Buch lesen: «His Final Seduction»

“Live the magic,” Quint murmured

Jorgie hadn’t realized Quint had been inching his body closer, but now she felt his thigh pressed against hers and his hand had slipped from her shoulders to her waist. He was reaching up with his other hand to gently stroke her cheek.

He gazed into her eyes. He was going to kiss her. She should move. But Jorgie was caught up in the moment. By the singing gondolier, by the Grand Canal, by the full moon rising over the Venetian sky, by the dark water and the summer breeze and Quint, Quint, Quint.

Slowly she closed her eyes, puckered her lips and waited. And when his mouth touched hers, she understood the true appeal of Casanova.

He made a woman feel cherished and adored.

Dear Reader,

Did you ever have a schoolgirl crush on the cute older guy in your neighborhood? Do you remember the way your heart beat faster whenever you caught a glimpse of him mowing his lawn without a shirt on? And how you spent those long summer nights imagining he was trailing his calloused masculine fingers over your tender feminine flesh? Well, Jorgie Gerard sure did, even though she’d almost forgotten about her teenage infatuation with Quint Mason. That is, until she runs into him in the airport on her way to an erotic, adults-only vacation in Venice, Italy.

What Jorgie doesn’t realize is that Quint has fond memories of her, as well. Nor does she know that he’s really an undercover agent on his way to the same resort destination, posing as a guest lecturer and expert on Casanova in order to catch a criminal. By day he does his job, but by night…oh, the heat of the wicked Venetian evenings spent alone with Jorgie…Quint is beginning to realize this could very well be his last seduction.

I hope you enjoy His Final Seduction. Visit my Web site, www.loriwilde.com, for news on upcoming books and more!

Happy reading,

Lori Wilde

Lori Wilde
HIS FINAL SEDUCTION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lori Wilde is the author of forty books. She’s been nominated for a RITA^® Award and four RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards. Her books have been excerpted in Cosmopolitan, Redbook and Quick & Simple. Lori teaches writing online through Ed2go. She’s also an R.N. trained in forensics, and volunteers at a women’s shelter. Visit her Web site at www.loriwilde.com.

Books by Lori Wilde

HARLEQUIN BLAZE

30—A TOUCH OF SILK

66—A THRILL TO REMEMBER

106—PACKED WITH PLEASURE

123—AS YOU LIKE IT

152—GOTTA HAVE IT

175—SHOCKINGLY SENSUAL

230—ANGELS AND OUTLAWS*

260—DESTINY’S HAND*

346—MY SECRET LIFE**

399—CROSSING THE LINE†

411—SECRET SEDUCTION†

423—LETHAL EXPOSURE†

463—THE RIGHT STUFF††

506—ZERO CONTROL

To the staff at eHarlequin, who all work so hard to

get the word out about our books.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

1

Something Sexy in the Air

—Eros Airlines

SEX HAD NEVER LOOKED so intriguing.

Or so scary.

That’s precisely the point. You need to step outside your comfort zone.

Jorgina Gerard closed the glossy brochure, featuring Eros Airlines and Fantasy Resort erotic vacation packages, and fanned herself with it. She was alarmed that her body was suddenly aroused at—of all places—the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport ticket kiosk. Mentally, she gave herself a shake. What was the matter with her?

Um, could it be because you haven’t had sex since your boyfriend dumped you?

Cringing, Jorgie bit down on her bottom lip. All around her there was bustling activity—business travelers rolling their carry-on bags toward the taxi stands, separated lovers reuniting with heartfelt hugs, harried moms and dads herding ebullient children away from the enticing dangers of escalators and baggage carousels.

What was she doing? Why had she let her best friend since kindergarten, Avery Bodel, talk her into this? Was she insane? Embarking on an exotic itinerary dubbed with the provocative title Make Love Like A Courtesan. She didn’t need sex lessons. She was twenty-five. She watched cable television. She’d been in a serious relationship and…and…

And as Brian had walked out the door he’d tossed the accusation over his shoulder. “You’re just too damned conventional in the sack, Jorgina. Men need variety, excitement, danger.”

Danger? Jorgie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe she wasn’t the problem, maybe it was Brian.

And if Brian was the problem, then she didn’t need to be here, right? She just needed to find some guy who could appreciate conventional.

