“I was in a long-distance relationship,” he said, his warm breath tickling her skin. “We broke it off a few months ago.”
“Why hide it? Do you have a kinky side that you don’t want anyone to know about? A fetish you don’t think anyone would understand?”
He lifted his head. “Is this your way of asking what I look for in a woman?”
She smiled and opened her eyes. “Maybe.”
“I prefer my women soft and feminine.”
“That’s it?” It couldn’t be. Sean was too sophisticated, too experienced, to want something he could get anywhere.
“And when I take her to bed, I want it to be just the two of us. No games, no distractions.” She was mesmerized by his low voice. “I want to take it slow and explore her all night.”
His fantasy sounded nothing like their one-night stand. She swallowed hard. “Is that right?”
“But,” he said as his gaze sharpened, “and this is the most important part, I need to be in charge. I make the first move. I am in total control.”
“Liar.” The word had spilled from her lips before she thought it through. “You liked it just fine when I took over. When I took you on the floor in my father’s study.” She rubbed her thighs together as she remembered how he’d writhed beneath her.
“It was a nice change of pace.”
Her mouth twisted. “Nice? You begged me to—”
“I prefer it when my lover isn’t overtly sexual outside of the bedroom. I want someone as controlled as I am. Someone who reveals her sensual nature only to me.”
He was describing a proper lady. She didn’t believe him. He wouldn’t find satisfaction with someone ladylike. A thought occurred to her and she watched him intently. Maybe that was what he wished he wanted.
“If you were into good girls, you would have asked me out years ago.”
The corner of his mouth hitched into a lopsided smile. “But I’ve always known deep down you weren’t a good girl.”
That was one of the nicest things he’d ever said to her. “A lady wouldn’t drive you wild like I did,” she argued.
“Exactly.”
She paused. “Wait...you don’t want to go wild?”
“There was a time when I was led by my emotions and my base needs.” He shook his head as if he was trying to rid himself of those memories. “That part of my life is over.”
“What are you, a hundred years old?”
He ignored her. “And that is why no amount of bookish advice will work on me. I’m all about calm and tranquility.”
“What a waste,” she murmured. She remembered how he had responded to her touch and the fire in his eyes. She didn’t believe a word he was saying. Oh, Sean might think that was what he wanted, but now she was sure their one-night stand had shaken his world, too. That was why he wouldn’t discuss it. That was why he tried to act as though it had never happened.
She slowly smiled. Was that why he was trying to warn her off now? Did he find her dangerous—not only to his self-control but to some long-standing beliefs?
Sean’s eyes narrowed as he watched her with caution. “Why are you smiling?”
Because she had never been considered a dangerous woman before. She had always been the good influence. At times, invisible. She enjoyed having this power.
“Isabel?”
“You want a woman who won’t share her true nature with anyone but you. I can be that,” she declared.
She saw sexual heat flare in his eyes as his face grew taut. Sean gave a chuckle that sounded more like a nervous huff of breath. “No, you can’t. Not judging by how you’ve been the past month. You are going through some sort of sexual transformation and you want everyone to know it.”
“I can be anything I want to be.” She had been gentle and sweet in bed with her past boyfriends. It had been expected of her and any hint of wildness had scared them off. But Sean was offering her a chance to explore her sexual fantasies. She could break free and just indulge. No demands on the relationship and no expectations on either side. No consequences.
“Isabel, this is a bad idea,” he said as his chest rubbed against her breasts.
“You’re right,” she said as she wrapped her arms over his broad shoulders.
“Why are you suddenly agreeable?”
“Because I’m giving you the power.” She softened against him. “The control.”
“You shouldn’t,” he said in a groan as her hip bumped against his.
“Why?” she whispered as she tilted her face up for a kiss. “I trust you more than anyone.”
His expression changed. Her words affected him and she wasn’t sure why. He was in a trusted position at work and he had earned the respect of many people in Seedling. Why should her words matter?