“Because they wouldn’t believe it. If they knew you were staying with me, they’d leap to one conclusion and one conclusion only. We’d never be able to convince them otherwise.”
“Would that be so terrible? Apparently you’re no stranger to the wild-weekend concept.”
He frowned. “So you heard all that.”
“Clear as a bell.”
“I want you to know I cared about those women. It wasn’t the way they made it sound.”
She would rather have heard that the women meant nothing to him. “Noah, I’m the last person in the world who would judge you for enjoying a little healthy sex. And your friends won’t, either.”
His frown deepened. “I don’t want them thinking that about you.”
“Why not?”
“Because…because we grew up together, damn it, and I don’t like it when guys think those things about you.”
“Noah, what they’re thinking, that I’d be fun in bed, has some basis in fact. I’m not that kid you grew up with. Not anymore.”
He flushed an even darker color of red. “I don’t care,” he said, sounding a bit like a kid himself. “Nothing’s going to happen between us.”
She chose to let her smile answer that one.
“It’s not! I forgot myself a couple of times, but I won’t forget myself again.”
“If you say so.” She continued to smile at him.
“I do, and that’s that.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m going to find some way to keep the guys from coming up to the suite tonight. I don’t know how, but I’ll think of something. Now, please go buy some clothes. And work on your résumé. Tonight we’ll go over it and come up with some ideas.”
“Sounds promising.”
He blew out a breath in obvious exasperation. “You don’t think I can pull this off, do you?”
She managed to control a burst of laughter. “What an interesting, and very Freudian, choice of words.” She drew a slow circle on his arm with one finger and watched the material of his shirt quiver as the muscles in his forearm bunched. “Forgive me for not understanding why you can’t give me job counseling and a really good time in that suite. I’m not your sister, Noah. I never was.” She looked up at him, enjoying the darkening storm in his eyes. “So why does it have to be black and white, either-or?”
He opened his mouth as if to answer her, then hesitated, apparently reconsidering what he’d been about to say. “Because we need to focus on your job situation,” he finally muttered.
She didn’t think that was all of it. “You’ve never heard of multitasking?”
“I—”
“Or could it be that you’re a coward?” she murmured.
“What do I have to be afraid of?”
“Letting go. Letting go of your old image of me, letting go of your old image of yourself.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You’re right,” she said. “Absolutely ridiculous. Well, I must be off. I really do need to buy clothes, especially underwear. I realized when I started to dress to come down here that I didn’t have anything clean, and I really hate to put on previously worn underwear after a bath.”
His attention drifted to her breasts and he swallowed. “So what did you do?”
“I’ll bet you can tell if you look closely. It’s cool in this shop, which is making my nipples—”
“I can see that.” He sounded hoarse. Slowly his gaze lifted to her face. “Are you—” He cleared his throat. “Are you telling me you don’t have anything on under that dress?”
“I’ll let you figure that out. See you around, cowboy.” She turned and sashayed out of the shop, giving her hips an extra twitch because she knew he was watching the movement of her skirt and picturing her naked under it. And if she knew men at all, he was drooling.
She thought he might as well give in now, because the outcome of this weekend was a foregone conclusion. But he was a stubborn sort and it looked as if he had quite a bit more fight left in him. Come to think of it, she was enjoying the challenge. His resistance would make his final surrender that much sweeter.
In the meantime, she’d look for a few outfits that would guarantee success. Before she left for Reno Monday morning she’d return Noah’s money, but in the meantime she’d pretend to use it to buy new clothes.
Spying a racy-lingerie shop, she headed for it. Between shopping for clothes and interviewing Suzanne and Joy over at the topless bar tonight, she’d be a busy lady. And then there was the cliff-diving show. She didn’t want to leave the Tahitian without seeing that at least once. Considering that the weekend could get a tad complicated, she should probably try to see the cliff divers tonight before Noah returned.
