her hair slid through his fingers, his eyes darkened, and his expression sobered.
Lissa had read about that kind of heated reaction in romance novels and had seen it on the big screen at the movie-theater in town. But she’d never experienced it firsthand.
A woman could sure get used to seeing desire brewing in a man’s eyes, to seeing the hunger. Especially if that desire and hunger were for her.
According to the books she’d read and the movies she’d seen, Sullivan should take her in his arms and kiss her about now.
Was he thinking about it?
Or did he need a cue?
Lissa didn’t want to be part of the audience any longer. Nor did she want to let life—or rather a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—pass her by. She placed a hand upon his jaw, brushed a thumb across the faint bristle of his cheek, felt her body coming alive.
He did nothing to stop her, nothing to let her know she’d overstepped her boundaries. So she slid her hand to the back of his neck and drew his lips to hers.
And just as she’d seen lovers do on the silver screen, she closed her eyes, waiting for the world to spin out of control.
And boy howdy, did it spin.
Sullivan had no idea where his business ethics had run off to, but when Lissa pulled his mouth to hers, he’d nearly come unglued at the seams.
This was crazy. Foolish. But he couldn’t seem to stop the kiss. Nor could he keep from dipping his tongue into her willing mouth, exploring the wet, velvety softness that opened for him.
Her hair flowed around them like a sensual veil. And desire shot right through him. He pulled her flush against a demanding erection and caressed her back. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted to touch more of her, to experience all she had to offer.
His hands sought her breasts, and all the while, his tongue explored her mouth.
Had any other woman tasted so sweet?
Just hours ago, he’d found her interesting. Admirable. But how in the world had this beautiful, sexy woman mystically evolved from a mild-mannered, levelheaded businesswoman?
Ah, man. Business.
What had Lissa done to him? And where was his body taking his mind?
With reluctance, his hand withdrew from the fullness of her breast, and he ended the kiss, trying to break the spell that had clouded his mind and turned him inside out. “I…uh…don’t know what got into me. I make it a point not to mix business with pleasure.”
“What can I do to change your mind?” she asked, her voice husky. A red flush on her neck and chest told him the startling kiss had aroused her, too.
“I shouldn’t change my mind,” he said. Shouldn’t. But he sure as hell wanted to.
The minute she’d entered the guest house, he’d lost sight of anything but the stunning woman who’d made a swanlike transformation. The change had unbalanced him, and he struggled with fascination, with attraction—not to mention a mind-boggling case of lust.
“I realize a full-blown affair might make things sticky,” she said. “But what about a one-time fling? If we kept it a secret between the two of us, no one would ever need to know.”
She was asking him to make love to her?
The suggestion both startled and aroused him. He probably ought to decline, but for some reason, the words didn’t form.
As her fingers fiddled with the top button of her blouse, he found it even more difficult to speak.
Her hands dropped to the next button, and he realized she was undressing. Or was she just teasing him?
Two buttons undone.
She took it slowly, as if it was her first time taking off her clothes in front of a man. The act of innocence taunted him, tempting him to distraction. But she knew exactly what she was doing, had probably done it many times before. And it was working on him. Big time.
Hell, he’d been so busy these past couple of months that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex. Maybe that’s what had gotten into him, pumping his blood, making his hormones take control of his body.
Three buttons.
Her slow, sensuous efforts revealed a black satiny bra.
Sullivan liked the feel of satin, liked the look of black underwear on fair skin. But he also liked to avoid commitment-bound women looking for a husband.
Of course, Lissa was a career-minded woman, not a nester. And right now, she was behaving more like a player.
Four.
Only two more to go. She wasn’t going to stop, was she?
“Lady, you’re driving me crazy. And making it difficult to keep my mind on business.”
A smile tickled her lips, revealing that she knew exactly what she was doing to him. And that she was well aware of the blood-pounding effect it was having on him.
Put a stop to this, his conscience demanded. But a rebellious erection refused to listen.
As the last two buttons bit the dust, Sullivan sucked in a breath. What he wouldn’t give to reach inside her open blouse, touch her skin, tease her the same way she was toying with him. But she’d set a striptease in motion, and for the life of him, he couldn’t stop the show.
She slid the green, slinky material off her shoulders and let it slip to the kitchen floor. Next came the formfitting skirt. She unzipped it at the side, then pushed it down her hips. When it dropped to the linoleum, she kicked it aside.
Her hair hung over her shoulders and to her waist, but it couldn’t hide the black bra and…oh, wow…a skimpy pair of black thong panties.
And to think, she’d been hiding that beautiful figure behind dull, baggy clothing—which was a real shame, as far as he was concerned.
As she silently offered her body, he sensed a slight hesitation, a gaze seeking his permission. Her sensual act of innocence enflamed his libido.
“Ah, Lissa.” Her name slipped out of his mouth in near reverence.
She unhooked her bra and let it slide away, revealing two near-perfect breasts with taut nipples begging to be touched, stroked, kissed. And as she removed the little black panties, he was lost in a swirl of heat and desire.
“You don’t make it easy for a guy to be ethical,” he said, entranced by her beauty, by the gift of her body.
Like Lady Godiva, she stood before him, awaiting his acceptance with springtime-green eyes that promised renewal and awakening.
“I want you to make love to me, Sullivan.”
Unable to fight the blood-pounding arousal any longer, he took her in his arms and claimed her mouth
