SweetestSeduction (3 page)

Such a simple thing, she could barely feel his touch, but
her leg ached, wanting to feel him more directly. She sucked in a breath as his
finger pushed the hem of her shirt up and made its way to her waistband before
finally making light contact with her hungry flesh. She held her breath,
waiting to see what he would do, but he remained motionless, the finger just
touching her bare stomach.

“Val.” His voice was husky and she brought her gaze up to
meet his. He was watching her, waiting until he had her attention before he
unfurled the rest of his fingers and splayed them across her waist. Then he
began the slow journey south again, only this time he used his whole hand. His
thumb brushed dangerously close to her zipper, then curved to the inside of her
thigh as it followed his strong fingers.

When he reached her knee he didn’t rest, just changed the
angle of his hand so that his palm ran along the inseam of her jeans this time.
Unable to look away, she watched his eyes as her pussy clenched in
anticipation. She was wet for him and he’d barely touched her, just one hand on
one thigh. In public. The thought sent a shot of panic through her as his thumb
reached the juncture of her legs and moved up her zipper until his palm cupped
her. She looked around but they were alone.

“Trust me,” he murmured. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”

His words brought her gaze back to his face. He looked so
sure, so confident.
What is he doing here, with me?
She gave herself a
mental slap. It didn’t matter why he was doing this. She was going to enjoy it
while she could and remember it for a long time afterward.

Her legs fell open a bit to give him better access, without
a direct command from her brain. She didn’t care, was happy to let her body
have its way. He growled his approval and leaned down to kiss her. He tasted
like chocolate shake. He tasted like sex and freedom from insecurities. He
tasted delicious. She gave herself to the kiss fully, letting her thoughts drift
as far away as possible so she could concentrate solely on the sensations he
brought out in her.

His tongue teased hers, inviting her to play. She took him
up on it, exploring him as she’d wanted to for so long. He pulled back before
she was ready and she whimpered, unable to stop herself.

“Shh,” he whispered, resting his head back on his hand
again. “You’re okay, just lie still for a minute.”

She was confused only for a second before she heard the
voices. A small group of people crossed the lawn near where they lay, but they
wouldn’t be able to see past his body to where his hand still cupped her.
Instead, he took the opportunity to caress her other thigh with his long
fingers before giving her a sharp squeeze with his whole hand.

She ground herself against the seam and nearly came but he
pulled away. Her gaze flew to his face, afraid she would see annoyance, but he
was breathing hard too, his eyes showing only intense pleasure at her
reactions. He leaned back down but didn’t come to her mouth. Instead, his lips
found her ear, tracing it with the tip of his tongue.

“Are you wet?”

“Yes,” she said with a shudder.

“You’re so beautiful.” His hand squeezed again, but only
briefly.

“Please,” she said, ignoring his words, concentrating on his
hand.

“Not yet,” he whispered into her ear and pulled his hand
away. “We’ve got gardens to see.”

He stood up and looked down at her. She just lay there,
staring at him in disbelief.

“You’re not being very nice.”

He grinned at that and reached down, offering her a hand.
Reluctantly she took it, letting him pull her to her feet in one smooth move.

Keith had to remind himself he was in this for the long
haul. He absolutely could not ruin things by taking her on a public lawn, no
matter how delicious she looked or how prettily she asked. Her gorgeous brown
eyes were shooting sparks at him and he couldn’t remember the last time he was
so turned-on. A quick glance to make sure nobody was watching him and he made a
necessary adjustment to his jeans. Damn, he felt as if he was being strangled.
His own fault, of course, and completely worth it, but…damn.

Val’s lips twitched and they looked at each other for a
second before bursting into laughter.

They walked through the Rose Garden and he pointed out a
rosebud the color of her lips before stealing a kiss. They enjoyed the Japanese
Garden then made their way back via the Subtropical Garden and the Shakespeare
Garden where he attempted to recite a sonnet in her honor but failed miserably,
causing the sweetest laugh he’d ever heard from her. They held hands and their
bodies bumped along together naturally. When they found themselves alone in the
Bonsai Court, he took the opportunity to kiss her again before more visitors
interrupted them.

