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Chapter 7
No regrets? No regrets my ass.
The thought echoed through her mind with every heart-pounding, knee-rattling step Mattie took along the bark-strewn jogging path. Squinting against the morning sun, she caught a glimpse of the last mile marker.
Okay, you can do it. Only one more mile. One. More. Mile.
She shoved aside thoughts of the pain and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't shove aside thoughts of Brad as easily.
Every time she pushed his image away, it crept back in when she wasn't looking. Mercilessly, relentlessly. And annoying as hell.
She'd spent most of her life dreaming of what it would be like to be kissed by Brad Sumners. At eleven, she'd imagined a chaste peck on the cheek. At fourteen, she'd longed for a romantic kiss, like something out of a movie. But last night's kiss wasn't at all what she'd bargained for. It was neither chaste nor charming. She hadn't i
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Perfect Temptation Chapter 8
Giving in to her body's demands, Mattie slowed her pace to a walk. A few more twists in the path and she'd be back where she'd started at the entrance to the park, just a few blocks from Jessica's house. She rounded the next bend and saw Brad heading straight towards her. Mattie stopped. Propping her hands on the top of her thighs, she bent over, struggling to pull air into her lungs. She blinked her eyes into focus, staring at the toes of her white Reebok cross-trainers. She tried to slow her breathing by inhaling through her nose, and the astringent aroma of the cedar mulch hit her nostril. Slowly she straightened, until she stood upright, propping her hands low on her back. She twisted to one then the other to loosen her muscles. Jeez, this was just her luck. At least yesterday under the towel, she'd been clean. Today she was just sweaty. And she harbored no illusions whatsoever that she merely "glowed." Unless he had some weird sweaty-female fetish, she'd have to put off her b
Perfect Temptation Chapter 9
Are you crazy?"Brad considered her question as he slid the laminated card back into his wallet. Crazy? He didn't think so.Confused? That was another matter entirely.He achieved every major goal he'd set for himself in the past fifteen years. Now, when it mattered most, he'd failed. What he couldn't figure out was why it pissed her off."Look Mattie, all I..."She cut him off with a firm shake of her head. "No. Absolutely not.""But...""I am not going to help you find a wife.""Find a wife?" It took him a second to comprehend the conclusion she'd leaped to. By that time, she'd already spun on her heel and stormed off down the street.He caught up with her in a few steps, but she refused to look over at him. "I don't need..."She jerked to a stop, then whirled around. "You don't need? This is all about what you need, isn't it?" She glared at him, her eyes shooting daggers. "What about what I need?"It was just as well she didn't give him a chance to answer. He didn't have the slight
Perfect Temptation Chapter 10
Surprise ricocheted through her and all Mattie could muster in response was "Huh?" followed by a long pause and then an equally ineloquent "Well, no."Sure, she'd fantasized endlessly about him asking her out, but she'd never wondered why he hadn't. "I was the scrawny best friend of your kid sister. I figured I was too young and you simply weren't interested." "When you first moved to Palo Verde, when you were ten? Yeah, you were too much young." He put his glass down and pushed away from the counter to step nearer to her. "When you were thirteen? Yeah, you were just the scrawny best friend of my kid sister." With two more steps, he closed the distance between them. He stopped, with his feet planted on either side of her own. Mattie's heart began to pound at his closeness. She inhaled sharply, trying to catch her breath, but that just pulled Bard's warm, masculine scent into her lungs and did nothing to clear her head. "By the time you were fifteen? You weren't scrawny." His focu
Perfect Temptation Chapter 11
Clearly, she’d caught him off guard.Brad blinked in surprise, then said, “I told you before. I don’t want another wife.”“Who said I want another husband?”“You did. Last night by the pool. Whether you realize it or not, you still harbor some fantasy about us ending up together.” He stopped backing away from her and before she knew it, she was standing close enough to touch him.“Those were the fantasies I had as a teenager. Don’t you want to know about the fantasies I have now? The ones where I am not saintly? The ones you asked about last night?”She brought her hand to his cheek. The jutting bone of his jaw rested squarely in her palm, and a day’s worth of beard stubble brushed her skin. The only thing more erotic than these blatant reminders of his masculinity was the heady knowledge of her power over him.All those years ago she hadn’t been the only one harboring secret fantasies. Tonight, she wouldn’t be the only one finally acting them out.“Mattie, this isn’t a good idea.”“I
