Invitation to Seduction: Open Invitation, Book 1 (16 page)

“Stephen. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you to make love to me here.”

“Where then?”

“Can you wait until you take me home? I want you to make love to me in your bed. So that we can fall asleep with your cock inside me.”

He laughed, the sound almost hurting his throat. He hadn’t laughed in eight months. “I’ll walk stooped over if I have to.”

He helped her rise. She made a small sound when she saw the trolley. “Oh my God, when did he bring that?”

“Right when you were about to come.”

Her face flamed. After everything they’d done, she could still blush. Another thing he loved and cherished about her.

He took her hand. “I think it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.” Tugging on her fingers, he forced her to look at him. “I only hope he carries that picture with him until he recognizes it in his own soul mate. When he does, he’ll know in every part of his being that he’ll feel that way forever.” He stroked her cheek. “The way I know.”

He kissed her palm. “Do you believe me?”

She searched his face for an eternity. Then she smiled and whispered, “Yes, Stephen, I do.”

###

Thank you for reading. Please consider leaving a review for this book.

If you enjoyed
Invitation to Seduction
, don’t miss the next book in the
Open Invitation
series,
Invitation to Pleasure
.
Really, why was Virginia at
The Sex Club
on the eve of her wedding?

Invitation to Pleasure

Open Invitation, Book 2

Copyright 2012 Jasmine Haynes

Cover Design by Rae Monet Inc

Virginia Hansen believes she’s a three-time loser in marriage, each time confusing the passion and lust of immediate attraction for lasting love, with disastrous results. For her fourth trip down the aisle, she demands stability and companionship, without passion and lust clouding her judgment. But Virginia will soon discover that trying to harness her deep-seated sexual needs is like trying to tell a raindrop not to fall. Buried inside, Virginia has overpowering sexual desires. A man’s seduction turns her inside out. When she begins craving seduction from her new husband, her carefully constructed stable world may fall apart.

Brett Branoff has finally found the right woman. Everything in Brett’s life is about his career, even down to his choice of wife, and Virginia has the same needs and goals as he does. He’s willing to bank his sexual desires and forgo the bedroom fireworks to accommodate the perfect, self-assured, even-tempered wife. But when Brett discovers the hidden wanton beneath Virginia’s elegant business suits, everything he thought he wanted will pale in comparison to his newfound desires. Brett is soon to discover that perfunctory sex once a week isn’t enough to satisfy him, not when he knows that Virginia is capable of so much more. Now he plans on sending his wife an invitation to pleasure that she simply can’t refuse.

Excerpt

“You can call off the wedding, you know.”

That’s what she liked the least. Stacy always knew when Virginia had a bad thought and zeroed right in on the cause.

“I have no intention of calling it off.” Brett was perfect for her fourth, and last, trip down the aisle. “He’s considerate and respectful.” With hair as dark as midnight and a strong, aristocratic face, Brett was handsome, but more importantly, he exuded the strong qualities she’d been searching for in a man. “And I like him, believe it or not.”

“You talk about him like he’s a warm coat you can take out of the closet when there’s a chill.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything. Let’s talk about your criteria for marrying him.”

“The most important was that I
knew
him before I jumped into the relationship.” Brett’s company had become a supplier of Virginia’s firm eighteen months ago. She’d worked with him for a year before they even started dating. She’d ferreted out the man he was instead of jumping in headfirst with her eyes closed. This time she was not letting lust impair her judgment. “He is the most ethical businessman I’ve ever encountered.”

Stacy snorted. “Observing how he directs his business affairs has nothing to do with how he’ll act in a marriage.”

“You’re wrong on that one, Stace. How a man conducts himself in a stressful business meeting shows exactly what kind of person he is.” Brett was commanding, his temper never rose, even when one of the VPs harangued him. He had all the answers, and the ability to bring calm to a heated exchange. If she were honest, his handling of volatile situations had actually turned her on.

“It’s one element, sure. But you approached the whole relationship like you were conducting a job interview.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Oh no, I’m not. Look at what you did.” Stacy raised a hand and started keeping count on her fingers. “Five dates at fancy restaurants, each discuss your previous marriages on the sixth date, sex after the seventh date, introduce him to your friends at the three-month mark, then get engaged. It’s like an old-fashioned arranged marriage except that
you
did the arranging.”

“I just don’t want any big surprises.”

“You can’t choose a husband based on a checklist.” Stacy mimicked writing on the table. “Must be stable, check, sensible, check, handsome, check, ambitious, check, civilized, check, a good companion, check, decent bank balance, check.”

“I never asked what his bank balance was, and it’s not his wealth I care about.” She wasn’t simply being materialistic.

“No, you want security. And I understand that completely.”

She wanted a partner, not a man who became a boy the moment life threw a few curves. In her experience, when the going got tough, the so-called tough started to whine. She wanted someone to
share
problems with, a helpmate, not a hanger-on who drained her energy reserves and her savings.

