Maya Banks - Sweet Seduction

Gray took a step forward, then another, until he stood just a foot away, so close she could almost feel him touching her.

"What's going on, baby?" he asked in a soft, worried voice.

Her grip was so tight on the bag that her fingers were bloodless, pale tips. He reached out and carefully tugged it away from her. Oh no . . .

He unrolled the top and peered into it, going completely still. She couldn't even see him breathe. Then he looked back up at her. Only the betraying shake of the bag told her its affect on him.

"Don't you think we should go home and do this together?"

Her chin trembled, and she fought back tears. He was precisely right. This was something they should be doing together, facing it together.

Silently, he reached for her hand, palm up, just waiting for her to take it. Closing her eyes, she extended her arm, allowing her palm to slide over his.

As he pulled her forward, she turned to Julie. "Thanks, Julie. I'll see you later, okay?"

Julie smiled. "Take care, hon. And let me know, okay?"

Faith nodded and allowed Gray to lead her outside to his truck.

"My car," she protested when he opened the passenger door.

"We can get it later. Right now I want you with me."

He paused briefly to run his fingers down the side of her cheek, pushing aside the hair gathered there.

"Get in, Faith. There's something I want to show you before we go home."

Realizing there wasn't much time for her to get home and get ready for her date, Julie left on the heels of Faith and Gray. It had certainly been an interesting day. The only thing that would make it more interesting would be if Serena showed up because she was dumping Damon or had finally accepted his proposal.

Relationships were quite simply a giant pain in the ass. Too much drama. They were laden with misunderstanding. No one ever communicated worth a shit as evidenced by Faith's departure from the common sense she usually possessed.

Good sex should be the ultimate goal. Anything else was just icing, and, well, too much sugar was never a good thing.

Julie drove to her apartment, tapping her nails on her steering wheel the entire way. This was the time where she was probably supposed to be bemoaning the fact that all her friends were in relationships and happy as clams and here she was, still single. She was supposed to be envious and lacking, right?

Only, at the moment she felt fortunate to be financially secure, to not be an emotional wreck and, God forbid, have a pregnancy scare. Not that she didn't think Faith would be a terrific mother and adjust to the situation in record time, but the idea still sent a shudder down Julie's spine.

Maybe one day? But not anytime soon. No, she had no desire to settle down and breed a bunch of peeing, puking, burping, crying little munchkins.

It was six by the time she parked in her spot. Not that it took her eons to get ready, but she wanted to look damn good tonight. After all the entire point was to let Nathan Tucker know what he was missing.

What demon possessed her, she wasn't sure. As she let herself into her apartment and headed for the bathroom, she reflected on the idea that she was probably being more than a little vindictive.

Was it hurt pride? No, she didn't think that was it. Nathan was hardly the first man to ever be oblivious to her signals. She'd always adopted a fuck-it attitude when it came to men. So why was she so uptight over Nathan Tucker?

Because you want him more than you’ve wanted other men.

And there it was. The truth hurt but it was still there in black and white. For whatever reason, she wanted Nathan more than she'd ever wanted another man, and the fact that he hadn't wanted her in the beginning did sting.

A cool shower helped to clear her head and sooth her savaged nerves. It really did irritate her that Nathan affected her so much. She was normally cool and confident, but he'd managed to turn her into a raving, desperate lunatic.

Most women her size probably wouldn't wear tight, form-fitting jeans, but she didn't have any compunction about displaying her body. To be honest, she'd tried skinnier and leaner, and it just didn't look good on her.

Once, after breaking up with a dickhead who snidely told her she could stand to lose a few pounds, she'd gotten serious about losing weight. She'd dropped thirty pounds, but it just hadn't worked for her. She liked herself the way she was, and she was pissed as hell that she'd let a man change the way she looked at herself, even if it had been a temporary thing.

After that, she'd forgotten all about ideal sizes, had rounded out and added back her ample curves, and quite frankly she liked herself a lot better, and she had her self-respect back.

