Erotic Invitation. Carly Phillips

his senses. Teasing his restraint.

      Her hands settled on his shoulders and pushed him downward until he was sitting, enveloped by luxurious cushions and what he thought was soft velvet.

      “I have to look at you,” he murmured.

      He sensed the shake of her head, felt the press of delicate fingertips against his eyelids. Not yet. The unspoken words hovered between them.

      “You followed the instructions, so now you get your wish. You wanted to see the woman beneath the frigid facade.” The words were whisper-soft. Featherlight.

      But the husky voice was glaringly familiar—and arousing, as it had been from the first. Still, shock propelled his eyelids open.

      He expected to see Mallory Sinclair, Esq. Instead he faced a seductress with curves he’d never dreamed Mallory possessed. Glorious waves of black hair flowed over her shoulders. Perfectly applied makeup accented features he had thought only had potential.

      He’d been wrong.

      Perfection couldn’t be improved upon and if he hadn’t been so caught up in what could be, he would have seen this Mallory all along. Mallory Sinclair, the sultry beauty.

      The woman who’d sent him the invitation and who had an evening of seduction in store.

      4

      “WHAT’S THE MATTER, JACK? Cat got your tongue?” Mallory leaned so close he couldn’t draw a breath let alone utter a word in response.

      Her fingernails, painted a hot coral shade, trailed a path from his jaw to the top button on his polo shirt. Her skin was as soft and alluring as her touch and he shivered at the brazen assault.

      “Or maybe your collar’s just too tight for you to breathe and speak at the same time,” she murmured. With nimble fingers, she released the top button.

      He would have inhaled easier if not for her warm breath on his cheek, the pout of her luscious lips also in a glossy coral and the intoxicating scent surrounding him. All worked together to arouse. He’d known going in that seduction was the stranger’s intent. He hadn’t known he’d be facing his so-called repressed colleague and in that respect, Mallory had caught him off guard.

      And Jack didn’t like surprises. In court he never asked a question he didn’t know the answer to be forehand. Too many attorneys had been tripped up by assumptions. Too many men had been scammed into thinking they knew the woman they were involved with. Jack wouldn’t let himself be tripped up or scammed, especially by a woman.

      He made his own rules then lived by them. But he’d broken one of those rules when he’d responded to the invitation so he had no one but himself to blame if he found himself at a disadvantage now.

      “Maybe you just took me by surprise.” He met her gaze, stunned into silence once more by the shocking blue of her eyes, surrounded by incredible waves of black hair.

      She nodded. “The frigid facade.”

      He heard the ice in her tone along with the trace of hurt she couldn’t hide, but no way would he ever associate this woman with the word frigid ever again.

      “I insulted you.”

      She inclined her head. Assent or was she assessing him? Before he could decide or even wince at his earlier, poorly chosen phrasing, she spoke.

      “Yes, you insulted me. Yet I have to admit that was an interesting description of a woman you barely know.” Her words implied she intended to correct not only his erroneous assumption but also the status of their relationship.

      Her next move proved him right. She settled herself into the seat cushion beside him, so close he forgot to breathe until he forced himself to focus on his surroundings and not his sexy hostess. With his eyes shut earlier, he’d curled his hands around cushioned softness and he realized now his guess had been right—the sofa was crushed velvet, a taupe and white mix of color that complimented the rest of the interior design. Comfortable for both male and female guests.

      She curled her legs Indian-style. His gaze was drawn downward to the soft, shimmery material of her skirt, yellow silk beneath a sheath of sheer organza, then to the delicate wisp of a sandal covering her feet. Coral accented her toenails, just as it did her lips and fingernails.

      She played with the skirt until it fell provocatively between her legs, covering yet revealing at the same time. She was toying with him. He knew it and so did she, yet he enjoyed the teasing too much to call her on it.

      There were no traces left of the staid, uptight, repressed colleague he’d flown with. “I take it I’m here so you can prove my assumption about you was wrong.”

      As he spoke, he let his gaze travel upward again. Though the skirt was full, it revealed a narrow waist and he had a sudden desire to lift the flowing material and take a look at those legs he’d noticed this afternoon.

      “Dichotomy is interesting, isn’t it?” she asked.

      Tempt. Torment. Tease. Obviously she wasn’t going to answer him directly. He met her gaze, and realized she’d caught him staring. He wouldn’t apologize. For one thing he wasn’t sorry. And for another, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink beneath the artificial color, telling him he affected her, too.

      Jack refused to give up what little power he possessed in this game she’d set up. “Everyone and everything in life has two faces, two sides. Not all of them pleasant.”

      He’d learned early on that his loving mother, his father’s devoted wife in public, was a cold, uncaring, cheating female in private. As time marched on, she didn’t care who knew the truth and the dichotomy she’d presented merged into a singular unhappy woman. Since then, Jack had become an expert on the two faces of human nature.

      Mallory’s eyes narrowed, as if she realized his words revealed a part of his soul. He silently cursed. How could he forget this seductive female had a brain like a steel trap and the instincts of a killer shark? That dichotomy she’d mentioned. The one he’d always looked for in others. Why did he find it so easy to forget Mallory possessed another colder, more calculating side?

      Which Mallory was real, which was the impostor?

      “So you’re already attuned to the subtleties of human nature. That’s good since it makes my job that much easier.” She smiled, a sexy smile meant to disarm and make him wonder what she planned next.

      He could only wait and see. Despite the danger—to the private emotions she effortlessly tapped into and to the career he’d built and had no business risking for a fling with a colleague—the anticipation stoked a fire of burning need deep inside him. One he didn’t fully understand.

      Obviously he’d sensed there was more to his repressed colleague than met the eye or he wouldn’t have had those occasional bouts of arousal—when he’d heard her husky voice, or inhaled her luscious scent on the plane. The same scent, he now realized, he smelled on the invitation this afternoon. His mind hadn’t been ready then to grasp the possibilities. He was ready now. More than ready if the blood pumping through his veins was any indication. She was playing a game and he intended to draw out the intensity and the pleasure.

      He had no doubt she’d back off first. The no-office-romance policy would weigh more heavily on her mind since she had a partnership at stake and knew his vote could destroy her chances and all she’d worked for. Not that he’d ever jeopardize her career over this invitation to seduction. He had too much respect for her as a lawyer and too much admiration for the woman who’d lured him here to teach him a well-deserved lesson.

      But he could enjoy the steps along the way. “I obviously spoke out of turn this morning by using the word frigid. But the word facade—now that was right on target.”

      A wide smile touched her face and radiance glowed from the porcelain skin on her cheeks. “You’re a smart man, Jack. Façade. Defined it means a false, superficial or artificial appearance or effect.”

      “And