MANY HOURS LATER Noah headed back to the hotel on foot with his three friends and several of the male wedding guests. They were a happy, slightly drunk bunch of guys, with the exception of Noah. He’d gone easy on the beer, knowing he had some tricky maneuvers ahead of him.
First of all he had to convince his buddies not to turn his suite into party central without offending them. Assuming he accomplished that, he had to spend the night with Keely without making love to her. That feat alone required him to stay stone-cold sober.
For about the millionth time, their last conversation played in his head. When she’d asked him why sex couldn’t be a part of this weekend, he’d come close to giving his white-knight speech, the one in which he promised to show her that at least one man on the planet wasn’t after her body. Maybe that would boost her self-esteem enough that she’d have the courage to try a career that didn’t depend on sex appeal.
But he wasn’t sure how she’d take that kind of statement. After all, he was implying that she was too insecure to consider any job that didn’t trade on her physical attributes. He hadn’t wanted to take a chance on insulting her when they’d have no chance to talk it out. Besides, she’d probably laugh at him. So far he’d done a damn poor job of ignoring her body.
He planned to improve for her sake. Of course it was for her sake. Her suggestion that he was a coward, that he was afraid of letting go, of admitting that she was a desirable woman, was pure hogwash. He was perfectly capable of letting go with her or any woman and then getting control of himself again. On the rodeo circuit he’d proved that more than once.
But he’d never really tested himself with Keely. A part of him didn’t want to know that she was a spectacular lover. Childhood friends weren’t supposed to turn into spectacular lovers, especially when they were as far out of reach as Keely.
As the men navigated the busy sidewalk along the Strip, most everyone in the group was singing, or trying to sing “Let Me Entertain You” from Gypsy. Apparently the topless dancers had inspired them. They could afford to be inspired, Noah thought. Not a one of them had the sexual challenge that waited for him once he was alone again with Keely.
He’d never been so sexually frustrated in his life, or so unlikely to have that frustration eased soon, unless he wanted to abandon his principles. None of the strippers at the bar had been half as beautiful as Keely, but they’d kept his mind firmly on the subject of sex with every bump and grind.
Brandon slung a friendly arm around Noah’s neck. “Hey, you bull-riding son of a gun. I’m glad you could tear yourself away from that ranch long enough to see me get hitched. I know how much that place means to you and how you hate to leave it.”
Noah grinned at him. “Anything for you.” Brandon was about as plowed as a bridegroom should be on the night before his wedding, Noah decided. He was plenty loose, but not falling-down drunk.
“Y’know that plan we had, all of us goin’ up to your place for the rest of the evening?”
“Yeah,” Noah said. “And the thing is—”
“I know what the thing is,” Brandon said with a chuckle. “We all do. We were gonna pretend we were goin’ up there so we could watch you squirm, but back at the bar we had a confab and decided not to torture you. So relax. We’ll close out the n
ight in the bird bar so you can have a little R and R upstairs.”
Noah stared at him. “I don’t have the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.”
Brandon smiled. “The woman in the tux shop, buddy. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
“I told her I wasn’t interested.” Which, in a manner of speaking, was true.
“Uh-huh. And that’s why you gave her a key? And money?”
“What makes you think I did that?” He was sure he’d blocked their view of the transaction with his body.
“There’s this cute little security camera in the shop. We watched the action on the monitor.”
Noah groaned.
“And we’re happy for you, buddy. You’re carrying on the tradition for those of us who are no longer able. Way to go, bro.” He gave Noah’s neck a squeeze and released him.
“Brandon, listen, I—”
“Enjoy the bachelor life while you can, Noah, old pal.” With a wink, Brandon turned away and made a megaphone of his hands. “Hey, you guys!” he shouted. “If we get a move on, we can make it for the last cliff-diving show of the night!”
Noah sighed. He hadn’t a clue how to respond. Nobody who saw him give a key and money to a woman who looked like Keely would believe that was an innocent arrangement. But it would be, damn it. And somehow he’d find a way to explain that to the guys. But he might as well forget trying until tomorrow.
