eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520 Macon GA 31201 Seduction 101 Copyright © 2008 by Moira Reid ISBN: 1-60504-030-4 Edited by Heidi Moore Cover by Natalie Winters All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: May 2008 www.samhainpublishing.com
Seduction 101 Moira Reid
Dedication “Literature, the most seductive, the most deceiving, the most dangerous of professions.” –John Morley
Seduction 101
Chapter One This would be the turning point. Today, Harris was going to notice her. Julia bent at the waist, stretching her back with the effort of overcoming the additional height of her four-inch heels. She’d chosen sheer stockings and her shortest black skirt when she’d prepared her offensive this morning. She would no longer remain invisible. “What’d you drop?” Eric walked around Harris’s desk, his Gucci loafers shining with new polish. She ignored him. Pinching her pencil out of the thick carpet, she checked. Had Harris seen her flagrant come-on? He didn’t even glance up from the pile of papers in his hands. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Eric smile. He’d missed nothing. “I dropped my pencil.” She stood upright, rewarding Eric with a scowl. Harris continued to rummage through the documents. “I need the marketing figures for McArthur. The numbers we put together must be in your files, Julia. Marsha needs them right away.” Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. As much as Julia wanted the newest addition to the company to notice her, all Harris ever thought about was their boss and what she wanted. “We’ll check on it.” Eric gripped Julia’s elbow and pulled her toward the door. With a backward glance, Julia frowned as Harris continued searching his desk for the elusive information Marsha wanted. For the love of everything sacred—what had gone wrong? “What in the hell are you doing?” Eric whispered as they walked down the long hallway of Masters & Masters Advertising toward her office. His gait was too long and quick for her unsteady perch on the ridiculously high heels, but she kept up as best she could. When they finally reached her office door, he ushered her inside and snapped the door closed behind him. www.samhainpublishing.com
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“What did I just see?” “Me—passing flagrant and heading straight into inept.” “What?” “Nothing.” Julia shook her head and blew out a deep breath as she slunk around her desk and dropped into her chair. Kicking off the offensive shoes, she sighed again. Who could she talk to about this? Eric was the closest thing she had to a girlfriend, but this was too embarrassing to talk about even with him. Unfortunately, he’d been a front-and-center witness, and he wasn’t big on letting things drop. Did gay men like Eric have the same problems finding Mr. Right women did? Or more specifically, than she did? No woman wanted to go unseen by a guy she was trying to seduce, and she’d become the Amazing Invisible Woman. “I’ve known you a long time, Jules, but I can’t figure you out lately. Since when do you wear short skirts to work? And what was the move I saw back there? What’s gotten into you?” “He’s hot. I want him to notice me. What’s to figure out?” “Hot?” Eric demanded. “You gotta be kidding!” “Don’t you think he’s hot?” Eric cleared his throat and shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Maybe in some tinted-hair, tan-in-a-can way. Too plastic for someone like you, Jules.” A bitter snort of defeat sprang up from her throat. “What would you know about it? When’s the last time you were on a date anyway?” Eric’s laugh sounded more like a condemnation. “First of all, this isn’t about me, it’s about you. And second, I’ll seize the moment when the right person comes around. Now would you please tell me what in the hell you hope to accomplish by flashing your gorgeous legs at Mr. Plastic? He’s only interested in Marsha.” “Well, he could get interested in me.” Eric shook his head and dropped into one of the matching leather chairs in front of her desk. “How much longer do you intend to carry on this lame attempt at seduction?”
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“I don’t know.” She put her elbows on the desk and dropped her head into her hands. How much longer indeed? If she had any ideas left, maybe later rather than sooner, but she was fresh out. “I feel like an idiot. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Am I ugly? Come on—hit me with it, Eric. I need the truth.” Eric trained his features to give away none of the thoughts burning inside him. Was she ugly? She was the most stunning creature he’d ever known, both on the outside and the inside. Her crazy smirk, those green eyes, her wild blond hair untrainable even with the multitude of decorative clasps she wore everyday to work—all combined with a sense of humor and adventure. Hell, she was everything he wanted in a friend, a woman—a lover. Too bad she didn’t see anything comparable in him. They’d met five years ago, and not once had she treated him as anything other than a friend—she’d certainly never flashed those great legs at him. Now she had her eyes set on the most arrogant ass in the office. The world was not a reasonable place if jerks like Harris made women doubt their own beauty. “Eric?” she asked. “Is my personal humiliation taking up too much of your time over there?” “You’re not ugly,” he finally said as he watched her slender fingers fiddle with the Rock-Paper-Scissors paperweight he’d given her last Christmas. He imagined those hands wrapped around Harris’s cock but quickly shook his head to clear the thought away. Visions of her with Harris would not bolster his control. She could not end up with Harris. “Okay, what is my problem then?” She dropped the paperweight in the midst of the piles of manila folders. “Doesn’t he like blonds? Am I too something for him, or not enough something? Why doesn’t he notice me?” Eric couldn’t imagine why. She was all he could see, all he looked for when he came into the office every day. Hell, Harris was an idiot. He didn’t notice her because he wasn’t paying attention. He was too stupid or too intent on getting ahead with the boss to
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bother with Julia—an employee at his own pay scale. The man aimed higher up the corporate ladder when it came to seduction. Harris wasn’t interested in satisfying his heart, if he even had one. No, Eric decided, Harris was intent on a fast track to success, and his many unsuccessful attempts to get the boss to notice him had proven Marsha’s mind was elsewhere up the food chain, too. “What else can I do? Strip naked and parade around in front of him? What is going to make him see me?” His groin stirred as a vision of her dancing naked flashed through his mind. Eric forced his response through gritted teeth as he placed his hands on his lap. “Might be a little over-the-top.” “You’ve helped me a lot since I got here.” Julia leaned forward and pointed to the bookshelf. “And you developed every piece of training material this company uses. Why can’t you create a training manual for this?” Eric stared at her mouth as she spoke. The content of her message traveled to his brain a lot more slowly than the instant message of “luscious”. A training manual for seduction. Wasn’t that what she’d said? A training manual… The idea came to him like a gift. Yeah, why couldn’t he? “Interesting.” His mind spun with the insane thought like a Ferris wheel rider high on cotton candy. Oh, that could work. “What’s interesting?” “I’ve got the training program you need.” Julia’s sexy eyes opened wider and his heart skipped like a schoolgirl’s. What a sap I am. “What are you talking about?” “A three-day-and-night education in seduction.” Eric forced his smile to remain in check. “Put yourself in my hands, and in three days I’ll have him eating out of yours.” “Oh please. A training program in seduction? Don’t kid around. Can’t you see I’m a wreck over here?”
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The sound of her laughter was like a stroke on his cock. Damn, this had better work—his control was slipping. “I’m serious. I guarantee a man will fall all over you in three days, or your money back.” “This costs money?” She laughed again, but there was a catch in the sound. He’d finally gotten her attention. “No, but you’d have to agree to follow the training regimen, and do exactly what I tell you to do.” Her gaze turned skeptical. He rose from the chair and walked around to her side of the desk. Leaning conspiratorially over to her, he inhaled the scent of her perfume as it wafted around them both and forced himself to concentrate. “Do you trust me?” “Yeah, I trust you.” She rose from her chair and sat on the edge of the desk, her long legs stretched out in front of her. “But you’re nuts. You can’t train someone in the particulars of love! Besides, what do you know about seduction anyway? When was the last time you came on to somebody? We’ve been friends for five years, and you haven’t seduced a soul.” “Because I haven’t done it lately doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about it. Besides, what makes you think I haven’t? Ever hear of ‘don’t kiss and tell’?” “Please.” She waved the thought away with a graceful flip of her hand. “You tell me everything.” “Not everything.” Especially not what I think about you every day. “Do you want to learn how to seduce a guy or don’t you?” Julia picked up the paperweight again and nodded slowly. “Well, yeah.” “Hey.” Tempted to touch her to get her attention, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you or not? I’m not going to waste my weekend doing this if—” “All right, all right. I do, okay? But—” “All right. Find the file for Harris and I’ll take it to him. It’s almost five. We’ve got tonight, Saturday and Sunday for me to show you everything you need to know. We start as soon as I get back from Mr. Wonderful’s office. On Monday morning, you’ll be irresistible.”
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She stared at him. “Come on. Irresistible?” “Irresistible.” “What exactly do I have to do?” “Exactly what I tell you to do. I’m a professional trainer, Julia. I know what I’m doing.” He moved past her, catching another breath of her ambrosial perfume and began shuffling through the mess of papers strewn everywhere. “Damn, you’re a packrat. Where’s the file?” Julia turned and dug through to the bottom and stripped out a manila folder. “Eric, this is ridiculous. How in the world…” “The hell with it. We’ll begin right now.” Eric took the file from her, letting his hand touch hers. “Lesson one—casual contact can be scintillating to the opposite sex.” He kept his hand over hers, the softness and warmth of her flesh pure torture against his palm. She glanced up, and he held her with his eyes and deepened his voice. “And a long look over a short distance can move mountains.” She stared back at him and her lips parted. He lowered his voice further, working hard to control his own rising desire. “These are two of the things you will learn during my amazing three-day course.” She smiled, the flicker of humor back in her eyes. “Hmm. Good sales technique. I see your point.” “So, we’re on for the weekend?” Julia nodded again. “Okay, but what if this doesn’t work…” Eric stepped away from her and sucked in a deep breath. What was he getting himself into? He couldn’t even be close to her without wanting her in the most visceral way. Still, if he didn’t do something now, sooner or later even bonehead Harris would notice her and make his move. And he couldn’t take much more of this torture in any case. He rolled the file folder into a tube and tapped the desk with it. “If everything I teach you doesn’t turn your situation around, there’s always your option of the naked parade on Monday. What do you say?”
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Julia laughed and punched him in the forearm. “All right. Take the file, and I’ll be ready when you get back. Where are we doing this training anyway?” “My house at the lake.” Eric smiled as he turned to the door, trying hard to conceal his pleasure but knowing he was probably failing miserably. “We won’t be disturbed there. We’ll stop by your apartment on the way, and I’ll show you lesson two—how to pack for a romantic getaway weekend.” Eric smiled all the way out the door. This was his shot. If she didn’t see him any differently after this weekend, she was never going to. All he had to do was convince her he was the man she needed—not Harris—and show her he was interested in more than a weekend. He wanted forever. Eric’s smile disappeared as he walked down the long hallway to Harris’s office. The question was, who would Julia choose?
