She shrugged again. “Take it or leave it. But know that I’m completely serious. Either you take me to bed, or you’ll have to consider relocating to San Valdez, because trust me, I’m not leaving.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t have time for games.”
She didn’t back down. “This isn’t a game.”
“Goddamn it.” He let out a sound that was a cross between a growl and a roar, and then stomped toward her. He stood there for a moment, loomed over her, watched her. A knowing glint lit up his eyes. “I get it. You want me to call your bluff, don’t you?”
Damn, why did he have to be too smart for his own good? “Oh, this isn’t a bluff,” she lied, hoping he couldn’t see through her. “One night is all I’m asking for. Then you’ll get your way. If you don’t agree, you might as well give up and go home. Without me.”
“Why do I still think you’re bluffing?” he shot back.
Ellie stifled a groan. He always had to be difficult to the end, didn’t he? Straightening her shoulders she rose from the chair and took a step toward him. He took a step back.
“I want you,” she told him, moving even closer. This time he didn’t budge so she took advantage and pressed her body to his. She slid her hands up his hard chest and loosely twined them around his neck. The air began to sizzle, sending a sweeping rush of heat down her body.
There was something liberating about Luke’s obvious reaction to her nearness. It made her feel bold and brazen, feminine and desirable. His excitement was hot and thick against her pelvis and she wondered what it would feel like sliding inside her. Like heaven, no doubt.
“I also know you want me,” she continued, brushing her lips over the hard curve of his jaw.
He flinched and tried disentangling her arms from his shoulders, but she held on tight. Trapped him in her embrace. “C’mon, Luke, the way I see it, you come out the winner in all this.” She nuzzled his neck and trailed open-mouth kisses on his warm skin, thoroughly enjoying his harsh intake of breath. “You’ll get me back to San Francisco and at the same time you’ll have a little fun in the sack. If that isn’t an offer you can’t refuse, what is?”
Before he could answer, she pressed her mouth to his in a soft kiss. Her eyelids fluttered but she didn’t close them. She wanted to see Luke, wanted to savor every delicious detail. His slitted eyes. The pounding of his pulse beneath her hand. The way he slid his tongue out to graze her lower lip yet held back from thrusting it in her mouth.
He was fighting something inside himself. She knew it. And that only made her all the more determined to win this battle.
She dragged her lips away from his and smiled when his eyes flew open in obvious disappointment. “So is that a yes?”
“If I sleep with you, you’ll come home?” he returned roughly.
“Yep.”
His handsome features creased in the epitome of defeat. “Then okay. You’ve got yourself a deal, Elenore.”
What the hell had he gotten himself into?
Luke peeled out of the driveway, cringing as the sound of screeching rubber rang out. Shit. Hopefully Ellie hadn’t heard that. When he’d left her house, he’d let her believe he was perfectly okay with this latest development. He didn’t want her thinking that…that what?
He was nervous?
He was terrified?
He was about to come in his pants from the anticipation?
His body tensed at the last thought. Damn it, why was he anticipating an event that would never even happen?
With his fingers curled over the steering wheel in a death grip, he drove twenty miles over the speed limit and tried to collect the willpower he’d thrown out the window the second Ellie kissed him. He drove aimlessly, not ready to return to the motel and be alone with his thoughts. No, right now he needed to strategize.
The streets of San Valdez were deserted as he maneuvered the SUV through them. He still found it strange that the town was located just a few hours from San Diego County, yet had a population of less than ten thousand. The absence of shopping malls and endless concrete lots unnerved him, made him feel as if he were driving through a ghost town. Which was probably a good thing at the moment, because he was so distracted he’d probably have mowed over dozens of pedestrians on his joyride.
Only when he reached a residential stretch of road did he slow the vehicle, but he still didn’t release his grip on the wheel. He’d agreed to sleep with Ellie. Was he insane? Obviously.
You’re not going to sleep with her, a little voice reminded him. It’s part of the game.
“Did I mention how sick I am of games?” he muttered to his subconscious.
How had he let this situation get so out of control? His task had been simple—find Ellie, convince her to come home and let Josh deal with the rest. In his line of work he’d learned to keep a distance, to watch over the people he’d been hired to protect and leave when the job was over. The life of a bodyguard was rarely ever like the one portrayed in that movie with the same name. You didn’t fall in love with your assignments, you didn’t get too close, and you didn’t let emotions interfere with your mission. Doing any of the above usually meant you got someone killed.
Not that there was any danger in the mission Josh had sent him on, unless you counted this ridiculous attraction to Ellie. But the same principles remained. Letting Ellie get under his skin would only slow him down. And turn him on.
He might have agreed to her preposterous ultimatum but he had no intention of taking her to bed. No matter how much his dick begged him to.
“She’s bluffing,” he mumbled to himself.
That’s what he needed to hold on to, the knowledge that, like him, Ellie had no intention of following through on it. She wanted to scare him. She thought she could use his basic male needs against him.
Well, Ellie wouldn’t win this round. He’d play her little game, he’d outplay her, and in the end she would be the one to back down.
Not him.
