ruffled his hair and a few dark strands fell endearingly over his forehead. He nudged his glasses up on his nose and she nearly lost it. How could she be so attracted to a man in glasses?

  His eyes appeared intensely blue, clear, and endless behind the lenses. “Kate you need to understand that I want to win. The bet and the money are everything. I can’t lose and I won’t give up. Now, I think we should come to some sort of agreement. Remember I mentioned ground rules and limitations? Well, I think this should be one of those limitations. I don’t intend to let emotions past or present sway me from winning. We can talk emotions all you want, Kate, but it isn’t going to change a thing.”

  “You’re worried about getting into trouble. Seth, if we set rules and limitations on our experiments, we’ll be tainting the results. The best we can do is put the criteria together, set the experiment into motion, and see what happens. Besides, emotions can’t be given rules and limitations.”

  “I thought this was about seduction and sex. You know, human instincts and drives. We need to stay focused.”

  The man wasn’t comfortable with emotions. He wanted everything laid out in pristine order, cut and dried. Just the facts, ma’am. Well, Kate had other ideas. She needed emotions from the man, feelings, and she knew just how to get them.

  “My turn.” He looked intently at her. “I’ve seen you look sad a few times, and I want to know why.”

  Kate licked her lips and swallowed. How could she admit her inadequacies to him? She was the one who was supposed to be the expert--or sexpert--in this bet. Everyone came to her shop seeking advice. How could she tell him her own advice didn’t work for her, that her own designs did nothing for her? “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Yes, you do, but you won’t tell me. So here’s a dare. I dare you to stay on your side of the bed tonight.”

  Kate jerked her head toward him. Darn him, he was playing her own game against her. Well, she would see about that. Before this evening was done, Seth Fallon wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her. “Okay, I can do that. But I bet you can’t.”

  She gave the swing another push. “Truth or dare. Why didn’t you ever take our friendship to the next level in college?”

  Seth blushed to the roots of his hair. “Because you were a sophomore and I was an older graduate student. It wouldn’t have been fair to get involved with you.”

  Finally, he lied
to her. She made a sound like a buzzer. “Wrong answer. I dare you to kiss me on my neck.” She pointed to a spot below her right ear. “Right here. Open-mouthed.”

  The man looked positively stunned. She wanted to hug him. Seth leaned forward. Slowly. His scent surrounded her, tempting her. The allure of his body curled like loving hands around her body. His mint-scented breath caressed her skin.

  Seth stopped for a moment, and she thought he might back away, but suddenly his eager lips and his hot, wet tongue licked over her neck. She closed her eyes while heat shot through her body straight to her core. Her breasts pushed against her dress. If she’d been standing up her knees would have buckled. Kate prayed for more, prayed that he would never stop. Little flames of pleasure ignited over her skin.

  Then he was gone. The breeze blew over the wetness on her neck and a shiver ran down her spine. When he touched her or was near her like that, he filled an empty place inside her, a lonely place.

  Kate gazed at him. He was trying hard to look as though he hadn’t been affected by the kiss, but he failed miserably. He clenched his jaw and stared straight ahead. Kate smiled in satisfaction. Thank God, he had felt something and she wasn’t the only one who wanted to get naked.

  “Okay, my turn. What is it you want most? Inside.” He pointed to his heart.

  How could she tell him the truth? How could she reveal that part of herself? The part that used her sexuality as a shield, the part that longed for acceptance, love and understanding. The thought shook her down to her toes. Since when had Seth Fallon’s acceptance become so important to her? Had it begun on Friday night after seeing him again after all these years or had it begun years ago when she was in college?

  In the meantime, he had revealed nothing of his inner self to her. She turned toward him and looked into his fathomless blue eyes. Her heart clenched in her chest.