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Chapter Two Julia stood before her open closet in her robe, a dress in each hand. “What do you mean, sexier stuff? I don’t have any sexier stuff.” “The red one is sexier.” Eric pulled a dress from the back of her closet. “You wore this to work once. I’m telling you, this is what catches a man’s eye.” “It’s not comfortable, and it gapes at the chest.” “Yeah.” Eric’s lips turned in a wicked smile as he handed the dress to her. “You’ve made my point. Seduction isn’t about comfort. It’s about stretching your boundaries. You want comfort, put on some flannel pajamas and veg out in front of the television—alone. You want to seduce a man, it’s red, baby.” Julia considered the dress and sighed. She remembered the dress quite well. It had hung in her closet such a long time it was a wonder the moths hadn’t eaten through the fabric. “I was self-conscious all day the one time I wore this thing. I kept thinking people were staring at me.” “Uh yeah,” Eric said, nodding. “That’s the idea. You can’t seduce a man if he’s not looking at you. Did Harris notice you today in that black suit?” “No.” She tossed the other two dresses onto the back of a chair and stared at the red one. “He didn’t care if I was alive.” “So, trust me. Wear the red on Monday with these shoes.” He bent over and picked up a pair of red, high-heeled slingbacks. “Bring them with you. We’ll practice with them.” She’d bought the ensemble years ago on a crazy whim. This was what it was going to take to get Harris’s attention? As her grandmother used to say—oy vey. Taking the pair of shoes, she stared at the rows of muted colors in her closet—blues and blacks. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this seduction thing. I never would have worn this again.” 12
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“Exactly the reason I’m here. You’re in training, and you want to learn what men find sexy. I’m telling you…the red dress…is sexy.” He drew the words out and she wanted to hit him over the head with the shoes. “Now, for other necessary weekend apparel. Show me your lingerie.” “Lingerie?” She hung the dress on the back of the door and dropped the shoes next to it before she gave in to the impulse to brain him with them. “Yes. You’re going to play the part all weekend. Fake it until you make it. Trust me.” He walked to the dresser and opened first one drawer, then another. This was too weird on too many levels. It took a gay man to tell her how to dress for a hetero relationship? How much did she have to change to get a guy interested? She wore what was professional, conservative and comfortable. She couldn’t be bothered with all these details. But Eric sure paid attention to them. Why did all the good ones have to go the other way? When they’d first become friends she’d asked about his past relationships, but he’d been so overtly evasive, she’d suspected something was amiss. All straight men bragged at least once in a while. Eric’s elusiveness, his extremely caring and considerate demeanor, and the fact that he’d never once come onto her—oh yeah, he was too sweet to be straight. He obviously wanted to remain closeted and it was none of her business anyway. She loved him no matter what he did in private. One of these days, maybe he would feel comfortable enough to confide in her about his personal life. Still, did he cross-dress, too? “I didn’t think women’s clothes were something you’d be interested in.” She knew she was prying now, trying to coax him to share his “secret”. As she watched him go through her bureau drawers, she tried to imagine him dressed as a woman. She couldn’t see it. Eric continued searching through the drawers. “Well, I look at what women wear like every other man on the planet. Why wouldn’t I?”
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“Men look, but they know next to nothing about styles—what goes with what. How do you happen to?” “I’m not that interested in the clothing. I just know what would look good on you.” “Something you’d look good in, too, maybe?” As soon as the words passed her lips, she wanted to wrench them back. He closed the drawer and turned toward her, his eyebrows drawing together. “What?” So, he’s not a cross-dresser. “Nothing.” He left the bureau and walked slowly toward her. “That wasn’t nothing. What are you talking about?” Julia took a step back. The last thing she’d wanted to do was hurt or embarrass him. Damn her nosiness anyway. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t make a bit of difference to me. Your business is your business, and you’re great to be helping me on this. Forget I said anything.” “And what did you say, exactly? That I’d look good in women’s clothing?” His eyes bore into hers. “What doesn’t make a difference?” Her face grew hot and she chewed her bottom lip. Now she’d done it. She’d put him on the defensive, something she’d avoided all the time they’d been friends. If he didn’t want to tell her, he didn’t want to. She shouldn’t have said anything. Now there was no way out. Well, they were friends, weren’t they? Maybe this was her chance to let him come out to her, her chance to tell him he could confide his secret. It was the least she could do after all the work he was going to for this “training weekend”. Julia took a deep breath and smiled. He’d said “trust me”… He had to realize he could trust her, too. “I thought maybe you were into cross-dressing, as well.” He blinked. “What?” Julia shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried. This is none of my damn business. I wanted you to…well, you can tell me stuff, you know? I don’t judge.”
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“What is none of your business?” He put his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “Your being gay.” Eric’s eyebrows shot up and disappeared under his shock of blond hair. “You think I’m gay?” He pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his before she could sort out what was happening. His tongue moved over her lips and she opened her mouth against the insistent, mind-blowing action. Heat raced through her limbs, no longer from the embarrassment at her faux pas, but from the fervor of stark, shocking desire. Eric tangled his fingers in her hair and held her to him, his warm breath mingling with hers, obliterating all thoughts of the closet, the clothes and any question about his sexual preference. She slid her hands slowly up his arms, only to steady herself—for no other reason. Yeah, right. The kiss went on for another staggering bombshell of a moment before he released her with a jolt and stared down at her, his eyes blazing, his mouth a hard, thin line. “I am not gay.” Julia gazed into his crystal-blue eyes, her heart pounding in her chest as her knees quivered. It wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed her before—friendly, fun kisses on her forehead or cheek. His words aside, the tingling of her lips and the heat coursing through her bore more convincing evidence. He knew what to do with a woman. She cleared her throat. “I guess not.” “Lesson three—be prepared to give yourself over to the moment.” Julia nodded, searching for a reply. This was part of the training? If so, she was in big trouble. No, don’t be ridiculous. She’d bruised his male ego, and he’d decided to prove something to her. The kiss wasn’t about passion, although she’d jumped into the deep end of the passion pool for a couple of precious, swirling moments. This wasn’t him coming onto her, not after all this time. This was part and parcel to the lessons he’d promised her.
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Which didn’t go a long way to explaining why she’d responded. Her face grew warm as blood continued to thrum through her veins. She cleared her throat again. Focus, girl. You’re in the middle of learning something here. Snap out of it! “So, how’d I do?” “You passed.” He turned toward her dresser. “Which drawer?” “Huh?” He dug around inside another drawer and finding nothing he wanted, shut it with a bang. “The lingerie. Which drawer?” You’re supposed to talk now. This is where we continue the relationship as it has been all along. But the words wouldn’t come. What am I getting myself into? If he was going to touch her like that again—or something more—this training getaway could be a big mistake. Gay, he was her friend. But straight? “Uh, Eric. I…” “What?” He turned back to her. She saw him as if for the first time. She’d never noticed how tall and broad-shouldered he was, how his narrow waist and long, powerful legs filled out a pair of jeans. How many weekends had they watched movies in her apartment, gone out to dinner, walked through the park together? How many weekends had they spent laughing and talking? How did I miss it? He is handsome. Hell, he wasn’t only handsome, she thought as she stared at his mouth. Her laughing, joking buddy was downright hot. And straight. I’m an idiot. This is a terrible idea. “I think I’m going to have to bow out on this weekend,” she said, the sense of loss and fear overwhelming as the words came out of her mouth. “I don’t think this is such a good idea after all.” Eric’s unblinking eyes watched her, and her heartbeat ratcheted up another notch. “Do you want Harris to notice you or not?” “Yes, I do, but…” “Do you trust me or don’t you?”
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His liquid gaze poured over her, and her confidence began to return. Of course she trusted him. There was no one she trusted more. Gay or straight, he was still her friend, wasn’t he? But what about the real problem? Do I trust me? “Yes, I do, but I don’t know…” “What don’t you know?” He crossed his hands over his chest and leaned against the closet door. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship,” she blurted out. “We’ve known each other too long. I don’t want you to think…” She couldn’t manage to finish the sentence. She didn’t know what she didn’t want him to think, but she was sure of one thing—she was thinking it. “Here’s how I see it. Either Harris is a fool, or you haven’t been clear in your desires.” “I’ve been clear enough.” She remembered Eric’s entertained gaze as she’d picked up her pencil this morning. “My vote goes to ‘fool’. For the sake of argument, though, maybe you think you’ve been clear, but what you’re doing isn’t working. What can it hurt to learn something new? I can help, if you’ll let me.” Julia considered this. Eric was her friend—he had no designs on her. If either of them had been interested in the other in that way they’d have investigated it long before now, wouldn’t they? One hot kiss meant to convince her of his sexual preference was not a romance. If he’d wanted her, he would have made it clear a long time ago. She was being ridiculous. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I guess I’m a little nervous about all this. If being sexy requires wearing uncomfortable clothes and shoes, I’m going to have to do it, I guess.” Eric shook his head. “You’re already sexy, darling. You do it without the clothes or shoes. But some men are more hardheaded than others. Some men need an opening, and you haven’t given the right opening. Until now.” “Come Monday, things are going to change,” she said, nodding.
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A slow smile moved across his lips. “By Monday morning, everything will be different.” *** Eric tucked the strap of Julia’s purse inside the car next to her feet and closed the passenger door of his Mustang convertible. “Your hair is going to take a beating if I leave the top down.” “You always ride with it down,” she pointed out. “My hair isn’t as long as yours.” “Your hair is always a little tousled,” she told him as he walked around the car to the driver’s side. “I like your look. And who’d give up an opportunity to have the top down on the one day it’s not raining in Seattle?” He opened the door, got in and slipped the key into the ignition. The sun was beginning to set and the sky cast an orange-red hue across her features. He forced himself to focus. He could imagine how she’d look once they reached the cabin, her blond hair a wild halo around her face, begging for him to clutch it in his fingers. Shit, this was going to be impossible to pull off if he lost himself in all the visions of her continually running through his thoughts. “All right, if you’re sure. Having crazy hair isn’t normally on the list of ‘the right things to do’ to win a man.” “Some men like wind-tossed hair.” And I’m one of them. “Well, you’re going to have more than ‘wind-tossed’ by the time we get there. You might think you’ve been in the middle of a blond tornado. It’ll take you a week to get all the tangles out.” She flipped her hand in the air, a gesture he’d come to know so well it played in his head like a scene from his favorite movie. “I brought a brush.” Another vision, this time of him running her brush through those long, blond locks, her body between his thighs. Oh yeah. He needed to turn off the damn VCR in his head and get a grip.
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“Let’s go over a few things before we get there.” He cranked the engine and pulled out of the apartment parking lot. “Some ground rules.” “Ground rules?” Already her hair was beginning to flow around her as the wind blew over the top of the windshield. Her eyes glimmered in the darkening evening light, her skin made golden by the sunset’s rays. She wore an old pair of jeans ripped at the knees, the gentle swell of her breasts revealed beneath a white V-neck sweater. She was the finest looking woman he’d ever had in his car. “Like what kind of rules?” she asked, bringing his mind back to his plan. “The most important rule to remember is that I’m here to train you, which means you do what I say, when I say. No questions. We don’t have enough time for me to explain why men want what they want. Three days isn’t nearly long enough—I’d have to create a master’s program. You’re going to have to trust I know more about this than you do.” “Yeah, I’ve got years under my belt dealing with men, and I haven’t a clue why they do what they do.” She was smiling at him, that sweet curve of her mouth the essence of his nightly fantasies. “We’re clear then?” “I’ll do whatever you ask, Sensei.” “Good.” His fantasies pushed their way into his mind once more. Julia’s mouth, Julia doing whatever he asked. Oh man. Did she have any idea what he wanted to do to her, what he wanted her to do to him? Fear crept into his reverie. What if she did as he instructed, but felt nothing for him beyond friendship? What if on Monday morning she used her newfound expertise on Harris? No, he couldn’t think about her and Harris. This weekend he would show her— let her see for herself—how good they were together. Once that happened everything else would fall into place. He drove up Interstate 5 then turned at the exit to Snohomish. Why don’t you just tell her? His logical mind demanded, but he ignored it. The answer was simple enough. Julia wasn’t the kind of woman you could just tell anything. Until she made up her own mind,
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nothing he said would make a bit of difference. But finally, after all this time, he had her where he wanted her—she was listening. *** Julia got out of the convertible and gazed around the wooded property surrounding the small cabin. Solar lights cast a friendly glow along the walkway leading up to an oldfashioned, wraparound porch. Eric grabbed their two bags from the back seat and walked up behind her. “My God, this is beautiful, Eric. Why haven’t you ever brought me out here before?” “Better late than never. Let’s go inside.” She followed him up the stone walkway to the front steps. Two old-fashioned rocking chairs sat on one end of the porch facing to the west, and she imagined him sitting out here watching the sunset. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, holding the door open for her. She stepped into the blackness of the cabin and shivered. “Wow, it’s cool in here.” “Lesson four.” The bags fell to the floor with a clunk and his hands encircled her waist, pulling her against his body in the darkness. “Okay, you’re cold. Don’t say it. Show it. Use your body—it’s a powerful tool. Put your arms around me and try that again.” Julia hesitated. Less than three hours ago, she’d been in a similar embrace, and her pulse began to race once more. Would he kiss her again? “Julia, pay attention.” “Yeah, okay.” That was hours ago and a completely different situation. Learning. That’s why you’re here. To learn. Don’t blow this friendship with out-of-control hormones, Julia. She placed her hands on his chest and put her lips to his neck. His cardinal rule came back to her. No questions. She made a show of shivering in his arms. “It’s cool in here.”
