Intent to Seduce & a Glimpse of Fire (6 page)

“No, she doesn’t.”

“One other thing,” Tracker said. “There was a break-in at her lab at the university. Must have happened when
she was at your place on Sunday. According to campus security, there was no damage. Whoever it was got into the safe, but she told the police none of her research was stolen. She evidently keeps it elsewhere.”

“Who would be after her research?”

“I figured you’d want to know, so I put a man on it. I assumed that might be the problem she wanted your help with. Look, boss, I’m going to give you some unsolicited and probably unwanted advice.”

“Tracker…”

“No one works harder for your family than you do. Maybe it’s time you relaxed and had a little fun. I say go for it.”

Tracker’s laughter was still ringing in his ear when he cut the connection. He’d come to pretty much the same decision on his own. If the doc was determined to create fantasies, he might as well be on the receiving end. Hell, he’d come up with several of his own he’d like to try out. And when the time came for the fantasies to end…he’d just have to let her down very easy. It was the one thing besides business that he’d worked to develop a skill for. He knew how to say goodbye.

M
AC CAREFULLY CONSIDERED
the two bathing suits she’d packed. The one still lying on top of her suitcase was a black tank top with a matching thong. The one she was wearing was a whisper-thin piece of silky latex in a shimmering emerald green. It covered her like a second skin from her breasts to her thighs, and it did everything that Madame Gervais said it would—revealing practically everything and suggesting more. More importantly, it fit the particular fantasy she wanted to create.

Picking up a flowered piece of silk, she wrapped it
around herself and tied it at the waist. Then she studied herself in the mirror and nodded.

Guilt-free sex with a beautiful, young island girl—that was the fantasy she’d chosen. She’d thought of it when she’d been talking to Sophie. It supposedly appealed to most men. Music from
South Pacific
hummed at the edges of her mind as she ran through the details in her mind. It would help if she could get Lucas to go into the water with her. Supposedly, men had very erotic fantasies about mermaids too. And since she didn’t have the information that the questionnaire would have given her, a backup plan was a good idea.

Moving closer to the mirror, she ran her hands through her hair and studied herself more closely. Madame Gervais had told her that the right clothes could make all the difference. Mac was beginning to believe she was right. The outfit she was wearing did make her feel different, more confident.

When she stepped out that door, she was going to be a young girl who’d been born and raised in a village on this island. Lania was her name. And Lucas was a stranger who had been washed ashore by a storm. A dark handsome stranger she was strongly attracted to, a man whose touch she was beginning to crave. A man who would leave her soon, unless she convinced him to stay.

On impulse, she picked up the string of pearls she’d taken from her bag and fastened them around her neck. They fit well with the fantasy.

Turning, she headed toward the door of the cabin. She saw him even before she stepped out on the porch. He was hurrying up the path. In her mind, she pictured running to him across the sand. He would sweep her up into his arms and carry her down to a secluded section of the beach.

It was the water bottle she’d left on the top step that shattered the image forming in her mind. Her foot snagged on it, and she made a grab for the post. It kept her from falling, but it also swayed ominously, rattling more loose shingles on the roof. Three of them showered to the ground and one landed on Lucas’s shoulder as he reached her.

“Are you all right?” he asked, brushing it off.

“Are you?” It was his quick grin that made her smile, and suddenly they were both laughing. When she reached for the post again to steady herself, he grabbed her hand.

“Please. I don’t want to be hit by any more falling debris.”

She felt a fresh wave of laughter bubbling up.

When it finally subsided, she found she was standing on the bottom step, his hands were at her waist, steadying her, and her eyes were level with his. Laughter had lightened the color, but the blue was already deepening, and his gaze had become intent. Her body reacted instantly, every nerve ending snapping to attention the way they always seemed to when he was close.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. His lips were wide, not thin…not too full either. It was hard to tell if they would be hard or soft, and she had a sudden, compelling need to find out. In her dream, he’d touched her—everywhere. But he hadn’t kissed her. She leaned closer.

