“Today, you’re going to tell the lovely, albeit invisible, audience about your favorite Seth-Tech product.”

It had felt amazing lying on top of Seth, but eventually, we’d sat up and dusted ourselves off. Seth had retrieved my shoes for me, and now he was standing behind me, the warmth from his body caressing my back and my ass. His arms were on either side of the podium, surrounding me. Keeping me from bolting. It was unnecessary—though I didn’t want him to stop. A lifetime of wanting to flee from a stage battled against the pleasure I felt being in his arms—and lost. No way was I voluntarily moving.

But I did have to start speaking. Otherwise this would’ve been a perfect moment. Damn.

“My favorite thing about Seth-Tech?” That was easy. The answer to that was Seth. But I don’t think I could say that to him without my face turning red enough to catch fire.

“Your favorite Seth-Tech product.” His chin was almost resting on my shoulder and I could feel his breath on my neck. God, what I wouldn’t give to feel his lips there. “You’ve got this, Newbie. Just pick something and get started. You can do it. Then once you’re going strong, I’m going to sit in one of the chairs.”

Double damn. My reward for if I managed to speak coherently was him moving away? That didn’t seem fair.

“But just keep going, no matter what.” He ran his palms lightly up my arms, sending shivers in every direction. “And don’t be nervous. Remember our trick? Picture your audience in their underwear. Think you can picture me like that?”

Instantly, my body temperature went up by a good ten degrees, but hopefully Seth only noticed my small nod. Even though I could only feel him, not see him at the moment, it was easy to imagine how amazing he looked without his clothes on. Even if he’d been wearing a head-to-toe snowsuit, he would have easily been the most handsome man I’d ever seen.

Or anyone had ever seen. He was regularly featured in online and print magazines’ Most Eligible Bachelor lists. A few weeks before my interview, I’d seen a whole website devoted to “The Top Ten Tech Hotties.” That website was bookmarked on my laptop. And on my phone. And in my brain.

“Come on, Erin. I admit it’s fun hold you close this close, but we’re supposed to be training.” His voice was husky in my ear and gave absolutely no incentive for ending this intimate embrace to conquer my worst fear.

On the other hand, he had just agreed to donate $5,000 to my favorite charity just to get me up here, so I probably should do the right thing and at least try. With a small sigh, I mentally ran through a list of products the company sold. The trouble was, I hadn’t tried most of them, I just knew about them from their descriptions. But then I got an image of a sleek black box. That would work.

“Good afternoon,” I said politely, forcing myself to look at the empty seats in front of me. Just those four syllables brought on a wave of panic. It was stupid, I knew it was stupid. Nothing had changed, nothing was threatening me… yet the anxiety was growing. I couldn’t help it. It was an ingrained response.

Seth must have felt me flinch, because he wrapped his arms around my stomach, holding me even closer. Good god, his body felt good behind me. I needed to concentrate on that, not the fact that I was pretending to give a presentation.

“Today, I’d like to tell you about a wonderful product, a, umm, Seth-Tech specialty.” Wow, that had almost come out smoothly. But I could feel a lump at the back of my throat, just waiting to trap the words I meant to say. “It’s a godsend for senior citizens and, umm… nearsighted people alike.”

A godsend? That wasn’t proper marketing language, but at least I was still speaking. At least I hadn’t frozen up or started babbling. “This device will clean a pair of eyeglasses in a matter of seconds, all at the touch of a button.”

Seth shifted behind me, and for a moment I closed my eyes, lost in the sensation of his body melded to mine. “You’re talking about that eyeglass cleaner I made for Nana. That’s not a Seth-Tech product.”

“It was made by Seth.”

He laughed. “Touché. Go on.”

I did, describing Nana’s device in marketing terms as best I could. As I spoke, Seth drew back, and I tried to keep my voice steady even when he was no longer touching me. If I could just focus on him, not on the speaking itself, I’d get through this.

A moment later, he bounded down from the stage, and sat in the front row, his long legs sprawled out in front of him. Even from here, I could see his blue eyes gleam as he watched me.

Watched me. Just like a real audience would. God, how was I ever going to do this with rows and rows of people in front of me?

“Focus on me. Don’t think about anything else.”

Yes. That was good advice. Focus on the hot-as-hell man of my dreams, and not the thought of people watching me… waiting for me to make a mistake… waiting for my throat to close and no words to come out.

