The Seduction Game

“Weird how?”

She took another step back. “Well, you’re acting all like…I don’t know, a big brother, maybe?”

Will’s laugh was unexpected and the soft notes were enough for Kate to finally meet his gaze. What she saw there made the butterflies in her stomach turn into full-fledged birds. They flapped and flew in that tight space and Kate pressed a hand against her belly to try and stop them.

“Brotherly is far from how I feel about you, Kate,” he said softly, and then to Kate’s absolute horror, and utter delight, he pulled her into his arms. “Brotherly is far from how I was going to behave just now,” he added. “I was going to kiss you. You know that, don’t you?”

Her mouth fell open. She couldn’t help it. Will’s arms were around her, her hands were pressed tight against his chest, and those damn birds were still swooping around.

“Running away won’t make a difference,” he continued. “The kiss is coming, Kate. It’s just a question of when.”

She squirmed. “Will, you’re making me feel uncomfortable.”

“Yes, but in a good way, Kate.”

“No—”

“Yes.”

Silence held as they stared into one another’s eyes. Kate swore she could feel Will’s heart beating against her palms and wondered, randomly, if he could feel the birds beating around inside of her.

“Will,” she began but he didn’t give her the chance to say another word. Dropping his next statement like a bomb between them.

“I want you, Kate.”

She gasped. “You can’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“Well, because,” she spluttered. “Because.”

His arms tightened, they circled her waist entirely now and, because her tee was so small, Kate could feel his bare skin against the small of her back. Thoughts raced at light speed through her brain. Was her skin moist from the heat? What would Will think if it was? Could he feel her hip bones? Would he think they were gross? What about the fact that she was breathing so quickly? Would Will think that was weird? On and on the thoughts went and Kate’s fingers curled against Will’s chest.

“We’re both adults,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper. “Both free and single. Why shouldn’t I admit that I want you? That I’ve thought of nothing else these past few days.”

Oh my God… “You’re the enemy,” Kate said quickly.

He sighed. “No. I’m not, Kate. You know that. Maybe that’s why you’re running scared?”

“You’re the man who is trying to evict me,” she said, though she wasn’t sure who she was reminding, him or herself?

“I’m the man who wants to take you back inside, strip you naked, and kiss every single inch of your skin.”

It was quite possible that the soft moan she heard belonged to her. Kate wasn’t entirely sure. All she knew was that her heart was thudding in a way that it never had before and her fingers were itching to move across Will’s chest.

“And I’m going to,” he added. “But not now. We’re going to have a proper date first. I want to spend a whole day with you, with no mention of The Risings between us, and then at the end of it, Kate, I’m going to take you to my apartment and show you exactly how strong my feelings are.”

“But—”

And then he kissed her.

For their first kiss, Kate’s first proper kiss, it was everything she could have hoped for. Will tasted of mints and heat, and his lips were soft yet demanding. She wrapped her arms around his neck without thinking.

It was the oddest, and most intriguing of sensations. She could feel the pressure of his lips, feel the heat emanating from him, but it was all wrapped up in a pleasure, a tingling, that sparked right where the birds flapped their wings.

When Will pulled away, Kate moaned in disappointment, her body pressed close to him, the tingles continuing their path downward.

“I’m going to pick you up at one tomorrow,” he whispered against her. “You can pick where we’re going.”

“But—”

He placed the lightest of kisses on her open mouth. “But nothing. It’s a date, Kate. A proper one.”

“But—”

And another kiss. “Just you and me,” he said. “Nothing else. We’re going to have fun together. We already do. You know that, Kate.”

“I—”

“So much fun,” he added, and then before Kate could say another word he was stepping away and opening the truck door. She could do nothing but get in and watch in a sort of mute pleasure as he put the truck in gear.

Her lips tingled the entire drive home.





Chapter Thirteen


How was it possible that so many hours later Kate’s lips still felt like they were tingling? She pressed her fingers against them for the hundredth time as she set off down the street, replaying both the Skyfall situation and the kiss over and over.

In truth, she wasn’t sure what she was more pleased by. The kiss itself or the fact that Will had not given up on her. He’d kissed her regardless of the fact that she’d been a bag of freaking nerves.

He’d chased her like some sort of sword-wielding warrior in a computer game.

She shook her head, repeating his words in her mind, and couldn’t help the goofy grin that formed. Will wanted her. He’d kissed her, and, damn, could he kiss. Kate might be a virgin but she’d kissed a few men in her time and Will ranked right up there as the best. Her smile widened as she edged around a family of four who were dripping ice cream on the sidewalk. Ranking Will as her numero-uno kisser was probably a little unfair to the other guys she’d locked lips with. They’d all been in college, and each of them had been as nervous as she, plus they’d worn glasses, too, and back then Kate couldn’t afford a trendy pair. She had had the most basic type, with thick lenses that had bumped against the guy’s in a completely unsexy way. But Will had angled his head so that her huge spectacles were not an issue at all.

He’d had practice.

She sighed as she considered that. The same scratchy feelings she’d experienced at the travel agent’s store screamed through her. No doubt he’d dated extensively. Smart women. Sophisticated women. Women who knew how to dress like grown-ups. But now he wanted to date her, had practically demanded it, and Kate couldn’t quite believe it.

I’m the man who wants to take you back inside, strip you naked, and kiss every single inch of your skin. She shivered, her stomach knotting as she remembered his words. She wasn’t even sure she could imagine doing that. She’d probably die of embarrassment the moment he undid the first button. Pathetic, yes, she knew. But there it was.

The ice cream seller on the corner—clearly the place the family had got their ice creams from—beckoned her over, and Kate was tempted. Tempted to just buy a tub of the stuff, find a park, and eat until she began to feel a little sick. Then she could go home, curl up, and forget about the fact she was a million parts nervous, a million parts scared, and a trillion parts out of her depth.

She was going on a date with Will.

Why was that so hard to accept? Why did it feel like it was almost happening to someone else? Kate tightened her grip on her bag, and though she couldn’t see them, nestled in her purse were two tickets to Minicon, a sci-fi convention that came round every year. Will had said she could pick the activity and though she’d considered going for something a little more trendy, something told her, though she wasn’t sure what, that Will should see the sort of things she did in her spare time. Maybe because he should really understand the oh-so-wide gap between their lifestyles? Because once he got a hard dose of Kate Kelly’s reality he might rethink chasing her? Dating her? She didn’t know, but she’d listened to the voice and had found herself fifty dollars lighter as she’d left the ticket booth.