Totally Tempting

“As a matter of fact, my appetite is definitely returning.” He stood, putting him a step or two away from her. “Shall we seal our agreement with a kiss?”

She looked wary. “We were talking about food.”

“Of course. Why don’t I take you out for lunch? It’s a beautiful day for this early in the year. We might take a drive after we eat.” He lifted her chin with his forefinger. “Just know that food isn’t the only cause of my hunger,” he said and kissed her.

Not fair, not fair at all. He knew how his kisses affected her. There had been too many occasions when he’d felt her reaction.

This kiss was no exception, even though she stiffened at first, determined not to be swayed. It was his gentleness that destroyed her resolve, because she’d never considered him a gentle person until they’d spent the week together.

Now all the emotions he evoked within her poured out and she knew they were more powerful than her determination not to succumb.

The problem was that all her valid reasons still stood.

The problem was that she found him too compelling to resist spending a little more time with him.

The problem was that she was going to be hurt badly when the relationship ended. All she could do at this point was deal with the pain at that time.

Eleven

The following Wednesday Jodie reached for her purse as she prepared to leave the office when Dean called to her. She went into his office.

Without looking up from the schematic drawing covering most of his desk he asked, “What time are your classes over tonight?”

His question was the first personal remark he’d made to her since he’d left her on Sunday. Jodie had begun to wonder if she’d dreamed that her boss had come over to plead his case for seeing her socially or whether it was some fantasy she’d concocted to relieve an otherwise boring weekend.

“Nine.”

“Tell me where to meet you,” he said, marking something on the drawing.

“Uh, well, there’s a coffeehouse a couple of blocks from—”

“No. I’ll pick you up at school. Where are your classes being held?” When she didn’t answer, he straightened away from the desk and looked at her. He was still in his boss mode, snapping out orders.

After a moment she gave him the address, turned around and walked out.

Dean watched her leave with a frown. He hadn’t handled that right. He wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong, but he could tell from the stiffness in her shoulders as she walked away that she wasn’t pleased with him.

He rolled his head, trying to loosen the muscles in his neck and shoulders. Women were a mystery he’d never been able to solve. Until now he’d never particularly cared.

Ever since they had returned from Hawaii he’d had a tough time concentrating whenever she was around. He’d been disgusted at himself for not being able to clamp down on his emotions. All she had to do was walk into the room and he immediately wanted to make love to her. He’d been forced to stay behind his desk so that she didn’t see his physical response to her.

So he didn’t look at her any more than was absolutely necessary.

Not that his idea was much help, since he had a similar reaction whenever he heard her voice.

She was driving him crazy.

The problem was that it was too late to do anything about it. When they’d first returned from Hawaii and she’d refused to have lunch with him, he’d tried to force himself to forget about his attraction to her. He’d only been kidding himself.

Now that he’d finally gotten her to agree to see him, he’d managed to offend her in some way.

Great going, Logan.

When Jodie walked out of the classroom that evening, she saw Dean leaning against the opposite wall, his arms crossed. She did a double take. He looked too much like the man she’d gotten to know in Hawaii, not the man she worked for.

She started toward him at the same time he straightened.

“Hi,” she said.

He smiled at her. “Hi, yourself. Ready for some coffee?”

“Sure.”

“The weather is nasty. Would you like to go to my place?”

She lifted her brow. “For coffee?”

He looked innocent. “Of course.”

“All right.”

When they reached the doors of the building, she could see that rain and touches of sleet poured from the sky. He opened an umbrella she hadn’t noticed and, pulling her close to his side, hurried her to the car.

“Wow,” she said, a little breathless, once they were inside the car.

“Where’s your car?”

“At home. I took the bus.”

“Good thinking.”

She watched the windshield wipers ferociously battle the rain and sleet. “I decided before all of this hit.”

“You knew I’d get you home.”

“There is that.”

She’d never been to his home, although she knew where it was: in one of the high-rise buildings overlooking Lake Michigan. He entered the underground parking area and parked by the elevators in a space with his name and the word Reserved.

The elevator silently whisked them to his floor, and by the time he opened the door to his home, all Jodie could think was that she was way out of her league.

He helped her off with her coat and said, “Have a seat. I’ll go make coffee.”

Jodie wandered over to the windows and looked out at the shimmering lights muted by the rain. If ever she’d needed a reality check, his place did that for her. She remembered how she’d gone on and on about the luxury condo while they were in Hawaii. His home was more luxurious.

She closed her eyes. She would be an idiot to think that he could have more than a passing interest in her.

“Here you go,” he said from behind her. Jodie turned and watched him put a tray on the coffee table in front of the long sectional furniture arranged to take in the view.

“What am I doing here?” she asked, walking toward him.

He straightened and looked at her. “Having coffee?”

