Dreams of Seduction by N. J. Walters Page A

from her mouth. She knew that voice. Heard it in her sleep on a nightly basis. It couldn’t be. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The scent of the rich coffee filled her nostrils, teasing her senses. She opened her eyes and took a quick glance toward the counter. It was him .
    Jed Bearson leaned against the counter, his hip resting on it as he chatted with Clancy. She glanced away and tried to catch her breath. Her heart pounded and her hand shook. Slowly, she lowered her cup back to the table before she spilled her coffee over everything.
    Okay. Just relax. There is nothing to worry about. Just pretend he’s not there. Easier said than done.
    She grabbed her purse and yanked open the zipper. Rummaging around, she dug out a notepad and pen.
    She’d pretend she was working on something, that way she didn’t have to look at him.
    “This seat taken?”
    He couldn’t be talking to her. He couldn’t. But she knew he was. Notepad and pen clutched in her hands, she turned and came face-to-face with a silver belt buckle. And, whoa, a very impressive bulge just below it. Maggie swallowed hard.
    “Maggie?”
    His voice had lowered to an intimate whisper. Oh God, he’d seen her staring at his crotch. Heat crept up her cheeks and Maggie didn’t need a mirror to know that her face was as red as her hair.
    “Maggie? You okay?”
    Her head shot up and she could see the concern in his amber-colored eyes. He was even more magnificent in person than he was in her dreams. The sharp angles and planes of his face made him look hard and tough, not the kind of man you wanted to piss off. The seams of a crisp white shirt strained at his shoulders, the color making his bronzed skin appear even darker. His wide chest tapered down to a narrow waist. And his legs…his legs were long with thick thigh muscles outlined by the faded denim jeans he wore.
    She was acting like an idiot and all because of a few dreams. What had he said? “I’m fine.” Her hands began to ache and she glanced down at them. Her knuckles were white where they clenched the pen and the pad of paper. She loosened her hold and carefully set both on the table.
    “May I?” Not waiting for a reply, Jed pulled out the chair across from hers and sat down, placing his coffee cup on the table beside hers.
    You can do this. You can talk to him. He doesn’t know about the dreams. “What brings you to Clancy’s this morning?” That was lame, but she was honestly pleased she could put an entire sentence together.
    This wasn’t like her at all. In her former job she’d dealt with all manner of handsome men, models, athletes and superstars, and not once had she been this tongue-tied. Of course, she hadn’t spent the past few nights naked with any of them in her dreams either, so she decided to cut herself some slack.
    Jed raised his cup and took a sip. “I needed a cup of coffee to get my day started.”
    Maggie picked up her cup, grateful that her hand was no longer shaking, and managed a mouthful.
    Thankfully, it was no longer steaming hot as she gulped it down. She needed the caffeine rush to get her brain firing on all cylinders.
    “How are you settling in?” Jed wrapped his fingers lightly around the large paper cup. Maggie couldn’t stop staring at them. His fingers were long and thick, the skin slightly calloused. They’d grazed every inch of her body in her dreams, rubbing the tips of her nipples until they were sharp points of desire.
    Her breasts swelled and her nipples rubbed against the cups of her bra. Maggie was profoundly thankful that she was wearing her fleece jacket over her plain white T-shirt. Wouldn’t that have been embarrassing? The man sits down to share her table and her nipples pop out to greet him.
    “I’m settling in fine.” There. She managed another sentence. Granted, it was only four words long, but it was something. She glanced around the room and realized there were several empty tables. Why had he sat down with