Sex Drive. Susan Lyons

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      “Of course. But he wanted the credit. And had no qualms about using me to get it. The whole thing—the seduction and marriage—were all about him. Him and his career.”

      “Ah, come on.” Not that he wanted to excuse the bastard, but how could the guy not have been attracted to Theresa? “He probably fell for you, then got greedy when he saw the chance for career glory.”

      “I doubt that very much.” She put down her now-empty glass. “Anyhow, after that betrayal, I couldn’t believe anything he said. I couldn’t work with him, got mad every time I saw him. I told him he could find another research assistant, and another wife. After I finished teaching that semester, I left Saskatchewan.”

      “That’s rough.” He squeezed her hand where it rested on her tray table.

      She freed her hand from under his and firmed her jaw. “I don’t need pity. I’m a loner. That’s how it’s always been, and it’s how I work best.”

      “It’s not pity, for God’s sake.” Didn’t she recognize sympathy? “I know what you mean about the loner thing, though.” Damien spent days on end writing, only breaking for a run or walk. It wasn’t that he didn’t like to socialize, just that he got so absorbed in the work. If Bry didn’t drag him out for a few beers or a backyard barbie, he could go weeks without talking to a soul other than a grocery store clerk.

      Theresa snorted. “You, a loner? Give me a break. You flirt with every female in sight.”

      He winked. “Didn’t say I don’t like women. But I do spend a lot of time alone.”

      “What do you do?”

      Crap, he’d walked into that one. If he told her, it’d break the growing connection between them. Fortunately, he could avoid the question because he saw Carmen coming with their desserts. “That looks good,” he told her as she handed him a platter with strawberries, grapes, and slices of kiwi fruit and papaya, plus crackers and small wedges of four different cheeses.

      “Enjoy,” she said, voice flat, obviously still ticked at him. When she’d finished with the meals, he’d have to have a word with her, try to make things right. Ensure she wouldn’t tell anyone about his “engagement.”

      Theresa took a spoonful of her chocolate Cointreau mousse and her expression told him she’d forgotten her question about his occupation. Her full attention was on taste sensations that appeared to be almost orgasmic.

      He’d have liked to be responsible for putting that glow of sensual pleasure on her face.

      She spooned up another bite, then sucked it slowly off the spoon, eyes closed, and his cock jerked as he imagined those lips wrapped around it.

      To further torture himself, he selected a ripe, medium-sized strawberry and reached over to dip it in her mousse. Her eyes opened, narrowed in annoyance, then he held the strawberry to her mouth. She smiled and reached up her hand to steady his, the way he’d done when he’d eaten salmon tartare off her fork. Her mouth opened, then she closed her lips around the chocolate-coated tip of the strawberry.

      Oh yeah, he was definitely erect now.

      The warmth of her soft fingers against his hand, the glaze of sensual enjoyment in her eyes, the way her lips wrapped around the red fruit. The damned berry was even shaped a bit like the head of his cock.

      As Theresa took her time nibbling the fruit from his fingers, he was glad for the napkin across his lap. Especially when Carmen came along to pour coffee.

      “Enjoying your dessert, I see.” This time her tone bordered on snarky. Unprofessional, yeah, but it had been shitty of him to come on to one woman, then ditch her for another. Sure, all he’d done was flirt, but he and Carmen both knew where they’d been heading.

      When she’d gone, he watched Theresa add milk to her coffee and stir. Her bare arm moved in circles, graceful and feminine. A smart, strong woman, yet vulnerable and wary. She must have had other lovers since her divorce, but her ex had done such a number on her, she still mistrusted men. How could a guy be cruel to Theresa? “About your husband,” he said abruptly.

      The spoon clicked the side of the cup as her hand jerked. “What? Oh, enough said. It’s in the past.”

      “Yeah, but all the same, I’d like to meet up with the bugger in a dark alley. I’d punch his lights out.”

      His words, the grimness of his tone, clearly weren’t what she’d expected. Her eyes widened. “Day! That’s…you wouldn’t. That’s so…uncivilized.”

      “You’re saying civilized meanness, like white-collar cheating, is okay, but being physical isn’t?”

      “Well…” Her tongue came out and ran across her top lip as she considered. Color rose in her cheeks. “Violence isn’t a solution.” Her lips tipped up at the corners, then the smile took over, widening on her mouth, making her eyes light. “All the same, I’d like to see it. Jeffrey would…” She gave a snort of laughter. “God, he’d be no match for you.”

      Damien loved seeing her laugh. Man, she was beautiful. “Theresa? The guy was a fool. A woman like you shouldn’t be taken advantage of, you should be appreciated. Slowly and thoroughly. By a man who wants to make you feel like the beautiful, sexy woman you truly are.”

      The laughter had faded from her face as he spoke, to be replaced by wonder. “Day? That’s a really nice thing to say.”

      He shrugged. “It’s the truth. Any man in his right mind would feel that way.”

      “Not so as I’ve noticed.” The humor was back, this time wry.

      “Then you haven’t been looking in the right places.” He picked up a strawberry. “Want another?”

      “I think it’s your turn.” She took the berry from his fingers, dipped it in mousse, and held it out to him.

      He nibbled the treat and with the last morsel sucked the tip of her index finger into his mouth.

      She gave a startled, “Ooh.” A flush colored her cheeks and the exposed V of her chest. Under the thin sweater, her nipples tightened.

      It was those nipples he imagined as he sucked on her finger. When he freed her, he teased, “Do you blush when you’re teaching at the uni?”

      Her hands went up, covering her cheeks. “No.”

      “Why not?”

      “I guess because I know what I’m doing. I’m confident.”

      “But not with me?” He put a slice of cheese on a cracker and offered it to her.

      “No thanks, I’ll stick to fruit and chocolate.”

      He ate the bite himself and fixed another. “You didn’t answer my question.”

      “It’s not you, Day, it’s men. I’m not confident with men. As colleagues and students, yes, but not, uh, socially.”

      That was nuts. She had so much going for her. How could she have let one man destroy her confidence? “Jeffrey СКАЧАТЬ