“You know,” she began, turning to her friend. This week, Avery’s hair was dyed the color of muscat grapes—a deep hue of acrid purple. As a hairdresser, Avery changed her hair style and color as often as most people changed clothes. “Maybe this—”

“Oh, no,” said Avery. She wrapped a restraining hand around Jorgie’s wrist. “You are not!”

“Not what?” Jorgie asked, but her voice came out high and squeaky, giving her away.

“You’re not fooling me. I’ve known you too long. You’ve got that I’m-gonna-run-away-from-fun look in your eyes. Same look you had in eighth grade when we played Spin The Bottle at Miley Kinslow’s birthday party and it pointed to the guy you’d been mooning over.”

“Quint Mason,” Jorgie supplied, wondering if he liked conventional girls.

She’d had a puppy-love crush on Quint for the entire school year and he barely knew she existed. If she squeezed her eyes closed tightly enough, she could still see him as he’d looked then—lanky, medium brown hair, a devilish grin that melted tweenaged hearts. Of course as a tenth grader, he’d never given her the time of day and she’d been far too shy to even say boo to him, but she’d been besotted. Jorgie sighed. She’d been getting it wrong with the opposite sex ever since.

Wonder what ever happened to him? Then she remembered something her brother Keith had told her in passing after his ten-year high school reunion the previous fall. He’d heard Quint had been stationed in Afghanistan, but that he’d recently left the air force and was working for some private airline. That did not sound like a conventional guy.

“Yeah.” Avery tapped her temple with an index finger. “Quint Mason. That’s him. This trip is just like that. You have the chance to grab life by the throat and really live.”

“But is an erotic destination vacation really the answer?”

“Look at this.” Avery snatched the Eros brochure from her hand and shook it under her nose. “Look at all the opportunities you’d be running away from.” Her friend flipped through the pages, reading the copy as she went. “Learn the sex secrets every courtesan knew. Find out how to hold men completely in your thrall. Dance the seductive dance that brought kings to their knees. Become an exotic woman of pleasure.”

Embarrassment heated Jorgie’s cheeks. She snatched the brochure back and stuffed it inside her purse. “Shh, someone will hear you.”

Avery shrugged. “So what? I’m not ashamed.”

“There are kids around.”

“Hey, I’m not their mother. It’s not my job to censor their exposure to life.”

“Maybe not, but you don’t have to announce to the entire airport where we’re going.”

“Seriously,” Avery said, “don’t run away. This is your chance to show that dork Brian that you’re anything but conventional. And where does he get off calling you conventional? You two met at an accountants’ conference, for crying out loud. He’s just as conventional as you, or he was before he—”

“But I am conventional.”

“Conventional is as conventional does.”

“Huh?”

“It’s something my grammie says.”

“Your grammie says ‘conventional is as conventional does’?”

“No, she says ‘pretty is as pretty does,’ I just substituted conventional, but the advice still applies.”

“It doesn’t make sense either way.”

“Sure it does. Act pretty and you’ll be pretty. Act conventional and you’ll be conventional. Act unconventional and—”

“I get your drift.”

“So stop having cold feet. Actually, stop thinking. You think too much, Jorgie.”

“And you don’t ever look before you leap, Avery.”

“But I have a lot more fun than you do.”

Jorgie sighed. True enough. “You know this is just a variation of the same conversation we’ve been having for twenty years.”

“I’m the accelerator…” Avery said, starting the quote their mothers spoke over their heads as they’d played in the sandbox together. Avery was the kid who flung herself headfirst down the slide. While Jorgie was the crying girl who hovered on the top rung of the ladder, too scared to climb back down, too fearful to take the plunge.

“And I’m the brake,” Jorgie finished.

“We balance each other out. It’s the secret to our lifelong friendship.” Grinning, Avery slung her arm over Jorgie’s shoulder.

Avery’s grin bolstered her sagging confidence. The truth was, she didn’t know what she’d do without her. Avery had such a life force. Whenever she was around her, Jorgie felt stronger, braver, more adventuresome. What few risks Jorgie had taken were due solely to her best friend’s influence. Avery was like an exuberant leader, barreling her way through life on her magnetic charm and sheer good luck.

“Your turn.” Avery elbowed her forward.

Shoulder muscles tensed tight as a wire, Jorgie stepped up to the kiosk and inserted her credit card. Ready or not, this was going down.

“While you’re doing that,” Avery told her, “I’m going up to the ticket counter.”

“Huh? What for?”

