"Crew?" her sleepy voice drifted through the phone line, to his ear.
"Speaking," he said softly as he made his way toward her room.
"You have an impressive way of wangling a breakfast invitation," she said, her voice soft and husky from sleep.
"I do what I can," he replied as he neared her door.
"The flowers are beautiful, and this chocolate is the best I've ever had," she mumbled around the sweet concoction in her mouth. As Crew pictured filling her mouth with much more than chocolate, his groin tightened. Man, he wanted her sweet, full lips around his shaft – hell, all over his body, but especially his shaft!
"Are you going to invite me in?" he practically whispered. To himself, he said: Down, boy!
"Well … you did have breakfast for two sent up. I hate to see such a good meal wasted … "
"Invite me in, Haley. This is Lesson Three," he said, his voice purposely low and seductive. Satisfaction filled him at the hitch in her voice.
"I need time to get dressed."
"Then our breakfast will get cold. You look fine, I'm sure," he said with a hint of impatience. He really wanted to know what she slept in. Was it nothing at all? The sudden thought had his blood racing.
"Fine. Come on up," she conceded.
"I'm already here. Open the door." Crew hung up and waited. He had the master key in his pocket, but he wouldn't use it. She needed to have the confidence in herself to let him through her door.
The door opened just a crack and Crew first saw big green eyes peering out at him. He said nothing, just raised his eyebrows as he waited for her to open the door all the way.
He wanted to push his way through, take her in his arms, and taste the chocolate on her tongue, but he was supposed to be teaching her. This wasn't about his own needs, though he promised himself they would get met.
By the time he was finished with Haley Sutherland, she'd never think again about this other man she'd been so desperate to capture. Of course, it wasn't as if Crew wanted to find himself captured either. He just needed a few nips of her perfect skin, a few cries of passion from her slender throat, and a few whimpers and gasps for air as she fell apart in his arms.
"Are you going to let me in, Haley, or just stand behind the door gaping at me?" he asked with a smile.
She narrowed her eyes, then rolled them as she gave him enough room to step through. Crew waited patiently for the door to shut firmly behind him before he made eye contact.
He was grateful for his decision, because when he turned and saw her, his jaw nearly dropped. She was wearing nothing but a pair of men's flannel boxers and a tight tank top, displaying exactly what she'd been hiding beneath those baggy clothes.
To make matters worse, the white cotton tank was just the slightest bit too thin, showing him the shadow of her dark ni**les beneath the soft fabric. His throat went dry and he took an involuntary step toward her.
As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, she turned quickly and raced toward the bathroom, calling out that she'd be right out. Damn! She was most likely covering up all that beautiful skin.
Lesson Four was coming real quick, because if she wanted to seduce a man, she was certainly more than qualified to do it.
Crew sat at the table, pouring himself a cup of hot coffee and releasing a deep breath while he sat back in his chair and waited. It didn't take her long, but when she returned, he found that he'd predicted correctly: she was wearing too many clothes.
"You should have stayed in your pajamas," he said, disappointed by the oversized knit shirt she'd thrown on. At least her slender legs were still on display.
"I was cold," she lied.
"No you weren't, Haley. That shirt hid nothing, and if you had been cold, I would have known about it," he smirked.
Her cheeks flamed; she picked up a croissant and began nibbling on its corner in hopes of hiding her embarrassment.
"Thank you for the lilies - they're my favorite, but you really don't need to do that. I asked you to teach me how to be the one to seduce a man. There's absolutely no need for you to try to seduce me," she said crisply as she poured tea into a cup and added a little lemon and sugar.
Crew waited until he had her full attention before he spoke, making sure to capture her eyes with his gaze. He wanted her to have no doubt where this was going.
"I don't do anything by half measures, Haley. I agreed to your ridiculous request, but I'm going to be the one in charge here. If you are to become anything like the kind of woman you're asking me to make you, then we do it my way - without any complaints. Today's lesson: you must realize your own appeal. A woman who feels sexy is sexy. You don't have to be a model - you can be too thin or too large - and you don't have to be the perfect height or have the perfect curves. You just have to know how to use what you've got, and display it in the best possible light."