Lethal Exposure (5 page)

Face it. You’re not pretty enough for him. I mean come on, take a look at the man. He’s sexier than any male A-list celebrity.

“No,” he reiterated.

“Why not?” she asked and the minute the question was out of her mouth she was wishing she could suck it back in. She did not want to hear him say what she already suspected. He probably dated movie starlets for heaven’s sakes. What had she been thinking?

He folded his napkin, laid it on the table beside his plate and signaled the waitress for their check. “Because you’re a good girl trying too hard to go bad.”

He’d pegged her dead-on. He was too perceptive. “What makes you say that?”

“For one thing, you blush too much.”

“Bad girls blush.”

“Not so much. And it’s more than just the blushing. It’s also in the way you eat sushi.”

“How’s that?”

“Tentative, but eager. And it’s in those baby-blue eyes of yours that grow wide when you’re shocked or embarrassed. Right now, they’re big as plums.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You exaggerate.”

“Not by much.”

“Okay, so what if I am a good girl looking to be bad? What’s wrong with that?”

“You can’t change who you are. You can try. You can do foolish things, but you can’t change your essence. You can’t alter your core. And you, Julie DeMarco, are a good girl.”

“So what’s the deal? Do you only have sex with wicked women?”

“I don’t have sex with women who have the potential of falling in love with me. It’s a policy of mine.”

That made her mad. She pushed back her chair. “You certainly think a lot of your own charm, Mr. Black.”

“Hey, I’m trying to protect you. Face facts, you’re Cinderella searching for your happily-ever-after ending and I’m no Prince Charming.”

Julie got to her feet. “You are the most egotistical man I’ve ever met. What on earth makes you think I’d fall in love with someone like you?”

“You’re a romantic.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“You wear pink scrubs with red hearts on them.”

“And you wear designer suits and Gucci shoes and rent expensive sports cars when you’re out of town. What are you overcompensating for?” She dropped a purposeful glance at his lap, insinuating he was not well-endowed. It was a low blow. She knew it, but she didn’t care.

“If you’re trying to crush my ego,” he said, getting to his feet, “it won’t work. I’m confident in my masculinity.”

She snorted and gathered up her purse. This lunch had not turned out the way she’d expected.

“Julie,” he said.

She didn’t want to answer him, but politeness forced her to turn back toward him. “Yes?”

“It’s okay to be yourself. Don’t let other people’s opinions define who you are,” he said.

“I’m not,” she denied, but that was exactly what she was doing.

“DO YOU THINK I let other people’s opinions define who I am?” Julie asked Vanessa as they struck a cobra pose on side-by-side yoga mats in the exercise room at Confidential Rejuvenations’ health club. Two days had passed since her humiliating luncheon with Sebastian and she couldn’t stop thinking about him or what he’d said.

You’re a good girl trying too hard to go bad.

Well, what was so wrong with trying hard to change things? She was a big believer that if your life wasn’t working, it was up to you to fix it. That’s what she’d been attempting to do when she’d propositioned him.

“Does this question have anything to do with Sebastian Black?” Vanessa asked, tipping her body in perfect alignment as the instructor told them to push up into downward-facing dog.

“Why would you ask that?”

“You’ve been moody ever since your lunch date with him and that’s not like you at all,” Vanessa said on an exhale of air. “What on earth did the man say to get you so agitated?”

“I’m not agitated,” Julie denied, struggling to keep up as the instructor had them move into warrior pose.

“Come on, what’d he say?”

Julie inhaled sharply, out of rhythm with the rest of the class. “He said I let other people define who I am.”

“This is in response to…”

“I propositioned him.”

“You did what!” Cool, smooth Vanessa lost her balance and tumbled over.

“Is there a problem in the back of the class?” asked the instructor.

Vanessa waved a hand. “We’re okay.”

“I asked him if he was interested in a fling with me and he said no.”

“Ooh, serious ego blow. Did he say why not?”

“Yeah, he gave me that line about not letting other people define who I am and he said I was a good girl trying too hard to go bad.”

“He’s got a point.” Vanessa stretched.

“He said he didn’t want me falling in love with him. As if!”

Vanessa clicked her tongue. They were both out of step with the rest of the class now. “He’s got you pegged.”

