“Well, since doing the opposite of my instincts went so well this time, what if I tried it for a whole month? Like every time I have a decision to make, I do whatever the opposite of that would be.”
“Are we talking strictly sex, here?”
I shake my head as I feel heat creep into my cheeks. “Some sex, yes. But not just that.”
“Give me an example,” he says. “A non-sex one.”
“I don’t know.” I fumble around in my brain for something that doesn’t involve sex, but it’s tough to do with Dax sitting beside me looking like sin on a stick. “Say my normal breakfast is a whole-wheat bagel with low-fat, artisan Neuchâtel cheese and a smattering of lox with homemade capers and a side of organic berries. Instead of that, I might have…I don’t know?—”
“Chocolate chip pancakes?” Dax offers.
“Yes!”
I can’t read anything from his expression. Does he think I’m crazy, or is he seriously considering this? He takes his time responding. “Are you asking me to be your tour guide to chocolate chip pancakes?”
I nod, thinking it sounds weirder when he puts it that way. I hold my breath, wondering if I’ve just ruined a good thing. If I’ve just made an ass of myself or offended him or screwed this up in some other typically-Lisa fashion.
Might as well press my luck. “Look, I know I’m asking you for a favor here, but maybe there’s something I can barter with.” I flutter my lashes, hoping he gets the message, but guessing he thinks I have dust in my eye. “I’m sure there’s something else I can offer.”
I graze his knee with my hand, hoping to drive the point home. Dax stares at it a moment, then looks at me. “Oh, you’ve got plenty to offer.”
I wait for him to spell it out. To tell me what might make my proposal appealing for him. If I go through with The Test, I want us both to benefit. I want Dax to tell me what would make it worthwhile for him.
He lifts a hand and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. I shiver from the warmth of his touch. From the fact that I want more of it. A lot more.
“I accept.”
I blink. “Really?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. Today was fun. And if you’re after someone to suggest biker bars and best practices for keg-stands, I think I can help you out.”
I start to ask what’s in it for him, but I stop myself. That’s hardly a good negotiating tactic.
But Dax reads my mind anyway. “Let’s just say I enjoy the pleasure of your company.”
Well, okay then.
The word pleasure ricochets through my mind, making me shiver.
It’s then that I pledge to have as much sex as possible with Dax Kensington before The Test is through. It’s the least I can do for the sake of science, right?
Chapter 6
Dax
Twenty-four hours later, I’m sitting in my La-Z-Boy with ESPN on the TV and a bag of barbecue chips in my lap, wondering what the hell just happened.
Not with the football game, though God knows I’ve been too distracted to pay much attention to the score.
The second Lisa marched out of her bedroom yesterday with her perfectly retouched hair and an “I have a plan” look on her freshly made up face, I knew she was up to something.
I just didn’t know something would be a proposal to fuck each other silly while I introduce her to—well, whatever the opposite of “the finer things in life” would be. Slumming it?
She judged right that I know what that is. But she judged wrong that it’s all I know. Seeing her expression when she realized I’m loaded was priceless.
It’s also the reason I agreed to The Test.
The chance to grudge fuck a hoity princess from the other side of the tracks? Sign me up.
