Suddenly Sexy (7 page)

She broke the kiss. "I have to get it."

"No you don’t," he rasped.

"I’ll never be able to keep my mind on the task if I don’t know who’s calling." She got up and refastened her fly as she ran for the phone. "What?" she said into the receiver, half-irritable, half-anxious.

"It’s me," came Linda’s too-perky voice.

"What’s wrong? Everyone okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t they be?"

"Because you’re ringing me at," Maddie checked her watch, "quarter past eleven. Shouldn’t you be in bed?"

"Shouldn’t you?" Linda said, teasing. "Well? How’d it go? Did you kiss him? Did you do the deed?"

Almost. Maddie risked a glance back at Sam, still sitting on the couch. He’d done up his fly and was watching her with equal parts curiosity and annoyance. Damn but he was sexy with his lips swollen from kisses and a lazy, take-me smile softening his features.

It hit her like a slap to her forehead. He’d wanted her. He’d wanted to do it right there on her couch. With
her
!

Or was it Pheramour making him want her?

Crap!
Way to go, Mad, you sure know how to let reality destroy fantasy.

"Well?" Linda prompted.

Pete’s voice in the background said, "Hang up the phone and come back to bed."

"Do as your husband says for once," Maddie told her sister. "I’ve gotta go." Go and make excuses to the hottest guy in Melbourne.

He was going to think her insane. She probably was, but she couldn’t do it. Now that she was thinking properly again, she couldn’t let the evening progress any further. Not as a scientist, not as a woman, and not as a friend. She couldn’t take advantage of Sam while he was under the influence of Pheramour.

Damn, damn and crapola!

She heard Linda demand to know what had happened but Maddie said a quick goodbye and hung up. She turned back to Sam and made a big production out of yawning and stretching.

"Boy, I’m tired. Really, really tired."

Several beats passed in which he watched her from beneath lowered lids. No way did he believe her but he finally lifted one shoulder in a shrug and stood. "Guess we’ll see each other around sometime."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks for the date."

"Thanks for the ice cream." He leaned down and she thought he was going to kiss her on the cheek but instead he whispered, "and everything." His nose and lips brushed the spot beneath her earlobe as if he wanted to taste her there, smell her.

Her eyelids fluttered closed and it was all she could do to stop herself from kissing him again. The man had so much magnetism he was dangerous around metal, and women.

"Bye," he said, withdrawing way too quickly.

Her eyes flew open and she tried to pretend she was completely at ease and in control when in reality her head was spinning and her heart racing. She couldn’t let him walk out, not like this.

Yet she had to.

He opened the door himself because she was rooted to the spot. Then he was gone. She still couldn’t move. Didn’t want to. Didn’t want to break the spell of Sam Hennessy still lingering in her house. When she finally did, it was to take the empty bowls back to the sink but not before she picked up his spoon and licked it all over.

Sam was on his morning jog around the lake when he decided Maddie needed to loosen up. Something had wound her up so tight last night that she'd pulled away from the kiss. Granted, the phone had rung at completely the wrong time, but she hadn’t been willing to rejoin him on the couch and restart what the call had interrupted. She’d shut him out and turned him down cold when
he
was still hot all over.

He was going to kill Linda when he saw her next.

That was an easy decision. The big question was, what to do about Maddie. Should he confront her? No, he wasn’t a confrontational kind of guy. He could let it go, let
her
go, and get on with his life. Nope, he didn’t like that idea either. The only alternative was to pretend it didn’t happen and get right back in there. He’d distracted her once with a kiss, he could do it again.

Good plan, Hennessy
. Keep her occupied so she couldn’t think about whatever issue was stopping her from losing control with him.

He got the feeling that when Maddie Clarke lost control, she
really
lost control. He wanted to be in her life when she did it. Maybe it was her sense of humor, or perhaps it was the way they'd clicked last night, but he knew she was capable of letting her hair down and experiencing life the way she'd never experienced it before.

"Hey, Sam-my-man!" The shout came from Pete standing on the grassy open area nearby, a small football in his hand. Emily and David stood a few yards away, waving.

"Come play with us," shouted David, running towards Sam. Emily followed. Until she flopped face first into the grass.

Sam trotted over and picked her up as Pete approached.

"Thanks," he said, puffing. "Did you hurt yourself, Sweetheart?"

Emily, tears spilling down her cheeks and bottom lip wobbling, nodded. "Ow." She pointed to her knee, green from grass stains.

Sam rubbed it. "Do you think a milkshake will make it feel better?"

The tears stopped. "Chocolate?"

"Of course. Is there any other kind?"

"Not for a female," Pete muttered.

"But Dad," said David, taking the ball from Pete, "I thought we were gonna kick the footy."

"How about we play ball first," said Sam, "and have milkshakes after."

David grinned and ran off with the ball. Emily wiggled and Sam let her down to run after her brother. She fell over twice but there were no more tears.