“Doc…” Lucas cleared his throat as he tightened his grip on her waist, once more steadying her. “I came back to the cabin to tell you that I don’t need twenty-four hours. I’ve reached a decision.”

A quick skip of panic moved through her. He was going to say no. To forestall him, she pressed her fingers against his mouth. “I’ve reached a decision too.”

“Go ahead.”

The movement of his lips against her fingers sent a wave of heat through her. “I was coming down to the beach to…”

“Yes?”

Another wave of heat shot through her. “I wanted to…that is, I wondered if you…” It was hard to keep her mind on the fantasy, hard to think of anything but the pressure, the heat of his mouth on her fingers. What would his lips feel like on hers? What would they taste like? At the same time that she struggled to keep her focus, she couldn’t seem to prevent herself from moving closer. “I have a fantasy in mind…”

“Yes.”

In the fantasy that filled her mind, he gripped her wrist to pull her hand away. Then his mouth crushed hers, strong arms lifted her, carrying her into the cabin, and then the full weight of his body pressed her into the mattress of that narrow cot. Even as a sharp spear of pleasure streaked through her, she struggled to rid her mind of the image. She was supposed to be creating
his
fantasy, not hers.

Struggling to concentrate, she said, “My name is Lania. You’re shipwrecked on my island. And every day I’ve come from the village to nurse you. To bring you food. There isn’t a part of your body I haven’t seen.” She pictured it in her mind. “There isn’t a part of you I haven’t touched.” She could feel the smooth skin stretched taut over long bones, solid muscles. “You’ve been growing stronger every day. You haven’t noticed, but I’ve been watching you work on your boat. I know that you’ll leave soon. But before you do…I want to—I need to—”

She wasn’t sure what it was—the fantasy that her words were conjuring up in her mind or the heat that seemed to be steadily drawing her closer to him. But the need she felt to kiss him had twisted into something sharp and
compelling inside her. She dragged her fingers away from his mouth, rubbing them over his bottom lip as she did.

“I just have to kiss you. I’ve been dreaming of doing this for so long.” Framing his face with her hands, she touched her mouth to his. His lips were neither soft nor hard. “Just right,” she murmured.

“What?”

She drew back slightly but she didn’t meet his eyes. She couldn’t seem to take her gaze from his lips. “Not too hard. Not too soft. Your mouth feels just right. I was wondering…”

This time when she pressed her mouth to his, she couldn’t seem to prevent her tongue from slipping between his lips. If she’d thought he’d tasted good a moment before, this was heaven. Not sweet really, and not any flavor that she could remember tasting before. It reminded her just a little of her favorite childhood candy—the dark chocolate that her father would always send her on her birthdays and that her mother would take away from her and hide. It always tasted so delicious, so forbidden when she found it.

But Lucas’s taste was much more potent. It seemed to be spreading through her, clouding her mind—and she had to focus. She’d forgotten for a moment the fantasy. In just a minute—or two—she’d have to get back to it.

And she would…definitely…just as soon as she tasted him one more time. Withdrawing a little, she nipped at his bottom lip, then let her tongue probe deeper. The tip of it brushed the edge of his teeth, then met his tongue. In the space of a heartbeat, the flavor changed again to something very dark and very male. As it streamed through her, she tightened her hands on him and felt her toes curl on the edge of the step. In the space of a heartbeat, each sensation intensified—the rough wood of the porch beneath
her bare feet, the burning warmth of his thighs pressed against hers. Beneath her hands, she felt the sharp line of cheekbones, the hard strength of his jaw.

She wanted more. She wanted him to touch her, to kiss her back. And he was just standing there, letting her do whatever she wanted. Suddenly chilled, she drew away and met his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You stopped. Why?”

She blinked. “You’re not kissing me back. I should have insisted that you fill out the questionnaire. Then I would have some idea—”

“Forget the questionnaire and kiss me again.”

I
T SEEMED LIKE
an eternity to Lucas as he waited for her to bring her mouth to his again. He’d seen the confusion in her eyes and the hurt. He wanted to erase both. More than that, he wanted to ease her to the ground and run his hands over her, slowly, molding every inch of her until she felt as helpless as he did.

