A Shameless Seduction

He shook his head, hard, and tried to regain his composure. “What’s with…” Unable to grasp the appropriate word when his mind was muddled with arousal, he gestured from the top of her head to the three-inch heels on her feet with an impatient wave of his hand. “Everything.”

“It’s the new me,” she replied, and twirled around, giving him a 360-degree view of her very feminine assets. “I was in the mood for a change. What do you think?”

The problem was, he couldn’t think, at least not with any part of his anatomy located above the belt. Mind-blowing was the first word that came to mind, followed by provocative. With that crushable hair, those luscious lips and those endlessly long legs, she was his most carnal fantasy come to life.

Although it seemed crazy, he wondered if their conversation last week about her not accompanying him to the charity auction had instigated this radical transformation in her. Not that he had any intention of changing his mind about her doing the job.

He swallowed to ease his parched throat. “You look…” Amazing, tempting and too damned beddable. “Really nice,” he forced out blandly.

Some of the confidence glimmering in her gaze dwindled, and he experienced a mixture of relief and regret for bursting her enthusiasm. But the last thing he wanted to do was encourage her brazen behavior in any way. He was already having a difficult enough time with his body’s response to this new and sensual Melodie.

So, instead, he focused on business. “Any calls this morning?”

She hesitated for a moment, then straightened her shoulders once again, as if attempting to rebolster her fortitude. Reaching across her desk, she gathered a few pink message slips and handed them his way, her movements slow and unhurried instead of quick and efficient, as was her usual manner.

“Lance Keesling returned your call from Friday,” she said, and even her voice sounded lower, huskier, to his ears. “Jonas Goodwin would like an update on the Williams insurance fraud case, and Bobby Malone will be stopping by later this afternoon with the information you needed on the MacGregor custody case.”

He nodded succinctly. Bobby Malone was a detective with the Oakland P.D., and also a good friend of Noah’s. The two of them traded professional favors on cases when needed, and Cole was waiting for crucial information on a prior felon embroiled in a custody dispute with one of his clients.

“Great,” he said, glancing back at her after reviewing the messages she’d taken for him. “Could you pull the Goodwin case file for me and bring it to my office, please?”

“It’s already on your desk,” she replied efficiently.

“Thank you.” At least some things hadn’t changed, he thought gratefully. Despite Melodie’s new attitude and alluring appearance, she was still the same old reliable, conscientious secretary he’d come to depend on in the office.

And that’s all he cared about, he told himself firmly.

“Good morning, everyone,” Noah’s deep, cheerful voice sounded from behind Cole as he entered the reception area, followed by a quick inhalation as he obviously caught sight of Melodie. “Holy sh—” he cut himself off. Cole turned to see his shocked outburst replaced with a wolfish grin. “Who in the heck is this impostor? Certainly not our sweet Mel!”

A pink blush swept across her cheeks, but something much more mischievous flickered in her eyes. “Maybe I’m her naughty twin.”

“Oh, I like that,” Noah said with a too-charming laugh that grated on Cole’s nerves. Noah circled around the desk, grabbed Melodie’s hand, spun her in a circle for a full inspection, then made a low, growling sound of approval and appreciation. “You look incredible. I think I need to modify ‘sweet stuff’ to ‘hot stuff.”’

She beamed up at him. “That would definitely go with my new image.”

“Hot stuff it is,” Noah confirmed, winking playfully at her.

An odd tension settled down the nape of Cole’s neck and he was loath to acknowledge its source. Noah had always been a shameless flirt when it came to all women, yet Cole didn’t care for the way his brother was eyeing Mel’s newly revealed attributes he, himself, had ogled earlier.

He clenched his jaw in frustration and issued a stern internal lecture. He’d never been a jealous man when it came to the opposite sex, and he didn’t intend to start now with a woman he had no business lusting over.

“I’m glad you came in early, Noah,” he said, drawing his brother’s gaze back to him. “Can I see you in my office for a few minutes?”

