Excerpt of For Seven Nights Only by Sarah Ballance

“You’re pretty when you smile.”

“Thank you.” She paused, then shot him another look. He’d
caught her off guard with his seemingly honest
compliment, but he was a player, no doubt playing his
game as a reflex. “You do realize this is about you
giving me tips on attracting a man, and not about you
trying to attract me?”

“I’m not trying, sweetheart. But now that you mention
it”—he snagged her elbow and gently pulled her out of the
flow of sidewalk traffic, Marmaduke trotting behind—“part
of attracting a guy is having confidence.” As he spoke,
he maneuvered her against the wall, propping his coffee-
holding arm beside her and leaning treacherously close
until she could feel the heat of his skin.

“Lesson number one,” he said. “There’s not a man alive
who won’t fall over himself to get to a woman with
confidence, but you’ve got to believe in yourself. The
sexier you feel, the more attractive you’ll be. I bet if
you…unburied yourself from those mounds of clothes you
wear, you wouldn’t need me at all.”

Stunned, she twisted her head to look at him. Big
mistake. Green eyes studied her with a ferocity that made
no sense, considering the lazy sprawl of the grin that
overtook his lips.
“I’m not taking off my clothes,” she managed. Barely.
“But nice try. And next time, do us both a favor and
spare the theatrics.” Despite her irritation with him,
her heart stuttered in her chest, the busy New York
street a mere backdrop to the sudden intimacy of his
whispered oath. His clean scent enveloped her, lingering
with that of the coffee to dull everything that wasn’t
pegged on him.

“Let me make one thing clear,” he said softly. Intently.
“Theatrics aren’t my thing. I don’t bullshit. If I say a
woman is sexy, it’s because I mean it. And if I say I
want her, I mean that, too.” He paused, giving a passing
glance to Marmaduke, who was in a fierce tug-of-war with
Sawyer’s shoe string. The string appeared to be winning.
“And make no mistake, sweetheart. Should you ever bring
yourself to admit out loud that you want me to fuck you,
assuming I’m not otherwise occupied, you damn well better
brace yourself.”

It was a good thing she had the wall at her back. She
needed it. His words, a thinly veiled seduction, tore at
her defenses. It had been too long since anything had.

But if he thought she’d fall for his playboy games, he’d
better think again.

“I have a better idea,” she said sweetly. “How about I
save the trouble of all that bracing, and you go fuck
yourself instead?”