“A boyfriend who was immediately elevated to the status of ex-boyfriend, yes.”
He looked genuinely puzzled. “Why?”
She didn’t particularly like thinking about it, as it made her feel uncomfortable to remember his acidic words that had bordered on disgust. But she’d mentioned it, and Kole wouldn’t give up unless she expanded on it. “He said I was insatiable. He didn’t seem to think that was a good thing. And…how shall I put it…he wasn’t keen on me making suggestions in the bedroom. He saw it as a criticism of his masculinity, I think.”
She’d thought Kole would make some sarcastic remark at that, would find it exceedingly funny. Instead, however, he surprised her by frowning.
“Fucking prick. I hope you told him where to shove his prudish comments.”
“I did. With very colorful and inventive language.”
He grinned. Slowly, a twinkle appeared in his eye as he gave her comments more thought. “Insatiable, eh?”
“You think only men can be ‘demanding’, as you so delicately put it?”
He thought about it. “No. It’s a cliché, but then like most clichés, I guess it has a foundation in truth. It does usually seem to be the guys who want it, and the girls who are more laid back.”
She smiled. “This is going to be fun. Maybe I’ll win you over so much you’ll give me the shop without a second thought.”
Eyes wide, he pointed over her shoulder at something in the sky, and she turned to look. She couldn’t see anything. “What?”
“Look at that pig flying past.”
She turned back to him, lips pursed, and he laughed. “Come on,” he said. “I have to take photos of the high school sports teams at two. I’d better get back.”
They stood and brushed off the sand, then started to walk slowly to his car.
“So you do want to go ahead with it then?” Tasha asked as they walked.
“I do.” They reached the car, and he paused and smiled down at her. “For eight days, we are officially dating.”
She grinned. “What fun.”
“Yeah.” His gaze lingered on her lips, and for a brief second she thought he was going to kiss her. Her heart picked up its speed, and her lips parted. But in the end, he hesitated, smiled, walked around to his side of the car, and got in.
Tasha slid into the passenger seat, surprised by the effect he’d had on her. Her heart still raced, and when her hand bumped his as they clipped in their seatbelts, the touch of his skin on hers sent the hairs rising on the back of her neck.
She looked out of the window as he started the car and eased it out onto the main road. Why did she feel awkward? She’d known him eleven years. Ever since she was thirteen, she and Maisey had hung around with Kole, Joss, Fox, and half a dozen of their other mates. There had always been jokes and semi-flirtatious, bawdy remarks, but none of it had ever been serious, and she’d tended to think of them all as older brothers.
Perhaps that was why she felt awkward then—because she’d finally removed that self-imposed barrier, and she was allowing herself to look at Kole in a different way. She’d always known he was tall, he worked out, and he was tanned and fit like all the other guys, because they all went surfing, played rugby, and visited the gym. But she’d never looked. Never admired. Never imagined her hands touching that tanned skin, feeling that sculpted muscle.
She glanced across at him, saw him temporarily lost in thought, and took the opportunity to cast her eye over him. He drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the elbow of the other arm on the windowsill, his fingers resting on his lips. His hair stuck up at the front. If she ran her hand up the back of his head, the short strands would feel prickly to her fingers. His arms were muscular, sprinkled with light brown hair. He was handsome, there was no doubt about it; in another life, in a sharp expensive suit and with groomed hair, he would look like an Italian model.
You still think of him like a boy, she thought, an eternal teenager, playing console games, ordering two huge burgers to her one, playing rugby in the garden, watching Die Hard a gazillion times. But he wasn’t a boy. Without her noticing, he’d grown up into a man, and a rather spectacular one at that.
And they’d just agreed to date for eight days.
You think you can handle that?
He glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Nothing.” She cleared her throat. “So. What’s the first step in this dating thing?” Her heart banged against her ribs.
“What would you like to do? Go to the cinema in Kerikeri? I’m not working tomorrow evening.” He returned his gaze to the road.
