Tempting Taylor Read Online Free Page B

blowing her fragile control to hell. “I
certainly hope not.”
    He stepped closer, crowding her in. She fought the urge to
move. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, firm and full at the bottom, with a
sensual curve that was hard to miss.
    “I just needed some background material for my article.” A
heavy, syrupy feeling invaded her lower body. Danger! “I mean, in case
you agree to let me interview you, that’s all. Well, I have to go and—”
    “Do I scare you?”
    “W-What?” Her thoughts were muddled. Really, the man was
invading her personal space, sucking the oxygen from the air and leaving her short
of breath.
    He smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting with sexy
amusement. “Do I scare you?” he repeated, slower this time. He was now a
hairsbreadth away, their bodies nearly touching.
    She drew in a fortifying breath. “No.”
    “Good.”
    Trying to ignore the crazy fluttering of her pulse, she
eased away, subtly putting more room between them. “Let me know what you decide
about the interview.” Pasting a smile on her face, she gripped her purse and
forced herself to walk away—at a normal pace—when all her instincts screamed
“run!”
    “Taylor?”
    She stopped and turned around slowly. “Y-yes?”
    He held out her sunglasses.
    Walking back a couple of steps, she took them from him and
managed a strangled, “Thanks,” before heading to the parking structure.
    She dared not look back, but Taylor could feel the power of
his gaze follow her. Damn, the man sure packed a wallop. How on earth was she
going to survive interviewing him? Being in close proximity to Cooper Hathaway
surely would drive her insane. Not to mention make it painfully obvious that
she was attracted as hell to him. What was she going to do?
    * * * * *
    “I’ve decided that when it comes to sex, I need to think
like a man.”
    Taylor stirred her coffee in the tiny office kitchen and
glanced at the young woman from marketing. Sabrina was pretty and outgoing, and
every time they chatted, she had plenty of boyfriend drama to talk about.
    “Oh? Why is that?”
    “My cheating ex-boyfriend had the nerve to tell me that sex
with his neighbor didn’t mean anything and that it was one of ‘those things’.”
Sabrina snorted. “Yeah, like he tripped and that woman just happened to be
there with her legs open?”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    She shrugged. “Good riddance. That’s when I realized that
men and women are wired differently,” Sabrina continued. “Men can take the sex
and walk away. No entanglements. No emotional consequence. It’s all about
physical satisfaction.”
    “Hmm, true,” Taylor agreed.
    “And since I have absolutely no desire to start dating again
so soon, I thought of the perfect solution,” she lowered her voice confidingly.
“Friends with benefits.”
    “Friends with benefits?” Taylor echoed with a frown.
    “Exactly. Sex without commitment. No strings. Scratch an
itch without all the emotional ups and downs.”
    “Just sex?”
    Sabrina nodded enthusiastically. “With someone you’re
already familiar with, a friend, if you will. That way, there will be no
morning-after regrets. And it’s not a one-night stand. Call each other when you
feel the need.”
    “But what about love? Emotion?” Taylor couldn’t help but
ask.
    “If I’m destined to meet the right man, it will happen. But
until then, I don’t want to waste my time going out on dates only to go home
disappointed. No thanks. I’ve gone through enough first dates to last me a
lifetime.”
    Maybe her dating situation was more common than she
believed. Like Sabrina, she was exhausted from going on “first dates”. Just the
thought of spending one more hour trying to figure out if a man was
relationship material was enough to make her shudder.
    “Nights can get lonely while I’m waiting to find that
special someone, you know?”
    Taylor nodded. She understood perfectly. How many had she
spent fantasizing about Cooper? So far,