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‘Where’s the money?’ he asked. ‘For when you land on all my properties and I need to break your bank.’

Robyn smiled, anticipation making her bite her lip. What would he think of her idea?

‘We’re not using money,’ she said teasingly. ‘If you land on a property on the first two turns of the board, then it becomes yours. After that, if you land on a property that I own on the board, I can charge you in other ways.’

He tilted his head, interested, rubbing his jaw with one hand.

‘Like what?’

She wet her lips with her tongue and his eyes followed it. ‘You remove an item of clothing.’

His eyebrows rose and he nodded, the naughtiest smile on his lips.

‘I like the rules already,’ Fox said, pulling out the chair for her to sit. As he passed her the dice, the touch of his hand on hers set off a chain reaction through her body, right to the pit of her stomach.

‘Ladies first.’

Robyn cupped the cubes in her hand, closed her eyes and blew on them for luck before rolling them. They were up and running.

Robyn owned a few railway stations and utilities, while Fox occupied a few green streets and yellow ones. Fox poured more wine. Ten minutes later, the game was riskier with every round of the board.

‘You were lucky to miss me that time,’ Fox said as she threw the dice. She grinned and moved her player, the little dog.

Fox threw a six, which landed his player, the little motorcar, bang on Fenchurch Street Station. Their eyes met and the excitement level rose a notch. Robyn rested her chin on her hand as she considered his forfeit. Making her decision, she pointed a finger at his front.

‘Shirt off,’ she said. Fox swore softly under his breath but stood and peeled his shirt off from the shoulders, throwing it to the sofa. His white T-shirt beneath fit in all the right places, stretched across the chest, tight on the shoulders. Robyn hummed appreciatively.

‘Throw, Red,’ he said, sitting back down. ‘It’s your turn.’

She threw a four, which took her to safety and she made a show of dancing her little dog straight past his next property before passing back to Fox.

‘Lucky break.’ He blew on it and threw.

Three. She watched him move his car the three places, straight onto her Water Works.

‘Of all the . . .’ he muttered, under his breath.

She didn’t hesitate this time.

‘T-shirt,’ she said.

He held her gaze as his thumbs reached for the hem, then paused, teasing her. She raised her eyebrows expectantly and he raised both arms at once, lifting his T-shirt up and over his head. She took a deep inhale as she admired his chest, which was sprinkled with black and grey hair, leading down until it disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. Fit, toned and sexy as hell, he was all man.

‘Best game ever.’ Fox smiled back at her, then gave her a slow wink.

‘Right, let’s get you naked,’ he said.

Robyn’s stomach flipped, half with excitement, half with terror. She hadn’t been naked in front of anyone since before having a baby. She felt different since Willow had been born, and her body had changed. She felt softer in the tummy, her breasts fuller. She wondered if he’d notice, but she didn’t have time to think about it now. Blowing on the dice, she threw. She landed on his Piccadilly. She could feel his enjoyment of the situation as he eyed her up and down, grinning, considering his fee.

‘Top,’ he said. ‘Off. Now.’

She stood slowly. There was no going back. She undid the buttons of her top and let it fall away from her shoulders. Fox’s eyes dipped to her navy lacy bra and then back to her face as she resumed her seat. The air sparked between them, but she passed him the dice and he threw. She held her breath as they settled but he missed her properties again.

Robyn threw next, and landed straight on his next property, Bond Street.

‘Jeans,’ he growled, without hesitation.

She stood again, feeling the slight shake of anticipation in her legs now. Undoing her button, she trailed the zip down slowly, his eyes watching her hands intently, before she peeled the denim down her thighs and kicked her jeans away with her feet. Robyn stood up straight, displaying herself breathlessly, letting his eyes roam her body, watching them linger on her breasts, her hips, her legs. A tiny nerve flicked in his cheek. She wondered if he was hard already, because she was so turned on, surely he had to be.