DISCLAIMER:
Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner
Brothers. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR:
Rita (dittypiddler)
TIMELINE:
Mid third season.
SUMMARY:
Lee tries to get Amanda to seduce him.
Thanks
to Cheryl, for catching my initial goofs, and to Miriam and the fabulous MEAP
team for the final beta.
RATING:
G
THE ART OF SEDUCTION
"Lee,
I’m telling you the poor man didn’t have a chance. Moira had him wrapped around
her little finger."
I stepped
aside and allowed Amanda to precede me into my apartment. She was arguing with
me, as usual.
"For
Pete’s sake!" I ran my hand through my hair in exasperation.
"Carstairs is a trained agent. He’s also an experienced man. He didn’t
just get off the boat, you know. Are you telling me a woman seduced him into
giving away secrets affecting national security?" I shook my head, my
exasperation turning to amusement. Amanda can be such a romantic.
"That’s
exactly what I’m saying. He was completely under her spell." She nodded
her head, her expression serious.
"Oh,
please," I groaned. Amanda’s adorable. She’s also stubborn. I’ve
seen a lot of seductions, even allowed myself to be seduced more than once, but
I never divulged information to the Russians. "Carstairs is a traitor,
pure and simple. He sold out for money, not for love, Amanda."
"I
didn’t say he sold out for love. It wasn’t love." She looked at the floor,
biting her lip. "It was more like lust."
"Lust,
huh?" I laughed, shaking my head. Make that adorable, stubborn, and naïve.
I
looked at her kindly, giving her a tolerant smile. "Face it, Amanda.
You’re giving Moira a lot more credit than she deserves. I’ve been around the
block a few times myself. I don’t see anything about her that would make any
man lose his head." But my partner could sure make me lose mine.
"So
you refuse to even consider the possibility that a woman could make a man do
something that he wouldn’t normally do? Even you?"
She
looked innocent enough, but I thought I saw a hint of mischief in her beautiful
eyes.
Add
"tease" to the list.
I
ran both hands through my hair. "Amanda," I said, as patiently as
possible, "I’m an experienced agent, as well as an experienced man. Just
what makes you think I could be so easily seduced?" I wiggled my eyebrows,
trying to look smug.
"Oh,
come on! There isn’t a man alive who can’t be seduced by the right woman."
She placed her right fist on her hip.
She’s
so cute when she does that.
"Oh,
yeah? Any man, huh?" I made my expression skeptical, looking at her with a
patronizing smile. No harm in having a little fun with her.
"Yeah."
Amanda nodded her head emphatically. "Any man can be seduced."
I
sat down on the couch and gave her my sexiest grin, taking full advantage of my
dimples. "All right, if you think I’m so easy." I smirked a little. I
couldn’t help it. "Do you think you could seduce me?"
I
looked at her with amusement, but my mind was begging, ‘Oh, please, let her
try.’ In my dreams, I was the one doing the seducing, but if she made the first
move, well, I could live with that.
"Me?"
She arched her eyebrows.
"Yeah,
you." I could feel my hormone levels rising at the very idea.
"You
want me to seduce you?" Amanda’s eyes widened.
"Yes,
I want you to try to seduce me." I cocked my head at her and
winked. "What’s the matter? Don’t you think you can do it?"
"Sure."
She looked deadly serious.
"Sure?"
Oh, man. Maybe if I played this just right, I’d finally kiss her, and it
wouldn’t be a dream. My agent mind quickly formulated a cunning plan.
"I
wouldn’t be so sure if I were you." Putting a note of sarcasm into my
voice, I baited the hook. "Many very skillful women have tried . . . and
failed." I reeled her in. "Do you really think you could do something
the . . . ahh . . . experts couldn’t do?"
I
knew Amanda couldn’t resist a challenge.
"No
problem."
She
sounded remarkably confident . . . for Amanda. I’d never seen her act like a
seductress. This could be interesting.
"No
problem, huh? All right, partner, let’s see you do it." I leaned back on
the couch and gave her my best bedroom eyes.
"You
mean right here? Right now?"
She
seemed a little hesitant. Maybe my plan wasn’t as cunning as I thought. I
decided to rely on the old Stetson charm.
"Yeah."
I patted the couch beside me. "Right here and right now," I whispered
in my most seductive voice. My heart raced while I waited to see what she would
do.
"Well,
okay." She sighed. "If that’s really what you want."
"That’s
really what I want." I nodded my head, feeling almost giddy with
anticipation. Oh, that’s definitely what I wanted.
"You’re
sure now? I wouldn’t want to take unfair advantage of you." She gave me a
tantalizing smile.
"Put
your money where your mouth is." I grinned back at her.
"Okay
then, as long as you’re sure." Amanda shook her hair out around her
shoulders and casually unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse.
I
thought I glimpsed a flash of lace. A silk camisole, perhaps. I donned my best
poker face, but my palms started to sweat.
She
walked slowly toward me, her hips swaying ever so gently.
I
cleared my throat and ran my finger under my collar. It suddenly felt too
tight.
As
she drew closer, my whole body tingled with excitement. Her dark eyes smoldered
with a look I’d never seen before. I was drowning in those dusky eyes, and I
didn’t care. Hell, I wanted to drown.
Amanda
abruptly turned and walked into the dining room.
Now
what?
I
frowned when I saw her pluck something from the bowl on the table. What was she
up to? This wasn’t part of any seduction I’d ever seen. I was confused. Very
confused.
She
returned and handed me an apple.
"An
apple?" I stared at it, dumbfounded. What was I supposed to do with it?
Amanda
gave me one of her dazzling smiles.
"Well,
that’s how Eve got Adam." Her smile widened into a grin, and her eyes
twinkled.
I
fell back on the couch, laughing helplessly. "Oh, Amanda," I choked
out.
She
pointed to the apple. "I think you have to take a bite."
I
controlled my laughter and played along, biting into the apple.
"Nothing?"
she asked, in a solemn voice.
I
shook my head, just as solemnly.
Amanda
took the apple from me and examined it with the concentration of a surgeon
evaluating a patient.
"Hmmm.
It must be a defective apple." She frowned and took a bite.
By
this time, I was laughing so hard I could barely speak. "Amanda, can’t you
ever be serious?" I gasped. Evidently not. She sure pulled one over on me.
She
tossed me a look. "You ask me a silly question like that, and you expect
me to be serious?"
"What
was so silly about it? You said any man could be seduced. I simply asked if you
could seduce me." I had a hard time concealing my disappointment.
"Oh,
puh-leese. You know me too well, Lee. That kind of thing only works with
strangers or bare acquaintances. No pun intended. If I started coming on to you
like some femme fatale, you’d have me locked up!" She offered me another
bite.
Shaking
my head, I smiled wistfully and accepted the apple. Oh, Amanda, don’t you know
that you seduce me every time you look at me?
One
of these days, Amanda King, one of these days.
THE
END
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