“Never you mind. I’ll be right back.” Avery raised her hand over her head and gave Jorgie a backward wave. She sashayed over to the ticket counter, her low-slung jeans and cropped cotton T-shirt revealing a peek at the vivid ink art decorating her lower spine. Jorgie would never ever have the courage to get a tattoo, but as much as Avery’s audacity shocked her, she also admired it.

The ticket kiosk spit out Jorgie’s boarding pass.

It was confirmed. She and Avery were on their way to Venice to learn how to make love like courtesans. Not that Avery needed sex lessons—the woman kept more men dangling on the string than she could count—but her friend could definitely do with a dose of the courtesans’ famed discretion.

Okay, all right, she would do this. She needed this. It was time she stopped playing it safe. Brian was right. She was too conventional. She could do this as long as she had Avery beside her.

Speaking of Avery, where in the heck had she gotten to?

Ticket in one hand and her carry-on clasped in the other, Jorgie spun away from the kiosk. She was so busy searching the crowd for her friend that she didn’t see the man barreling down on her until it was too late. She tried to zigzag, but that only made things worse.

Wham!

They collided in a tangle of arms and legs and rolling leather luggage.

“Miss, are you okay?” His voice was as deep as Phantom Lake, where her parents owned a summer cottage.

His hands were on her shoulders, steadying her. That’s when Jorgie realized she was on the floor and her skirt had flipped up, revealing way too much of her thighs. She yanked her skirt to her knees and darted her gaze to his face. Had he noticed?

The slick, knowing grin said, oh, yeah, he’d noticed.

And she was noticing for the first time just how extremely handsome he was. The stuff of daydreams. Chiseled jaw. Neatly trimmed thick, wavy brown hair. Mischievous cocoa-colored eyes. A slightly crooked nose that told her it had been broken at one time, but that kept him from being too damned gorgeous.

She felt like fleeing. Jorgie gulped, stared. Say something, dummy.

“Hey,” he said. “Don’t I know you?”

It surprised her that he’d use such a tired line. He looked as if he would know all the cutting-edge come-ons. She frowned, shook her head, unable to speak against the weight of his warm, distracting hand upon her shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, sure I do. I used to hang out with your brother Keith, when my family lived in Burleson. It’s Quint, Quint Mason. Remember me?” He extended a hand.

Quint Mason? Was it possible? Here? Now? She stared, stunned by coincidence and the power of his presence.

His hand stayed outstretched, the smile firmly hung on his lips.

She almost laughed. Not because there was anything funny, but to help relieve her nervous tension. What else could she do? She had to accept his help.

His hand was warm and hard and friendly, just like the man himself. Gently, he tugged her to her feet.

She felt oddly absurd, as if she’d stumbled down an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole. “Umm…umm…” she stammered.

“Janie, is it? No, wait…” He snapped his fingers. “Jorgie. It’s Jorgie, right?”

Happiness flowed over her. Mutely, she nodded. He’d remembered her name.

“You’ve changed,” he said, giving her the once-over with an appreciative light dancing in his eyes. She wasn’t the only one who’d changed. He’d gone from lean and lanky to muscular and broad-shouldered. “No more braces.”

Her body flushed hot at his appraisal. “I got them off when I was a sophomore.”

“No more pigtails.” His hand went to her hair, his fingertips briefly skimming her neck.

Goose bumps set up camp on her forearms, and her breathing grew so shallow she was practically panting. “Left those behind with the private school uniform,” she managed to say.

“You don’t have library books clutched in your arms. Did you lose your love of reading?”

“Nope. Nothing’s changed there, but I’ve upgraded to an e-book reader. Got it stashed in my purse for the plane ride.”

“And you lost the glasses. LASIK or contact lenses?”

“LASIK,” she said.

“Me, too.”

“It’s amazing you recognized me at all.”

“Those eyes are the same.” He nodded as if speaking the wisdom of the ages. “So deep blue that they’re almost purple. Like a Colorado mountain stream. Not many people in the world have eyes like that. The minute I looked into them, I knew it was you.”

He remembered her.

She shouldn’t have found the idea so thrilling, but she did. Her junior high crush remembered her. Her heart did a crazy little rumba.

Oh, just stop it. You’re being silly.

“You know,” he said. “I’d love to stop and talk. Catch up on old times…”

What old times? She hadn’t spoken ten words to him the entire year he’d lived in Burleson and hung out with her brother. She’d been far too shy.

