Intent to Seduce & a Glimpse of Fire (7 page)

She was talking about the fantasy. Had she been kissing him or the sailor? And who had he just made love to?

She rubbed her fingers across her lips. “The way I react to your kiss is going to present a challenge that I didn’t quite foresee.” A fine line appeared on her forehead. “I’m going to have to make some adjustments to my plan.”

It was the last thing he’d expected her to say. Whoever it was who’d been kissing him, it was definitely the doc who was talking to him now. And he wanted her even more than he had before.

“That is….” The frown line deepened. “I hope you’re going to let me go ahead with my research.”

Her lips were still swollen from his kisses. A pulse was still jackhammering at her throat, and yet he could hear the wheels turning in her head. “You’re hard on a man’s ego, Doc.”

The corners of her mouth turned down slightly. “I don’t mean to be. Next time I’ll try to stay more focused on the fantasy.”

“You do that, Doc.” Next time he was going to make sure that she couldn’t stay focused at all. With a quick grin, he said, “I may have to make some adjustments of my own.”

For some perverse reason, derailing that one-track mind of hers was becoming his number-one desire. Perhaps it was the challenge she offered that was drawing him. He could swear that he was dealing with more than one woman—there was the doc and the island girl, Lania. And which one was the real MacKenzie Lloyd? One way or the other, he was going to figure her out.

“Before we go any further with this little experiment, I think we need a change of scene.” He rose, then drew her to her feet. “Let’s pack.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as he ushered her into the cabin.

“Wainright Enterprises owns a resort hotel on Key West. It will provide us with a more romantic atmosphere.”

“I don’t need romance.”

Lucas threw back his head and laughed. “I think I do. You’ll just have to indulge me.” Then, throwing an arm around her shoulders, he gave her a quick hug. “And you better start figuring out what to do when I kiss you again. I plan to do it again very soon.”

T
RACKER SWORE SOFTLY
as he lowered his binoculars. The North Carolina mountains had too many damn trees, and he’d lost track of how many he’d climbed trying to get a good view of the guests at the Serenity Spa.

One problem was that the compound was spread out over a couple of square miles. A large building sat in the center on a hill. Fanning out from there were tennis courts, a glassed-in, Olympic-size swimming pool and acres of lawn set up for volleyball, badminton, croquet. One unpaved road connected the grounds to the highway a mile away. In the more than four hours since he’d had the place under surveillance, only two vehicles had used that road. One had been the spa van, the other a truck delivering fresh produce and bottled water to the main building.

Raising the binoculars, he focused them on the group of women who were gathering on one of the playing fields, watching to see if any of them walked with the confident, distinctive gait of the Princess. He’d dubbed Lucas’s pampered and temperamental sister that the first time he’d seen her. His view was being hampered, not only by the branches of several trees, but also by the fact that the women were wearing what seemed to be the spa uniform—sweatpants and hooded jackets.

Huge gray clouds had settled like a lid over the mountains, and thunder growled overhead. As the hooded figures began to disperse, he shifted his gaze to the individual
cabins, most of which were tucked away beneath the trees. The information he’d downloaded from the Serenity Spa website emphasized complete privacy. It promised clients a totally female environment, free from the “intrusion of any male vibrations.”

Tracker couldn’t prevent a grin. In the very near future, he was going to break their promise. He just hadn’t figured out the best way to do it. If he forced his way in, the Princess would be furious. When the lady got all fired up, she reminded him of some warrior goddess about to wreak her vengeance on mere mortals.

She’d been mad as hell when she’d read the file he’d gathered on Bradley Davis. The heat of her anger had been aimed at her brother. And she’d taken him completely by surprise when she’d landed that right cross to her brother’s chin. Just the memory had him grinning. Oh, she’d been quick as lightning. He couldn’t help but admire her for it. And she was strong too. She might look as slender as a wand, but when he’d grabbed her, he’d had to put some effort into subduing her.

The Princess was smart too. No one he’d tailed had ever spotted him before. But she had. He could still recall the cold fury in her eyes when they’d met his in that Georgetown pub. He’d felt it like a blow in his gut.

He’d underestimated her. That had been his mistake—a moment of carelessness that he was paying for now, he thought as he shifted carefully on the branch to ease the sharp impressions the bark was leaving on his backside.

If she hadn’t become aware that she was being tailed, she wouldn’t have pulled that switch yesterday, and he’d know for sure if she was indeed escaping from “male vibrations” in one of those damn cabins.

A bird landed on a nearby branch, gave him a startled look and flew off.