“Tired?” he asked as they headed back to the parking lot.

“Only my feet. I’m not used to walking so much.”

He put his arm around her and she leaned into him. “Don’t
worry. No walking necessary for dinner.”

She looked at him as he opened the car door for her. “We’re
going…out for dinner?”

Part of him wanted to take her home instead, which she
clearly expected. But he wasn’t ready for that. He wanted her thinking of him
as more than just a sex buddy. Because this day was absolutely not about a
quick roll in the sack. He’d wanted her for months and was determined to have
her, but he had much more than one night in mind.

Showing her he could be a good date was a start. Ending it
with hot sex was still part of the plan of course, but he figured the night was
still young. They had the weekend ahead of them if things went according to his
plans.

He headed north to catch the freeway going east. They needed
to get back to Los Angeles, to the other side of Griffith Park, before five.

“Well, did you like it?” he asked, trying to distract
himself from the overwhelming urge to touch her some more. He was worried that
once started, he wouldn’t be able to stop.

“It was beautiful. Can you even imagine having all that
space? I wonder how much art they had when the house was actually a home.”

Her palms rubbed up and down her thighs and he hoped she was
missing their contact as much as he was. Ah hell, he was a man, damn it, he
could control himself. He reached over and offered his hand, a grin escaping
when she took it immediately. Well, that was interesting. The desire was still
there, strong and only growing stronger, but somehow holding her hand made it a
little bit easier, not harder, to control. Or rather, something was harder but
he was trying not to think about that.

She squirmed in her seat and he wondered what she was thinking.
A quick glance at him had her blushing so he figured her thoughts had turned as
naughty as his. Hell, it was time for another distraction because he sure
wasn’t moving his hand.

“I’ve never been on a horse in my entire life,” he said.

“Uh, okay,” she said, looking at him with a questioning
smile. “I’ve never been surfing.”

“You don’t say that as though it’s something you’d like to
rectify.”

“No, not particularly.” She laughed. “Although I do love the
ocean, I prefer to enjoy it from a balcony, the sand or a ship.”

“Oh yeah, I love the ocean. Wouldn’t it be great to have a
place overlooking the beach?”

“Not so easy to find these days, for less than a small
fortune.”

The off-ramp he wanted was close, so he let her hand go to
maneuver through the lanes. She left hers on his leg, opening it up to rest
against his thigh. Her thumb began a light caress and he wanted to sing
hallelujah but he managed to resist as he took the exit. As the car climbed up
into the Hollywood Hills, he crossed his arm over hers to rest his hand on her
leg instead of his. Her breath hitched in and her fingers clenched, just for a
moment.

“What, um. What would you like to do that you’ve never
tried?” Valerie asked him.

“Hmm. I would like to travel more. I’ve gone lots of places
on shoots, but I’d like to travel on my own agenda, to take more time before
and after a shoot to explore the areas.”

She nodded. “I’d like to travel. Europe, Africa, Australia.
Hell, I’ve hardly seen any of the U.S., either. I promised my mom we’d drive to
the Grand Canyon this year.”

“You and your mom are close?”

“Yeah. She can be frustrating at times, of course, but she’s
great.” The smile in her voice told him more than the words.

He pulled his hand back to the steering wheel as they passed
through some gates, and wheeled the car into a parking space on the right.
“And,” he said dramatically, “I’d like to try that horseback riding thing.”

Her mouth was open and her brows drawn in confusion. “We’re
going horseback riding for dinner?”

“I should probably leave you hanging in suspense, but I’ll
tell you. They have a group ride every Friday that takes you over the hills at
sunset. You stop at the bottom of the hill at Griffith Park and have dinner at
a Mexican restaurant and then you ride back.”

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“We’re early, let’s walk over to those trees for a bit.”

