“If you’re not waiting for someone…”

Lucas’s eyes shot open. That voice belonged to Mac, but the blonde standing a few feet away from his table looked like a stranger.

The woman wore a bright red skirt, barely the length of a dinner napkin. It fit her like a second skin and seemed to stop where her legs began. Lucas’s mouth went dry. Was she wearing anything beneath it?

“You like?” She whirled in front of him, causing the skirt to inch up even higher.

Lucas dragged his eyes from the miraculous legs up her body. Beneath the stretchy fabric of her tank top, he could see the outline of her perfect breasts, beaded with excitement. Her blond hair was mussed, as if some man had just run his hands through it several times. And her eyes—they were huge, heavy-lidded…but there was no mistaking that golden-brown color.

“Mac, what in hell are you doing?”

In a flash, she slid in beside him in the back of the booth. “Shh.” She gave him a slow wink. “You’re mistaken. I’m not Mac. I’m Sally. And you’re…John. We’re complete strangers.” She slipped a finger beneath his shirt, popping the first button free of its hole, then moving on to the next. “Feel like getting lucky, John?”

Dear Reader,

Is seduction a science or an art?

The brilliant Dr. MacKenzie Lloyd firmly believes it’s a science and that all she has to do to keep her future husband from straying is to become skilled in pleasing a man in bed. Her plan for acquiring that expertise is the same three-step process that has brought her so much success in the lab.

Step 1: gather data on male sexual fantasies

Step 2: formulate some theories

Step 3: put those theories into practice, practice, practice!

But when Mac starts to practice her techniques on sexy CEO Lucas Wainwright, her plan hits a few unforeseen snags….

I love writing books about women who have the courage to take risks. And writing my first Blaze novel has allowed me to do just that. It’s also been about the most fun a girl can have—unless, of course, she decides to try some of Mac’s research out for herself….

I’d love to know what you think about my first Blaze book. You can write to me at P.O. Box 718, Fayetteville, NY 13066, or visit my Web site at www.carasummers.com.

Enjoy,

Cara Summers

Intent to Seduce
Cara Summers

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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To my sister-in-law and friend, Julie Oliver Fulgenzi—the risk-taker who married my brother. Thanks for always being there and for being the voice of reason. I love you.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

1

“LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT,” Sophie said. “You’re planning to ask some man to offer himself up as a sex object so that you can practice on him?”

“Sex object isn’t exactly the word I would have chosen.” MacKenzie Lloyd kept her gaze locked on her best friend. Just as long as she didn’t look down at the ground, the bubbles of panic rolling around in her stomach were going to subside. “I’ve conducted all these surveys on techniques and collected all this narrative data on male sexual fantasies. The next step is to test its validity in the field. What I need now is a research companion.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Okay, nix sex object. We’ll go with research companion. But I got the practice part right. You’re not quibbling over semantics there.”

Sophie was clearly upset. Mac could tell by the way she slapped her wineglass down and began to tap her fingers on the wide-planked floor of the tree house. They were seated just outside the doorway on a narrow platform. Only a small, flimsy railing separated them from a drop to the ground thirty feet below. If she let herself think about that…

Biting down on her lip, she fought against the sudden spin of dizziness that whipped through her. She would have been just fine if she hadn’t glanced down on her climb-up-the-rope ladder. It had been the laughter from the tennis courts that had distracted her. The sound floated up again, bright, rich and infectious, but this time she resisted the temptation to look to her left beyond the hedge of forsythia bushes where four Wainrights were playing.

Tomorrow was Sophie Wainright’s birthday, and the entire clan had gathered to celebrate it. Family was important to the Wainrights. It was something Mac had always admired about them—and envied.

What she intended to do was the best chance she had of creating and preserving that kind of family for herself.

“I know what I’m doing, Sophie.”

“Do you?”

“I’ve been very thorough in my research, and I’ve learned so much.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Some research. You’ve interviewed hookers and madams.”

“Madame Gervais does not refer to herself as a madam. She runs a very exclusive finishing school for female companions. It’s really more like a matchmaking service. Most of the girls she’s trained have married the men she’s introduced them to. They’re really very bright women. The only difference between them and me is that they were very beautiful and very skilled at pleasuring a man in bed.”

“And they shared all their secrets with you?”

Mac studied her friend. In addition to the worry in Sophie’s eyes, she saw curiosity. Leaning a little closer, she said, “Pretty much. Did you know that if you wrap a string of pearls around a man’s erection during fellatio, you can get amazing results?”

“Pearls?”

“You can use a silk tie—or better still, a wispy silk scarf—but pearls are the best. You wrap them around several times, then draw them slowly up the entire length, and then down again. Men love it.”

“I don’t doubt it. It’s just that I…I don’t like the idea of you wrapping your pearls around a stranger.” Pausing, Sophie shook her head with a rueful sigh. “I should have known the minute you suggested coming up in this tree house that you were going to spring something on me. You dragged me up to the roof of my shop the night before you tried that last experiment in your lab—the one that gave you a breakthrough.”

Mac tightened her grip on her knees and kept her eyes fixed on Sophie. “I figure if I can face my fear of heights, I can succeed at all the other things that scare me.”

Sophie pointed a finger at her. “There. You are nervous about inviting some strange man to be your boy toy. And you should be.” Then swearing softly, Sophie picked up Mac’s wineglass and handed it to her. “Here. Take a drink of this. You’re white as a sheet.”

Mac took a careful sip.

“Why don’t we get you out of here? I’ll call Lucas. Between us, we can get you down the rope ladder.”

“I’m fine.”

Sophie studied her over the rim of her glass. “I wish I could be sure of that. This field-testing thing you’re planning…it’s not you.”

“You’re wrong. It is me. That’s the beauty of it. I’m not good at dating or relationships, but I’m excellent at doing research and then devising a way to put the results to work. If I approach keeping a husband that way, I know I can do it.”

“But you don’t even have a husband yet. Shouldn’t that be your first step?”

“That’s the plan that most people follow and over fifty percent of all marriages fail. Research shows that the number one cause of divorce is infidelity. Usually it’s the man who strays—just as soon as routine sets in. I saw that happen to my parents, and my plan is designed to prevent it.”

Sophie gazed helplessly at Mac. “You’re making it sound so logical, and it’s not! Sex and relationships aren’t something that you can map out and predict like something in your lab. Shit happens. Take it from someone who’s been out there in the trenches.”

Leaning forward, Mac took Sophie’s hands in hers. “I’m sorry I’m laying all of this on you right now when you’ve just broken up with Bradley.”

Sophie shrugged impatiently. “Bradley Davis is history. But he’s a good example of what I’m talking about. When it comes to a relationship, there are no guarantees. And the only man I’ve ever been able to predict is my brother. He never gets involved emotionally in his relationships. He runs them the same way he runs Wainright Enterprises. And he thinks he has the right to run mine that way too.”

Mac didn’t say anything for a moment. Although more than a month had gone by, she knew Sophie still resented that Lucas had uncovered information on Bradley Davis that had caused her to break off her engagement. “The one thing that you can always depend on is that Lucas loves you, and he cares about what happens to you.”

“He’s smothering me. Ever since he took over Wainright Enterprises, he’s decided that he can run all of our lives. He’s even having me followed. But…” Sophie stopped, shook her head and then narrowed her eyes at Mac. “Oh no you don’t. You’re not going to change the subject. I want to know what I can say to convince you to drop this whole idea.”

“Nothing.”

Sophie slumped back against the wall of the tree house. “There’s got to be something I can do.”

“You don’t have to worry. I’ve taken every possible safety precaution.”

“I’d feel a lot happier about this if you were going to try out your research on someone you knew. What about that representative from the biotech company that’s been wining and dining you lately?”

Mac made a face. “Vince Smith is panting over my research not me. All he talks about is how brilliant I am, what wonderful lab facilities they could provide for me if I would just sign over exclusive rights to anything I might discover.”

Taking a sip of her wine, Mac pushed the thought of the man out of her mind. The truth was she wasn’t good at dating. It probably had something to do with the fact that she’d started college at fourteen. The men she’d met had treated her like a kid sister. If they’d called her, it was to get help on some assignment they were having trouble with. And then, later, in graduate school, her two forays into the realm of romance had been disasters. “Men just don’t seem to think of me in a sexual way.”

“And they won’t until you start to think of yourself that way.”

“Now you sound just like Madame Gervais. In fact, she thinks field testing my research will increase my self-confidence.”

Tilting her head to the side, Sophie studied Mac for a moment. “Maybe I’ll have to revise my opinion of her. Is she the one who talked you into lightening your hair?”

Mac tucked a loose strand back into the bun she wore at the back of her neck. “Yes, and she took me shopping for a new wardrobe.”

Sophie’s eyes widened. “Why aren’t you wearing it?”

“I bought most of the clothes for the field testing I’m going to do. I don’t feel quite myself in them. When I put them on, I feel like I can do things Dr. MacKenzie Lloyd would never do.”

Sophie paused with her wineglass halfway to her lips. “Oh? More stuff like the pearl trick?”

“Yes, and other kinds of things too. When Madame Gervais and I shopped for the clothes, we chose pieces that would facilitate some popular male fantasies.”

Sophie studied her friend over the rim of her glass. “Okay, I’m hooked. How about filling me in a little more on the specifics of this research of yours?”

“I started out by reading a number of anthropological and sociological texts.”

“Let’s just fast-forward to the good stuff.”

Mac grinned at her. “It’s always good to have a sound theoretical background.”

