The Ultimate Seduction

her love for Noah.

A shiver coursed through her, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach, realizing just how much she stood to lose. Despite their fabricated engagement, there was no doubt in her mind that Noah was a man to believe in and trust- with her heart and her future. Yet they both seemed to be running scared of all that had developed between them in such a short amount of time. Her desire to be with Noah was so overpowered by her fear of being too vulnerable and too dependent on another person that she wasn't facing what her heart truly wanted.

She straightened and lifted her chin mutinously. 'It's time you stopped running, Natalie,' she said to herself sternly, knowing that her instinct to flee had to end so she could finally take charge of her life, her future. And the only way she could accomplish that was to stay in Oakland and continue to make a life for herself here, as she'd always intended. She needed to follow her heart and embrace the challenge, instead of always taking the easy way out.

Chad was being prosecuted with numerous felony charges that would keep him behind bars for years. She had a job she enjoyed at Murphy's, and with just one more year of college, she'd have her social work degree.

Undoubtedly, she belonged here, in a way she'd never belonged anywhere else. And Noah, with his protective nature and caring ways, was the reason. And if she wanted a relationship with him to work, she had to be willing to meet him halfway, in all things-including love, respect and trust. If he was still interested in a relationship. After the way she'd walked out of his life last weekend, and hadn't contacted him since, she wasn't so sure.

A knock sounded at her door, startling her. Figuring it was the apartment manager delivering her check for half the amount of that month's rent, Natalie opened the door and found Noah standing on the other side of the threshold. She sucked in a startled breath, and her eyes widened in surprise.

'Noah!' she gasped, a surge of hope mingling with uncertainty.

A lazy smile eased up the corners of his mouth, as if he didn't have a care in the world, reminding her of the easygoing bachelor he'd been before he'd taken her into his protective custody as his 'fiancee.' While she felt like a disheveled mess in a pair of old cutoffs and an untucked blouse, he looked damned sexy and all male in a pair of casual pants and a blue shirt that stretched across the broad expanse of his chest. His dark hair was tousled, and his striking blue eyes appraised her in turn.

'Hello, Natalie,' he drawled, his voice so deep and sexy that her body surged with instantaneous awareness. 'Can I come in?'

'Of course,' she said, pasting on a semblance of a bright smile. He brushed past her into the small living area that encompassed her bed and a few necessary pieces of furniture.

Closing the door after him, she waved an apologetic hand at the open boxes scattered on the floor and the rumpled covers on her bed. 'Sorry about the mess in here.'

His gaze took in everything before coming back to rest on her, the flexing muscle in his jaw the only indication of emotion. 'I heard you were leaving,' he said gruffly.

She shoved her fingers into the back pockets of her shorts and affected a nonchalant attitude, though she craved his touch, his warmth. God, she'd missed him so much this past week! How had she believed that she could leave this man behind when he'd become her whole reason for living?

'I was thinking of moving to San Diego,' she said.

He tipped his head curiously. 'You were going to leave without saying goodbye?'

He looked and sounded genuinely hurt, and she hated that she was the source. She couldn't judge where they stood as a couple, or what the reason was for Noah's surprise visit, but with her decision to remain in Oakland firm, she needed to be honest and up front with him. 'Noah-'

As if he didn't want to hear what she had to say, he started toward her, completely, overwhelmingly male, making her words stall in her throat as he approached her so determinedly. Stopping inches away, he tangled his ringers into her hair and tipped her head back so she had no choice but to look up at him and meet his hot blue gaze.

'Well, here's a going-away present for you,' he said, and covered her mouth with his own.

He kissed her greedily, selfishly, deeply, and she opened to him, taking whatever he was willing to give her. Their lips meshed, tongues mated, and he swallowed the moan that bubbled up from her throat. Just when she thought she'd go up in flames, he slowed the kiss, drawing out the lush sensations, branding her with the heat and taste of him, making her melt deep inside.

After what seemed like an eternity, he lifted his head, his expression both fierce and tender at the same time as he gauged her response to his parting gift.

Feeling thrown off balance, she pressed her hands against his chest to steady herself. 'That certainly didn't feel like a goodbye kiss,' she said, her voice husky with the desire he'd so easily stoked.

'You're right. It wasn't,' he admitted, and feathered his thumb along her bottom lip in a soft caress. 'It was a kiss asking you to take a chance on me, on us.' He trailed his knuckles down her cheek, oh-so-gently. 'All you have to do is say yes, Natalie,' he murmured.

As much as she longed to surrender to his tempting overture, her cautious nature couldn't help but wonder if he was here out of some warped sense of obligation. Or were his actions motivated by guilt?

There was one way for her to find out. And if he gave her the answers she sought, she was all his in return.

'When you told me you loved me that last night we were together, did you mean it?' She held her breath as she waited for him to answer.

His gaze softened, glowing with the same emotion she'd seen in his eyes that night they'd bared their hearts to each other. 'I never say anything I don't mean.'

'Neither do I,' she said, her meaning clear. 'Not even when I'm under the influence of amnesia.' She'd fallen in love with him then, and she still loved him now.

A slow, relieved smile spread across his gorgeous face. ' I love you, Natalie,' he said, the words resonating as strongly as the beat of her heart.

Tears of joy filled her eyes. 'Oh, Noah, I love you, too,' she whispered. And loving him gave her the strength to share her greatest fears. 'And I've never been so afraid of wanting something as much as I want you.'

'Then we have something in common, because all of this is brand new to me, too. I've never let myself need anyone before you, because I've lost too much in the past. Being a carefree bachelor was easier than risking rejection, in any form. But you- Ah, Natalie, you're worth every bit of that risk.'

'So are you,' she assured him. She may have come to that conclusion only moments before he'd arrived, but she'd always known it in her heart. 'After my parents died, I refused to form attachments to anything or anyone. Even with Chad, I might have lost myself in that relationship, but I never, ever risked anything emotional with him. I swear the very last thing I was looking for when I moved to Oakland was love. You made my pulse race every time our eyes met across the bar, but I fought my attraction to you for months, as you know.'

'Yes, I do,' he said, and chuckled.

She smiled, too, then grew serious again, wanting him to understand everything that led to her loving him. 'But with the amnesia I lost so many inhibitions-nothing held back my emotion and desires for you. No matter the circumstances, no matter the pretense of our engagement, everything I felt for you was, and is, real and true.'

He hugged her close and brushed his lips across her temple. His contented sigh sent warm breath rushing over her skin. 'You don't know how happy I am to hear that.'

She pulled back, just far enough to look into his eyes, needing that connection with him. 'I also know if the accident never happened and I hadn't lost part of my memory, then we wouldn't be standing here like this, because I never would have allowed you close enough.'

A dark brow lifted with amusement. 'Are you suggesting that fate brought us together?'

'Maybe I am.' She shrugged, and smiled up at him. 'Maybe we were meant to be together. I know I couldn't go back to the emptiness and solitude that was my life before you.'

'Me, neither.' He kissed her. Lightly. Tenderly. 'Come home with me, Natalie, today. You're all packed and ready to go and my house is too damned big and lonely and quiet without you in it. You belong there with me.'

'I love the way that sounds,' she told him. 'I've never truly belonged anywhere before.'

'You're part of my life and family now,' he said possessively. 'So from now on, if you're going to run anywhere, run to me.'

He was so calm, so steady and reliable. 'I promise I will,' she said, knowing he had shoulders broad enough to