by Lindsey Hart
Even as the thought crossed his mind, though, Stephane knew he wouldn’t call it off. His pride wouldn’t be able to take it. He would settle for nothing less than winning this damn bet and showing Mia just how foolish she had been to take him on.
He rubbed his foot ruefully. At least, he would if she didn’t maim him first.
Stephane released a gusty breath and reached down to choose a pair of slim fitting jeans and a dark blue, button down shirt; a girl he only vaguely remembered had once told him that darker colors suited him and made him look more mysterious. Looking good was his best bet here.
As he dressed quickly and checked his watch, he saw that he only had twenty more minutes to get ready. Ducking into the bathroom just as his mother left, he pulled out a jar of hair gel and used it to style his hair into soft spikes. Part of him was still protesting about putting all this effort in for a girl that obviously had no interest, but the rest of him was determined to make her show interest.
“Are we meeting the Arnolds there?” he called out to his parents, carefully slicking back a piece of hair that was trying to fall in his eyes.
“Yes, I think they’ve already gone on ahead,” his mother said, entering the bathroom again as she adjusted a thick coat. She gave him an appraising look that turned into a mischievous smile. “You look good, Stephane. Trying to impress someone?”
‘Yes, I’m trying to make Mia Arnold look at me, so I can sleep with her and then sleep with her sister,’ he thought. Remembering that his parents were trying to set him up with Lisa in an actual relationship, he just smiled blandly instead of saying what was on his mind; he had a feeling it wouldn’t go down very well.
“Not particularly,” he said casually.
She gave him a knowing smile – which was amusing, because she really had no idea – and picked up a tube of lipstick.
In the end, they ran out of time because Josie couldn’t find her handbag, and they had to rush out the door. They got to the restaurant five minutes later than they had agreed on, and Stephane looked around. It was a pretty place, the lighting casting shadows on the stone walls and the moon shining brightly through the large windows. Each table was decked out with a crisp, white tablecloth and silver cutlery set neatly at each place.
The Arnolds were sitting at one of the larger round tables in the back, and they turned as Stephane and his parents approached.
“Sorry we’re late,” Robert apologized, clapping Tim on the shoulder. “We ran out of time.”
“No worries,” Tim replied.
Stephane found himself directed to a seat that was next to Lisa and opposite Mia, no doubt as a result of the parents’ plotting. Mia’s eyes narrowed at him across the table, clearly telling him to behave himself.
But why should he? It was stupid to think the parents wouldn’t expect him to say anything to Lisa, especially when she instantly moved closer to him as he sat down. He almost scowled back at Mia before remembering that he actually wanted her to look at him tonight.
So, he gave her his best smile, straightening his spine and tipping his head slightly to give her ample view of the way the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, showing just a hint of his smooth chest underneath. He felt triumphant when her eyes darted down, and a red hue came over her cheeks. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she did seem to feel some physical attraction to him; he just had to play on that.
However, Mia didn’t react the way he expected her to. Still blushing, her eyes narrowed in a fierce glare, and he felt a foot brush against his ankle. Before Stephane could say anything or smirk in victory - he knew she couldn’t resist him -, he felt a sudden, sharp kick.
He yelped and leapt to his feet, banging his knees on the table as he did. The four parents and Lisa turned to stare up at him, confused, and Mia raised an eyebrow, almost daring him to say something.
“Something wrong?” Josie asked, frowning in concern.
“Ah… no, I…” he glanced at Mia and scowled. “I moved and accidentally scratched myself on the leg of the chair.”
He sat, simmering with anger. Why did she feel the need to inflict physical harm on him? Seconds later, however, Lisa leaned toward him, casually putting a hand on his knee.
“Are you okay?” she asked in a low voice.
He could feel Mia’s eyes on him. But, right now, Stephane didn’t give a damn. She wasn’t going to be able to say anything in front of the parents, and he had a woman in front of him that was actually willing to respond to his advances. If Mia was going to spurn him, then the least she could do was let him flirt.
“I’m fine,” he murmured, running a light hand up Lisa’s arm.
Maybe he should just call off the bet, just so he could take Lisa back to his bed tonight, as he dearly wanted to. Mia’s threat only held so much weight; she couldn’t be everywhere at once, nor could she watch him twenty-four hours a day.
Then he remembered the distaste in her expression and the smug look on her face the night that she had kicked him. No, the bet was definitely staying on, even if it meant never getting to have Lisa. Mia wouldn’t be able to run from him forever.
Still, he was gratified to see that Mia was just one of a kind, the only woman to have ever refused him, and that it wasn’t because his skills had gone rusty. He and Lisa flirted throughout dinner, ignoring Mia’s tense shoulders and the way their parents watched them. Lisa was a very touchy person; she was constantly laying a hand on his shoulder or hip or knee, and it was almost a shame that they would have to go to separate beds tonight. She was definitely stirring him toward interest.
Just before dessert came, though, it appeared that Mia had had enough. Stiffly, she stood after the main course plates had been collected, informing the table in a tone of frigid politeness that she was going to the bathroom.
