"Sweet mercy." Dylan moved behind a tall bar stool to hide his obvious erection from curious onlookers and raised a brow promising retribution at Anna. She blew him a kiss and he willed the blood to go back to his brain.
"You're on, gorgeous. I never walk away from a bet where I'm sure to win. Would you like to break?"
"Oh, no. You go right ahead. I'll just stand over here and watch." She took her stance directly in his line of sight, and she sinuously trailed her fingers over the curves of her body.
Dylan found it incredibly difficult to bend over, his jeans getting tighter by the moment, but he lined up his shot and sunk a ball in the corner pocket with the break. Two more balls followed suit before he was distracted by Anna blowing on the tip of her cue stick, causing him to miscue.
"Look how many balls you got in," Anna cooed. "That's so sexy."
"You're welcome to forfeit if you don't want to take your shot. We could leave right this second."
"And what would you make me do if I lost our little bet? Take you in my mouth in the parking lot where anyone could stumble across us?"
Dylan's breathing grew rapid at the thought and he reached for her, but she quickly moved out of his grasp.
"Or maybe you'd bend me over the hood of your car and slide the hot length of you right up my ass. Hmm? Is that what you'd do?"
"Anna," he growled, coming towards her with determined strides. He couldn't have hidden his arousal even if he'd wanted to. He tossed his cue to Mitchell, determined to carry her out over his shoulder if he had to. The image of his cock buried balls deep in her ass was enough to almost make him come in his jeans.
"Uh, uh, uh," she said, shaking her finger at him. "I'm not a quitter. I'm going to finish this game. One way or the other. Now, be a good boy and have a seat."
Anna found an open shot and took her stance, leaning over the table, the tiny skirt she wore exposing an amazing length of leg that should have been illegal. Dylan whimpered in the back of his throat at the tempting picture she made, and then in the next second was growling like a junkyard dog at a man who dared to whistle at her. The man held up his hands in surrender and turned back to his own game. Mitchell's laughter in the corner earned him a dirty glare, but he couldn't take his eyes off Anna for more than a second.
But there was something different about her as she lined up her shot. The seductive temptress was gone, replaced with a face of sheer concentration. The concentration of an expert.
Her hand drew the cue stick back and let it go with an amazing amount of power. She sunk the ball she was aiming for plus one other.
"Beginner's luck," she said winking at him.
Dylan threw his head back in a roar of laughter. He'd been had by a pro. A glance at Mitchell showed that he was equally surprised by her skill. Anna made quick work of the rest of the balls and laid her cue stick on the table.
"I win. Do you know what that means?"
"What?"
"It means that your body is completely mine. To do with whatever I wish."
Dylan swallowed at the vision that popped into his mind. Anna tied to the bed, blindfolded, while he took his time pleasuring her with various toys.
I can't tell you how hot that makes me. I hope you go easy on me."
"Oh, no. I promise you things are going to be very … hard."
Dylan couldn't help himself. He tossed her over his shoulder and headed out the door. Tongues would definitely be wagging in Paradise tomorrow.
"Is it just me, or did it just get really hot in here?" Mitchell asked Mel as they were left behind to deal with the after burn.
"Yeah, well we'll see how long the sparks last before they start to fizzle. This is new territory for Anna. She's not used to dealing with men like you."
"And you are?" Mitchell asked.
Uh, oh! Mel recognized that particular look in a man's eyes. She wasn't naïve like Anna, and she had no wish to end up as another notch on this man's bedpost. She was a one-man kind of girl. She just hadn't found the man yet. So Mel said the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm a lesbian," she blurted out.
"Oh, really?" Mitchell asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You'd think I would have heard news about there being a lesbian in Paradise."
"Well, believe it or not, some people actually can keep secrets in this town. My girlfriend lives in Fort Worth. I just don't get to see her often." Mel lied with as straight a face as possible, but she felt the blush creeping up her neck and face.
"Huh," Mitchell said. "No offense, but you being a lesbian seems like a hell of a waste to me. You've got the kind of body a man likes to sink in to."
"So, what? Is that code for fat?"
"Hell, no. You're just a real woman. Different from the kind I usually date."
"Why, because I have a brain?"
He laughed out loud at her insult, unbothered by it. The dimples in his cheeks were threatening her resolve, but she was holding firm.
"I bet I could make you change your mind on this whole lesbian thing," he said, leaning in so his breath whispered across her cheek. "You want to give it a shot?"
Mel scooted over as far as she could, and ignored his taunting laughter. "It doesn't matter anyway. Everybody in town knows that you don't date anyone. I've heard cold-hearted Casey leaves your bed warm and your heart empty. And a few women have even gone so far as to say unsatisfied."
"Oh really?" Mitchell asked. "Why don't you give me their names. I try to guarantee all my work."
"You know, even if I was into men, which I'm not. I wouldn't give you the time of day. I'd want someone I could depend on, someone who wanted a relationship. The person who can give me that can have my body."
Mitchell flinched involuntarily at the "R" word. Her words stung his pride, but he couldn't exactly deny the accusations.
"Seriously? You're denying yourself the pleasure of your body for a piece of paper?
"Yes," she said with such conviction that Mitchell had to stop and really look at her.
"Your holding out for a pipe dream," Mitchell said, holding her coat up for her to slip on. "You should at least enjoy the ride before you trap some poor soul into marriage."
"Someone so young shouldn't be so jaded. Maybe you should give it a try before you mock it."
"I gave it a try," Mitchell said solemnly. "And I lost everything. A piece of paper doesn't seem worth that kind of pain to me."
Mel touched her hand to his cheek before she could help herself. He didn't flinch at her touch, but he held her gaze steady, the gray of his eyes impossibly clear. And filled with so much pain and hatred that it was her that ultimately flinched.
Neither of them spoke on the long car ride home.
Chapter Eight
"Where are we going?" Anna asked, as she took the corner that led to Baker Street like she was racing in the Indianapolis 500. She could only imagine having to explain to Sheriff Haney why she was speeding through Paradise like a bat out of hell.
I'm sorry, Sheriff, but I'm on a mission to have the best sex of my life, and I don't have time for a ticket right now. Just stick it in my mailbox please.
"We're headed to my place," Dylan said. "Take the first right just after my office. I live about a mile down. It's a narrow road and a little hard to see in the dark, so you might want to slow down a little." He paled as she ran through a red light and prayed they'd make it in one piece.
"Right," Anna said, her palms sweating profusely. "How bad do we want to do this in a bed?" She took a sharp right onto the graveled road that led to Dylan's house.
"I'm thinking." He ran his fingers up and down her thigh, sending a straight shot of heat to her very core.
Her nipples were pressed prominently against the fabric of her dress, and her breathing turned to pants as he untied the string at the back of her neck and pulled the top down over her breasts. Spots danced in front of her eyes as his knuckle rubbed gently across one, and she slammed on the brakes, sending the car into a spin on the gravel.
"Christ, this is close enough. The house is just down the road. We'll get there eventually."
He got out of the car and was already on her side, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling her out and into his arms before she could gather her wits. The night air was cool with the stormy atmosphere, but her body was a blazing inferno. Lightning now accompanied the rumbling thunder, and the storm was almost upon them. She hitched her legs around his waist as his mouth clamped around her nipple. She flung her head back in surrender and closed her eyes, the flashes of light making shapes behind her lids.