“Thank you. How many stars are in our solar system?”
“Thousands,” someone called out. Another said millions.
“One.” Kate smiled at Seth.
Seth looked at her and a very small smile kicked up the corners of his mouth. Could he actually be pleased that she knew the right answer?
“That’s right. We have only one star in our solar system.”
“But how can you say that when there are so many stars visible in the night sky?” someone asked.
“That’s true. But I’m not talking about the Milky Way galaxy. There are billions of stars in the Milky Way, but only one in our own solar system.”
When Seth spoke with such excitement about the universe, a light came into those unfathomable eyes of his. He truly loved teaching and sharing his knowledge. There was something innately sexy about that.
Not to mention the way the man moved. All that sex appeal and gorgeous male wrapped up in conservative packaging. It made her want to start at his feet and work her way up until there was nothing between them but skin and body heat.
Seth continued to lecture, moving his hands as he talked. His palms were broad, his fingers long and slightly calloused. She knew from experience how they felt touching her skin. Lust slow danced through her stomach just thinking about it.
Kate listened to his voice. He was like a pied piper with his deep rich baritone. The sound slid under her skin and awakened her libido. No wonder he was so popular on campus. The women couldn’t help themselves. It was a treat to just sit and listen to him. His voice informed, instructed, but also soothed and excited at the same time. How was that possible?
“Isn’t the Milky Way part of a group of galaxies known as the Local Group?” Kate stared at Seth waiting for him to answer.
A smile teased over his mouth. “You read the book I gave you.” His tone was low so no one else could hear.
He seemed so pleased that she’d read it. She loved seeing the pleasure and excitement on his face. She wanted to keep it there forever.
But what about her own dream? She sighed. It seemed the lines between her goals and Seth’s project were becoming blurred.
“Yes, that’s correct. Can anyone elaborate a little on the Local Group?”
She wanted to continue. She wanted their conversation never to end. She needed to hold his attention. “I can, Dr. Fallon.”
He adjusted his glasses, and pinned the full effect of his blue eyes on her. “Well, please continue, Miss Summers.”
She nearly melted right there in her chair. How could discussing astronomy turn out to be so damn sexy? Kate felt every eye on her in the room. When she finished her statement there was a kind of hushed quiet as if they couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say next.
The pride was still there in Seth’s eyes, only stronger. He thought she hadn’t even looked at the book he’d given her to read. She’d touched him in a special way. Not physically, but emotionally. The way to really get to Seth Fallon was through his intellect.
“Professor, I must admit I’m truly fascinated by all of this information, but studying astronomy doesn’t leave any room for creativity does it?” Kate held her hands out palm up. “I mean it’s a science and you have to deal in facts not ideas. You can’t be inventive or innovative.”
If she couldn’t be inventive or innovative, she would end up being straitlaced like her parents. They were lawyers--and how creative could a person get with the law? Laws were set down on paper and meant to be followed.
If she had to be rigid and toe the line, her creativity would be crushed. If she did what her family wanted her to do, she would betray her own desires and dreams. That was something she could not do.
“On the contrary, Miss Summers, there is plenty of room for creativity in astronomy. What about the development of telescopes?”
When he finished his explanation, Kate realized he was right. He was absolutely right. Since he was creative in his field, would he be creative in the bedroom as well? Kate couldn’t wait to find out.
Seth opened the sliding glass door of the porch attached to his house. He’d spent the entire night tossing and turning. Restlessness had coursed through him like an illness he couldn’t shake.
Kate had slept next to him. She hadn’t tried to slip onto his side of the bed, or seduce him with a sexy nightgown. After they had dinner and watched a little television, she bade him goodnight and went to her room. He listened to the sounds she made as she got ready for bed. Then silence.
He’d almost jumped up from the sofa and gone after her, taken her in his arms and given her the long, thorough lovemaking session that they both wanted and deserved. How had she managed to get to him so quickly?