“Mac…”

“There’s so much. You have no idea how many books have been written on sex. Or what’s available online. There’s this one woman who makes her living giving all-day seminars on how to…pleasure the penis.”

Sophie choked on her wine. “All-day seminars?”

Mac nodded. “I went to one. We worked on plastic models.”

“And you’re actually going to field-test that on a complete stranger?”

“I’m trying to think of a fantasy I can fit it into.”

Setting down her glass, Sophie said, “And these fantasies—what exactly are they like?”

“Well, there was one I found very interesting. It involved male bondage.”

“Handcuffs, silk neckties—that kind of stuff?”

Mac shook her head. “Plastic wrap.”

“Let me guess. You meet him at the door wearing nothing but?”

“Nope. It’s the one where I wrap him up in it like a mummy. Of course, I would leave his nose free. And his toes.” She smiled at Sophie. “And one other part.”

“Something you could wrap your pearls around.”

“Exactly. A blindfold is optional, but I’ve heard it doubles the pleasure.”

“I’ll bet. In these fantasies—is turnabout fair play?”

Mac blinked, then smiled slowly. “I think that depends on how well round one goes.”

They were both laughing when the ringing of Sophie’s cell phone interrupted them. Mac could tell by the expression on Sophie’s face it was someone she was happy to hear from. When she moved inside the door of the tree house for privacy, Mac decided it was a new beau calling. Sophie just naturally attracted men.

Pressing her back against the wooden frame of the doorway, she reminded herself not to look down. Sophie’s laugh drifted out to her, low and intimate. She was definitely talking to a new beau.

Very carefully, Mac shifted her gaze in the direction of the tennis courts. This time there was no onslaught of panic. Though her view was partially blocked by trees, she recognized Sophie’s two stepbrothers, the “step-twins” as she called them. Nicholas and Nathaniel were both in college now. They lived with their Aunt Jan. The estate was their home, but it was owned by Sophie’s older brother Lucas Wainright, the final member of the foursome.

Tall and lean, with a swimmer’s athletic build, Lucas looked very much at ease as he rushed forward to the net and killed his stepbrother’s serve. According to Sophie, Lucas was good at everything he put his hand to—sports, as well as the family business. Four years ago when his father had died, he’d taken over and ruthlessly dragged Wainright Enterprises back from the edge of bankruptcy.

The first and only time Mac had met him, he’d reminded her of a fallen angel, incredibly good-looking on the surface with danger lurking just beneath. But that first impression of danger had been softened somewhat by the fact that he’d spent most of the day hidden behind a camera snapping pictures of the grand opening of Sophie’s antique shop.

According to Sophie, Lucas regarded his duties as the head of the Wainright family every bit as seriously as he took his financial obligations. As a result, he’d turned into a total dictator and an interfering ogre.

The man on the tennis court did not resemble an ogre. She let her gaze linger on the dark hair and the tanned skin stretched taut over what she was sure were hard muscles. His hand had certainly been hard when he’d shaken hers that day. She’d felt something too—a little jolt. Whatever it was, it had made her very aware of him for the rest of the party.

“Who’s winning?” Sophie asked as she joined her on the edge of the platform.

“Looks like Lucas and your aunt.”

“Who would have thought?” she muttered. “Not that I begrudge Aunt Jan the victory, but I would give a lot to see Lucas taken down a peg or two.”

Mac turned to study Sophie. “You never told me what he did to make you break things off with Bradley.”

“He had him followed. Turns out the man I thought was the love of my life was cheating on me. There were some very compromising photos, thanks to the Shadow.”

“Shadow?”

“That’s what I call the super spy who heads up Wainright Enterprises’ security. I managed to get a pretty good look at him once. But he doesn’t like to be seen. He’s there, and then he’s not. Anyway, he checked into Bradley’s finances. Lucas made me read the report so that I would have no doubt that old Brad was obviously only interested in me for my money.”

Mac covered Sophie’s hand with hers. “Lucas loves you, Soph.”

“I love him, too, but he sees everyone I date, especially anyone I get serious about, as a threat to the company. The worst of it is he’s probably right. I’ve decided that the next man I decide to go out with is not going to know that I’m a Wainright. And I’m going to make very sure that no one—not even the Shadow—knows who I’m seeing.”

Mac put her arms around her friend and just held her. For a moment, neither of them said a word.

“Okay,” Sophie said as she drew back. “Enough of my problems. I think we ought to come up with a solution for yours.”

“You’re not going to talk me out of it.”

“I know better than to waste my breath. Besides, the more I think about it, the more I can see that this field-testing plan of yours might have some merit. In fact, it could even be fun if you did it with someone you could trust. There’s got to be someone I know—”

“Hey, you two!”

The sudden shout had Mac glancing down through the branches before she could stop to think. Lucas was striding toward them across the lawn. “C’mon down out of that tree. Aunt Jan and I have defeated the step-twins and we’re ready for our next challengers.”

For just a moment, Mac’s gaze locked with Lucas’s, and she experienced that same instant jolt of awareness she’d felt before. Then a wave of dizziness slammed into her and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“That’s it!” Sophie whispered in Mac’s ear. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. Lucas is the answer! You can practice your research on him!”

Lucas? No. Mac shook her head, and a second, more potent, wave of dizziness hit her. Her hand shot out to the railing. It gripped nothing but air.

As she pitched forward, fear fisted in her throat, leaves scraped her face, and one image formed in her mind—the earth below racing toward her. Then arms clamped around her like a steel vise, pressing her against something hard and solid and warm before she hit the ground and lost her breath in a whoosh.

“Mac!”

Sophie’s voice was almost drowned out by the beating of her heart. As she struggled for breath, Mac became aware of the very male body beneath her.

“You can open your eyes now. You’re safe.”

The moment she did, she saw that Lucas’s eyes were just as dark as she remembered—the deep blue of the sea.

“Are you all right?”

Mac said nothing. She couldn’t. He was holding her so tightly, molding her body to his from breast to thigh. An icy flame was searing her nerve endings and sensitizing her body to every plane and angle of his. For the first time in her life, words, thoughts, logic, deserted her, washed away by a flood of sensations. The warmth of his breath on her lips. The pressure of each one of his fingers on her back. The swell of her hips. His body growing rock hard beneath her. She watched awareness fill his eyes as her body melted in reaction.

“Just what I’ve been waiting to see all my life—my brother knocked off his feet by a woman! I think it’s an omen of things to come.”

Omen of things to come. Sophie’s words and the memory of what she’d suggested—practicing her research on Lucas—penetrated the haze filling Mac’s mind. She broke free of the paralysis that had gripped her, and shifting off Lucas, she scrambled to her feet.

Sophie grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the tennis courts as she tossed over her shoulder, “C’mon, bro. Prepare to meet your match…”

2

LUCAS LEANED BACK in his chair and listened to the steady ticking of his grandfather’s clock. It was the only sound that marred the tense silence in the room as he studied the two men seated on the other side of his desk.

Both of them were self-contained. Both were very intelligent. And he wouldn’t relish going up against either one of them in a dark alley.

It was ironic that in spite of their many similarities, the two men were the complete antithesis of each other.

The younger was his best friend, the man he’d recently hired to head up security at Wainright Enterprises. He’d known T. J. McGuire since they’d served together in the Gulf War. Tracker was the name the flight crew had given T.J. because he’d been a hell of a lot better at finding their targets than both the high-tech radar systems and so-called “smart” missiles.

It had taken Lucas four years to convince his friend to come and work for Wainright Enterprises. He’d needed someone he could trust, and Tracker was that kind of man. Beneath the black-Irish good looks and the accompanying charm lay the strength and the loyalty of a Celtic warrior. Lucas ranked loyalty right up there next to competence when it came to his employees—and his friends.

The older man with the mane of white wavy hair and the impeccably tailored suit was not a friend. Nor could he be trusted. Doing business with Vincent Falcone had been one of the biggest mistakes his father had made. It had taken Lucas four years to find the money and the right opportunity to buy Vincent Falcone out of Wainright Enterprises.

Still, he didn’t want the man as an enemy.

A rustle of paper broke the silence as Vincent turned over the final page of the contract. Glancing up, he met Lucas’s eyes squarely. “If I sign this, I will own Lansing Biotech outright. Wainright Enterprises gives up any right it may have had in the past to patents or future research results. You’re being very generous.”

“I want the break between us to be fair but clean. This deal severs all connections between your various other businesses and mine.”

“Ah yes, there is that. And the fact that I will no longer sit on the board of Wainright Enterprises.”

“That’s correct.”

The older man smiled slowly. “You’ve done a thorough job of systematically cutting me out for the past four years. I admire your technique. And today, inviting me here to your home to end our business relationship over a drink…” Pausing, he glanced around the room. “It’s a nice touch. Very classy. Your grandfather would be proud of you.”

Lucas was careful to keep his expression impassive. He hadn’t wanted to invite Falcone to the Wainright estate. He’d never lived here himself. It was the place his father had lived with his last three wives. If it hadn’t been for Sophie’s birthday celebration, he would have worked as he usually did on the weekends and the contract would have been signed at his D.C. office.

“I would have enjoyed meeting your sister. I hear she is very beautiful.”

Lucas didn’t let his gaze waver, and for a moment neither man spoke.

With a slow smile, the older man raised a hand. “Another time perhaps. If I could borrow your pen?”

Lucas picked up a pen and handed it to him without a word.

Seconds later, Falcone rose and placed the signed contract on Lucas’s desk. “It’s a shame that you felt it necessary to terminate our business connections.”

