How You Tempt Me (4 page)

I fold my arms in front of me, which has the unfortunate
effect of pushing up my bosom and making my bra rub against my
sensitized, erect nipples. All this sex talk is making me highly
aroused.

Perhaps if I steer the conversation away from sex for a
bit, I can get my libido and emotions under control. “Shouldn't
you be asking more...clinical questions, like my height, weight,
state of health?” I say, trying to sound more controlled and
confident than I feel.

“
Oh. Those...” Julian waves his pen in the
air absently. “...can be easily ascertained. I don't need you
to answer those questions. I can get the answers easily enough.
Just some measurements and tests and whatnots. What I want and need
are the answers that I cannot get so easily. Answers only you can
provide.”

I blow out a breath. I know that he is right, but
somehow his question sounds too intrusive, too intimate, and it makes
me think about him in a way which is highly inappropriate. He is my
would-be employer, my boss and paymaster. I shouldn't be lusting
after him.

“
When was the last time you had sex, Sophia?”
he repeats his question, more softly this time. His pen is poised
over his clipboard. It seems to tremble a little, but I'm not sure.
My own hands are beginning to shake and I have to lace my fingers
tightly on my lap to keep them still. I cross my legs and tense, my
whole body in knots.

Sensing my unease, Julian puts down the clipboard and
explains patiently, “There are a couple of factors to be taken
into account in calibrating the machine for the subject. How
frequently and recently the subject has had sex, how easily it is for
the subject to achieve orgasm, how recently the subject has been
sexually fulfilled, or not...well...” He looks away briefly.
“...every body is different. How you respond, how your body
and mind respond, will depend on various considerations and
co-ordinates...” He lets out a breath as his eyes move to my
lips and trail further down. I tense as raw, pulsing heat seems to
envelop my entire body. He doesn't seem to be looking at me as
merely a test subject. His look is intense, penetrating, sexual. I
force myself to breathe. Julian might be a man of science, a
researcher, a doctor, but he is still a man. And well, put a man, a
woman and a sex machine together...

I bite my lip hard. Keep it together, girl! I remind
myself. Think about the contract. Answer his questions, and ask
your own questions. Snap out of it!

Steeling my nerves and my resolve, I prepare to answer
his questions and hope fervently that I won't make a bloody fool of
myself.

Tilting my chin up, I answer coolly, “It's been a
few months.”

Julian raises an eyebrow. “A few months? How
few? One month? Two months? Half a month?”

“
Six months.”

He scribbles down my answer, mumbling almost inaudibly,
“Was that with your boyfriend?”

“
Pardon? I didn't catch your question.”

He clears his throat but doesn't look up. “Um...was
that with a regular sex partner, or...?”

“
The last person I had sex with...I never saw him
again. I met him in a pub, and that was that. One night. I don't
even know if that's his real name.” I shrug, wrinkling my nose
at the memory. He was not particularly good-looking, and he had
seemed nice. But he wasn't a good lay. In fact, he was downright
terrible. In, out, in, out and he was done.

“
At that...session, did you...orgasm...?”
Julian asks.

“
No.”

“
No? Not even once during...”

I roll my eyes. “Not even close. Yeah, it was
that bad.”

“
Are you in a relationship right now?”

“
No.”

The corners of his mouth quirk up, but he tugs them down
immediately. Why my answer should please him I have no idea, but he
does look so much better when he isn't frowning.

“
You should smile more. Looks good on you. The
smile.” I bite my lip hard. Did I just say that? What the
hell is wrong with me? Getting all horny and flirty with my
prospective employer.

He meets my gaze and holds it for a breathless moment.
“You...” He draws a ragged breath and forces his eyes
back to the clipboard. “Have you ever had any problem in
achieving an orgasm during sex, Sophia?”

Somehow his question makes me think back on my brief and
tumultuous marriage. My hackles and voice rise. “Problem? If
there's a problem, I'm sure it wasn't mine! I can get myself off
just fine. It's those selfish bastards who...” I fold my arms
across my chest and huff. “They should just jerk themselves
off. Effect would have been the same.”

“
That bad, huh?” he manages to mumble after
a while.

“
Worse,” I state emphatically. “It's
true what they say, you know. Bad sex and a bad marriage go together
like a horse and carriage.”

His expression changes. “You're married?”
His eyes flick to my bare ring finger.

“
Was. It's over now...in fact, it was over a long
time ago. I just refused to see it.”

His next words are barely audible. “I'm sorry.”

“
Why?” I frown. “I'm not.”

He seems momentarily at a loss for words.

“
Hey, I'm fine,” I tell him. “Really.”

He smiles and hands a sheet of paper to me. “Here.
You might want to take a look at the contract.”

“
Oh?” I take the document from him, and he
moves quietly behind his desk and powers up the computer.

“
That's it?” I frown. “Don't you
need to...to ask me about my, um, preferences?”

“
Huh?” Julian turns to me, puzzled.

“
I mean, we are testing a sex machine, right?
Don't you need to know what turns me on? Which parts of my body are
my...my erogenous zones?” Erogenous zone, that is a medical
term right?

“
My dear, your whole body is an erogenous zone,”
he answers in a low voice, his eyes darkening. I almost flinch from
the heat burning behind his serious, scholarly expression. Am I
imagining it, or do I read a smoldering desire in the doctor's eyes?

“
I...I see.” I look down and try to
concentrate on the piece of paper in my hands. I can't let him see
me blushing like crazy.

I must be out of my mind. Why do I keep thinking about
sex...with him? I've been deprived of sex for too long, that's why.
Of good sex. I'm only human, aren't I? I have needs and wants.
With a start, I realize that Julian is right. Sex, intimacy,
pleasure...these are basic human needs and wants. I want to be held
and touched and tasted and pleasured. I want him. There is nothing
wrong with wanting what I want. Didn't the good doctor say so
himself? Dr. Julian James.

