No, Phoenix Nelson would not be getting into her panties!
But she cooed into his ear, “What I want you to do to me is almost illegal, Phoenix. Tell me. Do you have a problem tying me up if I ask you to?” She bit his neck, making him moan.
He took a handful of her deep auburn hair and yanked it back, making her moan too. As he looked into the ocean green of her eyes, he said, “You like it rough, Caity-cat?”
“Let’s just say I can’t wait for you to go savage on me,” she said with a sly grin.
His cock pulsed against her where she was grinding on him. It made her ache to feel him inside her. But she’d deny herself that pleasure. She wasn’t keen on being a part of a bet, after all.
Jess was finding herself falling into Griffin’s arms far too quickly. The way he softly moved his hands over her arms and shoulders told her he could be that guy. The one she’d been dreaming about. The man who knew how to handle her the way she craved. Gentle touches were a thing she’d never experienced. Her boyfriends had all been young and gropy.
When his mouth left hers, leaving her lips pulsing from the kiss he’d given her, she found herself nearly lost in his hazel eyes. The color had gone stormy, and she could see how much he wanted her. “Griff, will you be keeping in touch with me after this night?” she found herself asking.
When he took in a deep breath, it reminded her that she was just part of a bet he’d made and nothing more than that. What he was doing was all an act to get her into bed. When his lips moved, she watched them as the words came out of his mouth, “I don’t think I want a day to go by without hearing your voice, Jess. That’s the God’s honest truth.”
He moved back in for another kiss, and Jess felt like he might be telling the truth. Frustration and fear filled her as she went voracious on him, kissing him with a vengeance she hadn’t known she had in her.
Why did he have to be using her?
Chapter 8
Kellie Flannigan hadn’t been kissed in over a year. Her entire body was quaking to be had by the man who was set on using her to win a bet. Her thoughts went to the dark side for a while as he made her moan and groan with his touch and his talented mouth.
What else could he do with that tongue? she wondered.
What would it really hurt to let him do to her what he wanted to? She needed sex, didn’t she? It had been a long time. Who would blame her for giving into the man?
He was an Adonis with a knack for love-making; Kel could tell. So what if he was going to love her and leave her?
His mouth left hers, trailing kisses up her neck. Then he whispered in her ear, “You feel like home to me, kitten.”
The Irish anger ran through her, making her head take over where her libido was letting her down.
He was a liar!
Kel decided to see just how far the man would go to get what he wanted from her. “Home, Ethan?” she murmured as she ran her legs around him and arched her body up to his. “Tell me about home.”
His teeth grazed her neck then he said, “Home, my love. You’re making a home for you inside my heart.”
Fury filled her, but she kept that under wraps as she said, “Your heart, Ethan? So soon?”
When he pulled his hot mouth off her neck to look into her eyes, she hated the fact that he could seem so damn sincere as he said, “My heart is pounding like it never has before. You’re bringing out more in me than anyone ever has. Can’t you feel the sparks that are shooting between us?”
She could feel that too. Only she was pretty sure hers were coming from a lack of sex in the last year. “I do feel them, Ethan. My sweet knight in shining armor.” Kel took his handsome face between her hands and pulled him in for another kiss.
It wasn’t in her nature to be such a liar. She was already feeling somewhat remorseful for what she was doing to the guy. As she let her body move the way it wanted to, she kept her head straight. Well, she tried to, anyway. Now and then as his kiss and touch took over, she’d lose her thoughts about how Ethan was a man who was using her to win a stupid bet. But she’d regain her sense soon after.
Kellie Flannigan would never be hurt the same way again!
It occurred to her to give Ethan a shot at being a decent human being. She pulled her mouth away from his as she looked intensely into his eyes. “Ethan, you should know that I’ve been alone for a little over a year. My fiancé of two years left me suddenly. He told me he wasn’t ready to get married.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ethan said, and he meant it.
“Then he married another woman in just a matter of months. So, you see, he was ready to get married, just not to me. And the pain I felt and still feel is a thing I’d rather not have. Do you understand me?”
Ethan looked at Kel for a long moment before figuring out what he thought she wanted to hear. “I know your pain, Kel. I do. But you can’t stop living and loving because of what he did to you. If you want to know what I think, I believe he was a damn fool. But honestly, I’m glad he left ya. If he hadn’t, I’d never have been able to taste you like this. And that would’ve been a damn shame.”
Kel couldn’t believe how easily he let those words slip off his forked tongue. The man was a snake.
An evil snake!
Her heart was pounding with anger, but Ethan thought it was desire and passion that had her heart beating so loudly he could hear it. He kissed her again, sure that soon he’d be able to make his move that would win him the bet.
Kel was having a difficult time controlling her temper. She was aggressively raking her nails over his back. Even with his shirt on, she was pretty damn sure she was leaving marks all over him. Then she went one step further, wrenching her mouth away from his, then biting, sucking, and kissing his neck until a beautiful purple mark was left.
Secretly, Kel hoped Ethan had a girlfriend who’d be pissed at him for what he’d done. There would be no hiding the fact he’d been with another woman. And she was happy he’d be in for a fight— if Ethan had a real woman in his life.