“You have certain interests that I do not want Wainright Enterprises involved in.”

“Your father was not so particular.”

Saying nothing, Lucas rose from his chair and, after a moment, Vincent Falcone continued, “The connection between our families is still close. Like this.” Raising his hands, he clasped them together tightly. “For that reason, our paths will cross again.”

“It’s very unlikely,” Lucas said as the man turned away and allowed Tracker to escort him from the room. The moment the door closed, he sat down in his chair. It had gone smoothly. Too smoothly, perhaps? Closing his eyes, he began to run the entire event over in his mind, turning over every word, every nuance in his mind. He stopped only when he heard Tracker reenter the room.

“Nice job, boss.”

“It was too easy.”

Tracker’s eyebrows shot up. “The four years of work and sacrifices that went into accomplishing this weren’t easy. And you chose the right time to make your move. Vincent Falcone has troubles of his own right now. There are factions in his other, less legitimate business interests who require his attention.”

“I don’t like that he mentioned Sophie’s name. He’s quite capable of exacting some kind of revenge for this on my family.” Rising, Lucas moved to the window, but he didn’t focus on the sweep of lawn that ended at the tennis courts. “I have a feeling that Falcone is plotting something.”

When Tracker didn’t reply, Lucas turned to face him. “You think I’m overreacting, don’t you?”

Tracker grinned. “You’re not going to get me to say that, boss. You’re worried about your little sister. It could be because you’ve been going through a rough time with her. But in my experience, a man had better pay attention to his hunches or they’ll come back to bite him.”

“I don’t like that you saw her with Falcone’s son.”

“Sophie only met Sonny once for a casual drink in a Georgetown watering hole. She hasn’t seen him since.”

Lucas shook his head. “She knows nothing about the Falcone family and certainly nothing about the fact that my father was doing business with them. But if I try to warn Sophie off, she might take it in her head to get really serious about him. She’s in rebellion mode right now.”

“And you even end up with a black eye this time,” Tracker said.

Lucas rubbed his jaw, where his sister had landed him a pretty decent right cross. “You may be right about that. Sophie got past you last time.”

“She’s got some good moves. And she was pretty upset about that information you dug up on Bradley Davis.” Tracker’s grin widened as he moved to the small built-in refrigerator near the windows. Opening it, he took out two beers, twisted off the caps and handed one to Lucas. “She’s smart too. I think she may suspect she’s being followed. She tried some evasive tactics the other day when she left her shop.”

“Did she lose the tail?” Lucas asked with a frown.

Tracker nodded. “For about a half hour. My man picked her up coming out of a restaurant. I have two men on her now. Another two are keeping tabs on Sonny Falcone.”

“Good. I’ll feel a lot better when she’s down in the Keys with me. I’ll send the plane for Sophie on Wednesday. She claims she can’t get away before then. And I didn’t want to push.” He rubbed his jaw again. “Once you’re sure she’s on my plane, you can devote all your attention to both Falcones.”

“You want me to continue to keep tabs on your aunt and stepbrothers?”

“For the time being.” Lucas frowned as he turned and led the way through the open French doors to the balcony. Beyond a row of flowering shrubs, an Olympic-size pool gleamed in the late-afternoon sun. His younger siblings were engaged in an intense water-polo match with their aunt, and at the far end of the pool he spotted Sophie seated on the edge of a chaise lounge talking to MacKenzie Lloyd.

“I think you ought to put someone on Dr. Lloyd. She’s been Sophie’s best friend for years. They live about three blocks apart in Georgetown. Falcone may try to use her to get to Sophie.”

“I’ll get right on it, boss. You want me to run a background check on Dr. Lloyd?”

Lucas considered for a moment. He’d been thinking of MacKenzie Lloyd off and on quite a bit in the last few hours. When she’d fallen out of that tree into his arms, she’d called up the memory he had of the little waif in jeans and a T-shirt whom he’d met at the opening of Sophie’s shop two years ago.

There’d been something about her that day that had caught his attention. At first, he’d thought he’d imagined the tug of desire that he’d felt. But each time he’d found her framed in the viewfinder of his camera, the pull had grown stronger. Later, he’d studied the photos he’d taken, trying to put his finger on just what it was that had drawn him.

She wasn’t anything like the women he usually dated. His taste ran to tall, leggy brunettes and blondes. She was small, and she wore her red hair pulled back into a bun. But her eyes… Even in the representation on film, they were the incredible color of golden amber.

Today her hair had seemed lighter and looser—a reddish-gold explosion of color as he’d stared up at her in the tree. His body had reacted to her the moment he’d seen her, hardening, tightening. And when she’d been lying on top of him…for a moment he’d forgotten everything—where they were, who was watching. If Sophie hadn’t spoken, he might have rolled her beneath him and taken her right there beneath the branches of the elm tree. Frowning, he pushed away the image.

It had been years since he’d been tempted to be that reckless with a woman. He’d put it out of his mind during the tennis game, chalked it up to putting in too much overtime on the Falcone deal.

Then she’d beaten him.

Oh, Sophie had made some good plays, but Lucas was fully aware that it was Dr. Lloyd’s careful, methodical style that had been his downfall. It was almost as though she could predict exactly what he would do next. And that was…he searched for a word…intriguing.

“Boss?” Tracker cleared his throat loudly.

“What?” Lucas asked, turning to him.

“Do you want me to run a background check on the doc?”

Once again, Lucas hesitated. On some gut level, he knew that he should steer clear of his sister’s best friend. It wasn’t merely the strength of the physical attraction he felt that had the warning bells going off in his mind. She was Sophie’s friend. He kept his dating life separate from his family. To pursue a relationship with MacKenzie Lloyd would foster expectations that he would never fulfill.

Relationship? He frowned at the direction his thoughts had taken. Who was she that she could affect him this way?

Experience had taught him that ignorance was seldom bliss, and knowledge was always power. “Yeah. I want to know everything about her.”

“MACKENZIE, you’ve got to listen to reason.”

Mac opened a bag of carrots and for a moment allowed herself to picture dumping the whole bag over Gil Stafford’s head. Then stifling the image, she selected one carrot and began to shred it on a grater. She hoped feeding Wilbur, her pet lab rat, would soothe her temper. Gil was her department chair and he had ten years’ seniority on her. That and the fact that she worked in a lab that adjoined his had made him think he could give her advice.

“If you’d just listened to me earlier and signed a contract to turn the results of your research over to that biotech company, you would have prevented this break-in.”

Mac shoved down the little skip of fear that she’d been experiencing ever since she’d arrived at the university and learned that her lab had been broken into sometime on Sunday. The intruder had gotten away, but not before he’d broken into her office safe.

“They would have made sure that there were better security measures taken around here. And I still don’t understand why you turned down the money. Even if you don’t want it for yourself, think of all the equipment it would have provided.”

As Gil continued to pontificate, he strode toward the window. Mac privately thought the man should have gone into politics instead of science. Not only could he talk nonstop, but he had the tall, rangy build of an athlete and a very photogenic face. With the sunlight turning his blond hair into a halo, he looked like one of the good archangels.

The antithesis of what Lucas looked like with his dark hair and those midnight-blue eyes.

Lucas again. She hadn’t been able to block him out of her mind since Sophie had first suggested she use him for her research. The idea had been enough to put her off her serve in the first two sets of the tennis match. After that she’d focused all her concentration on the game. Beating Lucas had been a challenging and exhilarating experience. And the moment they’d won, Sophie had started making her case.

It was a good one. Everything that Sophie had said made perfect sense on a logical and theoretical level.

It was just that every time she thought of actually trying out her research on Lucas, she felt the same funny quaking in her stomach that she got whenever something was about to go wrong in her lab. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to forget what it had felt like to be pressed against him, to feel his body react to hers, especially a certain unmistakable part of his body. A vivid image slipped into her mind of looping a long strand of pearls around and around—

“Are you listening to anything I say?”

Mac dropped the grater as she struggled to gather her thoughts. “Gil, I know you mean well.” She was almost sure of it. But he was giving her a headache. Glancing down at the carrots, she considered dumping them on his head, after all.

“Am I interrupting?”

Mac looked up in surprise to see Sophie hurrying toward her. “Who told you?”

“Who told me what?”

“Someone broke in here last night.”

“They did? Are you all right?” Sophie enveloped Mac in a hug.

“I’m fine.”

“What about Wilbur?” Sophie flicked a glance at the small white rat running circles in his cage.

Mac couldn’t prevent a smile. “I thought you couldn’t stand Wilbur.”

Gil cleared his throat, and the moment Sophie turned, shot her his best smile. “I’m Gil Stafford. I’m the chair of the biology department and I work in the lab next to MacKenzie’s.”

“My friend, Sophie Wainright.” Mac completed the introductions as the two shook hands.

“Perhaps you can talk some sense into her, Ms. Wainright,” Gil said. “The research she’s doing has been getting a lot of attention. It was only a matter of time until this happened.”

Sophie turned to Mac with a frown. “Were they after your research?”

“The police certainly suspect it,” Gil said as he glanced around the room “And it clearly wasn’t vandals. Nothing’s been touched except the safe.”

“No harm’s been done,” Mac said as she watched Wilbur attack the grated carrots she’d shoved into his tray. “Wilbur’s appetite hasn’t been affected. And I don’t keep any of my records here in the office anyway.”

“I still don’t like it.” Turning, Sophie paced down the length of the lab and then whirled around. “Lucas could send the Shadow over. On a personal level, I can’t stand him, but he’s good at what he does.”

