Page 20 of Mr. Scandalous

The pleasant chalky scent blindsided him. Baby powder and erotic gift basket designer didn’t jibe. She should smell like bold primary colors not delicate pastels. The foxy outfit she wore screamedlook at me,but her fragrance whisperedtreat-me-tender.

Baby powder suggested innocence, naiveté, a certain simplicity that was exactly opposite of the image she projected. The smell made him think of babies and bath time and lullabies.

Babies made him think of mothers and mothers made him think of wives and wives made him think of marriage. And marriage made him think of boredom and restriction and getting old fast.

A memory flashed through his brain. One of the rare times his father had been home between his two full-time jobs and Alec had run to him with his baseball and catcher’s mitt.

“Come on, Dad. Let’s play.”

His father, looking weary and worn, had shaken his head. “Can’t play, son. Somebody’s gotta mow the lawn.”

A bite of sadness that still had the power to sting. Later that same afternoon, after his father had mowed the lawn and gone inside to take a nap. Uncle Mac had zoomed into the driveway in his Corvette, flashing two tickets to the Yankees game and Alec’s day had been transformed.

Alec shook off the memory.

Dammit. Having an affair with Eden was supposed to make him forget about mundane things like marriage, kids, death and taxes. She was supposed to remind him how great it was to be single, how lucky he was not to have a ring on his finger or the smell of baby powder in his life.

The paradox inherent within Eden kicked him with a swift reality check. Was he sure he really wanted to get involved with her if she made him think about the very things he desperately wanted to ignore?

And then, before he could debate the question further, she raised her gaze and gave him a smile so brash and naughty, all doubts flew from his mind.

Alec studied her; the inquisitive tilt to her head, her delicate ears studded with pearls, her soft blue eyes clouded with sexual desire, her small but perfectly shaped lips, full and luxuriously painted in opulent crimson.

He wanted her.

With a hunger so fierce it scared him. No woman had ever so completely held his imagination hostage.

Driven by a relentless sexual impulse he could not deny, Alec made his move before he’d fully thought things through.

He reached out, laid his hand on her knee and whispered, “I want you.”

ChapterSix

Eden jumpedfrom her chair so quickly it overturned and hit the floor with a resoundingthud. Thank heavens for the vine-covered partition blocking them from the other diners.

Her thigh, just below where her scars lurked, smoldered from his touch. Much higher and he would have felt the irregular lines and ultra-tender skin of her disfigurement through her clothes.

Her heart hammered, her stomach dipped and rose like a rollercoaster and her knees bumped together.

Alec reached down and righted her chair. The garçon hurried over to see if anything was wrong, but Alec waved him away.

Embarrassed, she sat back down.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was out of line touching you like that. Obviously, I misread the signals.”

Eden tried to think of the right thing to say, to extricate herself from the situation without hurting his feelings or alienating him to the point of ruining any chance for an affair.

She had led him on, except when things had turned heavy-duty and he’d gotten too close, she’d panicked and jerked away.

Because of the scars.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Alec. You just startled me. I wasn’t expecting... I didn’t know...”

“I moved too fast.”

“Yes… No…I… I just wasn’t ready.”

“The fault is entirely mine.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “I’ve got to temper my impulses. Normally, when I feel something, I act on it. That often gets me into trouble.”

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