Intent to Seduce

“It’s very unlikely,” Lucas said as the man turned away and allowed Tracker to escort him from the room. The moment the door closed, he sat down in his chair. It had gone smoothly. Too smoothly, perhaps? Closing his eyes, he began to run the entire event over in his mind, turning over every word, every nuance in his mind. He stopped only when he heard Tracker reenter the room.

“Nice job, boss.”

“It was too easy.”

Tracker’s eyebrows shot up. “The four years of work and sacrifices that went into accomplishing this weren’t easy. And you chose the right time to make your move. Vincent Falcone has troubles of his own right now. There are factions in his other, less legitimate business interests who require his attention.”

“I don’t like that he mentioned Sophie’s name. He’s quite capable of exacting some kind of revenge for this on my family.” Rising, Lucas moved to the window, but he didn’t focus on the sweep of lawn that ended at the tennis courts. “I have a feeling that Falcone is plotting something.”

When Tracker didn’t reply, Lucas turned to face him. “You think I’m overreacting, don’t you?”

Tracker grinned. “You’re not going to get me to say that, boss. You’re worried about your little sister. It could be because you’ve been going through a rough time with her. But in my experience, a man had better pay attention to his hunches or they’ll come back to bite him.”

“I don’t like that you saw her with Falcone’s son.”

“Sophie only met Sonny once for a casual drink in a Georgetown watering hole. She hasn’t seen him since.”

Lucas shook his head. “She knows nothing about the Falcone family and certainly nothing about the fact that my father was doing business with them. But if I try to warn Sophie off, she might take it in her head to get really serious about him. She’s in rebellion mode right now.”

“And you even end up with a black eye this time,” Tracker said.

Lucas rubbed his jaw, where his sister had landed him a pretty decent right cross. “You may be right about that. Sophie got past you last time.”

“She’s got some good moves. And she was pretty upset about that information you dug up on Bradley Davis.” Tracker’s grin widened as he moved to the small built-in refrigerator near the windows. Opening it, he took out two beers, twisted off the caps and handed one to Lucas. “She’s smart too. I think she may suspect she’s being followed. She tried some evasive tactics the other day when she left her shop.”

“Did she lose the tail?” Lucas asked with a frown.

Tracker nodded. “For about a half hour. My man picked her up coming out of a restaurant. I have two men on her now. Another two are keeping tabs on Sonny Falcone.”

“Good. I’ll feel a lot better when she’s down in the Keys with me. I’ll send the plane for Sophie on Wednesday. She claims she can’t get away before then. And I didn’t want to push.” He rubbed his jaw again. “Once you’re sure she’s on my plane, you can devote all your attention to both Falcones.”

“You want me to continue to keep tabs on your aunt and stepbrothers?”

“For the time being.” Lucas frowned as he turned and led the way through the open French doors to the balcony. Beyond a row of flowering shrubs, an Olympic-size pool gleamed in the late-afternoon sun. His younger siblings were engaged in an intense water-polo match with their aunt, and at the far end of the pool he spotted Sophie seated on the edge of a chaise lounge talking to MacKenzie Lloyd.

“I think you ought to put someone on Dr. Lloyd. She’s been Sophie’s best friend for years. They live about three blocks apart in Georgetown. Falcone may try to use her to get to Sophie.”

“I’ll get right on it, boss. You want me to run a background check on Dr. Lloyd?”

Lucas considered for a moment. He’d been thinking of MacKenzie Lloyd off and on quite a bit in the last few hours. When she’d fallen out of that tree into his arms, she’d called up the memory he had of the little waif in jeans and a T-shirt whom he’d met at the opening of Sophie’s shop two years ago.

There’d been something about her that day that had caught his attention. At first, he’d thought he’d imagined the tug of desire that he’d felt. But each time he’d found her framed in the viewfinder of his camera, the pull had grown stronger. Later, he’d studied the photos he’d taken, trying to put his finger on just what it was that had drawn him.

She wasn’t anything like the women he usually dated. His taste ran to tall, leggy brunettes and blondes. She was small, and she wore her red hair pulled back into a bun. But her eyes… Even in the representation on film, they were the incredible color of golden amber.