How could he possibly explain to her what he didn’t understand himself? He hadn’t touched her, he hadn’t taken control of the kiss because he quite simply couldn’t. Even now, he wasn’t sure he could lift his arms.

Was it the fantasy that her words had conjured up? He’d imagined what it might be like to lie there, powerless, while she touched him—everywhere.

Or had it been the reality of her kiss—the softness of her lips and those tiny, tentative movements of her tongue as it glided over his? Perhaps it was the combination that had acted like a powerful drug on his system, pouring through him and trapping him in a world of sensations.

He wasn’t sure of anything except that she’d weakened him. He’d never allowed a woman to do that to him before.
And it wouldn’t happen again. This time he intended to be in control of himself, but the moment her mouth brushed against his, a short, explosive fuse ignited. Any intention he had of keeping the pressure light and teasing was blown away. Feelings she’d stirred up with that first kiss tore through him in a series of explosions, and wave after wave of sensations rocked him.

He’d never been so aware of a woman before—the helpless hitch of her breath when he nipped at her bottom lip, the husky, pleading sound of her moan as he swallowed it, and her skin…it was on fire. He could feel the flames licking at his fingers as they moved down her throat over her breasts, burning him even through the thin material of the bathing suit. And her taste, the deep ripe flavor poured through him.

He’d sensed this raw passion in her before, simmering beneath the surface, waiting to break free. He could feel it now in the way her hands gripped him, in the way her mouth met each of his demands with one of her own.

Though the ocean was over fifty yards away, he could have sworn he was standing in it, feeling the push and pull of the water as it sucked the sand out from beneath his feet. He pulled her closer for balance and felt her breasts crush against the hard line of his chest. It wasn’t enough.

Desperation clawed at him as he ran his hands over her. He knew he was being rough. And in some distant part of his mind, he knew he should slow down, be patient. But his hands seemed to be operating of their own accord, following one directive—he simply had to get her closer to him. Impatient with the bathing suit, he stripped it down to her waist and cupped her breast in his hand. It was as soft as rainwater. Liquid silk. He wanted to savor it, taste it, but she arched against him, calling his name.

He had to have more.

“Mac.” He cupped his free hand under her hip. “Scoot up. Wrap your legs around me.”

With a murmur of acceptance, approval, she did. Then, arching against him again, she began to move, rubbing against his hardness. What he’d thought were flames before couldn’t compare to the searing heat that sliced through him now. He’d felt need before, but not this kind—unreasonable, unmanageable. Something inside him snapped with the same quick finality of a switch being pulled. Then he wasn’t thinking at all.

Sinking to his knees, he managed to pull down the zipper of his jeans, push aside the thin protection of her suit, and then he was sinking into her. But it still wasn’t enough. With a quick, savage movement of his hips he went deeper, stretching her, feeling her slick, hot core take all of him. Gripped fiercely inside her, he felt his climax begin to build. His hips began to move, thrusting harder and faster. Swearing, he drove her, drove himself until the final release and the world went dark around him.

Shattered. That’s what he felt like when sanity returned. He was lying on the rough boards of the porch beside Mac, but he had no idea how they’d gotten there. He couldn’t move, could barely think.

And he was trembling. A small shiver of fear moved through him. Shame came next. He’d never before taken a woman with so little care. He wasn’t even sure that she’d reached her climax. His own had been so quick, so consuming, and he’d been so totally lost in it.

Had he hurt her? He’d been close to violent, definitely out of control when he’d pushed into her. When he turned to look at her, he found wide amber eyes studying him intently. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he’d been smeared on a slide. He opened his mouth, but she spoke first. “That didn’t go exactly as I’d planned.”

The words were such a clear echo of the thoughts in his head that he blinked.

“I’m sorry.”

She’d even stolen his apology. Suddenly, he frowned. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

“I lost control. It wasn’t supposed to end that quickly.”

“No, it wasn’t. But that was my fault.”

“We were supposed to make it at least to the beach. I really wanted to get you in the water. Kissing underwater is supposed to be very erotic.”