Free The Sex Solution by Kimberly Raye Page B

that she truly had changed from the girl she’d been so long ago.
    The one who’d lied about the love note and forfeited what would have surely been the most amazing kiss of her life. Instead, she’d spent the rest of the night dreaming about it.
    But this went beyond kissing now. She needed more to satisfy the ache inside her.
    She let her hands fall away as she pushed to her feet. Several minutes later, she’d managed to trade the awful dress for a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Downstairs, she headed for the kitchen and the refrigerator. She unearthed a diet cola, popped the tab and downed half the can with one swallow.
    It was cold and gave her a moment of relief from the heat burning her neck and face. She sank down onto a chair at the kitchen table and glanced around the small but quaint room. Gingham curtains hung from café rods. At least a dozen fat pink pig figurines in various poses sat on a curio shelf above the sink. A matching set of pink pig canisters stood on the counter just to the left of the stove. Rows of mason jars lined the cabinets, filled with everything from pickled cucumbers to homemade jam to the familiar cherry preserves Maddie had always loved.
    An image rushed at her, of two teenage girls sitting at this very kitchen table with its pink pig tablecloth, slathering muffins with cherry preserves and talking about everything from boys to big-city life.
    Sharon had done most of the talking while Maddie had listened to her friend’s deep longing for skyscrapers and traffic lights and people. Lots of new, different, exciting people rather than the small, familiar, boring population of Cadillac.
    Her chest tightened and she struggled for a nice, easy breath as she pushed away the memory and focused on the task at hand—seducing Austin Jericho.
    A task she intended to approach the way she did every other project she undertook. Formulate a groundbreaking, foolproof, step-by-step plan and stick to it until she achieved the desired results.
    Her gaze lingered on the box she’d carried in earlier from her trunk. It contained the base ingredients for the new lotion guaranteed to land her a promotion from senior chemist to chief of research and development.
    A lotion that still needed an edge. Something to make it stand out on the shelves and reinforce V.A.M.P.’s already seductive image in the market.
    Seductive. As in seduce.
    The thought rooted in her mind and an idea sparked. She bolted to her feet and paced the length of the kitchen as her mind raced. She needed a lotion that could seduce the senses. But not merely one or two. All five of the senses. Something with all-around appeal.
    Something completely and totally irresistible to the opposite sex.
    Something no man, including Austin Jericho, would be able to resist.
     

    “W E’RE GOING TO MAKE what? ” Duane asked the next morning when Madeline phoned him at the lab.
    “An aphrodisiac body lotion. A lotion guaranteed to seduce the five senses.”
    “The taste, touch and smell I get. But a body lotion you can hear and see?”
    “I haven’t worked out the specifics, but I’m sure it’s possible.”
    “If you say so.”
    “It’s a great marketing edge. No one’s done it before.”
    “I’m sure there’s a reason for that.”
    “Can’t never could.”
    “And here I thought you were a scientist when I’ve really been working next to a Plato wannabe.”
    “Would you just get online and research aphrodisiacs. Everything from smells to foods to colors purported to have seductive qualities.”
    At Duane’s negative grumble, Madeline added, “We can do this.”
    “If you say so.”
    “It would be nice to have a little positive feedback. I thought you wanted to move up the corporate ladder?”
    “I do, and we can. I hope.”
    “Look, I know it’s a little far-fetched, but if certain products can seduce one or two of the senses, why not one that can seduce all of them?” Before he had a chance to respond, she added, “If we pull