Today her hair had seemed lighter and looser—a reddish-gold explosion of color as he’d stared up at her in the tree. His body had reacted to her the moment he’d seen her, hardening, tightening. And when she’d been lying on top of him…for a moment he’d forgotten everything—where they were, who was watching. If Sophie hadn’t spoken, he might have rolled her beneath him and taken her right there beneath the branches of the elm tree. Frowning, he pushed away the image.

It had been years since he’d been tempted to be that reckless with a woman. He’d put it out of his mind during the tennis game, chalked it up to putting in too much overtime on the Falcone deal.

Then she’d beaten him.

Oh, Sophie had made some good plays, but Lucas was fully aware that it was Dr. Lloyd’s careful, methodical style that had been his downfall. It was almost as though she could predict exactly what he would do next. And that was…he searched for a word…intriguing.

“Boss?” Tracker cleared his throat loudly.

“What?” Lucas asked, turning to him.

“Do you want me to run a background check on the doc?”

Once again, Lucas hesitated. On some gut level, he knew that he should steer clear of his sister’s best friend. It wasn’t merely the strength of the physical attraction he felt that had the warning bells going off in his mind. She was Sophie’s friend. He kept his dating life separate from his family. To pursue a relationship with MacKenzie Lloyd would foster expectations that he would never fulfill.

Relationship? He frowned at the direction his thoughts had taken. Who was she that she could affect him this way?

Experience had taught him that ignorance was seldom bliss, and knowledge was always power. “Yeah. I want to know everything about her.”

“MACKENZIE, you’ve got to listen to reason.”

Mac opened a bag of carrots and for a moment allowed herself to picture dumping the whole bag over Gil Stafford’s head. Then stifling the image, she selected one carrot and began to shred it on a grater. She hoped feeding Wilbur, her pet lab rat, would soothe her temper. Gil was her department chair and he had ten years’ seniority on her. That and the fact that she worked in a lab that adjoined his had made him think he could give her advice.

“If you’d just listened to me earlier and signed a contract to turn the results of your research over to that biotech company, you would have prevented this break-in.”

Mac shoved down the little skip of fear that she’d been experiencing ever since she’d arrived at the university and learned that her lab had been broken into sometime on Sunday. The intruder had gotten away, but not before he’d broken into her office safe.

“They would have made sure that there were better security measures taken around here. And I still don’t understand why you turned down the money. Even if you don’t want it for yourself, think of all the equipment it would have provided.”

As Gil continued to pontificate, he strode toward the window. Mac privately thought the man should have gone into politics instead of science. Not only could he talk nonstop, but he had the tall, rangy build of an athlete and a very photogenic face. With the sunlight turning his blond hair into a halo, he looked like one of the good archangels.

The antithesis of what Lucas looked like with his dark hair and those midnight-blue eyes.

Lucas again. She hadn’t been able to block him out of her mind since Sophie had first suggested she use him for her research. The idea had been enough to put her off her serve in the first two sets of the tennis match. After that she’d focused all her concentration on the game. Beating Lucas had been a challenging and exhilarating experience. And the moment they’d won, Sophie had started making her case.

It was a good one. Everything that Sophie had said made perfect sense on a logical and theoretical level.

It was just that every time she thought of actually trying out her research on Lucas, she felt the same funny quaking in her stomach that she got whenever something was about to go wrong in her lab. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to forget what it had felt like to be pressed against him, to feel his body react to hers, especially a certain unmistakable part of his body. A vivid image slipped into her mind of looping a long strand of pearls around and around—

“Are you listening to anything I say?”

Mac dropped the grater as she struggled to gather her thoughts. “Gil, I know you mean well.” She was almost sure of it. But he was giving her a headache. Glancing down at the carrots, she considered dumping them on his head, after all.

“Am I interrupting?”

Mac looked up in surprise to see Sophie hurrying toward her. “Who told you?”

“Who told me what?”

“Someone broke in here last night.”

“They did? Are you all right?” Sophie enveloped Mac in a hug.

“I’m fine.”

“What about Wilbur?” Sophie flicked a glance at the small white rat running circles in his cage.