“Not necessary,” Mac said. “The university is going to install a high-tech security system. They’ve even given me a few days off while they work on it.”

“That’s wonderful. That means you can get started right away on your…” Sophie’s voice trailed off as she glanced at Gil.

He was frowning at her. “The university doesn’t have the funds to install a proper security system. And the research she’s doing is much too valuable. I was just trying to explain that to MacKenzie.”

Beaming a smile at him, Sophie moved toward him and placed a hand on his arm. “Would you mind terribly if Mac and I have some time alone? A little girl talk does wonders for the nerves.”

“No. Of course not.” A little uncertain, Gil glanced from one woman to the other. “I’ll be right next door if you need me, MacKenzie.”

Sophie waited until the door closed behind Gil Stafford. “MacKenzie? No one calls you that.”

“He means well.” Mac glanced at the bag of carrots again.

“You weren’t thinking of asking him to be your research…guinea pig, were you?”

Mac stared at Sophie. “Gil?”

“Good. Because I’ve come here on a mission—to convince you that Lucas is your man.”

Mac held up both hands. “Sophie, I just don’t—”

“I know you, Mac. You’ve been considering it, weighing the pros and cons. And the pros are winning. He’s the perfect man for the job. Why not admit it?”

Picking up another carrot, Mac began to grate. “It’s just that I’d planned on doing everything with a stranger.”

Sophie moved closer and took the grater away, then shoved it out of reach. “I’m going to be brutally honest with you. That’s what best friends are for, right? You’re not going to hate me for saying this?”

Mac couldn’t prevent her lips from curving. They’d always been able to be honest with each other. It was what had made their friendship last for so long. “I’m not going to hate you.”

“Okay.” Sophie reached for Mac’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to go through with your plan if you choose a stranger.”

“You think I’m a coward.”

“No!” Sophie’s reply was quick and vehement. “You are one of the bravest people I know. But I’ve known you for a long time, and you’re very…hesitant when it comes to relationships with the opposite sex.”

“Resistant might be a more accurate word,” Mac said.

Sophie grinned. “You know, one of the most endearing things about you is your ability to be brutally honest about yourself. Most of us sail through life telling ourselves whopping-big lies.”

Mac frowned in puzzlement. “What’s the point of doing that?”

“We think it helps. But to get back to you, this resistance you have to pursuing relationships with the opposite sex is the reason I think you might be much more successful with your plan if you choose someone you already know. I don’t think you’re going to be able to…let’s say, implement these fantasies with a complete stranger. Plus, your ultimate goal is to use them on your husband. And he won’t be a stranger. Isn’t it best in a scientific experiment to try and reproduce all the circumstances to the best of your ability?”

“You really do listen when I rattle on about my work.”

Sophie grinned at her. “Of course I do. And I’m right, aren’t I—on both counts?”

Mac was very much afraid that she was. One of her own biggest fears was the idea of using her newfound knowledge on a stranger. Still… “Lucas wouldn’t…I mean, he doesn’t think of me that way.”

Sophie’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, there you go. Lucas represents the kind of challenge I think you should be looking for. Someone who would put your research to a true test. These men that your…contacts in the sex industry will put you in touch with are bound to be easy marks, don’t you think? After all, they’re eager enough to be paying for sex. Some of them might even be married and have started to wander, so to speak. And if your plan is all geared toward keeping a husband from straying in spite of his genetic mapping, then surely you ought to be able to seduce my brother.”

Sophie had a point. Lucas Wainright would certainly offer her a challenge. And if she wasn’t up to it, then she might as well forget her whole plan.

“Mac—” Sophie took her hands “—do this for me. I don’t know if I can stand to think of you putting this research project into action with someone else. I know that Lucas, in spite of his many flaws, will be kind to you.”

One glance at the concern in her friend’s eyes, and Mac knew she was going to agree. She was about to, when Sophie continued, “And the truth is, you could do me a big favor at the same time.”

“What?” Mac asked.

“On Wednesday, Lucas has made arrangements for me to join him at his hideaway cabin on one of the Keys. You know what they say about timing being everything! I want you to go in my place. I’ve never been there, but it seems to me that an isolated island in the Keys would be the perfect setting for you to put your plan into action. It will be just you and Lucas—hot, sunny days, palm trees, the ocean pounding on a sandy beach, warm, tropical nights. Just imagine it, Mac.”

It sounded just a little bit too good to be true. She studied Sophie. “Why don’t you want to go with him?”

“Because—” Sophie began to pace again “—every time I look at Lucas right now, I think of Bradley. My feelings are very raw, and having Lucas lecture me for a week on my abominable taste in men is the last thing I need. But he’s adamant that I join him. I think he feels guilty and he wants to bond with me.”

“What will you be doing while I’m down in the Keys seducing Lucas?” There. She’d actually said it aloud. Putting your fear into words was supposed to be half the battle.

Pacing back from the window, Sophie leaned against the counter. “I need to be by myself for a while. And I’ve found this great spa in North Carolina where I can hike in the mountains and ride and meditate. It’s run entirely by women for women. When I read the brochure, it sounded like heaven to me. It’s exactly what I need. Lucas is right about one thing. I do seem to attract men who are only interested in using me. An all-women retreat ought to at least protect me for a while.”

“Lucas won’t be happy about the switch,” Mac pointed out.

Sophie patted Mac’s hand. “If your research is as good as you say it is, he’ll adjust. And I’ll call him from the spa so that he’ll know that I’m perfectly safe. Believe me, Lucas and I could both use a break from each other.”

Mac drew in a deep breath. She’d never been able to refuse Sophie anything.

“Do this for me. Please.”

“Okay.”

“Great!” Sophie beamed a smile at her. “C’mon, the first thing I want to see is the wardrobe that Madame Gervais helped you select. Then we’re going to shop for some additional pieces that will be appropriate for a holiday in the Keys. Have you ever worn a wig?”

“No. Why would I?”

“The better to create fantasies with, my dear. I’ll explain everything while we shop.”

3

“IS THERE ANYTHING I can get you before we take off, Ms. Wainright?”

Mac smiled at the young brunette, Captain Jill Roberts, who would fly her to Key West. “No thanks, I’m fine.”

She hated that she had to lie to the woman, but Sophie’s instructions were very explicit. Lucas’s pilot had never met Sophie Wainright, and Mac was to keep up her impersonation until they had landed in the Keys. The blond wig was helping, and so were the clothes that Sophie had lent her.

No one could know that she was taking Sophie’s place until she stepped off the plane in Key West. Sophie had been adamant about that because she was sure that Lucas was having her followed.

“The flight will take about two hours, and the galley is fully stocked.”

“And Lucas is going to meet the plane?” Mac asked.

Captain Roberts smiled. “That’s what he said. I spoke with him just as you were crossing the tarmac to come aboard, and I gave him the time I thought we would be touching down. That means I’d better get us airborne. If you want anything, the intercom button is right there on the armrest.”

It was only as the captain disappeared into the cockpit that Mac allowed herself to relax a little. She felt as if she’d been caught up in a whirlwind ever since Sophie had breezed into her lab on Monday, but she had to admit that the plan was really working. It had been at Sophie’s insistence that they’d switched identities.

The initial step had gone like clockwork thanks to a sudden summer storm that still held D.C. in its grip. Sophie had worn her red rain poncho, hood up, when she’d opened the antique shop at nine, and Mac had worn a bright yellow one, hood down, when she’d arrived fifteen minutes later. Once inside, they’d gone into the back room and changed clothes. As a final touch to their disguises, Sophie had donned a reddish-blond wig tied back into a bun, and Mac had put on a blond one.

They’d gotten the wigs and had them cut and styled on Monday when they’d gone shopping. The fact that they were almost identical in size and shape had helped. Friends in college had always remarked that they could have passed for sisters. Still, Mac had been amazed at just how much she resembled Sophie once she was wearing the blond wig. When they’d emerged from the shop, their hoods up and umbrellas open to hail separate cabs, she was sure that anyone watching “Sophie” would have been bound to follow “Mac,” and vice versa.

Mac prayed that the rest of their plan would go as smoothly. Just the thought of facing Lucas Wainright and admitting that she’d purposely switched places with his sister had the butterflies dive-bombing around in her stomach. But it was much easier to concentrate on that first hurdle than the one that would come after, when she told him why she’d really taken Sophie’s place.

“We’ve been cleared for takeoff, Ms. Wainright.”

Mac jumped at the sound of Jill Roberts’s voice pouring out of a nearby speaker.

“I’ll let you know when you can move around the cabin, but if you have any concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to use the intercom button.”

Mac found her gaze riveted to the button for several moments after the plane’s engine roared to life. All she had to do was press it and she could call the whole thing off.

The plane vibrated, then moved forward.

Mac gripped her hands together. Whatever second thoughts she was having, she couldn’t let Sophie down. Things had gone too far.

Leaning back in her seat, she took a deep breath and held it for the length of time that it took the plane to make its mad rush down the runway.

There was no need to panic. Years of experience in the lab had taught her that any project became simpler and much less inhibiting if she could just break it down into steps and take them one at a time. All she had to do was view her coming fieldwork in that light. Flying down to Key West to meet Lucas was just the first step. Telling Lucas about her plan would be the next—and a big one it would be.

The moment she felt the plane leave the ground, she let out the breath she was holding and took in another one. In her mind, she tried to picture herself taking the third step—making love to Lucas Wainright.

