SweetestSeduction (2 page)

Chapter Two

It had been close, Keith thought as he climbed into the
driver’s seat, but he’d done it. She’d been seconds away from bolting, but now
it was too late. He’d considered taking her somewhere locally but decided that
farther was better. That decision was proving to be wise. The drive would give
him a chance to talk to her, to try to find out what was keeping her from him.

The radio came on when he started the car and he turned it
to a station that played a wide variety of music, but kept the volume low.

“Do you need to be back by a certain time? Do you have any
plans for today, other than work?” he asked, even though he didn’t really want
to.

“Um, no. Just work.” She was staring straight ahead despite
the fact they hadn’t gone anywhere and her view consisted only of his garage
door.

“How come you’re not going out for Valentine’s Day?” he
asked, pleased but curious. He constantly worried that some lucky bastard would
snatch her up before he had a chance to show her how good they could be
together.

“Well, I guess because no one asked.” She turned and looked
out the side window as he backed out of the driveway.

“I find that hard to believe.” She just shrugged, still not
looking at him. “When’s the last time you went out on a date?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” She didn’t
sound angry, but embarrassed. She reached up and set the rose on the dashboard,
causing his gut to clench.

“I thought that at the very least we were friends,” he said
softly.

“Yeah, well, friends don’t always get to know everything.”

“I guess not.”

He got on the 10 freeway but she didn’t even ask where they
were going. He let the silence build for a time, hoping she would break it.
Finally he reached over and picked up her hand in his. She flinched but he held
on and she didn’t retreat.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched her close her eyes,
take a deep breath and rest her head back against the seat. Amazed, he could
see the fight wash right out of her. The small hand in his gave a tiny squeeze
and he returned the gesture, a silly grin on his face. Maybe she would give the
day a chance, after all.

They made good time while most people were busy at work and
he exited the freeway in Alhambra and headed north. It was a beautiful day,
cool but clear. He loved Southern California and couldn’t imagine living
anywhere else.

“Where did you grow up?” he asked.

Valerie startled at the question, turning her head without
lifting it from the headrest. “Seattle, but we moved here when I was ten.”

“Ah, actual weather. I love it when it rains here, but only
because it’s not too often.”

“You grew up here?”

“Yep. I was a surfer dude, can’t you tell?”

She laughed. “Were you really? You don’t act like what I
think of as a surfer dude.”

“The movies,” he laughed, shaking his head. “There are all
kinds of surfer dudes. You took up riding when you moved down here?”

Months ago he’d done a shoot that involved Arabian horses in
action. When Valerie had come to his office the following week she’d stood
entranced before his photos in a way she never had with his usual fashion model
subjects. He’d done a spectacular job of catching the dancing horses, if he did
say so himself. Prying from her the fact that she’d ridden throughout high
school but not since, he’d invited her to go back to the university with him and
watch one of the public shows. He’d even offered to see if he could get a
private tour, but she’d turned him down flat and left quickly. Taking her there
had been his first idea for today’s date, but he’d changed his mind. He didn’t
want to remind her that she’d said no to the idea once already.

“Yes. My mom wanted me in some kind of after-school program
and that was the only one I was interested in.”

“How long did you stay with it?”

“Until graduation. I decided it was more important to work
that summer, to start contributing to the household. She did pretty well as an
administrative assistant but she gave up a lot of things so that she could give
me riding lessons. And she was insistent that I not have to work my freshman
year in college, so I told her I wanted to get work experience that summer. And
I did. Want to, I mean. I was ready to become an adult and to me that was part
of it.”

“But you missed it. You’ve got time now, how come you don’t
ride?”

“When’s the last time you went surfing?”

He laughed. “Excellent point. Hungry?”

“A little.”

“Me too.” He pulled into an In-N-Out Burger and got in line
for the drive-thru.

The look she gave him showed she was not impressed.

“You don’t like In-N-Out?”

