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She raised her eyebrows. “I think I have some, somewhere. Hang on a minute.” She dragged a chair from the kitchen table towards the fridge. He watched as she placed it squarely on the floor and then climbed up so she could peer into a cabinet above the fridge. His first instinct – to help – was squashed by how stunningly attractive she was to watch, standing on tip-toes, her face all scrunched up and arms extended way back in the cupboard. His erection had been dancing like a yo-yo all night and he felt it spring back to life again now.
“Found some!” She turned around on the chair towards him, her face victorious. But one look at his eyes, which he knew must have perfectly conveyed the direction of his thoughts, and she blushed to the top of her pretty little face. “Er…” She dipped her head, her dark hair forming a curtain that obscured her face from view as she carefully stepped off the chair. “You were telling me about your children.”
He felt the familiar ache in his gut. “None.”
“None?” She sloshed some scotch into a glass with Oscar the Grouch on the side and brought it over to him. He smiled at the cup, despite his dark mood.
“My ex-wife, Veronica was her name, didn’t want children.” It amazed him how calmly he was able to say such a sentence.
“I see.”A divorced man, in his mid-thirties, she guessed, with no children. Yeah, he was a commitment-phobe, and definitely worth steering well clear of. But that was the last thing she wanted to do.
“You don’t see,” he contradicted quietly. “But like you, some things I prefer not to discuss.”
Curious, and frustrated by this unexpected road block, she leaned unconsciously closer towards him. “I wouldn’t have put you down as a tit-for-tat sort of guy.”
“So you want me to bare my soul to you when you aren’t prepared to do the same?”
“That’s the plan.”
He did laugh, in earnest now. “Witch.”
The kettle began to boil noisily and Katie was just pushing up from the table when Marcus’s hand came down on hers. She was so surprised by the contact that she sat back down immediately, her eyes unable to look away from their hands, the way their fingers intuitively mingled.
“I’ll make your tea. How do you have it?”
“White, thank you.” She already knew how pointless it was to argue with this man.
He was efficient, and quickly returned with a mug of tea. He set it down carefully in front of her, and in doing so, brushed his powerful legs against hers. She startled at the touch. She’d never experienced such a strong physical attraction and it scared her to pieces.
“So you want to know things about me, and I want to know things about you. I think I have the perfect solution to our mutual curiosity.”
“Oh? And what would that be?”
“A simple game of truth or dare….”
CHAPTER THREE
Mid-way through lifting her tea to her lips she froze. “Truth or dare?”
He ran a finger down the side of her face, lifting her chin so that her eyes met his. “I can’t believe you’ve never played it?” His voice was laced with meaning and she shivered in response. “The rules are simple. We ask each other questions, and if we don’t want to answer the question, we face a dare.” At the mention of the word dare, he let his thumb pad across her full mouth. She sucked in a breath unevenly.
Liquid heat poured through her veins and she felt an unfamiliar ache deep in her core. “I…” She looked at him intently, trying to work out just how big a mistake this could be.
Katie Collins was too sensible for this kind of thing. But damn it, Katie Collins had been a good girl since Maxie was born.
So what if she wanted to act on a crazy impulse for the second time ever in her life? This man would only be staying at Wadeford House for another fortnight, then she’d never see him again. It would be criminal to pass up on the opportunity to get to know him better. Ah, who was she kidding? She wanted him. She felt moist between her legs, so turned on by the sexy two-step they’d been dancing all night.
“Truth or dare.” He repeated again, leaning closer towards her, so that his breath caressed her cheek. “What do you say, Katie? Are you in? Or are you out?” And he emphasized those words with just enough huskiness to leave her in little doubt as to his double entendre.
She shivered. It was time to fish or cut bait. They’d been flirting their asses off. He was giving her a chance to back away now, and keep things on a business footing. But the idea of not taking this further filled her with dread. No. She had to know where this could go. “I’m in.”
He didn’t react to her words but inside, his heart was pounding with relief. He lifted her hand slowly to his lips and placed a kiss inside her palm, then closed her fingers over it.
“Ladies first. Ask away.”
She took a sip of her tea, trying to calm the knots in her stomach. “That’s easy. Why did you and your wife get divorced?”
He didn’t skip a beat. “I’ll take the dare, thank you.”
