In Bed With the Enemy: Dating and Other Dangers / Dare She Kiss & Tell? / Double Dare

Icy, icy water didn’t blast away the fever boiling her blood. He’d trumped her at every turn. The worst thing was that most of what he’d written was true—she had done all those things. Except she hadn’t faked it over the dessert—she’d thought about doing that to tease him, but she hadn’t needed to. And she hadn’t teased him. He’d been unmoved. But he’d guessed her intent anyway. He’d known she’d wanted to snare his interest. And all he’d been was amused—until she’d goaded him into a purely physical response.

And what was the “indiscretion” he hadn’t taken advantage of? The wine, or the way she’d made a move on him? Damn it, three minutes in his arms and she’d wanted to be taken advantage of—as wholly and hard as he could. She’d basically been begging for it.

He’d been the one to stop it and say no. Her stupid plan to be the one woman to say no to him had gone in a flick of his eyelashes.

Angry tears slid down her cheeks. Because now she knew she could never win this war against him. Not when she wanted him as she’d never, ever wanted a man before. Not when she was so out of control she was behaving in a way she’d never behaved before. There was some kind of combustion that occurred within her when he was around—pure aggravation and pure lust. So the only way to combat that was never to see him again. The deal was over—it had to be. Not just for her dignity, but her sanity as well.

She’d take down his thread—much as it galled her. But she had to. Because this humiliation of wanting a guy so badly she was shaking with it was worse than anything.

Ethan lay awake most of the night, reliving the date, thinking about the next, laughing aloud as he imagined her response to his blog. She was going to be furious, and he couldn’t wait for her to unleash all her hell on him.

Yes, he’d been attracted from the moment he’d laid eyes on her in her office. But when she’d appeared on her doorstep last night? For the first time in his life he’d been speechless. She’d hassled him over his flattery—but in truth all his usual eloquence had disappeared. There’d been no room in his brain for anything but wow. Closely followed by I want.

And he’d been honest when he’d told her he didn’t want to find her attractive. He really didn’t. But he so did. And that attraction was increasing every moment he had with her.

She was completely gorgeous—even when she was hamming it up and looking at him with those doe eyes and biting her lip in total tease fashion. Her enjoyment of those desserts hadn’t been faked. She’d totally ignored him and lived in the moment, and he’d enjoyed watching her. He’d really like to watch her in the moments when real pleasure claimed her. He wanted to be the one who made it.

But he’d pulled back. He’d had no choice. He’d been able to tell she wasn’t used to much wine. He’d known she’d been drinking more only because he made her uncomfortable—a small fact that he’d take some pleasure in. But he wasn’t going to take physical pleasure from a woman whose defences were down. He wasn’t going to take advantage. He’d figured she wasn’t ready to handle the sparks between them. Not yet. He wasn’t sure he was ready yet either.

Only she’d turned his expectations upside down again, hadn’t she? She’d kissed him with that hot, slick mouth and the slide of her delicious tongue. He’d almost fallen to his knees, pleading for her to stroke that tongue in some other place. So how could he resist teasing her? A few light kisses to twist up the tension and make the game that snippet more interesting.

Hello, heaven. The rushing in his head? The movement of his body? He’d almost lost control completely and screwed her in her front doorway. It would have been so easy. So good. And over too damn quick.

He wanted a bed, a whole night, and her to be willing and ready and uncomplicated. Yeah, there was the rub. This set-up wasn’t anything like his usual flings. Already he knew more about her than he knew about his casual dates. And casual was how he preferred it. He kept things simple—yeah, sexual. And fun. Light and easy and a breezy goodbye.

That wasn’t going to be possible with Nadia. It was too late already—how could there be light and easy when there was so much antagonism and mistrust?

But the drive to have her want him—and admit it—overrode the alarm bells clanging in the back of his brain. Ms OlderNWiser had passion and energy and he wanted it. Oh, yeah, he wanted to be all over her every which way. He wanted to hear her cry, beg and scream for him. To admit that she wanted exactly what he wanted and every bit as badly. Because there’d never been a want as bad as this in all his life, and he was not going to let her deny it.

