“It’s a short report,” she said, choosing a wing chair opposite him. “No progress. The only accounting discrepancy I can find is eight cents that won’t balance. And another load of chopsticks arrives in themorning.”
He crossed his arms and lounged back, a gesture that made his biceps bulge and her heart skitter. He was so impossibly male, with an aura of danger that drew her even as it repelled her. His chest was broad and taut with muscle, his belly flat under the navy polo shirt. Her eyes slipped lower, and with a start she jerked her gaze to the colorful arrangement of tulips centered on the coffeetable.
“Heard anything interesting around the watercooler?”
“Since we spoke last week? Let’s see.” She’d better not tell him she’d searched Neville’s computer files as well as Lester Dart’s and Doug Ormond’s one afternoon when they’d all gone to a meeting. Jake would have a fit if she told him. Besides, she hadn’t found anything suspicious, certainly not a second set ofbooks.
“Well?”
“Marilyn’s getting married to her personal trainer in September. She’s the front office receptionist. We’re throwing her a shower in two weeks. Eddie from the loading dock’s seeing Suze, Neville’s secretary, on the side. It’s supposed to be a secret, but everybody knows—except Suze’s husband, I hope. And as forDelores—”
His hands jerked up in surrender. “Okay, okay. It was just athought.”
“That the staff would chitchat about drug money laundering at the water cooler.” Cynthia let the sarcasm drip from her tongue. “I can see why they put you in charge of theoperation.”
Her insult didn’t appear to annoy him nearly as much as she’d hoped, but he did sit up straighter, with a gleam in his eye that made her wish she’d kept her mouth shut. “You’d be amazed what people let slip when they get relaxed.” His blue, blue eyes shot her a glance of pure innocence she’d learned todistrust.
“Really.”
“Seduced anybody yet,Cyn?”
“Seduced anybody?” Her voice sounded high and funny. The thought of seducing any of her coworkers made her feel ill. In fact, the only man who caused erotic scenarios in her head was sitting right across from her. “Well,no.”
Jake’s gaze slid slowly down her red dress, making her feel like it was shrink-wrapped to her flesh. “You’re advertising—” his voice taunted her “—but are youselling?”
A flush heated her cheeks. It had been fun pretending, but there was no way she could continue this charade. She wasn’t the sexy siren Mata Hari he believed her. She was boring accountant Cynthia Baxter. “Of course I’m not selling,” shesnapped.
“Why not?” Lazy flames seemed to curl the edges of hiswords.
“Because I’m not—I mean, I’m—” But she couldn’t find the words to tell him she was a complete dud in bed, and that even the most risqué fantasy inRaunch Magazinecouldn’t save her last relationship. She could not look into those dangerous, hot blue eyes and humiliate herself. “I don’t usually do the seducing,” she finally managed to say, trying desperately to look worldly and slightlybored.
Jake’s mouth quirked up at that, softening his tough-guy face and etching wonderful little crinkles around his baby doll eyes. “Then I guess you’d better startpracticing.”
“Practicewhat?”
“Seducing men. You can start withme.”
“You wantmeto seduceyou?” He was so far out of her league, they weren’t even in the samestadium.
He was openly grinning now, and what that grin did to her heartbeat could be dangerous to her health. “Let’s call it on-the-jobtraining.”
“But I already put in eight hours on the job,” she complained, grabbing at straws while she tried to composeherself.
“You’ll get paid the overtime rate. Time-and-a-half.”
She rose jerkily. Enough was enough. She’d been stupid to volunteer to go undercover. She knew nothing about drugs, or espionage, or money laundering. And she absolutely, definitely knew nothing about seducing men. She’d just show him the door and tell him she was quitting. No more Oceanic. No more FBI. No more Jake Wheeler throwing her pulse intodisarray.
“Well?” hetaunted.
She gazed at him, opened her mouth to throw him out, and closed it without aword.
Suddenly she knew. It was now or never. Fate had offered her a chance at exploring all that stuff she’d only read about and fantasized about. The man in front of her was every sheik, every pirate, every bad boy of her dreams, and she could have him. All she had to do was step across the room and seducehim.
Walking toward him was the most courageous action she’d evertaken.
He lounged back on the couch and watched her through gleaming eyes as sheapproached.
Gingerly she sat beside him and glanced nervously at his mouth. Should she kiss him first or would he expect a woman of her experience to begin undressing him rightaway?