Every time she let herself think about that, a very vivid image of Lucas, totally naked, filled her mind. She could almost feel what it would be like to run her hands over the smooth tanned skin on his shoulders, down his chest to his waist and below. Of course, she’d fantasized about touching a man before. And that all-day seminar had certainly given her fantasies a lot of fuel. But never before had her hands tingled with anticipation. As she glanced down at them, grasped tightly in her lap, the realization streamed through her. She wanted to touch Lucas. Not just any man. She wanted to press her fingers against his hardness, to test his strength.

She could still recall how lean, how hard those muscles had felt through the thin cotton of his polo shirt. His whole body had been so hard. Even his hands. When she concentrated, she could still feel the pressure of each finger—on her back and, lower, on her hip. And there was that incredible stab of heat, the melting of muscle and bone.

She was still searching for a word to describe what she’d felt. Hunger was too mild a word for that needy, restless ache that had threatened to consume her. More than anything, she’d wanted him to—

“Ms. Wainright?”

Mac started as the voice flowed out of the speaker. Then, unclenching her hands, she pressed the button on the armrest. “Yes?”

“We’ve reached our cruising altitude. You can wander around the cabin or use your cell phone. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.”

Reaching into her bag, Mac took out her phone. She was about to press a button to speed-dial Sophie when she realized that it wasn’t her phone. It was the color of white mother-of-pearl. Hers was black. A quick search of her bag confirmed her suspicion. When they’d switched outfits in the back of Sophie’s shop, they’d switched the identical purses they’d bought too. After punching in her own number, she listened to it ring.

“Mac?” Sophie asked. “Where are you?”

“I’m in the air.”

“Lucky you. I’m still on the ground, but we should be moving away from the gate soon. I take it everything went smoothly.”

“Everything except that I have your purse.”

“Yeah. I figured that out when I grabbed the phone. But it shouldn’t be a problem. You have my permission to use my credit cards. I doubt that I’ll need yours at the spa.”

“Go ahead and use them if you have to.”

“We’re lucky that’s the only thing that’s gone wrong. I can’t believe we’ve pulled this off.”

“I hate to rain on your parade, but there’s still the possibility that Lucas will send me packing and show up at your spa.”

“They don’t allow men on the premises. Besides, he’s going to be much too busy engaging in those sexual fantasies you’re going to create for him.”

What if he doesn’t? What if he refuses to—

“You’re having second thoughts, aren’t you?”

“No…well, maybe a few.” Mac sighed.

“Stick to your first answer. And don’t let my brother intimidate you. He’s a man. And in spite of his numerous and infuriating faults, he’s fair. The moment he realizes we’ve made a switch, he’ll get me on my cell phone and lecture me. I’ll make sure he knows this was all my idea—and then I’ll suggest he have one of his hotshot security people check out the spa. Uh-oh. We’re starting to pull away from the gate. Just remember that when Lucas finds out I’m perfectly safe, he’ll calm right down. The rest is up to you.”

For a few minutes after Sophie broke the connection, Mac stared straight in front of her. It was up to her. She was used to that kind of pressure in her lab. She could handle it there.

And she would handle it once she got to Key West. In the meantime, she was going to find something else to think about. An idea bloomed in her mind and she pushed the button on her armrest.

“What can I do for you, Ms. Wainright?”

“First, you can call me Sophie.”

“Only if you agree to call me Jill.”

“Do you ever fly with a copilot?”

Jill’s laugh flowed into the cabin. “Frequently. In fact, when I fly with Mr. Wainright, I usually sit in the copilot’s seat. He prefers to be in charge.”

“A top gun?”

“You got it.”

“Could I come up there with you? I’d love to learn about flying.”

“Sure thing. I’d love the company.”

“WHERE’S SOPHIE?” Lucas bit out the words as he glanced from MacKenzie Lloyd to the pilot of his private jet. Somehow he’d managed to keep his voice low and controlled—a sharp contrast to the feelings coursing through him. The first thing he’d felt when Mac had walked down the short flight of steps from the plane was pleasure. It had sprung to life so quickly that he’d barely had time to recognize it before he’d discovered that his sister was not with her. Then the fear had struck.

“Sophie’s perfectly safe,” Mac said. “She’s at a spa in North Carolina. I…we switched places.”

Lucas shifted his gaze to Jill Roberts who had descended the short flight of steps directly behind Mac. “Are you involved in this deception?”

Mac stepped in front of his pilot. “No. I told her the truth just as we landed. Before that, I was wearing a blond wig, and she believed I was Sophie. Please don’t blame Captain Roberts. Sophie said you’d be fair.”

Ruthlessly shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts, Lucas narrowed his eyes. It was a look he’d honed to perfection when dealing with employees who’d displeased him. He kept Mac pinned with it while he considered what she’d said.

It would have been easy enough to fool his pilot. She hadn’t worked for Wainright Enterprises that long, and he seldom used his private jet to transport family. He’d done it this time to ensure that Sophie arrived safely. And he was also blaming Mac for something he was almost certain his sister was behind. “I want to talk to Sophie.”

“Of course.” Instead of withering under his glance, Mac efficiently punched numbers into her cell phone, then handed it to him.

He listened to two rings.

“Lucas?”

His sister’s voice had some of his fear fading. “Where in hell are you?”

“Didn’t Mac tell you? I’m on my way to the Serenity Spa in Serenity, North Carolina.”

“Hold on.” Lucas cut her off, then directed his gaze at Mac and his pilot. “You two wait right here. We’re not finished.” Turning, he strode to the privacy and shade offered by a nearby hangar.

“Where exactly is this spa?”

“I told you, Serenity, North Carolina—about an hour’s drive from Charlotte. I’ll be quite safe. The place is run by women for women. No chance of any fortune hunters here—although you might argue the prices they charge puts them in that category. I’ll give you their phone number and their Web site address. You can have one of your security men check it out.”

“I intend to. They can do it in person when they pick you up and bring you here.”

“Not a good idea, bro. I told you before, I won’t have you running my life. You promised you’d back off for a while.”

“And in return you agreed to spend some time with me down here in the Keys.”

“You had me followed. That isn’t backing off. And it’s something I won’t put up with.”

Lucas sighed. “Soph, there’s something I haven’t told you. It’s why I wanted you to come down here for a while. We need to talk.”

“Talk is the last thing I need right now. I’m sorry. I know I agreed to come there, but I…just couldn’t.”

The quick change in her tone from anger to contrition pulled at him.

“I love you, Lucas. And I know that you did what you thought was best for the family. But being with you right now is only going to make me think of how lousy I am at choosing men. I really need to be alone.”

It was the catch in her voice that had the pain shooting through him. He couldn’t help recalling the scene in his office when he’d forced her to look at the evidence Tracker had gathered on Bradley Davis. It would be a long time before he could forget the words she’d hurled at him. They’d hurt much more than the right cross she’d managed to land on his chin. She’d accused him of having ice water in his veins, of being a ruthless dictator, of caring only about Wainright Enterprises.

What else could he expect her to say? He was prepared to go to almost any length to protect the company his grandfather had built and his father had almost destroyed. He stared past the low-slung buildings that formed the small private airport. The air was stifling, not even a hint of a breeze stirred the palms. If Sophie had a built-in homing device that seemed to attract fortune hunters, she’d inherited that gene directly from their father. His last and fifth divorce had come close to destroying Wainright Enterprises.

He’d tried to tell himself that Sophie would have been hurt even more if she’d gone ahead and married Bradley Davis. But that certainty hadn’t helped a bit when she’d broken down and sobbed in his office.

“Please let me do this, Lucas. The spa has excellent security, and you can call the desk each day to check on me. You can even send one of your security people up here—as long as he’s willing to camp in the woods. No males are allowed on the grounds.”

For a moment Lucas said nothing as he ran the risks through his mind. A spa that was off-limits to men sounded secure, especially if he had Tracker assign one of his people to keep an eye on the place. While she was there, Sophie should be safe from any plot that Vincent Falcone might be hatching. Lucas drew in a deep breath. “As long as what you’re telling me about this Serenity Spa is the truth.”

“Check it out. I’m at the Charlotte airport now. Their van will be picking me up any minute. And whatever you do, don’t blame Mac for this. I talked her into it. I can be very persuasive when I set my mind to it.”

Lucas’s lips curved in a smile. “Tell me about it. Don’t worry, I’ll have your friend back in D.C. by midafternoon.”

“Oh, I don’t think you should do that. She has a little problem she’s depending on you to help her with, and I assured her that you were the perfect man for the job.”

“What does she want me to do?” Lucas asked, glancing toward his plane. Mac had moved to the shade cast by one of the wings and was motioning his pilot to join her. Shaking her head, Captain Roberts stayed where she was. Evidently his order to stay put hadn’t intimidated the doc. Courage had always appealed to him.

“I’m going to let Mac tell you that. But she may need a little encouragement. And I don’t suppose you were very welcoming when you saw she wasn’t me.”

No, he hadn’t been welcoming, Lucas thought as he studied Dr. MacKenzie Lloyd. Part of that had been due to the fact that for the past four days he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind.

In the linen slacks and blouse, she looked prim, innocent and untouchable. It had never been those qualities that had drawn him to a woman before. Perhaps it was that detached way she had of summing up her opponent in a tennis match and then calmly going in for the kill. It was a skill she’d probably picked up in her lab work. But wherever she’d come by that single-minded determination, he couldn’t help but admire it. Nor could he help but view it as a challenge.

“I’m depending on you to be fair, Lucas. Don’t blame her for something that’s not her fault.”