Early in the morning he rolled out of bed, completely unrefreshed, took a freezing shower to try and wilt the raging erection he’d been crippled with the last twelve or so hours, then went to work and tried to concentrate. But it, like his body, was too hard.

Finally he picked up the phone. He’d watched the comments appear—yeah, some of his cruder team-mates were getting vocal now. He drew a deep breath, discomfort niggling over some of the things they were suggesting he do. Well, he wasn’t uncomfortable with the suggestions themselves—hey, he’d been thinking those exact same things and several hundred more—but he didn’t like it being out in the public like this. Another comment pinged up—really crass. He turned away from the screen as he waited for her to answer, damn glad her real name wasn’t out there in the blogosphere.

‘Hammond Insurance. Nadia speaking.’

His fingers clamped the phone harder, responding to that hint of ruthlessness in her voice. The tough lady tone hinted at the tiger within.

‘Good morning.’ He didn’t give his name—knew he didn’t need to. She was as alert to him as he was to her.

Yeah—all he got was silence.

‘How’s your head?’ He decided to provoke her. He had a nagging pain in his—a nagging that drilled down the rest of his body too, because it still resented the way he’d ripped away from her last night.

‘I’m not going out with you again. The deal’s off.’

He’d expected it, but even so her words winched his stiff muscles even tighter. ‘You’re such a coward,’ he said softly.

‘No, this is just a waste of time.’ She sounded crisp. ‘You’re everything those women said and then some.’

‘Not true.’ He sat back in his seat, smiling at her illogicality and her determination to resist the challenge. ‘If I was really a user I’d have taken everything you offered last night. And be honest, Nadia, you offered everything. But instead I was chivalry incarnate. Shouldn’t I get recognition for that?’

‘You’re the devil incarnate,’ she snapped, the ice barely covering her volcanic reaction. ‘This whole thing is over.’

‘So you’re going to identify yourself? You’re going to pull your forum?’

‘I’ll pull your thread. You can do whatever you want. I don’t care.’

‘You’ll risk your job?’ He frowned. Was she really going to give in so easily? That didn’t sound right. And it was exactly what he didn’t want. No way did he want this battle to be over—not now it was getting so interesting.

‘Is your thirst for revenge so great you’d see me on the street?’

Ethan tensed. She was calling his bluff—and, no, he wouldn’t expose her. He didn’t want her to lose her job. He needed some other kind of leverage. Fortunately he figured he had it. ‘But you care about your site.’ He clicked his computer to refresh the screen. ‘Haven’t you seen the number of hits on my little blog this morning? And all the comments on yours?’

Nadia buried her head in her hand, closing her eyes, wishing she could close her ears to his charismatic voice—she couldn’t halt the response in her bones to the smile she could hear.

‘Nadia?’

She pressed the phone closer to her ear and sank lower into her seat. Just the way he said her name made her wet. Maybe it was some kind of hormone imbalance or something? Maybe it was because she hadn’t had a date or sex or anything remotely romantic for so long? Maybe she’d subconsciously fixated on that one bit of his reputation—the “best sex ever” bit? Okay, not even subconsciously—it was right up there in the forefront of her brain, flashing neon-sign-style.

‘Have you seen them?’ he asked again.

‘No.’ For the first time in years she hadn’t checked her computer on waking. And now she was at work. The only people in the company who had access to social networking sites on their computers were those in Human Resources, so they could check the online presence of employees and possible recruits—yes, they checked the profiles of applicants, and their posts. They didn’t hire people who made fools of themselves or who had loose lips. That meant she could check his page now. She glanced behind her—no one could see her screen. Super-quick she typed in the URL. It only took a moment to load. She gasped—there were over a hundred comments. She read the first few and her lungs froze.

‘Isn’t that why you run your site, Nadia? To feel important? To be popular? Don’t you want to get all these hits and all these comments? Isn’t this the whole point?’

No, it wasn’t. And there were hits and there were hits. And there were some really awful hits on there. Personal, derogatory, mortifying comments. As she loaded the second page to read more, another couple were added. She read them. They were getting worse. Nadia’s eyes stung and she tried to blink the acid away.

