Seduction (21 page)

Claire growled. ‘Out of my reach? Bitch! Oh, now you've gone and done it.'

‘That was the entire idea.' Sharon flashed a smug smile and leaned back in her chair. ‘Go get him, if you can. Though I'm betting he says no, he always turns customers down.'

Oh, she could and would go and get him. Without another word she slipped out of her chair and snagged the two empty glasses from the table. Claire made her way through the semi-crowded bar, taking in the men and women who had descended upon it for an evening of alcohol, sex and entertainment.

Was she any better? She'd come here with Sharon for the same thing. All right, so she was taking a more direct route on the sex aspect and if it all worked out then she'd be going home with Mike.

Sure, if I can get him to break his record in turning women down.

Six foot with an inch or so to spare, with dark hair caught in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. The play of muscles beneath his clothing spoke of a man who took care of himself, or played sport. No beard, not even a hint of growth, which meant he had shaved before work. Good. Not that she minded a hint of whisker when she was in the mood for it. Just not tonight.

‘What can I get you?'

‘Two chocolate Martinis and you.'

Mike leaned on the bar, snagging the empty glasses with an easy swipe. ‘Now, if I didn't know better then I'd assume that was a come-on. But out of all the women in here, you've been careful not to try and hit on me.'

‘It
is
a come-on.'

Mike laughed and shook his head. A light danced within his eyes. ‘Well, your common sense had to do a runner at some point. Look, do you know how often I get that line? You're the third one tonight, so what makes you so special? Why would I go home with you, or take you back to my flat?'

Third one? Great, that wasn't going to help her situation. ‘The fact that all I want is one night, no strings attached, no calling you, stalking you, hell, I'll even change bars after tonight if that would help.' She leaned against the bar and pressed her arms in close, forcing her cleavage fully into view. How the hell was she supposed to trap him for the night if he was used to being hit on?

‘Hm, now that's an offer I haven't had before. Not phrased that way at least. Still, I can't see why I'd take the risk with you. Oh, don't get me wrong, you're attractive enough, my type
even, but this is my job and I'm not about to fuck myself over a quick shag.' Mike turned away and started work on the drinks.

Risk his job? Shit, didn't think about that one
. The reason he'd turned down women in the past and planned on doing so tonight was clear now. ‘And what if I could prove to you that I'm worth it?'

‘How?' He turned back and set the two new drinks on the counter. ‘How are you going to prove to me that you're worth the risk of my job, and with it my flat?'

If he was willing to risk his job, she had to be willing to do something equally dangerous for her reputation. But what? Music, the bar . . . oh, the answer was staring her in the face, if she had the guts to follow through with it. ‘What if I get up on that bar and do a little Coyote Ugly for you?'

‘And what does that prove?'

‘That I'm willing to risk my reputation.' How much of a risk it really was, she couldn't be sure. ‘So it's not my job, but I'd have to live with the comments from people who know me, and maybe a few people at work. There's a bonus – you'd get a good idea of just how our night would be.'

‘What gives you that idea?'

‘Because I'm going to use that dance to seduce you and by the time I'm done you won't be able to turn me down.'

‘You're on.' He grinned and looked down the length of the bar before glancing back at Claire. ‘So, go pick a song and get up there, unless you're having second thoughts?'

‘Bring it on, I'm going to show you the dance of a lifetime, Mike. One you'll never forget.'

Mike didn't say a word. He stepped back from the bar, checked to see if anyone else needed to be served, and then turned his attention back to Claire.

If she was going to do something about it, then she had to do it now. Claire walked away from the bar and headed for the jukebox. When she'd first started frequenting the place she'd
found the old-fashioned jukebox to be an odd addition, but now she was more than a little grateful for it. At least this way she could pick out the right music for her new challenge.

Claire traced her fingertip over the list of music. What would work best for this? Some of the songs were too slow, others too fast. She needed something that would stand out, something he wouldn't expect her to dance to in order to seduce him. One song caught her attention, but it didn't fit the bill and she continued to search through the titles. Then she found it. ‘Lady Marmalade', by Pink.

