Lauren looked up at the strangled sound coming from Seth’s throat. She lifted a brow. “You okay?”
“Are you saying you’d be interested in a relationship based solely on sex?”
“That’s the only kind I’ve ever known,” Lauren confessed. The confines of the darkened room allowed her to speak honestly.
“Ever?”
“Ever.”
“How many of these relationships have you had?” Curiosity, rather than judgment, underscored the question.
“Not many.” Lauren hated to admit how few. For a thirty-one-year-old modern female, her experience was extremely limited.
“How did you meet these guys?”
“I met Ruis at a symposium on global warming. There was an instant spark between us.” Lauren’s lips lifted in a slight smile, remembering the Spaniard. “I was twenty-two at the time. I’d never had a boyfriend before him. We became intimate almost immediately. I thought he was in love with me. After a while he made me see that the great fire between us existed only in bed. I should have known. We were very different people. On the positive side, Ruis taught me a relationship based on sex could be workable.”
Seth muttered something she couldn’t understand then met her gaze. “What about the others?”
“There was only one other.” Lauren twisted the stem of her wineglass between her fingers. “About five years ago.”
“How did you meet him?”
“His father taught at the community college with me. Dirk worked on oil rigs in the Gulf. We both loved to hike and ski. He’d be out on a platform for six months at a time so whenever he came home he had a lot of pent-up passion. Sometimes we’d go to the mountains but most of the time... we didn’t.”
Seth’s gaze narrowed.
“That worked fine for me,” Lauren hastened to add. “Because I was busy, too.”
Seth met her gaze. “You deserve better than you got from either of those men.”
“Like I said.” Lauren tried to smile but her lips were stiff and refused to move. “It worked out for everyone.”
“If you say so.”
A cold feeling of dread coursed through Lauren’s veins. She shifted uneasily in her seat. Her two best friends had never understood her past relationships. What had made her think Seth would?
Because he’s alone, a tiny voice whispered. Because his needs aren’t being met. Because you thought he wanted you in that way, too.
“Forget what I said.” Lauren brushed her hair back from her face with a hand that trembled slightly. “I thought you’d understand.”
Seth’s gaze turned curious.
“Anna told me you promised Jan you wouldn’t marry until Ivy is out of high school.”
“It’s a promise I intend to keep.”
“Physically it has to be hard,” Lauren chose her words carefully. “Especially when you have options.”
“I won’t lead a woman on just so I can sleep with her.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. “That’s not me.”
“I realize you’re not that kind of man,” Lauren agreed. “There’s another alternative.”
Seth raised a brow.
“Find a woman who can be content with no-strings- attached sex.”
“Someone like you?” he asked in a low voice, the dim light blanketing his face in shadows.
She couldn’t see his eyes, but the electricity was back, stronger than ever, sizzling and popping.
“Yes.” Lauren took a breath and plunged ahead. “Someone like me.”
Chapter Seven
Seth thanked God he was sitting because otherwise the wave of longing that washed over him would have knocked him off his feet. Having such a lovely woman offer to have no-strings-attached sex was a beautiful dream. And his worst nightmare. Because no matter how much—physically—he wanted to say yes, what she was suggesting was not an option.
“I’m flattered.” Seth gentled his tone and chose his next words carefully. “You’re a beautiful woman, both inside and out. There’s this chemistry between us that I can’t explain, but...”
“But?” The smile on Lauren’s lips froze.
“I can’t do it.”
“I don’t understand the problem.” Even as she pressed the issue, her voice turned cool, almost detached. The expression on her face gave nothing away.
“The problem is me.” Seth placed his glass on the end table but kept his hands at his sides, resisting the urge to touch her. “I’m a father, a role model for my daughter. I want her to grow up believing that making love is something special that happens between a man and a woman who love each other, who’ve made a commitment to each other.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that Ivy be informed we were having sex,” Lauren said stiffly.
“I know you weren’t.” Seth expelled a breath. “But kids seem to have an uncanny way of finding out things. Even if she didn’t, I would know I wasn’t practicing what I’ll soon be preaching to her.”
Lauren lifted the wineglass to her lips and took a big gulp. “You’re right.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Forget I mentioned it.”
Damn it all to hell. He’d hurt her. Just what he’d sworn not to do.
“Thank you for the offer, though.” Impulsively Seth reached over and took her hand. Despite the proximity to the fire, her fingers were ice cold.
He thought she might pull away, but once again she surprised him. For a long moment he sat there with his fingers entwined with hers in silent companionship. Seth wanted to tell her this was what he’d really missed. He missed sitting in front of the fire and talking about his day. He missed hearing about someone else’s day. He missed the closeness.
If he was being completely honest, he’d admit he missed the sex, as well. He was a man, after all. There was nothing like being pleasured and bringing pleasure to someone you loved. It was the desire for such intimacy that made him drop her hand.
Despite knowing and believing that everything he’d said to her was one hundred percent true, at the moment he wasn’t feeling particularly strong. The stirrings in his body told him he needed to back off and put some distance between them.
He stood. “I should call it a night.”
“Yes, let’s both call it a night.” Lauren jumped to her feet. “Morning will be here before we know it.”
She started toward the stairs,