“Erin.” Seth’s voice was sharp. “You’re fine. It’s just me. The only audience is me, and I’m on your side. I want you to succeed. Take some deep breaths. Are you trying the techniques we mentioned? Are you picturing me in my underwear?”

With effort, I mentally pushed down on the panic bubbling up inside me. He was right, this was just him. But a lifetime of bad experiences was hard to combat. “Yes,” I said softly.

“Great. How do I look?” His grin and wink made me almost want to smile. He was so cocky sometimes. He was like the polar opposite of me. The Anti-Erin.

“Good.”

“Just good?” He scoffed. “I’m beginning to have my doubts about the power of your imagination. Maybe you’re too much of a good girl to picture me naked?”

“In your underwear,” I countered, my voice little more than a gasp of air. The intense longing and onslaught of hormones that had receded when Seth left the stage were back in full force.

He chuckled. “Good point. If I were naked, your head might explode. Still, a good presentation makes use of visual aids.” His eyes never left mine as his hands moved to his collar. With nimble fingers, he untied his tie, pulled it off, and set it aside.

Oh my god. What was he doing?

My eyes were glued to his hands as they deftly undid his buttons, revealing more and more of the tan skin underneath. After the bottom button, he sat up and peeled the shirt off.

Oh.

My.

God.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. His chest, arms, and abs were like a sculpture. A Greek god personified. A movie star. A world-class athlete. I felt that suddenly, I could give a half-hour presentation devoted to the magnificence of his upper body.

“Does this help any?” There was amusement in Seth’s voice, and I realized that my mouth was hanging open. He sounded smug, too, but good lord, he’d earned it. Damn, he was the most mouthwatering thing I’d ever seen. I wanted to follow every single contour on his chest with my tongue, licking and kissing every inch of his taut skin over rock-hard muscles.

“Erin? If this is too distracting, I could put my shirt back—“

“No! I mean, I’m good. I’ll talk.” Now I was blushing even harder, but I had to say something. It would just be too cruel to have this incredible sight taken from me so soon.

And so I talked. About the benefits of the automatic eyeglass cleaner. About the cleaning solution it used. About how to charge it. I was totally making stuff up, but I didn’t care. The words were coming to me. In reasonable amounts, not too few, not too many.

It was all because of Seth. The gleam in his eyes as he watched me. The grin on his face. Those absolutely amazing arms. Those pecs. His eight-pack abs. He made it impossible to focus on anything else. Not fear. Not nerves. Just him.

Amazingly, the right words came to me. Even if I could never speak in front of anyone except him, I’d be forever grateful for that.

And when I was done and he leaped back on stage, grabbed me, and twirled me around, I felt like I’d could’ve died happy. I was in his arms. His incredibly muscled, bare arms. My head nestled against his chest. His rock-hard pecs and abs pressed against me.

“Thank you.” I looked up at him, beaming.

“You did good,” he said his eyes sparkling as he looked back down at me.

And then he kissed me.

Oh my god.

He kissed me.

At first I was too startled to respond in kind. I froze, but out of surprise, not nerves. By the time I relaxed against him and parted my lips, he was pulling away.

Still in shock, I stared at him, my hand flying to my mouth, gently touching the place where his lips had just been.

He was quiet for a long moment, staring at me. “That wasn’t part of the plan.” He didn’t seem upset by it—he was just stating a fact. “And probably crosses a line of some sort. But you know me. I’ve never exactly played by the rules.”

Mutely, I nodded. All my words had deserted me, but that was okay. I was still enjoying the lingering memory of Seth’s lips pressed against mine.

Seth looked at my face for a moment and then chuckled lightly, a low, sexy sound. “Have I undone all our progress?” I shook my head, no.

“Good. Because I push things… lines, rules, and people. You need to let me know if I ever cross a line you don’t want crossed.” He reached out and touched the side of my face, his thumb trailing down my cheek slowly. “All right?”

Still dumbfounded, I nodded.

“Erin, you’ve got me worried I’ve rendered you incapable of speech. Say something.”

I licked my lips, tasting something sweet, and tried. “Okay.”

“As in okay, you’ll let me know if I go too far?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Because I do push hard. But…” he moved in closer and now he trailed an index finger over my bottom lip. “I think you like me pushing you.”

A small gasp escaped my lips. Now he had rendered me incapable of speech, but it didn’t matter. The look on my face seemed to be all the answer he needed. “Good. Let’s get back to work.”