Art of Seduction

By J C Gordon

Kieran Doherty is jaded with love, and yet he can't get Grace MacLachlan out of his head. He'd witnessed his brother Flynn fall apart when he lost the love of his life, and he was determined the same thing wasn't going to happen to him. It didn't matter that Flynn had found his Evie once again and was now blissfully happy. No, Kieran was very much a "love them and leave them" kind of guy, and he wasn't about to change for anyone - least of a beautiful, feisty blonde like Grace.

Grace MacLachlan not only didn't have time for love, she had a disastrous past relationship, which left her lacking in the trust department. She was content with her job at Granton's publishing, and isn't about to be drawn in by Kieran's boyish Irish charm. She'd seen beneath the surface of that charm, and it had brought back painful memories of her ex. If Kieran thought she would be seduced by him - he was in for an almighty shock.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J C Gordon
• Release date: Jun 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311586360

J C Gordon

I have been married to George for almost 15 years. We weren't blessed with any children though I am incredibly close to my nieces and nephew, and my beautiful great niece Maddison.I live in Edinburgh, Scotland and class myself as being Scottish though I was born in England. I have lived here most of my life now so Edinburgh is home.I work in Finance and write, write and write some more in my free time. My dream is to one day be a full time author so I can do what I love most.

Book preview

Art of Seduction

Published by JC Gordon at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 JC Gordon

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

~~~~~

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Warning: Adult Reading Material

~~~~~

Covert Art by Kelly Shorten

Edited by Nicole Lippert Kiggins and Lana St Louis

~~~~~

Acknowledgements

My grateful thanks to my editors Nicole and Lana, and to Kelly for her amazing cover art design. Thank you all so very much.

I have been blessed with such amazing friendships and such support from my readers that I simply cannot list them all, however no one quite knows how to keep me focused and away from procrastinating than my KBF - EvanG54. No book would feel right without having him listed on it. Thank you, sweet boy! #yourock!

Chapter One

Kieran Doherty sat in Georgio’s across from a very attractive brunette, smiling attentively as he sipped at a glass of red wine. He watched her mouth move as she spoke animatedly about herself and her plans for the future. He had asked her out on impulse; sick of being too exhausted to have a social life after the last few hectic months at work.

His attention was waning though as he listened to her. It wasn’t that Chantelle wasn’t beautiful enough or didn’t have a gorgeous body, because she certainly met all his usual expectations in a woman. She was just…boring.

He stifled down a sigh as she prattled on about how her agent was sure he could get her a fabulous contract for some lingerie shoot, which was scheduled to take place in New York in a few months’ time.

She was a model, and a reasonably successful one. He supposed that’s what made her so self-absorbed; why he hadn’t spoken a word for almost fifteen minutes and she hadn’t even noticed.

Truth be told, he had nothing that he wanted to say to her. She didn’t stir him intellectually at all, though she did stir him physically. He wondered how much longer they had to sit at the restaurant before he could suggest a coffee at her place. He had no intention of taking her back to his.

Kieran’s attention was diverted by the sound of husky laughter. His gaze slid across the room and locked on the petite, exquisite blonde who was laughing at something her male companion had just said. He stiffened instantly, fighting to keep a dark scowl from his face as he watched Grace MacLachlan with a hunger that surprised him.

Had it only been a few months ago that he had first met her? It felt like it had been years. His greedy gaze roamed over her soft golden curls; drank in the sparkle in her vivid blue eyes. His body hardened instantly, and he bit back a curse at his reaction to her.

She had made it more than plain that she wasn’t the least bit interested in him. She had been though, when they’d first met that night months ago at the ball her publishing company had thrown. Everything had been going well until Evie Harris had put the block on any possible relationship between them.

Kieran bit the inside of his mouth to stop from sighing out loud. Okay, it wasn’t Evie’s fault, he knew that now. It had been his own prejudice against the woman who had hurt his brother that had caused the sudden frostiness that had sprung up between him and Grace.

He had tried a number of times to talk to her about it, but she refused to even speak to him, putting the phone down whenever he called. He’d finally stopped calling after a month or so. He could be a persistent bugger when he wanted to be, but even he had to concede that Grace MacLachlan had a stubborn streak a mile wide. One he was incapable of breaking through.

He briefly took his eyes off the woman who had rejected him, and smiled again at Chantelle as he took another drink from his glass. His lack of attention had completely sailed over her head as she prattled on, so he let his gaze slide once more to Grace and the man she was with.

Her companion was handsome enough, appeared attentive to her every word, which Kieran knew from experience, wasn’t put on. When Grace gave a man her undivided attention, everything else paled into insignificance. He had been lost in the sound of her voice the night they had met. She could have been reciting a list from the telephone directory, and he would still have hung onto her every word.

Another quick smile to Chantelle and then back to the woman he longed to be with, but who wouldn’t give him the time of day. She looked simply breath taking. Her short blonde curls bounced as her head moved, her luscious full lips made him think of sinful things as they moved and shaped with each smile, and word she spoke.

Lord, what he would love to do to that mouth. He could imagine how it would feel to kiss her. It would be heaven and hell all rolled into one. Her lips would bring him such pleasure and then such pain as he realised that one kiss would never be enough, that he’d need to taste her over and over again.

One kiss would never satisfy him. He would want more, so much more. He would want to feel her mouth caress his hot flesh; feel her slide slowly down his body until she came to that part of him that ached so much for her. He throbbed painfully at the thought of her soft lips wrapping around…

Kieran, are you listening to me?

Kieran was brought abruptly out of his erotic thoughts by the sound of Chantelle’s almost whiny tone. He had the grace to blush slightly as he turned back to her. Christ he was out with one woman and having erotic fantasies about another. He knew he could be a bit of a bastard at times, but even that was low for him.

Sorry, he smiled smoothly. I was distracted by seeing someone I know. You were saying?

Chantelle was instantly mollified, and gave him a winning smile. She began playing with a strand of her shoulder length hair as she once more launched into a diatribe of her hopes and dreams.

Kieran paid close attention to her, putting Grace out of his mind. He wanted her, but she didn’t want him. He was out with another woman and she deserved his undivided attention, even if she was boring the pants off him. He wasn’t about to bang his head against a brick wall when he knew it was pointless.

*****

Grace MacLachlan glanced across the room in time to see Kieran smiling at the woman sitting at his table. For a moment, she thought her heart had stopped. Then she realised it was thumping away nicely inside her chest; it had just done a weird little flip.

She frowned slightly as she looked at him. Kieran Doherty irritated her like no man had ever done before. He had no right to be so goddamned sexy, or so bloody arrogant. He was gorgeous and he knew it. He could charm the birds out of the trees with his rugged good looks and sensual little smiles.

From the moment she had first met him, she’d had to fight the temptation to run her fingers through his short black hair. His deep green eyes had glinted with both amusement and desire as he’d gazed down at her. His body language had screamed his interest in her, and she’d found herself unconsciously moving closer to him, reflecting her own interest.

What woman in her right mind wouldn’t have been attracted to him? He was tall, almost six foot, with wide impressive shoulders and a fit, trim body. Anyone could see from a mile off that he took care of his