She slipped the coins into the box and hit the number. The time it took to find the song gave her enough time to walk to the bar and climb onto it. Mike arched an eyebrow as the music started and Sharon waved from her chair, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Don't think, just do it
. Easier said than done.

The opening beats of the song rang out through the bar and she let her hips roll in time to the beat. She turned and fixed her gaze on Mike, mouthing the words of the song. It didn't matter that the men and women around her whistled, and cheered her on. Her focus was on Mike, nothing else mattered.

She strutted down the length of the bar, her hips swaying with each deep beat. Her body set the pace. The song played through her mind, urging her steps across the bar. She'd tease him. Torment him. Show him how her body could move. Claire teased her hands over her hips, then up along her waist until she cupped her breasts and turned back to face him.

Her tongue traced over her lips, wetting them, her gaze fixed on his face. His eyes widened. Lips parted. Sweat beaded across his brow. He groaned. She couldn't hear the sound, but the shape of his lips made it all too clear what he was doing.

What would those lips feel like against hers?

She didn't know, but planned on finding out in intimate detail.

Her hips rolled, thighs tensed, and her breasts bounced, nipples hard against her top as she strutted back towards him. No, that wasn't enough, she needed to up the ante. She waited for the right moment in the song and lowered herself down to her hands and knees on the bar, smiling as those who needed to snatched their drinks out of the way. With the beat firmly in the back of her mind she crawled, stalking him across the bar, her breasts pressing against her top, her cleavage clearly seen by anyone who cared to look.

What they saw didn't matter to her.

Mike, his view, his reactions, those were the only things that mattered to her now. He belonged to her. He didn't know it yet, but there was no way she was going to let him get away. Not tonight.

By the time the song was done, so was he.

Claire stepped down from the bar with the help of Mike's hand. His eyes glowed. Small beads of sweat coated his brow. She licked the tip of her tongue over her lips. ‘So, did I manage to interest you?'

‘Something like that.'

‘Then what are you going to do about it?' She purred the words, resting one hand on her hip.

‘Jim, cover the bar for me, I've got some business to attend to.'

‘Yeah, bet you have!' Jim laughed, and winked. ‘Have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do!'

Claire shivered, heat claiming her being as she walked with him out of the bar. So, he was willing to take the risk. Good. So was she. She'd done it. Now all she had to do was complete the rest of the dare.

After what she'd already done that should be easy. She leaned into his touch as they walked around the back of the bar towards the stairs to his flat.

‘So, will you really be fired for this?'

‘No, I don't think so. Doing this once in four years working here isn't going to get me canned. Warned maybe, not sacked.'

‘Good, I wouldn't want to get you in trouble. No matter how much I think it might be worth the risk.' He smelled of honest sweat and leather rolled into one. Where the leather smell had come from, she didn't know. Aftershave maybe? She'd find out later.

‘You're trembling.' He leaned in, brushing his lips over her throat. ‘Something wrong?'

‘No, I'm fine, really.'
Sure, I just made a fool of myself on the bar, everyone knows what I'm about to do with Mike and
. . . And she didn't care. This was what she wanted.

He opened the door and stepped to one side, letting her enter first. ‘Welcome to my not so humble home.'

‘Wow.' Whatever she'd been expecting it hadn't been this. The small flat wasn't a hovel, or a bachelor pad with all the markings of a man left to fend for himself. No dirty laundry. No dishes scattered across the floor, waiting to be stepped on. A computer sat in one corner, in a sectioned-off area set up as an office. The rest of the main living room of his flat was equally well cared for.

‘Right, you were expecting a cross between hell and a dump?'

‘Something like that.' She turned to look at him as the door closed behind them. The time for talking was over. Claire reached up and wrapped her arms about his neck, brushing her lips over his.

‘Hm, is that all you have?'

‘No, not by a long shot,' Claire whispered against his lips. Her nipples pebbled beneath her bra. Heat flared through her body. ‘I've got a lot to show you, and that dance, this kiss, is only the beginning.'

