Intimate Seduction Read online

  Before she could ask why he was there, he handed her a vase of flowers and said, “I thought I’d help out my sister-in-law by delivering these.”

  It took all of Donovan’s self-control not to pull Natalie into his arms for the kiss he’d been aching for since meeting her yesterday. It was insane. Yet, for one tantalizing minute he wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms to find out if her lips were actually as soft and delicious as they looked.

  It would be a provocative move. Bold. Totally out of line. Considering such a thing should give him pause. Unfortunately, what it was giving him was an ache right behind his zipper, which he was trying like hell to fight back.

  He was fully aware of her, although he was trying so hard not to be. She looked cute in her skirt and blouse. In truth there was nothing unusual about them. Still, they stirred raw desire within him. But when you had legs that looked like hers and a body that could make a man drool, it was hard not to be fully aware of anything she wore. Even a potato sack if she chose to don it.

  “You work with your sister-in-law part-time?”

  Her question brought his attention back in focus and away from her legs. “Not really,” he said, deciding to lean against the porch column for support. “She had something to do today, so I did her a favor by watching the store for an hour or so. One of your aunt’s church members dropped by and ordered these flowers. I couldn’t resist delivering them in person.”

  Her eyes shone bright in the fading sunlight. “And why couldn’t you resist delivering them?” she asked.

  He could feel her nervous tension and watched as she licked her top lip with her tongue and felt his gut tighten even more. Her luscious scent surrounded him, made him appreciate being a man who was intent on having her. “Because I figured you would be here, and it gave me a chance to see you again,” he finally said, watching her reaction to his words with a steady gaze.

  She opened her mouth as if not believing what he’d boldly stated. Then she closed it, paused momentarily and said, “Mr. Steele, I think—”

  “Donovan. That’s what I want you to call me. What will it take for you to do so, Natalie?”

  He observed the narrowing of her eyes, the tightening of her lips. She wasn’t too happy with him now. Just as well since if the truth be told, he wasn’t too happy with her, either. She was being difficult, playing hard to get. Normally he liked the challenge, but in this case, although he’d only met her yesterday, she had made an impact, and his patience was wearing thin.

  He decided to press on while he had her at a loss for words. “Are you going to invite me in?”

  Her eyebrow arched. “For what reason?”

  “So I can say hello to your aunt.”

  “Sorry, she’s asleep and I don’t want to wake her up.”

  He managed to smile. Boy, she was stubborn. “And I wouldn’t want you to. Considering everything, I’m sure she needs her rest.” Just like considering everything, I think you’re trying to hide the desire that’s so blatant in your eyes, in the hard tips of your nipples that are pressing against your blouse. Why are you fighting me?

  “Thanks for delivering the flowers.”

  Natalie’s voice intruded into his thoughts, and acting on pure impulse, he moved a step closer to her. The only thing separating their bodies was the vase of flowers she held in her hand. He wanted to get a clear view of the look in her eyes, to see what she wasn’t yet experienced enough to hide. An image came back into his mind, the one of finding her asleep in his bed. But in this one, she wasn’t fully clothed. Instead she was stark naked.

  He released a sharp intake of breath, and at that moment he was more determined than ever to have her, to do all those things to her he had dreamed about last night and envisioned most of the day.

  “Goodbye, Mr. Steele.”

  As incredible as it was at that point in time, a slow smile formed on his lips. For now he would let her assume she was calling the shots. His smile widened even more as he took in her obvious apprehension. No doubt she was concerned just what his sudden good mood was about. Especially when the air surrounding them was shrouded with so much sensuality. It was so thick he could probably wallow in it. He felt it and knew she could feel it too.

  “Please let your aunt know that I dropped by,” he said in a husky yet hushed tone before taking a step back.

  Without giving her time to say anything—and doubting seriously that she would have done so anyway—he turned and walked away.

