Hypnotic Seduction (The Seduction Series) (29 page)

He filled the Olympic-size bathtub for the two of them and washed every inch of her, all the while telling her how much he wanted her. No amount of hypnosis could ever make her appreciate the lush body God gave her the way his eagerness to touch her did. The wonder in his blue gaze when he looked at her naked and the reverence in his caresses made her feel like the most cherished, desirable woman in the world.

After the hours of passion they shared the night before, his desperate urgency excited Hannah like nothing else ever had.

How had she ever convinced herself she could go to bed with him and not get her heart broken? Thankfully, the water droplets on her face had kept Jordan from noticing her heartbreak over the thought of never being with him like that again.

Now, as traffic zoomed by them on Route One, she traced his lips with her index finger. He captured it between his teeth and sucked the tip into his mouth, releasing the kind of heavy breath usually associated with regret.

“What are you thinking?” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his neck.

“That you look very sexy in that dress with your hair loose.”

She’d worn a simple turquoise knit sundress with spaghetti straps and sandals to go sightseeing that afternoon in the sweltering heat. The humidity and Donovan’s expert haircut had turned her wild mane into a mass of ringlets.

“Liar,” she murmured. “Your eyes are closed. You can’t even see me.”

“Okay. But that’s all I’m willing to cop to.” His eyelids slowly lifted, and he stared into her eyes. “That dress turns me on big time. It’s tight in all the right places, and I especially like that the bra is built into it so you don’t have to wear anything under it.”

The stretchy knit sheath was one of the few outfits that fit her irregular figure without alterations. “The manufacturer didn’t make it that way so I’d be naked under it. It was so my bra straps wouldn’t show.”

“Well, your bra straps are the only things that
don’t
show in it.”

No joke. The shelf bra had turned out to be no more than a thin tricot liner, which didn’t offer much support to the
well-endowed
. That afternoon when she’d seen a big-busted
blonde
wearing a low-cut dress similar to hers, Hannah couldn’t help noticing how obscene the braless bimbo had looked despite that her youthful boobs had yet to sag. As she’d glanced up at the woman’s face, she suddenly realized the stacked
blonde
was actually her own reflection and her heart nearly stopped. She’d immediately decided she would never wear the sundress again.

He brushed his thumbs over the crests of her breasts, and they popped up in response. “The sight of you like this makes my mouth water like a kid with a theater-size box of
Jujyfruits
. All I can think about is sucking them.”

Sure enough, her nipples swelled even more under the thin knit until she looked as if she were smuggling two fat gumdrops in her bodice.

“No wonder the waiter kept staring at me in the Chinese restaurant.” As chilly as the air-conditioning had been, she must have looked pornographic. “Please tell me I haven’t been traipsing around Washington all afternoon with my nipples poking out.”

“No. Believe me, if you’d looked like that, you would’ve been wearing my shirt faster than you could say, Smithsonian Institute.” He drew a tight circle around the tip of her breast with his finger. “Either that or I would’ve locked us in an empty restroom and ravished you.”

“What do you mean?” She slapped his chest. “That’s exactly what you did.”

“Oh, yeah.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I forgot. Seriously, I don’t want you to wear this in public again.”

“That’s not for you to decide, pal. And at some point, I expect you to give me back my panties. That’s the second pair you’ve stolen.”

“Unh-uh. I like knowing you haven’t got a stitch on under your dress.”

“You know....you don’t sound as if you’re ready for our fling to end any more than I am.” She swung her leg over him and straddled his lap. “In fact, I’d bet that’s what you were thinking a few moments ago.”

He slid his hands under her dress and cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples. “So what if I was? It doesn’t change anything. We agreed this has to end after today.”

Hannah didn’t want to think about that. “Our date isn’t over yet.” She stripped his polo shirt over his head and exposed his muscular chest. “You still haven’t given me the spanking I earned.”

“No. I haven’t, have I?” Smiling, he gently swatted her bare fanny. “I can’t believe how much I need you. You make me feel seventeen, again.”