“I do, but there are a few of them quite a bit closer to home.”

“I’d rather eat here than where we’re going. They don’t have
milkshakes there.”

She shook her head and ordered a regular hamburger when they
reached the speaker. He ordered a Double-Double, Animal Style for himself and
turned to her. “What kind of shake do you want, chocolate, vanilla or
strawberry?”

“I don’t need a milkshake.”

He shook his head and ordered a chocolate and a vanilla.

“Nobody
needs
a milkshake,” he answered as they
inched their way to the next window. “Wait, I take that back. Sometimes I
need
a milkshake. Right now I just want one. I think you do
need
one though.”

She looked down at herself and gave him the look again.
“Clearly not.”

Scowling, Keith paid and moved forward to the pick-up
window. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like and what I already said. I
don’t need a milkshake.”

Handing over the money, he accepted the shakes in return and
put them both in the car’s cup holders. The burgers came next and he handed the
cardboard box to Valerie. After thanking the server, he drove off.

“I know you like vanilla creamer in your coffee, so you can
have that one. I’ll take the chocolate.” He took it and sucked hard, knowing it
would be a bit thick to get through the straw until it had melted a bit. He
debated pushing the issue, then decided what the hell. “Are you implying that
you’re overweight?”

“I could lose ten pounds, but no.” She glared at him as he
was about to interrupt. “I don’t want to be stick-thin like the models you see.
But if I drink milkshakes, believe me, I’ll be going too far in the other
direction.”

“First, I work with them. I’m not entirely sure that’s what
you meant by ‘see’, so I thought I’d point that out. Second, one milkshake
today, to put you in a sweet mood, is not going to make you fat. Besides, we’re
going to be doing a lot of walking, so you’ll be working it off, I assure you.”

“You’re being a bossy ass today.”

He looked over in time to see her bite her lip at that.
Pleased that she’d relaxed enough to be in friend mode, rather than professional
mode, he suppressed a smile. “Whatever, drink your shake.”

He took a certain amount of pleasure from the fact that
though she grumbled a bit, she sat back and ate her burger and yes, drank her
milkshake. Was it wrong that he was getting as turned-on as he was frustrated?
Careful that she couldn’t see him do it, he rolled his eyes. Apparently
everything about her turned him on, even when she was being ridiculous.

Valerie debated between being irritated or charmed. It
seemed a weird decision to need to make, but apparently her life had become
weird, so there you go. She’d been pissed at him for dragging her off without
asking, pissed when he asked her why she wasn’t dating. Finally she’d had a
revelation, coming to understand what he wanted from her. Sex. It was so
obvious. He was taking their relationship to a new level. They would have sex
and then things would go back to normal. For him.

For her, sex had always been an emotional activity. She knew
people, both men and women, who saw it as an entertaining pastime until they
met the right person and emotions got involved. For her, sex without the
buildup of trust and emotional commitment had never been possible. Sometimes
she wished things were different, but it hadn’t worked out that way.

She’d been repeating the Keith mantra,
He’s just a nice
guy who really likes women. All women. That does not mean he loves all women,
just that he likes to make them feel special
, when it had suddenly occurred
to her that maybe this time she should just go with it. She already had the
emotions, feelings for Keith that were inappropriate for their business
relationship. If she gave in, let herself enjoy his seduction of her, let
herself enjoy what she hoped would be great sex, then maybe it wouldn’t be so
bad when it ended. After all, it was already painful that she was so attracted
to him and couldn’t have him. This way they could have the day, and night she
assumed, and then she could put it behind her. She’d have to stop being his
accountant, because she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to face him again.
But at least she’d have some good memories to work with until she met someone
else who inspired those feelings in her. Who inspired those damn daydreams. And
hopefully, someone who felt the same in return.

It wouldn’t occur to him that this would be the end of their
business relationship, but too fucking bad. Maybe she should warn him.

