by user
"You can't win."
"Want to bet?"
His eyes narrowed as he studied her. "The first one to break in the forty-eight-hour period loses."
"The wager?" she asked.
"I win, you stay out of sight for the rest of the week." It was the only way to keep his sanity.
"But how will I decorate the apartment if you win?"
"We'll take turns with each room. You can decorate one of the other rooms when I'm in the living room and vice versa."
"And if I win—you forget the promise you made to Lisa, and we make love."
"I won't lose, but okay, I promise to make love to you." With each word his voice softened to a low husky whisper as he stepped closer until he stood in front of her. He reached a hand forward.
She swallowed hard and stepped back a pace. "No touching," she croaked. "At least not the important parts."
"Okay. But you can't do anything out of the ordinary. Like prance naked through the apartment."
"Deal."
This was going to be the easiest bet he'd ever won. He'd give her twenty-four hours, and she'd be
begging him to back off. A piece of cake.
* * *
Alex grunted as he lugged the box of weights into the apartment. By the time he reached the computer area he was out of breath. When was the last time he'd even worked out with weights?
A mischievous grin raised the corners of his mouth. What woman could resist a man lifting weights?
Pecs straining, body glistening with a film of sweat. She'd cave. No doubt about it.
He glanced around the room. The clock on the wall was new. She'd finished painting the living room,
too. When she'd first started putting the color on the wall he'd shaken his head—too dark. Now he could see how the brown color warmed the room. What had she called it? Oatmeal. He nodded. It went well with Lisa's furniture. His sister would love this.
Crap! He didn't have time to admire Kagen's decorating skills. He didn't know how long before she'd return. If he wanted to win the bet, he had to set the stage.
He unboxed the weights and strategically set them near the computer so he could get to them in a hurry. Next, he filled the small spray bottle with water.
Damn, he was good. Kagen should never have agreed to the wager. He stripped off his shirt and tossed
it on the back of the chair. He was ready.
For the next twenty minutes he worked at the computer.
A key turned in the lock.
Alex jumped from the chair and spritzed himself with water. Tossing the bottle to the side, he grabbed
the two twenty-pound dumbbells and began raising them one at a time toward his chest.
Alex pretended total concentration as she entered the apartment and dropped her purchases to the floor. She opened her mouth, then slowly closed it without a sound passing those delectable lips.
Success.
And a good thing, too. The damn weights were heavy. When he was in high school he could lift twenty pounds all day long without taking a deep breath.
He covertly looked at Kagen from the corner of his eye. Hers had narrowed, and her hands were planted firmly on her hips.
"Good try," Kagen sarcastically commented.
A snag.
"I'm sorry?" He tried for a look of innocence.
She waved her arm toward him. "The weights. Nice show of muscles—just the right amount of sweat. Did it come from a spray bottle or have you really been working out?"
Okay, so she wasn't as gullible as he'd first imagined.
Now he had to save face. "I always work out. It helps me concentrate. Does my showing this much skin bother you?"
She smiled sweetly. "Not at all." She picked up what looked like cloth stretched on a wrought-iron frame and strolled toward him.
The winner! He'd known the sight of him pumping iron would be too much for her. Now he had to stay strong. Not give in to her pleading for him to make love to her. He had to remember his promise.
"I thought you said we couldn't parade around the apartment naked?" She stopped a couple of feet from him.
"I still have my sweat bottoms on." He raised the weight in his right hand and slowly lowered it. His muscles screamed in protest, but he kept his smile firmly in place. "Do I turn you on?"
"Definitely." She slowly licked her tongue across her lips. "But not enough I'll cry uncle." She swung the metal frame until it was upright and opened it, effectively hiding him from her view behind the screen.
He frowned and set the weights on the carpet, rubbing his arms.
"And if that's all you have," she said from the other side, "you might as well give up now because you don't stand a chance.
He peered around the screen as she flounced to her packages, scooped them up, and headed in the direction of her bedroom.
Damn, she was cute—ruffled feathers and all. And what was she up to? He'd seen the labels on her packages—Victoria's Secret, The Candle Shop —but the other package sent his imagination skittering toward erotic thoughts.Guilty Pleasures . Now what could be in that package?
He chuckled. Saucy creature. She'd been making plans of her own. When was the last time a woman
had energized him this much?
He had a feeling even if he did lose—he wouldn't. Maybe he could call Lisa and beg off the pinkie-swear? No, he didn't think calling a cruise ship would be very easy—or cheap. He'd just have to suffer.