Wasn’t that exactly what he’d been doing—blaming her for that quick skip of delight he’d felt when she’d gotten off the plane?

“Mac doesn’t have anyone else to turn to for advice. Her parents always lecture rather than listen.”

“Ouch.” Lucas winced. It was an accusation Sophie had hurled at him more than once.

“Please, Lucas. I’m asking a favor here. At least take her out to the island and hear her out.”

Take her out to the island? Whatever second thoughts he might have had about the wisdom of doing that had to be dismissed. Sophie so rarely asked for favors. “All right. But at least give me a clue. What kind of problem?”

“It’s personal. And she needs help from a man. That’s all I can tell you.”

Personal? Did it have to do with a boyfriend? An ex-lover? The possibility had him frowning. “I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, I’m going to be checking in on you at that spa.”

“I can’t always promise to be available on my cell phone. They make you check them at the desk. But you can always have one of your security people pitch a tent on one of the hillsides and keep tabs on me that way.”

Lucas sighed at the trace of bitterness he heard in her voice. “I love you, Soph.”

“Ditto, bro. Enjoy.”

As soon as Sophie ended the call, Lucas took out his own cell phone and pressed the number that would get him through to Tracker.

“What’s up, boss?”

“Sophie tricked you.”

“I followed her myself until she got on your private plane.” There was a slight pause, and then he continued. “The raincoats. When she and Dr. Lloyd came out of her shop, they both had their hoods up and their umbrellas open…and I followed the blonde, just as she wanted me to. Damn! Let me check with the man I had tailing Dr. Lloyd.”

“I can tell you where Sophie says she is—the Serenity Spa in Serenity, North Carolina. They don’t allow men on the premises. She claimed she was calling me from the Charlotte airport. She says she wants some time alone, but I want you to make sure she’s there.”

“I’ll check the flight manifests right after I check with Dr. Lloyd’s tail. Am I right in assuming that the good doctor is with you?”

“Yeah. Sophie says she has a problem, so I may have another job for you.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

SOPHIE ENDED her conversation with her brother, then crossed her fingers in the hope that Lucas had bought her story. Of course, he’d check out every detail. She knew from experience just how thorough he was.

However, she’d been thorough too. She glanced at her watch. The first thing Lucas would do would be to check out the flight manifests and see if an S. Wainright had indeed flown from National Airport to Charleston that day. He would find that she had. Hopefully, he wouldn’t find it too suspicious that an M. Lloyd had also made the same flight. She was banking on the fact that he would relax once he found that Sophie Wainright had checked into the Serenity Spa. Hannah Parker, the out-of-work actress she’d hired to do just that should be arriving at the spa any minute, and once that final crucial step had been taken and Lucas had verified it, she should be free.

For the next week, she wasn’t going to be Sophie Wainright. Instead, she would be MacKenzie Lloyd, a burned-out research biologist who was taking a little break from her lab.

She’d begun to formulate the plan when she and Mac had talked in the tree house on Sunday, but the details hadn’t all fallen into place until Mac had finally agreed to trade places with her. Of course, she hadn’t told Mac everything.

She knew her best friend too well to believe that she could lie to Lucas for an entire week. So she hadn’t admitted to her that she’d switched purses on purpose. Nor had she confided to Mac that she never intended to go to the Serenity Spa.

Stifling the impulse to get up and pace, Sophie leaned back in her chair and scanned the occupants of the airport lounge. At nearly two in the afternoon, the lunch crowd had thinned to a few businessmen at the bar who were nursing beers as they talked nonstop into their cell phones. They’d been there when she’d entered, so she didn’t think they were following her. And she doubted that the couple with four kids at a nearby table were being paid to keep tabs on her.

For a second, her gaze locked with one of the men at the bar. She was quick to glance away, then let out the breath she was holding when she saw him slide off his stool and leave in the direction of the departing flights.

Paranoia—that’s what it was, pure and simple. If she wasn’t careful, she’d turn into Lucas, forever afraid that everyone he met was trying to threaten Wainright Enterprises.

She couldn’t, she wouldn’t live her life that way.

Forcing herself to relax, Sophie took a sip of bottled water. Not that she hadn’t borrowed a page from her brother’s paranoia handbook. In making her plans for switching identities with Mac, she’d followed Lucas’s number-one rule: Never underestimate the enemy.

Even after they’d each hailed their separate taxis in front of her shop, she’d made herself assume that she still had a tail. Though she couldn’t think of a single reason why Lucas would be having Mac followed, she wasn’t ever going to underestimate him again. That was why she’d waited to switch identities with Hannah Parker until they’d both entered the first available ladies’ room at the airport in Charlotte.

It had been almost too simple to walk into adjoining stalls and then pass her poncho and a bag containing her identification, sunglasses and a duplicate of the red wig she was wearing to Hannah. Just in case Lucas had assigned someone to follow Mac, Hannah couldn’t turn into the blond Sophie Wainright until she was safely in the van to the Serenity Spa.

For the space of about fifteen minutes, there had been two fake MacKenzie Lloyds in the Charlotte airport.

Sophie took another quick look around the lounge. No one was paying her the least bit of attention. She drummed her fingers on the table, then jumped when her cell phone rang. Grabbing it, she put it to her ear. “Yes?”

“It’s Hannah. I just wanted to let you know. I’m all checked into the spa. You should see the room.”

“Did everything go all right?”

“Like clockwork. The woman behind the desk told me that my brother had called. She was going to call him back and let him know I’d arrived safely.”

“Have a great week,” Sophie said as she ended the call. Then she lifted her bottled water in a toast to herself. “I’m free at last.”

MAC GRIPPED the windshield of the boat tightly as Lucas let out the throttle and the Adventurer raced over the choppy water. She’d felt a certain kinship with the boat the moment she’d spotted the name. Together, they were racing off into the unknown.

With the wind whipping against her face, she concentrated on enjoying the feel of bright afternoon sun and the occasional salty spray against her cheeks. It wasn’t hard. She would have enjoyed it even more though, if it hadn’t been for the man standing only a few feet away at the helm of the boat.

Even when he wasn’t looking at her or speaking to her, Lucas was a hard man to ignore. He projected…something that went beyond simple good looks. And it was mesmerizing. She’d barely taken her eyes off him as he’d gone about the task of casting off the boat, then steering it quickly and surely away from the marina toward the open sea.

She risked a sideways glance at him. Perhaps it was the mixture of competence and control that had her gawking like a teenager. No, she thought, it was more than that. There was also that hint of danger about Lucas that lurked just below the very civilized surface. She’d seen it in his eyes when he’d first realized that Sophie wasn’t on board the plane—something hot, dangerous and lethal. It fascinated her.

And she was gawking again. Tearing her eyes away, she looked back at the marina that was fast becoming a spec on the shoreline behind them. A small plane lifted and soared out over the water as it climbed steadily into the sky. Jill Roberts was heading back to D.C. Only when it disappeared did she allow herself to look at Lucas again. He stood there, totally impassive, as if he were alone on the boat.

Clearly, he was still annoyed. He’d spoken only two words to her since he’d gotten off the phone with Sophie. Once Jill had disappeared into the plane, Lucas had turned to her, his expression neutral, and said, “This way.”

His tone had been so cool she’d nearly shivered in spite of the hot southern Florida heat. They’d walked down to the small marina where he’d tied his boat. The moment she saw it, anxiety mixed with anticipation. It was her day for firsts, it seemed—her first time sitting in the cockpit of a plane and now her first time on a boat…to be topped off by her first time propositioning a man.

She glanced at him again. He stood completely at ease, his hands on the wheel, his feet planted apart, totally in control of the engine that roared beneath them. There was no sign now of the predator she’d glimpsed earlier. But it was still there, lurking. And it was touching off something in her. She pressed a hand against her stomach. The warm melting sensation that seemed to be centered there had nothing to do with the fact that the boat was beginning to bump more frequently into waves.

“Nervous?” Lucas had to shout the question.

“A little,” she shouted back. “This is my first time on a boat.”

“You’re kidding.”

She shook her head.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-six.”

“I can’t imagine it. What did your family do on vacations?”

“They didn’t take me with them.”

“What about later?” Lucas asked. “You live in D.C. and you never went out on the water?”

“Too busy, I guess.” She moved toward him then, carefully maintaining her grip on the side of the boat as she did. “Is it easy to steer?”

“For me it is. I’ve been doing it most of my life.”

Suddenly, the boat struck a wave that lifted her feet right off the deck. The moment they smacked down, she felt them lift again, her stomach with them. The laugh escaped the moment she felt the boat solidly under her again.

The sound of Lucas’s laughter mingling with hers had her turning toward him.

“You have the makings of a good sailor, Doc. Would you like to take a turn behind the wheel?”

At her nod, he stepped back and she slipped in front of him. Once her hands were on the wheel, he covered them with his. “Feet apart. Hands steady.”

Lucas continued to talk, words of encouragement, but Mac’s mind couldn’t take it in. Just the sound of his voice in her ear was having the strangest effect on her breathing. And there were other sensations pouring through her. Instead of the salty air, it was Lucas’s scent she inhaled. He smelled like sun and sweat and something else that she couldn’t quite place. She could feel him too. His chest when it brushed against her back was like iron, and the hands trapping hers on the wheel were sure and firm, the palms surprisingly rough. For a moment, she closed her eyes and imagined what it might be like to have those hard hands pressed against other parts of her body.

Another wave had him shifting closer. His hands tightened on hers, pulling the wheel to the right. An arrow of heat shot through her, and her heart began to beat hard and fast, just as it had when she’d been lying on top of him.

