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That’s why I follow his lead and kick off my heels. “A freebie for a freebie.”
His eyes narrow slightly as he holds my grin. “You go first, Ginger Snap.”
Okay, I might faint. My heart is beating too fast. My skin is clammy. How did I think this was a fun idea? It seemed exciting when we were in the elevator, and I was still high off adrenaline from the club. But now it’s gone and I’m just in this room with a man who overwhelms my senses. Who is sexier than any man has any business being.
There’s only two rules we haven’t broken.
There was no mistaking his intent when he said those words. And there’s no mistaking how much I agree with him.Tonight, number twenty is for sure getting detroyed.
But I also play to win every game I ever compete in. So I will not be caving first—which means I need to keep as many articles of clothing as possible. Be prepared to lay my heart on the line with the questions he asks me and think of truly impossible questions to ask him.
“Derek,” I say with a taunting tone.
“Yes, Nora?” He takes a step closer. We’re six feet apart now, standing in the middle of our suite with a huge window to our right. A more beautiful picture has never existed than the sight of the moon, dipping over the dark, rolling ocean.
I think of a question I know he won’t want to answer.Prepare to lose a piece of your precious clothing.“What’s in your bedside table?”
Derek gives me an indiscernible look. “You’re determined to find that out, aren’t you? Pass.”
A zing of triumph soars through me until Derek’s eyes glitter. He leans over and kicks off his shoes.
“Nora,” he says when he returns to a standing position, arms folded. “What is your favorite dessert?”
I frown. “You know the answer to that question. Why not ask me something better?” I ask, as my brain scrambles in the dark for his angle.
He gives me a look that betrays nothing. “You didn’t say we couldn’t ask questions we already knew the answer to.”Suspicious.
Narrowing my eyes, I answer, “Ice cream and cereal.”
He grins. Not just any grin, though—ahot, melting, intentional grin as he works the buttons of his shirt open, one by one, all the way down that gorgeous, defined abdomen. He shrugs out of it and my heart leaps. The tops of his shoulders are deeply tanned from our days on the beach. And nothing is sexier than how his dress pants sit low around his hips, taunting me with the upper band of his black boxer briefs and somehow intensifying the dark detail of the winged hawks on his chest. Even this man’s hips are defined. There’s a band of muscle that sits where most people have love handles and it trails down into the V at his lower abdomen. It would be easy to hate him for how stacked he is if I didn’t know how incredibly hard he works forit.
“You could have taken your socks off instead,” I tell him, mentally remapping the route to find his destination.
“I could have.” He’s amused. A sly trickster. “Your turn.”
I don’t know what he’s playing at yet, and because my brain is just intrigued enough to need the answer, I step closer and try his same tactic. “All right, Mr. Smirky Pants. What’s your favorite color?”
If he answers, I have to take off a piece of my clothing, and it’s risky considering I’m wearing less than him to start. But it’s a price I’m willing to pay to find out what he’s up to. I get the feeling there’s a second secret competition he’s started, and I want to win that one too.
Derek’s brows knit together, and he tilts his head. His jaw looks sharp enough to cut a steak. “Pass. That’s deeply personal.”
“What!”Not only am I flabbergasted that he would refuse to answer and forfeit a piece of clothing, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what his aim is in doing so. It feels less like the question game and more like putting a little ball under a cup and mixing them all around and then asking me to find it.Thrilling.“Not that I don’t appreciate the importance you’re putting on artistic expression, but how in the world is that personal?”
He tsks. “That sounds like another question. Wait your turn, greedy woman.”
I sigh and cross my arms over my fully clothed body as I watch him double over to slide off his socks. As he does, I’m treated to the most exquisite view of shoulder and back muscles bunching and twisting under his tattoos. It’s like watching a superhero get cozy for the night. He straightens up and lifts his foot to wiggle his toes in a playful, over-the-top seductive way. But I’m not looking at his toes. I’m looking at his abs contracting as he balances on one foot.Lordy.
Whatever he asks next, I need to refuse to answer and take off a piece of clothing. I can’t explain why or how—but I can see this second secret game playing out in his eyes and I will be a participant.
“Nora…do you feel safe with me?”
I gasp and point a finger at him. “Foul! That’s a manipulative question. You can’t ask me one you know I’m not going to want to leave hanging.”
He shrugs slightly—again not giving any hints to what he’sthinking. What his motivation is…because as it stands, it looks like he’s trying to lose. “We can’t always play by the rules,” he says with a smirk, and I wonder how long he’s been waiting to use my exact words against me.
I’m all turned around now. I don’t know if I should answer or pass. So I tell the truth. “I’ve never felt safer with anyone than you.”
His chest expands with a breath and the barest smile curves his mouth. And then, he’s unfastening his chinos and dropping them down to the floor.Step, step—he’s pantsless.