“Find out what Keith is up to these days, but…” He glanced at his watch. “I’m late for work. Maybe we could hook up later.” His comment had been mildly made, but it threw her off to think of meeting up with him again.

“Maybe.” She breathed hopefully even as her brain churned cruel taunts. Get a grip. He’s not interested in you. He’s just being polite. Why would a guy like him be interested in you? He’s traveled the world over. Been in the military. Probably been with dozens—maybe even hundreds—of women. He’s seen and done things you could never dream of. You could never hold the attention of a guy like that. If you couldn’t hold on to someone as bland as Brian, you don’t have a prayer with Quint.

He pulled a card from the pocket of his houndstooth sport jacket—he just had to be a snappy dresser, as well as good-looking—and passed it over to her. “Give me a call when you get back in town.”

Yeah, right. She’d find the courage to do that about the same time hell froze over. Still, she palmed the card, clutched it tight.

“See ya.” He picked up his carry-on, raised a hand in farewell and took off.

Stunned, Jorgie felt as if she’d been clipped in a drive-by. What was that?

“Omigod, who’s the hottie?” Avery asked as she sidled up to Jorgie. Simultaneously, they both cocked their heads to watch Quint walk away, the fabric of his slacks molding to his butt. They sighed in unison.

“That,” Jorgie explained, “was Quint Mason.”

“Quint Mason of Spin The Bottle fame? Get outta town.” Avery gave her a playful shove.

Jorgie pointed to her luggage. “I’m working on it.”

Avery giggled. “You know what I mean. This is incredible.”

“How so?”

“Seriously. It’s kismet, fate, serendipity. I mean we were just talking about him and poof…here he is. What are the odds?”

“Well, actually,” Jorgie said, her mathematical accountant’s mind kicking in, “the probability isn’t as slim as you might think, given that Quint works in the airline industry and DFW is the biggest airport in the state. He probably passes through here every morning on his way to work.”

“Yeah, but what are the odds that you’d be standing here when he sauntered by?”

“I could do a statistical analysis if you wanted…”

Avery plastered her palms over both ears. “No, no, please spare me. Numbers make my head explode.”

“It’s really just like that phenomena where you decide to buy a certain kind of car—”

“Spyder, I want a Spyder.”

“You decide to buy a Spyder,” Jorgie played along, “and suddenly everywhere you look the place is crawling with Spyders.”

“Pun intended?”

“You know me. I can’t resist wordplay.”

“You can’t resist anything brainiacish.”

“Anyway…” Jorgie ignored that comment. “If we hadn’t been talking about Quint, then I probably would never have noticed him. He would have walked right on by. Just like if you weren’t dying to own a Spyder, you wouldn’t notice every single one of them that drove past.”

“Except that he didn’t walk right on by, he ran smack-dab into you.”

“You saw that?”

“The whole airport saw it.”

Jorgie winced. She hated being the center of attention and nothing embarrassed her more than public humiliation. Unlike Avery, who courted the spotlight with glee.

“Don’t obsess about it,” Avery said, accurately reading her. “No one cares that your skirt was practically up around your waist.”

Jorgie groaned.

“Look at the bright side. At least you don’t wear thongs. Come on. Let’s get through security before the line gets any longer. Our plane starts boarding in fifteen minutes.”

Avery was right. No point obsessing over something she couldn’t change. She needed to live in the moment. Get fired up about her trip. She was going to Venice. What more could a woman ask for?

By the time they were through the checkpoint and found their gate at Eros Air, boarding was already in progress.

“Hey,” Avery said, nudging Jorgie in the side. “Isn’t that your guy?”

“What guy?”

“Mr. Handsome over there by the gate attendant.”

Jorgie focused on the jetway. Sure enough, it was Quint Mason getting on the plane. Her plane. To Venice. What was he doing on her plane? Quint had said he was late for work. Did he work for Eros? Was he a pilot, or a navigator, or a flight attendant? But he wasn’t in uniform.

Jorgie frowned and looked at her ticket. “Are we at the right gate?”

“E37. That’s you.”

She focused back on Avery. “What do you mean, that’s me?”

“This is your gate.”

“My gate?” She raised an eyebrow.

Avery shifted her weight. “My gate’s at E34.”

“Your gate?” She sounded like a parrot.

“I decided at the last minute I’d rather go on the Make Love Like A Movie Star tour. I’m going to Hollywood.”