She gave her head a quick shake. “That isn’t what I mean,” she replied and sat down on the edge of the sofa. “This isn’t going to work.”

He sat a couple of feet away from her. “I noticed you seemed to be upset with me when you left the office.”

She reached for the coffee. “That was something different,” she replied and sipped on the drink. She realized she was shaking, as much from nerves as from the weather. She held the cup with both hands, warming them.

“So what happened to cause you to change your mind in three days?”

She didn’t answer him. Instead she continued to carefully drink her coffee.

When she didn’t answer, he asked briskly, “Am I supposed to guess?” Now he sounded like the man she worked for.

Jodie set her coffee cup back on the tray and turned to him. The problem was that he didn’t look like her boss at the moment. With his hair mussed and in his cable-knit sweater, he reminded her of the man she’d spent time with in Hawaii.

She bit her lip. “I know I said that I’d start seeing you, but the truth is that we come from two different worlds and nothing is going to change that. I live a simple life and have simple tastes. I’m not at all your type.”

“What exactly is my type?” he asked, his jaw stiff.

She waved her hand vaguely at the room. “Women who are used to all this luxury, who expect it, women who go to operas and symphonies and are photographed whenever they attend some function. That’s not me.”

He studied her, looking quizzical. “I don’t recall inviting you to an opera or the symphony.”

“You know what I mean,” she snapped.

“I wish to hell I did. What is going on in that busy brain of yours?”

“I’ve come to my senses. I can’t do this. I’m sorry.” She stood. “I need to get home. I’ll call a cab.”

“Not on your life. You’re not going to run away from this discussion.”

“Please date someone else instead of me. The woman you took to the musical, for instance. Or…I don’t care. Just someone else.”

“I believe your prejudices are showing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can’t go out with me because I attend various functions around town? Or are we back to the fact that you work for me?”

“Actually I do dislike you giving me orders when it’s not job-related.”

“Care to give me an example?”

“This afternoon. You took charge once I agreed to see you tonight. Told me what you were going to do and where we’d meet.”

“You could have said no.”

“I could have, yes. I should have.”

“I get the sense that we’re talking in circles without getting to the crux of what’s bothering you.”

“All right. Then here it is. Hawaii was wonderful. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect vacation. But the vacation is over. Yes, there’s a definite attraction between us. You want to encourage it. I want to ignore it, which is why I’m relieved to be moving into another department next week. Let’s forget about Hawaii and get on with our lives.”

“I believe we tried that, but I, for one, have found it impossible after getting to know you better.”

She closed her eyes. “I can’t do this,” she said quietly.

The silent room seemed weighted with emotion.

He studied his coffee in silence. When he looked up, his face revealed nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. “I’ll drive you home,” he said quietly.

Jodie waited until she was alone in her apartment before she broke down and cried.

Jodie moved into the engineering department the next week. Dean had hired one of the women Jodie recommended. Her name was Candace Rudin and she appeared to be quite competent. Jodie had expected to spend several days with her, but Candace had quickly grasped the routine, the filing system and the way Dean liked to work.

Once in Engineering, Jodie was determined to learn everything she could as quickly as possible. Several weeks went by, and Frank praised her repeatedly, patiently answering her questions when she couldn’t figure something out.

She had been there two months when Frank dropped an envelope on her desk one morning. She looked up. “It isn’t payday, is it?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s time you learned firsthand about installing our equipment. That’s your plane ticket.”

A plane trip. Great. “I don’t suppose we could do this somewhere that we could drive to, by any chance?”

“Sorry. Besides, I won’t be going. Logan said that since you’d already been to this particular office, it made sense for you to see the next step. He’ll be going with you to show you the ropes.”

There was only one office she’d visited and it was in Honolulu. She peeked into the envelope and saw the ticket, confirming her suspicions. She looked at Frank. “I haven’t finished what I’m working on,” she pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter since there’s no rush on that one. Besides, you’ll only be in Hawaii a few days—four at the most.”

“Oh.” She forced herself to smile. “Well. That’s good. I mean, I’ll enjoy being part of the installation process. I’m just surprised that Dean would be the one to do it.”

Frank shrugged. “I’ll admit he hasn’t done an installation in a long while. Probably wants to keep his hand in. Don’t worry, though. You already know how he can be and won’t be caught off guard when he starts snapping at you for not working fast enough. Just ignore his moods.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Twelve

Dean greeted her briskly when she arrived at the airport the next morning. She had a moment of déjà vu when she saw him, except that today he wore a business suit.

She had also dressed for a business trip, in a light-colored suit and matching heels.

“Good morning,” she said, walking up to him.

He turned around. “It’s nice to see you again,” he replied politely. “Have you checked your bag?”

She nodded.

“Have you had breakfast? If you haven’t, there’s a restaurant along the concourse where we could get something.”