“Good idea,” he muttered as he started to lower himself to the ground. He’d hoped to study the women as they made their way to the main building for lunch, but the steady and insistent slap of rain meant that umbrellas would be out in full force.

After hitting the ground, he ran toward the main road. Time for plan B.

T
HE MOMENT
L
UCAS TURNED
his attention to uncorking the champagne that had been waiting for them in the suite, Mac drew in a deep breath and slipped out onto the balcony. What she needed was a moment to plan and get back on track. He hadn’t allowed her much time to do that on the boat trip to Key West. Instead, he’d seemed determined to distract her in any way he could.

Not that he’d kissed her again. He’d just taken every opportunity he could to touch her. A hand at her back as they’d walked down the dock, a firm grasp on her fingers as he’d helped her onto and off the boat, the brush of his body against hers as they’d stepped into the same slot of the revolving door that had spun them into the hotel lobby.

Each time he’d come in contact with her, her heart had made what felt like a somersault in her chest, and each and every nerve in her body had responded. So many images had filled her mind when the bellhop had given them a quick tour of the hotel suite. Every time he’d gestured to a different feature—from the oversize hot tub in the bathroom to the grand piano tucked into a corner of the sunken living room—she’d pictured Lucas making love to her in each spot.

Clearly, her ability to create sexual fantasies for herself was growing by leaps and bounds, and they all centered on Lucas Wainright. No other man had ever made love to
her that way, with such intensity—as if he couldn’t help himself. And she wanted him to do it again. And he would, just as soon as he followed her out onto the balcony. Just thinking about it was enough to make the muscles in her legs turn to water.

She had to get a grip. It would be so tempting to just give in to the spell that he seemed to weave around her. To enjoy it for however long it lasted.

As soon as he poured the champagne and followed her out here, she’d probably dissolve into a puddle at his feet.

No. If she allowed herself to give in to the temptation of what Lucas was offering, how could she fully field-test her research?

She had to focus on the fantasies. Resolutely, she walked to the railing of the balcony. A glance down at the man-made lagoon twisting like a turquoise snake around the hotel triggered a quick spurt of dizziness. The moment it passed, her gaze fixed on a waterfall tumbling over a small cave at the side of the lagoon. That definitely had possibilities. It would work for both the mermaid and the island-girl fantasies. The cave would also provide the perfect setting for making love in a semipublic place—another very popular male fantasy.

All she had to do was…

When the second wave of dizziness hit, Mac raised her eyes and concentrated on the view of the ocean stretching to the horizon. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled, then drew in another one. Her stomach settled, and her head cleared again.

The solution to keeping her plan on track was to get the jump on Lucas and draw him into a fantasy before he could totally mesmerize her as he had on his grandfather’s island. Simple.

“What’s wrong?”

She started, then turned. He was standing there studying her, and she felt the pull right down to where her toes curled in her sandals.

It was not going to be so simple.

“Tell me,” he said, moving to the railing.

“Nothing. The room—everything—it’s perfect.”

“So perfect that you had to come out here to screw up your courage?” Taking her hand, he waited until she met his eyes.

“There’s nothing wrong. No one has ever done anything like this for me. Sophie said you would be kind. But I didn’t expect you to be sweet too.”

“Sweet?”

The slightly disgruntled, slightly shocked look on his face made her smile. “It’ll be our little secret. I won’t tell a soul.”

“Just tell
me.
What’s wrong, Doc.”

She shrugged. “I needed to come out here and think.”

“Ah,” he murmured, his forehead clearing. “Getting all your ducks lined up in a row?”

“Fear clears my mind. I know that might sound…” The rest of her sentence trailed off when he lifted her hand to his lips. He kissed the palm of her hand, then the veins at her wrist. For a moment, she couldn’t say a thing. She was too busy absorbing the little waves of fire and ice that radiated up her arm. “You’re trying to seduce me.”

“You got me, Doc. I’m busted.” He began to kiss her fingers one by one as if they were a delicacy he’d been waiting all day to sample. “I want to make up to you for what happened at the cabin.”

She blinked and stared at him. “Why? I mean we both…I enjoyed it, really. It was my fault that I lost control.”

“I lost control too, and I want to make it up to you.”

“Wait.” She pulled her hand away. “It’s not necessary for you to make anything up. I don’t think I’ve explained the essentials of my plan quite clearly enough. It’s my job to seduce you.”

He had her hand again, and she could feel a pull that went beyond the pressure of his fingers on hers.

“I’m not going to be able to create any fantasies if you keep distracting me,” she continued weakly.

“What if I told you that I don’t have any fantasies?” His eyes never left hers as he drew her fingers to his mouth. “I gave them up when I was a kid because I thought they were a waste of time. I much prefer reality. What I really want to do is to keep you in this suite and make love with you nonstop for the next three days.”