‘I hate you for this.’ She couldn’t keep the emotion out of her voice.

‘Doesn’t feel nice, does it?’ he said, in his hatefully compelling voice.

‘You should be moderating the comments.’

‘Like you moderate the lies on your website?’ He chuckled. ‘Surely this is the best thing ever? All this extra traffic making the world more aware of your site.’

Nadia didn’t answer. She flicked to WomanBWarned and saw the number of comments there—with much nicer, “go-girl”, supportive words. She breathed out—they were good, and her hit rate was incredible.

‘So it’s not over, is it, Nadia?’ Ethan purred. ‘I don’t think there’s any going back now. And I’m really looking forward to whatever it is you have planned for our day date.’

Was he, now? Nadia grinned, her confidence and courage streaming back after the “we love your blog” and “take him down” boosts.

‘I really don’t want another date with you,’ she said, lying to them both.

She went back to his blog post and added a comment beneath all the phnaar, phnaar macho innuendo—

Typical boys, you can only think south of the belt buckle.

‘You know you don’t have a choice. You know you can’t resist.’

Her hand froze on the mouse, because he was right and she couldn’t think straight. ‘In three days’ time I’ll wake at four in the morning with the perfect plan to take you down eighty pegs.’

‘And for now?’

‘Kiss my ass.’

‘Ask me nicely and I might oblige.’

Nadia responded the only way she could think of. She hung up.

CHAPTER SIX

WomanBWarn ed:

Progressing to second & third dates …

The day date is the perfect way to get to know each other without the pressure of romantic expectations that can be present in the evening. So it’s a good option for early on in your dating relationship. Suggestions for fun day dates:

A picnic in the park

A walk in the local botanic gardens or zoo

Visiting an art gallery

Beachcombing

Something adventurous—paddling a canoe in the park, paintball if you’re that way inclined.

But here’s a tip—don’t choose something that one or other of you is an expert at if the other is a complete novice. No one likes to look a fool.

Also, while it’s nice to be getting to know each other, and it’s understandable to want to see if he’ll integrate well with your friends, go easy. It can be intimidating to be introduced to a ton of strangers who are all sizing you up. And definitely don’t introduce him to your family too soon!

ETHAN studied the list and wondered which of those things she was going to inflict on him on Sunday. Actually, he thought it was a damn good idea. The cold light of day would be the perfect place for her to face some undeniable truths—like the sizzle between them. There’d be no wine for her to hide behind.

He sighed and brought up his own stupid blog. He had to write a post, but honestly he didn’t know what he was going to say. The number of comments had gone up massively and he felt a buzz. Yeah, he could see the attraction now—it was somehow satisfying to see more and more people were tuning in to his words. Good grief, was he going to turn as narcissistic and ratings-driven as his dad? Uh—no. Because he was about to write himself into a corner.

He typed a title.

Nailing Her on Number 2

Now what? How the hell was he going to get around this one?

Have to be careful here, boys, because as we know OlderNWiser is reading my write-ups—and commenting now too. Welcome, darling—we always appreciate your thoughts. But it means I can’t give away too much strategy before the deal.

Actually, he didn’t have any strategy. He was winging it now—going on his gut in these uncharted waters.

What I can tell you is that date number two is the lady’s choice and she’s opted for a “day date”—I think this is her thinking she’ll escape the nailing. But I guess that depends on what it is you all think I’ll be nailing.

I may be a bloke, but I’m not that crude. Not always.

Yeah, right. It was all he could think about. All he wanted, wanted, wanted.

What I’m talking about here is not the physical, I’m talking the emotional. The intent. What you want to nail on date number two is her interest. Get her intrigued and soon enough you’ll get anything else you might care to want.

So how do you nail her interest?

You tease out her curiosity, and with that you trap her. Tease and trap, boys. Give them a little mystery, a little reticent man, and then let them think they can be the one to figure you out.

Ethan had been right. Nadia couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t stop thinking about him and her and what she shouldn’t do with him if she were going to remain a sane, sensible woman. But she wanted to, and in just a few short days it had become a complete obsession.