Noah let go of Melodie’s hand and nodded. “Sure.” He followed Cole down the short hall to his office, then dropped into one of the chairs in front of his desk. “What’s up?”

Taking his own seat, Cole rolled his shoulders to ease the taught muscles stretching across his back. “Do you have time this week to do some surveillance work?”

“Yeah, I can wing it. What do you need?”

“It’s for the Russell case. I’d like you to tail Jerry Thornton and see if he’s involved with another woman and uncover whatever you can regarding his credibility.” Withdrawing a piece of paper from his blotter, he pushed it across his desk toward Noah. “Here’s his home and work address and a photo, along with other pertinent info.”

Resting an ankle over the opposite knee, Noah gave the notes a cursory glance, then slanted Cole a furtive look. “Speaking of the Russell case, your sexy, sophisticated, intelligent candidate for the charity auction is standing in the other room.”

“Who? Melodie?” he asked, his tone infused with a plausible amount of incredulity—he hoped.

Noah smirked. “No, her naughty twin.”

“Forget it,” he told his brother firmly. “I refuse to cross that professional line with my own secretary.”

“In order to cross a professional line you need to be attracted to her,” Noah drawled, insinuating as much. “Come on, Cole, she’s perfect for what you need.”

Cole’s needs were making themselves known with a vengeance. Since the moment he’d laid eyes on Melodie’s newly revealed bottom and long legs, his body had been clamoring for a more physical kind of contact. A languid dose of desire had settled beneath his skin, a nagging ache he feared would get much worse if Melodie continued her beguiling performance.

“And it’s not as though you have to sleep with her,” Noah added wryly.

Oh, but he wanted to, Cole thought, no longer shocked by his sinful thoughts where Melodie was concerned. Too easily, he could envision her sprawled on his king-sized bed, his own aroused body covering hers as his fingers sank deep into her silky hair and his mouth tasted her lips, her neck, her breasts. Oh, yeah, he wanted, and there was no sense in blatantly tempting himself with what he couldn’t have.

“Look, I refuse to put Melodie in that kind of position.” Or himself for that matter. “If, for some reason, something on the case goes wrong, I don’t want to risk losing a damn good secretary.”

Noah looked as though he was struggling not to burst out laughing at Cole’s ridiculous excuse, but managed to keep his expression composed. “Whatever you say.” Standing, he pocketed the information Cole had given him on Jerry Thornton. “I’ll get right on the surveillance and let you know what I find out.”

Cole nodded succinctly, grateful that he was no longer under his brother’s scrutiny. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Once Noah was gone, Cole deliberately buried himself in follow-up work on current cases to keep himself occupied and busy. Unfortunately, his secretary had more distracting matters in mind. Every time she walked into his office to deliver paperwork or discuss a case report with him, his gaze strayed unerringly to her swaying hips and shapely legs as she glided toward his desk in a slow, tantalizing stride. More times than he cared to admit, he caught himself staring at the soft roundness of her breasts beneath her blouse and had even witnessed a sensuous glow in her eyes when he dared to meet her gaze. Hell, even his ears perked up when she answered the phone, just so he could listen to her speak in that soft, husky tone of voice that matched her alluring packaging.

He was completely and totally aware of Melodie, in every way imaginable. Just as she’d intended, no doubt. And with every inviting smile she cast his way, coupled with a few accidental brushes of their bodies as they passed in the hallway, she added fuel to the fiery flame burning deep inside him.

By the end of the workday, he was tied up in knots, and so mentally and physically aroused he was ready to come out of his skin with a mere whisper of a touch.

The now familiar swishing sound that accompanied Mel’s approach down the hall to his office put his unruly hormones back on full alert. With effort, he tamped down his eager response, and by the time she’d entered the spacious room, he’d schooled his features to reflect casual interest.

