Seducing the Boss (The Pulse Series) Read online

  She didn’t realize how long she’d been staring at the screen until he sent another text.

  Did your cell phone die or are you ignoring me?

  She grinned. Trying to determine your motivation. She’d never been good at playing things cool. Her friends called her an open book, but she’d learned early on that in most cases it was easier to get the answers you wanted if you simply asked the questions. Besides, subterfuge wasn’t her strong suit.

  I’m hungry and I thought you might be, too.

  Try again.

  I want to talk to you. I’ve missed you.

  Shit. If he’d said anything about sex, or trying to salvage the friendship, she could have resisted the invitation.

  Probably.

  Maybe.

  But that text…that one was hard to say no to.

  Where and when? The second she hit send on the message, she wanted to kick her own ass.

  Just leaving work. Be there in twenty.

  For some reason, his quick arrival made her stomach less jittery. Clearly this wasn’t going to be a date. They’d probably just hit Score, order beer and burgers and maybe—just maybe—things would return to normal between them.

  He’d call her Scrubs, tease her about ordering a Miller Lite, and all would be well.

  Then her phone beeped again.

  Wear something nice.

  What the hell did that mean? Rather than give it too much thought, she dashed upstairs, stripping off her uniform as she went.

  Lucky for Kellan, she was fairly low maintenance. By the time his car was pulling into her driveway, she had washed her face, freshened up her makeup, run a brush through her hair—which she’d opted to leave down—and thrown on a skirt, blouse, and some strappy sandals she’d recently bought.

  His hand was raised and about to knock on the door when she opened it.

  He grinned when he saw her. “Most women would have read me the riot act for giving them only twenty minutes to get ready.”

  Sara glanced at her watch. “Took you twenty-three minutes to get here. You’re late.”

  “You look pretty.”

  After locking the door behind her, she hesitated only a second before accepting the hand he proffered. They never used to have the type of friendship where they held hands or touched all that much, but Sara figured it was only natural for some of those boundaries to have changed since the weekend.

  “Where are we headed? Score?”

  He shook his head. “No. I felt like sushi.”

  “Oh. That sounds good, too. So, Mount Fuji?”

  “Nope. Thought we’d take advantage of the warm evening.”

  The top was down on his Audi, and it was clear he’d made plans that included a drive. Sara didn’t complain. She loved riding in his convertible, and he was right—it was a gorgeous night.

  She hopped in the passenger side and reached into her purse for a hairband.

  “You own stock in those or something?” he teased as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

  “Trust me. You don’t want to know what my hair would look like at this end of the ride without this.”

  For a moment, it looked as if he wanted to protest the new hairstyle, but instead he simply started the car and put it in reverse.

  Sara kept her gaze steadily to the right, taking in the scenery. There was no way she could face him without recalling what she’d been doing in this car with—and to—him a week earlier.

  They’d been on the road twenty minutes before she figured out his direction. “Wait. Are we going to Montauk?”

  He nodded. “Made reservations at East by Northeast. It sits on the water, and I’ve heard good things about their food. Thought we’d give it a try.”

  Sara didn’t say anything else. Her mind was too busy whirling over what the heck was going on. Was this a date?

  Kellan must have sensed her unease, so he turned on the radio, blasting “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones. The music did the trick. She laughed and let go. The salty sea air was fresh and warm as they flew down the highway, and Mick Jagger set the perfect carefree mood. She felt more relaxed than she had in days.

  When they arrived at the restaurant, the hostess led them to a candlelit table by a window with a beautiful view of the water. Kellan ordered a bottle of sake, and then, as if nothing had happened last weekend, her friend was back.

  “How was your week?” he asked.

  “Not bad,” she hedged. Work was always a hit-or-miss topic for them. “We’re still discussing our options for improving wait times without more staff.”

  Kellan raised his hand to stop her. “No. I don’t want to talk about that tonight.”

  She nodded and released a sigh of relief. She didn’t, either.

  “What’s Josh been up to lately?” she asked.

  “Still dating that blonde he picked up at Score last weekend.”

  “Really? Good for him.”

  Kellan shrugged. “Apparently she’s hot shit between the sheets.”

  Sara rolled her eyes. “Of course she is. Please tell me you and Josh didn’t discuss what you and I—”

  “Stop right there. I didn’t. And I wouldn’t.”

  Actually, he would. She’d joined Josh and Kellan for drinks more than a few times over the years and been entertained by their sex stories. But she didn’t question him, didn’t doubt that his answer was the truth, given the vehement way he responded.

  So the topic of the two of them and sex was off-limits. Interesting.

  Hopeful.

  Internally, Sara winced, groaned, and called herself a jackass. He was simply acting as he always had, and there had been nothing in his actions to suggest anything had changed.

  In fact, the longer they sat there, the more Sara was convinced that this was just what she’d half-hoped, half-feared. Kellan was trying to reestablish the friendship.

  She ignored the sharp pain in her heart that accompanied that realization.

  After that, the conversation continued along its platonic path as they engaged in the latest gossip about a certain married doctor and an affair he was having with his nurse. And then, as usual, Kellan tried to convince her to start watching the Walking Dead, while she insisted she was perfectly happy in her New Girl sitcom world.