Yeah, she knew she was obsessive—she got these great ideas and ran after them with all her energy. Some ideas were great—some were rubbish. Ethan Rush wasn’t a great idea. Did she really want to risk herself with him? She leaned back in her big comfy chair and stared at his taunting words on the screen while the ones he’d whispered to her replayed round and round in her head—that she should live moment by moment and not be a coward. And on top of that temptation he planned to “tease and trap” her? Oh, he already had. She was so interested already. He had all the benefit of his beautiful body and the charm that he’d honed with years of experience. And he was clearly smart. Very smart. She liked that in a guy too. But she snorted at the last line—she didn’t want to figure him out. She just wanted to jump his bones.

Only she was being a coward. For what was the risk here? What was it she was so afraid of? A broken heart? She laughed at the ridiculousness—there was no way her heart was at risk with Ethan Rush.

Suddenly she saw she’d been thinking about this all the wrong way. Full of fear about being used, hating herself for coming so close to being just another of his easy conquests. She didn’t want to be the passive victim.

So then she shouldn’t be passive, right? She should be the one in charge. She should do what she wanted to do—control the situation and her response to it. Sure—live in the “moment”, be brave, be the boss.

This wasn’t just about the notches on his bedpost—what about her own bedpost? Why shouldn’t she carve in a beautiful mark to remind her of an incredible sensual experience? Why shouldn’t she enjoy the rush that was Ethan?

She wanted, and there was nothing wrong with wanting.

And he wasn’t completely indifferent. Yes, his response had been instinctive—she knew that. The guy had a high sex-drive. That was okay—because for sure they weren’t talking relationship. They were talking hook-up. She just had to be sure she understood what it was she wanted.

Rafe’s intentions had not been honourable. She’d been expecting something different from that relationship. She’d wanted more. She didn’t want more from Ethan. She just wanted his body, his expertise, to feel some more of the way he’d made her feel.

Wasn’t she worth it? Didn’t she deserve to experience that kind of sizzling animal passion? Why couldn’t she use instead of being the one who was used? It wasn’t as if it was ever going to bother him. He wasn’t sensitive enough to get hurt. If she let go of her old ‘happy ever after” expectation and just went with “what feels right now” she’d be fine.

She giggled at her thoughts, mocking the way her brain could work, twisting and turning to justify something simply because she wanted it so badly. But she deserved some fun and he’d be good. And then it would be over—this bubble of obsession would be burst.

But what of her original aim? Could she still teach him a lesson? She was under no illusions that he’d fall for her if she slept with him, but surely she could still execute a flick-off somehow? She’d figure something out …

The immediate problem was that he was resisting the heat between them. Even though she knew he’d been turned on the other night, he’d stopped. She was going to have to subvert his mission to prove himself a nice date. She was going to have to make his physical instincts overrule his intellectual intentions.

She was going to have to provoke him into action.

Saturday morning Ethan snatched up his phone when he read the caller display. ‘Hello, darling. Ready to do date two?’

‘I might be ready by tomorrow. Can you wait that long?’

Ethan’s brows shot up. So did another part of him. He hadn’t expected her to purr quite like that. He stretched back in his bed and enjoyed listening as she continued softly.

‘I’ve checked the forecast and it looks good. So we can meet there.’

‘Where?’ he asked.

‘Hyde Park. By the Serpentine.’

‘Going public?’ he noted.

‘And in broad daylight.’

He could hear the smile in her voice. It made him smile all over.

‘Coward,’ he mocked.

‘Not at all. But …’ Her voice trailed. ‘You need to dress for action.’

‘What kind of action?’ He couldn’t suppress his physical reaction to the way she’d tossed out that little double entendre so carelessly.

‘Something you can move in.’

‘Okay.’ He couldn’t move for the anticipation making him rigid now. He tossed the phone away and breathed deep to relax. Hell, he had to get out of bed and do something to release some energy. She was definitely taking him for a walk in the park, like on her list—too damn tame. But perhaps that was her point.

