Seduce Me

All night long. 'Man, I'm hot.' And with that, she peeled off the light blue tank top, leaving her in just the thin white one.

While his tongue was still hanging out, she made her shot. And missed, damn it.

He came up behind her, making sure his chest and thighs and everything in between brushed against her back when he reached in front of her to commandeer the ball.

With a screech, she hugged it to her chest and ran around him, forgetting to dribble.

'Travel,' he called, but she didn't slow down.

She didn't stop until she'd shot. And missed.

'That's what you get for cheating.'

She took another shot and made it. With a whoop, she whirled around, doing a little victory dance. 'I won.'

'Oh, please, you-'

She took another victory dance lap around him, tracing her finger over his damp, gleaming skin as she did.

'-totally cheated-'

She danced backwards, away from him, and scooped up her discarded top. 'I'll expect you tonight, Jack.'

'You didn't even try to- Huh?' He blinked as her words sank in. 'What?'

'I said I'll expect you tonight. I won, not exactly fair and square maybe, but don't worry, I won't cheat you tonight.'

'Tonight?'

'Yep.' Feeling quite pleased with herself, enjoying the shock and confusion on his gorgeous face, she smiled. 'I get to claim the prize,' she reminded him gently. 'And Jack, my prize is you.'

'Me.'

'That's right.' She laughed at his expression. Poor, poor baby. He hadn't expected to lose. 'You. For tonight, our first night. We'll make it count, just in case.'

'In case what?'

In case it's also our last. But she just smiled and waved, and took off.

Stunned, Jack could only watch her go. No one had ever walked away from him before. No one.

In fact, it was the first time a woman had wanted absolutely nothing from him-not a promise, not a diamond, not a single damn thing.

Except his body, and quite possibly only for tonight.

Even more unbelievably, that wasn't good enough for him.

* * *

Jack paced most of the afternoon. There was no denying the odd sliver of fear, because he felt this overwhelming pressure to make sure tonight was so good she'd want him again. And again. Because he really didn't think he could walk away from her. He'd walked away plenty of times in the past and never given it another thought.

And, yet, today he thought about little else.

He was determined to change her mind, determined to make her want him as badly as he'd come to want her. He really had no idea how to do that, only that he had to manage it.

That, or be able to say goodbye to her tonight.

Anyone he knew would probably fall over in shock, but the truth was, for the first time in his adult life, he'd become attached to a woman. To the most amazing woman he'd ever met.

Finally, he headed over to Sam's at dusk. He had a bottle of wine under his arm and a foolish hitch in his heart. It should be all about anticipation, and a good amount of it was.

When he pulled into the parking lot, the cafe was dark, not a single light. She'd closed up.

Perfect.

He opened his door, and an odd scent registered in his brain at the exact moment he saw a plume of smoke coming out the front window of the cafe.

Squinting, he moved closer. If she'd closed up the cafe, then there shouldn't be-

Then he saw a flash of orange-a flame-and, with a sinking deep in his belly, started running.

11

Sam's nose twitched at the distinct stench of burning brownies.

Impossible. It hadn't been long enough-only ten minutes or so. She went still and sniffed again, but it was unmistakable now. 'Damn it.'

She'd had tonight planned down to the last detail. First, bake brilliant brownies, then make herself irresistible- looking and last, but not least, greet that gorgeous hunk of man.

Seduce him.

Then-holding her breath-see what happened afterwards.

Perfect plan.

Until now. She hadn't used her upstairs oven because, besides the timer not working, it didn't cook evenly. Now, she'd just gotten out of the shower and had put on her favorite black lace panties and matching bra when the smell had reached her. With a groan, she grabbed her old, ratty, favorite bathrobe and started running down the stairs.

But when she tore into the cafe kitchen, her robe flying out behind her, she skidded to a halt and stared at the oven in horror.

She hadn't burned the brownies; her oven had. Flames licked at them from beneath, curled round the edges of the stove, and licked the cabinets on either side.

'Damn, damn.' Whirling, she headed to the counter, and the phone. Yanking up the receiver, she dialed 911, then put the phone in the crook of her neck and spun around again, this time toward the closet, and the fire extinguisher she kept there.

She couldn't believe how hot it'd gotten already, and she glanced over her shoulder, nearly screaming as the dispatcher answered, because the fire was right there, right in front of her now, where it hadn't been seconds ago.

A window exploded, and she dropped to the floor. 'Oh God, oh God.' Tripping over her robe, she fumbled with the extinguisher. But flames leaped to the ceiling, and suddenly the rest of the cabinets had caught fire. So had the counter. 'Got a kitchen fire,' she yelled into the phone, and gave the address.

The dispatcher took the info with quick professionalism. 'Ma'am, I hear the flames. You're too close.'

'I'm leaving right now.' As soon as she figured out exactly how to do that.

'The trucks are on their way.'

'They'd better hurry.'

'They are,' he assured her. 'Are you outside yet?'

'Going.'

'Seriously, ma'am. Don't try to save anything but yourself.'

She wasn't stupid, she knew better. But it wasn't just smoke clogging her throat and making her hesitate as she took a good look around. So much of her life was here, right here. And before her very eyes it was going…

'No.' But the place was beyond her help, she knew that. 'Out,' she reminded herself, wincing because the heat was searing her skin as she stood there. With the extinguisher, she spurted the fire directly in front of her to make a path. Smoke rose, choking her, but it worked. All she had to do was duck under the counter-burning now-and she'd have a clear shot at the door.

She used the extinguisher again, and dropping on all fours, started crawling under the counter, a task made more difficult because of her long robe, but finally she was past the flames enough to stand up in the dining area.