He’d talked her into a change of venue. He thought that if he could get back to his own house, that this need he had for her would subside, and he’d get himself and his libido under control.
How wrong he had been. Not having her touch him in bed had made everything worse. Now all he could think about was Kate, her scent, her skin, and the sound of her voice.
A simple meal of salad and sandwiches with glasses of iced tea sprigged with mint was laid out on a glass-topped table. He looked at Kate standing on the edge of the porch leaning against one of the posts. She wore white shorts that molded her sweet fanny and the feminine secret that lay between her legs. Suddenly, he was dying to know what she was wearing underneath it all.
Her pink top had spaghetti straps and outlined her breasts and nipples. With any slight movement the bottom hem of the top shifted. A tantalizing view of bare skin teased him, skin he knew was soft and feminine.
Christ, he wanted to take her in his arms, slide his tongue into her mouth, and steep himself in her.
She sipped wine from her glass. He had a perfect view of a drop of wine on her lush, lower lip. Her pink tongue slipped from between her lips and licked away the droplet. Seth nearly groaned.
He should just have a quiet dinner with her, then catch up on his work for the rest of the night. That way she would go to her bed, which for him had become a torture chamber.
The sheets smelled of her.
The room smelled of her.
She wouldn’t leave him alone.
She kept touching him, kissing him and making him do things he shouldn’t be doing if he was going to win that money, and she damn well knew it. A little more slap and tickle and she’d push him over the edge. And there would be no turning back.
Yesterday in class, she’d really surprised him. Her unexpected questions and knowledge had deeply touched him. She’d actually read the book he’d given her. Could she actually be taking his intellect seriously? “Thank you, Kate.”
She turned and stared at him. A breeze lifted her dark hair from her shoulders and blew the strands back from her face. A soft ray of dying sunlight from the dusky sky caressed one side of her cheek. Her eyes looked intensely green in the waning light, her lips soft and dewy. Lips he knew were giving and intoxicating. Lips that could make a man forget who he was or forget why he was here.
“Thank you for what?” Her voice sounded soft and a little husky. “For the food?” She gave a slight wave of her hand. “For the music?” The sound of violins wept into the cool, evening air. A chime that hung by the back door tinkled in the breeze. She lifted her glass, sipped, and licked her lips provocatively.
Oh boy. “For reading the book I gave you.”
She gave her shoulders a small shrug. One of the straps on her top slipped down her arm. She moved slowly toward him, her gaze pinned to his face. She didn’t bother to push the strap back into place. Seth felt his body heat, his nerves hum. He had to concentrate on breathing and keeping his cool. He couldn’t lose control and do what he really wanted, which was take her upstairs and make passionate love to her.
“You’re welcome. You sound surprised.” She continued forward until she stood directly in front of him. Until all he could see was the infinite green of her eyes.
“I am,�
� he said.
“Why?”
Why? There were a million reasons why, but he could only think of one. “Because I didn’t think you had much interest in my work. This whole week seems to be totally about winning.”
“I could say the same thing about you.”
“You could. I admit I do want to win. But I want you to know how much I appreciated you reading the book I gave you. And you understood it as well.”
The look of hurt and sadness he’d seen before flashed in her eyes, and then it was gone again. He wasn’t comfortable with emotions; he didn’t like to get involved with them because they complicated his life. Women came with a boatload of emotions attached to them. Hell, if he really thought about it, they were an intrinsic part of a woman. And with those emotions came demands. Demands they wanted or needed a man to meet. His world was too structured, and women and their emotions only tangled matters.
But he couldn’t resist at least opening that doorway just a crack. What kind of man would he be if he ignored the glimpse of pain he’d seen in Kate’s eyes? If he let go of a little bit of his structured world, he knew that would make him painfully vulnerable. His armor against getting involved emotionally with women would sustain damage. But he had to question her. He couldn’t let the moment pass.
