Yours Seductively

Chapter 7.2 (Part 1)

   "Do you want more coffee?" Jane asked, nodding toward Tyler's empty cup.

   "No. Actually, there's something I still have to do this evening."

   "Oh?" She wasn't sure how to read his expression.

   He nodded. "You told me to be prepared to grovel. I'm ready to do so now."

   She'd almost forgotten their little spat earlier in the week. "Perhaps you've noticed that I've forgiven you. Groveling isn't necessary at this point."

   "You're sure."

   "Quite sure."

   "I'm happy to hear that," he said and pulled her toward him.

   Her mouth only an inch or so from his, she murmured, "It was probably the case of Gummy Bears you brought when you picked me up this evening that did the trick."

   He chuckled, his breath whisper-warm against her lips. "It was a toss-up between Gummy Bears and diamonds."

   Cupping his face between her hands, she pulled him closer. "You made the right choice."

   He couldn't know how much it had touched her to find him on her doorstep with the big box of candies in his hand. Diamonds could never have affected her the way the whimsical gesture and his slightly sheepish smile had.

   She was crazy about his mouth, she thought as they dived into an eager kiss. His lower lip was full, his upper lip straight and firm. Two deep creases bracketed his smile—not dimples, exactly, but sexy hollows that begged to be explored with the top of her tongue. Delicious.

   They stretched the kiss out a very long time. When it ended, Jane was sitting on Tyler's lap, his arms around her, hers locked around his neck. "Funny," she said. "I seem to keep ending up here.

   "I'm not complaining."

   "Neither am I." She rubbed her nose against his, as amused as she was aroused. Even when he was teasing her, he seemed so delightfully serious.

   He caught her chin in his hand, pressing another kiss on her smiling lips. "I always get the feeling you're laughing at me," he murmured, displaying that unnerving mind-reading talent again.

   "Only in the nicest way," she assured him, and kissed him again.

   "What is it about me that amused you so much?" he asked some time later.

   Sliding a hand down his cheek, she laughed softly. "The was you're so serious all the time. The way you look at me sometimes as if you think I must come from another planet. The way your forehead creases when I say something that perplexes you. Shall I go on?"

   "I think that's enough." His smile was dry.

   "You're very seriously cute, Tyler Hamilton," she said, running her fingertips through his thick, dark blond hair. "You always have been."

   "Cute?" His forehead wrinkled—exactly the way she'd just described. The way she found so endearing. "It's been a long time since anyone had called me cute."

   She smiled. "Maybe you just haven't been listening."

   Cupping his hand behind her head, he pulled her face toward him and traced her smile with the tip of tongue. "I'm listening now."