‘More like a hint of a beginning from this side of things.'

‘Then let me show you the rest.' She licked, slowly, along the
seam of his lips. ‘It'll be worthwhile. Trust me. I'm going to make this a night you never forget.'

He grabbed her by the arms, his voice dropping to a low growl. ‘If you're trying to make this one night into something more . . .'

‘I'm not, and if I was do you think I'd tell you?'

‘Fair point.' He smiled and eased up on her arms. ‘So, what do you have in mind?'

‘Let me show you.' Claire moved into the circle of his embrace. ‘I've watched you for a long time.'

‘I know.'

‘Cocky, aren't you?'

‘That was never in doubt.'

He was arrogant. Sure of himself. Powerful in his own way. Men like him were rare. Most would have used their job, regardless of the risks, to enjoy as many women as possible. Not Mike. He'd shown restraint. Yes, there was something powerful about him that she hadn't come across before. And he was hers. If only for the one night.

She reached up and pressed her lips, gently, against his throat. Her teeth scraped over his skin. He growled beneath her touch.

‘Nice.'

She licked across his pulse, teasing the tender flesh as her fingers claimed the buttons on his shirt. She tugged the edges of his shirt apart and traced her nails over his taut abs. God, she'd waited a long time for this. His skin tasted so good, so tempting beneath her lips. Her nails scraped at his chest and she struggled to keep control of her body.

‘Bedroom.' His voice was little more than a low moan.

‘Where?'

‘Behind and to the left.'

‘Good.' She didn't want to move more than she had to. Not with the way his body felt beneath her touch. It felt right. He felt right.

He turned and took hold of her arm, leading her back towards the bedroom. His fingers found her buttons, opening them, pulling off her shirt, his already lost to the floor of the flat as they stumbled through it.

‘You're hungry.'

‘Tell me something I don't know,' she whispered and leaned up into his kiss. ‘I'm starving and you're the cure.'

‘Is that so? Well then, maybe we should try and cure that hunger.' He leaned down and nipped at her throat.

Claire opened his pants the moment she felt his legs touch the bed. She tugged at them and pulled them down, the outline of his cock beckoning her through his soft grey shorts. It throbbed beneath her first touch. ‘What do you have here, hmm?'

‘If that's a serious question, then I've got a few worries about this that I didn't have before,' he half-laughed. ‘Or maybe I should show you exactly what I'm capable of doing?'

‘Oh, I think I've got a few things I can show you myself.' She pushed him back onto the bed and tossed her skirt aside, leaving her in her bra and panties. ‘I can dance in more ways than one.'

‘Can you now? Well then, let's see what you can do.' He shifted a little more onto the bed, and looked up at her. ‘But you're over-dressed.'

‘So do something about it.'

‘I plan to.' He reached up and cupped her breasts through the soft peach of her bra, thumbing her nipples until they hardened. ‘Nice, very nice. Bigger than I thought.'

Claire growled, ‘And if they hadn't been?' Just her luck, a man with a breast fetish. Not that she minded. Not fully. She ground down against his cock, teasing him with the damp heat that emanated from between her thighs. Her vulva was eager, hungry for his cock.

‘Ah, I'm not complaining. Small breasts. Large breasts. I like
them all, as long as they're attached to a real woman.' He leaned up and latched his lips around one nipple, sucking hard.

Claire groaned. She arched her back, her hips pressed against his groin. His cock twitched and pressed against her. ‘Yes!'

His teeth grazed her nipple, his free hand massaging her other breast. Her belly tightened. Her body was hungry for more, so much more than she had been shown so far. She needed this. Needed him.

No, I don't need him. He's just a quick fuck. Nothing more.

Her panties moistened, damp, eager, heat coating her inner walls. She groaned, surrendering herself to the sensation, for now at least.

Prey. The tease had been there from the challenge that Sharon had set. He was prey, fair game. She could do anything she wanted to him – well, she could try. If he didn't like it, he'd stop it. He was strong enough to stop it and take whatever he wanted from her.