billion mega-watt smile. What a turn-on. “You
were wrong. Admit it. Why is that so hard for you?”
Because he spent his life
dissecting the facts. He left no stone unturned, he was a good and thorough
researcher, but in one afternoon, Kate and her customers had thrown a major
wrench in his theory. Suck it up, Fallon. “Okay, I admit I was very
surprised to find that most of your patrons are professional women with
discriminating tastes who have more on their mind than just having a good time
in the bedroom.”
“And?”
Seth clenched his jaw together
tightly. “You just love seeing me eat crow, don’t you?”
She smiled.
Seth rolled his eyes. “Okay. Even
an intelligent woman fits good sex into her life to balance out her
professional side.”
Kate licked the tip of her finger
and drew an invisible line through the air. “Chalk one up for the home team.”
He watched Kate stuff the wad of
cash into a deposit bag for the bank, close it securely, and lay the bag by the
cash register. “Come in the back with me. I have something to show you.”
Something to show him? Oh God.
Seth watched her hips rock from
side to side, as she strolled to the back. Her hair lay like black silk around
her shoulders. Mile-long legs tempted him. He needed to get out of here. Fast.
“Can it wait? I’d like to take a walk. Get some air.”
She stopped in mid-stride, turned
her head, and looked at him with suspicion over her shoulder. “No, this can’t
wait. We have experiments to conduct, research to wade through. After all, we
only have a few more days to finish.”
That’s what he was afraid of. All
those experiments and research. God help him.
Kate located a large pasteboard box
that had arrived in the mail earlier that day from her sub-contractor in the
small storage room. She opened the box, pushed aside some tissue paper, and
removed something flimsy and see-through. She held the garments up against her
body. “This is one of my latest creations. It’s a flyaway babydoll with a satin
tie closure and matching bikini panties with side ties. It’s daring,
provocative and the perfect subject for a more involved experiment. Besides, it
will prepare us for tonight.”
Prepare? Tonight? Damn, he’d
forgotten about tonight. The movie. One bed. Focus. You’re a scientist. You
do experiments all the time.
He hoped to God she only touched
him for a minute.
Kate slung the garment over her
shoulder and stepped behind a rack of clothing. She slipped off her shoes to
reveal a pair of very feminine feet with toenails painted a delicate pink. They
were connected to shapely calves and toned thighs. She pulled her dress over
her head and tossed it on top of the rack. Then her bra and panties followed.
Bare shoulders and the slopes of her breasts gleamed in the overhead light.
Before he could get his mind around the fact that she was naked and only a few
feet away from him, she donned the lingerie and stepped from behind the rack.
Seth stepped backward as she moved
toward him. Thank God the lingerie wasn’t too sheer. It teased with a kind of
now-you-see-her-now-you-don’t without looking slatternly or wanton.
“What’s the matter? Afraid you
won’t be able to resist?”
Another challenge. Running away was
not going to get him the money. He had to stand firmly and not touch her, no
matter what she did to him.
Kate threw him a secretive smile
and moved in closer. Her scent, musky with a hint of vanilla, curled around
him, slowly, erotically, like a misty fog. He wanted to start at her toes and
lick his way up.
Concentrate. Distance yourself. How
the hell was he supposed to do that when she just kept moving closer?
She moved closer and closer until Seth
felt her body heat, until the seductive light in her eyes, the soft pink of her
mouth filled his vision. He was afraid to look down at the rest of her body
because he might lose his concentration. He might reach out and touch her.
He needed to win this bet. Not to
mention