She lowered her chin and stared at the ground. Against his better judgment, Seth lifted her chin until she was forced to look at him. To his utter shock and surprise tears glistened in her eyes. “What the hell’s the matter? And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I’ve seen that look before. What’s going on?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try.”
She swallowed. “I always thought that if I tried to be intellectual it would somehow suppress my creativity. My parents are both lawyers. I have a brother and sister who became doctors. I’m kind of an anomaly in my family.”
Mark had said the same thing about him. “Believe it or not, I know how you feel.”
“What do you mean?”
He should put a stop to this discussion now. Whatever she said to him might cause her to wheedle her way deeper into the armor he used to shield his heart. His own words came back to him. We can talk emotions all you want, Kate, but it isn’t going to change a thing. “No, tonight is about you. Not me. What do you mean by an anomaly?”
Kate lowered herself to a rocker on the porch, leaned back, and stretched her long, tanned legs out in front of her. Seth had an unrestricted view of slender ankles, toned calves and thighs. She wiggled her toes and the red polish on her toenails glinted in the light. He had an unexpected urge to kiss those toes until she moaned in delight.
“I never seemed to fit in. If it weren’t for Aunt Pandora, I would have probably conformed to what my parents wanted for me.” She stopped for a moment, sipped some wine, and continued staring out across the backyard. “My parents never understood me or my need to explore my creative side. They’ve been waiting years for me to get a real job.
“When you said you were surprised that I’d read the book, I figured you thought I didn’t have the brains to really understand it.”
Her voice broke on those last words. In the span of a couple of days, she had forced him to stop looking at the world scientifically and see it more with his heart and his emotions. Suddenly, he had the urge to give both her parents a piece of his mind. But he also wanted to give Aunt Pandora a great big kiss for encouraging Kate’s creative desires and channeling them into something positive. This was a mistake. He knew it. A big mistake, but he couldn’t stop himself. He had to touch her, to hold her. He walked over to her chair, reached out his hand. “Come here.” His tone was soft and urgent.
She raised her chin and her lips parted. Surprise shown in her eyes and on her face. Slowly, she rose from the chair, and Seth moved closer until the heat from their bodies mingled. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her against him snugly, and held her as if she were something precious.
Kate came willingly, her arms curling around him, her head settling on his shoulder. The scent and feel of her surrounded him and eased a few more of his inhibitions. She was beautiful, sweet, and sexy.
He didn’t like seeing the sadness in her eyes, or hearing it in her voice. His Kate was full of joy. The woman was spontaneous. She didn’t think things through. She just did them. She brought joy and unpredictability into his life, and he realized suddenly that he didn’t want to go back to the way things were before he met her. He wanted his life to remain this way. She snuggled in closer, and he grew hard. God, he wanted this woman, but if he gave in to his need, the bet was lost. “I’m sorry you felt I didn’t think you were smart enough to understand what you had read. That was never my intention. I was just surprised that you took the time, that’s all.” He lifted her head and held her face between his hands. “You’re a beautiful, intelligent woman, Kate Summers, and never let anyone tell you any different.”
Her lower lip trembled and a tear spilled out. He wiped the wetness away with his tongue. Her skin felt incredible under his mouth. He needed to see her smile. He wanted to see the Kate he had come to enjoy smile and be herself. It would probably kill him, but he knew a way. “Kate, we haven’t conducted an experiment today.”
“No, we haven’t.”
“I was thinking it’s your turn. You came to my class, and as a result, your point of view was changed. Now it’s your turn to try and change my point of view.”
A sly smile curved her pretty mouth. “My turn?”
Her eyes lit with a mischievous glint. Vixen. “Yes. I think it’s time you showed me more of your lingerie.”