"You're a natural at this," said Pete. "Ever thought of having any of your own?"

"Sure." Especially lately, now that he was home and his future seemed so much clearer. "I just haven't found the right woman yet." He ran after the ball that David threw too far to the left.

When he returned, Pete said, "Maybe you and my sister-in-law should get together." He snorted, apparently thinking it was a crazy idea. "Linda tells me Maddie wanted to have kids by now, but she hasn't found the right man yet."

"Really?" Sam smiled as he tossed the ball gently back. It slipped through David's hands, bounced off his shoe, and hit Emily in the chin. She stuck her bottom lip out but didn't cry. Apparently chocolate milk shakes were powerful incentives for three year olds.

"Yeah. And Heaven forbid Maddie's plan should be off-schedule. You remember what she's like."

"Not really. I remember her being smart and shy, but that's about all. Did Linda tell you I saw her last night?"

"Yeah, she said something about it. Did you bump into her?"

"Not exactly. We went on a date. Your wife thought it would be fun to set us up."

Pete took his eye off the ball and it hit his cheek. David and Emily fell on the ground laughing and Pete smiled. "Good shot, David, your aim's getting better." He tossed the ball back. "My wife set you up on a date with her little sister? I really need to talk to Linda about letting me in on her schemes before she puts her foot in it." He received David's throw and kicked it back. "So, how was it? Did you get to first base?"

"Pete, we're not in high school anymore. I don't kiss and tell now."

"Ah ha, so you did kiss her."

Sam groaned. "I've changed these last few years. I don't count a date's success by the number of bases I reached."

Pete sighed. "That's it, we've officially hit middle age. You were my last hope and look what's happened. You've gone all respectable on me."

Last night definitely couldn’t have been counted as successful. When a date left him aching all over and with a painful hard-on, it definitely couldn’t be called great. Although it hadn’t been a complete failure either. She
had
kissed him. She’d almost done so much more too.

Damn Linda and her late night phone calls.

"So are you going to see her again?" Pete asked.

Sam watched Pete and Emily both run after the ball, clash heads and fall over laughing. "Yeah," he said, smiling. "I think I will."

David ran up to them. "Hey, Sam, can we have our milkshakes now?"

"Sure thing. Ready Emily?"

Emily, hot on the heals of her brother, nodded and slipped her hand inside Sam's. "Weady. Let’th go Tham."

***

Maddie wanted to curl into a ball and die when Sam rang. How was she supposed to face him again after sharing an intimate moment then kicking him out of her house? He must think her weird at best, frigid at worst. Crap. Why couldn’t she have just put her brain aside for one night and thought with another part of her anatomy instead? The part that still throbbed when she thought about his hand down her jeans.

In the end, she managed not to curl up and die and even agreed to see him again. It was the adult thing to do. The right thing to do. It also gave her another chance to test Pheramour. No point in wasting the entire weekend.

Fortunately he wasn’t picking her up until the afternoon because Maddie needed hours to get ready. It felt like her first ever date with a boy all over again. Choosing just the right outfit, trying not to bite her nails to the quick and thinking about what to say. Except this time, her date didn't wear braces or keep a calculator in his pocket. And he was the sort of date other girls drooled over.

She tried to calm her nerves by convincing herself she was doing this in the name of science. It was just another day to test his response to Pheramour, nothing more than that. Definitely nothing more. She may not be able to test it the way she wanted to, in a controlled environment, but she could give it her best shot under the circumstances.

That’s it. No going further this time. As soon as she saw the signs, she would end the date. Like last night. No, not last night. Way, way sooner.

She was bathing in diluted Pheramour when the doorbell chimed.

Déjà vu
. The man had very bad timing. Or very good timing if seen from his perspective. He'd get an eyeful again. She hiked up the towel as best she could, clamped a hand to the swell of her breast and opened the door.

Sam smiled lazily down at her. He wore his regulation jeans and white T-shirt, a few stray forks of jagged hair falling across his forehead. He looked sexier and cooler than ever. How was that even possible?

"You're early."

"I couldn't wait." His gaze brushed across her skin where breast met towel. "I'm glad I didn't."

Face heating, she turned and led the way inside. "I'm beginning to think your timing is off on purpose."

"I'm only a man."

She headed to the bedroom where the clothes she wanted to wear for the day were folded on the end of the bed. "Help yourself to coffee," she called back to him. "I won't be long."

"You know," he said, suddenly right behind her, his voice a hoarse whisper in her ear, "you don't have to get dressed right away." His knuckles skimmed lightly down her arms and he kissed the top of her bare shoulder. "I don't mind."

Her quiver was involuntary and damn inconvenient. He must have felt it. Now he knew his touch sent her into a spin. Or was it the room that was spinning? Oh boy. If she wasn't careful she was going to lose it.

She couldn't afford to lose it—not when Pheramour was the reason behind his attraction.

