by user
Great, maybe he'd be able to get some work accomplished this morning. He looked at the note again and snorted. Roomie, now that had been the dumbest idea he'd ever come up with. Maybe he should see about getting a hotel room— even staying in a room at a discount hotel chain would be better than the torture she'd put him through last night. But then, he wouldn't have easy access to a computer.
And he wouldn't see Kagen. He really liked watching her.
He tossed the paper to the side and searched the cabinet for coffee, but his mind was still on her. She
was something else. All heat and fire. He loved the way she moved across the room. The way she frowned at him. The sound of her voice. The way she'd looked last night. His pulse quickened. Even
now he wished she'd walk into the room. He found her exciting, alluring and ...
His hand stilled on the can of coffee.
And seducing him. His eyes widened. How could he have thought her coming into the kitchen last night was an accident? Kagen had turned the tables on him. She'd wanted him to see exactly what he was giving up.
So that was her game plan. A slow grin spread across his face. If it hadn't been for his promise to Lisa, Alex would already have Kagen naked and in his bed, moaning.
Thoughtfully, he went about the task of brewing coffee.
Alex had known Kagen would be exciting and different from other women who'd come and gone through his life. She was turning out to be more than he'd bargained for, and he rather enjoyed wondering what she would do next. Her attempts were a little amateurish, but she'd certainly done it with style.
The coffee finished dripping into the pot. After pouring himself a cup he took a seat at the table and thought about the situation.
If she kept it up, hewould give in, breaking his promise to Lisa. He'd never broken a promise to his
little sister. But he could easily see himself begging for mercy.
So what to do when a beautiful woman tries her hand at seducing him? A smile curved his lips upward. Seduce back. Maybe he would scare her off. At least until Lisa returned and he could get out of this silly promise.
He drained his cup and placed it in the sink. Going to his room, he retrieved his briefcase, then went to the computer Lisa had set up in a corner of the living room. He was still thinking about Kagen as he started work. Finally he was able to push her to the back of his mind and immerse himself in refining
his program. The hours passed.
He jumped when the front door banged shut.
"Oops, sorry," Kagen said as she walked over and dumped the box she carried onto the sofa. "I didn't know the door was going to slam when I nudged it with my foot."
His program forgotten, Alex feasted his eyes on the sensuous creature standing in the middle of the living room. Her black pants hugged each and every delicious curve. Three middle buttons held the white shirt together, leaving her belly button exposed, along with a creamy expanse of delicious skin.
Bracelets jangled on her wrists, and rings sparkled on her fingers. Hoop earrings and her loose, flowing hair finished out the picture she presented of a vibrant, seductive young woman. A woman he wanted to pull into his arms and have hot, sweaty sex with for the next three or four hours.
"I didn't, did I?" Her voice fluttered across the room like a hummingbird seeking sweet nectar.
"Didn't what?" He had to stop thinking like this or the promise he'd made to Lisa would go flying right
out the window.
"Disturb you."
He glanced at his watch. He'd been going at it three hours. "No, I needed to take a break anyway." He stood, stretching his arms above his head.
Kagen held her breath. The gray tee rode up, giving her a good view of perfect abs. She bit her bottom
lip to stifle the moan that threatened to escape. Was this his revenge for last night and her lacy nightie? Did he want her to drool over him? If so, his plan worked.
He slowly lowered his arms. She forced her expression into a mask of innocence, as if his showing a
little skin had no effect on her.
But she couldn't stop her gaze from skimming over him. Rough and tumbled. As though he'd gone straight from the bed to the computer. His hair was still tousled, and there was a shadow of stubble on
his face. The T-shirt he'd pulled on had the sleeves cut out and faded lettering depicting some college. And even though the sweat pants were baggy, they looked damn good on him ... accentuating all his positive attributes very nicely.
She sighed. All she wanted was one really good night of sex. Was that asking too much?
Having him under foot didn't help. How would she concentrate? He was too damn tempting. "Don't
you have some place to go? One of the conventions or something?"
"Nope, I'll be here every day." He nodded toward the computer. "Working."
"Working? Here? All day . . . every day?" She shook her head. Oh, no, it was worse than she thought. How would she ever be able to decorate? She could see it now: fiery red walls, naked windows. Ugh, he'd thrown her completely out of kilter. In a fog, she turned toward the door.
"You don't have to leave on my account," he told her.
"I'm not. I have more boxes in the car."
"More?"
She paused, her hand on the doorknob. "Yes, more. About six for starters. Besides paint, paint brushes and rollers, drop cloths ..." She was still mumbling off the list as she made her way downstairs.
Maybe she should dye her hair red. Then he'd want to make mad, passionate love, and everything
would be over and done, and she could decorate the apartment.
