Read Online Intent to Seduce & a Glimpse of Fire by Debbi Rawlins, Cara Summers - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Debbi Rawlins, Cara Summers
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he’d taken her on a tour of the island. He’d even slept on the boat so that she could have the one narrow bed in the cabin.
In short, he’d been the perfect host. Other than that one terse statement—“I think about you that way”—he hadn’t done one thing to indicate that he might be interested in becoming her…boy toy.
Moving toward the dresser, Mac gazed at her reflection. Better to face the facts. MacKenzie Lloyd was not a woman that most men had lustful thoughts about. Even with a new hair color and a head full of research, what did she really have to appeal to a man like Lucas Wainright?
The muffled ring of a cell phone had her moving quickly to the main room where she located her bag and fished it out. “Hello?”
“It’s Sophie. If Lucas is there, pretend I’m someone from the university.”
“He’s not here.” And she wasn’t sure where he was. Mac went to the door of the cabin and spotted him on the deck of the boat polishing brass with a white cloth.
“Good. Whatever you do, don’t tell him I called. As far as he knows, I had to check my cell phone in at the desk of the spa. The one thing that would spoil my week in paradise would be to have him calling me every day to check up on me.”
“You’re enjoying the spa?”
“It’s heaven. For the first time in months I feel absolutely free. I wish you could see the view I have from my balcony. There are at least three air balloons suspended in the sky. They look like giant lollipops. I have to go up in one while I’m here. Wait…Mac, can you hold on a minute? I ordered something from room service. They’re at the door.”
In the background, Mac could hear voices, the sound of Sophie’s laugh, then a deeper one. On the boat, Lucas continued to polish brass with sure, steady strokes. Odd that she’d never before pictured him as a man who would like to do any kind of work with his hands. It explained why they’d felt so hard when they’d settled over hers on the wheel of the boat. The memory had a sliver of heat shooting through her.
“You still there?” Sophie asked.
“Yes,” Mac replied.
“Tell me how your plan’s progressing.”
“I asked him.”
“Asked him what?” Sophie prompted. “Give me the details.”
As she told Sophie what had happened, Mac once again replayed everything in her mind. Her stomach plummeted farther. “I don’t think it was my most persuasive presentation.”
“Surely he didn’t turn you down?”
Mac smiled at the disbelief in her friend’s voice. “Not exactly. He wants us both to think about it for twenty-four hours.”
There was a great deal of exasperation in Sophie’s sigh. “That is so typically Lucas. He’s probably having one of his security people do a thorough background check on you to see if you’re any threat to Wainright Enterprises. My advice is don’t wait.”
“What do you mean?”
“Seduce him into agreeing. That research of yours is worthless if you don’t have the guts to use it.”
“I don’t know—”
“He who hesitates is lost. Picture yourself five years after you walk down the aisle with your future bridegroom. You’re in your kitchen feeding two screaming kids and you’re afraid your husband’s eye is about to wander. Are you going to wait for him to make the first move?”
“No,” Mac said softly.
“But? I hear a but in that sentence.”
“I just imagined he might be a little more enthusiastic.”
Sophie laughed. “Enthusiasm is contagious. Starting out by asking him to fill out a questionnaire was not your best move. As foreplay, it wouldn’t rate very high on my list.”
“Oh…I didn’t think of that.”
“I warned you that this plan of yours was not going to be like your usual experiments. You can’t approach it like a job. Besides, it should be fun! And people are not like your docile little lab animals, Mac. Sometimes they need a little extra push.”
The moment Lucas turned and glanced in her direction, Mac felt
In short, he’d been the perfect host. Other than that one terse statement—“I think about you that way”—he hadn’t done one thing to indicate that he might be interested in becoming her…boy toy.
Moving toward the dresser, Mac gazed at her reflection. Better to face the facts. MacKenzie Lloyd was not a woman that most men had lustful thoughts about. Even with a new hair color and a head full of research, what did she really have to appeal to a man like Lucas Wainright?
The muffled ring of a cell phone had her moving quickly to the main room where she located her bag and fished it out. “Hello?”
“It’s Sophie. If Lucas is there, pretend I’m someone from the university.”
“He’s not here.” And she wasn’t sure where he was. Mac went to the door of the cabin and spotted him on the deck of the boat polishing brass with a white cloth.
“Good. Whatever you do, don’t tell him I called. As far as he knows, I had to check my cell phone in at the desk of the spa. The one thing that would spoil my week in paradise would be to have him calling me every day to check up on me.”
“You’re enjoying the spa?”
“It’s heaven. For the first time in months I feel absolutely free. I wish you could see the view I have from my balcony. There are at least three air balloons suspended in the sky. They look like giant lollipops. I have to go up in one while I’m here. Wait…Mac, can you hold on a minute? I ordered something from room service. They’re at the door.”
In the background, Mac could hear voices, the sound of Sophie’s laugh, then a deeper one. On the boat, Lucas continued to polish brass with sure, steady strokes. Odd that she’d never before pictured him as a man who would like to do any kind of work with his hands. It explained why they’d felt so hard when they’d settled over hers on the wheel of the boat. The memory had a sliver of heat shooting through her.
“You still there?” Sophie asked.
“Yes,” Mac replied.
“Tell me how your plan’s progressing.”
“I asked him.”
“Asked him what?” Sophie prompted. “Give me the details.”
As she told Sophie what had happened, Mac once again replayed everything in her mind. Her stomach plummeted farther. “I don’t think it was my most persuasive presentation.”
“Surely he didn’t turn you down?”
Mac smiled at the disbelief in her friend’s voice. “Not exactly. He wants us both to think about it for twenty-four hours.”
There was a great deal of exasperation in Sophie’s sigh. “That is so typically Lucas. He’s probably having one of his security people do a thorough background check on you to see if you’re any threat to Wainright Enterprises. My advice is don’t wait.”
“What do you mean?”
“Seduce him into agreeing. That research of yours is worthless if you don’t have the guts to use it.”
“I don’t know—”
“He who hesitates is lost. Picture yourself five years after you walk down the aisle with your future bridegroom. You’re in your kitchen feeding two screaming kids and you’re afraid your husband’s eye is about to wander. Are you going to wait for him to make the first move?”
“No,” Mac said softly.
“But? I hear a but in that sentence.”
“I just imagined he might be a little more enthusiastic.”
Sophie laughed. “Enthusiasm is contagious. Starting out by asking him to fill out a questionnaire was not your best move. As foreplay, it wouldn’t rate very high on my list.”
“Oh…I didn’t think of that.”
“I warned you that this plan of yours was not going to be like your usual experiments. You can’t approach it like a job. Besides, it should be fun! And people are not like your docile little lab animals, Mac. Sometimes they need a little extra push.”
The moment Lucas turned and glanced in her direction, Mac felt
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