The flutter in the vicinity of her heart brought her senses crashing back to reality. That was a good thing. Definitely a good thing. She could
not
let him get under her skin. Too much was at stake.

Like her heart.

"Don't," she whispered, pulling away. She heard a sigh behind her as she closed the door.

In the safety of her bedroom, she dressed in a thin pale pink push-up bra and matching, high-cut panties which she'd bought for a date nearly a year ago but chickened out of wearing at the last minute. She figured she needed to do something different in her life, just once, and since she was dating Sam Hennessy—another first in her life—she might as well
feel
sexy.

She put on a flighty, knee-length summer skirt and tight T-shirt over the lingerie and admired what expensive underwear could do for a girl's figure. She applied makeup, then took it all off. No need to encourage him too much. On the other hand, she was going out in public and she didn't want people wondering how such a plain, nerdy looking girl could snare a man like Sam.

She re-applied pale peach lipstick and black mascara then brushed her hair. It had no effect on the unruly mop. The dark curls had a will of their own and sprang out from her head at weird angles. It looked messy so she forced it straight back into a ponytail and secured it with a heavy duty hair clip. She pushed her glasses up her nose and studied her reflection. Not too bad considering what she had to work with.

"Ready," she said, returning to the living room.

Sam leaned against the bench of her adjoining kitchen, ankles crossed, mug in hand, oozing sex appeal. He drained the contents of the mug and placed it in the sink. "You look fantastic," he said approaching.

She rolled her eyes. Pheramour. "Let's go." She pushed him out the door.

"Wait." He reached out and undid the clip holding her hair. It tumbled around her shoulders. "Better."

"Really?" She touched a curl bouncing near her cheek. "I always thought it made me look like a shaggy dog."

"You're cute but you're not
that
cute."

She frowned and he caught her shoulders, pulling her gently to him. Her breasts pillowed against the hard muscles of his chest and her nipples tightened at the contact. His lips lightly brushed hers. "I was kidding."

That was a kiss. That was definitely a kiss. Oh God, Sam Hennessy just kissed her again and she had no idea what to do or say next. So she said nothing and followed him out to the car like a zombie.

"Where are we going?" she said, sliding into the Porsche’s passenger seat.

He climbed into the driver’s side but instead of starting up the car, his gaze settled on her thigh. She pulled down her skirt as far as it would go, which wasn’t far. Maybe she should have worn something longer, like a sack.

"The market," he said.

Ten minutes later they found a parking spot in busy St Kilda and joined the throng of people wandering around the market on the Esplanade. On a warm summer day like today, people flocked to the cosmopolitan area looking for a bargain but usually ended up buying junk they didn't need.

Maddie and Sam shopped, ate ice cream cones and shopped some more. The only thing Maddie bought was a wooden tray with cows painted on it. She needed a tray—the cows she could do without, but the only other choice was chickens. Sam bought five second-hand books, a broken clock, a cup without its matching saucer for his mother and a chew toy for his dog.

Maddie rolled her eyes at every purchase—he assured her he'd get around to reading
War and Peace
one day—but held back any comments until he bought the cup.

"What will your mother do with a cup and no saucer?"

He held the cup at eye level, turned it, flipped it over and studied it. "It looks like one she already owns. If she breaks the original she can replace it with this." He grinned at her. "See, I'm thinking ahead, like you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You know how you like to plan ahead."

She frowned. "You noticed?"

"Well, yeah. How could I not? You directed me here so we'd miss the traffic and you planned our route around the market so we'd hit the ice cream stand at five minutes past one when you figured you'd be hungry."

"I said
around
one, not five past. Besides, that's all logical and efficient."

"I know. Good thinking." He stood so close she could smell the citrus scent of his soap.

"Being efficient and logical is just sensible. You got a problem with that?" She couldn’t keep the challenge out of her voice even though she regretted her words as soon as she said them. Of course he’d have a problem with it. Most people would. Most people thought she was odd to plan and plot her way through life. Maybe it was odd, but it was her way. If Sam liked her less because of it then he could go to hell where all her previous boyfriends resided.

There. That sounded ballsy. Score one to Maddie.

Pity she felt like she’d lost the game.

"I wouldn't have noticed your planning fetish unless Pete and Linda mentioned it," he said.

"Oh really," she said tightly. "Remind me to thank them."

He smiled down at her and tugged on a curl. "Don't be mad at them. It's a good trait. I like a woman who knows what she wants."

So why did Maddie get the feeling he was patronizing her? Was it the teasing tone of his voice? Or the way he tugged on her curls? He and Pete used to do that all the time when she was a kid. It annoyed the hell out of her at thirteen. At thirty it drove her nuts. If Pete did it, she'd punch him hard on the arm, but it was an entirely different ball game with Sam. A game where she didn't have a clue about the rules, the opposition team or even what stadium she was playing in.