Hearts Awakened (27 page)

But she knows something else about Luke: He doesn’t give up easily. Luckily, Ellie’s not above resorting to naughty tactics. Seduction, she’s certain, will make him so uncomfortable he won’t be able to flee fast enough.

And boy, is it going to be fun.

The last thing Luke expects is for his best friend’s sister to launch an erotic assault. He’ll go along with her sexy games, but he’s sure that when things get too hot, she’ll come to her senses and come home. Except resisting her isn’t as easy as he thought it’d be.

And suddenly he’s wondering if maybe there can be more than one winner in this dance of seduction…

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Dance of Seduction:

“Would you rub some suntan lotion on my back first?” she said, her big eyes focusing on his. “I burn easily.”

His throat went dry. “Uh…”

“Please, Luke? You don’t want me to get a sunburn, do you?”

He found his voice. “Of course I don’t.”

“Good.”

He thought he saw a whisper of a smile—a satisfied smile—sweep over her mouth, but he must have imagined it, because when he looked at her again her lush lips were closed in a straight line.

“Is that what you’re wearing in the water?” he asked, gesturing to her shorts and halter.

This time she did smile. “I’ve got my suit underneath.”

She jumped up from the chair and reached for the tie that held her halter together. Quickly, she undid the knot and pulled the top over her head. The second she did that, not only did thick cotton fill his entire mouth, but a rush of heat pooled in his groin.

A string bikini. She wore a fucking string bikini.

He tried not to stare, but his foolish eyes kept darting toward her chest. Small, perky breasts barely covered by the tiny green triangles of her bikini top. He was pleased to see that he’d been right—the corset
had
made her breasts appear larger.

But those small luscious mounds still looked just as inviting.

“Here.”

He unglued his gaze from her, wondering if she’d caught him staring. If she had, she didn’t comment on it, just handed him a tube of sunscreen and flopped down on the chair, offering her back to him.

He stared at the flimsy string at her back and noted that he could probably tear it off with his teeth with no trouble.

Josh’s sister.

“That’s the only thing I hate about living on the beach,” she said. “My skin is far too sensitive. Two minutes in the sun and I turn into a tomato.”

The sensitive comment stayed in his head. He wondered which parts of her were most sensitive. Her lips? Her nipples?

“Luke? The sunscreen?”

He forced his mind out of his swim trunks and unscrewed the cap of the tube. Squirting a glob of sunscreen into his hands, he rubbed his palms together and stared at her golden skin.

He took a breath.

Then he touched her.

The second he made contact with her delicate shoulder blades, a jolt of electricity coursed through his body and settled in his crotch. Damn, her skin felt like silk.

“So, are you still with the same bodyguards-to-the-rich-and-famous agency?”

It was impossible to hold a normal conversation while his hands rubbed sunscreen on her back. He managed a short, “Uh-huh.”

Ellie suddenly leaned back, filling his palms with more of that soft skin. “Mmmm, that feels good. You should give up life as a bodyguard for a career as a masseur.”

Josh’s sister. Josh’s sister.

The mantra grew louder in his head, desperate, as he fought back a barrage of sensual thoughts.

You think this feels good? Well, come to bed with me. You’ll feel even better.

He swiftly dropped his hands from her back and wiped the excess sunscreen on his own chest. Okay, this was bad. Normally he exercised a hefty dose of restraint, yet in the past few seconds, he’d lost every bit of control he’d ever managed to maintain around Ellie.

“Okay, all done.” His voice sounded too high to his ears, and he cleared his throat. “Let’s go for that swim.”

Cold water. That’s what he needed. Being submerged in cold water would shoot some sense into him.

Ellie stood up and flashed him another endearing smile. “Thanks for doing my back. Let me just get my legs before we go in.”

She wiggled out of her denim cut-offs, revealing a pair of green bikini bottoms. He almost sighed with relief. High-cut, but modest. He could handle these bottoms, no problem.

He watched as she slathered sunscreen on her bare legs, and then tossed the tube on the sand.

“I’ll race you,” she said with a grin.

He was about to accept the challenge and start dashing down the sand, but the second she took a step forward, all the breath sucked out of his lungs with one swift whoosh.

She was wearing a thong.

“Are you coming?” She broke into a slow jog, smiling at him over her shoulder.

All he could do was stand there, stare at her ass and will away his erection.

This was really bad.