“No. Answer me now. What’s it gonna be? Will you stick by your word or not? I really do hate to resort to blackmail.”
She wanted so badly to tell him to shove his dates where the sun didn’t shine. But she’d shook hands on their dumb deal. Ten dates and he kept silent about exactly which blunt object had knocked Selena’s nose out of joint. Maya never reneged on a promise—a code she’d stood by her entire life. And he knew it.
“Blackmail is such a dirty word. Figures you’re the one using it.” She glared at him.
He chuckled. “Good thing you’re cleaning up then, hmm?” His eyes darkened, as they usually did when he watched her. He wanted her but refused an offer of casual sex? The man made her brain hurt.
She sighed. “I’ll go out with you tonight, okay? Now leave the bathroom so I can get dressed.”
“Not on my account.”
“Dexter Black!”
“Okay, okay.” He cringed. “No yelling. Or hitting,” he warned. “’Cause you hit me, I’ll hit you back.”
“Yeah, right.” She couldn’t see him abusing a woman. Dex had been and still was a gentleman to his toes. She could almost smell that sense of decency on him…which made his blackmail both cute and annoying but not truly threatening.
“There’s hitting, and there’shitting.” He licked his lips, his gaze on her mouth. His sly grin had her backing up even more in the tub. She shivered at the cool air hitting her wet skin. “I’d love to hit that mouth with my own. Lick my way down your body.” He lost his smile, and her libido fired up into a bonfire. His stare centered on the vanishing bubbles near her breasts. “Maybe stop to feast on your—”
“I’m getting out,” she wheezed, alarmed to have lost control of her vocal cords…and other parts of her body. God, her nipples were hard as rocks. “Move it, Black.” Her cheeks felt hot, which made no sense. Maya had no problem sexing it up with men. The more casual the acquaintance, the better. So why the hell did Dex’s admiration fluster her so much?
“Fine. But don’t blame me for having to get tough. A few dates and all your problems disappear.” He shrugged. “No worries about Selena tattling. No having to explain to the Terrible Trio why they have to be Terrible Duo since you’re in jail for assault and battery.”
She snorted. “You always this chatty with naked women?”
“It’s either chatty or we get to fucking. And despite what you said, you seem a little squeamish about having sex on our first date, so I’m willing to wait.”
She blinked up at him. “What?”
“Unless I misread things, but—”
“Out.” She pointed at the door.
He grinned, made a point of looking over her one last time, then stood and sauntered out of the bathroom. He didn’t close the door behind him.
Dex drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly while he waited for Maya in her living room. He’d known she’d throw up roadblocks for their first outing. Granted, it wasn’t as if he’d earned her compliance in a morally decent kind of way. Being forced to blackmail a woman into going out with him should have hurt his pride, but that he’d out-maneuvered Maya satisfied him on a deeper level. He might annoy or anger her, but at least he didn’t bore her.
Maya Werner was the one who got away. Back when he’d been smaller and kind of, well, nerdy, he’d been love-struck by the statuesque beauty. She was nearly six feet tall, had long dark hair and coppery skin that seemed to glow. A natural beauty with sex appeal, even at seventeen, she’d been one of the most talked-about girls back in high school. Though the talk wasn’t always positive.
Some of the guys had called her stuck-up or made fun of her mixed Native American heritage, while others like Selena had their own petty reasons for snubbing her. Dex had never seen anything but her true beauty. Then he’d had to change high schools for his senior year and feared he’d missed his shot with her. Fast forward to a small bit of trickery and he’d had the best prom ever.
Maya had always been nice to him, even on prom night. She’d laughed and danced with him, enjoying herself around strangers. But the moment they’d run into her peers, she’d changed. Closed up, guarding a heart he suspected had been bruised or broken a long time ago.
Not much had changed in the twelve years since.
Well, other than she’d gotten even more appealing than she’d been in her youth. He wanted her more now than he had then. Not for a quick fuck—and wow, hadthatbeen difficult to turn down. He focused on stifling his constant erection, which didn’t seem to ease when Maya was around.
Rustling in her bedroom reminded him of how naked she’d been just moments ago. The woman looked damn good in bubbles.
He groaned.
“What?” she yelled from the other room.
“Nothing. Just waiting. As usual.”
He heard her swear and smiled. Maya hadn’t changed much. Still trying to keep everyone away, according to his friends. She rarely dated anyone seriously, preferring carnal and unattached relationships. Casual sex with her would have been amazing, then left him forgotten on her long list of conquests. But Dex didn’t intend to be just another name on her list; he planned to be thelaston her list.
She entered the living room wearing jeans, a loose aqua-blue sweater that exposed a toned shoulder, and her hair down. It had always been pretty straight and in the light appeared blue-black. The woman was fucking gorgeous.
