Free Seductive Reasoning by Cheryl Gorman Page A

didn’t like that one bit. She didn’t want any woman
coming on to Seth.
    She watched Seth fidget and push
his hands into the pockets of his slacks. Great. She wanted Seth to see that
her clientele wasn’t all interested in sex. She thought Leslie MacFadden would
be a perfect candidate. Now she wasn’t so sure.
    “No, but we still have a couple of
days to go,” Seth commented.
    Kate moved closer to Seth. She
rested her hand on his right shoulder and inhaled his scent. The muscles
bunched beneath her fingers. His arm brushed against her breast. She wanted Seth.
No two ways about it. But once they made love would he walk away? Will he leave
her behind just like the other two men she’d allowed herself to care about?
    Seth turned and looked at her. His
blue gaze drifted briefly over her face, and emotions she wished she could read
burned in his eyes. What was he thinking?
    Kate turned her attention back to
the woman. “What is your astrological sign?”
    “I’m a Scorpio.”
    Kate turned and made a motion with
her arm. “Come with me. I have some new spring designs.”
    They followed Kate across the shop
until she came to a rack. She lifted something from the rack and held it up.
“This is just in. I call it Tiger Love.”
    The lingerie was made of diaphanous
material in a muted leopard print. The layers of material were made to fall
suggestively over the woman’s breasts and lower body.
    The woman stepped forward and took
the garment from Kate’s hands. “Oh, I love it. It’s seductive and definitely
erotic. May I try it on?”
    “Of course. The dressing rooms are
in the back. But first I’d like to ask you a question. As you know, Dr. Fallen
and I are conducting experiments this week, and we thought it would be a good
idea if we chose an independent source to conduct some trials for us. Would you
be interested?”
    She touched Seth’s arm. “That
depends.”
    “On what?” Seth and Kate said in
unison.
    Gone was the sexy demeanor to be
replaced with a shrewd expression. Underneath all that glamour beat the heart
of a ruthless businesswoman.
    “I want to change the look of the
commercials for my dealerships. I want something slick and sexy. After all, sex
sells.”
    Sex. That was the bottom line here.
Sex did sell. Kate knew it. She bet her money on it. And she won. “Yes, I do
agree. But I don’t just sell better sex. I believe that love plays an important
and tender part in all seductions. That’s part of what I’m trying to prove.”
    “My point,” Ms. McFadden said, “is
that if I agree to take part in your research, I’d like the two of you to do a
commercial for me. It will be great. And it really doesn’t matter who wins the
bet. Both of you are good looking people, and I think everyone in town saw the
show. It’ll be perfect. What do you say?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ll think about it.”
    Seth and Kate replied at the same
time.
    Great. “Go and try that on, and
we’ll talk about the particulars.” Kate waved a hand toward the back of the
shop. “Congratulations on your appointment to the mayor’s council.”
    “Thank you.”
    The man and woman disappeared into
the dressing area.
     
     “Well, go ahead. Admit it.”
    Seth gave Kate a quick once-over.
She stood at the register balancing the receipts against the cash in the
drawer. She threw him an I-was-so-right-and-you-were-so-wrong-look out of the
corner of her enchanting eyes. “Admit what?”
    Kate laughed, a feminine, all-woman
sound.
    God, he wanted to touch her. Badly.
He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her.
    “You thought all of my clientele
were a bunch of new-age women with only sex on their minds and not a single
brain cell in their heads.” Her tone was emphatic.
    That’s exactly what he thought, but
he hated to admit he was wrong. “I’m a professional and a scientist. As such, I
am willing to concede certain facts.”
    She inclined her head, looked him
dead in the eye, and gave him a