A Strict Seduction by Maria Del Rey

her, forcing my eyes from the view of her shapely thighs, displayed to perfection by her tight skirt.
    â€˜He said he’d be late again,’ she said with a sigh, for one moment an expression of sorrow clouding her eyes. She turned back to the television, perhaps wanting to hide her true feelings from me.
    At first I had been sure it was my imagination. After all, I was probably spending more time at home with Nicole than Jim, who seemed to be putting in more and more hours at work. It could have been imagination, but slowly I grew certain that Nicole was flirting with me. No, it wasn’t flirting exactly; it seemed to me that she was playing a little game and enjoying every second of it. First it was her clothes: very short mini-skirts, skin-tight tops, low-cut blouses. Then it was more obvious: the bathrobe that would fall open accidentally, affording me a split second view of her finely shaped breasts, her nipples cherry-red against the whiteness of her skin, or the bedroom door left open so I’d see her as I walked past.
    Never a word was said, never a hint of anything untoward, not even a silent smile of complicity. On the surface everything was entirely innocent, and I’m certain that Jim had no idea that anything was going on. And perhaps there really was nothing going on. But then again, every glimpse of her body, every look that was so innocent and so knowing, would set my heart pounding and body responding. Damn it, Nicole was a beautiful young woman and I found her presence very arousing.
    â€˜Are you watching this?’ she asked, turning to me and breaking my train of thought.
    â€˜No, not really,’ I mumbled, aware that she had been talking to me and I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed.
    â€˜Daydreaming again, Paul,’ she sighed, a sad shake of the head transforming into a friendly smile.
    â€˜Sorry, I was miles away,’ I told her, smiling back, all the time wondering what was going on in her pretty head. Her smiles could mean a million different things, always open and friendly, but occasionally I thought I detected something else, something much deeper and more dangerous.
    â€˜Do you mind if I turn this over?’
    â€˜Not at all. Is there anything else on the other side?’
    She shrugged. ‘Isn’t there a film on tonight? Have you got the paper?’
    I pointed to the magazine rack beside the television. Where was Jim? Such a pretty girl and yet he was neglecting her again, spending time at work or with his mates in the pub rather than with her. I couldn’t understand it. He and Nicole were the same age, just under twenty, half my age, and yet they were worlds apart in personality. She liked nothing better than to cuddle up close to him, or for them to go out dancing, whereas he had plainly decided that his career was number one.
    Nicole dutifully dragged herself off the sofa and walked across the room to the magazine rack. My eyes widened as she bent over to retrieve the newspaper. She was standing with ankles together, bent over at the waist, her skirt rising up at the back so I could see the full length of her gorgeous thighs. She flicked idly through the thick pile of papers and magazines, and as she did so she swivelled round slightly, making her skirt rise even higher. I could see the muscles of her thighs pulled taut, every inch of her silky smooth skin displayed, and at the top of her thighs the curve of her backside, the slight bulge of her buttocks. Her panties were a thin white strip of cotton that had been pulled tightly between her rear cheeks.
    â€˜Can’t find it, you sure it’s here?’ she called, glancing round. I nodded silently, my eyes fixed on that rear view of her.
    Was she doing it on purpose? I didn’t know, and yet she was surely driving me insane. So sexy, so desirable, but still very distant and definitely hands-off.
    As she read the newspaper I caught her sneaking looks