Her curiosity was peaked, so she asked, “Can you be honest with me, Ethan?” She ran her hand over his five o’clock shadowed face.
“Sure, my love,” he said as he took her hand and kissed her palm.
“Do you have anyone in your life? You know, a woman?” She searched his eyes for any evidence that he was telling her the truth.
“There’s no woman in my life, Kel. I’m a free man. I can do what I want with whomever I want.” He licked her palm, making her body shiver.
His swollen male appendage pressed against her sweet spot, making it pulse with more want for him than she’d ever had for anyone before. She knew she could have him, if only for one time, but it seemed like it’d be worth it.
“Do you want me?” she asked him.
His eyes sparkled as he answered her. “I do. Do you want me, Kel?”
She smiled a devious smile. “I do. But is this only for one night, Ethan?”
A brief blankness made up his expression, then it swiftly went into a sweet smile. “Not if you want more than that.”
Could she believe him? Could he be telling her the truth? Would he stick around or give her his number?
“Really?” she found herself asking, even though she knew she shouldn’t believe him. But she so wanted to.
Ethan was everything Kel had ever wanted in a man. He was all man and knew how to push her sexual buttons. She loved his body, his smile, his eyes. He spoke in a way she found interesting and enjoyable. He was what seemed to be the complete package.
She wondered whether if things had been different, if there’d been no bet, would Ethan still have sought her out?
He kissed each one of her fingertips as he answered her. “Really, Kel. Tonight doesn’t have to be a one-time thing for you and I.” He meant it too. The bet wasn’t about having sex then leaving the woman. It was just about who got laid first. He could keep things going with Kel if he wanted to.
The fact was, Kel was stirring him in ways no other
ever had. Why would he stop seeing her?
The way she gazed into his eyes told him she was a bit worried about what he’d said. He knew she’d been deeply hurt by what her jackass of a fiancé had done to her. He had no wish to hurt her. As a matter of fact, he wanted to get to know the woman he held in his arms. She was the beauty to his beast; that was certain.
“Ethan, how can I trust you?” Kel asked him. “How can I be sure you’re telling me the truth and not just telling me what you think I want to hear?”
He reached into his pocket and took out his cell. “Give me your phone.”
Kel didn’t have her phone with her. It was in her purse, behind the bar. “I don’t have it on me.”
“Tell me what your number is then,” Ethan said and opened up his contact list. He typed in her name and waited for her answer.
“555-677-5599,” she told him, giving him her real phone number.
“Your address?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure about giving him that. He might make his way to her house that night after she ran out on him if he had her address. “Not yet,” she said, stalling him. “Maybe after you call me. Then we’ll see about that.”
“Oh, I’m going to call ya. On that, you can count,” he said, then put his phone back into his pocket. “Can we get back to where we were?”
She nodded and put her arms around his neck and let him kiss her again. Things were proving harder to do than she’d thought they’d be. Ethan was either a fantastic liar, or he was being real with her. Kel wasn’t sure which, but she knew making out with him was a thing she’d remember forever!
Chapter 9
Phoenix couldn’t believe how amazing it felt to kiss Cait. She was sexy, with a touch of sweet, And spicy, with a touch of soothing, making him wonder if he’d be happy with just one night of passion with her.
He was already deciding to take her someplace nice for the night. Phoenix wanted to win the bet by getting her to give into him before the others got their women to. But he also wanted more than a quick tryst with the beautiful lady.
Cait was much prettier than any woman he’d ever been with before. He could see her beauty went all the way down to her soul. She had a spirit about her that he’d never noticed in any other woman before.
It was a bit unnerving to him that he had met her under the odd circumstances. It was also a little crazy that Ethan had picked her out for him. She’d gone overlooked by him when Phoenix was scouting out a woman for Griffin, and he wondered why that was.
Maybe because Cait wasn’t meant for Griffin.
Maybe because Cait was meant for him!
“Have you ever been to Texas, Cait?” he asked her as he ran his hand through her hair.
“No, I have not. Are you inviting me?” she asked him as she moved to straddle him in the chair he was sitting on.
Was he? He had to ask himself. What was he doing? He’d never asked anyone to come to his real home before.
“I am inviting you. Do you like the beach? I live in a beachfront home.” He watched her eyes dance as she trailed her fingertip over his lips.
“A beachfront home, huh? Are you rich, Phoenix?” she asked him.
He wasn’t sure if he should divulge that information. There was the rule about not using money to get your girl into bed. “I have some money. So, what do you say to a visit?”
“I say, I’ll have to see about that. I’d have to save up the money to get there and get back home. That could take me a few weeks. When did you want me to come?”
“Soon,” he said, then pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat. “Very soon.”
“We’ll see how things go,” she moaned as his lips felt so right on her body.
It was a real shame the man was such a pig!
Cait could see a future with the handsome guy. She liked the way she felt being around him. He gave off a great vibe. It seemed out of character for him to have made such a bet.
Maybe it was the bad influence of the other two men, she thought. Perhaps, if she could get him away from them, then he’d be the real Phoenix that she thought he most likely was.