Avery’s statement shocked her so much Jorgie didn’t immediately register what she’d said. “Huh?”

“I’m going to Hollywood,” she repeated.

“That’s what you were doing at the ticket counter? Changing your destination?”

Avery had the good grace to look ashamed. “Yes.”

“And they just let you switch like that?”

“I had to pay a fee, but, yeah.”

Jorgie felt as if she’d been slapped across the face. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me? I would be just as happy going on the movie star tour. Let’s go back and swap my ticket over.”

“Um, I kinda, sorta, wanted to go alone.”

Dismay sucked all the anticipation out of her. “But…but…” Jorgie sputtered. “This whole Eros vacation was your idea. You told me to spread my wings, to claim my sexuality and show Brian that I could be as unconventional as…as…”

Avery placed a hand on Jorgie’s shoulder. “And that’s what you’re going to do.”

“Not without you I’m not.”

“Jorg, we’ve gotta cut the cord sometime. I can’t keep being your id. You gotta learn how to develop your own sense of fun.”

“Well, that sounds all great and everything,” Jorgie said, still stunned by the turn of events. She’d never expected Avery to pull something like this. Sure, her friend was spontaneous and free-spirited and, okay, she could be irresponsible at times, but she’d never betrayed Jorgie before. “But who’s going to be your brake?”

“That’s just it. This time, I wanna freefall. No brakes, no parachutes, nothing to hold me back.”

Jorgie gaped openmouthed. “I…I…never knew you felt this way. I thought we balanced each other out. I thought that was why our friendship worked so well.”

“Listen, it’s not the end of the world,” Avery said in a perky voice as if she wasn’t about to cut the cord with a pair of giant metaphorical scissors. “We’re simply taking separate vacations.”

“I would never have agreed to the trip if I’d known you were going to bail on me.” Jorgie fisted her hands.

“I know.” Avery smiled. “It’s the reason I had to pull a stunt like this. I hope you’ll forgive me for the subterfuge.”

Betrayal had an ugly taste, bitter and hard. “Don’t do this. You can switch your ticket back. I’ll pay for the fee. Please.”

“Time to pull up your big-girl panties, Jorgie.” Avery hoisted her knapsack onto her shoulder. “Ciao.”

“You can’t…You’re not…Avery, don’t leave me.”

“You’re too dependent on me, kiddo.”

Her friend was right. She sounded so desperate. She felt desperate, too. Her life had been unraveling ever since Brian left her and now Avery was leaving her, too. “Please…”

“You can do this. I have faith. We’ll call each other every day and share our experiences.”

“Ave…” Jorgie was finding it hard to breathe. A tumult of emotions clogged her lungs. She felt scared and betrayed and angry and, strangely enough, just a little bit excited. She’d never done anything on her own. She and Avery had roomed together in college, and then afterward she’d met Brian and they’d moved in together. Then after Brian had left, Avery rented Jorgie’s spare bedroom. She’d never lived alone. Never traveled alone.

“Final boarding call for Eros Air flight 692,” said a voice over the loudspeaker.

“Go on.” Avery gave her a gentle shove toward the jetway. “This is for your own good.”

“I…”

“Spread your wings, Jorgie. Flout convention. Fly. Go to your destiny.” Then with that parting advice, Avery turned and scurried away. Quickly, the crowd swallowed her up.

Jorgie stood frozen, her heart pounding madly. The gate agent looked at her expectantly, hand outstretched to receive her boarding pass.

She locked eyes with the woman and the life-changing events of the last few weeks washed over her. Getting dumped by Brian for essentially being too timid, getting passed over for a promotion at work because she wasn’t aggressive enough (a direct quote from her boss), the decision to take Avery’s advice and sign up for an erotic fantasy vacation, unexpectedly meeting Quint Mason and then discovering he was on her flight. Was it kismet? Was serendipity at work here? Had the universe converged to plant her in this spot at this time under these conditions for a reason?

Jorgie wasn’t fanciful. She was an accountant. A cruncher of numbers. She liked things that made sense, and this romantic notion of destiny defied logic. And yet, here she was with the cosmic dominoes all lined up. Did she have the courage to knock them down?

“Miss?” the gate agent asked. “Are you boarding?”

It was now or never. Time to prove she could be bold and daring, or forever accept her fate as a shy, conventional woman who could never attract the attention of someone like, say…Quint Mason.

Jorgie raised her chin and slapped her ticket into the gate agent’s hand. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I am.”