“A seventeen-year-old boy wouldn’t be wasting time talking right now.”

While she tore at his fly, he dug a condom out of one of the limo’s compartments and then stroked her into a frenzy of need. With her hands trembling, she rolled the protection onto him.

He squeezed her bottom and lifted her over himself. “One last time, please.”

“Definitely. I paid three thousand dollars for you.” She smiled down at him. “I plan to get every penny’s worth.” Closing her eyes, she eased down on him, moaning. She loved how he filled her emptiness and stretched her so wonderfully.

“Damn it.” He groaned. “I’m in the middle of making love to you, and all I can think about is doing it all over again.”

She smiled to herself. And over, and over....

“But you know this has to end between us, don’t you?” he whispered.

“I know.” Except, if she had anything to say about it, he would be seducing her again. Very soon.

jeal•
ous
 adj. 1. Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position. 2. a. Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious. b. Inclined to suspect rivalry.

Nothing makes a man act more unreasonable or cranky than a vicious attack of the green-eyed monster
.

The executive suite’s outer doors opened Thursday evening while Hannah was locking the filing cabinets for the night. Jordan rose from his desk, wandered out to her office, and discovered one of the food service workers waiting next to her desk, wearing a navy polo shirt rather than his usual white cafeteria uniform.

“How’s it
goin
’, Sir.” The stocky man extended his hand.

Jordan shook it, sifting through his memory for the fellow’s name. All he could think of was Sylvester Stallone. Probably because, the
guy
reminded him of the actor in his youth, right down to his Rocky Balboa accent. “Good. How’re you—uhh....”

“Hank. Hank
Stanzione
.”

Stallone,
Stanzione
. He’d been close.

“We’re going to dinner and a movie tonight,” Hannah explained.

She was dating this Neanderthal? No, she couldn’t be that desperate. “You two have a good time.” He glanced at Hannah and jerked his head back toward his office. “Can I have two more minutes before you leave?”

“Sure.”

After she preceded him into his office, he closed the door. “Please don’t tell me you’re interested in that loser.”

“Why not? Hank’s got a great sense of humor, and he’s very sweet to me.”

“He’s built like a tree stump and probably has about as much class as one.” The thought of the man putting his dishpan paws on Hannah made Jordan cringe. “Let me guess. You’re going out for pizza before the movie?”

The blush in her cheeks said he was right. “I love pizza. Not everyone can look like God’s gift to women or afford five-star restaurants.”

“Hannah, he’s not right for you. You can do better than a cafeteria worker with a high school education.”

“You’re a snob. Hank’s going to culinary school at night.”

“I’m not a snob. I just know how intelligent you are, and you have nothing in common with that
guy
. I know how much he makes, and believe me he can’t afford to support a family. The man probably still lives with his mother.”

“So what if he does?” She strolled over to the plants behind his desk and pinched a few dead leaves and flowers off them. “It’s only because his mom has multiple sclerosis and she needs extra help.” She spun around and pointed at him. “And you should talk. You’re thirty-eight, and you still live with your
grandfather
. What’s your excuse?”

“It’s not the same thing. I can afford to buy my own home anytime I feel like it. Can he say the same?”

“Listen—” She tossed the dead foliage into his wastebasket. “It’s clear you’re suffering from a raging case of
you
don’t want me, but no one else should have me, either
, syndrome.”

All right, so maybe he was. Just the thought of her kissing anyone else twisted his gut in a knot. “You know I want you. More than any woman I’ve ever known.” He glanced down at her feet. “Damn it, just seeing your toes all day gets me hot. But you’re just as well aware of why we can’t get involved. I hate to see you settle for less than you deserve.”

“I’m not the one reneging on our no-strings deal, Mr. Calder. You are by butting into my love life. So unless you’re willing to change your position and have a real relationship with me, don’t presume to tell me whom I should or shouldn’t date. It’s none of your damn business.”

Except, fair or not, he wanted everything about her to be his business.

“Fine.” He lifted his hands in surrender. “Just remember if you become a couple, you’ll be known as Hank and Hannah—which is only slightly less corny than Jack and Jill.”