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He stiffened then relaxed against her. “Excellent. It’s not cool though. It’s damn cold. I’ll light the fire. Stay right here a second.” Setting her away from him gently, he stepped over to the fireplace while Julia waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She could make out the shadow of his body moving on the far side of the room. The fireplace roared to life. “Wow, did some boy scouting, didn’t you?” He turned toward her. “Walk over here slowly, keeping your eyes on me the whole time. It’s a gas fireplace and you were making a joke, but make it a come-on instead. Remember, say it with your body and the words.” Julia straightened and placed one foot carefully in front of the other as she watched his face in the flickering light. “I guess you were a Boy Scout,” she said, dropping her voice to a lower register as she placed her hand on his. Eric rewarded her with a smile and quickly turned back to the fire. “Yep. You’ve learned the lesson.” She told herself not to touch him, but wasn’t this part of the lesson? Nobody said she couldn’t enjoy it, right? Julia placed her hands on his lower back. Strictly in the interest of learning. “Thank you, Eric.” He turned around, and when he spoke, his voice matched the quiet of the secluded cabin. “A+, very good.” His smile spoke of pride and friendliness…nothing more. She straightened and laughed. “Well, this might be easier than I thought it was going to be. I’m starving. What are we eating anyway?” Eric shook his head and laughed. “Food? You’re thinking about food?” “I thought all men thought about was food. Well, that and sex.” “Yeah,” Eric said, his smile fading as he touched her chin with the back of his hand. “And not in that order, either. You getting warmer?” “Sure.” Sadly, a lot warmer than she should have been, considering. It was high time she got her head on straight and sent her inappropriate raging hormones on a vacation.
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Her friend was here to help. Time to stop imagining anything else, especially something that could ruin everything. “What did you bring?” Eric’s smile returned. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ve got some staples in the car— cheese, eggs, bread. Nothing earth-shattering. Will that satisfy your interests?” “Perfectly. Want some help?” “No, I’ve got it.” He walked back out into the darkness and Julia turned toward the fire. When he’d touched her face, a different kind of shiver had run through her. One that had nothing to do with the room’s chill. This “learning seduction” was dangerous business if directed at the wrong person. Well, that was over now. She only had to remember her real goal for being here—and his as well—to stop the insane train of her earlier impulses. He’d taught her one thing already. She had more power in her body than she’d ever tried to use. This lesson alone was worth the whole weekend. And how simple was it? Why hadn’t she ever thought of it before? How much more would she learn while she was up here? After they’d prepared and eaten a simple meal of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, both sat on the loveseat facing the fireplace, sipping from cups of hot chocolate. Julia wiped her lips with her napkin. “Delicious.” “Food always tastes better when you’re camping.” Eric put his mug on the end table. “Want to learn a couple more things before you go to bed?” “Sure,” she said, pulling her knees up to her chin and facing him. “Give me wisdom, oh great one.” Eric shook his head. “All right, smartass. Here’s something I should have told you before we started. To get inside a man’s head and his heart, you have to understand one thing—everything else is about ‘how’. This is lesson five, if you’re keeping count. Know your prey and his weaknesses. Use those weaknesses to your advantage.” “Prey?” she asked. “Men aren’t prey!” “To a woman attempting to acquire one, they are.”
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“You’re making me sound like a predator.” “Love isn’t really predator and prey… It’s more like a war. You ever read Sun Tzu?” She shook her head, the heat from the crackling fire warm on her face and lulling her into a cozy drowsiness. “I didn’t realize outside reading would be required for this course.” Eric ignored the comment. “The Art of War. Sun Tzu wrote it over two thousand years ago. Despite its references to generals and armies, at its heart, it’s about nonaggression. How to win without ever engaging in battle.” “I certainly don’t want a battle on my hands.” Julia stretched her legs out to the small coffee table and crossed them at the ankles. If she weren’t careful, she’d fall asleep right here and miss her Sun Tzu lesson altogether. “When one is able, manifest inability. The helpless female? Perfect example. Men want to be stronger, more capable—helpless females turn men on. Let a man have control whenever you can.” “Oh brother,” Julia said. “You’ve got to be kidding me?” “No questions, remember? This is wisdom I’m giving you here.” Eric pointed at her, and she noticed for the first time how large his hands were. “You have to grasp all the rules before you can recognize when to apply them and when to ignore them, all right?” Julia shifted. “My feet are cold. Can I put them under you?” Eric took both of her feet in his hands and began to rub them. “Very good.” “What?” “You allowed me the chance to be strong and capable.” “I have cold feet.” “And you could have shoved them under the cushions or moved closer to the fire, but you asked me to help you instead. Have you ever considered you already understand what to do but aren’t comfortable doing it with Harris?” Julia thought about this for a moment. “I wouldn’t ask to put my feet under him, if that’s what you’re asking. I wouldn’t get familiar with him—he and I are not much beyond strangers. With you, it’s just different.”
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Eric nodded and continued to rub her feet. They sat together in silence, his warm hands on her skin smoothing out all the rough edges of the day. Why couldn’t her life be like this all the time—relaxed, cozy? Why couldn’t she close her eyes and lean back into the cushions with her best friend touching her? She sat up. What the hell was she doing? He released her feet and rose from the sofa. “All right, we’ve got a big day tomorrow. One more thing before we quit for the night. Come over here.” Julia climbed off the couch and took a deep breath. “All right, what?” “Kiss me.”
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Chapter Three “What?” She stepped back from him. “Give me some credit. I can already kiss, remember? I don’t need you to teach me.” “I kissed you earlier,” he said, stepping closer to her. “You kissed me back. It’s not the same. Show me how you’d kiss a guy if you wanted him to appreciate your interest.” “If I’m kissing him, isn’t it already obvious I’m interested?” “If you bend over and flash your legs and ass to someone and they don’t notice, is it obvious you’re interested? Now, are you going to listen to me or not?” She pursed her lips. “Yes.” “Ask yourself what you could have done differently this morning in Harris’s office. When you’ve figured that out and lived the answer, you can question my methods. Now, are we doing this or not?” Julia ran her tongue around her lips and stared at him. “All right.” “Good.” He let his hands fall to his sides. “You want me. You want me to recognize it. Now, kiss me.” She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, letting her lips brush over his fiveo’clock shadow. She stepped back. He didn’t say a word, but his sneer spoke volumes. She held up her hands. “What?” “Do you have a brother?” “You know I don’t! What are you talking about?” “Well, if you had one, you’d give him that kiss. Or maybe a maiden aunt.” “All right, fine.” She stepped forward once more and brushed her lips over his mouth. His facial expression didn’t alter. “I thought you said you knew how to do this?” Julia huffed. “I do know how to do it!”
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“Well do it. You want me? Show me. Give me some body language, some words— use your hands, something!” “Eric—” “Oh for crying out…” He stepped forward, clasped her arms and pulled her body into his. He stared into her eyes, his lips inches from hers. “Julia, you’re beautiful, and I want to kiss you.” A wave of adrenaline rushed through her limbs, followed by a liquid heat that moved low and settled hot and pulsing. His hands held her firmly but gently, his lips almost touching hers. Unthinking, she closed the brief distance, and her mouth launched on a journey of its own. She brushed her lips over his once, twice. So soft, she thought as she pressed her mouth to his. His grip on her arms tightened and she let her body fall into him. The kiss lengthened. Their lips parted and she tasted the sweetness of the hot chocolate on his tongue. He ended the kiss. She took a slow, deep breath and opened her eyes, wondering when they had closed. “Okay.” His voice had taken a low, deliciously seductive tone. “Now you see what happens.” She searched for her voice as her pulse beat at her temples. He released her. “Now, try it once more. This time, you do it.” Julia blinked and tried to concentrate. The flickering firelight cast wild shadows on the wall behind him, outlining his magnificent form. When had the small fireplace become a blast furnace? “Come on, you can do this,” he said. “Kiss me like you mean it.” Julia stepped up to him and placed her hands on either side of his face. “Eric,” she whispered as she let her hands move down his neck and over his chest and back. “I want you.” She brushed her lips over his. “I want to make love to you. Kiss me.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him once more. This time she took the initiative and gave herself over to the moment. With the softness of his lips
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and the taste of his tongue in her mouth, she fed the hunger inside her. Sliding her hands down his waist and under his sweatshirt over the firm, bare skin of his back, the movement intensified the hunger rather than sating it. He shuddered when her hands continued their exploration, moving over his narrow waist and hips. Why hadn’t she ever done this before? She lost interest in learning anything besides the contours of his body, ignoring the warning voice inside her head. His hands moved into her hair, entangling in the wild, wind-blown locks. With the pressure of his erection against her belly, a fire of desire blazed inside her. She slid her hands around to the front of his pants and let her fingers rest on the clasp. Unfastening his pants and sliding her hand inside the band of his briefs, she skirted his heated skin, skimming the tip of his penis with her fingertips. His soft moan tickled her tongue. He tightened his grasp on her hair, pressing her head back with the force of his kiss. She wrapped her hand around the considerable girth of his cock and squeezed the firm flesh, reveling in the way it hardened further under her touch. His hand slipped from her hair to cover her breast. He pinched her nipple between his fingers until she moaned with the electric shock of pleasure, followed quickly by clutching agony in her pussy. His kisses trailed her cheek, her jaw, her neck, his teeth nipping her flesh as he moved over the tender skin. She squeezed his cock again pushing the restricting fabric down with her free hand. From somewhere deep in the back of her mind, the voice of reason raised a deafening cry, but her desire whispered more convincingly. Lower. Harder. She dipped the jeans farther over his hips, wrapping her other hand under his balls. They were firm and hot in her palm, and she gave them a gentle squeeze as she moved her other hand up and down over the length of his erection. “Julia.” Eric’s voice was low and soft in her ear. “Yes,” she whispered, the sound of his voice moving her as much his flesh in her hands and his tongue on her neck. “I want to make love to you, too.”