Julie gave up all pretense at trying to do yoga and sank her hands on her hips. “You don’t think I’m capable of having a no-strings-attached affair?”

“Come on, you’re the queen of romance. You kept all the homecoming mums from high school, you have a hope chest and a hundred stuffed animals on your bed.”

“That is a clear exaggeration. I only have four stuffed animals.”

“That’s four too many for anyone over the age of sixteen.”

“They have sentimental value.”

“Hence my accusation that you’re the queen of romance.”

“You’re right.” Julie smacked her forehead with a palm. “I am a hopeless romantic, and I’m trying to rectify it, but Sebastian Black won’t cooperate.”

“Actually,” Vanessa said, “I think it’s kind of sweet that he doesn’t want to hurt you. Most guys would just take you up on your offer and not care if you got your heart trampled.”

Julie rolled her eyes. “He’s assuming a lot about me.”

“You gotta admit, he’s pretty dead-on.”

“Am I that easy to read?”

“Yep. Remember there are other guys in the world.”

“Maybe so, but Sebastian’s the one who turns me on.”

The yoga instructor cleared her throat. “Are you sure there’s not a problem back there?”

Julie rolled up her mat.

“Hey, where are you going? We’ve another fifteen minutes left in class.”

“You soldier on.”

“Hang on, I’ll come with.” Vanessa rolled up her mat and trotted after her. “Jules, come on, don’t get your feelings hurt.”

“My feelings aren’t hurt,” she denied as they walked out of the class together. “I’m just feeling…”

“What?”

Julie sighed. “Like I’m missing out. I’m tired of being a good girl. I want to have fun. I want to be wild and reckless and naughty.”

“No one’s stopping you.”

Julie met Vanessa’s eyes. “Okay, so what should I do about Sebastian? How do I get him to crack?”

Vanessa grinned. “He’s a guy. It shouldn’t be that hard. Just seduce him.”

“Um…how?”

“What do you mean how?”

“I’ve never seduced a guy before.”

“Seriously?”

Julie shrugged. “What can I say? I never felt the need to seduce anyone before now. Roger and Phillip both pursued me with the full-court press.”

“I can’t believe you’ve never seduced a guy. Have you ever done a striptease?”

“No. Will you help teach me what I need to know?”

“Chica,” said Vanessa, who used to be an exotic dancer before she went to medical school. “You’ve come to the right place.”

HIS CAMPAIGN was no good.

Morosely, Sebastian sat propped up in bed, staring at the PR plan on his computer screen that he’d created for Confidential Rejuvenations. It stunk like month-old garbage and the hell of it was he had no idea how to fix it. He’d already rejected over two dozen ideas.

It was Thursday evening and he was holed up in his hotel room. It had been two days since his ill-fated lunch with Julie. Two eternal days in which he could not get her out of his mind long enough to effectively do his job. No woman had ever derailed his concentration like this and he was mystified.

Repeatedly, he kept replaying what had happened in the sushi restaurant. How he’d kissed her without even considering the consequences. How his body had hardened and his heart had galloped and he’d felt…overcome.

Then he thought about how she’d asked him to become her lover and he’d turned her down. What was the matter with him? He’d never turned down a willing, single woman in his life.

He’d wanted to accept her offer. He’d ached to scoop her up in his arms and carry her off to some place and have his way with her. But if he were being completely honest with himself, he’d have to admit, she scared the living hell out of him.

The arc of sexual electricity between them was so strong, it could power a medium-sized city for a year. He’d never experienced anything like it and he couldn’t decide what it meant. He’d just known he couldn’t make love to her.

Not when he was feeling so susceptible.

Coward.

Hey, better to be a coward than to end up…what? What was he afraid was going to happen if he had sex with her?

He’d never been so inarticulate in his life, but when it came to the sensations Julie stirred in him there were simply no words.

Chuffing in a deep breath, he ran a hand through his hair and stared at his computer screen. Why couldn’t he concentrate? Why did all his ideas feel flat? How come every time he tried to visualize a blockbuster spin campaign, he saw Julie’s arresting features instead?

Face it, she’s got you so horny you can’t think straight.

Dammit. He had to stop this. But how?

