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What was wrong with her? Why had she made that little breathy sound? She didn’t like the guy. “Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t need some guy manhandling me in a macho display of virility.”
His gaze dropped and he stared pointedly at her chest. “Your body says otherwise.”
She glanced down to see her nipples visibly standing at attention. The silky fabric provided no barrier at all. Dang. “Well, it’s a good thing I have a brain then that makes all my decisions, isn’t it?” She flicked her hair over her shoulder in a forced display of confidence and prayed he bought it.
“Good thing,” he mocked.
“Why do you have to be such a jerk?” she asked.
“How am I being a jerk?”
“Oh, come on.” She stared at him pointedly. “This whole ‘I’m a big sexy guy and I can make you want me’ crap.”
“So, you admit you want me.” The corner of his mouth curved up slightly in a ridiculously sexy half smile.
“Grr,” she growled. “That’s what I’m talking about. Whatever that just was.” She wiggled her hand up and down in front of his chest. “That’s chemistry. It has nothing to do with attitude.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Seems to me you kind of like the attitude just a little.”
Darn it, he wasn’t exactly wrong. Something about the way he’d stepped into her space and his voice had dropped into that dominant, confident tone had been really freaking hot, but that didn’t mean she liked him. Because she didn’t. “Don’t flatter yourself, buddy.” She rolled her eyes. “If we are going to do this whole fake dating thing, I can agree that yes, you will have to touch me and yes, I can’t flinch or act like it’s uncomfortable.” She straightened her back and held his stare. “But that doesn’t mean I like you or trust you or want to be friends.” His jaw tightened as he stared back at her. “It just means we’ve both agreed to this charade, and neither of us wants to look stupid. The last thing either of us wants is gossip and negative PR. So, we do this thing. We play the doting couple in public, but beyond that? No.”
“Oh, we’re on the same page.” Ryan leaned back against the opposite wall. “I agreed to play this game and believe me Peyton, I always play to win. Make sure you do too.” His blue eyes sparked with warning. “I’m not going to let anything negatively impact my team and come back to bite me in the ass.” He pushed off the wall. “You ready to go?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Chapter Six
Ryan pulled his SUV up to the valet parking at the club and looked over at his date. Okay, so he could admit he’d been an asshole back at her place, but she got under his skin with her proper way of talking and holier than thou attitude, pretending whatever this attraction between them wasn’t mutual. Maybe he’d pushed it a bit to prove his point, but it’d been worth it.
Unfortunately, now that he’d seen what she looked like on the cusp of arousal, he really wanted to see what she looked like full out. The way her body had slumped into his when he’d whispered in her ear. Would she like dirty talk? Would she be open to him taking control in the bedroom? Or would she fight him like she fought everything else?
He handed the keys to the valet and exited the car. As he watched Peyton round the vehicle toward him, he immediately glanced at her chest and could picture her nipples pressed against the fabric. Fuck.Keep it in your pants, Graves.This was a fake deal. Adding anything physical into the mix would be a bad idea.
“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Ryan said. He placed his hand at the small of Peyton’s back and led her into the building.
“So whose anniversary party is this again?”
“Mark Gill, he’s one of the pitching coaches. It’s their twenty-fifth.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“You don’t think in this day and age twenty-five years is a big deal?”
“I don’t know. My parents have been married for thirty-two. My aunt and uncle, thirty, so I don’t know, twenty-five doesn’t seem that strange.”
“Wow. Besides my grandparents, I don’t know anyone who’s been married that long.”
“What about your parents? How long were they married?” Ryan asked.
“I was thirteen when they finally divorced, but my dad had cheated on my mom so many times over years.”
“That sucks. Why’d they finally get divorced?”
“He got someone pregnant.”
“Jesus, really? I’m sorry. That’s fucked up.”