“But where’s all the emotional high in that little checklist of yours, Virginia?”

Virginia shook her head. “That’s what I
don’t
want.” She had the highs, only to have them snowed under by the lows.

“Look, I know you haven’t had the best luck in men.”

“The best
luck
?” She blew out a disgusted breath. “Thanks for putting it so diplomatically, but I freely admit I used bad judgment.” She’d jumped into marriage before she really knew the man she was marrying. Not just once, but three damn times.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Stacy said sagely.

Virginia wasn’t about to go into the whole thing again. Stacy had seen her through two of the divorces. “The important thing is that Brett wants the same things I want.” Peace and companionship. He’d had an unpredictable marriage to a volatile wife, and that was putting it mildly.

“But you can’t give up fantastic sex because it wasn’t on your freaking checklist.”

The sex
wasn’t
bad. It might not be earth-shattering, but it was good enough. Brett made love the same way he entered a business meeting, civilized and controlled. She had to admit, in his bed she was a bit controlled herself. He wanted calm and serene, and that’s what she gave him. It was almost frightening to think of giving more. She might actually start expecting more, and that would make her vulnerable. In this marriage, she was not going to allow a speck of vulnerability.

But Stacy didn’t let the issue drop. “Six months, a year from now, you’re going to start wanting more. For God’s sake, Virginia, you chose to spend your last night of freedom at a sex club fulfilling your final fantasies. Don’t tell me you can live with boring, comfortable lovemaking for the rest of your life.”

Once Stacy started talking about her escapades at The Sex Club, Virginia couldn’t get the place out of her mind. It was true, she wanted a last fantasy before settling down with Brett. She just hadn’t realized Stacy would use that to needle her.

“That’s the last thing I’ll say on the subject,” Stacy said, “except this. In your quest for stability and companionship, I think you’re selling yourself short. And maybe you’re selling Brett short.” Stacy smiled, a sultry, almost knowing smile. “I’m not sure you know him as well as you think you do. I’d be willing to bet that man has hidden depths.”

“What on earth gives you that idea? Just a minute ago you said I was settling for something less than what I really need.”

“Well then”—Stacy spread her hands—“make the most of what you are getting. Despite his sophisticated, urbane facade, there’s something compelling in his eyes. Like a banked fire just waiting to rage out of control.”

“Give me a break. You couldn’t possibly have seen that.” She’d brought Brett to one of Stacy’s cocktail parties. The conversation had been polite and superficial. Stacy was imagining things.

Yet Stacy gave her a long look rife with meaning. “You’ll never know unless you give it a shot.” Then she dropped her voice to a seductive whisper. “Let him surprise you, Virginia. Let him make you burn.”

Virginia’s belly crimped. She did want to burn. But she had innumerable burn scars, and the risk of a repeat wasn’t worth it. She’d let her sexual needs dictate her actions in the past and ended up with disaster on her hands. No, she was happy with the relationship she’d established with Brett. “I’m not—”

Stacy zipped her lip. “That’s all I’m going to say. Now go enjoy the club. I know you’ve got plans.”

When they’d first decided on this sojourn, Virginia had taken the club’s number from Stacy and made her own arrangements, though she hadn’t told Stacy what they were. Nor had her friend asked, respecting her privacy, at least on
that
subject.

Stacy glanced at her watch. “You’ve only got until midnight.” Which was the time they’d agreed to meet back in the lobby. “Go before Debbie shows up.” Stacy glanced over Virginia’s shoulder. “
If
she shows up.”

“What about you?”

“I’m enjoying the sights right here.” Stacy looked pointedly at the dance floor where a woman was sandwiched between two men, her dress around her waist, one guy taking her while the other held her aloft.

Virginia’s pussy contracted. Beneath her peach suit, her silk panties dampened. If she wasn’t careful, she’d drench her skirt. Watching sex turned her on. Didn’t the idea of watching turn most people on, even if they didn’t admit it? Tonight, she’d watched enough to feel desire thrumming through her body like a vibrator on high speed.

It was time to stop watching and put her plan into action.

It was time to burn, to use Stacy’s terminology. Her last time, and Virginia was damn well going to make the most of it.

You can learn more about the Open Invitation books on
www.jasminehaynes.com
.

Invitation to Seduction

Invitation to Pleasure

Invitation to Passion

Enjoy the following excerpts and meet the author!

Twisted by Love
, Reincarnation Tales, Book 1

Revenge Sex
, West Coast, Book 1

Dead to the Max
, Max Starr, Book 1

About the Author

Have you ever wondered about past lives, reincarnation, life after death? Did you love the film
Dead Again
? If you’re a fan of contemporary romances with a dash of paranormal, then try Jasmine’s new Reincarnation Tales, sexy stories about love that never dies.

Twisted by Love

Reincarnation Tales Book 1