The next afternoon couldn’t come soon enough for Ethan. He forced himself to walk rather than run there. The sun beat hot on his back and people were at the park in their masses. Ice-cream vendors were doing a roaring trade. He wanted them all to clear off. He wanted to be alone with her.

He loitered by the water, on edge, wondering if she was going to stand him up. His edges sharpened. If she did, he was damn well going to make her pay—somehow.

A roaring sound behind him grew louder, and just as he turned something crashed into him. A lithe body. A very hot one. His hands automatically shot out to steady her.

She blinked and smiled up at him. ‘Sorry I’m late.’

He kept his hands on her narrow waist. ‘Not a problem.’

She was taller. He glanced down. She was wearing rollerblades. Oh, man. A sexy roller-chick image flashed in his head. He blinked it away and checked out the reality. Nope—not minuscule hotpants, but black leggings and a tee shirt.

Good grief—she was wearing exercise clothes. Workout gear to a date. She’d meant that kind of action.

‘Thanks for making such an effort,’ he said drily. ‘This is what you have planned for us?’ Fricking rollerblading round the park? He really didn’t think so.

She looked coy. ‘Aren’t you game?’

‘Weeeeell …’ he drawled, deliberately keeping hold of her. ‘According to your website you shouldn’t do something on a day date if one person is an expert at and the other is a novice.’ He was not putting on any damn skates.

‘But you told me I shouldn’t live my life by all those rules.’ She did her wide-eyed innocent look. ‘I’m just taking your advice.’

‘You’re being a bitch.’

Her smile blossomed. ‘Or is it that you’re a coward?’

He let her go then, and stalked over to a cart where there was a guy renting out skates. Nadia, of course, had her own—not the ancient, shonky-looking ones the rental dude had displayed. Ethan glanced at her. Her feet were so small that even in the ridiculous boots with wheels on they still looked tiny. Whereas he’d be doing a Bigfoot impersonation. But then he checked over the rentals again and gave a muttered word of thanks before turning to her, totally satisfied. ‘Sadly they don’t have skates in my size.’

‘He has skates in all sizes.’ Nadia pushed past him to check out the range.

‘I have big feet.’

She turned and looked down at his feet. He watched the pink deepening in her cheeks as she looked—slowly—back up his body. He knew she was wondering whether another body part measured up.

Of course it did.

‘Oh.’ She looked flustered. ‘Um … so what do you want to do?’

Ethan grinned. He knew exactly what he wanted to do—but he wasn’t going to. ‘My flat isn’t far. I have a bike there. We could grab it and come back. You skate—I bike. Then we can get an ice-cream and sit on the grass, yeah?’

She shrugged. ‘Okay, that sounds like a plan.’

Ethan strode out while she skated just in front of him, circling back when she got too far ahead. Actually, her exercise gear was growing on him. He liked watching the slide of her thighs as she took each stroke. The leggings and little tee emphasised her compact body and cute butt. She was slim, but still had curves. He liked the light flush building in her cheeks—it made her eyes sparkle more than ever.

‘You skate a lot?’ he asked.

‘I skate to work every day.’

‘What?’ He stopped on the footpath and waited for her to come back to him. ‘To work?’

‘Yeah.’ She looked surprised at his amazement. ‘And home every night. It’s only forty minutes each way.’

‘In the filthy London traffic and across the middle of Hyde Park? What time do you go in the morning?’

‘I don’t know. Seven or so. Shower and change at work. Have breakfast at my desk. It works well.’

‘All year—in winter?’

‘Well, not if it’s raining.’

‘But it’s dark and you’re alone. Or do you have a skate buddy or something?’

She looked at him as if he was mad. He was mad. ‘No skate buddy.’

‘You shouldn’t do it.’ Some primal feeling had built in him. ‘It’s not safe.’

‘Oh, please—you think it’s dangerous?’

‘It is dangerous. The park is big. Any weirdo or creep could drag you off, and that would be that.’

‘Here’s the thing, Ethan.’ She skated up to him. ‘When I’m on wheels, I’m fast.’

‘Oh, really?’ He wasn’t being distracted by her flirting.