  The hostess had cleared their plates, and they were silently contemplating dessert when Kellan leaned back and looked at her with a serious expression.

  “Why did you choose to become a nurse?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean the pay sucks, the hours are long, it’s not a particularly glamorous job. It’s actually hard work, plus, your family is loaded.”

  She toyed with the rim of her glass. “First of all, my parents are rich. Not me. I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t raised with a silver spoon in my mouth—you were, too, by the way—but that doesn’t mean I want to marry a rich guy and be his trophy wife. I could never be dependent on another person for my livelihood. I prefer making my own way in the world, paying my own bills. Nursing, helping others, makes me happy. It gives my life meaning.”

  “I get that.”

  “Why did you become a hospital administrator?”

  He shrugged light-heartedly. “I graduated with my MBA, and my dad had several friends on the hospital board. He pulled a few strings and voilà—I was employed.”

  She snorted before she could stop herself. “I’d call you out on that if I weren’t so afraid it might be true.”

  He chuckled. “I love your laugh.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. It’s completely unfeminine.”

  Sara was surprised when his voice lowered and his gaze darkened. “You’re going to have to stop doing that.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Rolling your eyes at me. For some strange reason, it’s started turning me on. You roll your eyes, and I get hard.”

  “Kellan,” she started, the air in her lungs evaporating.

  He raised his hands in surrender.
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I swear to you, my intentions tonight were completely innocent.”

  “Were?”

  “Are,” he quickly amended. “I don’t like you avoiding me at work, and I don’t like that I can’t just pick up my phone and text you a question or a joke or some stupid random observation like I used to, without worrying about it being interpreted as coming on to you.”

  She nodded slowly. “I’ve missed you this week, too. We clearly didn’t think through all the ramifications of what we were doing last weekend. So…” She paused and gave him a rueful grin, “Start over?”

  “Yeah.”

  After that, things seemed to slip right back into place. Kellan was the same irreverent, funny, off-color guy he’d always been. But Sara noticed one omission. Kellan never mentioned her date with Gabriel. Not that she was complaining. She was grateful for that reprieve. If he’d asked about it, she wasn’t sure what she would have said, wasn’t sure she could fake enthusiasm about a guy she probably wasn’t going the distance with.

  Gabriel fit the mold of Sara’s past boyfriends. Nice, quiet, unassuming. Boring as fuck. She couldn’t go back to that. Kellan had raised the bar, which sucked on every level because she hadn’t even been able to find guys to reach her previously mediocre expectations.

  I’m going to die alone.

  The rest of the night passed far too quickly for her, and before she knew it, Sara was standing on her front porch, ready to say good-bye to Kellan. That was the moment she realized fresh starts didn’t include forgetting. It was the memories that were going to keep knocking her on her ass, no matter how many times she thought she’d gotten her balance.

  “I had a really good time tonight,” she said, struggling with the urge to touch him, kiss him.

  “Me, too.”

  “So, I guess I’ll see you—”

  Her words were cut off when Kellan cupped her cheeks in his hands, lowered his head, and kissed the fuck out of her.

  Sara responded on instinct. Her body knew him. Wanted him. She wrapped her hands tightly around his neck as he backed her against her front door. If any of her neighbors were looking outside, they were getting one hell of a show.

  Kellan was the first to pull away. “You’re making me crazy, Sara.”

  She blew out a long breath. “Ditto.”

  “You realize there’s an easy solution to all of this.”

  Sara narrowed her eyes and raised one warning finger. “Don’t you dare say it. Dammit, Kellan. We just spent the better part of the evening making things right again. Stop screwing this up.”

  “That’s just it. Don’t you see? Sex didn’t screw this up. It made it better.”

  She crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Give it a name, Kell. Tell me what this is. And be warned now, if you say ‘friends with benefits,’ I’ll knee you in the nuts and give you a black eye.”

  “Do we have to give it a name?”

  She laughed, despite her annoyance. Every word he said was textbook Kellan. It was one of the biggest reasons she’d never pursued anything with the man apart from friendship. He breezed through life, taking the path of least resistance when it came to relationships. And what made matters even worse was the fact that no woman had ever challenged him on that, had ever called him out for it.

  “Yes. I want a name.” And then she pushed the buttons she knew would drive him over the edge. “I’ve refused to be a booty call, and I’ve turned down your offer for casual sex, so let’s pretend you’re respecting my wishes on that. Are we dating? Are you gunning to be my boyfriend? Are we working toward some sort of long-term committed relationship?”

  Kellan managed—just barely—not to flinch as she threw all the words he hated at him. “It was just one weekend, Sara. Don’t you think it’s sort of soon to start putting labels like that on it?”

  “You want to know what your problem is, Kellan?”

  He grimaced. “I’d say no, but you’re going to tell me anyway, aren’t you?”

  She flashed him an angry look. “You’ve never had to work for a damn thing in your life. Not your job and not your sex. Well, guess what? I’m not easy, and I’m never going to be a sure thing.”