“What the…” A flash of movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and prompted him to slow the vehicle to the curb. He turned his head swiftly and found himself looking at a two-story, Spanish-style home with a green stucco roof. It wasn’t the house that ensnared his gaze, but the couple leaving it.
He had to blink a few times to convince himself he wasn’t hallucinating. He recognized Vivian instantly, as it was hard to miss a body that curvaceous and blonde hair that shiny. But was that Josh with her?
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Luke muttered under his breath.
He watched as the couple across the street got into the bright yellow Jeep he’d seen parked behind the Dancehall. Vivian took the driver’s seat and both she and her companion were oblivious to his parked SUV as the Jeep reversed out of the driveway. Luke kept his gaze glued to them, only looking away when the yellow vehicle took a left at the end of the street and disappeared.
Stunned, he loosened his grasp on the steering wheel to reach up and rake his fingers through his hair. A barrage of questions invaded his confused brain.
Josh was in town? Was he staying with Vivian? Why had they been looking at each other in that perplexing way?
And the most daunting question of all. What the hell was going on?
Chapter Eight
Later in the evening, Ellie got her usual ride to the club from Marlene, one of her fellow dancers. Making the fifteen-minute walk under the dusky night sky appealed to her as much as getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, but luckily Marlene lived nearby and had no problem with playing chauffeur four times a week. The two women were about the same age, though Marlene’s bubbly personality and deep love of gossiping made her appear far younger. Because of Marlene, Ellie seemed to know the most trivial details about everyone in town, from the bartender at the Dancehall to the old Native American man who sold dream catchers in the market.
Tonight, though, she was startled to find Vivian the object of Marlene’s chatter.
“So obviousl
y you know who he is, right?” Marlene had one hand on the wheel of her beat-up red Honda. The other hand fumbled around in her large leopard-print purse.
Ellie cringed. “Both hands on the wheel, Marly.” Please.
Marlene produced a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, then tossed Ellie an amused grin. “You realize you tell me that every time we’re in the car together? Don’t worry, honey, I’ve never had an accident in all the years I’ve been driving.”
The night’s still young. Ellie pushed away the cold knot of fear pressing down on her chest and took a calming breath. Marlene hadn’t killed her yet, she reminded herself.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, by the way,” Ellie said, hoping the change of subject would ease her nerves. “Viv would’ve mentioned if she was seeing someone.”
Marlene’s hand left the wheel again as she lit her cigarette with the car lighter. She exhaled deeply then blew a puff of smoke out the open window. “Trust me, my source is never wrong. He swears he saw Vivian and some guy earlier at El Delicioso,” she said, naming a romantic restaurant on the outskirts of town.
Ellie rolled her eyes. “What source?”
“My cousin Paul. He works as a waiter there.”
The answer made her pause. She’d met Marlene’s cousin a few times when he’d come by the club, and she’d seen Vivian chatting with him on a couple occasions. If Paul said he saw Vivian at his place of work, he was probably telling the truth.
Ellie pursed her lips together in thought, realizing this actually made a little sense. Vivian seeing someone could explain her earlier behavior. Distracted, flushed, secretive—all signs that perhaps there was a new man in her life. But if so, why wouldn’t she have told her?
“What did this guy look like?” she asked curiously.
Marlene let out another cloud of smoke before saying, “Tall, dark hair, oh, and Paul mentioned he looked younger than Viv.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes. Tall, dark-haired and young? The description was about as vague as you could get and yet… Maybe she was crazy, but she had the strangest suspicion Marlene’s cousin had seen Luke at that restaurant with Vivian.
She absently chewed the inside of her cheek and tried to erase the ridiculous idea forming in the back of her mind. Luke and Viv weren’t—no, of course not. The two were most definitely not involved. If they’d been out together, it was for an entirely different reason. Talking about her maybe? Or…
Had Vivian joined forces with Luke to run her out of town?
“That’s crazy,” Ellie mumbled under her breath.
“What was that?” Marlene asked as she flicked her cigarette butt out the window. She turned into the parking lot of the club and slid into one of the gravel-covered spots.
“Huh? Oh nothing,” Ellie replied, seeing the curious look on her friend’s face. “I just, uh, find it hard to believe that Vivian wouldn’t tell me she was dating someone.”
Marlene lowered her voice. “Maybe he’s married.” She gave a conspiratorial grin.
“Maybe.”
Ellie reached into the backseat for her garment bag and got out of the car, still distracted. She didn’t know if Vivian was with Luke earlier, or what they were doing if they had been together, but one thing was for sure, she would definitely find out.
***
Luke frowned to himself as he watched Ellie take her bows. The pathetic excuse for applause echoed through the club, mostly middle-aged men with leers on their faces who couldn’t care less about the performance they’d just viewed. As long as they glimpsed a few flashes of skin and some tits bouncing around, they were happy to spend their weekly paychecks on beers and the small cover charge to get in to see the show.
Ellie deserved better than this. She deserved an entire auditorium filled to the max while bouquets of roses were thrown at her feet. A few years back Luke had seen her dance in Swan Lake, when he was guarding a socialite who spent her evenings at lavish parties and tasteful ballets and operas. He remembered the applause was deafening that night, a far cry from what he’d just heard.
