Let Them Talk

“I didn’t make the move.” It hadn’t been easy but he had kept his distance. “You did.”

She took a step forward and he braced himself. Her light floral scent and the heat from her body affected him. He tried to drag his eyes away from her pink mouth as his lips stung with raw need. He had wanted to kiss her all evening.

“I did initiate our one-night stand,” she said proudly as she crossed her arms. “You think it was because of the book, but it was all me.”

“If that’s true, why did you wait so long to make a move? I’ll tell you why. It was because that book put the idea into your head. And I was available when you needed a man to put the idea into practice.” The knowledge ate at him. “Any man would have done the same.”

She reared her head back with surprise. “It was not a case of you being in the right place at the right time.”

“I’m not discussing this anymore,” he said as he towered over her. “That night was a mistake and I don’t repeat my mistakes.”

Isabel abruptly looked away. “If that’s the way you want it.”

It wasn’t what he wanted but what he needed to do. He wanted to gather her in his arms and apologize but this was for the best.

Though what he really wanted was another night with her—hell, he wanted every night with Isabel. But he was not going to start something with the boss’s daughter. Especially if this fire inside her kindled an even more dangerous fire inside of him.

Sean leaned closer as he watched the tip of Isabel’s tongue dart into the corner of her lips. He narrowed his eyes as he realized that every move she’d made tonight had drawn his focus to her mouth. “Isabel,” he said in a rough tone, “are you practicing what you read in the seduction book?”

She gazed up at him from beneath her lashes. “What if I am?”

“No wonder they want to ban the book,” he muttered.

“So it’s working?”

“No,” he lied. That kind of information was dangerous in Isabel’s hands.

She gave him a look that indicated she didn’t believe him. “I guess I need more practice,” she said as she walked to the table by the door and picked up her purse.

His gut twisted hard as he imagined Isabel flirting with another man. “On who?” He realized he sounded territorial but he couldn’t help himself.

She looked over her shoulder. “On you, of course. Good night, Sean.”

That was even worse, Sean decided as he watched Isabel leave. As the front door closed, Sean exhaled shakily and dragged his hands down his face. He was in deep trouble. He forced himself to turn away and enter the study, where Keith was working at his desk.

Sean hesitated at the threshold as his attention immediately went to the crimson Persian rug. He couldn’t walk into this room without thinking about that night. He still remembered how rough the rug had been against his back while Isabel had straddled him and ridden him hard.

“Hawkins,” Keith said with a sigh before leaning back in his chair, “we need to discuss Isabel.”

He froze as guilt slammed into him. But one glance at Keith and he was reassured that his boss was unaware of the one-night stand. “What about her?” he asked as he walked into the room.

“I’m concerned. She’s changed and not for the better.” Keith closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Were you aware that she has been warned about her job at the library? A few of the women in the reading circle are on the board of the library’s trustees. They’ve threatened to fire her. I don’t know what she’d do if she lost the job she loves. All she ever wanted to do was work at that library. But one of the reasons she was hired was because she didn’t cause waves. Until now.”

“She has been causing a stir.” She’d stirred him up, all right. He still couldn’t get through the day without thinking about Isabel. He would get lost in the memory of how her soft skin had tasted and the unexpected guttural moan she’d uttered when she climaxed. And he frequently wished he had stripped off her clothes. He wanted to lick and kiss her entire body and watch the flush of satisfaction spread across her pale skin.

“She doesn’t seem to care that a perfectly good man dumped her because of all this.” Keith tossed his pen down on the desk. “Sure, they hadn’t been serious, but he might be the next mayor.”

“Perfectly good man?” Sean said. “A few months ago, you had said he was an idiot.”

“But he had a good background. Isabel did, too,” he grumbled, “but now she’s the talk of the town.”