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The words registered slowly, like the cut of a sharp knife, and the voice in the back of her mind kicked open the door to reason. What are you doing? Are you going to have sex with your best friend right here on the sofa? Have you lost your mind? Are you trying to ruin everything? She stiffened, opening her eyes to the reality of what she’d done. Oh God. He released her, his jaw tightening. He was regaining by sheer force of will a control she’d lost and stupidly tried to take from him. She longed to pull him back into her arms, but the confusion in his eyes stopped her. Or was it fear? Hurt? Pity? “Well done, Julia.” He extricated her hand, which she was mortified to discover was still inside his briefs, and replaced his jeans. “I believed you wanted me.” Her body ached, knowing the truth before her mind could process it. She had wanted him. In those few moments, she’d lost herself in the part he’d given her to play. Her skin cooled with the absence of physical contact with his warm body, but inside she continued to burn, first with desire followed quickly by humiliation. The fire crackled behind them, but the flood of shame moving through her left an icehouse chill in its wake. He straightened his sweatshirt and placed his hands on her head, running his fingers through her hair, untangling it gently. He was her friend, and though he must have known that she’d lost control, he had too much chivalry to call it out into the room. A sad smile on his lips, he solemnly worked the remaining tangles from her hair as she struggled to gather her wits. “If everything on earth were rational, nothing would happen,” she whispered. “Dostoevski.” His gaze moved from her hair to her eyes. He cleared his throat. “Good training.” “Excellent,” she said, managing to normalize her voice. He isn’t here to seduce me. Her face burned hot with embarrassment. He’s here to help you seduce another man. How could she let herself get caught up in the moment and ruin the one friendship she trusted? Just because she’d suddenly gotten the hots for the man in front of her, she was now going to destroy everything? God, I’m an idiot. He’s trying to help me, and I’m acting like a bitch in heat.
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“Thank you.” She forced herself to smile although the rage of emotions inside her would take hours to sort through. “Very helpful.” “No problem,” he said, his sad smile still in place. “We’ll pick it back up tomorrow.” “I’m sorry I got carried away—” Eric shook his head. “No problem.” “But you, I mean, you were…” “Hard,” he said, his voice flat. “There’s not much I can do about it, Julia. You were very convincing right up until the last. Time for bed. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” He planted a quick kiss on her forehead, turned and walked into one of the bedrooms and closed the door. Julia stood in the middle of the room for a long time before she climbed into the bed in the adjoining room and fought with the myriad of confusing thoughts grappling for purchase in her mind. *** Eric woke with a pounding headache. He’d slept for shit, tossing all night in the big bed alone. He forced his eyes to open. The dresser, the nightstand, photos of Puget Sound and the mountains—everything remained as it had been the last time he’d come here. Only last time, he’d come here to get away from the seductive Julia. This time, he’d brought her with him. And it was as difficult as he’d feared it would be. The closer she was to him, the harder it was to keep his distance. He couldn’t maintain any kind of façade under her brand of sensual assault. He was supposed to be teaching her about seduction, but she already knew too much for his dangerously tenuous control. Until the time was right to tell her the truth, he had to get some detachment. Another moment like last night, when she’d held his erection in her hands, and he’d let himself imagine they were more than friends—that she wanted him and not Harris. Shit. He’d recognized the change in her as soon as it happened. He could almost hear her thoughts as she realized what she’d done to him, knew her regret when it wrenched the
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pit of his gut. She believed she was his pupil, not his lover. Unless something crossed over inside her, unless her feelings for him blossomed on their own, any declarations of his would fall flat and lead to their ultimate parting. He sat up in bed and ran his hand over his face. Holding himself in check for such a long time had proven difficult enough. He hadn’t imagined the exertion required to walk this particular tightrope. All this time he’d been afraid to make a move, be rejected and lose her friendship through the awkwardness which would inevitably follow. But now, if she didn’t realize she wanted him before he lost control… Well, the risk of losing her was too great. Better to have her as a friend than not at all. But alone here with her, encouraging her on a path of seduction, he wondered at the logic of his plan. He’d believed within the confines of this cabin he could hold up a mirror and let her see the truth for herself. But what was the truth? Would she ever want him, or was he forever destined to remain her best friend? Eric rose from the bed and pulled on the pair of jeans he’d worn last night. No matter what happened this weekend, he wouldn’t lose her friendship. She was the most wonderful person he’d ever met, and he couldn’t, he wouldn’t mess that up. How could he ever forgive himself if he pressured her into something she wasn’t ready for? But neither could he allow himself not to try to have more. Hadn’t he waited long enough? This weekend, this plan was his one chance. He had to do everything he could to prove the one certainly he knew in his heart—she was his. There could be no other man for her, certainly not Harris. “What an asshole,” he muttered into the quiet room. The day a woman like Julia ended up with an idiot like Harris wasn’t a day he wanted to open his eyes and wake up to. It was time to quit stalling and head back out there. He hadn’t been joking when he’d compared love to war. He needed to win this, and as Tzu said, never engaging in war was the best method for winning. Thus when able, manifest inability. When active, manifest inactivity. Emerge where he does not expect it.
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Or she. Eric picked up his shirt, but as he started to pull it over his head he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. He laid the shirt on the dresser. Bare-chested was better. Keep her a little off balance. What had happened between them last night hadn’t only affected him. She’d been stupefied judging by the expression on her face. Keep it up, he told himself. Keep her wondering and thinking. If she ever starts asking herself the right questions, she won’t freeze in my arms and think of him. The real question, though, was could he keep it up without falling headlong into the fray himself? Eric walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and washed his face. Coffee. A cup of coffee, and he’d be ready. He passed the shirt again and stopped. Maybe he’d take it off in front of her. Yeah. He grabbed it and pulled it over his head as he left the room. When he reached the kitchen he found Julia already showered and dressed, standing beside the steaming coffee pot. “Good morning.” She leaned against the kitchen counter. “Thank God you brought coffee.” “Don’t leave home without it.” He pulled a coffee mug from the cabinet, placed it on the counter and poured himself a cup. “You’re up early.” “Yeah, couldn’t sleep.” She didn’t look tired. In fact, she was stunning. Her wet hair hung in ringlets around her scrubbed and rosy face. Her lips were red and full, and the memory of those lips on his last night flashed into his mind like a lightning strike. He walked to the table and sat, taking a bracing sip of the hot, black liquid as he strove for something banal and safe to talk about. “Nobody’s slept in the guest room in a long time. The mattress is new, though. Weren’t you comfortable?” He watched her as he said the words waiting for any indication she was thinking about what happened between them last night. Would she say, that like him, the kiss had such an effect on her she’d spent all night lying awake thinking of doing it again? Or was he hoping for far too much in his pre-caffeinated stupor?
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Julia took another drink of her coffee. “No, the mattress was fine. The cabin is beautiful. I’d love to see the grounds. I’m a little surprised you never brought me here before.” Eric quelled his disappointment and schooled his features as he considered his response. You wouldn’t have stayed dressed long enough to see it. Yeah, that would work. “Well, sleepovers are for grade school kids and lovers. And we’re not either, so…” Julia’s face reddened, and Eric’s heart stopped for a moment. What was that expression? Embarrassment or hope? “No, we’re not either of those.” She took another drink of her coffee. Her skin color returned to normal, but she would not meet his eyes. “We’re teacher and pupil, and we’d better get started. How much stuff am I going to have to learn anyway? We’re not going to be studying more Sun Tzu, are we?” It’s too soon. They’d been here less than twelve hours. He needed to give his plan a chance to work. He’d waited five years, and he could certainly wait another twenty-four hours. He forced a smile. What choice did he have? “I only mentioned The Art of War to make you aware you’re going into a battle scenario. You have a mission and a goal in mind. I’m talking about strategies.” “Let me see if I remember everything I’ve learned,” Julia said, placing her coffee cup on the counter. She held up her fingers and wrapped one hand around her index finger. “Remember the power in casual contact was the first one.” She shifted her grip to her other fingers as she continued. “Prepare for romance, two. Three was let yourself get swept up in the moment. Four, don’t rely solely on words—use body language to communicate. And five, use weaknesses to your advantage.” Julia held out both of long, slender arms and pointed at him. “Right?” “Wow, you were paying attention. Impressive.” “I was Phi Beta Kappa,” she said, folding her hands in front of her. “I can learn anything I need to, and based on what I’ve seen, you have some things to teach. So, here I am. What’s next?”
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Great. He might have to give a seminar after the success of this stupid class. How to get the woman you want to chase an asshole and lose your best friend in the process. Well, he had no other option but to continue. Sooner or later, she had to see the truth. He was counting on it. “Don’t you want some breakfast first? I’m starving. Hell, we’ll include this as part of your lesson. What number are we on?” “Six.” “Yes, lesson six. You can and should turn any event, even boring events like eating breakfast, into opportunities.” “Great, how do we do it?” Julia straightened. Her eyes blazed with determination. “Put on the lingerie I packed, and make me breakfast.” “What?” She put both of her hands on her hips. “I am not your cook, buddy.” Eric rose from his seat and walked to her. “Okay, this is the last time I’m going to take any lip from you. I’m doing this because you said you wanted to learn. I want you to know right now, I think Harris is a moron and not nearly worthy of you. I can’t believe I’m helping you try to win over such an idiot…” “Okay, okay, sorry,” Julia said, taking his hands in hers. “Deal. No more arguments. I promise.” “Good.” He pulled his hands from hers, shaking off the electric shock passing through him at her touch. Ignoring the liquid sensation in his knees and thighs, he walked back to the table and sat. If he could help it, he never let himself touch her. Contact with her skin drove him crazy, but she touched him all the time, in little, friendly ways. If she had any idea of the effect it had on him, she would stop. Or would she? Damn, he could only hope… “I’ll be right back,” she said. As she passed behind him, she placed both of her hands on his shoulders, leaned over and kissed the top of his head. Eric took a deep breath of her perfume. “So?” she asked. “So what?”
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“How was I? Lesson four in action. Come on, I need a little positive feedback.” Eric forced himself to take an interest in the white tabletop and avoid looking at her. He was in real trouble if she started using all these lessons on him while constantly reminding him it wasn’t for him at all. She considered Harris her reason for being here, and she wouldn’t see otherwise unless he changed the rules. Unless he changed the rules… “Okay, wait a second.” He rose from the chair and turned to face her. “We need complete role-playing. We are no longer Julia and Eric. We have now become Julia and Harris. As I tell you things, you put them into action. You do not address Eric any longer.” “What do you mean?” “I mean I am Harris. You’ve got to visualize it as it’s going to happen. The stopping and starting is distracting.” To me, he almost added. “Let yourself get into the part as you learn.” “You mean,” she said smiling, “Put you in the part.”
