Look away. But her eyes fell across the magazine covers.
Go For It
Take Charge
Do What You’ve Been Dying To Do
Miriam stood, her breasts only an inch from Jeremy’s chest. He smelled good. Like fresh air, lime and hungry man. Hungry for her. Good to know she’d left an impression on him.
She ran her fingertips up his arm, and his eyes heated. “How about dinner?” she asked.
He lifted an eyebrow. “How about takeout?”
AVA SMILED AT IAN. She should probably feel bad about torturing this man. At least she was hoping it was torture. Strangely enough, all her stealth-seduction practices hadn’t been so easy on her. Playing the subtle flirt took a lot of energy. And it was hell on her body. She’d spent that last half hour in first-stage arousal.
She turned and began walking again, knowing he’d be beside her. She liked that he’d caught on so quickly. She liked smart men.
“You don’t even feel guilty about trying to drive me nearly insane this whole time?” he asked, as he matched his stride to hers.
“Would kind of miss the mark if I were.”
Earlier today, she’d been concerned about this project. Greeting this man nearly naked and covered in paint had clearly been the wrong direction this morning. But she’d managed to work it to her advantage.
“You’re taking this book seriously now though.”
She saw him smile. “Oh, yeah. Was I that obvious in your apartment?”
“It was very clear you didn’t want to be anywhere near this project. Not your style?”
He shook his head, a dimple forming in his cheek. “No. But I warn you, you won’t be able to fool me so easily next time.”
She smiled. Liking that about him, hoping he’d keep working under that assumption. “Good. I wouldn’t want you easy.”
They walked together silently, enjoying the stroll around the canal. Although she’d been in her new home for a week, she hadn’t taken the time to explore the beautiful Bricktown area. The flowers and trees surrounding the canal were lovely, and quite surprising to find in the middle of a busy downtown area. The sun was setting, and the various businesses had turned on their lights, many reflecting in the water. A family of ducks paddled by, swimming toward two children tossing bits of tortilla into the water.
“It’s pretty here,” she said.
Ian shrugged. “Sure.”
Her instincts about this man were right. He was wound tight. “You know, in ancient England, men would collect flowers and wind them into garlands. They’d spend hours examining the blooms, making sure each petal was perfect. Then with great enthusiasm, the knight would place his unique creation on top of his beloved’s head.”
Ian made a scoffing noise. “That sounds like something a bunch of women cooked up and told men they enjoyed doing.”
“You seem awfully cynical about the opposite sex.” Now this was interesting. Could this be an actual insight into the man? Good, this could be something to use later. For the book or on the man, she wasn’t quite sure which.
He stopped and turned toward her. They were under a bridge, and the lights cast amber shadows around his face. “We’re talking about knights, right? Armor, lances, raiding castles. You might want to go back and research the whole flower thing.”
“It’s well documented.”
His lip crooked upward. “Men…spending hours selecting flowers? I don’t even give that much thought to my socks. And I’m wearing them. What probably happened was that the knight was on his way back to the armory after a hard day’s battle keeping everyone safe. That’s when he saw some slacker dumbass knight with a bunch of flowers heading toward his woman. He couldn’t let that happen, so found some vendor with a cart selling flowers.”
“Oh, really,” Ava said, flashing him her best skeptical look, the one she’d seen her college professors use a thousand times. All the while she tried to hide her smile.
“The vendor was probably so bored from trying to sell flowers to a bunch of dirty knights that he fidgeted those blooms into a string, or ‘garland’ if you will.”
She couldn’t stop her laugh. “Did you just use air quotes?”
“Shh. You’re messing up my story. And I’m on a roll because here’s the best part. He speeds past this other knight, and then tells his woman he spent hours selecting the right blooms for this twisted-up mess. He even has her thinking garland is attractive. That women actually want garland. Desire it.”
“No, your theory doesn’t float because now he sets up a standard that he has to beat and that all his sons and grandsons have to meet. They have to actually collect flowers and make garland.”
“Not necessarily, because he passes along the DNA that allows his heirs to make up their own BS stories with enough convincibility that women think they’re hot.”
“Convincibility is not a word.”
Ian held up his hands and took a few steps back. That sexy dimple appeared in his cheek again. “Hey, no need to get testy just because I blew your whole men-and-flowers scenario out of the water.”
Ava laughed. “Are you going to be this doubtful about all the customs I’m putting forth?”
“I’m just glad I’m here to make sure you don’t send the men down the wrong path.” Then with a wink, he turned and began walking again.
“Just so long as you know you’re wrong,” she told him as she joined him. She could spot her apartment now, and despite knowing how wrong he was, she was interested to hear what other theories he was going to try and debunk.
Fifteen minutes later, Ava emerged from her bedroom, barefoot and with a box full of scrapbooks and photo albums. She’d spent time in so many cultures where shoes were not worn, she felt confined in straps of leather, no matter how cute.
She found Ian staring outside her large picture window at the canal below. One of the yellow boats floated along the river. This was her first opportunity to really study him unnoticed. He was a man who observed everything. Probably from his journalistic training. He’d notice her examining him. More than likely he’d use it to his advantage.
Strange. She didn’t think they were at war or anything. But there was definitely a tension between them. Both of them were wanting to win. Win at what, she didn’t know.
He looked good, relaxed in the khaki pants and polo shirt. Ian was a lot different from the usual men in her circle. Who was she kidding? He was totally different from the academic types. Professors had a reputation for being boring and staid, but really that was an unfair stereotype. Usually they were just so focused on one subject they could talk of little else.
Ian seemed like a man who could focus, too. Only the difference was that he could focus on lots of different things at once. She liked that he cared enough about his sister that he would clearly involve himself in something he thought he’d loathe because she asked him to. She knew her brother would do the same for her.
She also liked how he quickly dropped his bias toward her project and even challenged her to think about this book in ways she hadn’t thought of before. A man who challenged her mind was definitely very sexy.
Her body reacted, and she closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the sensation. She’d be making love to this man. Ava didn’t know when, but the fact that it would happen was a certainty and she planned to savor the delicious buildup and tension that existed between a man and a woman before they succumbed to the call of their bodies.
So she’d admire Ian’s body. And his mind. For now. As for later…
“It’s a great view, isn’t it?” she asked.
Ian turned, and his eyes darkened when he saw her. “It certainly is,” he said.
She smiled, then turned toward the brown couch in the middle of the large front area of her apartment. She patted the seat beside her, indicating she wanted him to sit down.