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"Any brothers or sisters?"
"No."
Would you like to fuck me again? No, that wouldn't be a good question to ask considering the circumstances.
"What would you like for lunch?"
"Nothing."
"It's after twelve, surely you're getting hungry."
She shook her head.
Damn but she was good at this game.
"I'm starving, so I'm going to pull into one of the fast food joints and get a hamburger."
"Fine."
Shit. So far, Melissa, roughly thirty-eight, Aidan, zero. He hated losing.
After two and a half hours of one-word answers he'd had enough. He started talking to himself in French, and providing his own answers, hoping it would spark her interest enough to ask what he was saying.
"Pourquoi etes-tu si fache?"
She lifted her chin, but didn't answer his question. Not that he really needed an answer. He knew exactly why she was angry.
"Je suis desole que je vous blesse." And he really was sorry for hurting her, despite his ego trying to convince him he'd done the right thing for both of them.
Still no response, but she shifted in her seat. If she was like most women, curiosity at what he was saying would get the better of her and she'd start talking.
"Je veux vous faire l'amour encore, Melisse." As soon as he said it, he realized how true the statement was. He did want to make love to her again, despite everything. His body hungered for her in a way that was new to him. New, and more than a little scary.
Finally, she replied with, "Pas si vous etiez le dernier homme sur terre."
Oh, nice, not if he was the last man on--"Hey! You speak French."
"Oui." She smiled smugly and looked straight ahead.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She crossed her arms. "You never asked."
True, he hadn't. "Then you understood--"
"Everything you just said."
Shit. "Okay, then let me explain--"
"I'd rather you didn't."
"Dammit, Lissa, we have to talk about this!" And in a car going seventy down the freeway wasn't the right venue. He couldn't even get her to look at him.
"We have nothing to talk about, Aidan. You made your desires, or lack thereof, perfectly clear the other morning."
Then she did look at him, and he winced at the pain so evident in her eyes.
"I think you misinterpreted my actions."
"I don't think so. Look, we had great sex, we both had a good time, so let's leave it at that and move on. I see no point in continuing to beat a dead horse. We have business to do together, so let's just do it and keep the personal out of our relationship."
He should have breathed a sigh of relief. He should be glad she didn't want to complicate their relationship with a bunch of sticky emotions. He should be glad she'd seen the event for what it was--two people having a great time fucking.
But he wasn't glad. In fact, by the time they reached Shreveport, he was pissed as hell at her cold brush-off.
They visited two of the casinos tied in to independently owned hotels, and met with some of the hotel's marketing staff who were generous enough to share their sales strategies.
At least during the business portion of the day they managed to have civil conversation. In fact, Lissa's eyes lit up with excitement when they brainstormed marketing ideas. As he listened to her animated voice, so full of vigor about their upcoming sales plans, he wished she'd show some personal enthusiasm toward him.
No. That's not what he wanted from her. He needed, wanted, distance. At least personally. Professionally, he could handle being close to her. But if he thought about her intimately, he'd be doomed and would only end up hurting her more than he already had.
Now they sat in the restaurant of the hotel they'd booked their rooms in for the night. The little restaurant was casual yet elegant, and they'd been seated at a small table near the window overlooking one of the casinos. The flashing neon lights outside mirrored their colors into his nearly empty wine glass.
The business part of their day had ended. This is where he had to withdraw, before he noticed how beautiful her hair was by candlelight, the soft glow that spread over her face when she talked about something that excited her, or the way her breasts strained against her dress when she drew in a breath.
"So, what do you think?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
Frankly, he hadn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to her presentation about their strategy.
"I think it's fine."
She frowned. "Which parts?"
"All of them."
After finishing her glass of wine, she sat back in her chair and studied him. "You haven't been listening to anything I've said, have you?"
Was he that transparent? "Sure I have."
"Okay, then tell me what the first step in our revised marketing plan is, based upon what we discovered today."
Oh, crap. How was he supposed to know? He'd only been half listening to her, his mind occupied with imag
es of her slender, naked body twined around his, her honey-colored hair spilling over his fingers like spun silk, the way she tightened around him when he was deep inside her. Anything but marketing plans.
"Well, I'm not sure. You want to tell me again?"
With a huff, she said, "No. I'm going to bed." She stood and tossed her napkin on the table.
"Wait for me while I pay the bill."
"Why? You're not coming to my room; you're obviously not the least bit interested in talking business, which means our time together tonight is over. I'm tired, I'm going to my room and I'm going to bed."
She turned and started to leave, then looked over her shoulder and added, "Alone."
As if he didn't already know that. He threw down enough cash to cover dinner and tip and followed her.
"I didn't proposition you," he countered, catching up to her as she reached the elevator.
"Wouldn't do you any good if you had." She stared up at the lights indicating the elevator's location.
"Oh, so you'd turn me down if I offered?"
"Flat."
There went his ego again, raring and ready to fight. But dammit, she pushed his buttons.
They stepped into the elevator together, along with an older couple and an attractive woman in her mid-twenties.
Ignoring the others, he said, "I'll bet you wouldn't."
She turned to him. "Wouldn't what?"
"Turn me down if I offered to have sex with you."
The young woman suppressed a chuckle and he heard the older couple's sharp intake of breath.
"Aidan, please. We're not exactly alone."
"Would you like to be?" He hated to admit it, but he really enjoyed teasing her. Especially when she blushed like she was doing now. Damn, but she fired him up, in more ways than one.
"You are insufferable, you know that?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, well and truly pissed.
He couldn't fight the smile that curved his lips. "I've been told that a time or two."
"Why any woman would want to sleep with you is beyond me."
"You did."
Her eyes widened and she gasped. The young woman laughed out loud, the older couple looked clearly distressed and Aidan was having the time of his life, finally feeling like he had the upper hand with Melissa.
By the time they reached their floor she was steaming. She headed briskly down the hallway, ignoring the fact that he kept right up with her.