Mac couldn’t prevent a smile. “I thought you couldn’t stand Wilbur.”

Gil cleared his throat, and the moment Sophie turned, shot her his best smile. “I’m Gil Stafford. I’m the chair of the biology department and I work in the lab next to MacKenzie’s.”

“My friend, Sophie Wainright.” Mac completed the introductions as the two shook hands.

“Perhaps you can talk some sense into her, Ms. Wainright,” Gil said. “The research she’s doing has been getting a lot of attention. It was only a matter of time until this happened.”

Sophie turned to Mac with a frown. “Were they after your research?”

“The police certainly suspect it,” Gil said as he glanced around the room “And it clearly wasn’t vandals. Nothing’s been touched except the safe.”

“No harm’s been done,” Mac said as she watched Wilbur attack the grated carrots she’d shoved into his tray. “Wilbur’s appetite hasn’t been affected. And I don’t keep any of my records here in the office anyway.”

“I still don’t like it.” Turning, Sophie paced down the length of the lab and then whirled around. “Lucas could send the Shadow over. On a personal level, I can’t stand him, but he’s good at what he does.”

“Not necessary,” Mac said. “The university is going to install a high-tech security system. They’ve even given me a few days off while they work on it.”

“That’s wonderful. That means you can get started right away on your…” Sophie’s voice trailed off as she glanced at Gil.

He was frowning at her. “The university doesn’t have the funds to install a proper security system. And the research she’s doing is much too valuable. I was just trying to explain that to MacKenzie.”

Beaming a smile at him, Sophie moved toward him and placed a hand on his arm. “Would you mind terribly if Mac and I have some time alone? A little girl talk does wonders for the nerves.”

“No. Of course not.” A little uncertain, Gil glanced from one woman to the other. “I’ll be right next door if you need me, MacKenzie.”

Sophie waited until the door closed behind Gil Stafford. “MacKenzie? No one calls you that.”

“He means well.” Mac glanced at the bag of carrots again.

“You weren’t thinking of asking him to be your research…guinea pig, were you?”

Mac stared at Sophie. “Gil?”

“Good. Because I’ve come here on a mission—to convince you that Lucas is your man.”

Mac held up both hands. “Sophie, I just don’t—”

“I know you, Mac. You’ve been considering it, weighing the pros and cons. And the pros are winning. He’s the perfect man for the job. Why not admit it?”

Picking up another carrot, Mac began to grate. “It’s just that I’d planned on doing everything with a stranger.”

Sophie moved closer and took the grater away, then shoved it out of reach. “I’m going to be brutally honest with you. That’s what best friends are for, right? You’re not going to hate me for saying this?”

Mac couldn’t prevent her lips from curving. They’d always been able to be honest with each other. It was what had made their friendship last for so long. “I’m not going to hate you.”

“Okay.” Sophie reached for Mac’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to go through with your plan if you choose a stranger.”

“You think I’m a coward.”

“No!” Sophie’s reply was quick and vehement. “You are one of the bravest people I know. But I’ve known you for a long time, and you’re very…hesitant when it comes to relationships with the opposite sex.”

“Resistant might be a more accurate word,” Mac said.

Sophie grinned. “You know, one of the most endearing things about you is your ability to be brutally honest about yourself. Most of us sail through life telling ourselves whopping-big lies.”

Mac frowned in puzzlement. “What’s the point of doing that?”

“We think it helps. But to get back to you, this resistance you have to pursuing relationships with the opposite sex is the reason I think you might be much more successful with your plan if you choose someone you already know. I don’t think you’re going to be able to…let’s say, implement these fantasies with a complete stranger. Plus, your ultimate goal is to use them on your husband. And he won’t be a stranger. Isn’t it best in a scientific experiment to try and reproduce all the circumstances to the best of your ability?”

“You really do listen when I rattle on about my work.”

Sophie grinned at her. “Of course I do. And I’m right, aren’t I—on both counts?”

Mac was very much afraid that she was. One of her own biggest fears was the idea of using her newfound knowledge on a stranger. Still… “Lucas wouldn’t…I mean, he doesn’t think of me that way.”