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Chapter Four He kept his expression blank. “Who else would I be?” “What I mean is I’m still me, no matter what.” And I’m still me. But at least he wouldn’t be reminded every moment she was doing all this to him in order to get another man. If his plan worked, neither would she. “Here’s what I mean,” he said. “Eric is not in this cabin anymore. Harris is here, and you’ve got to start behaving like it. No more ‘safe friend Eric who I would never come on to’, you feel me? Now, I’m Harris, the guy you want.” “Okay, So, do whatever you want to do, Harris, and I’ll make you some breakfast in a few minutes.” “Great,” Eric said, and started to walk back to the counter to get more coffee. Her next question stopped him in his tracks. “Why didn’t you ever come on to me?” she asked. He turned around to face her. “How could you never notice me all this time? I mean, Harris, come on! It’s not like I haven’t been coming onto you for weeks, practically since the first day you started working at Masters & Masters. And since you’re here,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “I’d like some answers.” Eric took a deep breath and let it out. “Your technique sucked.” “He would never say I sucked!” Eric laughed. “You’d never ask him either. Now, get into the part, get into the lingerie and get to work.” Julia laughed all the way out of the room. When she reached the guest bedroom, she pulled off the clothes she’d put on less than an hour ago and laid them at the foot of the bed. She knew her purpose now. This was no time to ruin a good thing. Time to learn
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what she’d come here to learn. Logic was going to prevail, and her hormones could just pack a bag. She saw the silver negligee folded neatly inside her suitcase and her heart began to hammer in her chest. She was supposed to wear this thing? She’d never worn it with any man, had never had a lot of opportunity to do so. It was revealing, sexy and more than a little thin, and she was supposed to cook breakfast in it? When was the last time she hadn’t spilled something all over herself trying to cook? Yeah, she was a Phi Beta Kappa, but her degree hadn’t been in homemaking. She was as inept in the kitchen as she appeared to be on the dating circuit. “Hope he’s got an apron.” She lifted the gown out of the suitcase, pulled it on and let it slip down over her body. Wearing it in front of Eric wasn’t a big deal, but she was supposed to be imagining he was Harris. Would she be comfortable enough this “undressed” around Harris? “Well, not now. But if this works, ultimately.” Eric wasn’t Harris, no matter how much she might try to pretend he was, but this was a safe way to practice. Eric had been at her apartment plenty of nights when she’d been in pajamas, and she’d never given it a second thought. And last night’s crazy moment aside, she trusted him. She wasn’t going to give that little exchange another thought. She turned to consider her reflection in the mirror. Well, these weren’t her granny’s pajamas—most assuredly. She slipped her feet into the high-heeled sandals she’d thrown in at the last minute, fluffed her hair and turned to walk back into the living room. No, wait, she thought. She looked at her reflection again. She wasn’t wearing a bit of makeup. Her hair was wild. Would she go after a man looking like this? A light dusting of powder, some frosty peach lipstick and her hair swept up to the top of her head with curly ringlets falling all around, transformed her into much more of a seductress. She took one long, last look in the mirror. “Yeah. This is what I would do.” She stood tall and held her head high as she walked back into the kitchen. Eric stood by the sliding glass door overlooking the back side of the property, his long, lean back to
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her. She noted the muscles across his broad shoulders and realized he wasn’t wearing his shirt. She ignored the surge of adrenaline moving through her. Had he been wearing a shirt earlier and taken it off? She hadn’t even noticed. She would have noticed if he was barechested, wouldn’t she? He must have taken it off. But why? Eric turned around as she walked up to him and placed her hands on his chest. “Hi there. Hungry?” A low growling sound emerged from inside his chest. “I was right about the lingerie. You look fantastic.” “Thank you. Have another cup of coffee, and I’ll have something ready to eat in a few minutes.” “Can I help you?” “Are we role-playing now, or can we take a break? You can tell me something else I need to learn.” She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the bags of food he’d stuffed inside last night. Removing a carton of eggs and a pound of bacon, she replaced the bag and closed the door. “We just got started! You are supposed to be seducing me while you cook.” “Eric, if we’re going to count on my culinary skills to seduce Harris, I might as well join the nunnery—and I’m not even Catholic. I can fry eggs and bacon, but anything beyond and this isn’t happening. I’m not Martha Stewart.” “Probably just as well,” Eric pointed out. “So, teach me something else. Harris and I will order take-out in our future, okay?” “What kind of kinky things do you like to do in the bedroom?” She almost dropped the egg carton but caught it in time. A nervous laugh escaped from her lips. Nothing like jumping into the syllabus. “Uh, well, what are we talking about?” “You know what kinky means. How experienced are you on the kinkier side of sex?” he asked.
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She kept her eyes on the stove to avoid his gaze. Intimacy, even fake intimacy, could be embarrassing. Good grief, was she twenty-seven or thirteen? “Not very. I saw 9 1/2 Weeks. Do movies count?” He laughed, the sound filling the kitchen. She realized she liked the sound of his laughter, even if it was at her expense. “Why? Am I going to need to change into something leather for the next lesson?” she asked. “Interesting idea, but no. Changing into leather is for the advanced classes only. I was wondering how far you were willing to go to get a man interested and keep him interested.” She turned toward him holding two eggs as the bacon fried in the pan. “I think any activities between consenting adults is okay as long as they are safe. I'm willing to go as far as the next woman, I guess.” “What about blowjobs? Cunnilingus? Anal sex? Anything interest you there?” Julia almost dropped the eggs again but turned swiftly and settled them on the counter. “Uh, yeah. I’m okay with it.” “Being tied up? Spanked? How about discipline, dominance, submission, roleplaying?” Holy crap. Do we have to talk about this? She wanted to ask, but stopped herself. She’d promised—no more questions. He was trying to help. She was an adult, for crying out loud. She could talk about things she liked and wanted in the bedroom, couldn’t she? “Being tied up… I haven’t done it, but I might like it. Depends, I guess. Not sure about the dominance, submission stuff. I’ve heard of it, but don’t know much about it.” “But you’ve done blowjobs and the usual stuff?” Julia hesitated. She’d never given a blowjob in her life, but she didn’t want to admit it. “I wouldn’t say I’ve had a lot of experience.” “Not a lot of experience,” he repeated the words with a touch of disdain. “You don’t have to lie to me, Julia. I’m not going to think negatively about you because you slept around.”
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What had she gotten herself into? If this had been anyone other than Eric asking her these things, she would have told them to go to hell. She was half-tempted to tell him to go there, but once again stopped herself as she remembered the goal. She had to get a little more comfortable with her sexual side. If she couldn’t even talk about it, how in the world was she going to do any of it? She hadn’t even known how to flirt correctly. What if she did learn how to flirt, but couldn’t figure out how to follow through with it? There was only a certain amount of embarrassment and humiliation she was willing to endure. Now was the time to learn whatever she could. “A couple of guys in college. Nothing since.” Eric's coffee cup hit the kitchen table with a bang. “You are a beautiful woman, Julia! How’d you manage all this time? You got out of college years ago!” Julia turned around. His eyebrows had disappeared under his blond hair. “Don't act surprised! You’ve been as busy as I have since you started working at Masters & Masters. When do we have time to date, especially the kind of dating leading to anything in the bedroom?” Eric nodded. “Yeah, we work. We work a lot. But only two guys in college? Was either one of them a long-term relationship? I could believe something along those lines, but I’m not buying you had two or three dates ending up in bed once or twice.” How had he guessed the truth? “Why couldn't you believe it? What’s unusual about it? The first four years I was getting my undergraduate degree, and I was working two jobs to pay for it. When would I have dated? Two years later I was getting my master’s degree. Not much time there either. It takes a while to develop a relationship with someone, you know.” Eric took another drink of his coffee. “I’m saying you are a beautiful woman, and beautiful women don't spend a lot of time alone. It’s hard for me to imagine a woman like you hasn’t dated a lot of guys. I always assumed you had quite a bit of experience in the bedroom.”
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“I guess my astounding ability to attract Harris convinced you. I’ve been amazingly successful, after all.” Julia finished frying the eggs and placed them on two plates along with the bacon. She carried the quick breakfast over to the table. “Bon appétit.” Eric put a piece of bacon in his mouth. She glanced down at her negligee, thankful none of the grease had splattered. “How is it?” “It’s good, thank you. So, there are some things you need to learn in the bedroom. How would you like to handle it?” Julia dropped her fork onto her plate, recovered it, secured a bite of fried egg and shoved it into her mouth. She chewed the tasteless morsel, searching for an answer to his question. “We don’t need to have sex for me to show you a few things, in case you’re concerned,” Eric said, stabbing his own eggs with his fork and putting the food into his mouth as he stared at her, his eyes flickering with amusement. Julia scowled at him. “Oh no, I paid for the full syllabus. You definitely have to have sex with me, Sensei.” She speared the egg again and shoved it into her mouth. “You were starting to look a little nervous.” “I’m not nervous,” she said, her mouth full. “If you prefer, I’ll have sex with you—strictly for instructional purposes, of course. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too unpleasant.” He laughed, but the sound came out forced. She punched him in the shoulder, and he caught her hand before she could retrieve it. For a second, his eyes flashed something unreadable but quickly returned to their normal sly glitter. “I was joking. It would be an honor.” “I’m sure it won’t be necessary,” Julia said, hoping it wouldn’t be in one moment but almost hoping it would in the next. Eric was wonderful, and yes, he was sexy. But if they were going to remain friends, it had to end with last night’s kiss. That kiss. All these inappropriate thoughts sprang from the cabin’s close proximity— and that incredible kiss. The moment his lips possessed hers—and yes, there was no other way she could describe it but “possessed”—her hormones had gone rampant. It had been
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so long since anything had moved her like the touch of his lips. Indeed, had any other kiss ever moved her the way his did? No. She was not going to let her own sexual deprivation ruin a wonderful friendship. As she battled with her body’s inner betrayal, they finished the rest of the meal in silence. After a long day of telling her what men wanted, making her practice her walk for his own edification, discussing her clothing and her shoes, Sun Tzu and other experts in strategy, Eric saw the frustration in Julia’s eyes. She’d asked him numerous times what was wrong, and he couldn’t keep the pretense up much longer. He knew he’d become more and more restless throughout the day and his attitude now verged on belligerent. As she walked across the room once more and bent over to pick up an imaginary pencil from the floor, she rose and obviously saw the fury burning inside him. “What?” she demanded. “I’ve walked across this room fifty times. If you tell me I’m doing it wrong, I’m going to hit you in the head.” Eric blew out a short breath. “Harris is an asshole. Why are you the only one who can’t see it?” Julia stared at him. “What?” “I said ‘he’s an asshole’.” “I heard what you said, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She crossed her arms over her chest, pressing her forearms beneath her luscious breasts. With a single movement, he could have one in his mouth. Holding onto the sofa’s armrest to keep himself from following the impulse, he continued to stare at her confused but arresting features. “You could do better.” He muttered the words through clenched teeth, tasting the bitterness of them in his throat. “I could do a lot worse. He’s smart and handsome and successful. I’m not the only woman who’s noticed, you know? Even the guy in the mailroom commented on how sexy Harris is.”
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“I’m not talking about his brains or his looks.” Fury intermingled with a desperate sense of hopelessness. She would be gone tomorrow, and the first thing she’d do would be to find Harris and use the lessons he’d taught her—on a guy who didn’t deserve to lick the bottom of her shoes. He’d made no headway on his own private plan all day, and time was running out. “I said you could do better than settling for an asshole.” “And where am I going to meet somebody else?” She unfolded her arms and waved them in the air. “The only people I see are the people I work with. I already told you I haven’t dated anyone since college! This is the first guy I’ve been interested in. You’re sitting there acting superior after making me behave like a trained monkey all day in order to attract someone you think is an asshole. Are you trying to piss me off for some reason?” Eric wanted to grab her and shake her. The first guy she’d been interested in. Her words cranked the knife in his chest another quarter turn. “There’s nothing wrong with dating people at work, just not assholes at work.” “You’re the one who suggested this. This was all your idea. You spent last night and all day today teaching me to seduce Harris. Did I miss something? You arranged this weekend and now you’re telling me I shouldn’t go through with the seduction?” Eric wanted to tell her the truth. I didn’t want to teach you anything regarding Harris Tatum. I brought you here for me. The sheer selfishness of the declaration stopped him, shame keeping the words locked up. How could she not realize why, after all this time? Was he such an unconscionable choice she didn’t even imagine his real motive? “You know everybody in the building as well as I do,” she continued. “The ones who aren’t married or gay are alone for a reason.” Julia began to pace back and forth across the floor, the high heels he’d insisted she practice walking in clicking across the wood floor. “You’re alone,” Eric said. “Because somebody has decided not to date or to wait for the right person to come around doesn’t mean they deserve to be alone.”
