“I’ve certainly done that before. I’ve just never slept with a woman.”
Her glare turned to confusion as she was trying to figure out what he’d just said. And he wasn’t going to help her out. He wanted to see how smart she really was.
“Ah, so you’re the dine-and-dash sort of guy?” she finally said.
“No. I always treat my women with the utmost respect. We do what we do together for the same reason — to feel good.”
“That’s so admirable. But you screw them and then leave immediately. I bet you have all sorts of hotel rooms on standby just for these special occasions.”
“I wouldn’t characterize myself quite that way, but I do like a good night’s sleep. Alone,” he said before leaning closer. “And yet I have a feeling you might change my mind about that.” There was no need to talk about his last long-term relationship. No, he’d never slept over at her place, and she had never slept over at his, but that was mostly due to work schedules, and he must have know then that something just wasn’t quite right.
Elena was silent for several heartbeats before she threw him a smile, and she leaned toward him, their faces now only a couple of inches apart.
“I guarantee you that if we were in bed together, even if you managed to stick around for a whole night, you’d have a good night, but not much sleep,” she said in a throaty purr that went straight to his groin and left him aching in a way he hadn’t ached since high school.
“Prove it.”
Chapter Six
Elena took long, deep breaths in front of the restroom mirror. She was in a major battle to get her heart to quit racing. Those words, those exact words he’d spoken to her twenty years before, had been too much for her to handle.
She’d been unable to speak. She’d just lurched up from the table and run.
“What’s wrong? What happened? Are you okay? Let me get you a washcloth.”
Her friend Piper had rushed through the door and was talking a mile a minute and not giving Elena a chance to answer. But Elena couldn’t answer yet anyway. She was too frazzled.
Piper handed her a cool cloth, and Elena pressed it to her forehead.
“Okay, I’m giving you exactly sixty seconds to pull yourself together and to tell me what in the hell is going on. If I need to go and kick that guy’s ass, then I’m your girl. I’m officially a brown belt in karate now.”
The fact that Piper was deadly serious yanked Elena’s mood around. For a moment she just starred at Piper in surprise. Then she broke out into a smile and began laughing uncontrollably.
“I’m starting to get really worried now, Elena. Seriously. If you don’t stop laughing and talk to me, I’m going to have to call in the paramedics,” Piper said, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot impatiently.
“I’m so…so sorry Piper. It’s just that you are the best friend that any girl could ever have, and I love you so much. Thank you,” Elena said between fits of laughter.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re my bestie too,” Piper snapped. “Now, tell me what is going on! I mean it, Elena. I’m serious!”
“Okay, okay. It’s just that things are going just fine. I know he wants me, wants me desperately, which is pretty great, actually — all things considered — but then the bastard tells me to prove it and I just lost it and headed for the hills.”
Piper looked at her in confusion. Elena really needed to tell Piper the story. But as a true best friend would do, she didn’t care what Tyler had done. She was ready to kill him anyway just because Elena wanted to.
“It’s settled. I’m going to kick his ass just because he’s upset you¸” Piper said as she made one hand into a fist and hit the other one with it.
“No. Don’t do that,” Elena said, overcome with a fit of giggles again. “You’ve done exactly what I needed you to do. I needed a minute to calm down. I need to end the evening on the proper note. With the proper touch. Or maybe not so proper.”
Her friend looked at her dubiously. “Then we’re leaving?”
“In a few minutes,” Elena told her, and Piper threw up her hands. “I’m going to go back out there, sweetie, so I can get him hot and bothered and then leave him wanting more. I need you to come out of the bathroom in exactly five minutes and tell me it’s time to go, and then we’ll talk more. I promise.”
“I don’t like this, Elena. I don’t like it at all. And you’re going to tell me exactly what this asshat has done.”
“I know you don’t like it, but because we will do anything for each other, you’ll carry through with my crazy plans,” Elena said before checking herself out in the mirror. “And I promise to tell you all. You’re going to kill me though for not telling you sooner.
She looked slightly crazy, but then she was feeling a little bit crazy at the moment. She was insane, actually, to think she could carry this off. But she was doing it, and she was doing it well — so far, at least. She was no longer a stupid twenty year old who could be used.
“Fine. You have exactly five minutes,” Piper warned her as she plopped down on one of the benches in front of the full-length mirrors.
“Thanks. Love you tons.”
With that, Elena walked steadily ahead, took another deep breath, and swung the door open. When she turned the corner of the short hallway, she found Tyler leaning against the wall, His expression was unreadable, but that was fine by her. She could wear a pretty damn good mask of her own, if she had to say so.