* * *
Kagen shut her door and leaned against it. How much more would she have to endure? That glistening body. Straining muscles. She bit her bottom lip. If she kept her eyes closed, and didn't move, her fantasy would become real. She could almost picture Alex walking, no, sauntering toward her. A nice, easy, rolling gait.
She sucked in a deep breath.
With each step he took, his muscles flexed. He stopped bare inches away front her. So close she could feel his breath tickle her cheek. He lowered his mouth, teeth grazing her bottom lip just before he kissed her.
Her mouth parted slightly. She licked her dry lips.
His hand began to explore her body. Touching her breasts, squeezing and kneading them. His hand moved lower, pressing against the place where she ached. Her breath came in short puffs as he stroked her.
Alex banged on her door.
"Ow." She rubbed the back of her head and frowned. "What?"
"I have to run to the store. Want anything?"
"Yeah, sex. To go will be fine."
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."
"Nothing," she told him in a louder voice. "I don't need a thing."
A few minutes later the front door shut, and she was all alone. She opened her door and left her bedroom.
Why had she made the stupid wager? It was worse than before. Now she had to put up with Alex trying to seduce her. Much more of this agony and she wouldn't last the day. If he looked at her cross-eyed now, she'd probably have an orgasm.
She plopped down on the sofa and stretched her legs in front of her. But he was cute . . . and sexy. She stretched her arms above her head, smiling. She'd almost come unglued when she walked into the apartment and saw him lifting weights.
No, she wouldn't go there! She jumped from the sofa, wiping her palms down the sides of her slacks.
Concentrate. The apartment. Take a deep breath. Let it out! Better.
The paint color had turned out better than she thought it would. At first she'd been afraid it would be too dark. She'd also caught Alex's thoughtful frown and knew he thought the same thing.
Now she had to concentrate on the curtains. She'd called her office and told Janey she wanted the bold striped fabric with the tea-stained background that had just arrived the week before. She gave her assistant the measurements and the style, then made it a top priority. The curtains, along with a black iron rod, would arrive within a couple of days. They would be perfect for the big double window in the living room. The windows were the eyes of the room, and she never spared any
expense decorating them.
By the time Steve and Lisa returned the apartment would look warm and inviting. She had it all planned. A fringed rug in front of the fireplace, pictures on the wall, vases of flowers and candles to fill the room with a spicy fragrance.
She certainly needed something to make the room smell inviting. An odor of fresh paint lingered. She went to the windows and raised them. A breeze drifted in from outside. She closed her eyes for a
moment and let its warmth wash over her. Nice, but she'd better turn off the AC or she'd be cooling
all of Las Vegas.
When she reached the thermostat, she stopped. A picture formed in her mind.
This time she had him. How would he ever be able to resist? She flipped the AC off and turned the
heater on.
Five
Alex shifted the small package to his other hand and dug around in the pocket of his sweats until he came up with the key to the apartment. His arm cramped. He massaged it as he inserted his key. Why the hell had he bought the stupid weights in the first place? Kagen might have drooled for all of two seconds. He hadn't impressed her with his manly form.
He turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open.
Heat slapped him in the face like a furnace door left open. Had the AC gone out? He tossed his package and keys onto a small entry table and glanced around the room.
That's when he saw Kagen stretched out on the sofa. The red bikini left little to the imagination.
She ran an ice cube across her lips, where she stole a slow lick, then down her chest and over her flat abdomen.
"It's so hot in here," she stated in a husky voice as a drop from the melting ice ran down to her bikini bottoms to be absorbed into the silky material. "I opened the windows to air the apartment—paint fumes—and turned the AC off. I just didn't realize it would get so warm."
He kicked the door closed and strode to the thermostat. A knowing grin crossed his face.
"You turned the heater on," he said as he adjusted the controls to the way they were before she'd meddled with them.
"I did? Imagine that."
"Yes, imagine that." He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the chair as he sauntered toward her once again. When he reached her, she looked at him with the expression of a woman who'd just beat her adversary.
Too bad she hadn't.
He leaned down and took the ice from her fingers, running it across his chest. "You're right, this is better." The ice actually did feel good when he ran the dissolving cube over his sore muscles.
She stood. He caught the exotic fragrance she seemed to prefer wearing. He inhaled, letting the scent fill him.
"If you want, I can massageall your body with ice," she whispered.
"Fire and ice. A deadly combination. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were tempting me."
She shrugged, and the strap on her bathing suit fell off her shoulder. He reached to replace it but drew
his hand back at the last minute.