Her mother wasn't perfect by a long shot, but what she had given Julie from the time she was a child was a strong sense of self. Not a day went by that she hadn't told Julie how beautiful she was, how smart. She'd imbued her daughter with the belief she could do anything, be anything. She'd grown up believing that. She still did.

She needed to call her mom and check in. Make sure she didn't need anything. Lord knows her brother wasn't going to step up. As much as it galled her to have any contact with the moron her mother had married, she couldn't very well turn her back on her mom.

Besides, there was always the outside chance that her mother might actually surprise her and leave the jerk.

Chuckling over the absurdity of that notion, she finished dressing, applied light makeup and brushed out her hair until it fell softly over her shoulders.

The only area she paid special attention to was her lips. She applied rich red lipstick because she wanted Nathan to look at those lips and remember them around his cock.

She cracked a grin and then checked to make sure she didn't have lipstick on her teeth. Satisfied with her appearance, she went in search of her shoes. With ten minutes to spare, she went back into the living room to wait for Nathan to arrive.

Oddly she wasn't nervous. Excitement hummed through her veins. Finally she was going to be on a real date with him. After months of cat and mouse, of hinting and endless flirtation, the man had gained a clue. It didn't speak well of a lengthy relationship if she had to beat him over the head with a baseball bat every time she wanted his attention.

When her doorbell rang five minutes early, she had to stop herself from bolting to the door. Chiding herself for being way too damn eager, she took her time going to let him in.

She opened the door to see him filling up the entrance, his hands shoved nervously in his pockets.

"You shouldn't just answer the door without checking to see who's outside," he said with a frown. "What if I had been some rapist or serial killer?"

She let her hand rest on the edge of the door and cocked her hip to the side as she studied just how damn good he looked in his Carhartt jeans. They molded to all the right spots, cupping him as lovingly as she would have, given the opportunity. And the simple T-shirt he wore shouldn't have been anything special, but it spread tightly across his chest, outlining in perfect detail every ripple and bulge of his muscles.

Damn it, why couldn't he be mediocre? Or passably handsome? Why couldn't he be one of these guys who only had his personality going for him? Why did he have to be the total package for her?

"Are you listening to me, Julie?"

She blinked. "Huh?"

"I said you shouldn't be answering the door without knowing for sure who's on the other side. It's dangerous."

"Oh, well, I knew it was you. Who else would it be?" she asked lightly.

"That's not the point. From now on, check before you open the door, okay? They should have peepholes on these doors."

"You're off the clock, Nathan," she said as she gestured him inside.

He flashed a quick grin as he stepped inside the small foyer. He filled up the entire entryway, and suddenly she felt pretty small beside him.

"Just let me get my purse and we can head out," she said.

He nodded and stood waiting while she ducked back into the living room. Seconds later she returned.

"You ready?"

"Sure, let's do it."

He motioned her ahead of him and they walked out the door. She turned back to lock it, and he waited on the sidewalk until she rejoined him. Then he walked her to his truck and opened the passenger door for her.

It was a long damn way up and she eyed the seat skeptically. Even the "oh shit" handle was out of reach.

To her surprise, Nathan put his hands around her waist and lifted her up as easily as if she was one of those small, dainty females. She landed in the seat with his hand still resting firmly on her thigh. For a long moment, he stood there, looking at her with heat radiating from his eyes.

Slowly he pulled his hand away as if reluctant to stop touching her. He backed up and shut the door then strode around to his side. He slid in with no problem whatsoever, but then he was a good foot taller than she was.

"A person could get a nosebleed in this thing," she said.

He laughed. "Not everyone is as short as you."

"Why do men like big tires and jacked-up trucks anyway?"

He slid her a sideways glance and grinned. "Guys like big toys. Besides, it's fun to go off-roading in it. I'll have to take you mud-ding some time."

She rolled her eyes. "The only mud I'm interested in is the kind a gorgeous guy wraps me in during a day at the spa."