A Shameless Seduction

He shifted on his feet, the suggestion seemingly making him very uncomfortable. “I don’t think so.” His voice was low and thick.

“Why not?” She’d been taught by her father never to question or dispute a voice of authority, and while a part of her was shocked at her own out-spoken behavior, she couldn’t deny that the freedom to be assertive felt liberating.

Bracing his hands on his lean hips, he frowned at the subtle challenge in her tone. “Because I didn’t hire you to work on cases.”

“What if I want to work on this case?” she argued, shocking herself yet again. She pulled back her shoulders to maintain an air of confidence. “I know the business, and I’m familiar with the case. Besides, how hard can it be to pose as your date and read love letters? You need a woman for the job, and the last I checked, I definitely fulfill that requirement.”

His gaze fell to her chest, and she realized that, with her shoulders back, the material of her dress was pulled tight across her breasts. To make matters worse, his heated stare caused her nipples to pucker in reaction.

He lifted his gaze back to her face. A muscle in his cheek ticked, and a harsh sigh unraveled out of him as he pushed his fists deep into his trouser pockets. “Melodie…I don’t think your father would appreciate me putting you in a potentially dangerous situation.”

She inwardly cringed at his placating tone, feeling anything but calm and mollified. She knew her father echoed Cole’s sentiments, believing she belonged in a safe environment, free from any outside negative influences. He had, after all, suggested that she go to work for Cole as a secretary because Sommers Investigative Specialists was a respected firm run by a man her father knew and trusted. It was bad enough that she’d grown up with a father who’d spent too many years trying to shelter and protect her from any adverse situations; she didn’t want or need that same attitude from Cole, or anyone else for that matter.

With that in mind, she asserted herself once again. “As a grown adult, I can take care of myself and make my own decisions. And if it makes you feel any better, my father would never have to know about me and the case.”

He shook his head, causing a lock of sable hair to swipe across his forehead. “I can’t take that chance…with you.”

Because she was Richard Turner’s daughter, she knew with a sinking feeling in the pit of her belly. As if she didn’t have enough problems getting his attention, he was using her father as a barrier between them. And Cole was principled enough to stand by that decision for the next fifty years. The man was steadfast and true, and, while she admired that quality about him when it came to his job, at the moment, his tenacity frustrated the heck out of her.

She started around her desk toward him, refusing to give up or back down from what she wanted for a change. “Cole—”

He held up a hand, halting any further debate. “I’m sorry, but I won’t change my mind. Your talents are better suited in this office, not out in the field. End of discussion.”

She knew he hadn’t meant his words to be condescending, but his backhanded compliment about her “talents” stung her feminine pride, especially since she knew that Cole depended on her for more than her secretarial skills. She thrust her chin out as he turned and walked back to his office. The two of them were far from finished, this issue between them far from over.

If Cole didn’t have faith in her ability to be the woman he needed, she’d just have to figure out a way to prove him wrong.

2

MELODIE ABSENTLY PUSHED her lunch around on her plate with her fork, her mind too preoccupied with replaying yesterday’s conversation with Cole for her to concentrate on eating the food the waitress had just delivered. While she was ready to break out of the plain-Jane, good-girl existence she’d lived all her life, she had no idea how to go about transforming herself into the kind of woman who’d catch Cole’s eye.

“Don’t tell me you aren’t hungry,” Joelle, Cole’s younger sister, said in disbelief. “You’re the only woman I know that has a healthy appetite like mine—I’d hate to lose that rare bond we share.”

Melodie smiled at her friend and coworker from across the restaurant table. “Your appetite has doubled since you’ve become pregnant, Jo. I can’t keep up with you and your regular bouts of hunger.”

Jo rubbed her belly, which was still disgustingly small considering she was nearly five months pregnant. She wore leggings and long shirts, and hadn’t even graduated to maternity clothes yet. “I have to say that being pregnant is a wonderful excuse to eat, but Dean has become such a worrier about me taking care of myself and making sure I’m eating all the right things for the baby. It’s hard for me to splurge like I really want to.”

Melodie laughed when Jo rolled her eyes in exasperation, but there was no mistaking the love and affection between the couple when they were together. The two had met under unconventional circumstances when Jo had taken Dean into custody in a case of mistaken identity. During the course of establishing his innocence, they’d fallen in love, though it had taken time and compromise to make their relationship work. Now, the two shared a tangible devotion and passion Melodie envied.

An exaggerated sigh escaped Jo. “He insists on making me breakfast every morning and dinner every night, with something included from all the five food groups and a huge glass of milk to top it all off. So the only time I get to satisfy my real cravings is when I don’t go out to lunch with him.”

Melodie twirled fettuccini noodles around her fork and stabbed a piece of tender chicken. “If the way he takes care of you is any indication, Dean will make a great daddy.”

Blue eyes, identical in color to Cole’s, softened with agreement. “Yeah, I know he will.”