Stephane watched her go. She had looked angry, no doubt at the way Stephane and her sister had been flirting after she had expressly told him to stay away. Or was she upset that he was flirting so heavily with her sister after he had told her that he would be seducing her?
He snorted to himself. He was only setting himself up for a fall if he expected her to be jealous.
Still, this was his chance to get her alone. Lisa’s attempts to seduce him all night had him aching with need; maybe, if he played his cards right, he could ambush Mia now and convince her to bed with him tonight. Then he would have the rest of the vacation to chase Lisa.
He waited two minutes, and then excused himself as well, citing his own need to go to the bathroom. The bathrooms, thankfully, were around a corner, and he grinned as he saw that he had timed it perfectly; she was just stepping through the door, still shaking her wet hands.
Without a worry for what she might think, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back into a small alcove, half-hiding them from view. Mia had let out a startled cry as Stephane had manhandled her, but now she glared up at him, unimpressed.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
Stephane ducked his head toward her, leaning both his arms on the wall on either side of her. From the cornered expression on her face, he could see that she knew she was momentarily trapped between him and the wall, and he had no intention of letting her go until he got what he wanted, even if that meant Lisa or one of the parents walked around that corner and saw them.
“Do you know what this dress is doing to me, Mia?” he said huskily, pressing himself against the silk of her dress. It was low cut, and he could see the ample breasts he had seen at the spa before she had wrapped the towel around herself. “All I can think of is tearing it off to see what’s underneath.”
She went so red that he thought she would pass out from heat exhaustion if he wasn’t careful.
“Let me go,” she ordered in a low voice.
“Do you really want that?” he asked with a smirk, shifting so that he could run a hand down her side and settle in on her hip. “What do you say we stop playing this game? We can find a room for the night… and you can take t
hat dress off slowly for me.”
“Are you insane?” she asked, rising her voice slightly before gritting her teeth and glancing behind them; she was afraid of getting caught, it seemed. She glared at him and placed her hands firmly on his chest, pushing him. “Get away from me, you pervert.”
Stephane didn’t budge. She had to just be playing hard to get at this point. He could see the way she looked him up and down; she couldn’t deny the fact that he was physically attractive. He leaned in, intending to capture her lips…
Only to have her lean forward and headbutt him.
Shocked and in pain, wondering if he was bleeding because he had bitten his tongue during the unexpected attack, Stephane reeled back. Mia used the opportunity to duck around him. Before she ran off, however, she turned and glared at him.
“You might think you’re God’s gift to women, but you’re just a stupid, insincere man,” she said, voice almost vibrating in anger. “I’ll never look at you as anything more.”
Then she was gone, disappearing around the corner in a flutter of silk. Stephane stared after her, still rubbing his jaw, stunned.
Her words stung a little. He grimaced and tried to collect himself before he returned to the table, ducking into the bathroom so he could check to see if he was actually bleeding. Maybe he really should just give up.
This was becoming dangerous to both his mental and physical health.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mia was sulking.
As she as she had gotten back to her room last night, she had torn her dress off, slipped into her pajamas and jumped into bed, despite the early hour. As she heard her parents and Lisa moving around in the other room, she had huddled under the covers, trying to get rid of the memory of Stephane’s fiery eyes and scorching touch.
Exactly what had he been thinking? He had completely ambushed her and made his intentions very clear. A large part of her was incredulous that he had actually thought that would work.
There was a tiny part of her mind, though, that still remembered the warmth of his fingers on her skin, and the way her heart had pattered inside her chest as he leaned toward her, obviously intending to kiss her. A fleeting thought of ‘would it be so bad to kiss someone so good looking?’ had passed through her mind, and she had been so horrified by it that she had done the only thing she could think of; she had headbutted him and run.
She did feel a little guilty. This was the third time - fourth, if she counted the swift kick she had given him under the table last night, that she had hurt him. To be fair, though, he had deserved every single one.
But it was hardly Stephane’s fault that she had found herself responding physically to his looks, his touch and his scent. He had worn some sort of musky cologne last night, and it had played havoc on her senses as he pressed his body up against her, his fingers brushing lightly against her side…
Mia almost turned her head to scream into her pillow, despite that it was still very early in the morning and she would likely wake Lisa if she did so. Why couldn’t she get this out of her head?
After all her promises to both him and herself, there had been a part of her mind that had actually thought about it last night. He was despicable and horrible and rude… but he was so good looking, and that was all she had been able to see when he had gotten so close to her last night.
She punched her pillow, suddenly angry, and froze when Lisa murmured something unintelligible and rolled over in her sleep. Sighing to herself, Mia sat up and looked around at the darkened room; the sun was only just coming up, and she would rather she was still asleep, like Lisa, but she had woken up from a disturbing dream. A dream that had involved Stephane, her dress and the fire on his fingertips.
Angry at her traitorous body, Mia grabbed some clothes for the day, trying not to remember the way Stephane had commented on what she had been ‘hiding’ at the spa, and a book, intending to get ready and spend the rest of the morning reading quietly. She would put Stephane out of her mind and forget about him for the day. She had no intention of allowing him to make any more seduction attempts for today; she wanted to take a break and get her head back in order.