That wouldn't change the fact that he thought she was too skinny and too tall. Maybe if she slumped
her shoulders? Puffed out her cheeks? She pondered ideas as she stepped to the landing. She walked around Lisa's car, pushing the button that opened the trunk. It popped up, and she stuck her head inside, grabbing one of the cardboard boxes.
How was she going to decorate the apartment with Alex there? Ignoring him wasn't an option. It was an impossibility.
She closed her eyes for a moment and let her fantasies take over. She pictured Alex deciding he couldn't live another day, another minute, without making wild, passionate love to her. He'd scoop her into his arms and carry her to his bed. Slowly, he would undress her—slipping one button at a time from each hole until he pushed her shirt off her shoulders. Like a whisper of fine silk, the material would float to
the floor, landing in a puddle at her feet.
Then he would slip her bra off, freeing her breasts so he could take them into his hands and knead her hard, sensitive nipples with the pad of his thumb. . . .
"Randy, come back here. I swear if you don't stop right now, I'll tell your father, and you won't watch TV for a week."
Kagen cringed and peered over the side of the trunk. The daydream evaporated just as quickly as the woman caught up to her young son. Darn, she couldn't even have a decent fantasy anymore.
Catching hold of the box, she lifted and turned, slamming into Alex's chest. The box tilted, she yelped
and grabbed it. Strong, warm hands covered hers as he righted the box.
"Careful or you'll break something."
His deep green eyes captured hers. She froze. On the inside, her tummy tumbled over.
"You okay?"
No, I need sex.
She tried to pull the box from him, but it didn't budge. "I'd be fine if you'd quit sneaking up on me.
Would you please let go of my box? I have a job to do."
He grinned, and her heart skipped a beat. Not fair at all. His smile should be licensed as a lethal weapon.
"What? Decorating their new apartment?" He did let go of the box then and leaned against the fender, arms crossed in front of him.
Had he just implied what she thought he had? She rested the box on the bumper. "I take my job very seriously. And I still happen to be a very good interior decorator, even though I don't do much
field
work anymore."
"Hey, I didn't mean to ruffle your tail feathers. And I didn't know you actually worked as a decorator.
I thought you had other people working for you."
"I do, but this project is important."
His forehead wrinkled. "Do people really pay for that sort of thing?"
Oh, now, he hadn't just uttered those words, had he? She opened her mouth to explain a few things but just as quickly snapped it closed.
"Excuse me." She went around him and headed for the stairs.
Alex loved the way her eyes narrowed when she was ticked off. The passion sizzled inside her. She definitely had fire.
He grabbed a box and followed. Kagen's hips swayed seductively from side to side with each step she took. He trudged up the stairs ... admiring the view every step of the way.
Four
Paint fumes choked the living room. How was he supposed to refine his computer program with vapors infiltrating his brain? And Kagen was still painting. She looked damned cute doing it, too. Alex forced his eyes to focus on the computer screen. He needed total concentration.
But his gaze kept straying.
Kagen wore a cropped white tee that lacked several inches covering her stomach, and each time she
rolled the paint up the wall her tee rose a little higher. But that wasn't nearly as bad as her blue jean shorts. God, they were short. When she bent over to pour more paint into the pan not much was left
to the imagination. Damn, the cheeks of her ass were sweet. So sweet he wanted to grab hold and cup them in the palms of his hands, kneading the smooth contours.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds and let his fantasy take root.
Okay, enough self-torture. He!d made a promise to Lisa, and he planned to keep it. He opened his
eyes and angled his body until she was out of his line of vision. He had to concentrate on his computer program. This deal could make or break him.
If the configuration of the right angles was increased by just a hair, he could... .
Her soft humming floated into his mathematical figures, causing a landslide of numbers.
This wasn't working. He ran an unsteady hand through his hair. She breezed across his line of vision—and stopped. He leaned back in his chair and covertly watched from the corner of his eye.
She wiped a smear of paint off one of the baseboards, and he had a great view of long, slender legs. He could imagine them wrapping around his waist, pulling him inside, her hot sheath sucking him farther and farther, deeper and deeper, contracting against his hard length.
Sweat beaded his forehead. Alex was afraid Kagen had surpassed her amateur status. He swallowed and forced himself to return his attention to the screen. If he set the boundaries of the room a little wider and longer, the client would have a better perspective....
From the corner of his eye, he caught another glance of Kagen.Don't look. He cleared his throat and changed the settings. Better. The outline of a cabinet was too short. He stretched it....
Kagenstretched to reach an upper corner. Her tee rode up, baring more skin. He could almost see the underside of her bra ... He leaned backward ... The chair tilted, and he knew in one very brief moment
he was falling and there wasn't a damn thing he could do except make a fool of himself.
