that kiss, her experiment had taken on even more exciting, somewhat illicit overtones.
She still planned to experiment for her column. Starting tomorrow, she’d test out men as a group in general. But when it came to Colin, she was fully aware of his impact. With a single kiss, she’d learned he wielded power. Sexual, seductive power, and she found that lure thrilling.
Before tonight she’d merely toyed with the notion of a fling, but now the idea of an affair took on real possibilities. Colin possessed enough sex appeal to light Rina’s fire. He also used jet fuel to propel his frequent departures. Colin wasn’t a stick-around sort of guy. If she were looking for a future, he’d be the last man on her list. But after losing her husband, she was wary of a long-term relationship and was no longer sure she believed in forever. Which made a fling the perfect solution.
And Colin the perfect man.
COLIN KICKED BACK, propped his feet on the desk and watched the door slam closed behind Rina Lowell, the woman he’d just kissed under the mistletoe.
He’d been given an unexpected opportunity, and being human, as well as damned attracted to Rina, he’d kissed her. He shouldn’t have. Through Rina, Colin hoped to understand how to get through to Corinne, but he’d never intended to take advantage. Especially since he held her career in his hands.
Getting involved with Rina would tear at his loyalties, though he had no doubt who would win. Colin had let Joe down once before. He refused to do it again, so Joe and his paper had to come first. Yet the paper had been the last thing on his mind when he’d had Rina in his arms.
And now he was in deep. Because he hadn’t counted on being completely seduced. And from the moment he’d opened the doors to the office and seen Rina shaking her hips and shimmying her body, he had been seduced. Enough to make him watch, like a damn voyeur, as she’d continued her conversation with Emma. She’d called out to him, luring him in, and by the time he’d walked over to the desk, he’d been entranced by her combination of natural beauty and erotic movement.
He couldn’t delude himself into thinking he’d imagined the combustion they’d created together. The heat. The texture. The intensity. The unexpected connection. She’d felt it too or else she wouldn’t have run far and fast.
He rubbed his hands against his jeans and groaned. In the aftermath, she’d stared at him warily, shock in those huge brown eyes. She didn’t know what to make of him.
Unexpectedly, that bothered him.
Guilt nudged at him again, stronger now when he contemplated his need to dethrone Corinne and her new entourage of employees. He liked Emma. And Rina, well, he’d more than enjoyed her. His gut told him not to mix business with pleasure, and everything about Rina screamed pleasure.
But Colin was a man cornered by necessity and all out of options, save one. A gorgeous brunette named Rina Lowell.
THIS WASN’T RINA’S first day of work, but excitement rushed through her veins. She was on a dual mission today, beginning her experiment at work and laying the groundwork for seducing Colin. She tried to swallow but her mouth had grown dry.
The day started like any other. Her first stop was the coffee shop downstairs from the Times’s offices. Because Ashford was a wealthy oceanside community, the café was an upscale place offering a variety of designer drinks. The owner, a good-looking man in his mid-thirties greeted everyone with the same compulsory smile. Rina had made many conversational openings in the past, but he’d never reacted or picked up on any of them. Yet she’d heard through the building grapevine that the more attractive women were offered an extra shot of caramel or mocha in their lattes, free of charge. Plain Rina had always paid for hers.
She’d only worked on some subtle physical changes today, as she was saving the big guns for the Christmas party over the weekend. She didn’t expect any special treatment just yet, but she intended to find out if makeup, even light brushes of color and hue, made a difference in how men treated women. And she planned to impart that wisdom in her next column.
“Next.” The man wiped down the counter and glanced at Rina. “What can I get for you?”
Coffee, tea or me sounded too clichéd, so she opted for a straightforward “Whatever you do best will suit me just fine.” She tipped her head, letting her ponytail hang down over her shoulder. Same head-tip she’d given him when she’d worn her plain old bun. But today, it was no coincidence that her hair dangled just over one breast.
He leaned down on one elbow, getting closer and meeting her gaze. Up close, he was too pretty for Rina’s taste. She preferred a dark-haired, masculine man whose kiss lingered and who’d starred in her late-night fantasies. At the thought of Colin, she could have purred out loud.
“Dave’s special is chocolate malted cappuccino,” he said with a ridiculous abundance of pride.
“Which means you’re Dave.” Rina forced a welcoming, wide smile for a man who did nothing for her. “Make mine with extra chocolate and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Five minutes later, she walked back onto the snow-covered street with an extra-large chocolate malted cappuccino for the price of a regular-size latte in one hand, a black coffee in the other and a date request for Saturday night. Thank God she’d had Emma’s Christmas party as an excuse to decline.
Score one for men being visual animals, Rina thought. Dave had reacted to her looks, or maybe it was the hair. He’d hit on her today when he hadn’t given her a second glance yesterday. In this case, chemistry didn’t matter as much as superficial impressions. If she had a free hand, she’d jot notes on the pad she kept in her purse. She decided she’d handle it upstairs. Rina had no doubt she wouldn’t forget details about this particular outing.
She turned and headed inside her office building. Rina knew most employees’ schedules as well as she knew her own. Colin tended to arrive early in time to get Marty’s freshly made coffee before it’d had a chance to gel and petrify. She strode through the office, a room comprising desks, computers and an occasional portable divider for the more senior editors. And she immediately noticed that Colin was already in his chair, but he didn’t have a mug in front of him. Yet.
Instead, he sat flipping through mail and muttering to himself. Even aggravated, the man was so darn sexy. It wasn’t just the black leather jacket that hung on his chair, though it added to his rugged appeal. And it wasn’t his windblown hair or the intelligence lurking in his blue eyes. His allure came from somewhere deeper, somewhere inside him. Intensity defined Colin Lyons and every move he made.
She paused a moment, gathering her courage, and when she bit down on her lip, she tasted lipstick, a reminder of today’s changes. Like Dave, she expected Colin to notice and react. Her heart rate picked up rhythm at the prospect. Taking the coffee she’d purchased, she strode to his desk, coming up beside him.
He leaned back and glanced toward the corner, oblivious to her presence. “How is it I barely recognize this place?” he asked himself.
His dark tone didn’t bode well for her plan to dazzle him. Taken with the depth of his feelings, she felt an unexpected tug at her heart. She glanced around, wanting to view things from his perspective and see just what was upsetting him. Mistletoe still hung from the ceiling and a gorgeous tree stood in the corner adorned with gold and silver tinsel and exquisite decorations.
Yet despite the holiday cheer, he’d sounded distressed.
“That sounded