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“Thank you for pointing it out. Yes, I am alone. And as you’ve also managed to point out today, unless I’ve learned something from you, I’m going to be alone for a long time.” “You don’t have to be alone at all.” He rose from the sofa and closed the distance between them. How could he tell her the truth? “There are people who’ll see you for what you are and like you whether you seduce them or not.” That sounded so much like her mother talking Julia wanted to scream. “Be yourself.” Look where that had gotten her. “Oh yeah? And who the hell are they?” Eric grabbed her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard, his mouth capturing hers with a raw desire that burned throughout her entire body. For a long moment, her mind went blank, and the only coherent sensation was the warmth and passion flowing from his body to hers. “Julia.” Eric said her name against her lips with the quiet reverence of someone speaking inside a cathedral. His hands moved over the fabric of her shirt covering her breasts and down her sides to her jean-clad hips. Like you whether you seduce them or not. He was talking about himself. He’s offering himself to me. She placed her hands on his chest and backed away enough to look into his eyes. “Eric, no. This is not a good idea.” Of course it wasn’t a good idea. It was a terrible idea. He was gorgeous and wonderful and her best friend. And the prospect of making love with him didn’t repulse her in the slightest. No, her logical mind screamed—those weren’t the reasons. His reasons… She needed to ignore her rapid heartbeat and the visions springing into her mind and focus on his reasons. Eric’s eyes blazed. He wanted her. He couldn’t fake the desire she saw in his stare. Could he? That kiss last night—oh, she was so stupid. She’d now officially demonstrated her desperation, chasing after the one man who happened to be in the room. Never mind that he was only her friend, she was obviously so hard-up she’d needed bolstering, and her best friend had come to her rescue.
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He’d offered himself for the weekend because he was gallant and generous. He offered himself now, but the offer was based on pity. He pitied her inability to seduce a man, pitied her desperation. And even worse, what if this offer of his body was his mercy gift to her in case Harris rejected her? Every thought stung her pride even worse. “No,” Eric said, his voice a rough whisper. “Probably not a good idea, but didn’t you say it yourself? Activities between consenting adults? Well, I have some activities in my mind, and all I need is your consent.” Julia shook her head, and her voice dropped an octave in shame. “You don’t owe me anything. It’s nice of you to offer, it is. But I can’t let you do this.” He took both of her arms and wrapped them around his neck. “Julia, we’ve spent all this time figuring out how you can give a man what he needs. Maybe it’s time to think about what you need.” A phrase came into her mind from far away. She’d heard it spoken in the break room one day in a conversation between two secretaries of the firm. The idea of it had appalled her at the time, but this was his offer. Her shame was complete. “Eric, I don’t need a fuck buddy.” Eric’s eyes widened but just as quickly narrowed. His mouth flattened to a hard line. “I am not going to be your ‘fuck buddy’.”
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Chapter Five He kissed her, his arms holding her immobile against him. His hand clutched her ass, pressing her against his erection as his other claimed her breast. A surge of desire raged through her, and she let herself fall into it for a long, pathetic moment. How wonderful it would be if a man wanted her for who she was. To be in his arms like this, to have his mouth on hers. He ended the kiss abruptly. “Don’t say anything like ‘fuck buddy’ to me again. It’s time to decide what you need, Julia.” What did she need? Did she need to make love to her friend and ruin one of the best things in her life? Her body screamed “yes”, but her mind spoke a quiet and adamant “no”. If she told him “no”, how would they ever return to their friendship? They’d crossed over a bridge and burned it behind them. She’d come here to learn how to seduce a man, and he was offering his body for practice. As bad as this was, worse was how much she wanted to. The truth flooded her with more shame. She’d already crossed over to the other side. He could no longer be only her friend. Whether they made love or not now everything would be different between them. This man she thought she knew well had become something else in the span of only two days. No longer “friend”, she wanted to call him “lover”. The thought humbled her even if he only wanted to help her out of pity. And yet, as she looked at his gorgeous face, the thrum of desire racing through her, humility was not what she needed. He wanted to know what she needed? She needed him, and the reason didn’t matter anymore. Everything had changed, and for whatever reason he wanted her, she wanted him even more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, her own need sweeping through her. www.samhainpublishing.com
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“Eric.” His hands stopped their movement over her for a long moment then finally resumed with renewed fervor. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to his bedroom. The evening light slanted through the open window, casting golden shadows on the walls. The scent of his cologne filled her as she rested her lips against his neck. He laid her on the bed and sat beside her. Smiling, he kissed the soft skin at the base of her throat then nibbled the flesh beneath her ear as he whispered her name over and over. Her hands traveled over his shoulders and down through the soft, sparse dusting of hair on his chest. His flesh was warm and firm beneath her fingertips. She had the sudden urge to clutch at his skin with her hands, to grab him as tightly as she could and never release him. What are you doing? A voice deep in her subconscious demanded. It’s not too late to stop this! You can think of some way to save the friendship. Don’t do this! But she’d come too far, and she didn’t want to go back. The voice of reason echoed farther and farther away, sent to the recesses of her mind by her spur of the moment realization—what she wanted mattered, too. She’d stepped over the precipice and now wanted to wander through the land of his lovemaking. Whatever tomorrow would bring, she could not regret the magnificent sensations washing over her. In the daze of her body’s desire, she knew what she needed. “Make love to me, Eric.” He sat beside her. “If I make love to you, you belong to me. Is this what you want?” “Belong to you,” she said, loving the words but not believing them for a moment. She took his face into her hands and kissed him, her tongue slipping inside his mouth. He seemed to accept this as her acquiescence and grabbed the fabric of her shirt at her throat. He ripped the cloth back from her body, the buttons along the front pulling loose and scattering like pennies. She closed her eyes as his hands moved all over her flesh, heating her skin with his caresses. The room spun, his hands and body touching her everywhere. He removed her jeans and underwear, and before she could open her eyes to see what else he was doing, he was between her thighs.
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The heat of his mouth on her pussy shocked her, and for a fleeting instant she was cognizant of what was happening. She could stop it with a word, but the heat and waves of pleasure his mouth brought to her body washed over her. The sweet lie came back to her mind, and she chose to believe it. Belong to him. All logic washed away in the surging tide. Any remaining desire to tell him she knew it was a lie turned into a burning need to beg him to continue. She opened her legs wider allowing him easier access to continue the pleasure. The growling sound he made in his throat vibrated against her soft, sensitive flesh, and the forces of desire settled deep inside her, blooming hard and hot until one long, hard swipe of his tongue brought out a scream of release along with her shattering orgasm. He rid himself of his pants and underwear, climbed onto the bed, kneeled in front of her and pulled her against him. He entwined her hair in his fingers. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” “Why don’t you show me? Or better still, teach me how to show you.” She pushed his body onto the mattress, trailing her hands down his chest to his hips as she had the night before. She encircled his cock in both hands and watched his face as she did so, saw how his eyes closed, and thrilled at the groan of pleasure in his throat. She lowered her head to his waist and licked the tip of his cock. She continued to watch him until he opened his eyes. “Show me how to do what you like.” He took her head in his hands and guided her mouth down to his cock. She opened her mouth, letting her tongue touch the head, laving it as he had done to her. She continued to watch his face for direction on how to please him, observing movements of his features to show her what he liked best as she experimented with her tongue and teeth. “Yes, baby.” His voice was low and rocky as he closed his eyes. With the soft touch of his hands in her hair, she took his cock deeper and deeper into her mouth, letting her front teeth rake across his skin, the head of his cock pressing against the back of her throat.
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“Take all of me into your mouth. Relax and breathe.” She followed his expert but unnecessary instruction, noting the control he kept himself under as his hands tightened in her hair. As he squeezed his eyes shut, she didn’t want him holding onto his control. The time had come to figure a few things out on her own, to take control away from him and let him have the pleasure of release. She closed her eyes and no longer listened to his instruction but branched out on her own, trusting her instincts. The taste of him heated her already throbbing pussy and her body began to ache to hold him inside her. She imagined her mouth was the hot, tight glove of her pussy as she closed her lips over his girth. Julia moved her tongue over him and sucked as she took him deeply and let him slide back, over and over until his hands were clutched even tighter in her hair. “Wait.” She stilled the movement for a moment, keeping the smooth tip of his cock inside her mouth as she looked up. His eyes glittered in the evening light and told her everything she needed to know. “I don’t think so.” She closed her eyes, and finding the age-old rhythm of torturous pleasure, she sucked him beyond his control. His forceful cry echoed through the room when his release came, and she tasted the salty sweetness of him. She swallowed the slippery liquid and sucked again. When she’d taken all of him, she kissed the tip of his cock and sat up, trailing her hands over his stomach. He released her hair and with effort sat up and kissed her, taking her tongue into his mouth and sucking on it. The taste of his mouth mixed with his essence sent a shiver of delight and heat through her body, settling once more low in her abdomen. She wanted him inside her, wanted his cock to take her to the ecstasy his mouth promised. She lowered her hand back to his waist, sliding her fingers down to his groin and was surprised to find him hard again. She broke the kiss. “Wow.”
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“I want to be inside you.” He lowered her onto the mattress, and his eyes and hands worshipped her flesh as he moved down the length of her body. She grasped his hand and pulled him down toward her. He lay over her, supporting his body on his elbows. His cock pressed against the wet opening of her pussy, she raised her hips toward him. “Wait one second,” he said. “Don’t move.” He leaned over her toward the nightstand, jerked open the drawer and pulled a condom wrapper from it. Tearing it open and sheathing himself, he returned. She attempted once more to raise her hips and envelop him inside her. He would not be rushed, however. He brushed her hair back from her face. “Shhh. Do you trust me?” She nodded, slowly smiling at him, the same smile she’d been giving him for a long time, and yet not the same at all. She kissed his soft lips, the head of his penis pressing against her opening. His kiss intensified, and she opened her mouth wide to allow his insistent exploration. In one swift movement, he thrust the length of his cock into her tight pussy, and she gasped into his mouth with the delicious sensation of being split wide open. He started to pull away from her, and she grabbed onto his hips. “Are you all right?” he whispered. “Did I hurt you?” She shook her head and closed her eyes. He held himself still inside her and allowed her body time to adjust to the size of him. His cock was enormous and she deepened her breathing to relax against the fullness. Slowly he retracted his hips a few inches away and moved back to her, filling her once again. With each stroke away from her body, he pulled farther and farther away and with each forward stroke he thrust harder and harder into her. She could no longer lie still beneath him, her legs and hips beginning a comparable rhythm of their own. Meeting each thrust, the friction of his thick cock stroked her tight walls, each inward thrust completing the sensation of her body being filled to overflowing.
