One time, my secretary had been gossiping that he'd gotten arrested for indecent exposure. Apparently, according to her—and the internet—he'd been fucking two models on a yacht, and when they'd pulled into port, he'd kept it up... right on the front deck for the world to see.
She'd offered to show me photos, but I'd turned her down.
If only I'd let her, I mused. Then I would have recognized Abell. I could have avoided sleeping with him. Ugh.
He yanked me from my thoughts. “You were wrong, you know.”
I blinked. “Huh? Wrong about what?”
His smirk was jagged. “You swore you'd never see me again.”
I bit my tongue, trying to think of a response. My silence just goaded him on.
“Don't you remember?” he asked. “Here, let me jog your memory. I was naked, you were naked, we were in my bed after a long night of wild, rough sex and—”
“Stop!” I hissed, glancing side to side. There were too many people walking along the sidewalk, including potential employees or clients from Halloway Inc. I didn't want them to hear about my escapades. “Just shh! Of course I remember.”
His smile was way too pleased. “Then you remember our bet.”
For a long while I stared at him. This morning was a vivid memory; his hand on his hidden, but obvious, erection, that seductive grit in his voice as he purred at me. “The bet,” I blurted out. “You mean...”
“The date, yeah.” He leaned closer, his lips unfairly within kissing distance. “I think you owe me dinner, but I'll accept lunch. How about it? I heard your stomach growling minutes ago.” With one finger, he traced upwards from the top of my pants to just below my breasts, pulling away. “I know you're hungry.”
Clutching my stomach protectively, I felt my heart racing. I wasn't going to tell him that the growling had been my reaction to his delicious scent. “Lunch? Now?”
He shrugged casually. “We can get to know each other better. It'd be good for both of us, what with our eventual tying the knot.”
The reminder of my doomed situation turned my fluttering chest into a tangle of cold elastics. I twisted my hand in my shirt, dropping my arm to the side. “I know plenty about you, Abell.”
“I think you know what I'm like with my clothes off, but I'm more than just eye candy.”
Shaking myself, I pointed a finger at him. “It doesn't matter. There's not a chance in hell that I'm marrying you, and a lunchtime get-together wouldn't fix that.”
Liquid sin invaded his voice. “I don't know. I did win the last bet, I think I'm on a lucky streak.”
His cockiness blew my mind. “You honestly think you can convince me to marry you?”
“I think I can convince you to do a lot of things,” he chuckled wickedly.
Trying to ignore the warm tingles that had grown between my legs from his dark promise, I shook myself. “I don't get it. Why would you want to do this? Doesn't it bother you that your father is forcing you to get married?”
A flash of genuine anger crawled through his stare. “Of course it pisses me off.” Reaching into his pocket, he dug out some keys. “But it'd piss me off more to lose my lifestyle.”
Of course. He wants to fuck around and be a playboy king. A rush of confusing jealousy and disgust hit me. Why the hell did I care if he loved being a manwhore?
It bothers you because you don't want to get mixed around with a guy who enjoys that kind of wild lifestyle.
Yeah. That was all it was.
Sourness invaded my voice. “Guess it's all about the money and random sex for you.”
“Correction. Copious amounts of random sex.” Grinning, he clicked a button on his keys; the car revved loudly as it started. “Isn't it the same for you? The money, I mean. Not the sex. Or maybe the sex. You tell me.”
Flushing, I watched as he walked around to open the passenger door. “You're wasting your time flirting with me. You can't make me want to marry you.”
“Oh, I think I can.” Running his finger along the top of the car, he winked.
“Isn't it clear that I hate you?”
“A little thing like 'hate' won't stop me from getting what I want.”
The inviting, obvious lust mixing in his gaze had me shifting from heel to heel. I swallowed uncomfortably. “I don't want to go out for lunch. I just want to go home and change out of these clothes, take a shower.”
He tilted his head. “Fine. Let me give you a lift.”
My jaw slid open, then I clicked it shut. “You're determined to get me in your car.”
Smiling, he tapped the roof. “It's just a ride, and it'll be faster than the metro. Come on, I won't bite—well, okay, you know that's not true.”
The hairs on my neck stood up. “Stop talking about last night!”
Abell's stare stuck on me like glue. “I think I found your weakness, but I wouldn't of taken you for a shy girl. Especially,” he said, his voice getting louder, “With the way you shoved me against my apartment door, grinding against my cock before we even got inside and—”
“Shut up shut up!” I shouted, waving my arms.
His teeth glinted in the sun. “I will, if you get in the car.”
Looking around warily, I moved to his side. “Fine! Give me a ride home if it means that much to you.” Did this man have no shame?
The inside of the car was a rich auburn, the seat helping me sink deep in an attempt to relax me. It probably worked on most people, but not me. I was so tense that I had to actively push into the headrest just to touch it. Otherwise, my tight spine would keep me hunched forward.
Abell climbed in beside me, looking me up and down. “You can chill out, I'm not going to crash us into a building or something.”
I wasn't worried about a crash.
I was worried about what the hell I was doing.
“Just drive,” I mumbled, pointing through the crystal-clear windshield. “My apartment is over on Cordova.”
He pulled into traffic, taking us smoothly through the jammed downtown roads. I stared out the window, trying to avoid scanning the side of Abell's face. His skin was so smooth, the sun could bounce off of it and blind someone.
I darted my attention back to the buildings before he could catch me peeking. I was caught off guard when his elbow brushed my knee. That simple touch sent ripples of heat down my thighs. They radiated outwards, my belly flipping and tightening simultaneously.
One night together, and my very being remembered how good he'd felt.
My body was my enemy.
Abell kept moving, leaning further across me. Wrenching back in my seat, I spoke around my numb tongue. “What the hell are you doing?” Is he trying to make a move on me, right here, right now?
He popped the glove compartment, holding up a case of CDs. “You like rock music, right?”
I sat there and held my breath. “I—what? How do you know that?”
Arching his eyebrows high, Abell laughed. “The concert last night. Unless you were there because you hate rock music.”
Disoriented and unable to stop myself, I said, “I like rock, but I wasn't there for the band.”
He squinted, pushing a CD into the player. “Don't tell me you were there to serendipitously save that girl.”
Chewing my lower lip, I twiddled a strand of hair between my fingers. “Forget it.”
“Come on, it can't be that bad.”
Sighing, I looked away from him. The last thing I wanted was to see him smiling all smug at what I was going to say. “I was out on a date, alright?”
“I didn't see you with anyone.”
“How could you?” I laughed bitterly. “The asshole never showed up.” There, now tell me I deserved it, or what a bitch I must be for that to happen.
“That's terrible,” he said flatly, pushing the breaks so we stopped at a red light. “What kind of a dick stands a beautiful woman up?”