Seduced by the Neighbour

Excerpt from: Seducing the Neighbour

Cara Livley cursed under her breath. She was trying to unlock her front door without dropping the two bags of groceries she held. She balanced a knee against the doorframe and shifted to insert the key.

“Need some help?”

The familiar muscular voice that came from behind surprised her, making her yelp and jerk. She lost her balance.

Matt Adams, her neighbour across the hall, placed a hand against her back to steady her as he secured the grocery bags with his other arm.

“You’re back,” Cara said, straightening herself from leaning against him. Her heart speed up and her hands shook from the brief contact.

“Got in last night,” he told her as he studied her face.

Cara was sure he could see the blush across her checks and the sweat starting to bead on her forehead. She quickly dropped her gaze in embarrassment and reached over to place the key in the lock.

Matt always affected her this way. With his deep penetrating stare, it was almost like he could see to her soul. When she was around him, she became a nervous giddy teenager again. She hated her reaction to him. Her hands shook so badly it took her three tries to get the key into the lock. She sighed with relief when she heard the click.

Matt followed her into the apartment carrying the two bags of groceries. He’d been in her apartment before, but this time, he looked around as if thinking. Cara was relieved it was clean. No dirty clothes on the floor or dishes in the sink. His gaze drifted towards the stairs to her bedroom, the one place she’d never let him see.

All the apartments on this floor had the same floor plan. So her loft apartment was very much like his. But hers was much more homey and comfortable. Instead of being overly female, Cara kept her apartment in neutral colours without a lot of fuss. Her tan leather couch had a matching chair. The coffee table was the same maple as the end tables and entertainment stand. She had an up-to-date expensive flat screen TV and stereo system.

Like him, she didn’t have a dining table. Instead barstools sat under the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen. That was the only thing the two apartments had in common. When she’d seen his, she hadn’t been surprised. It was the typical bachelor apartment. One couch, a coffee table, and an old worn chair were the only things he had in his living room. His kitchen cabinets were often empty.

He set the groceries down on the counter and leaned back and, crossing his ankles, made it clear he was in no hurry to leave. She kept her gaze from meeting his as she went about putting the groceries away. She had a specific place for each item in her kitchen. Hoping he didn’t notice and think it was weird, she hurriedly put the groceries away. Matt stared at her as she folded the bags neatly before placing them in a drawer.

“Did you have a good trip?” Without anything else to do with her hands, she placed them, palms down, against the island.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Glad to be home.”

It was his standard answer, and Cara smiled. She was never going to get anything out of him. She knew he worked for the government, although he didn’t go into work every day and didn’t wear a suit. He kept what he did a mystery. It was one more aspect of him that made her pulse speed up and kept her up at night thinking about.

She had lain awake many nights thinking about his strong body and what he could do to her. She’d woken up many mornings sweating and her body on fire as she remembered the dreams of him taking her in every imaginable position. She lusted after her neighbour but that was all there was. She knew a man like him wouldn’t be interested in a quiet, squeaky-clean, boring woman like herself.

“How’s the new book coming?” he asked as she quietly studied her hands.

“What?”

He laughed. “How's your new book coming along?”

Cara bit her lip and pressed her fingers into the granite that covered the island. Why would he ask about her book? He couldn’t know that she… She quickly shook her head to stop her train of thought. He was just making idle conversation. He didn’t know anything about her book or the main characters.

She forced herself to laugh. “Well, the hero is a stubborn, hard-headed, opinionated man who keeps taking advantage of the heroine’s inexperience in a crisis.”

“Sounds like I’d like him.”

Cara shifted nervously from foot to foot.

Amusement was evident in his voice when he asked. “So what’s not going right?”

She jerked her head back up. “How do you know it’s not going smoothly?”

Matt pushed off the counter and leaned toward “Because I know you, Cara.”

Cara stared at him for several seconds and tried to digest what he said. She was pretty sure he was just messing with her. Relaxing her shoulders, she smiled up at him. “Oh yeah?”