No, if he was determined to take this step without
consulting her, then he would have to endure the consequences. It was about
time that he suffered a bit too, she thought as she finished her burger. She
already knew of several businesses that could use her services but he’d have to
go through the hassle of finding a new accountant. A minor hassle, granted, but
she’d take what she could get.

Stuffing their trash into the takeout box, she sucked up the
last of her delicious shake. Who was she kidding? She’d probably line up
alternative accountants for him to interview. She was such a sucker.

“Have you ever been here?” he asked, pulling up to a parking
gate. The sign read Huntington Library. “It’s one of my favorite places.” He
held out his hand for the trash and dumped it through his window and into a can
as they drove past.

“No, what is it?”

“Some railroad guy named Huntington used to own it. He got a
lot of art and he built a lot of spectacular gardens. Now it’s open to the
public—part museum, part gardens. Over one hundred acres, I believe. You could
spend all day doing one or the other. We can do a mix.” He parked and got out of
the car, coming around to her side and waiting while she tucked the rose under
the seat so it would be out of the sun.

“Come on, you’ll love it.” His smile as he took her hand and
pulled her toward the buildings was infectious.

“All right, all right, I’m coming.”

She let him pay her admission without complaint. He seemed
to know where he was going, heading into the building on their right. Art was
something that she enjoyed but not something she sought out. Sometimes the
photos he took mesmerized her, especially the ones without unreal-looking
models. But faced with the brilliance on display here, she could only stand in
awe. They saw paintings she recognized from books and illustrated manuscripts
that were gorgeous. They saw a Gutenberg Bible from the 1400s and sculptures
that defied description.

Keith told her what he knew but never came across as
condescending or annoying. His excitement was adorable and more than once she
found herself watching him instead of the art. It was similar to the way he was
when he’d occasionally show her some of his work, but much more open, more
free. She found that their tastes varied on some things, matched perfectly on
others. It surprised her when he gave as much attention to an antique chair as
he had to an oil painting, pointing out the workmanship, the hand carving with
an enthusiasm that was fascinating.

And he touched her. Grabbing her hand to pull her to a
particular piece, leaning over her shoulder to study something she’d stopped to
examine. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t touched her before, but the situation
gave him a lot more opportunities, and he took them all as far as she could
figure. It confirmed her suspicion that he planned to make things physical
between them. Which worked out well, since every brush of his fingers brought a
tingle to her skin and made her want more.

About the time her feet grew tired, he grabbed her hand and
walked them out to a huge lawn, finding a quiet spot under a beautiful weeping
willow and urging her to lie down with him and enjoy the sunshine.

“This is gorgeous,” she admitted, though her eyes had closed
to better appreciate the February sun kissing her skin from between the swaying
branches. Parks weren’t exactly rare in Los Angeles, but her remembering to
visit and enjoy them definitely was.

“We’ve only just started. We can leave the other buildings
for another time but we should check out at least a few of the gardens. There’s
a Japanese garden, a Chinese Garden, a Desert Garden and a Palm Garden. Lots
more.”

She heard him shift so she slit her eyes open enough to see
him without turning her head. They’d been lying next to each other on their
backs but he’d rolled to his side, facing her, propped up on one elbow. She
opened her eyes all the way and looked at him.

Her heart sped up at the heat in his eyes. Apparently he was
ready to move this seduction forward. There was no keeping the hard swallow
from betraying her nervousness, but he already knew she needed encouragement.
She watched his eyes but caught the slow movement of his hand reaching toward
her.

Chapter Three

One of Keith’s fingers found her jeans-covered leg and
traced along the side seam from her waist to her knee. His gaze flicked down
and hers did as well so they both watched as the finger trailed up over her
kneecap until it was even with the center of her leg before making the return
journey. He pressed hard enough that she could feel a tingling sensation
through the heavy pants as that single digit moved up her thigh. He pressed
harder as he came to the front pocket so she could feel him pass over the
crease between thigh and groin.