His suggestion surprised her. She hadn’t expected that at all. After their frank talk about sex, she’d thought he’d invite her straight to his place and take the opportunity to jump her. The notion that he actually wanted to date was strangely…touching.
“Um, okay,” she said.
“I’ve no idea what’s on.”
“I’ll check tonight if you like and text you. Do you mind what we see? No cartoons obviously.”
“What do you mean? Shrek and Ice Age totally rocked.”
That made her laugh. “Okay. Well I’ll try to pick something interesting. It’ll probably start around eight so it’ll mean leaving at seven—is that okay? I’ll confirm it later.”
“Sure. I’ll pick you up.” He glanced over and smiled.
The smile did something funny to her insides, and she looked out of the window again, cautioning herself. Kole had admitted to her quite frankly, I want that shop…and I’m going to get it. He was a clever guy, and he could be manipulative. He was going to do his best to use all his tricks on her, and show her how he won his women. She would have to be very careful not to succumb to his charm.
He turned off onto the road to the town of Mangonui, then headed for the café where she and Maisey worked. He pulled up outside and left the engine running.
“Okay,” he said. “Till tomorrow.”
“Till tomorrow.” She hesitated and bit her lip. Making a decision, she put a hand on his arm, moved forward, tipped her head to the side, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. “See you later.”
“I look forward to it.” His voice was dry and amused.
Tasha got out of the car and ran up to the café, opened the door, and went inside. He drove off, the sound of the engine fading as he turned back onto the main road.
She walked behind the counter, then leaned on it for a moment and let out a long, slow breath. Stop it, she scolded her pounding heart. She wasn’t going to think about how firm his arm muscle had been beneath her fingers, about the scrape of the bristles on his cheek across her lips as she kissed him, about the way the smell of his aftershave had wound around her, masculine and intoxicating.
She wasn’t going to think about it at all.
Chapter Four
Kole went home, picked up his gear, and headed for the high school, arriving at two thirty with plenty of time before school ended and the sports teams met for their photographs.
He called in at Reception first to pick up a visitors’ badge, and waited there for the sports administrator to come and fetch him. She arrived within a few minutes, a slender woman probably a year or so older than him, wearing a tracksuit and with her hair in a ponytail.
“Hey, Kole.”
He had taken all the sports teams’ photographs for the last couple of years, so he knew her well. “Hey, Lisa.” They shook hands.
“Come on, I’ll take you down.”
He walked with her through the school to the fields. They chatted as they walked, and when she took his arm to hold him back from a flying football as they exited the gym onto the field, he felt the grip of her fingers and the way she pressed against him, the subtle smell of her perfume.
She liked him. He’d thought that before, and he’d nearly asked her out six months ago when he came to photograph the winter teams, except he’d been dating someone else at the time. He couldn’t remember who. Her name be
gan with a J. Janice? Jenny?
Anyway, Lisa was nice; friendly, chatty, pretty enough, maybe a little on the skinny side compared to…
He frowned as he realized who he’d been about to liken her to. Tasha was hardly his perfect woman. She was too short for a start, too abrasive, too confrontational. Much too feisty. He liked his women mild-mannered, submissive, and gentle, like a sparkler, not like a freaking rocket that frightened the life out of you when it exploded.
Still, he’d promised Maisey he wouldn’t date anyone else while this bet was on, and that was fair enough—he may get through women like other guys got through mints, but he never cheated on them.
He moved away from Lisa but continued to chat politely, and she seemed to take the hint and didn’t touch him again. He set up his camera in front of the benches, and when the school bell rang and the students joined them, he spent a pleasant enough hour organizing the teams and getting some decent photos of them for their school magazine.
Afterward, he said goodbye to Lisa and headed for his car. She gave him a lingering, wistful smile as he left, and he was tempted to suggest he contact her in a few weeks’ time, when this thing with Tasha was over. But he told himself to wait, and after putting his camera and tripod carefully in the boot, he drove home. He’d be busy enough for the next two weeks. He shouldn’t over-complicate matters.