  Chapter 5

  “What do you know about Donovan Steele, Farrah?” Natalie asked her friend as she watched her check her side mirrors before changing lanes. They were on their way to the Racetrack Café for an evening of fun.

  At the first opportunity she could grab, Farrah glanced over at her. “Donovan Steele?” she asked with surprise in her voice. “Why on earth would you ask about him?”

  Because maybe talking about him will stop my breasts from aching whenever I think about him. She had literally been in one hell of a fix since seeing him yesterday. She hadn’t expected him to drop by, nor had she expected her body’s reaction to seeing him. “I’m just curious.”

  She figured that response would not be good enough for Farrah and wasn’t surprised to find herself under Farrah’s intense stare when they came to a flashing light at the train tracks.

  “No, girlfriend, you’re not just curious,” Farrah said. “You just got back in town last week, so why would you be asking about Donovan Steele?”

  Natalie squirmed under Farrah’s intense scrutiny and knew she would have to tell her the whole story since Farrah wouldn’t let up until she did. “He’s one of Aunt Earline’s clients, and I was cleaning his home on Monday when he came home unexpectedly.”

  “Um, so you got to see the handsome hunk?” Farrah asked smiling as she waited for a train to pass.

  “Unfortunately, I did. But that’s not all I did,”

  Farrah lifted her brow. “What else did you do?”

  “I was cleaning his room, saw his bed, saw how comfortable it looked and wanted to try it out.”

  Farrah’s eyes widened. “You got in Donovan Steele’s bed, the one upstairs?”

  Not understanding why the location of the bed would make a difference, Natalie shamefully admitted. “Yes. I was just going to try out the mattress to see if it was as soft as it looked. I hadn’t intended on falling asleep.”

  “You actually fell asleep?” Farrah laughed. “Wow, that’s rich.”

  “I don’t know about it being rich since he found me there.”

  “Let me get this straight,” Farrah said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “You fell asleep in Donovan Steele’s bed and he found you there?”

  “Yes.”

  Farrah shook her head. “I’m sure your aunt hated losing him as a client.”

  “She didn’t. As a matter of fact, he increased his cleaning service from twice a month to every week,” Natalie informed her.

  Farrah didn’t say anything, but Natalie could see her friend’s mind at work. She was working out everything Natalie had told her in her head to come up with a reason for Donovan Steele’s action. Natalie could have saved her the trouble. She wasn’t born yesterday, nor was she the naive, brainy professor some men thought she was. She knew exactly what his motives were.

  “He wants you,” Farrah finally said matter-of-factly.

  “Yes, that’s what I figured, especially since he thinks I’m no more than a cleaning lady. I didn’t bother telling him what I really did for a living.”

  Farrah smiled. “So, you’re going to try him out?”

  Natalie looked aghast. “Of course not! I know his true colors since he’s been taking every opportunity to display them. I hear from Aunt Earline that he’s Charlotte’s number one player, and there is no doubt in my mind that he’s looking for another conquest. I have no intentions of being the next notch on his bedpost.”

  Farrah didn’t say anything for a moment, and Natalie had a fe
eling when her friend did speak again that she wouldn’t like whatever she would say.

  “You may want to reconsider that decision, Nat. A fling with him might give you a new attitude,” Farrah said softly.

  Natalie knew that look, and once again she squirmed accordingly. While in high school, the only time she put her books aside to indulge in some honest to goodness, off-the-wall fun was when Farrah talked her into it. Otherwise, she would have lived a relatively boring life. But this was not their school days and Farrah, who’d been thrust back into the life of a swinging single, evidently wanted her to join her.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Farrah. I know what you’re thinking.”

  Farrah then gave her that smile she knew so well. “And what am I thinking?”

  “That I need to take advantage of it because it’s been years since I got laid.” Natalie knew there was nothing Farrah could say but confirm her statement since recently that had been Farrah’s constant argument. Over the years, Farrah had relentlessly tried building the case that Natalie needed to get her head out of her books and stop spending so much time in the lab and work on another type of formula—one that produced a love life, and if not a serious love life, definitely a fling.