Chapter Eight
A few minutes later, Kate stood before him in a glimmering confection of white. The woman looked like an angel, a very naughty angel. She wore a gown of pure white that hugged her body. There was a sprinkle of lace over the top part that hardly covered her breasts. The panties were almost non-existent. On her feet were white, backless heels. Over the whole thing, she wore a sheer robe with sparkles scattered over it. One side dipped from her shoulder, leaving it bare except for the tiny strap that held up the gown. She stepped onto the porch, and the robe fluttered behind her. With a flick, she turned off the porch light and walked over to him.
Yep. She was killing him all right. But at least he was seeing his old Kate again. His alluring, unrestrained Kate.
His. When had he begun to think of Kate as his?
“This is something new.”
Something new. What she was doing to him was as old as time. He was hard as iron. “It’s nice.”
“Nice? That’s the best you can do?”
“Okay, it’s very nice.”
She smiled and walked over to him. Kate reached out and skimmed her fingers over his lips. “It’s time to start our experiment.”
Oh God. “It hasn’t started yet?”
She shook her head. The ends of her hair swung seductively against her shoulders. “For as long as you can, without touching me, I want you to tell me explicitly what seeing me in this outfit does to you. Ready. Get set. Go.”
Oh, he was ready to go all right. Like a rocket. He skimmed his gaze over her from head to toe. He slowed as his gaze ran over her small, perfect breasts, then down over her waist and toned abdomen to the dark nest of curls at the apex of her thighs. Then down her legs to her feet nestled inside the shoes. He repeated the process on the way up. This was an experiment, nothing more. All he had to do was compile the data and form a hypothesis.
“Due to the sheerness of the material, I can see your breasts and your, shall I say, femininity quite clearly. They tantalize and titillate. They were designed specifically for that purpose, so I’d conclude that you succeeded.”
“Yes, but what do they make you feel?”
Everything. “They are an effective catalyst, and they cause my desire to escalate to a dangerous level, to the point that I want to touch you. I want to feel your breasts in my hands. I want to put my mouth on your mouth, your neck, your abdomen
.”
“Good. Anything else?”
Desire for her sat up and bit him on the ass.
“Now it’s time for you to touch me. If you don’t touch me, I don’t think I can be assured the lingerie really works.”
Oh, it worked all right. It worked like gangbusters.
God, she was delectable. He desperately wanted to touch her, to reach out and take, but what would happen if he did? Would he lose control and make love to her? There was only one way to find out. Without further delay, Seth laid a hand on the side of her face, angled her mouth, and fit his perfectly over hers. As soon as his mouth touched hers, he drank from it like a dying man.
He didn’t wait to finesse her mouth open, but plunged instead. She tasted like wine and sin. He took the kiss deeper and deeper until he’d tasted every part of her mouth. Slow, hot and wet. She kissed him back as good as he gave her. Her tongue tangled with his, her teeth nipped his lips and drove him wild. Blindly, he pushed the gown aside and down until she was bare before him.
Until she wore nothing but the panties. He enjoyed the weight of her breasts in his hands. He rubbed the nipple of one breast between his thumb and forefinger and listened with pure male satisfaction to her moan.
Unable to stop himself, he slid his hand down, down over her stomach, over her silky skin, and under the top edge of her thong panties. He slid his hands around to her bottom and caressed bare ass. Seth lifted her to the apex between his legs, desperate for Kate to feel his need for her.
Seth tore his mouth from hers and planted a series of wet, open-mouthed kisses on her neck before he moved down to one of her breasts. He took the soft globe into his mouth and suckled. He laved the underside with his tongue, rubbing his mouth over her smooth, silky skin, allowing her scent to explode through his body. Inch by delectable inch, he tasted until her flavor consumed him. Then he gave her other breast the same treatment. Mindlessly, he pushed the panties down until they fell around her ankles. She was there for him. Wanting him. Waiting for him.
Seth kissed his way over her body until he settled to his knees. Without hesitation, he lifted her left leg and draped it over his right shoulder. He moved into her closer, closer still. Gently, he parted the nest of curls and massaged her with his fingers until she was swollen, wet and needy.
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