  He scowled. “I’ve never thought you were easy. Ever.”

  “Do you want back in my bed, Kellan?”

  Kellan didn’t answer immediately. The man was clever enough to sense a trap. She could almost feel sorry for him.

  Almost.

  “You know I do,” he admitted at last.

  “Then you’re going to have to figure out what it takes to get there, and you’re going to have to work for it.”

  He misunderstood her dare. Just as she expected he would.

  When he leaned closer, clearly intent on kissing her again, she pressed her palm flat against his chest and pushed him back.

  “I don’t mean seduction.”

  He froze. “Sara—”

  “Good night.”

  Before he could respond, she opened her door, slid inside, and then shut it with just a touch too much force in Kellan’s shell-shocked face.

  That expression was actually worth the niggling, empty ache between her thighs. No one had ever said no to him. He’d lived his life getting his way simply by flashing that charming smile. A little challenge would be good for him.

  She just hoped, for her sake, he decided to take her up on the dare.

  Chapter Eight

  Kellan opened his eyes without looking at the clock. Why bother? He’d watched the damn thing tick off every single hour last night. The bright light creeping through the curtains told him the restless night had caught up to him somewhere during the wee hours. He’d overslept. Again.

  For one brief second, he considered playing hooky and calling in sick to work. He never did that, primarily because he paid for it the next day in double the workload.

  He’d spent the entire weekend holed up in his house, dodging Josh’s invitations while resenting the quiet and hating being alone. Now, however, the idea of having to talk to people, of running the risk of seeing Sara, was more than he could handle.

  Tired and irritable, he figured it would probably be better for everyone if he just stayed burrowed away here today.

  And maybe tomorrow.

  He had played Sara’s words from Friday night over and over, trying to figure out how he could get what he wanted, give her what she wanted, and not be forced into a serious commitment. The idea of making her his girlfriend terrified him. She embodied every single thing he’d always tried to avoid when he chose his lovers.

  So much for keeping things fucking light and fun.

  The puzzle didn’t seem to have a solution. With any other woman, he would have walked away already, but that wasn’t possible here. And the worst part was Sara didn’t realize that he was rejecting her offer to protect her. Clearly she saw his actions as selfish, maybe even immature, but the truth was he’d rather cut off his left nut than hurt her. How could he promise her faithfulness and forever? His dad was head over heels in love with his mom, and even he couldn’t manage that.

  Maybe it would be easier if he weren’t so drawn to her. Kellan wasn’t sure what the hell sort of chemistry was at play, but he’d never felt such an intense attraction to a woman before. Except she wouldn’t go for just sex. She wanted commitment.

  Kellan was fucked six ways to Sunday.

  No. He wasn’t giving up yet. She’d tried to take seduction off the table, but Kellan wasn’t going to let that happen. He could be very persuasive when he wanted to be, and Sara wasn’t completely immune to his charms. The way she’d responded to his kiss Friday night told him she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. When he considered her prior relationship with David, it occurred to him that she’d probably never been truly seduced by a lover, and she deserved that. Deserved roses and candlelight and silk sheets and being told how beautiful she was.

  So, he’d lay on the charm, seduce the pants off her, and make sure she was so wrapp
ed up in his sensual web it would be impossible for her to refuse a few more months in his bed.

  He hoped to hell he could convince her.

  Because she’s ripping my guts out.

  With that goal in mind, work didn’t suddenly seem like such a bad prospect. Kellan called his secretary to tell her he was going to be late coming in.

  When he arrived at the hospital an hour later, he bypassed his office and headed directly for the emergency room. The more he thought about Sara, the more determined he was to set his plan in motion. He didn’t intend to keep doing this should we, shouldn’t we dance with her. They weren’t finished yet. Not by a long shot.

  When he arrived in the ER, he was nearly run over by a gurney as an orderly pushed a patient to one of the examination rooms. Doctors and nurses were rushing by him, yelling out orders, EMTs ran to and from their rescue squads, and the waiting room was packed with people crying, looking around for anyone to offer them answers about their loved ones.

  He grabbed Piper Dawson, an intern, as she rushed by. “What’s going on?”

  “Multi-vehicle accident. Lots of injuries. A couple of fatalities. We’re in CODE. It’s a bad one.” That was all she said before she continued on her way.

  There was nothing he could do. He wasn’t a doctor. Yet, he felt compelled to find Sara. To make sure she was okay.

  He walked along the corridor, weaving his way around the gurneys and medical staff to get out of the way. As CEO of the hospital, no one questioned his presence there. Everyone was too focused on doing his or her job to pay him much attention. He peered into several exam rooms before he found Sara in the trauma room. He stood there for a few minutes, watching her work, amazed by her calmness, her poise.

  When she caught him watching, she looked horrified. The response took him aback. She’d never minded his presence in the ER before. She said something to the doctor, who looked over his shoulder at him. Clearly he was a distraction for some reason, but Kellan couldn’t understand why.

  He considered leaving, but before he did, Sara was there, pushing him away from the door. “You shouldn’t be here, Kellan.”

  Her tone wasn’t angry. Instead, it was something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.