Sophie’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, there you go. Lucas represents the kind of challenge I think you should be looking for. Someone who would put your research to a true test. These men that your…contacts in the sex industry will put you in touch with are bound to be easy marks, don’t you think? After all, they’re eager enough to be paying for sex. Some of them might even be married and have started to wander, so to speak. And if your plan is all geared toward keeping a husband from straying in spite of his genetic mapping, then surely you ought to be able to seduce my brother.”

Sophie had a point. Lucas Wainright would certainly offer her a challenge. And if she wasn’t up to it, then she might as well forget her whole plan.

“Mac—” Sophie took her hands “—do this for me. I don’t know if I can stand to think of you putting this research project into action with someone else. I know that Lucas, in spite of his many flaws, will be kind to you.”

One glance at the concern in her friend’s eyes, and Mac knew she was going to agree. She was about to, when Sophie continued, “And the truth is, you could do me a big favor at the same time.”

“What?” Mac asked.

“On Wednesday, Lucas has made arrangements for me to join him at his hideaway cabin on one of the Keys. You know what they say about timing being everything! I want you to go in my place. I’ve never been there, but it seems to me that an isolated island in the Keys would be the perfect setting for you to put your plan into action. It will be just you and Lucas—hot, sunny days, palm trees, the ocean pounding on a sandy beach, warm, tropical nights. Just imagine it, Mac.”

It sounded just a little bit too good to be true. She studied Sophie. “Why don’t you want to go with him?”

“Because—” Sophie began to pace again “—every time I look at Lucas right now, I think of Bradley. My feelings are very raw, and having Lucas lecture me for a week on my abominable taste in men is the last thing I need. But he’s adamant that I join him. I think he feels guilty and he wants to bond with me.”

“What will you be doing while I’m down in the Keys seducing Lucas?” There. She’d actually said it aloud. Putting your fear into words was supposed to be half the battle.

Pacing back from the window, Sophie leaned against the counter. “I need to be by myself for a while. And I’ve found this great spa in North Carolina where I can hike in the mountains and ride and meditate. It’s run entirely by women for women. When I read the brochure, it sounded like heaven to me. It’s exactly what I need. Lucas is right about one thing. I do seem to attract men who are only interested in using me. An all-women retreat ought to at least protect me for a while.”

“Lucas won’t be happy about the switch,” Mac pointed out.

Sophie patted Mac’s hand. “If your research is as good as you say it is, he’ll adjust. And I’ll call him from the spa so that he’ll know that I’m perfectly safe. Believe me, Lucas and I could both use a break from each other.”

Mac drew in a deep breath. She’d never been able to refuse Sophie anything.

“Do this for me. Please.”

“Okay.”

“Great!” Sophie beamed a smile at her. “C’mon, the first thing I want to see is the wardrobe that Madame Gervais helped you select. Then we’re going to shop for some additional pieces that will be appropriate for a holiday in the Keys. Have you ever worn a wig?”

“No. Why would I?”

“The better to create fantasies with, my dear. I’ll explain everything while we shop.”

3

“IS THERE ANYTHING I can get you before we take off, Ms. Wainright?”

Mac smiled at the young brunette, Captain Jill Roberts, who would fly her to Key West. “No thanks, I’m fine.”

She hated that she had to lie to the woman, but Sophie’s instructions were very explicit. Lucas’s pilot had never met Sophie Wainright, and Mac was to keep up her impersonation until they had landed in the Keys. The blond wig was helping, and so were the clothes that Sophie had lent her.

No one could know that she was taking Sophie’s place until she stepped off the plane in Key West. Sophie had been adamant about that because she was sure that Lucas was having her followed.

“The flight will take about two hours, and the galley is fully stocked.”

“And Lucas is going to meet the plane?” Mac asked.

Captain Roberts smiled. “That’s what he said. I spoke with him just as you were crossing the tarmac to come aboard, and I gave him the time I thought we would be touching down. That means I’d better get us airborne. If you want anything, the intercom button is right there on the armrest.”

