“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?”