He landed with a loud thunk.
"Are you all right?" Kagen laid the roller in the paint pan and rushed to his side. When she leaned over
her tee gaped open at the bottom, and he had a good view of those white, lacy cups—it had been worth the fall.
"I'm fine." When he started to get up, she grabbed his hand. Warm fingers curled around his sweaty palm.
"What happened?"
Her voice swirled around him, enclosing him in a warm cocoon as he stood. Her hot body melted against his as she aimed him toward the sofa.
Alex tried to clear his muddled thoughts and answered. "Um ... I was reaching for a pencil and reached too far I guess." Maybe she'd believe his lame excuse.
"Here, sit on the sofa. Did you hit your head? Do I need to drive you to the emergency room?"
"I think it only stunned me for a moment." He sat, resting against the cushion. A sigh escaped as her nearness invaded his senses.
"Let me see."
She ran her hands through his hair, checking his scalp. She massaged lightly but started a slow burn
inside him. He tried to stifle his groan but wasn't entirely successful.
"You are hurt. I think you should see a doctor."
"No, really, I'm okay."
Surely this couldn't be construed as breaking his promise to Lisa. It wasn't like they were having sex.
And if he really wanted to push the matter, Kagen was seducing him. "I just want to sit here for a while until the dizziness passes."
"You're dizzy?"
He nodded. Okay, so he'd lied just a little about the dizzy part.
"You could have a concussion. But I don't feel any lumps."
She moved onto the sofa and leaned closer. Her sweet scent wrapped around him. He opened his eyes. Her breasts moved closer. He could see the outline of her nipples as they strained against her shirt.
"No, I don't feel anything out of the ordinary," Kagen said.
If she moved any closer to his crotch, she would.
"What about your shoulders? Are they okay?"
She moved her hands over him. Squeezing and touching. She checked his arms, sliding her hands sinfully across his chest, then to his hips, rocking them, and causing the material of his sweats to rub against him. When she touched his thighs he couldn't stand any more of the sweet torture she inflicted.
He grabbed her hands and held tightly. "I'm fine. Really, I am."
A knowing look sparkled in her eyes. "Are you sure?" Her gaze slowly moved downward. "I could kiss
it and make it better."
He drew in a sharp breath, imagining just where her lips would fit. She was a fast learner in the game of seduction, but she'd forgotten one important rule. Two could play the game.
His gaze started at the top of her head, studied her face, lingered on her breasts. The heat of his look sensuously caressed her. But he didn't touch. Her body trembled in response.
"I'm sure you could make anything better." His voice was husky as his eyes met hers. He ran a finger over her lips, almost losing control when her tongue flicked the tip. Without considering the consequences, he pulled her across his lap and lowered his mouth to hers.
Kagen tasted exactly as he'd imagined. Hot, as if a fire burned deep inside her. A fire that had yet to be quenched. She snuggled closer, and answered one of his questions. She was a snuggler.
But when she slid her hand between their bodies, he quickly stayed her. A whimper escaped her lips.
Reason brought him back down to earth. He ended the kiss. She rested her head against his chest. He wanted to continue tasting her—touching her. Right now he was as close as he would ever be to breaking a promise.
"You want me—admit it."
Her whispered words floated up to him. So quiet he barely heard them. He sensed the uncertainty. How could he lie and possibly hurt her?
"I want you," he finally told her.
She sighed with relief. "Then make love to me." She refused to meet his eyes, but he could see the blush staining her cheeks. He had a feeling it wasn't often she asked a man to take her to his bed.
"I can't."
She did look up at him then. Her eyes opened wide as she scooted from his lap and stood. "I thought
you were a player?" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, no, you're gay. I really am sorry. I just thought with your reputation ..."
"I am not gay." Heat flooded his face as he scrambled to his feet.
"It's okay. I won't tell a soul."
"I made a promise to Lisa that I'd stay away from you," he quickly interjected before she jumped to any more conclusions.
Her eyebrows drew together. "Wh
at the hell did you do that for?"
"I wouldn't have made it if I'd known we'd be in such close quarters. Do you think I like being celibate when you've practically thrown yourself at me?"
"But you don't have to be. We want the same thing." She smiled and moved in for the kill. "Hot, sweaty sex."
He put her from him. "No, I won't break my promise to Lisa."
She sauntered to the sofa and sat down, primly crossing her legs, but looking sultry and sensuous at the same time. "Do you really think you can keep your promise for a whole week? I doubt you could keep
it for forty-eight hours."
She challengedhim? Even though he felt sure she was a novice in the game, she'd tossed out the gauntlet. His brain told him to let her remark slide, but the dare in her eyes overrode logical thinking.