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His cock grew larger and harder with each movement, raking across her clit hard and fast, stoking an inferno of heat inside her. Her breathing became a pant matching his own as she took his bottom lip between her teeth. He stopped the movement, and Julia opened her eyes. She was close to the brink of her orgasm and her pussy ached with the need to finish. She opened her mouth to speak, but he pressed his finger over her lips and smiled, revealing a hard-fought battle of control over his own lust. “Let me tie you up,” he said, his cock still inside her, his voice languid. The words sent a shiver of desire through her, and she clenched the muscles in her pussy to still the ache. He groaned. “Oh God, don’t.” She forced a smile but all she wanted was to lift her hips into his and steal the fury of her orgasm from his patience. She grasped his shoulders sliding her hands down his sides. “Can’t we do it later?” The breathless sound of her voice surprised her. “No. You’re in too big of a hurry, darling. Learning is a leisurely process. You must absorb knowledge slowly to reach true understanding.” He rose, removing his cock from her tight sheathing. She gasped and moved her hands to her clit as she’d done many times over the years to still the ache inside her. As though he sensed her movement, he turned around and grabbed her hands. “Normally, I would love to see you touch yourself.” He wrapped a long red scarf around one wrist, then grabbed her other wrist securing it alongside the first. “But not right now.” Her vision was still blurry from heightened arousal. Julia squinted in the semi darkness. The long piece of fabric was one of the scarves she’d bought years ago. “Where did you get…” “From your closet.” He pulled her bound hands over her head securing the hanging strips of the cloth to the headboard. “Yet another thing you haven’t worn in a long time. Tonight, you’ll wear it for me.”
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Julia pulled on the tether but couldn’t free her hands. She tried to sit up and reach the bindings with her teeth, but Eric took hold of both of her calves and slid her body back down onto the bed. “Now, we take our time.” “I can’t move,” she muttered, desperate to have him back inside her. If she had been able to move right now, she would have flipped him onto his back and mounted him, driving his hard cock back inside her where it belonged. “Good things come—you will come.” He traced her belly with his tongue, creating a hot, wet trail from her rib cage up to her nipple. Capturing the pebbled tip between his teeth, he suckled her and squeezed her heated flesh with both hands. She tried to move her head down to reach him, wanting to touch him, to kiss him, but the bindings around her wrists held her upper torso in place. She struggled against the restraints at her wrists. Giving him control over her was heady in its frustration. Her heartbeat increased as he loved her nipples. A sparkling sensation raced through her limbs. She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the awareness, astonished at her heightened response, his adoration evident wherever he chose to touch her. She wrapped her thighs around his knees and pulled herself upward, desperate for more contact with his body. “Oh no.” He released her breasts, disengaged her legs and rose from the bed once again. He walked away and returned with something else in his hand. “What are you doing?” He took hold of one of her ankles and something hard and cold brushed against her skin. Her eyes had now adjusted to the darkness, and she watched him secure the other end of a long piece of brown leather to one of the four bedposts. He grasped her other ankle and she struggled to free it from him. He wrapped the other leather strip around it and pulled tight. “What are those?” The heat building inside her pussy took on the temperature of a blazing inferno. She lay spread out across the mattress while he secured the final binding to the other bedpost.
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“Two belts I brought along, also from your closet. I didn’t intend to use them for this, but they do come in handy.” He stared down at her, his gaze sending a tingling sensation along her flesh as if he’d physically touched her. “You realize I could keep you here as long as I want now and do whatever I want to you.” The words should have frightened her, and with anyone else they would have. But this was Eric and where fear would have tread, anticipation and desire raced in its place. “What would you do?” A slow smile moved over his features. He climbed back onto the bed and kneeled between her thighs. “I’ll show you.” He bent over her and began once again loving her breasts, worrying her nipples into hard peaks. His blond hair stroked her skin with each movement back and forth. He made his way down her belly, nibbling the soft flesh along the path toward her hot center. Stopping only a breath away from her pussy, he smiled at her frustrated groan, rose on his knees and held his erect cock, stroking his hand up and down the long shaft. Julia watched in fascination until he pressed the tip against her opening. She struggled again to raise her hips off the mattress to push him inside her. This time, he allowed it, continuing to hold his cock down where she could reach him with her slick opening. With her limited mobility, she could only get the head of his cock inside her. She clenched her teeth in torment. “Eric, please.” He leaned forward a little more, and she lifted her hips again, his cock sinking a little farther into her, rubbing her clit with each movement. The electrical surge at his touch urged her onward. She continued to strain against the bindings, pressing her hips upward and downward, faster and faster. Eric stared at her undulating form, and she marveled at the adoration in his smile while she worked herself furiously against him. “So sexy,” he said. “Make the ache stop. Oh, God. Eric, now!”
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His eyes flashed and he plunged into her, his thighs on hers, his pelvis pressing against hers. The force and fullness of his cock finally inside her set off a chain reaction of heat and flashes of light and a pulsating, clutching of her body around his rigid penis. Wave after wave of her orgasm sent her body into a quaking spasm. He thrust into her again, his face inches over hers, and she watched the rapture in his features. Another orgasm rushed over her, and with a few more hard thrusts, Eric’s release came with the sound of her name. “Untie me.” She strained at the ties around her wrists. Eric rose on one arm and pulled the scarf loose from the headboard. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him, moving her hands all over his neck and face. She couldn’t feel enough of his skin, couldn’t hold him close enough. She captured his face in her hands and planted small kisses on his lips. “Your feet,” he whispered against her lips and started to rise. She clutched his shoulders. “No, not yet. Stay inside me.” Eric rested on his elbows over her and gazed into her eyes. “You are the sexiest, most beautiful woman.” He took one of her hands in his, rubbing his thumb over her wrist. “Does it hurt?” “No.” She shook her head, watching the play of emotions on his face. If she didn’t know better, she would believe he—but no. Ridiculous. These thoughts were her orgasms talking. Sex isn’t love no matter how similar they appear. She took a deep breath. “So, how’d I do, Sensei?” Eric kissed her again, finally rising and unleashing her feet. She pulled her legs back together. He removed the condom and tossed it into a nearby wastepaper basket. “You destroyed me. I could sleep for a week thanks to you.” Julia sighed, her eyelids growing heavy as exhaustion closed in around her like a warm blanket. “I could sleep, too.” Eric lay down beside her and rested his head on the pillow, pulling her back against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist, his energy spent, already half-asleep. His
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breathing evened out, and he was asleep within moments, his mouth resting next to her ear. “I love you,” he whispered. Julia had almost been asleep herself but her eyes snapped open. She controlled her body’s response before she stiffened in his arms and awakened him. His even breathing told her he was sleeping, and she realized he’d spoken the words in a dream. Even in sleep, he’d found another lie to comfort her. Eric was the best friend she’d ever known to do this for her, to prepare her to exist as a desirable woman, but the reality of the lies crashed down on her. He did not love her. Well, maybe he loved her as a friend, not an unimportant fact. But it wasn’t what she needed. She couldn’t let herself settle for pity, the pale shadow of love, no matter how kindly intentioned. She couldn’t hold him to it, either, much as she knew with a crushing ache she wanted to. She waited more than ten minutes to assure herself he was deep in sleep before she slipped from the bed, collected her things and left the room. Taking one last look at his sleeping form, she smiled. He was a wonderful man, sexy and generous and funny and kind, and as much as she wanted to believe the lies, she knew she could not let him carry on the charade for her benefit. She phoned for a cab and waited on the front porch. Tears formed in her eyes and she swiped them away with an impatient hand. The sad, horrible truth was she loved him and not only as a friend. She loved him body and soul. How had she let this happen? She’d taken his kindness and allowed herself to be convinced somewhere deep inside he’d meant all the things he’d said, that he’d made love to her because he wanted to, because he wanted her. She shook her head. No, you don’t love him. You don’t. She repeated that thought over and over in her mind, but tears of truth continued to fall down her cheeks. She could never go back again to the comfortable humor, the safe camaraderie, the understanding glances. Their friendship was over. Her love for him had ruined it.
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When the cab pulled up, she raced down the steps and got inside. As the driver pulled away from the cabin, she permitted herself one last look at the retreating image of her weekend of lessons in seduction. The weekend she’d fallen in love with her best friend and lost his friendship forever after. *** Eric stormed through the front doors of Masters & Masters on Monday morning after trying to reach Julia all day and night on Sunday. He’d left numerous messages on her answering machine and had even driven to her apartment as soon as he’d awakened and found her gone. No note, no nothing. She had left him there in the cabin, alone with the lingering scent of her perfume. He punched the elevator button and waited impatiently for the doors to open. Her car had not been parked outside her apartment, but he’d gone to her door anyway, pounding on it for twenty minutes, shouting for her to let him inside. Where in the hell was she? She’d avoided him for as long as she was going to. This morning, there would be a reckoning. Eric strode past his office, moving quickly toward Julia’s. Harris walked up to him and grabbed him by the arm before he could pass. “Eric, hey man. What’s with Julia?” “What are you talking about? Where is she?” “She’s packing up her office. Called yesterday and said she was taking another opportunity. Another fine piece of ass gone.” Eric shook his arm loose from Harris’s grasp. “You ever say something like that again…” He heard the low menace in his voice as he stared at the man’s self-important visage. Harris would be lucky if he didn’t kill him. “Get the hell away from me, you bastard.” He pushed past Harris and continued down the long hallway. “What the hell is everybody’s problem today?”
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Eric ignored him and jogged the rest of the way to Julia’s door, then flung it open. She stood in the middle of the room surrounded by boxes, most already filled and taped shut. She swung around to face him. “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. “I thought I’d be done before you got here.” She turned away from him as her shoulders sagged. “I’m leaving.” He slammed the door and strode over to stand in front of her. “Why?” “Please, Eric, let’s not do this.” Her eyes were red, her cheeks puffy. “What happened? Did someone hurt you?” She turned from him and started to move away. “I hurt me. Please leave me alone.” He grabbed her upper arm and swung her back. “No, I’m not going to leave you alone. I told you I love you. Doesn’t it mean anything to you?” Her eyes widened and tears formed in them. “Eric, please.” “You don’t love me,” he said, the weight of the truth pressing down on him. “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t believe it.” “I appreciate everything you did for me, everything you are to me. But Eric, please don’t continue this lie. I understand why you did all this, and I do love you for it.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’m not going to hold you to anything, okay? I’m a grown woman. It’s not your job to try to make me feel better.” “Feel better? What in the hell are you talking about?” “I fell in love with you. I didn’t mean to. It happened. But I have some pride left, and I’m taking it with me.” “You’re not taking anything anywhere.” He pulled her into his arms. “You love me.” “Please don’t make me say it again. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I can’t go back. I can’t be your friend anymore. I can’t see you every day and pretend what happened didn’t happen—that I don’t feel the way I do. Please let me go.” She struggled in his arms and her body and words aroused a possessiveness inside him he’d never experienced. She loved him. He didn’t know how he’d screwed up when he’d told her the truth, but he did know one thing. She wasn’t going anywhere.
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Seduction 101
“Julia, look at me.” He stilled her in his arms. She slowly lifted her gaze to his, her cheeks wet with tears. “You need to go somewhere, but you’re not going to need anything in these boxes.” Her eyebrows drew together over the glistening tears. “I tried to teach you one last lesson while we were at the cabin, but I didn’t do it very well.” He held her body against his with one hand, wiping away her tears with his other. “Sometimes you’ve got to lay it all on the line and go for broke. I thought I did, but obviously I wasn’t clear.” She blinked but said nothing. “I told you I love you, and I thought the words would be enough,” he continued. “But I forgot to tell you why. It’s not pity. It’s not pretending and it’s not friendship. I love you because you’re mine, Julia. Mine. I love you because there’s no one else for me on this earth but you. You seduced me a long time ago.” He lowered his lips to hers to wipe any lingering doubt from her mind. He knew the moment his words sunk in and she believed him. Her body melded into his, her arms wrapped around his back and she smiled against his mouth. She spoke against his lips, the vibration of the words echoing inside him. “I’m yours?” “Yes, you are.” He spoke the words against her soft lips. “You always were.” Her smile widened against his mouth. “I really do belong to you?” “Yes, you do.” She leaned back to look into his eyes. “You said I needed to go somewhere, somewhere I don’t need these boxes.” “There are more lessons to be learned.” He smiled down at her beautiful face. “You’re ready for the next step.” “Whatever you say, Sensei.”