A man who could be trusted. A man she could see herself falling in love with. Not the liar he was being.
Then it occurred to her that he was merely lying to her about his invitation to visit him in Texas to get her to trust him and get her into bed. That wasn’t beyond imagination.
Cait had to admit they seemed to have chemistry, though. Their bodies moved like satin sheets blowing in the breeze on a clothesline, moving with the other, making beautiful waves like one entity.
Why did he have to be making a damn bet with his stupid friends, instead of really being interested in her?
Phoenix kissed his way up her neck, then whispered, “Do you have a favorite hotel in town we could go to for tonight?”
She froze with his question, instantly pissed off. “And what makes you think I’ll be going to a hotel with you, Phoenix?”
Quickly thinking about how to turn his question around, he said, “I didn’t mean for you to come with me. I was just asking about hotels in town for me and my friends to stay in. I hope you didn’t think I intended to hurry you along to be with me, Cait. I would never want you to think I wanted to use you like that.”
Her eyes went wide as he blatantly lied right to her face. “Oh, really?”
It was hard as hell for her to sit on the man’s lap, her crotch against his bulge. “Really,” he said as he pushed her hair behind her ear. “I respect you, Cait.”
She had to close her eyes and take in a breath and hold it so she didn’t come unglued on his ass. Counting to ten in her head had her calming down. He was a man who was using all the tricks in the book to win the bet after all. Just a damn man who was willing to go to the mat for what he wanted. And he wanted her; that was certain.
“You know, Phoenix, I respect you too,” Cait cooed as she leaned forward and put her lips to his ear. “And I’m not as pent up about sex as most women are. I see no reason to keep ourselves from enjoying one another. Do you?” She pulled back to watch his reaction to what she’d said.
His chuckle wasn’t what she had expected. “You’re kind of a back and forth kind of person, aren’t you, Cait? One minute you’re getting angry when you thought I meant to take you to a hotel to have my way with you, then the next minute you’re telling me you have no problem with getting to the physical stuff right away. A complex person is what you are.”
Cait was taken aback by what he’d told her. Had she been that way? She hadn’t even noticed.
“I’m a Gemini, Phoenix. I’ve been told I have two personalities before. Maybe that’s my problem.” She knew her real issue was that she wanted the gorgeous, built man but knew she couldn’t have him. It was leaving her feeling like a pretzel.
Cait knew she wasn’t fragile like her older sister Kel was. She wasn’t young and naïve like her little sister Jess was either. Cait was in the middle of the two. No stranger to love or one-night stands, she took sex with a grain of salt. It wasn’t a huge deal to her.
She didn’t think of herself as a tramp even though some of the more prudish girls in their town might have called her one behind her back on more than one occasion. Cait saw herself as a realist. She liked to feel good. Who didn’t? Sex with the right partner could feel good. So why not enjoy that without having a damn engagement ring on your finger to do it?
The way Phoenix was gazing at her made her wonder about him. He didn’t look the part of the guy who wanted a quick piece of ass to win a bet then get on with his life. He had a look that told her he might just want to hang out a bit too.
“Two Caits,” Phoenix said. “And each one seems fascinating. Tell me what kinds of things you like to do. Do you like French food or Italian? Do you like cats or dogs? I want to know more about you.”
Another solid ploy to get a girl to let her guard down so the guy could swoop in under the radar and make her think he was a good guy who she could trust w
ith her body. Cait was impressed with his expertise, and if her sisters hadn’t been involved in the bet, she’d have given him what he needed to win.
Why not help him win? It wouldn’t hurt her feelings one bit!
But there was fragile Kel and young Jess to consider. Both were in positions where a thing like this would cause damage to their egos and self-respect. No, Cait had to play it up the way they’d all agreed to. Maybe, if Phoenix could ever forgive her for cock-teasing him, he’d ask her out if they ever crossed paths again.
Cait ran her hands through his dark silky hair as she answered his question. “I like dogs. I hate Italian and French. I love Mexican food. How about you?”
The smile that moved over his lips made her heart ache, it was so gorgeous. “I like dogs too and Mexican is also my favorite. When you come to visit me, I’ll take you out to get some authentic Mexican food. This part of the country has no such restaurant. If you think you like what’s available here, you’ll believe that you’re in heaven when you taste real Mexican cuisine.”
“You think?” Cait asked as she yearned to believe the man she was thinking would be the one for her if he hadn’t been into making bad bets about women.
“I know you will. And I have a dog who will love you too. My neighbor’s watching him for me. He’s a black lab named Toby who loves the water. He’ll fetch things for you. We have a blast playing in the surf back home. I can’t wait to introduce you to him.”
Cait was growing angrier and angrier at Phoenix, who was being the guy she wanted and yet he was lying to her.
Why’d she ever have to meet the man she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life?
Chapter 10
Jess was beside herself with the emotions that were running through her. Griffin was too good at what he was doing to her. His kiss was electrifying; his hands left paths of lava on her skin; and he said the sweetest things.
And she couldn’t let herself believe one word he said. He was doing it all to win the damn bet.
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