A Calculated Seduction(5)

For a second or two, or three, Dulcy didn’t move, couldn’t move. Shock held every muscle in her body immobile. Her mind stalled of thought. Then she screeched and slammed the door in Ethan’s face and leaned up against it.

“Dulcy? What on earth are you doing?” Barbie asked.

Of all the people to see her naked, it had to be Ethan MacMillan. Oh, God. She had to face him Monday morning. What was she thinking? She’d have to face him now. Her whole body heated. She knew she was blushing from her forehead to her toes.

“Dulcy?”

“What?”

“What the heck is going on over there?”

“I...someone just saw me naked.”

“So what?”

“So? It was a male someone and he saw my breasts.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. Mortification caused her stomach to roll. “And it was my boss.”

“Oh, well, I guess that blows any chances of getting a date with him.”

Irritation crept up her spine. “What does that mean?”

“Well, Dulcy, you really aren’t...well you are lacking in that department. ”

Her face burned hotter because she knew it was true. “Maybe I’ll date that judge and have him pay for mine, like he did for yours. ”

She clicked off the phone, ignored the flash of guilt she felt, and waited. Hoping against hope he would leave. No footsteps sounded and she knew he was still there. Knowing him, Ethan MacMillan was standing at the door, calmly waiting for her to answer. She’d never known a man with so much control over his emotions.

She grabbed her nightshirt and put it on. As she walked through her postage stamp sized living area, she dropped the phone back in its cradle and slowly approached the door. Embarrassment flooded through her. A man like Ethan probably had his pick of good-looking women. Seeing a woman’s breasts was probably an everyday occurrence for him. So she’d act nonchalant. Like it was an everyday occurrence for her, too.

Except it wasn’t an everyday occurrence. The last time a man had seen her breasts was so long ago, she was embarrassed to count the years. For the second or two she’d stood there, unable to move, his eyes had widened slightly and focused on her breasts.

Her nipples tightened against the soft cotton fabric of her nightshirt when she remembered the way his eyes had darkened. She crossed her arms, trying to hide the fact her boss staring at her breasts turned her on. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the doorknob and yanked it open.

Ethan stood, her briefcase in one hand and her towel in the other, his face void of expression.

“You left your briefcase at the office, Miss Menendez.” No inflections, just a comment. Like he was talking about the weather.

“Thank you, Mr. MacMillan.” She took the offered briefcase and towel. “You didn’t need to bring it all the way out here. ”

“No problem. The house I’m renting is just minutes from here. ”

Then nothing. He didn’t say a word and just looked over her shoulder into her apartment.

“Was there anything else you wanted...er...needed, Mr. MacMillan?”

He swallowed and then cleared his throat. “N-no. I’ll be going.”

But he didn’t move. His eyes quickly dipped down to her chest and back up again. Her nipples tightened further. A flash of wet heat shot to her sex. She raised an eyebrow because if she said a word, her voice would surely crack.

“Yes.” He visibly swallowed. “I’ll be going.”

He hesitated once more, then turned and headed down the stairs to where he’d parked his car behind hers. She watched him get into his Jag and drive away.

She shut the door and set her briefcase down. Just when she’d convinced herself brooding good looks didn’t attract her and at least she could control the urge to jump his bones, this had to happen. Well, she had two days to forget about him seeing her breasts. And maybe, just maybe, she’d forget the delicious wave of heat bouncing through her hormones.

* * * *

As Ethan walked up the path to his front door, he still couldn’t get the image of Dulcy in nothing but a pair of little red panties out of his head. He licked his lips. He was amazed he even noticed the tiny scrap of material, what with those two perfectly formed breasts in the vicinity.

He shut the door behind him and walked to the kitchen. No matter what he did on his drive from her apartment, he couldn’t get the picture of her breasts out of his mind. He’d only seen them for a second of two before she slammed the door in his face, but what he had seen, he liked. Small and pert with coral nipples, slightly puckered, probably from the cool night breeze. It took every ounce of his control not to drop down on his knees, bang on the door and beg her for another peek.