With a sudden flash of inspiration, I reach inside my
bag and fish out my mobile phone. “I've got to reply to this.”

“
Of course. Take your time.” He nods and
goes back to typing something at his computer.

Pretending to reply to a text message, I run a quick
search for his name and credentials on my phone. Thank goodness for
smartphones and instant information. I scroll through the search
results. Julian is listed as a specialist and consultant at the
Royal Women's Hospital. There is a mugshot of him as well, but it
doesn't do him justice. In the photograph, he is wearing a striped
tie and a white coat and glasses. His dark brown eyes are bright but
stern and he is unsmiling. He doesn't smile much I notice. But his
hair still looks tousled and messy, with some wavy locks of dark hair
sticking out from behind his ears and neck. His education and
credentials check out, and I smile a little. This is one smart, sexy
man, though he seems blissfully unaware of his sex appeal. He just
seems intensely interested and absorbed in his research and his
machine. He did seem to take an interest in me though, but that's
probably because he sees me merely as a test subject. His interest
in me is purely professional, not personal, I remind myself.

I sneak a peak at Julian over the top of the paper. As
he hammers away furiously at the keyboard, I can see the muscles on
his arms and broad shoulders move under his shirt. I force myself to
remain seated. It takes all my willpower not to get up and run my
hands down his solid back. Julian might be a scientist, but he is
solidly built. Tall, lean and muscular.

I look through the terms and conditions of the contract.
It is just one page, and the duration and amount to be paid are
clearly stipulated. I am to allow the good doctor to run tests and
experiments on me, in connection with the machine, hereinafter
referred to as The Sex Machine, which seeks to monitor and stimulate
my physiological and psychological response to various stimuli and
sensations. The doctor undertakes on his part to ensure my safety
and well-being, and I am to communicate to him any discomfort or
disagreement that I may have during the experiments. I am to stay
within the premises for the entire duration and I am not to leave
before the stipulated three weeks, otherwise all amounts due to me
will be forfeited. Well, three weeks is a short time really, and
thirty grand is a large sum.

So.

I stand up and approach his desk. He stops typing and
his lips part as he looks up at me. I lean forward across his desk.
“Do you want me?” I ask huskily.

He starts. “I...I do. Yes.” He swallows
and whispers, “Very much.”

I am taken aback by the raw hunger in his eyes, and I
can see his hands shake ever so slightly as his fingers freeze in
position over his keyboard. He attempts a smile, and asks, “Do
you have any questions, Sophia?”

“
Just one.”

“
Yes?”

“
Where do I sign?”

Julian raises his eyebrows, and his lips curve up in a
broad smile. He starts to hand me the pen. As his hand brushes
against mine, I feel the jolt of electric current course through my
body and I draw a sharp breath. I wonder if he knows the effect he
is having on me. I sneak a glance at him, and I see that his fists
are clenched. He is staring at the pen in my hand and his eyes move
to my wrist and then slowly up my forearm.

I can feel my hand begin to shake under his gaze, so I
scrawl my name and signature hurriedly on the contract before I can
lose my nerve and my composure.

I put the pen down after signing the contract, and step
shakily away from the desk. I suddenly feel like I need to sit down,
or lie down. Everything in the room seems to tilt at a precarious
angle. I back into a chair and slump heavily into the seat. I'm not
sure if it is just nerves, self-consciousness, doubt or something
else that is making me all woozy and wobbly.

Through the blood roaring in my ears, I can hear
Julian's voice floating across the room to me. “Okay, now
what's the date?” Julian glances up at the digital clock on
his desk and scribbles something on the top of the document. With a
flourish, he puts his signature at the bottom beside mine and looks
up at me. “It's now fifteen minutes past ten exactly. At this
time, three weeks from now, you will be paid in full and you will be
free to go. The contract is now in force. There will be certain
instructions that you have to follow. These instructions are meant
to protect you and to ensure the success of the experiments. Do you
understand?” he says clearly but gently.

I nod without intending to. My head just bops up and
down as I blink at him.

“
Good.” Julian strides towards me. He
raises his hands as if to touch me, but at the last instant, lets
them fall to his sides. I stare at his strong arms and just wish
that he would fold me into his arms and hold me. Just for a while.
I suddenly feel lost and vulnerable, and I just want a touch, a hug,
something warm and comforting.

Somehow, I feel as though I have just dived headlong
into a strange, surreal world, one full of forbidden, hidden
pleasures and promise. It is like climbing to the highest crest of a
roller-coaster, knowing that at any moment, you will have to face
that gut-clenching, breath-taking plunge. Nothing can prepare you
for that. You just have to go with it...and scream. But it would be
nice to hold someone's hand, or bury your face in a broad, strong
shoulder as you scream. The longing of being held, or being loved
and wanted, is so strong it is like an ache. The empty, aching
feeling continues welling up in me, eating at me and hurting me.

“
To record and compare your responses accurately,
I will have to take your measurements immediately,” Julian's
voice is droning on above me. “I have to record your natural
heart rate, blood pressure, neurological patterns...it shouldn't take
long.” He inclines his head slightly, as if waiting for my
permission.

“
Okay.” I'm glad that my voice sounds
strong and steady even though strong and steady is far from what I am
feeling right now.

He holds out his hand to me to help me up, and I grasp
it tightly. I try to stand but my legs just give out under my
weight. Julian catches me as I collapse against him. “Oh my
god, Sophia, you're shivering. Are you cold? Your hands are
freezing!”