The images that his statement conjured up nearly melted her knees again. And it didn’t help one bit that he was touching her again, drawing one finger along her jawline, then down her neck to the hollow of her throat. She had to clear it to speak. “Sophie was right on the button when she bragged about your negotiating skills. You’re trying to make me an offer I can’t refuse.”

His laugh erupted then, quick and infectious. The sound of it only added to the ribbons of heat spreading downward and upward from her center.

“I can never predict what you’re going to say next. Maybe that’s why you fascinate me, Doc.”

She fascinated him?
She’d never fascinated anyone in her life. It had to be the proposal she’d made him. Either that or he’d liked the island-girl fantasy. “I have some fantasies in mind that may fascinate you even more.”

“I’d much rather spend some time with
you,
Doc. I’ve been wanting to touch you, really touch you, since you got
off that plane yesterday morning. I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

She felt her heart stutter.

“Why don’t you come inside and let me show you?”

She was halfway to the door when she finally found the strength to dig in her heels. “Wait. Do you hear the way we’re talking?”

“I know I’d like to stop talking.”

“Just think about it. I said, ‘I have some fantasies in mind for you.’ You said, ‘I want to touch you… Let me show you.’ You see what that means, don’t you?”

“We want each other?”

“More than that, we each want to be in charge. We’re both control freaks, so to speak. Admit it. Don’t you want to be in control when you’re in a business deal?”

“You bet.”

“And I am always in control in the lab. I have to be.”

Lucas considered her for a minute. “What exactly are you saying, Doc?”

“We have a problem, and there’s only one solution.” She turned it over in her mind a few times, then said, “We’ll have to take turns.”

“Take turns?”

“Being in charge, calling the shots, whatever you want to call it. The first time we make love, I get to call the shots, create a fantasy, whatever I want. The next time, you’re in charge. You can do whatever you want.”

Lucas considered the idea for a moment. “How do you get to go first?”

She lifted her chin. “This whole thing was my idea. I flew all the way down here with the original proposition. And I just came up with a compromise so that two control freaks can work together. Clearly, I get to go first.”

“How about we flip?” he asked, pulling a coin out of
his pocket. Before she could agree or protest, the coin was spinning upward into the sunshine.

“Heads,” she called as he snatched it out of the air. Holding her breath, she watched his fingers slowly open.

“Heads it is,” Lucas said.

Mac beamed a triumphant smile at him. “I’m going to freshen up. I’ll meet you down in the lounge in thirty minutes.”

“The lounge?” His face looked as incredulous as when she’d called him sweet. “Why do we have to go to the lounge when we have a perfectly good suite?”

“My call. And the fantasy I have in mind requires a different setting.”

S
HE WAS DRIVING
him crazy. That much he knew. But now Lucas was beginning to suspect she was doing it on purpose. A glance at his watch told him that thirty minutes had lengthened into forty-five. No, forty-six.

Had he actually begun to count the minutes?

He glanced around the spacious but crowded lounge. Three TV sets hung from the ceiling over the bar, each one offering a muted version of a different sporting event. Other than that, the decor was rain forest, with moss dangling from the walls and ceiling, and exotic-looking plants bursting out of clay pots. Water dribbled steadily over rocks behind his booth and shot up in bright, colorful spouts from a pool twenty feet to the left of his table.

Directly ahead, beyond a wall of glass, the dimness gave way to light. Though the midday sun beat down mercilessly on the water, a few swimmers still sought relief from the heat in the coolness of the lagoon. Most guests were inside, enjoying the benefits of air-conditioning.

There was no sign of Mac anywhere. He lifted his beer, drained it, and thought of the perfectly good champagne
he’d abandoned in the suite… And of what they could be doing right now. After what had happened at the cabin—he still couldn’t figure it out. He’d never before desired a woman with that kind of intensity. And he’d never made love to a woman with less finesse.

He wanted to give Mac romance. There was a definite air of innocence about her that made him want to seduce her slowly—with champagne, soft music. When the bellhop had given them that whirlwind tour of the suite, he’d pictured undressing her and making love with her on that large, smooth bed. Then he would have carried her to the Jacuzzi where they would have finished the rest of the champagne and then made love again. Very slowly.

But she’d decided he was a control freak. No one else he’d dated had ever complained.

But then Mac was unlike anyone else he’d ever wanted to make love to.

He tapped his fingers on the table. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring her here. If they’d stayed at the cabin, he wouldn’t be sitting alone in a bar, nursing a beer. They could be lying right now on that narrow bed.