“I’d better take over.”

“Yes,” she thought. Oh, yes.

“Doc, are you all right?”

Her eyes shot open as he turned her around to face him. “I’m…fine,” she managed to say.

“You look a little weak in the knees. Why don’t you sit down? You can see the island off there to your right.”

Very carefully, Mac made it to the cushioned seat that ran along the side of the boat. Just as soon as Lucas wasn’t actually touching her, some of her strength returned. It also helped that she wasn’t looking at him.

Fascinating, she thought as she focused her attention on a tiny speck some distance away in the water. Her reaction the first time he’d held her hadn’t been an aberration. Lucas Wainright could definitely turn her mind and body to mush.

And she liked it.

However, it would add complications to her research. How was she supposed to keep her mind on creating male sexual fantasies if Lucas could scatter her thoughts and melt her into a puddle whenever he touched her?

Narrowing her eyes, she watched the speck become larger. It was a problem she’d have to solve.

4

WHEN SHE STEPPED OUT onto the dock, Mac’s eyes were first drawn to the white sand beach that stretched in both directions until it curved out of sight. Waves broke against it, then drew back to attack again in a steady rhythm. Fifty yards ahead, palm trees shaded a squat box of a cabin with a covered porch. Almost covered, she amended when she saw the ladder tipped against it, a pile of shingles stacked on its sloping roof.

Lucas grabbed her suitcase and climbed out of the boat. “I hope you’re not expecting anything fancy. Every time I come down here I try to make a few improvements, but it’s pretty rustic.”

“It’s lovely.” Pausing as she stepped off the dock, she looked at the sweep of shore again. “I’ve never seen a beach that wasn’t thronged with people. You must love it here.”

He looked at her for a moment. “I do. None of the rest of my family does. They call this place Lucas’s Folly.”

It was impossible to imagine the confident man striding in front of her up the path to the cabin as being capable of folly. She found her gaze riveted on his broad shoulders. Beneath the thin polo shirt he was wearing, she could see the easy, sure movement of muscles as he swung her suitcase in rhythm with his stride. She’d learned in her research that from a psychological standpoint, a woman who was attracted to a man’s muscular shoulders was probably looking for a strong emotional bond.

That was the last thing she wanted with Lucas Wainright, she reminded herself. If her plan was going to work at all, he was just someone she would practice on. A guinea pig.

She forced her gaze down the length of his back to his waist and below…. Suddenly, her mouth went dry as dust. He had what Madame Gervais would definitely call in her Parisian French a…

As she watched him climb the porch steps, the foreign words escaped her. “Great buns” was the only description she could think of in English. His cutoff jeans fit over his backside like a second skin, leaving very little to the imagination…just enough to make her wonder what his skin would feel like beneath that denim. Soft and smooth…firm and hard? Would it feel as hot as her own skin was beginning to feel?

The urge to find out was so sudden, so strong that Mac stopped dead in her tracks. If she hadn’t, she was sure she would have reached out and actually placed the palm of her hand on Lucas’s butt.

She made herself take a deep breath and let it out. In spite of the heat, the air felt cool compared to the fire that had started to burn in her body. What in the world was the matter with her? She’d never before found herself mesmerized by a man’s derriere—that was the French word. According to Madame Gervais, women who were attracted to that particular body part were lusty adventurers who were looking for similar qualities in a man.

The thought of herself as a “lusty adventurer” nearly made her laugh. Still, it might be evidence that she did have a sensual side to her nature, after all.

It was only as Lucas opened the door of the cabin and glanced back over his shoulder that she realized she was staring at that part of his anatomy.

“Are you all right?” Lucas asked.

“Fine.” She moved quickly up the steps and into the cabin. The air was stuffy and even warmer than outside. Or perhaps it was her own inner temperature rising because she was standing close to Lucas again. Close enough to touch.

Pushing the thought out of her mind, she focused her full attention on the small, tidy interior of the room. Though the darkness contrasted sharply with the glaring brightness outside, she noted that the room was minimally furnished with a couch, a coffee table, a desk and a chair. At one end, a wooden counter with two stools tucked beneath its wide ledge framed a space for a tiny kitchen. There was no clutter, nothing to suggest that the place was occupied except for the laptop computer and thick, sturdy briefcase that sat on the desk.

It was then that she noticed the framed photographs that nearly covered the wall above. Curious, she moved closer to get a better look. Most of the pictures were snapshots of Sophie and her younger brothers, the step-twins. Nicholas and Nathaniel’s high-school graduation, Sophie’s graduation from college. She’d met Sophie five years ago when she’d been doing postdoctoral work and Sophie had been finishing her undergraduate degree. They’d been fast friends ever since.

Her gaze shifted to a shot of the opening of Sophie’s antique shop in Georgetown. And there were others that captured less formal occasions—Sophie and the step-twins beneath a Christmas tree, a teenage Sophie standing by a red convertible dangling the keys from her fingers. There were twenty pictures in all, a sort of family album/mural, except that there were no parents in any of them. And no sign of Lucas.

Her attention was caught and held by the last photo in the bottom row. She was in it, standing next to Sophie. Lucas had snapped a victory picture after she and Sophie had beaten him at tennis.

Something moved through her then. Envy? Longing? Lifting her hand, she ran her fingers over the frame. The pictures were concrete evidence of something she already knew. Lucas Wainright valued his family.

“You played a great game. I’d be glad to make you a copy of the photo, if you’d like.”

“Thanks.” As she turned, she nearly bumped into him.

He handed her a bottle of water. “You’d better drink it all. In this kind of heat, it’s easy to become dehydrated.”

She took a long swallow, then watched as Lucas drained his bottle. She was close enough to see a drip of water run from the corner of his mouth to his chin, and then down the long column of his throat. In her mind, she imagined what it might be like to trace its path with her finger, to feel the coolness of the water, the heat of his skin underneath.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Mac reined them in. This was the second time in almost as many minutes that she’d fantasized about touching Lucas Wainright.

“Sophie says you have a problem you’d like my help with.”

Her nerves slithered into a knot in her stomach, and she felt the bottle slip from her fingers.

Lucas caught it before it hit the floor and handed it back to her. “That bad, huh?”

Before she could reply, he took her arm and led her out to the porch. “Why don’t you sit down. You can finish that water while I fix some sandwiches. We’ll talk about it over lunch.”

In the doorway, he turned back to her. “You can stay here as long as you want. If it helps any, Sophie was pretty sure I could help. And I’m certainly willing to do anything I can.”

WAS HE GOING CRAZY? Lucas spread slices of bread out on the counter. Standing on that boat with her body so close to his had turned his brain to mush and another part of his anatomy into something hard, erect and ready to go.

Except it wasn’t going anywhere. Taking a calming breath, he slapped slices of ham, then cheese on the bread. MacKenzie Lloyd was his sister’s best friend, and he could not, would not, get involved with her. He’d vowed a long time ago to keep his relationships with women entirely separate from his family. He never dated anyone in his family’s social circle, and he never brought any of his women friends home. It was just one of the methods he used to ensure that the women in his life never nurtured the false expectation that he would marry them. His other method was to be totally honest with them up front.

What was he thinking when he’d invited MacKenzie Lloyd to stay as long as she wanted?

Dumb question. He reached into the small refrigerator for mustard and spread it liberally on the ham. He hadn’t been thinking at all. His mind had been too busy remembering the way her scent had wrapped itself around him, the way her hair, whipped back by the wind, had felt against his chin. And once he’d led her into the cabin, his mind had taken the leap from memory to fantasy, and had totally immersed itself in imagining what it would be like to make love with Dr. MacKenzie Lloyd.

Even as she’d settled herself on the steps, the image had slipped into his mind of sitting right down beside her and slipping her out of that neat little blouse, then the slacks. He’d been wondering just what it was that she wore beneath that cool-looking linen. Thin, white, practical cotton—the kind that schoolgirls wore—was what he’d pictured. Once he’d discarded that, he could spend the entire afternoon pleasuring her until she was spent and limp beneath him. And then he could begin again.

Bending down, he grabbed two beers from the cooler. He couldn’t recall another woman who’d aroused such erotic fantasies in him. And she’d yet to give him any indication that the attraction he felt was mutual.

Was that what fascinated him? That cool, seemingly unflappable image that she projected? Certainly, he was curious about what lay beneath the surface. He’d already discovered that she wasn’t as serious as she seemed. It had been pure, innocent enjoyment he’d seen in her eyes when that wave had lifted her right up off the deck of the boat.

And her laugh. Just recalling the sound of it had him wanting to surprise another one out of her.

Maybe she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she appeared to be. He could think of several interesting ways to test that theory.

And he’d be a fool to put any of them to the test. Slapping the sandwiches onto a plate, he snagged the beers with his free hand and walked back out onto the porch.

She wasn’t there.

“Mac!”

He was off the steps and scanning the beach when she said, “I’m up here.”

Fear shot through him when he saw her perched on the sloping roof of the porch. “What the hell are you doing? You’re afraid of heights.”

“I’m also a coward. This is my way of summoning up some Dutch courage so that I can tell you why I’m here. But you may have to eat without me. I’m not sure I can get down.”

Whatever else she was, MacKenzie Lloyd wasn’t a coward. And what in the world had her so frightened that she’d climb onto a roof to screw up her courage? Tucking the bottles under his arm, he started up the ladder. “We’ll eat up there then. I don’t relish the thought of being flattened again if you decide to jump.”

