Incarnate by Claire Kent Page B

gesture that made her inner muscles clench instinctively.
    She unfastened the second tie with slow precision. Her dress fell open completely, revealing her blue lace bra and panty set.
    Seth was staring at her, still slouched in his office chair. His eyes raked over her exposed body, and he took a deep breath, causing his chest to rise and fall. “Nice.”
    Very slowly, Erin let the dress slide down her body to the floor. She was still wearing her high heels—higher and sexier than she normally wore. “They’re your favorite shade of blue.”
    “I can see that.”
    She wanted to giggle at his expression, but she managed not to break the mood. “I thought you’d like it.”
    His eyes were devouring her—not with the sudden flame she remembered from their early years but with a smoldering fire, slower but every bit as hot. “I do.” Then his eyes flickered up to her face. “I’m just wondering what prompted this little striptease, no matter how much I appreciate it.”
    He’d always been smart. Always been clever. Of course, he’d question her motivations for breaking out of their normal routine.
    She would have to be careful.
    Erin moved over closer to Seth’s desk, feeling a pang of self-consciousness despite herself. With the support of the bra, her breasts looked quite good but the flesh of her belly, thighs, and butt jiggled a little more than it should.
    But all she said was, “Why not? I’m not even forty-five yet. I can still manage to be sexy occasionally.”
    She’d reached Seth now, and she positioned herself between his chair and the desk. She wasn’t touching him yet.
    Seth reached out and touched her, his hands sliding down her back until they were cupping her bottom. He pulled her closer to him, spreading his legs to make room for her. “Never doubted in for a minute. Women in their forties are the sexiest things ever created.”
    She couldn’t help but snort at that. “You only say that because you’re married to one.” She put her hands on Seth’s shoulders but resisted when he tried to pull her into an embrace.
    Seth’s eyes narrowed as he considered her statement. “Maybe you’re right. I over-generalized. I’ll rephrase.” He cleared his throat and gave her a decidedly wicked look. “Erin Thomas in her forties is the sexiest thing ever created.”
    Erin couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter, reaching down to hug her husband with a wave of warm affection. “You’re full of crap,” she told him as he pulled her securely into his lap. “Plus, you’ve painted yourself into a corner. What will you do when I turn fifty?”
    He nuzzled the side of her head. “Change my mind.”
    Seth was a criminal defense attorney and a legal powerhouse in Atlanta—notorious for his ruthless attitude in court and even more intimidating now than when he’d been younger and a media darling. But he was also an intensely loving man, more so than anyone who didn’t know him well would ever guess. And Erin knew he loved her and their daughters with all the blinding intensity of his deep, conflicted soul.
    But he wasn’t always cuddly or openly affectionate. They had sex fairly regularly—at least, what she thought must be regularly for a couple in their stage of family life—but it wasn’t as often as it used to be. And it had always been through sex that Seth was able to express his love for her most easily. When sex became less frequent, so did the consistent reassurance of his continued passion for her.
    Which made times like these all the more precious to Erin.
    She dropped her carefully calculated seduction scheme, without a second thought. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she snuggled into his warm chest. “You are so full of crap, it’s not even funny.”
    He laughed softly, his breath blowing against her hair. But he was still Seth, and his tone was shrewd as well as fond when he asked, “So what’s going on?”
    Erin might have given up her elaborate seduction scheme, but