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“Then you’ll have to bet something else against my hundred.”
“Like what?”
He hesitated for only a second before he spoke. “How about a kiss?”
Chapter Two
Jesse Cates had never been one to gamble on something that wasn’t a sure bet. He hated to lose money almost as much as he hated to lose a challenge. Not that he didn’t occasionally go with his gut. But most decisions he made were well calculated and thoroughly thought through. From the moment he had figured out who he was dealing with, he should have backed off and left Cooper Springs. This wasn’t the time or the place to have a run-in with one of the Holidays . . . that would come later.
But for some reason, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to leave. And now he was issuing a silly bet. All because there was something about Hallie Holiday that intrigued him.
It had nothing to do with her looks. As much as he had teased her about seeing her naked, he hadn’t seen much. It wasn’t until she was this close that he’d seen her beauty. She was a beauty. Even in the dark, he could tell she was the type of woman who would turn men’s heads.
He just wasn’t the type of man who had his head turned easily. And a lot of beautiful women had tried. But not one of those women had him taking a second look. External beauty had never mattered to him. He had learned the hard way that physical beauty could hide all kinds of ugliness.
So, no, it wasn’t Hallie’s looks that attracted him.
It was her moxie.
Most women would have screamed and run for the hills when they’d discovered they were completely alone in a secluded spot with a complete stranger. Hallie had demanded he get off her property. There hadn’t been one speck of fear in her voice. Not one. While that was stupid—he was a complete stranger, after all—it was also damn brave.
And she wasn’t only brave and sassy. She was competitive.
She had hated him getting ahead of her. Each time he had, she’d pulled back in the lead. Even though his muscles and lungs had been burning like hell, he couldn’t help prodding her on. Not because he wanted to win—he cared nothing about winning at any sport and never had—but because he had enjoyed the game.
Was still enjoying it.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed something that didn’t have to do with making money. Making money had always been his main thrill in life. Even with an overflowing bank account, he still loved a good deal.
A chance at a kiss from Hallie Holiday for the loss of a measly hundred was a damn good deal.
But he had to get her to agree first. And she didn’t look like a woman who was about to acquiesce. She looked a little pissed that he would even make the offer. He couldn’t blame her. A stranger trying to steal a kiss wasn’t very chivalrous. If Shirlene or Billy were there, they’d give him a good ear boxing. But it was just one kiss. He didn’t intend to let it go any further—even if his body was prodding him otherwise and had been since she had popped up so close he could see the soft swells of her breasts.
“Just a simple kiss,” he said. “And after we’re both fully dressed.” She continued to remain silent. He knew she was weighing her odds. It made him like her even more. She wasn’t one to make rushed decisions. He gave her a moment to consider before he went in for the kill. “Unless you’re worried about losing.”
He couldn’t see the color of her eyes, but he could read the hard glint of determination. He knew as well as he’d known that Texas real estate was going to go down this year that she would accept his offer. Her need to win was stronger than her hesitation at kissing a stranger.
“Fine,” she said. “But if you lose, you leave and never set foot on Holiday land again. And I get the hundred.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “You think quite a lot of your kisses, Hallie Holiday.”
“They’re worth quite a lot.” A smirk tilted her full lips. “Not that you’ll be finding out. Ready, set, go!” She dove under the water and took off across the springs before he even had a chance to blink.
He tried to catch up, but she had too large a lead and was too good of a swimmer. She reached the rock long before he did, and then kept right on swimming until she got to the shore. By the time he arrived, she had already collected her clothes and was heading through the trees.
He thought about going after her, but his clothes and truck were on the opposite side of the springs and he figured she really would call her sheriff brother-in-law if he busted out of the trees as naked as the day he was born. Besides, it was probably for the best.
He had a job to do. It sure as hell wasn’t kissing the Holidays.
* * *
But that didn’t stop him from dreaming about a defiant, naked woodland nymph that night and waking up with a major hard-on. He had just slipped his hand under the sheet to take care of the problem when needle-sharp claws sliced through the cotton material and into his hand. He sprang up like a jack-in-the-box, shielding his man parts from further attack.
“Taylor Swift, you daughter of Satan!”
His assailant crouched low at the foot of the bed with her devil blue eyes blazing and her back arched in warning. Before he could prepare himself, she launched another attack, her orange-striped body sailing through the air and attaching itself to his thigh.
He howled in pain. “You little witch!”
