“Fine. Come on up,” she conceded.
“I’m already here. Open the door.” Crew hung up and waited. He had the master key in his pocket, but he wouldn’t use it. She needed to have the confidence in herself to let him through her door.
The door opened just a crack and Crew first saw big green eyes peering out at him. He said nothing, just raised his eyebrows as he waited for her to open the door all the way.
He wanted to push his way through, take her in his arms, and taste the chocolate on her tongue, but he was supposed to be teaching her. This wasn’t about his own needs, though he promised himself they would get met.
By the time he was finished with Haley Sutherland, she’d never think again about this other man she’d been so desperate to capture. Of course, it wasn’t as if Crew wanted to find himself captured either. He just needed a few nips of her perfect skin, a few cries of passion from her slender throat, and a few whimpers and gasps for air as she fell apart in his arms.
“Are you going to let me in, Haley, or just stand behind the door gaping at me?” he asked with a smile.
She narrowed her eyes, then rolled them as she gave him enough room to step through. Crew waited patiently for the door to shut firmly behind him before he made eye contact.
He was grateful for his decision, because when he turned and saw her, his jaw nearly dropped. She was wearing nothing but a pair of men’s flannel boxers and a tight tank top, displaying exactly what she’d been hiding beneath those baggy clothes.
To make matters worse, the white cotton tank was just the slightest bit too thin, showing him the shadow of her dark nipples beneath the soft fabric. His throat went dry and he took an involuntary step toward her.
As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, she turned quickly and raced toward the bathroom, calling out that she’d be right out. Damn! She was most likely covering up all that beautiful skin.
Lesson Four was coming real quick, because if she wanted to seduce a man, she was certainly more than qualified to do it.
Crew sat at the table, pouring himself a cup of hot coffee and releasing a deep breath while he sat back in his chair and waited. It didn’t take her long, but when she returned, he found that he’d predicted correctly: she was wearing too many clothes.
“You should have stayed in your pajamas,” he said, disappointed by the oversized knit shirt she’d thrown on. At least her slender legs were still on display.
“I was cold,” she lied.
“No you weren’t, Haley. That shirt hid nothing, and if you had been cold, I would have known about it,” he smirked.
Her cheeks flamed; she picked up a croissant and began nibbling on its corner in hopes of hiding her embarrassment.
“Thank you for the lilies — they’re my favorite, but you really don’t need to do that. I asked you to teach me how to be the one to seduce a man. There’s absolutely no need for you to try to seduce me,” she said crisply as she poured tea into a cup and added a little lemon and sugar.
Crew waited until he had her full attention before he spoke, making sure to capture her eyes with his gaze. He wanted her to have no doubt where this was going.
“I don’t do anything by half measures, Haley. I agreed to your ridiculous request, but I’m going to be the one in charge here. If you are to become anything like the kind of woman you’re asking me to make you, then we do it my way — without any complaints. Today’s lesson: you must realize your own appeal. A woman who feels sexy is sexy. You don’t have to be a model — you can be too thin or too large — and you don’t have to be the perfect height or have the perfect curves. You just have to know how to use what you’ve got, and display it in the best possible light.”
Haley looked down as if making a catalog of her best points. Then she shook her head and frowned.
“What are my assets, then?”
That she honestly didn’t know made Crew’s breath catch in his throat. Man, was he turned on. He didn’t know if he’d make it through this “lesson.” Her innocence was…exciting.
Instead of answering her, Crew stood up from the table. He’d lost all his appetite…for food, that was. She tensed as he circled around her and kneeled behind her low-back chair. But, to her credit, she didn’t pull away when he rested his hands on her shoulders.
“First off, your hair. It’s stunning. The color is golden, and the strands are long and soft.” As he spoke, his fingers glided through her hair. Even after a night’s sleep, it was sleek and smooth to the touch.
“Then there are your eyes — the soft green shines with vibrancy and life when you aren’t looking down. Fire flashes in them when you’re determined or irritated. Passion pours out of them when you’re turned on.” His hand moved to her cheekbones as he spoke, his body pressing against the back of the chair. He didn’t want her to look at him, just feel his hands caressing her, and let his words cascade through her so she could focus wholly on herself.
“Don’t forget your neck; its taut, creamy skin with your pulse beating just below the surface can drive a man wild,” he whispered in her ear as he leaned forward and circled his hands around her throat, his fingers gentle as he caressed her.
Her pulse was speeding up, making his own race. He moved to the side of the chair so he could stroke her cheek and run his lips across her smooth skin. Her responses to him were fueling his desire, but he refused to let himself get out of control. This was about teaching her to embrace her sexuality, not about seducing her, even if it killed him.
“Then, of course, we start to reach the perfection of your breasts. When you don’t hide them, they can drop a man to his knees. They’re firm and high and just the right fit for a man’s large hands,” he groaned as his hands moved downward and grazed over the outside of her shirt, shaping her luscious curves with his palms.
Her nipples hardened beneath his touch; her body went limp in the chair and her head fell backward. Crew knew he could lift her in his arms and take her to the bed — make her his right now. With a will he didn’t know he had, he forced himself to continue his demonstration.
“Your hips are curved and perfect, making a man want to grip them tightly in his hands while he pulls you against his body and fits himself right at the edge of glory. I could take you right now and feel a deep, satisfying pleasure from my head to my toes,” he said as he rubbed his hands down her hips before coming around the front of her chair.
He knelt before her, then took her hips again and pulled her forward, her legs spreading around his thighs, aligning her heat perfectly with his excruciatingly hard manhood.
Gripping her backside, he squeezed her firm, yet soft tush as her eyes opened the tiniest fraction of an inch and she looked at him with fire leaping from those beautiful green depths of hers.
“I won’t continue telling you about the most appealing pieces of you, because if I do, this lesson will end with me taking you hard and fast, and we’re not there yet, Haley. But, I want you to go into the bathroom, strip naked and run your hands over your body. I want you to close your eyes as you touch yourself, feel what I’m feeling. I want you to feel what makes you so sexy — feel what will make a man crawl over hot coals to touch.”
Crew pulled her against him for just one moment — just a brief second, it seemed — to try to alleviate the pain throbbing in his groin. Then he moved her back and lifted her hands, placing them both on her chest, causing her eyes to snap open, arousal clouding her vision.