Seducing The Matchmaker: One Man Rush / Taking Him Down / The Personal Touch

“I will not move her into assisted living. She’s going to recover. She’s so young—”

“I’m not suggesting assisted living. I wouldn’t presume to know the right time for a move like that.” Although he certainly understood the desire to keep loved ones close. He shared a tight bond with his whole family. “But sometimes we’re so close to the people we love it’s hard to see—”

“I know.” She nodded, her shoulders sagging. “But how can I make changes now when her doctors say that maintaining routine might be helpful for her recovery? This isn’t an exact science, and I get a lot of conflicting advice about how to handle her therapy, but I’ve seen firsthand that she’s more relaxed at home than when I have to take her in for appointments. How can I ignore what’s best for her to indulge a personal whim?”

“I wouldn’t call the decision to go on the road with me a whim. I just told the press we were together, so that’s got to count for something.” Now he was the one with his back up. “Come to Tampa Bay for the next game. See how it feels.”

“Just because we tell the press we’re a couple doesn’t make it so. We both said we didn’t want a relationship, right?” She kept her voice gentle. “So if what we have together now isn’t a relationship, then I think it’s just … self-indulgent.”

Sex was self-indulgent?

Not until that moment did he fully appreciate that she had very traditional values. Yet the signs had been there from the start. The skirt to the knee and the vintage sixties clothes that had been sexy in a buttoned-up way. Moving into her mother’s guest house to care for her when so many people would have let professionals handle her care. Wearing a wedding ring to ensure single men didn’t hit on her during her work. Hell, even her job screamed conservative, family-oriented ideals. She worked to bring people together into meaningful relationships.

Happily-freaking-after.

The light bulb that flicked on in his brain over all that was so bright he blinked stupidly, trying to reassess what this meant for them.

“Self-indulgent,” he finally repeated. No doubt she’d only made this trip to soothe her guilt over her role in making him a target for matchmakers.

While she was attracted to him, she apparently viewed sex as a hedonistic pleasure until she found the real thing.

Love.

“It would be nice to have the freedom to make the choice to do things just for me.” She tipped her forehead to his chest. “I’ve had more fun with you these last few days than I’ve had in a long time.”

His arms went around her on instinct. And because he really, really wanted to hold her. He’d had a great time being with her, too. Would she feel differently about going on the road with him if they defined the relationship somehow? But this wasn’t high school and he couldn’t risk complicating things any more.

He’d never intended to make these kinds of decisions while his career was in high gear. He was crazy about her. Might even … yeah. He might have bigger feelings for her, too.

But for right now, he needed to focus on his game. With a win tonight, the Phantoms would clinch their division. A surefire play-off berth.

And not even the hottest woman on earth was going to distract him from achieving everything he’d worked for.

“Stay for tonight’s game, okay?” His chest burned when he thought about letting her go. “But if you still want to leave in the morning, I’ll call around and book a flight home for you tomorrow.”

ISAAC HAD PLANNED HIS approach with Stacy carefully. He’d drawn up a mental blueprint and considered various executions to increase his chances for success.

Yet he’d never envisioned the level of enthusiasm of her response.

She was in his arms in a flash, her freshly washed hair still damp from a morning shower. With her arms wrapped around his neck, the silk robe and the jacket he’d given her had parted, allowing him to feel her curves through nothing more than thin cotton pajamas.

Her lush breasts pressed against his chest and her mouth fitted to his in a kiss that started out sweet and slowly turned … wow. Too erotic for a street corner. A whistle from the driver of a passing car told him as much even if he’d been too overwhelmed to string the thought together himself.

“We should … wait,” he urged, breaking away from the kiss while still holding her close. He couldn’t pry himself much farther from her. “This probably isn’t the best place for—”

“Making out?” she suggested, her blue eyes full of mischief as she rolled her hips against his.

Without question, she could feel how much he wanted more than a make-out session.

“That, either.” He dragged in a deep breath to try to will away his reaction, but Stacy didn’t help matters when she smoothed a palm down his chest and dragged her fingers lower.

“Why don’t you come inside and warm up first?” she suggested. “You only just arrived.”

A gray-haired woman walked by wheeling a small cart with a grocery sack strapped to it, her appearance reminding him to back off the public display of affection. But as Isaac tugged Stacy toward the side of the street, the woman winked at him.

“I don’t want to misinterpret this,” he began, not trusting his instincts when they were operating on a primal level. “Are you seducing me?”

Her eyebrows lifted. A small smile twitched the corner of her lush lips.

“I’d prefer you seduce me—”

A roar of satisfaction surged through him and it took all his willpower not to pin her to the brick wall of the building and kiss her until they forgot their names. Instead, he spun her in his arms and steered her toward the entrance to the inn. Staying close behind her, he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold the jacket closed over her delectable body.