Fortunately the show was finally over. Seeing Ellie in that corset again only reminded him of what he needed to do tonight. He was taking her to dinner once she finished changing and after that he thought he’d bring her to the carnival he kept seeing signs for around town. Dinner and a fair—it sounded so damn innocent, didn’t it? Too bad it would be far from it.
Now that he’d had a few hours to think about it, he realized going along with Ellie’s ultimatum was the best course of action. No way would she really go to bed with him. She simply wasn’t that kind of girl. Now that he was thinking clearly, with his brain and not his cock, he was even more convinced that Ellie was yet again testing him. Trying to scare him. Well, he wasn’t about to be scared off. Tonight he planned on teasing her, pushing her and letting her know exactly who was in control.
“Did you enjoy the show?”
He glanced up as Vivian slid into the seat across from him. In an instant, the memory of Vivian and Josh returned to his head, bringing with it a rush of suspicion. He studied Vivian’s green eyes for a sign that she might’ve seen him driving past her house earlier, but he saw none. During his scrutiny, however, he couldn’t help but admire her appearance. She really was a beautiful woman, her minimal makeup and silky golden hair giving her a child-like aura while her intelligent eyes revealed a maturity that couldn’t be ignored.
He could understand why Josh would be attracted to her. If that were even true. At the moment Luke had no clue what Josh and Vivian had been doing together, though he certainly intended to find out.
“It was good,” he replied, pushing away his half-empty beer. “Will Ellie be coming out soon?”
“She should be. It’s a slow night, so I cancelled the second show, which means she’s probably scrubbing the makeup off. She hates that stuff.”
Luke kept his expression nonchalant. “Yeah, she’s always hated it. I remember this one time, back when Josh and I were in college, he surprised Ellie with an entire case of makeup. Josh decided that since she was in high school she needed to look mature, but when he gave her the makeup she rolled her eyes and ever so politely said, ‘I’m not a hooker, Joshua’.”
He’d hoped mentioning Josh would rattle Vivian but all he got from her was a little laugh. “She’s got a mouth on her, doesn’t she?” Vivian said.
“Yes, she does.” His jaw stiffened a little as he pondered the best way to approach the subject. He had two choices—either dance around the issue a bit longer and see if the woman said something, or just come right out and confront her.
In typical male fashion, he opted for instant gratification.
“I saw you this afternoon.” He kept his tone light and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. Was that a spark of guilt in her eyes?
“You mean in town?” she returned smoothly, her composure quickly restored. “Yes, Ellie and I were shopping.”
“No, it was after that. Around five or so. I was driving past your house.” His lips curved in a little smile as he saw her face go a shade paler.
“Oh.”
“How long has he been here?”
His question mingled in the air with the cigar smoke from the man at the next table. The defiant look in Vivian’s eyes made him think she would play dumb, but to his surprise she suddenly sighed and said, “Two days.”
“He’s staying at your place?” When she nodded, he added, “Does Ellie know?”
“He made me promise not to tell her.” A defensive edge entered her voice. “He’s not trying to interfere, he’s just here to make sure his sister is okay.”
Luke laughed. “Not interfere? That’s what Josh is best at, sweetheart.”
“Just don’t tell Ellie he’s here. She’ll be furious. And, um, I’m working hard trying to convince him to go home.”
He lifted his brows. “Are you?”
A slight pink flush rose in her cheeks. “Of course.”
 
; Luke didn’t buy it. If he’d been doubtful before, he sure as hell wasn’t now. There was something between Vivian and Josh. No question about it. Yet it didn’t really surprise him. Josh had always been drawn to older women, maybe because the guy had never really gotten the chance to be a kid himself. What irked him was that Josh didn’t trust him enough to handle Ellie on his own, that he’d had to take matters into his own hands and butt in.
Well, enough was enough. In one corner he had Josh breathing down his neck, requesting a favor and then charging in to do it himself. In the other he had Ellie teasing him with her sexy smiles and incredible body, asking him to fuck her and testing his control. And the situation would only get worse, unless Luke put a stop to it right now.
“You know what?” he finally said. “Why don’t we just put all our cards on the table?”
Vivian swallowed, and then reached up to run her fingers through her long blonde strands. “Meaning?”
He leaned closer, speaking quietly so that nobody would overhear. “I don’t give a damn what’s going on between you and Josh, but obviously you do or you wouldn’t be keeping it a secret. All I want is for Ellie to leave this goddamn town and go home. That’s all Josh wants too.” He blew out a breath. “The way I see it, you’re the only one who can make that happen.”
A suspicious glint entered her eyes. “And how can I do that?”
“Ellie came here because of you. She has a job because of you.” He set his mouth in a tight line. “I want you to fire her.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” His words were harsh but he didn’t give a damn anymore. “Tonight I’m going to take Ellie out and show her I’m not playing her game anymore. And tomorrow when she comes in to work, you’ll be informing her that she’s fired.”
The pink splotches on Vivian’s cheeks darkened to a deep shade of crimson. She clasped her hands together tightly, the white on her knuckles telling him she was furious. “And I suppose if I don’t agree, you’ll tell Ellie that I lied to her about Josh being here?”