“Fine.”

He strode along the corridor, a man on the move, and Jodie had to skip a time or two in order to keep up with him.

Once they found the restaurant, sat down and ordered, Jodie caught her breath. Her shortness of breath was in no way connected to seeing Dean again. He looked like a modern-day pirate in his dark suit. All he needed was a knife between his teeth.

“How is Candace working out?” she asked during their meal.

“She’s all right.”

She couldn’t think of anything more to say to him. She wanted to ask him why he’d decided to do the installation himself rather than send someone else.

But she didn’t.

She wanted to ask him why he’d decided to have her accompany him, given their situation.

But she didn’t.

Was it because he wanted to prove to her that he’d moved on after she’d turned him down? Perhaps. No doubt he was already involved with someone else by now.

Which was just as well. She wished that she’d been seeing someone these past few weeks, someone who would have helped her forget about her attraction to him. This trip would be much easier for her if that were the case.

“How do you like working for Frank?” he asked after several minutes of silence.

“He’s great. I’m fascinated by all that we’re doing.”

“You’ll be able to see how we implement the work your department does in Furukawa’s offices.” He paused for a moment. “I thought you might enjoy seeing the islands again.”

“Are we going to stay in the condo?”

“No. Candace made reservations for us to stay in one of the hotels in Honolulu.”

“Oh.”

“Are you ready to go to our gate?”

She nodded.

Once on the concourse, he continued his fast pace until Jodie finally said, “Dean, I can’t keep up with you in these heels. Would you please slow down?”

He immediately stopped and waited for her to catch up with him. “Sorry. My mind was on other things.”

They continued walking for what seemed forever to Jodie before they reached their gate.

They found seats although the departure lounge was rapidly filling up with passengers waiting to board.

Dean spotted their plane, which they could see through the glass wall. “Looks like they’re finishing loading luggage and food.” He glanced at his watch. “We should be boarding shortly.” When she didn’t comment, he asked, “Do you have something to read on the plane?”

“In my purse.”

Dean was not usually so talkative. Making idle chitchat wasn’t part of his personality.

“Dean?”

“Yes?”

“Look, I know this is awkward for both of us. I appreciate your taking me on this assignment. I know you didn’t have to be the one to go.”

“Actually I felt that Furukawa needed to know that his security was important to me. We’ve stayed in touch these past few weeks ironing out the contract and determining exactly what should be installed. The fact that I’ll be installing the systems is personally important.”

“Will we start this afternoon?”

“Not with the actual work, no. However, we’ll go to his office, pay our respects and invite him to dinner if he doesn’t have other plans. We’ll get started on the installation first thing tomorrow morning. It won’t take more than a couple of days if everything goes according to plan.”

The flight attendant announced that it was time to board and they stood. Jodie had noticed that once again they were flying first-class.

As soon as she’d found out she’d be making this trip, she’d visited her doctor and asked for something to help her deal with her anxiety about flying. He’d given her a prescription for a mild anti-anxiety drug and told her to take it a half hour before flying. She’d taken it with breakfast and was already feeling calmer.

Dean escorted her to their seats. “Would you prefer to sit on the aisle?” he asked.

“Yes, please.”

She reached for the airline magazine in the pocket in front of her and began to read.

“Are you okay about flying?” he asked.

“I think so. Yes.”

She could tell that he didn’t believe her. It didn’t matter. She needed to get used to flying now that she was a representative of the company.

By the time they took off, she was getting sleepy. She’d had a restless night, dreading spending time with Dean again. Lack of sleep, together with the prescription drug, had her yawning by the time they leveled off.

Jodie leaned her seat back and went to sleep.

Dean took the opportunity to study her—the way her mouth was shaped, her thick lashes, the slight tilt of her nose. He’d missed seeing her each day. When he found himself going to her department in hopes of seeing her, he knew he had it bad.

His dreams were filled with her…talking with her, making love to her, riding in the car with her. He was never alone in his dreams now, which was tough when he woke up each morning to discover he was alone and none of it was real.

Dean couldn’t figure out what was going on with him. Was it because he hadn’t been with a woman since the first trip to Hawaii? He hadn’t been interested enough in Rachel to respond to her sexual overtures, which was the major reason she knew their relationship had come to an end.

They’d spent a weekend together, a last-ditch effort on her part to prove something to him—or herself. Despite all her attempts at seducing him—provocative night wear, a full-body massage—nothing had worked.

He figured he’d been too tired that weekend. His dreams of Jodie were more satisfying than the reality of being with Rachel.

This trip was to prove something to himself—to prove that his fantasies of Jodie were absurd. Candace had booked a suite so that each of them had a bedroom. They wouldn’t be spending much time there.

This was strictly a business trip.