"All's fair in love and war." She slipped the strap back in place. "You might as well give in. You will eventually. Why put yourself through this torture? We could be so good together."
His gaze roamed over her. Her nipples strained against the thin, red material. As if to make sure he wouldn't miss a thing, she ran her hands across her breasts, lightly trailed down her abdomen, and
grasped her thighs, biting her bottom lip. Ever so slowly, she moved her hands back up, scraping her fingers through her blond hair.
Alex drew in a shaky breath. Why in the hell didn't he give in? There had to be a perfectly good reason not to... He just couldn't think what it was right now. The only thing on his mind was Kagen, standing before him like a wanton sex goddess waiting for him to make slow, sensuous love to her.
In a daze, he lowered his mouth toward her lips. Just before he closed his eyes and kissed her something sparkled on her little finger. He frowned. On her pinkie was a tiny diamond ring twinkling up at him. A vision of a ten-year-old Lisa came rumbling across his mind like a storm cloud.
"Swear, Alex." She held up her pinkie.
He followed suit and spit on his finger as she'd done and touched her pinkie.
She grinned. "We'll never, ever break a promise to each other. Not if we pinkie-swear."
Damn! Kagen almost had him.
"I'll fulfill all your fantasies," she whispered as she raised up on her toes to meet his lips the rest of the way.
He took a deep, cleansing breath and stepped back. She lost her balance and fell forward. He caught her. Kagen's supple body landed against him. It wasn't her slight weight that knocked the breath from him, though. He quickly put her away from him.
"Nice try, and you're damn tempting, but remember, you're playing against a master of the game. You can't win, baby. Why not make it easy on yourself and give in? It wouldn't be a disgrace to lose."
She pushed out of his embrace and crossed her arms in front of her, taking a deep breath. For a moment he thought her breasts were going to pop out. He wished they'd pop out. He prayed they'd pop out.
Alex was beginning to think maybe the pinkie-swear should be abolished. He and Lisa were adults now. Hell, she was married. If he asked her to pinkie-swear she'd abstain from sex, Lisa would laugh in his face.
"Fine." Kagen broke into his thoughts. "But you have to admit I almost had you. You were so ready to have sex with me."
"Was not."
"Were too."
"Think whatever you want, princess, but I wasn't even close to breaking. I just wanted to see how far you'd go."
She glanced at the clock. "I still have the rest of the night and tomorrow." She grinned with self-confidence. "You'll break." She turned on her heel and pranced toward her bedroom.
"Don't count on it," he called after her, watching the sexy sway of her hips. Damn, she'd almost got him that time. It was time he took off the gloves and fought dirty.
He'd love to get dirty with her. He shook his head as he went to the kitchen for a drink. He could think
of all kinds of naughty things he'd like to do with her.
That made him wonder again what she'd bought from a store called Guilty Pleasures. The Victoria's Secrets was a gimmie as was the bag from The Candle Shop. But Guilty Pleasures had his imagination running wild.
Whistling softly, he scooped up his package and went to his bedroom. As soon as he was behind closed doors, he removed the liniment and massaged it into his sore arms. Maybe now he could get back to
work without aching muscles. The weights had been a really bad idea, he thought as he went back to the living room.
* * *
Kagen shut the door of her bedroom and stripped out of her bikini. She knew darn well she'd almost had him down on his knees begging to make love to her. He'd even been prepared. She'd seen the package that could have only come from a drugstore.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Something stopped him at the last minute, though.
She pulled on underclothes, then a pair of shorts and a tee. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she opened her package from Guilty Pleasures and bit into a chocolate, cherry-filled truffle. She closed her eyes, moaning with pleasure. Heavenly. The next best thing to a wild night of sex.
There had to be a way to break him. She frowned as she closed the bag and put it back on her dresser.
If she strolled from the bedroom naked, that might get him. But that was against the rules. Well, she had to come up with something pretty fast.Her breaking point was close at hand. She didn't even want to think about what he would do next. In fact, maybe she should keep a closer eye on him. Thwart any plans he might have.
Besides, she still wanted to finish accessorizing the living area before she started on the other rooms. She left the bedroom and went to several boxes in the living room that still needed unpacking. As she brought out a box of candleholders, she covertly glanced his way. The screen was still up, but she could see his shadow as he worked at
the computer. He looked harmless enough.
She knew better.
She hung a picture over the sofa, then rolled out a braided rug. Her thoughts began to focus on the room. Soon she had it just the way she wanted. A glance at the clock told her she hadn't thought about sex in a whole hour.
"Lisa will love this," Alex said as he stood beside the screen.