Make love to her. That’ll get her out of your system.

But were the potential complications worth the risk? She could deny it all she wanted, but Julie DeMarco was the happily-ever-after type. The sort you brought home to Mama for Thanksgiving dinner. For some reason she was trying too hard to act wild. Her motivation was what concerned him most. Why had she propositioned him out of the blue? Was she trying to get back at a boyfriend?

So what if she was? Revenge sex could be pretty damned hot.

Sebastian looked at the crumpled papers all around him, thought of the PR campaign that was going nowhere and realized he didn’t have much of a choice.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Grateful for the distraction, he put his laptop aside, got up and went to answer it. He found a bellboy standing in the hallway. “Yes?”

“Package for Mr. Black.”

He took the big box, gave the guy a generous tip and lugged it into the room. His name and room number were written on the box, but that was it. No return address.

Curiosity had him cutting the ribbon and ripping off the brown paper wrapping. He took off the lid and peered inside. He laughed at the pair of black cowboy boots, matching black Stetson and a brand-new lasso.

At the bottom of the box was a folded note.

I’m naughtier than you could ever guess, cowboy. Wear this outfit and meet me at Lone Star riding stables adjacent to Confidential Rejuvenations on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. That is if you have the balls.

Instant sweat popped out on his forehead as heat licked through his belly. Sebastian flipped the note over searching for a signature, but instead of a name he found the following postscript.

PS—Expect the unexpected.

Julie’s rousing postscript ricocheted through Sebastian’s mind. Did she have any idea how seductive those words were? His interest was provoked, his curiosity piqued, his desire for sexual adventure fueled. His entire body tingled with heightened awareness.

He thought about the kiss they’d shared in the restaurant. The memory escalated his anticipation. He had three condoms tucked into his shirt pocket. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been this crazed with lust.

This woman was a lot more complicated than first impressions led him to believe.

It was just before ten o’clock on Sunday morning and Sebastian paced the visitors’ parking lot of the Lone Star riding stables. He had learned from his research on Confidential Rejuvenations that the hospital had a contract with the riding stables to provide therapeutic recreation for inpatients undergoing treatment, and Confidential Rejuvenations’ employees were allowed to ride for free. In exchange, the stable owners got discounted health care.

He wore the outfit Julie had sent. Black cowboy boots, Stetson, lasso slung over his shoulder. Plus, he’d added jeans and a Western shirt he’d bought at his hotel’s gift shop. He felt like a big dork, but no one had paid the slightest bit of attention to him, so maybe he blended in better than he thought.

In the green pastures of the expansive paddock, well-cared-for horses grazed. The animals made him think of his childhood and thinking of his childhood made him antsy. He’d traded fields for asphalt for a reason.

Five minutes passed.

He paced the parking lot. Where was she? A flick of his wrist and he checked his watch. She’d said ten. He was sure of it. He pulled the note out of his wallet to double-check. Yep, 10:00 a.m. It was now eight minutes past the hour.

Another couple of minutes passed and he fretted that she’d stood him up.

Had she stood him up?

The knot in his stomach tightened. Sebastian had never been stood up in his life. Was she intentionally making him wait? Heightening the anticipation?

If that was the case, she’d hit the nail on the head. His self-control shredded.

Or had she simply chickened out?

As Sebastian was about to reach for his cell phone and give her a call, she pulled in to the parking lot in her fuel-efficient hybrid car—that Linc’s fiancée would approve of—and got out.

One look at her and Sebastian lost his breath.

She was dressed in fawn-colored jodhpurs and black paddock boots, and she carried a riding crop. The sight of her looking all Lady Chatterley caused the muscles along his shoulders to twitch.

As if in a trance, famished for sex, the raw scent of stable combined with her feminine essence threw him back to his youth. To his first sexual experience. He’d lost his virginity on the commune. To one of Aunt Bunnie’s hippie friends. He’d been sixteen, the woman a good twenty years older. He’d gone into the barn that day a boy and walked out a man.

Sebastian’s attention locked on her. Adrenaline fused with testosterone. The combination charged through his veins like an infection, blasting him with a feverish heat.

She strutted right past him.

Ignoring him.

For a second he felt slighted and then he realized it was all part of her seduction.

Expect the unexpected.