Out of the car, he made his way around to her side in time
to watch her bend over and retrieve her purse from the floor. Giving in to
instinct and desire, he put both hands on her taut ass and slid them up and
around to her hips. He heard her sharp intake of breath but she gave no other
reaction, just stood slowly upright, her purse dangling from her hand.

He let his hands slip under her shirt to feel bare, smooth
skin. It took a great deal of willpower not to move higher up, but they were
still in the parking lot, damn it. He was not going to abuse her trust by
causing her embarrassment.

Reluctantly, he dropped his hands.

“There are sweatshirts in the trunk we need to get. If you
want, you can put your purse in there. I can put your ID in my pocket.” His
voice was hoarse and when she turned around her face was flushed. She gave a
small nod and he led the way to the back of the car.

He took a San Diego Chargers sweatshirt out of the trunk and
handed it to her, pulling a Los Angeles Dodgers one out for himself. The
football sweatshirt was his favorite and a bit worn, but should be plenty warm,
and he wanted to see her wearing it. Hell, he wanted to see her wearing it and
nothing else but that would have to wait for later.

“It will get cold once the sun goes down,” he said, tying
the pullover around his waist while she removed her ID and credit card from her
purse and handed them to him. He moved to put them into his wallet and glanced
down at her license.
Holy shit.

Chapter Four

“Today is your birthday,” Keith said dumbly.

“Yeah.” Val was tying the sweatshirt around her waist and
didn’t even look up.

“We’ve just spent all day together and you never even
mentioned it.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “It didn’t come up.”

He gaped at her. When she went back to arranging herself he
forced his mind to start working again. He put his wallet away and turned back
to the trunk, using his body to block her view of the small bullet vibe and
remote he’d left in there. Clearly he needed to pull out the big guns to get
this woman’s attention.

“Oh, let me get a scrunchie.”

She nudged him out of the way, ignoring his confused look,
and leaned back in to rummage through her purse. Pulling out a hairband, she
slipped it onto her wrist. He noticed that but only barely as his attention was
focused on her ass again, until she stood up looking happy.

When they were set, he closed the trunk and led her into the
small area of trees. He wanted a little distance from the parking lot for what
he had planned, and found a nice wide tree that he led her behind. From where
he stood he couldn’t see the cars and figured they couldn’t be seen either.

“Are you having fun?” he asked, leaning his back against the
tree and pulling her gently into his arms.

“You know I am,” she answered, sounding slightly put out but
resting easily against him.

She put her head on his shoulder and he laid his cheek
against her soft hair.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

Her murmur was so quiet he almost didn’t hear her. He wanted
to yell, shake some sense into her. How could it not be obvious? He wanted her
and he knew she wanted him. What could be simpler?

“I’ve liked you for a long time. You’re the one who’s been
pretending not to understand my hints for more.”

“You spend all day with beautiful models and I’m supposed to
believe you want to spend your free time with me?”

Frustration beat at him but he took a deep breath and hoped
his voice was calm. Talking wasn’t going to convince her though, so he sent his
hands moving while he answered her question.

“I spend all day with models. Some of them are nice, many of
them are not. All of them are working and wrapped up in that, not me.” One hand
cupped her ass, the other moved up to her nape to tickle the delicate skin
underneath her long hair.

She shivered against him and he smiled. Communicating with
his hands was much easier than talking, but he would try both if that’s what
she wanted.

“I’m focused on work when I’m with you,” she pointed out.

“You’re focused on me. Maybe I’m selfish. Does it matter? I
don’t want to spend time away from work with them. I want to spend it with
you.”

His hand on her ass dipped between her thighs. He pressed
the seam of her jeans into her cleft and she gasped. One of her hands was
resting on his chest, over his heart. She began to move, sliding it up his
shoulder, tracing a line up his neck, then moving her fingers into his hair.

Her thighs clenched around his invading hand and he couldn’t
hold back a small groan. She tried not to react, he could tell. But her fingers
betrayed her, nails digging in through his shirt. Oh yeah, she was right there
with him.