When he arrived home, though, as he threw a ready meal in the microwave and poured a beer, he half-wished he’d at least given Lisa his number. This thing with Tasha obviously wasn’t going anywhere. For a start, he highly doubted she’d actually go through with the bet. Once she sat down and thought about it, she’d realize the whole thing was idiotic, hold up her hands in surrender, tell him she gave up, and the shop was his to keep.
He put the hot plastic pot of beef curry on a plate—why bother tipping it out when it meant having to wash the plate afterward?—and took it with his beer out onto the deck. He sat in his comfy deckchair, put his feet up on the wooden balustrade that ran around the deck, and started eating.
Yeah, she was going to chicken out, no doubt about it. She thought of him like a big brother, and he’d seen her watching him over the years while he went out with different girls, her eyes wide, slightly in awe of him. She’d be too nervous to actually go on a date, let alone go to bed with him. When it came down to it, she’d definitely back out.
Oddly, he felt disappointed at the thought. It would have been fun. He said I was insatiable. Kole’s lips curved, and he sipped his beer. He’d not yet met a girl with as high a sex drive as himself—even those who were enthusiastic in bed couldn’t keep up with him. Would Tasha have been able to? He’d probably never find out.
His mobile rang in his pocket, and he put down his beer, slid out the phone, and opened it up. He read the caller’s name and gave a little laugh. Speak of the devil…
He pressed the button and held it up to his ear. “Hey, Miss Wilde.”
“Hey yourself. What are you doing? Or shouldn’t I ask?” Her husky voice sent a tingle down his spine.
He slid down a little in the chair and leaned his head on the back. “What do you mean? We promised we wouldn’t date anyone else while the bet’s on.”
“Actually, I thought you might be indulging in a little lone action.”
He grinned. “If you count eating curry as a lone action, then yes, absolutely.”
“I might. A good Madras has been known to bring on an orgasm.”
That made him laugh out loud. “You’re my kind of woman.”
“Interesting what kind of criteria you have.” She sounded amused. “I checked the cinema listings. The latest Bond movie’s on at eight tomorrow in Kerikeri.”
“Cool—I’ve been waiting to see that.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
“See ya.”
He clipped the phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket. Then picked up his beer and sipped it as he looked at the view of Mangonui harbor. The early evening sun painted the water a dark gold, and a couple of fishing boats made their way back after a day spent out in the ocean catching snapper.
So, apparently she was still willing to go on a date at least.
Kole had joked about not holding back if they dated, but in truth he had no real tricks up his sleeve. Contrary to Tasha’s suspicions, he didn’t become another person when he entered into a relationship. There wasn’t a charm switch he could flick from off to on—more’s the pity! It was one person’s perception of another that changed. Up until now, he’d looked at Tasha as Maisey’s best friend and Fox’s sister. It was like being short of cash—you didn’t window shop when you couldn’t afford to buy. Of course he wasn’t a eunuch. When she wore a bikini on the beach, he’d noted her curvy figure and generous breasts, but after a brief glimpse he’d always made himself look away and think of his Aunt Edna and her wrinkled stockings, anything but how it might feel to cup Tasha’s breasts and feel her body against him.
Briefly, he thought of Fox. Had she told her brother what she was planning? Kole was extremely protective of Maisey, and from the beginning, when she was thirteen and he and his mates were seventeen, he’d made it very clear to all of them that Maisey was a no-go area with no exceptions, and they’d all obeyed that rule, as far as he knew. Did Fox feel the same way about Tasha? He didn’t think so. He couldn’t imagine anything riling the inimitable Fox—who thought only about cuts of lamb and herbs and different types of oil and a hundred other things in the kitchen about which Kole knew precisely nothing. Fox was obsessed with being a chef, and he worked twelve hours a day, six days a week. He’d never seemed concerned with what his sister got up to. Still, Kole thought he might mention he was dating Tasha, if he bumped into him at some point.