It had been blessedly quiet for the past hour. At a quarter after six, the front-end phone was silent, and both Noah and Jo were gone for the evening—which left him all alone with Melodie. His muscles tensed at the realization. Normally that wouldn’t be a cause for concern, considering more often than not she worked late with him, but that was before she’d turned herself into an impudent minx.

“Can I run something by you, Cole?” she asked, her tone as serious as her expression.

Ahh, business he could handle. A piece of paper in her hand legitimized her request and made his shoulders relax again. “Sure. What is it?”

“A letter.” Instead of taking one of the chairs in front of his desk, she came around to where he sat and settled herself on a cleared spot of polished mahogany to his left. “One I’d like to read to you, if that’s okay.”

She crossed one slender, stocking-clad leg over the other—in the same prim and proper way she’d done a hundred times before while taking notes for him on a case. Except she’d never sat on his desk in such a brazen manner, and she’d never worn a skirt so short it ought to be deemed illegal for all the wicked, decadent thoughts it inspired.

He leaned back in his leather chair to put much-needed distance between them. “Is this for a case?”

She appeared momentarily nervous, which quickly ebbed into an adorable look of perseverance. “Yes, it is.”

Curiosity edged out the caution nagging at his conscience. “All right. Let’s hear it.”

Her chest rose and fell as she inhaled a deep breath, then her thick lashes lowered and her gaze dropped to read what she’d written on the piece of stationery in her hand. “You’ve been in my thoughts all day long, and now we’re finally together,” she began, her soft voice at first quivering and unsteady. “I’ve caught you watching me when you think I’m not looking and it excites me to know that I’ve captured your attention, and that you might possibly want me as much as I’ve wanted you. Your gaze drifts over me, as soft as a caress and as warm as a sultry summer night, making me heady with breathless anticipation.”

Certain he wasn’t prepared to hear the rest of her letter that was taking on a very provocative slant, he offered up a protest to stop her. “Mel…”

“Shhh, let me finish,” she scolded gently, though there was no mistaking that reading her erotic letter out loud was taking a huge dose of courage on her part. She shifted on his desk and slowly recrossed her legs, the movement echoing the restlessness stringing his nerves and body tight.

“You’ve become my sensual awakening, and now my body hungers for the intimacy of your touch.” Lifting her hand, she feathered her fingers along the pulse fluttering in her throat and gradually skimmed her hand downward to the vee in her blouse as she continued to mesmerize him with her words and actions. “I ache to feel your strong hands stroking my cheek, my breasts and heating the soft skin along my stomach and thighs. My heartbeat quickens at the thought of experiencing such exquisite pleasure, and even now I’m trembling deep inside, waiting, hoping that you’ll be the one to ease the intense longing that grows with every passing second.”

She brushed loose tendrils of silky hair behind her ear, and her tongue darted out to dampen her bottom lip, making her mouth glisten like a ripe, juicy peach. “Wrap me in passion and desire, and I’ll expose my every need. Tease me, please me and make my fantasies come true.” She lifted her smoky gaze to his, her dark irises rimmed in brilliant gold. “I’m waiting for you. Make me yours.”

Cole was so caught up in her sensual monologue that, in his very vivid imagination, she was already his. And his invigorated body echoed the sentiment. There was no doubt in his mind that she was attempting to shake up his composure and shamelessly seduce his mind, his thoughts. And her ploy was working, considering he could only think of one thing: fulfilling hot, illicit fantasies. Hers, and his own. Together.

The temptation to touch her was overwhelming, and it took monumental effort to resist the urge to reach out and place his hand on her silky leg and smooth his palm up her thigh, then beneath the hem of her skirt. To find out if she was just as aroused as she’d made him.

He clenched his hand into a tight fist on the arm-rest of his chair and asked as calmly as he could manage, “Where did you get that letter?” His voice sounded gravelly to his own ears.

She tipped her head, causing her softly layered hair to sway over her shoulder and along her cheek, beckoning him to test the luxurious texture of those strands with his fingers. “I wrote it today, during my lunch break. What do you think?”