  “Yes, that’s what I’m thinking and it makes perfect sense, don’t you think?” Farrah interrupted her thoughts by saying.

  Natalie rolled her eyes heavenward. “No, that’s not what I think.”

  “Come on, Nat, what do you have to lose? You don’t know what you’re missing out on. You can’t convince me you aren’t curious.”

  Natalie wished she could deny what Farrah was saying but she couldn’t. She hadn’t slept with anyone since college and Karl. Only Farrah knew the full extent of the scars a man’s emotional abuse could leave. But she had tried moving on, only to encounter men who weren’t cunning and manipulative like Karl but who were weak-minded enough to feel threatened by a woman’s successful scholarly achievements.

  “Look, Nat,” Farrah said, after glancing at the car in front of them to make sure it hadn’t moved. “Seriously. I’m not saying you need to start sleeping around, by any means. All I’m saying is that you should enjoy your life and not give in to the failures of the only man you’ve ever slept with by thinking all men are that way.”

  Natalie knew she didn’t think that way, but she would be the first to admit one of the reasons she hadn’t been hitting the singles scene was because she felt more comfortable in her career than in the prospect of putting all that work into a relationship to nowhere.

  When Farrah checked on the cars ahead of them again, Natalie decided not to let her off the hook so easily. “What about you, Farrah? Did Dustin make you think all men are that way?” Natalie studied Farrah’s features. She saw a glimpse of the pain in her friend’s eyes that was still there even after a full year.

  “I’m trying to move on, Nat. And no, I don’t think all men are like Dustin, but I will admit the next one who comes close to my heart will have a tough job convincing me that he’s not. In other words, no man will ever capture my heart again.”

  Natalie knew Farrah meant every word she had spoken. To this day Natalie didn’t understand how Dustin could have hurt Farrah the way he had. Regretting she had brought him up, she steered the conversation back to what she’d asked Farrah earlier.

  “So, are you going to tell me what you know about Donovan Steele?” The cars started moving ahead, and she watched as Farrah shifted the car back in gear.

  “Not much to tell. I’ve seen him before at a charity function or two so I know he’s an extremely good-looking man. I only know what I read and what I overhear from the women at the gym. According to them, he only indulges in short-term affairs and is very selective about whom he sleeps with. Some women think it’s quite an honor to be the chosen one because he’s one hell of a lover.”

  Farrah glanced over at her when the car stopped at a traffic light. “I also hear he’s very persuasive and could probably talk the panties off a nun.”

  Natalie couldn’t help but smile at that claim. “All the more reason to keep him at arm’s length,” she said.

  She could see him as a persuasive guy since if given the chance he would have tried wearing down her resistance on Tuesday evening. Hadn’t he told her he went after whatever he wanted and always succeeded in getting it? He’d given her fair warning. And she planned on taking it.

  “We’re here.”

  Natalie was pulled out of her thoughts to glance through the car window. The parking lot was full. “This place gets a lot of business, I gather.”

  Farrah smiled. “Yes, I’ve only been here once before with a girl from work. The food was good and the entertainment even better. And since you aren’t interested in having a fling with Donovan Steele, I’m sure you’ll meet some other likable guy here.”

  Natalie rolled her eyes. Having a fling was the last thing she was interested in.

  “You want another beer, Donovan?”

  “No, thanks. I’m fine, Jon. I’ll be checking out in a few,” Donovan said, sparing the bartender a quick glance before returning his gaze back to the flat-screen television on the wall behind the counter. They were showing a rerun of last weekend’s race in New Hampshire.

  When the bartender moved on, Donovan leaned back against the barstool accepting the fact that his full concentration wasn’t on the race. Instead, over the course of the night, as well as the nights before, he had done a very unorthodox thing. He had allowed a woman to dominate his thoughts.