Perfect Temptation Chapter 12
Fifty pounds of pressure bore down on Brad’s chest as he struggled into consciousness. His head pounded. His body ached. His tongue clung to the roof of his mouth— a mouth so dry, it felt like someone had poured a bag of cat litter into it. To make matters worse, he had the distinct feeling that put in a good dent into Jessica’s bottle of Scotch wasn’t the only stupid thing he’d done last night.Why the hell had he thought it would be a good idea to come clean with Mattie? Why the hell hard he thought she needed to know how he’d felt about her back in high school? And why the hell had he given in to the need to kiss her?As if that would ever be enough. As if he’d ever be able to kiss her again without wanting to touch her. Without wanting to stripper clothes from that luscious body. Without needing to see—once and for all—the body that had fueled his teenage fantasies. Needing to explore every responsive inch of that body. Needing to drive her completely over the edge again and again
Perfect Temptation Chapter 13
She flashed him a smile full of audacity. “Oh, Brad, but you are a nice guy. Last night only proves it.” She took another bite of the apple. “You see, nice guys always do the right thing.”“They do?”“Oh, yes.” There was something unconsciously erotic about the sight of her white teeth sinking into the mottled red skin, about the crunch and the crisp, fresh scent.“Back in high school,” she continued, “ you stayed away from me, because it was the right thing to do. And last night, you didn’t take me to bed because you thought it was the right thing to do. Undoubtably out of some misguided notion that you were protecting me.““I—“ he tried to protest, but she cut him off.“The point is, again you did the right thing. Because that’s what nice guys do. And that’s exactly why you will not be leaving today.”“It is?”“Yep.”He was sure she hadn’t moved, yet she seemed closer— more tempting— than she had been even a few minutes ago.“You see, Brad, I need your help. Or rather, my shop need
Perfect Temptation Chapter 14
“What?” Lucy had somehow made it down to her knees and was holding the incriminating book in both hands, staring at the cover in confusion. When she heard no response, she looked up. Great. Just great. Mattie thought. How has she managed to hire what had to be the only nineteen year old in northern California who would never heard of the Kama Sutra, and the only eighty year olds, who apparently had? She struggled to her feet, Then reached for the book with one hand and pulling Lucy to her feet with the other. “ It’s nothing. Just a library book I checked out. By accident. Just a silly mistake.“ Now that was the understatement of the century. “A silly mistake, my behind,” Edith cackled. “The Kama Sutra. The Joy of Sex. Dating for Dummies. The Multi-Orgasmic Couple. The Girlfriend's Guide to Great Sex.” Edith pointed to each of the books as she listed off the titles. Picking up the books, Mattie said, “This is my business. My personal, private business.” “Poppycock.” Edith stood, h
Perfect Temptation Chatper 15
Did people actually do these things?Mattie stared in fascination at a pen-and-ink drawing of a man with his arm stretched above his head and his hands tied to the headboard with a handkerchief.The drawings intrigued her. Sex with Mike had been...uninspired. And for the first time, she regretted that.Oh, she didn't blame him. Not just him, anyway. She hadn't done much to spice up their marriage, either. But now she found herself wishing she'd tried something a little different while she'd had the chance.What about Brad? A niggling little voice in the back of her mind asked. If she ever got Brad into bed, would she need such tricks to keep things interesting? Or would merely being with him be enough? She suspected the latter.After all, she had a lot sexual frustration to work out. After years of anticipation, she wouldn't need any kinky to keep her interested—all she needed was him in her bed. All that gorgeous naked flesh of his at her mercy. Just his skin against hers. His mouth,
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