He had the pleasure of seeing her lips curve in a ghost of a smile as he settled himself beside her and distributed the sandwiches and beer. “Is it helping? To sit up here, I mean?”

“My stomach is still in a knot. But watching the water helps.”

“Take a drink of the beer.”

She glanced at it dubiously. “It’ll make me want to take a nap.”

“That’s allowed. In fact, with the sun at its hottest, it’s a very smart plan.”

Damn tempting too. Lucas pushed away the image of lying down next to her on the narrow cot in his bedroom. He was trying not to think about the fact that he’d have to carry her down the ladder, but his body was already reacting to the possibility.

“Plan. Yes, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” She took a quick sip from the bottle, and when some beer dripped onto her wrist, she touched her tongue to it.

Lucas felt the hot lick of desire and took a long swallow of his own beer. “Sophie said you had a problem.”

“That’s because she didn’t approve of my plan.”

“She wants me to handle it.”

“Exactly.” Holding the bottle tightly in two hands, she kept her eyes on the sea. “I should begin by giving you some background. I want a family someday. For me that means kids and marriage. Not in that order, of course.” She shot him a sideways glance. “I’m not one of those women who wants to raise children in a single-parent household. I know from experience that it can make for an unhappy childhood, so I want to avoid it at all costs. That’s why I want to be prepared. A good plan is everything in the lab.” She glanced at him briefly. “It must be the same way in a business deal.”

“Yes,” Lucas said. “But I’m not sure I’m following you.”

Mac took another swallow of beer. “What are your feelings about divorce?”

Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “I want to avoid it at all costs. That’s why I’ll never marry.”

She nodded, then drank more beer. Lucas watched her lick the moisture from her lips as she lowered the bottle and turned to face him. “I want to avoid it too. We just differ in out approaches to the problem. I want to get married and my research is designed to make sure my marriage lasts forever.”

Bells began to ring in Lucas’s head—the ones that always warned him about women who were thinking about weddings. “I don’t intend to get married. Ever.”

“Of course you don’t. You already have a family. I only had one until I was five. That’s when my father’s eye started to wander.” She took another long swallow of beer, then glanced at the bottle. “You know, you were right about this. It is relaxing me.”

“Maybe too much,” Lucas muttered. “Have you had anything to eat today, Doc?”

“No. I never eat before I fly.” She tipped the bottle up again and drank thirstily. “It’s been ages since I’ve had beer. I didn’t think I liked it, but I do.”

“You were talking about wandering eyes.” His own sure weren’t wandering. They were glued to MacKenzie Lloyd’s mouth as she licked the last trace of beer from her lips.

“First it’s the eyes, and then it’s the whole body. Did you know that infidelity is the number-one cause of divorce? And the number-one reason for one of the partners to stray is that monogamy usually leads to monotony? Hopefully, my plan will prevent that.”

“How?”

“By making sure that my husband never gets bored in bed.” Pausing, she rubbed the bottle against her cheek. “It’s getting really warm up here.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I’m trying. I’ve done all this research on how to please a man in bed. Most of the data I’ve compiled is on male sexual fantasies. Did you know that the number-one fantasy of men is to make love with two women at once?”

“I think I read that somewhere.”

When she turned to study him, he had the fleeting sensation of being put on a slide.

“Is that your favorite?” she finally asked.

“Not at the present moment.”

“I haven’t figured out exactly how to create that one, but I have a lot of other ones I’d like to try out. Are you going to finish your beer?”

Before he could reply, she plucked his bottle from his hand and replaced it with her empty one. Then she took a long swallow.

“Maybe you’d better spell out exactly how it is that I can help you.”

As she turned to face him, she slid a little toward the end of the roof.

He gripped her arm. “Careful.”

“There’s a time in every research project when you have to put your theories to the test in the lab. I’m at that point right now. I feel like I’m bursting with research, and if I don’t put some of it to use, I just might explode. Do you ever get that feeling?”

“Yeah.”

“I feel that way in the lab too—and it’s so exciting. That’s why I need a man right now. I have to have someone to practice on. And Sophie suggested you.”

Lucas’s mouth went dry as dust. “You…” He cleared his throat. “You can’t be serious.”

“But I am. I tried to explain to Sophie. This is the exact procedure I follow in the lab. Theories always have to be tested. But you shouldn’t feel pressured. I can certainly find someone else to test my research on. I have a friend in Paris who has several volunteers lined up. But Sophie insisted that I ask you first.”

Lucas stared at her. It had to be the beer. He removed his bottle from her hand. “Let me make sure I have this straight. You’re asking me to become your lover so that you can field-test your research on me?”

“Exactly. And it won’t go any further than that. I promise that I’m not out to trap you into marriage. Sophie said you would be worried about that. This is strictly a no-strings arrangement. I’ve been on the Pill for three months, and I’ve always practiced safe sex, not that I’ve had to worry about it lately. What about you?”

Lucas stared at her, incredulous.

“Is there anything in your sexual history I should be concerned about,” she asked.

“No, I’m a very careful man.”

Mac nodded. “Of course, you could still use a condom as an extra precaution…”

“Of course. And if I agree to the arrangement…?”

“There are some particular male sexual fantasies that I want to try out. If you’re willing.” She took his bottle back and emptied it.

As her proposition swam around in his mind, Lucas watched a thin trickle of beer run down her throat. He imagined the bitter taste it would have, along with the sweeter, warmer flavor of her skin. But if he gave in to the temptation of leaning forward and following the path of the beer with his tongue, he wouldn’t stop there. He would have to kiss her. And if he did, he wouldn’t stop there either.

He felt as if he was fighting against a riptide that was carrying him farther and farther from shore, from his sanity. Even as the battle went on in his mind, he was leaning forward. Then the shingles moved beneath him.

“You’re slipping.” Mac grabbed his arm, and then she was sliding too.

In the instant it took him to realize that they were both going over the edge, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. If he’d been alone, he would have simply tucked his arms in and rolled. As it was, the moment his feet hit the ground, he twisted and fell backward to take the brunt of the impact. It took his breath away.

As soon as he could, he loosened his grip on her. “Are you all right?”

She raised her head and looked down at him. “Fine. What about you?”

For a moment he didn’t respond. All he could focus on was the way sunlight brought out the fiery glints in her hair and the way the amber flecks had brightened in her eyes. The way her body had softened until it fit perfectly against his.

He couldn’t recall ever wanting a woman this much. “About your plan…”

“Oh,” she said, her eyes suddenly narrowing. “Do you want to…? That would be great. If you’d like to get started…” She pushed against him. “I’ll get the questionnaire.”

“Questionnaire?”

“So I can tell which fantasies are your favorites.”

He was thinking of carrying her down the beach to the small inlet where the palms touched overhead. There, he could make love to her until she couldn’t think of anything, of anyone but him.

And the doc was thinking of paperwork!

“It won’t take long. Once I know exactly what you like to fantasize about, I can run them through this program I created on my laptop.”

“Wait a minute.” When she tried to rise, he grabbed her wrist and sat up with her. The frantic skipping of her pulse against his thumb told him she wasn’t anywhere near as cool as her voice had sounded.

Oh, she was excited all right. But was it about making love with him, or was it because she was thinking of her questionnaires and programs? “I stopped indulging in fantasies when I was twelve. I much prefer reality.”

“Oh…are you saying you don’t want to? I told Sophie that you don’t think of me that way.”

“I think of you that way.” He couldn’t stop himself from thinking of her that way.

“Then…” She moistened her lips. “You’ll do it?”

The strength of his desire to agree had him releasing her wrist carefully. He had to think, to weigh the possible outcomes. And he couldn’t think at all when she was sitting on his lap, her mouth only a breath away. “I never make snap decisions in business. I’m sure you never do in the lab.”

“No, of course not.”

“Then I suggest we take twenty-four hours to think it over before either of us jumps into anything. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

He saw something flicker in her eyes, but he wasn’t sure whether it was relief or disappointment. Then to his complete astonishment, she settled her head on his shoulder and yawned.

“I feel so much better now that I’ve told you why I came here.”

Better wasn’t exactly the way he would choose to describe the mix of emotions moving through him. Desire, he could handle. But there was something unsettling about the warmth that was also spreading through him, solid and sure. And it shouldn’t feel so damn right to have her sitting on his lap. He should be setting her away from him, but he hadn’t been able to prevent his arms from moving around her.

And then he didn’t move at all. For a few moments he allowed himself to simply sit and hold her. The silence was broken only by the sound of waves rushing onto the shore and the cry of a gull overhead.

Who in the hell was Dr. MacKenzie Lloyd? Was she the cool, unflappable scientist? Or was she the sensual woman who’d just offered to practice her sex research on him? And which one was having this effect on him?

Glancing down, he saw that her eyes were shut, her breathing even. She was asleep. Lucas frowned. Was she so indifferent to him that, one minute, she could tell him that she wanted to create sexual fantasies for him and then, the next, calmly doze off?

There was a part of him that wanted to wake her with a kiss. To catapult her from slumber to wakefulness by arousing in her at least some of the feelings that were tormenting him. He wondered if this was what that prince had felt when he’d fought his way into the castle and come upon Sleeping Beauty.

He’d always privately thought the poor guy had gotten more trouble than he’d bargained for when he’d kissed that beauty awake.

And Lucas Wainright hadn’t gotten to where he was without looking before he leaped.

Twenty-four hours. He repeated the number to himself several times as he rose to his feet and carried Mac into the cabin. By the time he settled her on the bed and retreated from the cabin down to the beach, he wasn’t sure whether it was a caution or a promise.

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