It was as the sun rose higher in the sky that she finally heard movement from one of the rooms. She turned a page, pulled out of the story but desperately wishing to immerse herself back in it lest unforgiving thoughts creep over her again, when her mother stepped out of her room, pulling a dressing gown around her shoulders and yawning.
“Oh, you’re up early,” Sophie said in surprise.
“Couldn’t sleep,” Mia said with a shrug.
Abruptly, the dream returned to her and she shuddered. She wanted to think that she was disgusted by what her mind had presented to her, but she couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t woken up with a pounding heart and lust surging through her veins.
Feeling herself blushing, she buried herself in the book again. Not noticing, Sophie headed toward the kitchen and flicked the switch on the kettle.
“Lisa was talking about going down to the village today,” she said as she got out a cup, pulling Mia’s attention toward her once more. “Josie and I spoke about it, and we decided it was a good idea to get some supplies; the lights went out last night, and none of us had flashlights.”
Mia vaguely remembered that. She had just been dropping off to sleep when the entire house had plunged into darkness. Not long after Lisa had entered the room, tripping over her still unpacked suitcase and muttering to herself.
“It’s a good idea,” she said with a shrug.
“Good,” Sophie said, beaming at her, and Mia suddenly got a bad feeling about what she had just agreed to. “We’re sending you kids down to the village, then.”
Mia’s head shot up. So much for avoiding Stephane today. She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it with a sigh. Once her mother made up her mind, there was absolutely no changing it.
“When do we leave?” she asked, resigned to her fate.
“Once everyone gets up,” Sophie said with a smile. “Lisa will likely be up late; she drank a lot at dinner last night.”
Mia snickered. She had had to help Lisa inside, and she had dumped her sister on the couch for her parents to deal with before running off to bed. Served her right.
“Alright, sounds good,” she said.
She didn’t want to go, but she had no choice. At least Lisa would be there as a buffer between her and Stephane.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
The car was enveloped in stony silence.
Stephane glanced sideways at Mia, who was sitting in the passenger seat beside him, her arms crossed and her eyes hard. She obviously had no intention of making conversation.
He didn’t really want to, either. He had thought it would be better for his health to avoid Mia today, despite being afraid of losing ground to her, but then his mother had dropped the bombshell that he was expected to head into town with her and Lisa.
He grimaced. Unfortunately, that hadn’t ended up happening. Lisa had woken up and begged off sick. She had looked almost green when they left. Not wanting to be alone with Mia, Stephane had almost thought of making his excuses as well… until it occurred to him that he would be able to get some alone time with the young woman without her running away at the end.
He found he wasn’t really sure what to say to her, though. Her words still echoed in his ears.
“You might think you’re God’s gift to women, but you’re just a stupid, insincere man. I’ll never look at you like anything more.”
He scowled at himself. He didn’t know why those words upset him so much. As such, he allowed the time to pass in silence as they drove into the small town and pulled up outside a small convenience store.
“Small place,” he commented.
She shot him a deadly glare, pursing her lips. Unbelievably, she seemed angrier today than she had been last night, when she had glared at him all the way through dessert. Sleeping hadn’t calmed her down at all.
All right, he got it; he pr
obably shouldn’t have cornered her last night. But she had headbutted him, so they should be even by now!
Ignoring how childish that thought sounded, he rolled his eyes and jumped out of the car after killing the ignition. He had tried to be nice, it was hardly his fault if she wasn’t going to respond.
“Do you know what we’re looking for?” he asked sourly, deciding that he didn’t have to take the time to be polite if she was going to act like that.
In response, apparently intending on not speaking a single word to him for the entire trip, she held out a piece of paper with a small list on it. Glaring at her, he snatched it out of her hand and glanced at it.
Flashlights
Batteries
Snacks
It wasn’t a very comprehensive list, and he wondered what snacks they were talking about. No doubt Mia knew, though, and he knew he would probably be expected to pick up some for himself and his parents, too.
There was no one else in the small shop other than a cashier and a mother pushing a stroller. The cashier was flicking through a magazine and didn’t even glance at them as they entered. Mia grabbed a basket and walked off, not waiting for him to follow.
It was galling, having to follow her around the store like a puppy dog. She didn’t look at him once as she scanned the limited selection of flashlights and carefully selected seven (one for everyone, he noted). He grabbed the batteries for her, noticing they were up too high for her to reach, and scowled when he didn’t even get a ‘thank you’ for his troubles.
Once they had gotten everything, they headed to the counter. The mother was there, and the bored cashier was watching in exasperation as she counted out coins, looking stressed. She wasn’t buying much, just some nappies and baby food, but Stephane could see from her patched clothing and obviously second-hand stroller that she was not well off.
Finally, she pushed out the last coin from her wallet. Instantly, a look of panic crossed her face, and Stephane flicked his eyes over what she had put down. It looked like she was short by almost five dollars.