He was not lusting after her.

What he needed to do was find someone nice to date—someone with blond hair and blue eyes, someone who looked trim and fit, someone who was fun to talk to, to be with, someone who could make him laugh.

Someone like Jodie.

* * *

Dean had awakened her as they’d approached Los Angeles. There had been little time for them to find their gate for the next leg of the journey and neither one of them had said very much.

Once they’d been back on the plane, Jodie had read a little but fallen asleep within the first hour. Consequently she felt rested and ready to go to work when they landed in Honolulu.

They checked in to their hotel and she discovered that they had a gorgeous view from the balcony off the main room. Their bedrooms were located on opposite sides of this room.

They met Steve Furukawa at his office and showed him the schematics for the job. Dean answered his questions at length, and when Steve was fully satisfied, they set up a time to begin the next morning.

Steve agreed to have dinner with them, but Jodie begged off. Once Dean left their hotel room, she changed into more casual clothes and took a long, contemplative walk along the beach.

She had to face a difficult fact: she was in love with Dean Logan. She wasn’t certain when it had happened, but there was no doubt about it. Being with him again had taught her that she’d been kidding herself when she’d decided she was over her infatuation with him. Of course, she had no intention of acting on her desire for him. She wasn’t that stupid or self-destructive.

She wondered if there was a group somewhere she could attend to learn how to get over him. If so, she would definitely join.

By the time she returned to the hotel, the exercise had worked its charm. She was pleasantly tired, tired enough—she hoped—to be able to sleep, since tomorrow would be a long day.

When Jodie opened the door to the suite, she was surprised to see that Dean was there. He was on the balcony, sitting on one chair, his feet propped on another, sipping a drink.

“How was dinner?” she asked, walking over to him.

He moved his feet and motioned for her to sit down. “The food was good and I enjoyed getting to know Steve a little better. He gave me a brief family history. He told me how his family came to Hawaii from Japan many years ago. He’s an interesting man.”

She sat down and propped her bare feet on the railing. “There’s something about this place that seems almost magical. The scent of flowers, the soft breeze. It’s easy to forget there’s another world out there.”

“I watched you walk along the edge of the water. I was relieved to spot you. I was worried when I discovered you weren’t here when I got back.”

“I had no idea you would return so soon.”

“Steve wanted to get home to his family. I enjoyed listening to his stories about his sons and daughters. He’s very proud of them.”

“You constantly surprise me,” she replied.

“In what way?”

“Somehow I can’t picture you listening to stories about children.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “I can’t see you as a family man.” When he didn’t reply, she added, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“I’m not offended. I never thought of myself in that light, so I suppose you’re right.”

They stayed on the balcony enjoying the night air for a while. Then Dean said, “I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.” He stood and stretched, and Jodie straightened and got up, as well.

Once inside, Dean switched off the lamp, leaving the room bathed in moonlight.

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Dean.”

“No problem. I seem to get some masochistic pleasure whenever I’m around you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Jodie. I want to make love to you so badly I constantly ache with it. And that’s when you’re not around.”

She hoped the darkness hid her flushed face and the trembling of her body. “I didn’t know,” she said faintly.

“Do you want a demonstration?” he asked. He walked over to her and drew her into his arms. His kiss was gentle at first. If he’d grabbed her, she could have easily pushed away from him. It was his gentleness that undid her.

The kiss quickly heated up and Jodie felt him pressed against her, his arousal very evident.

Alarms went off in her head…or were they bells? She couldn’t tell and at the moment did not care. She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the pent-up love and passion she had for him.

Dean was the one who broke away. “I’m sorry. That was inexcusable.” He turned and strode toward his bedroom. “Good night.”

Good night?

He had kissed the living daylights out of her and all he could say was good night?

Every nerve in her body tingled with anticipation. She took deep, steadying breaths, shaking so hard she could barely stand there. How dare he start something he didn’t intend to finish.

She should be grateful.

She should be thankful for his restraint.

She turned away and started to her bedroom and then wheeled around and marched across the room to his closed door. Without knocking, she shoved the door open. She didn’t see him but she knew he was there.

“That was a rotten trick, Dean Logan! How dare you start something and then walk away as though nothing had happened!”

She slammed the door and marched back to her room, slamming that door for good measure.

The nerve of the man. Just because she refused to date him. Just because she knew that making love to him would be the worst possible thing she could do to herself didn’t mean that she could just walk away after the passionate kiss they’d just shared.

So maybe she did want a fling after all! That was all that Dean would ever have with her.

She went into the bathroom and took off her clothes. She’d take a shower until she was calmer.

She turned on the shower and, without waiting for it to warm up, stepped inside, needing the shock of cold water on her heated body. She stood with the spray hitting her face, forcing herself to let go of her frustration and get a hold on her emotions.