“Yeah, come on.” Greg flicked an imaginary rope over the group. “Get along, little doggies. Let’s go see the diving.”
“Aw, what’s the big deal?” Clint said. “It’s just some guy showing off.”
“No, it’s a guy and a gal,” Brandon said. “They’re supposed to be star-crossed lovers or something. There’s a whole story that goes along with it. It’s a pretty cool show. Jenny and I watched it last night.”
“So is the gal topless?” Clint asked. “I’m not interested unless I can see her ti—”
“They’re diving, you sex maniac.” Greg whacked him on the shoulder. “The dive takes about one second. You wouldn’t see anything, anyway.” He chuckled as he glanced over at Noah. “You’re under no obligation to stay for the show, lover boy.”
“But I want to see the show,” Noah insisted.
“Sure you do,” Greg said with a smirk. “And then you want to go play bingo, and after that you’ll be ready to get steak and eggs at the coffee shop. No chance. Don’t try to kid a kidder, buddy.”
“I do want to see the show.”
“Then you’re drunker than I thought,” Greg said. “Come on, then.”
Noah followed his friends as they mingled with the crowd heading for the cliff and diving pool. On the way he walked past the large rock where he’d kissed Keely that afternoon. The misty jungle atmosphere and the wildly beating drums rekindled a vivid memory and created all kinds of dangerous sensations in his body. The longer he put off going up to the suite, the better. “In fact, I’m going to the bird bar with you guys,” he said over the sound of the drums.
Clint snorted. “The hell you are! You get your fanny up to that room and do your duty. You owe it to us, now that we’re out of the game.”
Noah decided it was pointless to argue. Tomorrow he’d straighten everything out. Somehow.
“Look!” Greg said. “There they are, ready to dive!”
Glancing up, Noah saw an olive-skinned couple in scanty swimsuits standing at the edge of the cliff. Each wore a lei and a crown of flowers. Torchlight glinted off their burnished bodies as they held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes. Then they embraced, bodies writhing in passion.
Great, Noah thought. More suggestive behavior to stoke him up.
Then two warrior types came from either side of the cliff and pulled the couple apart. As the drumbeats softened, a gentle woman’s voice described a Polynesian version of Romeo and Juliet—lovers from warring families who were forbidden to marry.
As the narration continued, the couple pantomimed begging for permission. Finally, according to the narrator, the father of each family agreed to a test of the couple’s devotion. If the lovers could survive a leap from the great cliff called Nooki-Nooki, they would be allowed to wed.
“And I thought Jenny’s dad was a hard sell,” Brandon murmured.
Clint elbowed Noah in the ribs. “A cliff called Nooki-Nooki. That’s where you’re gonna hang out tonight, cowboy.”
“Oh, ease up on him,” Greg said. “From the way he’s acting, you can tell he’s out of practice. If you keep after him he’s liable to develop a case of performance anxiety.”
Clint hooked an arm around Noah’s shoulder. “It’s like riding a bicycle, buddy. Once you hop on, I promise you’ll remember what to do.”
“I appreciate the advice,” Noah said. The conversation was not helping his state of mind. “Now, are you two going to watch this dive or stand around flapping your gums and miss the whole thing?”
“Guess we might as well watch it,” Greg said, turning toward the cliff. “But God knows what you’re doing here, Garfield, when you could be upstairs doing the horizontal hokeypokey with a woman who could be Julia Roberts’s twin sister.”
Personally Noah thought Keely was better-looking than Julia Roberts. As the drumbeats swelled to a crescendo, he scanned the crowd. She’d said she wanted to watch this show. His pulse rate quickened at the idea that she could be here in the crowd, maybe only a few feet away.
And then he saw her.
She stood about fifty feet from them, her face lifted as she watched the couple at the top of the cliff. And she’d been clothes shopping. But if Noah had hoped for outfits that wouldn’t stir him to new heights of lust, he was out of luck.