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About the Author To learn more about Moira Reid, please visit www.readmoore.com. Send an email to Moira at
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What happens when the rules we create for ourselves end up being the ones we most want to break?
Breaking all the Rules © 2007 Monica Robinson Between flying tequila bottles and auctioning off body shots, Allie McAllister knows how to work a crowd. When she isn’t mixing drinks at The Guild, she devotes her spare time to teaching aspiring authors—namely, male authors—how to make women melt with nothing more than a pen and paper. The Mistress of Seduction has only three rules for her students: 1) Six months is the limit; 2) When she speaks, they listen; 3) Never, under any circumstances, are her students allowed to fall in love with her. Her newest student has a lot to learn when it comes to putting his passion to paper, but there’s nothing Allie craves more than a challenge. Criminal defense attorney Adam Carlton is well aware he doesn’t have a creative bone in his body. Just the same, after taking a body shot off the most beautiful spitfire he’s ever seen, he has to see Allie again. But how? Then it hits him. He’ll write a book.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Breaking all the Rules: “Ladies and gentlemen, it is now midnight and you know what that means…” Allie wiggled her hips in a suggestive dance. Adam didn’t have a clue what was going on, but one glance at Charlie told him that his friend knew and was pleased. “What happens at midnight?” he whispered out of the side of his mouth. Charlie removed his wallet and counted the bills inside. “Auction night. Every Friday, Allie auctions off a shot of tequila to the highest bidder. It’s a tradition she started and I dare say a popular one at that,” he murmured and then groaned. “Damn. I knew I should have hit the ATM before we got here.”
Adam peered at him in amusement. “What are you doing? Man, a shot cost four bucks as it is, why pay more than you have to?” Charlie replaced his wallet and chuckled. “If it were a normal shot, I’d agree with you. But this isn’t any ordinary shot of tequila.” “What is it then?” “A body shot.” I’m in. Adam removed his wallet and glanced inside, grinning at the twenty, fifty, and one hundred-dollar bills. Though he was certain plucking a shot glass from this woman’s ample cleavage would give him a raging hard-on, it would be well worth it if he could catch her interest in the process. “Let’s do this,” he said, setting his glass next to an empty beer bottle. Charlie shook his head with a lopsided grin. “You go ahead. I have forty bucks to my name and that’s got to get me home tonight.” Adam hesitated. “You sure? I can spot you cab fare.” “Go, before I take you up on it.” As Adam approached, Allie’s lips twisted in a smug, this-ought-to-be-fun smile. Their eyes locked for only a second, but it was enough for him to catch the subtle hint of delight reflecting back at him. She glanced away and placed her hands on her supple hips. “All right. We’ll start the bidding at four dollars. Do I hear four dollars?” “Four dollars!” Adam glanced to his left and smirked at the middle-aged man standing next to him. The man smoothed his thinning hair and tried, without success, to suck in his protruding belly. He darted Adam a quick glance and wiggled his bushy eyebrows. “I’m going to win this one,” he said. “I planned ahead just so I could.” Don’t count on it. Adam returned his attention to Allie, his eyes sliding over her perky breasts and tiny waist. Oh, the fun he could have retrieving that drink. He hated tequila, but tonight it was his drink of choice. “I have four dollars. Do I hear five?” Allie called while shielding her eyes with her hand.
“Five!” “Aren’t you going to bid?” the balding man asked once the bid reached fifteen dollars. “These auctions don’t normally go above thirty bucks, so you might want to put in your bid before you lose your chance.” Adam smiled. “When the time’s right, I’ll bid.”
“Twenty!” Allie pointed in the direction the voice had come from. “I have twenty! Do I hear twenty-two?” She turned her attention to Adam. Why wasn’t he bidding? When she saw him approach, a feeling of giddiness had swept over her. The prospect of this handsome man burying his face between her breasts to retrieve a shot glass had set her motor running, but he wasn’t bidding. Was he simply watching? Biding his time? What? Get a grip, Alacia. Okay, so he’s hot. Big deal. She’d met hundreds of attractive men while working at The Guild. This one wasn’t any different. At least, that’s what she tried to tell herself as the bid rose to thirty-five dollars. “Seventy! I bid seventy dollars!” Allie swallowed a groan. No auction had ever gone this high before, and the thought of Merton Douglas pressing his slobbery face to her chest made her skin prickle in distaste. Please let the bid go higher. An image of Merton waddling up to the bar sprung to mind and she swallowed. I’ll never auction off another body shot if the bid goes up just one more time. “Two hundred, fifty-seven dollars and thirty-six cents!” Allie scanned the room, searching for the person who had shouted such an outrageous amount. She didn’t have to look hard. All eyes had turned to Adam as he held up a small wad of cash. “Sold!” Tim smacked his hand against the bar. Adam strode up to the bar and Allie bent forward, stretching her hand out for him to take. He placed his hand in hers and a tingle shot from the tips of Allie’s fingers straight
to her brain. He pulled himself onto the bar with little effort, but didn’t release his hold on her. “You’re crazy,” she laughed and withdrew. “You’re about to pay two hundred and fifty-seven dollars for a shot of house tequila.” He looked her over wolfishly and shook his head. “No, I’m about to pay two hundred and fifty-seven dollars to put my lips on your breasts. The house tequila is an added bonus.” Slick. This guy certainly seemed to know what to say. She studied him for a moment, trying not to stare and failing. Upon closer inspection, she noticed his eyes were a unique shade of blue-green, a thrilling contrast against his coal black hair. Yes having him do a shot from her body was definitely going to be fun. “Here’s the rule, mate,” Tim announced once Adam handed him the money. “Your hands are to stay behind your back at all times. If you don’t comply, we keep your money and you leave. Hear me?” Adam nodded, his gaze locked with Allie’s. “Loud and clear, chief. Anything else?” Tim grunted “Yeah. Does insanity run in your family? No one in their right mind pays two hundred bucks for a shot.” Adam laughed, a hearty sound that sent the faintest of shivers down Allie’s spine. He tossed a look at Tim and shrugged. “I’m a lawyer, so you tell me.” Tim groaned. “That explains it. You are crazy. Lime?” Adam stuck his tongue in his cheek and nodded. “Of course. The lime is the best part.” Oy vey. Allie took the lime slice, placed it between her lips before taking the shot glass and carefully wedged it between her breasts. Her heartbeat quickened when she noticed Adam’s eyes flash with desire. I’m not the only one who’s going to need a cold shower. Adam laced his fingers behind his back. “It appears that we have a problem,” he said in a low voice. “I like salt with my tequila and since I can’t use my hands, I’m at a bit of a disadvantage.”
Careful not to spill the drink down her shirt, Allie crouched to retrieve the saltshaker Tim was holding out to her. With the lime already in her mouth, she couldn’t very easily lick her fingers, so with a matching expression of mischief she offered Adam the side of her hand. She felt his soft, warm tongue glide against the sides of her thumb and index fingers and a mixture of delicious sensations swam in her head and pooled deep in her belly. She wondered vaguely what it would feel like to have him lick her in other places, places that hadn’t received attention in far too long. She pressed her knees together, hoping to squelch the flash fire of lust within her. “Ready when you are, Alley Cat.”
She’s changed everything…but she can’t change the fact she loves him.
Unmask Me © 2007 Kat Bishop After breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, aspiring North Carolina fashion designer Ali Whitmore undertakes a major self-transformation. She sheds some weight, spices up her wardrobe and, on a whim, whacks off her shoulder-length hair. But the one thing she can’t seem to leave behind is her lingering love for her ex, Trey Monahan. Trey’s been miserable since he and Ali split. He freely admits that when she brought up the dreaded “M” word, he panicked and lost the love of his life. Now he wants her back, even if it means turning to their meddlesome friend Beth for help. Beth does more than help. She lures Ali to Charlotte’s hottest masquerade party, where Ali has a close encounter with a sensual threesome. Then stumbles into a sexy pirate—and discovers how hot unmasking true love can be.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Unmask Me: Ali let the dashing pirate lead her off the dance floor. They wound their way through the dense crowd until they came to the patio bar. She kept thinking of her companion as “the pirate” and realized she didn’t even know his name. Then again, he didn’t ask her for hers either. Oh well, she thought. It didn’t matter, nothing would come from this. Charming and fun as he might be, Ali wasn’t interested in getting involved with anyone new. The timing was bad. Period. She was still in love with Trey and until she put him in the past, it wasn’t fair for her to lead this or any other man on until she settled things in her heart. It still didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun tonight. It had been a long time since she’d felt this relaxed. She swore her cheeks literally hurt from smiling. Maybe it was time to move on, she thought. But Trey’s face flicked through her mind’s eye and a stab of guilt streaked through her belly. No, tonight was not a night to make rash decisions. If the pirate wanted to date her, she’d get his number and when the time was right, she’d call him. Regardless, she would keep the ball in her court and take the lead. Not that it was
ever like that with Trey. She considered them both equals in their relationship. The problem was she’d wanted more than he was willing to give. Ali crammed her despondent thoughts away and told herself to let it go for tonight. Tonight was about her. What she wanted. And right now she wanted to enjoy the pirate’s company, how much was the million-dollar question. She watched as the pirate stood in line at the bar and waited to give the bartender their drink order. Ali took the opportunity to check him out from behind. His swarthy good looks were enough to make any woman notice him, but his body… She knew he was rock solid. He’d held her close when they danced and she felt the slabs of muscle across his chest through the soft, billowy, cotton button-down he wore as part of his costume. She loved how he’d unbuttoned it enough to show the mat of dark fur dusting his chest. Ali subconsciously licked her lips as she eyed his lower half. The black trousers clung to his muscular thighs and taut rear. He wore some sort of belted sash, which hung loosely around his lean hips, and had hooked a faux saber to the belt. Oh yeah, she wouldn’t mind being captured on the high seas by this sexy pirate. He turned with their drinks and Ali knew she’d been busted. Her face turned hot and she adjusted her satin mask. So what, she raised her chin to meet his gaze. A girl could look and if she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed rather pleased she had. The pirate swaggered over to where she stood, a little extra strut to his step, and handed Ali her drink. She couldn’t read his eyes, but noticed the smug smile playing across his lips. Her breath caught. There was something strangely familiar about him. She’d felt it a few times throughout the night, especially the way he held her when they slow danced. Maybe she was experiencing some sort of weird deja vu. Maybe they’d met before. She tried to think back then shook the thought away. Maybe he was simply a total stranger. “Would you like to walk through the maze? I hear it’s a-mazing.” The pirate’s husky tone snapped her back to attention. He started to laugh at his own joke then stopped when she didn’t respond. “Sorry, bad joke.”
“No it wasn’t…well…yes it was. Sorry.” Ali smiled, sipped her drink and tried to stifle the giggles bubbling in her throat. His lame joke charmed her to her toes and she decided then and there to give the guy a chance.
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