They both worked on eating their lunches, and after a few minutes of silence Jo looked back up at her and tipped her head inquisitively. “You seem distracted today, at the office and here at lunch. Is everything okay?”

Melodie took a bite of her fettuccini and debated whether or not to pull Jo into her dilemma with Cole. She desperately needed someone to talk to—a qualified, knowledgeable female who’d understand and empathize with her inexperience with the opposite sex. Melodie’s mother had died before she’d ever really known her, and her father had never re-married, so she’d grown up without a steady feminine influence in her life. She had girlfriends from school she still kept in touch with, but no one she felt comfortable enough with to discuss her lack-luster seduction skills.

As for Jo, well, she had a deeper insight to the man Melodie had her sights set on, so any advice she volunteered on her brother’s psyche might help Mel better understand what kind of obstacles she was up against. Ultimately, she trusted Jo as a friend and confidante.

Melodie swiped her napkin across her mouth, pushed her half-eaten lunch aside and took Jo up on her offer to express what was bothering her. “Can we talk, girl to girl?” she asked, then rephrased her question. “Or rather, woman to woman?”

A grin quirked Jo’s mouth and interest glimmered in her eyes. “Sure. What’s on your mind?” She finished off her burger and washed it down with the last of her soda.

Melodie paused a heartbeat, then said, “I was hoping you could give me some advice on attracting a man’s attention.”

Jo’s light, good-natured laughter rang between them. “What in the world makes you think I’m qualified to dole out advice on men?”

Propping her elbows on the table, Melodie laced her fingers together and rested her chin on top. “You snagged Dean, didn’t you?”

“There were extenuating circumstances,” Jo replied, brushing a wisp of blond hair off her cheek. “I certainly wasn’t on a manhunt when I met him.”

Melodie felt a blush sweep across her skin at the insinuation that she was interested in trawling for men. As in plural. “There’s only one man I want,” she clarified.

Leaning back in her padded chair, Jo regarded her thoughtfully as the waitress cleared their plates. The other woman mentioned dessert, momentarily distracting Jo with more important matters as she ordered herself a slice of chocolate cake. Melodie passed on the offer of sweets, opting instead for a refill on her iced tea.

Once the server was gone, Jo returned to her subtle analysis of Melodie from across the table. “If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it’s Cole you’re after.”

Melodie opened her mouth, then closed it again, unable to deny the truth. “Yes, it is,” she said, relieved to finally admit her feelings to someone. “Am I that obvious?”

The waitress delivered Jo’s cake and she dove right in to the dessert. “Let’s just say that you have a way of wearing your emotions on your sleeve.”

“Does Cole know?” she asked tentatively.

Jo shrugged. “I have no idea, though I have to say that Cole tends to shut out the things he doesn’t know how to deal with. You could be one of those things,” she added with a smile.

A frown settled on Melodie’s brows. “That doesn’t sound very encouraging to me.”

“Knowing my brother all too well, he’s probably avoiding the attraction, and if you want his attention you’re going to have to force him to acknowledge it.” Jo took another bite of the rich, creamy-looking chocolate cake, and took a long moment to savor the taste. “So what brought all this on, anyway?”

Melodie explained about the Russell case, along with Cole needing a woman to accompany him to the charity auction. “I made the suggestion that I go with him to the affair so I can read those erotic love letters for him. I know the case, and I’ve worked for him for two years doing extended background checks and researching case information. The next logical step would be for me to help him on this case, but he’s adamant that my talents are better suited in the office and not out in the field.”

Jo chuckled in amusement. “Oh, that’s a good one.”

She cringed as she remembered his unflattering comment, but wasn’t about to let it deter her from her purpose. “Also, he claims he doesn’t want to put me in a potentially dangerous situation, yet he’s willing to use another woman as a decoy. If all that’s not bad enough, he’s using his close relationship with my father as an excuse to make sure he keeps me safe and out of harm’s way, as if it’s his duty to shelter and protect me. Between the two of them, I’ve had enough of being watched over.”

“Wow, can I ever relate to that,” Jo murmured in understanding. “Cole has always been the same way with me. He’s only eased off since I married Dean. Being protective of the people in his life has been ingrained in my brother since the day my parents divorced, and that trait only intensified after our father died and he had to raise me and Noah. Cole takes his responsibilities very seriously.”

“The very last thing I want is to be an obligation to Cole,” Melodie said, swirling her straw through her iced tea.

Jo ate another sliver of her chocolate cake, her eyes lighting up with an idea. “If you really want to be the woman on his arm at this charity auction, then why don’t you give him what he wants?”

Uncertain what Jo was getting at, she asked, “Which is?”

“A woman who fits his vision.” Jo licked off remnants of frosting from her fork as she thought for a moment. “What, exactly, did Cole tell Noah he wanted again?”

“A sexy, sophisticated, intelligent woman.” The prerequisite was burned in her memory.