Her new dress was pale green and strapless. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out how it stayed up. From the appreciative glances Keely was collecting, several men in the crowd were hoping it wouldn’t stay up. The slinky material hugged her hips and ended at the middle of her golden thighs.
With Keely standing there looking as delicious as a frozen daiquiri, Noah couldn’t imagine how any male in the area could concentrate on the divers. He certainly couldn’t. When the splash came he didn’t even glance over at the pool.
“That was amazing,” Clint said. “And now our friend Noah can—Oh, will you look at that?”
“What?” Noah quickly swung his gaze to meet Clint’s, but he knew he was dead. Clint had caught him gawking at Keely.
Clint grinned at Noah. “Spotted her, did you? Hey, guys, Noah’s sweetheart, ten o’clock. And raise your heat shields, boys. This gal’s hotter than the space shuttle on reentry.”
Greg whistled low through his teeth. “Wouldn’t you love to find that prize at the bottom of your Crackerjack box?”
Brandon chuckled. “And if you two are real good to me, I promise not to tell Sharon and Tina what you just said.”
Noah definitely didn’t appreciate his friends ogling Keely. In fact, he hated it. It might be hopeless, but he had to take a stab at setting the record straight. “Look, I know what you guys all think about her, but here’s the truth. She’s between jobs and short on money. I offered her a place to crash for the weekend while she decides what to do. We’re not going to have sex.”
His friends nearly split a gut laughing.
“Yeah, right,” Clint said as he wiped tears from his eyes. “I’ll tell you what, old buddy. If you spend the weekend with that woman and don’t have sex, I’ll give you all my leather-bound issues of Hustler and see if I can locate a hotline for Dr. Ruth, because you obviously need serious therapy.”
“It’s true,” Noah insisted. “She’s…well, I knew her a few years ago. She’s like a sister to me.” That lie didn’t come easily.
“A sister,” Brandon said, his tone skeptical.
“Yeah, a sister,” Noah repeated. Maybe if he said it often enough even he’d believe it. “We grew up together.”
“No kidding?” Greg seemed impressed. “Then you picked the right plac
e to grow up. Nobody I grew up with turned out like her.”
“So she’s really a friend?” Brandon asked. “Then you should bring her to the wedding, man.”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He’d begun to look at this weekend as sort of a surgical strike—do a good deed and then get the hell out of the area. The only way he could deal with the temptation Keely provided was to keep her isolated from the rest of his life.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Clint said. “Let’s go ask her right now before she leaves. What’s her name?”
“Keely,” Noah said. “But don’t ask her. I don’t think she’d feel comfortable about coming.”
“That’s not the impression I get from the lady,” Greg said. “She looks like the kind of person who’d be comfortable anywhere.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“See, that’s why I don’t want her to come to the wedding,” Noah said. “You guys would be tripping over your tongues, and your wives would get mad, and it would ruin the whole event.”
“You let us worry about that,” Clint said. “Come on. Let’s go see Keely and invite her to the wedding.”
“Back off, Clint.” Noah hated when situations got out of control, and that seemed to be happening a lot lately. “If anybody’s going to ask her, I will.”
Brandon grinned. “A little territorial, are we?”
“No, I’m not.” A guy who became territorial about Keely had nothing but heartache ahead. But the feelings churning through him were too damn familiar. That protective streak that had caused him so much trouble many years ago hadn’t died the way he’d hoped it had.
“So you’ll ask her,” Brandon prompted.
Noah felt trapped. If he didn’t agree to ask Keely they wouldn’t believe that she was an old friend. “Okay, I’ll ask her, but don’t expect to see her there. She’s not a fan of weddings.”
“Then she’s gorgeous and unusual,” Greg said. “Noah, you’ve picked a winner this time around. Lots of great sex with no commitment required is a helluva combo, my friend.”
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