The warm summer breeze brushed across his bare feet, ruffled his hair, and Kole sipped his beer and sighed, imagining what it might be like to have Tasha pressed up against him, willing and responsive to his touch. Would she really go through with it? A little part of him wondered if she were somehow leading him on, only to pull back at the last moment and taunt him if he showed any sign of attraction toward her. But that would be nasty, and although Tasha could be sharp and to the point, he’d never known her to be cruel.
No, he was going to have to act as if this were any normal date. The truth was that most women, excluding Tasha, seemed to enjoy his company, reacted well when he showed them some attention, and appeared eager to get him into bed. He’d just be himself, and if that didn’t work on her, well, maybe she was immune to his charm.
He closed his eyes and imagined pulling her into his arms, running his hands down her body, filling his palms with her breasts. He didn’t mind women being forward in bed. He remembered Tasha’s words about her ex: He wasn’t keen on me making suggestions in the bedroom. He saw it as a criticism of his masculinity. Well, whatever she suggested, he’d let her go for it. It was hardly a long term affair anyway, and she might actually be able to teach him something. He wasn’t too much of an egotist to assume he knew everything there was to know about women and their desires.
And…now he had an erection, thinking about Tasha and what she might want to do to him behind closed doors. He sighed and rose to go inside. Time for a shower and a little bit of lone action.
The real performance would have to wait.
*
At just before seven the next day, Kole pulled up outside the house Tasha and Maisey shared and turned off the car’s engine. He got out and walked toward the house, then knocked on the door.
As he waited, he wondered what sort of outfit she might wear on a date. He couldn’t remember seeing her in anything except black, stone, and khaki, and the last time she’d worn a skirt had been at Harry’s funeral. His mind conjured up a scarlet mini skirt, a sequined boob tube, and black high heels. That made him laugh, and he was still laughing when the door opened and Maisey appeared.
“
Hey.” She blinked as she saw him laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“You don’t want to know. Tasha there?”
“Yeah, she’s coming.” His sister studied him with narrowed eyes. She was the polar opposite of her best friend. Maisey always wore extremely girly clothes and spent an inordinate amount of time on her hair and nails. That evening she wore jeans and a tight white T-shirt with silver thread running through it, and she had a row of silver butterfly clips in her dark hair. “I feel like I should give you The Talk,” she said, coming out and pulling the door closed behind her.
“The Talk?” He raised his eyebrows.
“You know what I mean. Be polite, good manners, treat her nice, blah blah.”
He glared at her. “What do you think I’m going to do? Jump her in the car on the way to the flicks?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“I’m a gentleman.”
“Yeah. You’ve never had a one-night stand.”
He opened his mouth to object, but at the look in her eyes, his protest faded.
“Thought as much,” she said.
“That doesn’t mean I’d do it to Tasha. I like her. She’s a good friend. And anyway, Miss Pride-and-Prejudice, this is the twenty-first century, and we’re talking about Tasha. Who’s to say she’s not going to jump me on the way?”
Maisey thought about it. “Good point.” They both smiled. Then she dug at a clod of earth with her toe. “Still. Be nice, eh? I know she can be a pain, and I know you really want the shop, but don’t…”
“Don’t what?”
She met his gaze. “Break her heart.”
He laughed. “That’s the last thing that’s going to happen here. It’s much more likely she’ll break my kneecaps.”
Her lips curved. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
A voice sounded from behind her, and she turned and pushed open the door. “He’s here.”
Tasha appeared behind Maisey and slipped past her to stand in front of him. “Hey, sorry, I didn’t hear you pull up.”
“Hi.” He smiled at her. She wasn’t wearing a boob-tube or a mini skirt. But the jeans were gone, and instead she wore a pair of wide-legged black slacks and a stone-colored T-shirt with a lowish round neck. She still wore her hair up in a knot, but a few strands curled around her face—Maisey’s doing, no doubt. Also, to his surprise, she was wearing fancy shoes—a classy pair of simple black high-heeled sandals.
Treat with Caution (Treats to Tempt You Book 1) Page 3