It was only as the captain disappeared into the cockpit that Mac allowed herself to relax a little. She felt as if she’d been caught up in a whirlwind ever since Sophie had breezed into her lab on Monday, but she had to admit that the plan was really working. It had been at Sophie’s insistence that they’d switched identities.

The initial step had gone like clockwork thanks to a sudden summer storm that still held D.C. in its grip. Sophie had worn her red rain poncho, hood up, when she’d opened the antique shop at nine, and Mac had worn a bright yellow one, hood down, when she’d arrived fifteen minutes later. Once inside, they’d gone into the back room and changed clothes. As a final touch to their disguises, Sophie had donned a reddish-blond wig tied back into a bun, and Mac had put on a blond one.

They’d gotten the wigs and had them cut and styled on Monday when they’d gone shopping. The fact that they were almost identical in size and shape had helped. Friends in college had always remarked that they could have passed for sisters. Still, Mac had been amazed at just how much she resembled Sophie once she was wearing the blond wig. When they’d emerged from the shop, their hoods up and umbrellas open to hail separate cabs, she was sure that anyone watching “Sophie” would have been bound to follow “Mac,” and vice versa.

Mac prayed that the rest of their plan would go as smoothly. Just the thought of facing Lucas Wainright and admitting that she’d purposely switched places with his sister had the butterflies dive-bombing around in her stomach. But it was much easier to concentrate on that first hurdle than the one that would come after, when she told him why she’d really taken Sophie’s place.

“We’ve been cleared for takeoff, Ms. Wainright.”

Mac jumped at the sound of Jill Roberts’s voice pouring out of a nearby speaker.

“I’ll let you know when you can move around the cabin, but if you have any concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to use the intercom button.”

Mac found her gaze riveted to the button for several moments after the plane’s engine roared to life. All she had to do was press it and she could call the whole thing off.

The plane vibrated, then moved forward.

Mac gripped her hands together. Whatever second thoughts she was having, she couldn’t let Sophie down. Things had gone too far.

Leaning back in her seat, she took a deep breath and held it for the length of time that it took the plane to make its mad rush down the runway.

There was no need to panic. Years of experience in the lab had taught her that any project became simpler and much less inhibiting if she could just break it down into steps and take them one at a time. All she had to do was view her coming fieldwork in that light. Flying down to Key West to meet Lucas was just the first step. Telling Lucas about her plan would be the next—and a big one it would be.

The moment she felt the plane leave the ground, she let out the breath she was holding and took in another one. In her mind, she tried to picture herself taking the third step—making love to Lucas Wainright.

Every time she let herself think about that, a very vivid image of Lucas, totally naked, filled her mind. She could almost feel what it would be like to run her hands over the smooth tanned skin on his shoulders, down his chest to his waist and below. Of course, she’d fantasized about touching a man before. And that all-day seminar had certainly given her fantasies a lot of fuel. But never before had her hands tingled with anticipation. As she glanced down at them, grasped tightly in her lap, the realization streamed through her. She wanted to touch Lucas. Not just any man. She wanted to press her fingers against his hardness, to test his strength.

She could still recall how lean, how hard those muscles had felt through the thin cotton of his polo shirt. His whole body had been so hard. Even his hands. When she concentrated, she could still feel the pressure of each finger—on her back and, lower, on her hip. And there was that incredible stab of heat, the melting of muscle and bone.

She was still searching for a word to describe what she’d felt. Hunger was too mild a word for that needy, restless ache that had threatened to consume her. More than anything, she’d wanted him to—

“Ms. Wainright?”

Mac started as the voice flowed out of the speaker. Then, unclenching her hands, she pressed the button on the armrest. “Yes?”

“We’ve reached our cruising altitude. You can wander around the cabin or use your cell phone. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.”

Reaching into her bag, Mac took out her phone. She was about to press a button to speed-dial Sophie when she realized that it wasn’t her phone. It was the color of white mother-of-pearl. Hers was black. A quick search of her bag confirmed her suspicion. When they’d switched outfits in the back of Sophie’s shop, they’d switched the identical purses they’d bought too. After punching in her own number, she listened to it ring.

“Mac?” Sophie asked. “Where are you?”