  He wasn’t sure how to view his meeting with Natalie when he had delivered the flowers. She’d been feisty—that was for sure. And strong-willed. But he had a feeling she was also a very passionate woman. And it was that passion he would love to get a hold on and work to his advantage. Last night he had dreamed about her. In sleep he had inhaled her scent, imagined her legs wrapped around him and envisioned her lips mingling with his.

  He had awakened with sweat covering most of his body and an erection as hard as a rock. He was glad to see the work week come to an end and was looking forward to the weekend. He had a date lined up with Jean Carroll and he knew from past experiences that she would make it worth his while.

  He happened to glance back up at the television screen and then looked to the mirror on the wall that picked up a clear view of anyone walking through the restaurant’s door. He blinked thinking he was seeing things, but when he continued to stare at the mirror he saw that Natalie and another woman had come through the door. He was tempted to turn around but knew if he did she would definitely see him. So, instead, he sat there and watched as a waitress led them over to the table and out of sight.

  Releasing the breath he’d been holding, he caught Jon’s eye and beckoned him over to him.

  “Another beer?” Jon asked.

  Donovan shook his head. “No, but you see the two women Marisa just seated at a table in the back. I want you to give them whatever they want.”

  Jon strained his neck to see who Donovan was talking about. “Okay. Will you be joining them?”

  “Later.”

  “All right.” Jon then walked off.

  Donovan pulled in a deep breath. What he didn’t tell Jon was he wouldn’t go anywhere near that table until he got himself together. He couldn’t believe Natalie was here, invading his domain. It was bad enough he’d thought of little else besides her all day; now she was going to give him a reason to think of her all night. Again. And now there was a slow burn in his belly, and he seriously doubted even a cold beer would be able to put it out.

  He glanced back at the television screen, trying to ignore the fact she was there, but everything in front of him seemed to blur while a current of electricity seemed to charge the air.

  Donovan glanced at his watch as heat flowed through his midsection. It was barely eight and too early for him to think about going home. And why should he? He had never ducked the other way when it came to a woman. Goldilocks had once again invaded his turf, so th
e way he saw it he had rights—rights he intended to exercise. He had given her fair warning.

  Getting off the stool, he headed in her direction.

  “Everything on the menu looks good,” Natalie said to Farrah. “What are you going to have?”

  “Um, that guy who just walked in looks pretty good.”

  Natalie glanced up, followed Farrah’s gaze and nodded in agreement. “Yes, he does look good but, unfortunately, he’s not on the menu.”

  “What a shame. I wish he was.”

  Natalie chuckled, but her laughter was cut short when she saw the man in question approached by another man. “I don’t believe it,” she said in an annoyed voice.

  Farrah, who had gone back to studying her menu, glanced up. “You don’t believe what?”

  “Donovan Steele is here, and he’s talking to your guy—the one you wished was on the menu. Hopefully, he won’t look over this way and see me.”

  As if those very words had damned her, Donovan glanced her way. His gaze settled on her face and held her eyes captive. She barely had time to draw in a ragged breath when she felt white-hot desire whisk through her veins and settle deep in her limbs. So deep she had to place her glass of water back down on the table.

  “Natalie?”

  She heard Farrah call her name but was too caught up in the intensity of Donovan’s gaze to break eye contact. She finally answered nonetheless. “Yes?”

  “Are you sure you told me everything about your relationship with Donovan Steele?”

  That question made Natalie meet Farrah’s curious expression. She swallowed deeply. “Yes.” When Farrah continued to look at her, she finally asked in a strained voice, “What do you think I didn’t tell you?”

  “How much you want to jump his bones.”

  Hearing Farrah speak aloud what she had refused to acknowledge in her thoughts caused a blush to color her cheeks. Did she really want to do that? Was that the reason why every morning since meeting him she’d waken with sensuous aches in her body and dreams too scandalous to mention to anyone?