~*~

“Thank you. I had a really great time tonight.” Hannah turned and inserted the key into the lock on her apartment door.

Hank joined her on the wide cement step. “Me, too. In fact, I’d like to do it again next week.”

Inasmuch as she’d had fun that night, she didn’t want to give him the erroneous impression she was interested in getting serious with him. Jordan was right, she really didn’t have all that much to talk about with Hank, and the fact she earned a lot more than he did seemed to bother him a lot. He’d become extremely defensive when Hannah tried to pick up the check for their ice cream sundaes after the movie.

“Things are really crazy at work right now with the pediatric conference coming up, and I’ve already got a couple of other dates planned next week. Maybe later in the month, you can ask me again.”

“Sure. I understand.” As he leaned in to kiss her, she turned her face slightly so his mouth brushed just the corner of hers.

“Thanks again.” She slipped inside and heaved a deep sigh, noticing the phone’s call light blinking on the end table.

There were no messages, so she checked the caller ID and counted fourteen calls from Jordan’s number in the last ninety minutes. When the phone immediately rang and his number appeared on the display again, perverse satisfaction and hope rushed through her. Maybe the CD was actually working.

As soon as she picked up the receiver, he snapped, “Where have you been? It’s after midnight.”

“We went out for coffee after the movie and talked for a while.” She winced, recalling how superficial Hank’s conversation had been. “Did you need something?”

“Yeah....
ummm
—what’d you do with the clinical trial results for the
Ardegent
cream?”

She stifled a chuckle over his bogus excuse for calling. “I put the file in your briefcase just like you asked me to.”

“Oh, right. Here it is. I don’t know how I missed it.”

“So if that file was important enough to call fourteen times, why didn’t you just dial my cell phone? Or you could have left a message for me to call you back.”

“How’d you
kno
—”

“Caller ID, Jordan. As I’m sure you know, seeing as you called here only three minutes ago, I just walked in the door.”

“Oh.
Uhh
....” The line fell silent while he obviously tried to dream up a plausible explanation for fourteen calls.

“You were checking up on me.”

“Did you have fun tonight?” he asked, ignoring her accusation.

“I had a wonderful time.”

Of course, having pizza for the first time in six months and seeing a blockbuster hit had more to do with her enjoyment than the less-than-scintillating company.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to go to bed.”

“Is Stallone—er—
Stanzione
still there?”

She opened her mouth to blast Jordan for insinuating she’d be willing to jump into the sack with a
guy
so easily, then snapped it shut. Let him wonder. Her outrage would only put the big oaf’s mind to rest.

“Whether he’s still here or not is none of your business.” Hannah hung up the phone, and twenty seconds later, it rang again. She snatched up the receiver and drew an unsteady breath before launching into him. “Jordan, just because we slept together doesn’t give you license—”

“So there
is
something going on between you two.” Her mother laughed in her ear.

“Candace. H-How are you?”

“Fabulous. My agent just negotiated a small part for me in Ron Howard’s next film.”

“Congratulations. I suppose that’s why you stood me up on Monday night.”

“Actually it is,” Candace admitted. “I had to fly to LA at the last minute.”

“And you couldn’t call?” Hannah asked pacing the length of the living room.

“It slipped my mind. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“I’ll think about it,” she muttered in a begrudging tone.

“Also, I just got an invitation to a pre-production party from Ron, and when I was checking my calendar, I realized I’d forgotten your birthday, too. I’m so sorry.”

“No, you’re not. Nor did you
forget
my birthday or our dinner plans, so you can cut the repentant-mother act.”

“Why would you say something so nasty?”

“Because it’s true. Admit it. My birth changed your entire life. It’s not a date you’re likely to forget. You waited until now to call so you could rub salt in the wound and remind me of how low a priority I am to you.”

Candace gasped. “What’s gotten into you lately?”

“Nothing. I simply refuse to let you hurt me anymore. I love you, and I want to spend time with you,” she quoted Jordan’s words, “but I don’t need to see you to be happy. I’m tired of the games.”