Intent to Seduce & a Glimpse of Fire by Debbi Rawlins, Cara Summers Page B

I promise that I’m not out to trap you into marriage. Sophie said you would be worried about that. This is strictly a no-strings arrangement. I’ve been on the Pill for three months, and I’ve always practiced safe sex, not that I’ve had to worry about it lately. What about you?”
    Lucas stared at her, incredulous.
    “Is there anything in your sexual history I should be concerned about,” she asked.
    “No, I’m a very careful man.”
    Mac nodded. “Of course, you could still use a condom as an extra precaution…”
    “Of course. And if I agree to the arrangement…?”
    “There are some particular male sexual fantasies that I want to try out. If you’re willing.” She took his bottle back and emptied it.
    As her proposition swam around in his mind, Lucas watched a thin trickle of beer run down her throat. He imagined the bitter taste it would have, along with the sweeter, warmer flavor of her skin. But if he gave in to the temptation of leaning forward and following the path of the beer with his tongue, he wouldn’t stop there. He would have to kiss her. And if he did, he wouldn’t stop there either.
    He felt as if he was fighting against a riptide that was carrying him farther and farther from shore, from his sanity. Even as the battle went on in his mind, he was leaning forward. Then the shingles moved beneath him.
    “You’re slipping.” Mac grabbed his arm, and then she was sliding too.
    In the instant it took him to realize that they were both going over the edge, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. If he’d been alone, he would have simply tucked his arms in and rolled. As it was, the moment his feet hit the ground, he twisted and fell backward to take the brunt of the impact. It took his breath away.
    As soon as he could, he loosened his grip on her. “Are you all right?”
    She raised her head and looked down at him. “Fine. What about you?”
    For a moment he didn’t respond. All he could focus on was the way sunlight brought out the fiery glints in her hair and the way the amber flecks had brightened in hereyes. The way her body had softened until it fit perfectly against his.
    He couldn’t recall ever wanting a woman this much. “About your plan…”
    “Oh,” she said, her eyes suddenly narrowing. “Do you want to…? That would be great. If you’d like to get started…” She pushed against him. “I’ll get the questionnaire.”
    “Questionnaire?”
    “So I can tell which fantasies are your favorites.”
    He was thinking of carrying her down the beach to the small inlet where the palms touched overhead. There, he could make love to her until she couldn’t think of anything, of anyone but him.
    And the doc was thinking of paperwork!
    “It won’t take long. Once I know exactly what you like to fantasize about, I can run them through this program I created on my laptop.”
    “Wait a minute.” When she tried to rise, he grabbed her wrist and sat up with her. The frantic skipping of her pulse against his thumb told him she wasn’t anywhere near as cool as her voice had sounded.
    Oh, she was excited all right. But was it about making love with him, or was it because she was thinking of her questionnaires and programs? “I stopped indulging in fantasies when I was twelve. I much prefer reality.”
    “Oh…are you saying you don’t want to? I told Sophie that you don’t think of me that way.”
    “I think of you that way.” He couldn’t stop himself from thinking of her that way.
    “Then…” She moistened her lips. “You’ll do it?”
    The strength of his desire to agree had him releasing her wrist carefully. He had to think, to weigh the possible outcomes. And he couldn’t think at all when she wassitting on his lap, her mouth only a breath away. “I never make snap decisions in business. I’m sure you never do in the lab.”
    “No, of course not.”
    “Then I suggest we take twenty-four hours to think it over before either of us jumps into