Mesmerized, he turned and followed her.

She opened the gate and walked up to the stable entrance, where an older woman in faded blue jeans was tying a quarter horse to a circular walker.

“You wanna ride?” the woman asked, eyeing her attire.

“May I look at the horses first?” Julie asked. “I work at Confidential Rejuvenations and I was told I could select my own mount.”

“Sure.” The woman shrugged. “Have a look around.”

“Thanks,” Julie said.

Then the woman caught sight of Sebastian. He watched her eyes light up as she raked a glance over him and said in a husky voice, “How ’bout you, cowboy? You ready to ride?”

Sebastian jerked a thumb at Julie. “I’m with her.”

The woman looked sorely disappointed. “I’ll be up at the bunkhouse. Just give me a holler when you folks pick out your steeds and I’ll saddle ’em up for you.”

“Thank you.” Julie nodded and sashayed into the large, clean stables.

Watching her ass sway in those jodhpurs hardened his cock. Surely she didn’t intend for them to have a tryst right here in the stables in broad daylight.

Did she?

The barn smelled of fresh paint, horses and hay. They passed the tack room containing saddles, bridles, ropes and other riding equipment. Ahead of him, Julie was flicking the riding crop as if she knew precisely how to use it. His skin stung just thinking about it and, although he wouldn’t have believed it possible, he got even harder.

From the stalls came the sound of horses chomping their feed. Julie peeped in one stall after another, murmuring to the animals. She still hadn’t spoken a word to him and her mysterious air was shooting his lust to a whole new level. After they’d past the first set of stalls, Sebastian trailing behind her, Julie stopped and pulled a pair of gloves from her hip pocket. Slowly, she worked her fingers into the expensive, supple leather.

Sebastian bit down on his bottom lip to keep from groaning.

She paused at the next stall. “Well, hello there, handsome,” she cooed. “Would you like a sweet treat?”

The horse nickered.

Julie drew a sugar cube from her breast pocket and held it out to him. With surprising gentleness, the stallion took the sugar cube from her palm.

Sebastian moved closer.

Julie turned her back to him and headed up a stairway leading to the hayloft. The riding boots she wore made provocative scraping noises against the wood.

He threw a glance over his shoulder. The woman in the faded jeans was no longer in sight. Except for the horses, the stables were empty, but he knew anyone could walk in at any time. The thought had his balls drawing up tight against him.

Julie disappeared into the next level of the barn.

Sebastian made a beeline after her. His heart suddenly thumped so loudly he feared the noise of it would echo throughout the stables and alert the staff to the sexual shenanigans afoot.

Once he was inside the hayloft, Sebastian had to pause and let his eyes adjust to the dimness. The only light came from the stairway they’d just tracked up and one small, narrow window at the top of the loft.

He blinked. Where was Julie?

After a couple of seconds, he spotted her. At the very back of the loft, lounging on a pile of hay, her fingers slowly undoing the buttons of her shirt, a wicked smile on her sweet face.

Excitement twisting his gut, Sebastian said, “Julie, you’re so freakin’ hot.”

Her smile widened and she lowered her eyelashes. “My name isn’t Julie. You may call me Lady Chatterley, stable boy.”

All the blood left his brain, rushed headlong into his groin. He went to her and dropped to one knee. “Your wish is my command, mistress.”

She undid the last button, allowing her blouse to fall open to reveal a lacy pink bra, then she picked up her riding crop and slapped it softly against her gloved palm.

“Take off your pants,” she commanded. “And lie down.”

His hand trembled with excitement. Her feminine scent teased his nostrils. Her challenge provoked him. His muscles tensed. Her seduction was almost more than he could stand.

Their gazes struck, sparked.

Sweat rolled down his neck.

Julie’s pupils widened. She flicked out her tongue to moisten her lips.

Was it his imagination or was she breathing as heavily as he?

It didn’t matter where they were, or that they could be interrupted at any time. They could have been on the moon. They could have been in the middle of rush-hour traffic. He was aware of nothing except her.

As reckless as it might be, he had to have her or go mad.

Suddenly, he realized how little he knew about her, but it really didn’t matter. In fact, the mystery of her only escalated his need.