“You definitely earn an A for creativity,” he replied without thinking.

A satisfied smile made an appearance on her glossy lips. “It was easier than I thought to write the letter, even kind of fun, but I was more concerned about reading it.” Her gaze held his, pulling him into the guileless pools of deep brown staring intently at him. “Did I do okay?”

Any better and he would have embarrassed himself with how turned on she’d made him. “You did fine, Mel.” Feeling too damned stimulated, he stood up and paced to the window on the other side of his office, then turned to face her again. “Is there a point to why you feel compelled to read me such a personal letter?”

“Of course there’s a point.” She slipped gracefully from the surface of his desk and glided toward him, a mixture of nerves and determination mingling in her gaze. Stopping in front of him, she placed her hand on his chest, right over his rapidly beating heart, then slid her palm upward until her trembling fingers toyed with the collar of his shirt. “I’m trying to prove I can be exactly what you need.”

Oh, he needed all right. With a vengeance. In a way that was quickly zapping his common sense and rigid control. “Care to explain that comment?” he asked, shoving his hands deep into his pants’ pockets.

“I’m applying for the position of your date for the charity auction.” Her fingers grazed the opening of his knit shirt, scorching his flesh with her daring caress. “I know you could probably find someone sexier and more alluring,” she said, a bout of insecurity showing through her bravado. “But you already gave me an A for reading my erotic love letter. Considering that’s what you need a woman for on the Russell case, that skill has to count for something, doesn’t it?”

“So, that’s the reason for your metamorphosis and that letter you just read?” he asked incredulously. “The Russell case?”

“Partly, yes.” Her chin lifted, adding a willful air to her demeanor and a new, intriguing dimension to her personality—a strength and tenacity he couldn’t help but admire. “I’ve been sensible and accommodating all my life, Cole. A quintessential good girl, a perfect daughter and a quiet, dependable secretary. I’m twenty-eight years old. I want to have some fun and be a little wild and adventurous. And I want to find out what it’s like working on a case outside of the office. I’m more than qualified, and I can help you on the Russell case, if you’d just give me the chance.”

“No.” His response was automatic; it was also his last link to his own personal salvation when it came to her.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to prove I’m capable of handling this assignment. Anything at all.” Undaunted by his refusal, she stepped closer, and whispered daringly, “Tease me, please me and make my fantasies come true,” she recited from the erotic letter.

I’m waiting for you. Make me yours. The provocative words echoed through his head, and he nearly groaned as every muscle in his body responded to her audacious display. Her flattened palms traveled along his shoulders and around his neck, and she swayed toward him, causing her soft, lush breasts to rasp across his chest and her thighs to press against his.

Unable to take another moment of her bewitching actions, he grabbed both of her hands to regain control of the situation and backed her up against the wall behind her. He pinned her wrists beside her head with his splayed hands and glared down at her, doing his best to discourage her advances with his dark look.

“Dammit, Mel,” he growled, his low, rough tone threaded with frustration and desire. “You’re playing with fire.”

He’d expected his intimidation tactics to coerce her into backing off, but this new side to Melodie was proving to be more than he’d bargained for. Instead of retreating, she inhaled a deep breath and gazed up at him challengingly. “Maybe I want to get burned.”

Oh, hell. When and how had the focus of the conversation shifted to them? The flush of excitement on her cheeks backed her claim, yet he instinctively knew she hadn’t considered the repercussions of what she was asking for, or the fact that he wasn’t a forever kind of guy. One step closer and she’d have ample proof that he was ready, willing and able to indulge in hot sex and carnal pleasures with her. But work and personal ethics kept him from following through on the primal urges raging within him.

He bent his knees, lowering his face so he was looking directly into her eyes—putting him a breath away from kissing her. “You’re not ready for this kind of game,” he warned in a deep, gruff voice. “And if you’re not careful, you’re gonna end up getting hurt.”

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