“Good morning.” April caught herself before something about his performance last night escaped her lips. She didn’t want him to know she’d been there. “How was last night?”
“Great!” He yawned before he sat down. “Sorry, I was up late. Couldn’t sleep. How about you?”
“I slept like a baby, thank you.” The truth was, she hadn’t slept much last night, either. “So I took a closer look at the article, and as I was saying yesterday…” Her voice trailed off. How could she focus on business when the vision of a pair of perfect buns encased in black leather kept getting in the way?
She studied Sullivan. His eyes were half closed. He didn’t appear any more interested in the business at hand than she was. “Lucas?”
He took a deep breath and sat up straighter. “Yes?”
“You’re not paying attention to what I’m saying.”
“Sorry. I’m afraid I’m a little groggy after last night.” Lucas knew the lack of sleep wasn’t the only thing wrong with him today. It was April Morgan’s scent, her enchanting feminine appearance.
The lush auburn hair that fell softly around her face and the lips that begged to be kissed.
He forced himself to focus on business. “I was hoping you’ve reconsidered asking me to make changes.”
“No, actually there are still a few. That is, if you want me to take your article seriously.” She settled her glasses on her nose and picked up a red pencil. “Perhaps—”
Before she could go on, a young woman with a glint in her eye came into the office. “Is there anything I can do for you, April?”
April smothered a groan. Judging from the avid interest in the intruder’s wide blue eyes as she gazed at Sullivan, an introduction was expected.
“Lucas, this is Tiffany Waters. She’s our college intern and works for us in the summers. Tiffany, this is Lucas Sullivan. We were discussing an article Mr. Sullivan submitted for publication.”
Sullivan stood politely. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Waters.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” a breathless Tiffany said as she held out her hand for Sullivan to take. She gazed soulfully into his eyes. “Really, really nice.”
Obviously Tiffany, too, had managed to see beneath the man’s academic exterior. A man who not only was the target of a blatant sexual invitation but was returning it, if April were to judge by the way he held Tiffany’s hand a little too long and returned her gaze.
Was this the same man who, only yesterday, had appeared uncomfortable around women? Or had she been the only woman he was uncomfortable with?
“Thank you, Tiffany, but we have everything we need.” April escorted the mesmerized intern to the door. “Before you try to seduce the man,” she told her under her breath, “let me tell you that Mr. Sullivan is an academic more accustomed to books than people. Even if you were able to lure him into bed, I’m not sure he would know what to do with you.”
Doubtful, Tiffany glanced back over her shoulder. “You think, April? Gee, what a waste of good material!”
“I think,” April said as she moved Tiffany closer to the door. “Trust me, he’s definitely not the type a vibrant young woman like yourself should become involved with.”
With April occupied persuading a reluctant Tiffany to move on, Lucas turned away to look out the window at the clusters of cumulus clouds floating across Chicago’s skyline. April had a lot to learn about him, namely that there was nothing wrong with his hearing, nor with his manhood and skills in the bedroom.
He wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like Tiffany? When hell froze over!
As for April, if he read the sparks in her eyes correctly, and he was damn sure he did, there was a banked fire burning inside her waiting to be ignited. Why a man hadn’t already staked out his territory was a puzzle. It just wasn’t going to be him.
Too bad, he mused as he watched April at the door with Tiffany. April might not know it, but she was all woman, the type who got under a man’s skin faster than the Tiffanys of the world.
She was tall enough to fit comfortably under his chin, he mused as he made an inventory of her shapely figure. Just the right size to cradle in his arms and to explore her chameleon eyes. Even if she didn’t fit the description of what made women desirable in his article, he was attracted to her.
After all, his article merely recapped his thesis that sexual attraction wasn’t of primary importance. His underlying thesis was that the domestic and companionship qualities of a relationship were. Was it his fault that his conclusions were being interpreted as a series of rules for a woman to get her man?
That brought him back to April.
Lucas sighed as his thoughts drifted down sensual paths he’d been too busy to visit before he’d met April. It seemed he wasn’t that busy now.
“Are you with me, Lucas?”
April’s question caught his attention. With her? Definitely, for all the good it would do him. “Sorry, why don’t you run whatever it was you said by me one more time?”
She was back at her desk, peering over her reading glasses. “I said it might be a good idea to rename your article in order to catch the attention of our readers. What do you think of calling it ‘Sullivan’s Rules’?”
Lucas thought for a moment. “Okay,” he agreed reluctantly, “but please remember these aren’t really rules. What you see there are conclusions based on an empirical study.”
“So you’ve said,” April agreed with a tight smile.
“Anything else?” Lucas idly wondered if April was aware of how attractive she looked with her reading glasses slipping lower on her adorable nose. Or if she realized how charming she looked when her single dimple betrayed her inner thoughts by dancing across her right cheek?
Was she laughing at him again?
“Frankly,” April continued, “I do have a few other minor comments.”
Lucas caught himself admiring the graceful curve of her neck. “Okay. Say, how about I call you April, instead of Ms. Morgan?”
Taken by surprise, April took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “If it will make you feel more comfortable.” She pointed to a paragraph and read aloud. “‘A woman must rein in her own desires to promote the health of a relationship.’” She paused for effect. “Sounds like Victorian thinking, don’t you agree?”
“For today’s marriage, yes,” Lucas agreed. “For companionship, no. A number of my friends have live-in companions and seem happy enough. However, I’ve found that most men still prefer to take the lead in a permanent relationship.”
“Before or after the woman tries to make her man feel masculine? Or before she makes an effort not to influence him by being sexy?”
“Well, when you put it that way…” He tried not to dwell on the way the color of her eyes deepened when she was disturbed.
“Exactly,” she agreed, and put her glasses back on. “Let’s move on. How about women showering their men with affection? Shouldn’t that be left out, too? Or haven’t you considered that the close physical proximity that showering affection might entail would break your rules for a premarital relationship?”
“Not if the parties set the ground rules before they enter the relationship.” Lucas tried to ignore an inner warning voice reminding him he was letting his testosterone get in the way of rational thinking. “Intelligent people shouldn’t allow their bodies to rule their minds.”
April smothered a comment. If he actually believed that garbage, where was the man in the black leather pants? The tight black leather pants. “Mind