Seduced

She caressed her hands over his chest, and squeezed her knees provocatively against his hips. 'A very sexy, virile kind of guy.'

And that virile part of him couldn't help but rise to the occasion. He groaned, in both pain and pleasure. 'So, you want to use me for the sake of fantastic sex?'

She tipped her head, her gaze clear and earnest. 'Would that be so bad?'

'Yes, if your mind and body aren't in sync.' A year ago, he definitely would have taken her up on her proposition. Now, he felt as though there was so much more at stake between them than just sexual gratification. It was all so new to him, this protective, possessive feeling, but he didn't want to blow this chance with her. 'And until that happens, you aren't ready.'

She frowned at him and flicked a stream of water onto his chest. 'You are, by far, the most infuriating, dictatorial man I know.'

'Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment.'

She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him.

He chuckled. 'Watch yourself, Jessie, 'cause I can put that tongue of yours to real good use. You might not be ready to make love, but there's something to be said for enjoying foreplay.' He touched her bottom lip and dipped his finger into the moisture within. 'And I wouldn't mind feeling your mouth on me…'

As his very erotic meaning sank in, shock colored her guileless blue eyes and she jerked back, dislodging his touch.

'Now don't go and get modest on me again,' he drawled in amusement. 'I need you completely uninhibited when we do make love.'

She heaved an impatient sigh, looking completely inconvenienced by his decision. 'So, counselor, in your estimation, when doyou think I'll be ready to make love?'

He resisted the urge to kiss that sassy mouth of hers, to strip off his swim trunks and her panties and take her right there and then in the bathtub.

Tucking that particular fantasy away for another time, he reined in his desires. 'Oh, you'll know, honey,' he said, deliberately using the endearment that definitely applied to her now, since ten minutes earlier she'd been as sweet and warm on his tongue as the name implied. 'And when you're ready, you won't have toask me to make love to you. It'll feel right and it'll just happen.'

* * *

From across his kitchen table, Ryan watched Jessica reach for her second slice of the pepperoni-and-mushroom pizza he'd ordered for their dinner, take a big bite, and savor the Italian delicacy. He finished off his first piece, liking that she wasn't shy about her appetite, and had to admit that since their episode in the tub an hour earlier, a few notches in her reserve had evaporated, as well. There was a newfound confidence about her he found incredibly sexy, and it made him feel very optimistic about his decision to take time and care with Jessica before they elevated their relationship to a more sexual one.

They'd each taken separate showers after playing in the tub, to wash away the sticky chocolate from their bodies and hair. While he'd changed into gray sweatpants and shirt, she was wrapped in the warm chenille robe while her panties and bra tumbled in the dryer-which left her completely naked beneath the soft, voluminous folds of the robe.

At that tantalizing thought, a familiar heat rumbled through his veins, and he shifted in his chair to find a more comfortable position.

Jessica lifted her gaze to his, her eyes dancing with a carefree radiance that made his heart feel just as light. 'Well, counselor, you're one tough attorney, I'll give you that. I think you can fairly claim victory over your most recent case.'

He grinned, pleased that there weren't any kind of negative implications in her words against his profession, as there had been in past conversations. No matter how small the hurdle, her tentative acceptance was a promising start.

He tipped his head and regarded her curiously. 'And which case is that?'

'Mypractical versusyour sensual.' She licked sauce from the tips of her fingers in long, languorous laps he felt all the way to his groin. 'You win.Again.'

He narrowed his gaze, realizing she was testing her feminine wiles and deliberately enticing him with her slow, thorough attention to her fingers. He resisted the urge to demonstrate lesson number three-that if she teased a hungry tiger, he was certain to pounce and devour.

Exhaling a deep breath that did little to ease the coiling in his belly, he lifted another slice of pizza and set it on the plate in front of him. 'That's because Ialways present my cases with irrefutable facts.' He could see her absorbing the double meaning of his words, possibly realizing that he didn't purposely try to play the villain in any of his cases. 'Utilizing indisputable evidence to the best of my ability is a sure way to win.'

'So is knowing the other person's weaknesses, and using that evidence to take advantage of them.'

Not an accusation, just a statement based on her own personal experience in the past. And there was just enough of a hint of vulnerability in her gaze to indicate that's exactly where her thoughts had wandered, to a childhood torn apart by the greed of her father and his attorney's quest to benefit his client.

Ryan thought carefully about his answer before replying. 'Yes, some lawyers operate that way,' he said, not wanting to lie to her, but neither did he want to incriminate himself. 'But you can't judge all of us based on that one bad experience, not without giving me a fair chance and taking the time to gather some evidence of your own.' Positive, enlightening evidence of him as just an ordinary, hardworking person, without the stigma of being an attorney.

It was a reasonable request, as well as a subtle challenge, and he was relieved and elated when she finally agreed with a quiet, 'Okay.'

He had no idea how they'd gotten so far off track, and he attempted to steer the subject back to a more pleasant one. 'So, getting back to more important matters, ismy gift idea for Brooke and Marc worthy of your approval?'

'Oh, most definitely.' She took a drink of her soda, and dazzled him with a provocative smile. 'I'll never be able to take a bath again without thinking about you sharing it with me.'

Oh, yeah, he liked the sound of that. He might not be there physically every time, but he'd settle for being a part of her fantasies.

Done with her third slice of pizza, she put her napkin on her plate and pushed it aside. 'You know, between the cakes, and the bath, I don't think I can take much more of you proving me wrong.'

He chuckled at the wry note to her voice, but he was beginning to think that he had something else to prove, to her, and himself-that they could find some kind of common ground which they could build from, beyond their sexual attraction.

Having learned that Jessica responded more favorably to demonstrative measures, he considered his next plan of attack. Reclining in his chair, and stretching his long legs in front of him, he allowed an easygoing smile to curve his lips. 'Considering how intimate we got in my bathtub, what do I have to do to change your mind about attending my firm's Christmas party next weekend?'

'Oh, you've done quite enough,' she said, her voice husky with satisfaction.

He laughed at her brazen comment and the innuendo behind it.

As if suddenly realizing what she'd revealed, she ducked her head, hiding the adorable blush coloring her cheeks. 'I can't believe I just said that,' she muttered.

His heart squeezed with affection, along with something deeper and more intrinsic that took him off guard. He didn't try and block the sensation as he would have in the past, but instead allowed whatever emotion it was to settle in for a longer stay. 'Well, I was hoping since you're still feeling content and satiated, that maybe I could get lucky, too.'

A honey-blond brow rose over an eye. 'Oh?'

'Yeah,' he said, ignoring the faint skepticism in her tone. 'Go with me to my firm's party, Jessie.'

Jessica's heart pounded so hard in her chest it hurt. What Ryan was asking was not conducive to her emotions and went against everything she believed in. But then again, what she'd allowed to happen upstairs in his bathtub,