He’d never felt a thrill quite like this. Not when he was grandstanding in front of the media. Not when he was boldly salvaging a client’s reputation. Not when he was speeding on the Pacific Coast Highway in his Ferrari.

This was an adventure.

The blood pumping hotly through his veins shoved him into action. He shucked his boots and pants and looked over at her.

She cracked the whip.

Goose bumps fled up his arms. On the level below them they could hear horses moving around in their stalls, bumping against their enclosures.

His mind spun. What would she do next? Her audaciousness stirred him. What else did she have in her bag of tricks?

The taste of his escalating desire spilled into his mouth, raw and peppery. He couldn’t stop looking at her. Her blue eyes shone with desire. Her long blond hair swung loose as she propped herself up on one elbow so she could look up at him.

The wanton expression in her eyes slammed his libido into fifth gear. He dropped onto the floor beside her. Slowly she licked her lips, and then moved to straddle him.

Hormones, blazing and powerful, shot to his groin. The circuitry of his brain fired, sending hungry electrical impulses to his nerves, his muscles, his every cell.

Ah, Lady Chatterley tasted of peppermint and red-hot passion. She slipped her tongue between his teeth.

He opened his mouth.

Their tongues waltzed. First she was the instigator, stealing his breath, numbing his mind, but then he took over.

He reached up to slide his hands up her waist to her breasts, pushing his fingers underneath her bra to lightly pinch her nipples until they beaded hard as pebbles.

Lady Chatterley hissed in her breath. “Yesss.”

He grinned, happy to have elicited such a response. He raised his head to draw one of those hot little nipples into his mouth. She tasted like heaven.

Gently, he flipped her over onto her back. He peeled off her boots and by the time he was done, she’d already plucked off the gloves and was unzipping her fly, fumbling at the buckle of her brown leather belt. He grabbed her at the waist and she lifted her hips as he pulled off the jodhpurs along with her pink thong panties.

When her pants were off, she lay back against the hay, clothed only in the pink lace bra. He splayed a palm across the tautness of her flat belly, just above the beautiful golden triangle of hair at her pubis.

He gazed into her eyes, looking, really looking at her. What delicate skin. What fine bone structure. Up next to her refined features, her petite body, he felt like some giant peasant. She was cut from the most expensive cloth, he from a burlap bag, and he worried that he might hurt her.

“It’s not fair.”

“What’s not?” he asked, mesmerized.

“I’m naked and you’re not. I want to see your body, Sebastian.”

He wrestled out of his shirt and whipped off his Stetson.

But he kept his underwear on, just to tease.

Her eyes were beaded on his erection straining against his boxer briefs.

“Come here.” She patted a spot to her left.

He obeyed, settled into the hay beside her.

Sebastian was damned good at foreplay. He liked to play. He enjoyed taking his time. But suddenly he was at a loss. With her, he didn’t know where to begin.

“Listen, Julie…” His voice came out so tight and brittle he scarcely recognized it.

“Just kiss me, Sebastian. There’s no need to overthink this.”

He closed his lips over hers. The kiss was heated, but tentative, exploring. She opened her mouth wider and then slowly spread her legs.

Sebastian ran his hand lower. After a few minutes, as their kissing grew more urgent and he slowly stroked her golden hair, his fingers moved downward in lazy circles until he reached the warm, moist folds of her sex. She was damp with desire, but he wanted her soaking wet and begging for release.

“Mmm,” she murmured and shifted against his hand. “That feels good.”

He slipped his index finger into her.

She sucked in a gasp of air and her eyes widened with pleasure. He liked seeing what he was doing to her.

“I want to touch you, too,” she said. “Take off your underwear.”

He obeyed her and tossed his briefs away, then nestled beside her once more.

“I guess I was wrong.” She eyed him in the dim light.

“Wrong about what?”

“When I accused you of overcompensating for something.”

He had enough of an ego that her comment made him smile.

With one smooth palm, she reached down to cup his balls in her hand. Her touch felt dangerously good. Sebastian thought he was going to lose it right there. He bit down on his lip to hold back the groan rising in his throat. He closed his eyes, fighting the urge to come.

Gently, she tickled him. Her caress injected a whole new facet of awareness into their game. His mind spun. What was she up to?