Ah, hell. Why is she grinning? That has me admittedly a little worried.
“Sure. If I win, you have to announce to everyone in Sterling Shore that you’re a
n asshole and that you made up all that shit about Rygan Clanton and me.”
My laughter comes out in a harsh breath, but I quickly smother it with my hand in an effort to keep her from getting even more pissed. I needed to keep her away from that fucking tattooed prick that seems to be around more and more. Now I’ve accomplished that while also getting a little revenge.
I’m so fucking brilliant.
“Fine. If I win, you have to admit to everyone that I’m the greatest lover you’ve ever had. In public. A few details of my awesomeness wouldn’t be discouraged.”
She grins, but quickly banishes it.
“Fine,” she says in echo to my own answer. “And we have rules.”
“What rules are those?” I muse, staying as close as I can without touching her.
“Nothing public, nothing too malicious, and no cheating.”
My teeth grind together. “By cheating, I assume you mean other people. If you so much as—”
“By cheating, I mean no self-gratification to take the edge off. It’s a given that there won’t be anyone else, or this relationship is over.”
I breathe out in relief and in pained arousal at once. I can’t take things in hand? This is going to be hard.
“Agreed. So this is a battle of seduction. Got it. Personally, I think I’m going to enjoy this little war.”
She shivers a little, much to my delight. No. She won’t make it at all.
“No more vicious rumors,” she says. “This is a sexy game, not an evil contest.”
“That goes for you, too,” I growl, scowling at her. “My mother already caught wind of this one, and now she feels guilty for not being more supportive of me. Fifteen calls from her, Tria. All of them promising me that she’ll love me no matter what my sexual preference.”
She snickers quietly while nodding. “No more rumors.”
“Then let the games begin,” I say, forcing myself to turn over and not curse my painful erection that won’t be getting any relief for a while.
Chapter 15
KODE
Cold showers suck. Three days ago, I was getting laid multiple times a day, and now… nothing but icy cold showers to kill the raging hard-ons. And she’s still using that fucking sexy, curvy body against me.
After drying off and tossing on a pair of workout pants and a T-shirt, I head into the kitchen, only to stumble to an abrupt halt. Tria is sitting at the bar, her long hair braided in two pigtails, and she feigns interest in a magazine as she licks her popsicle.
I’ve been imagining her mouth on me like that since we started this relationship, and now we’re at a stalemate, making my dreams go awry. Every day she finds a way to look like a motherfucking wet-dream. This isn’t war—it’s torture.
“Thought you were opposed to clichés,” I announce, regaining forced composure while moving to grab the orange juice from the fridge. “Don’t you think seducing me by licking something is one of the most cliché things you can do?”
“Just enjoying something cool after a run on the beach,” she lies. Even though she is wearing shorts that are much too short, and nothing else but a sports bra, she looks too sexy to have gone running.
Fucking games. How’d I get myself into this mess?
“I had to delay our New York trip. My business associate pushed the meeting back to the next weekend. I suppose that’s for the best. It gives you time to fold,” I tell her cockily.
She’s holding out much better than I am, but I can’t let her see that.
She snorts out a laugh before standing and pushing the remaining part of the popsicle into her mouth. She sucks it hard, cleaning the popsicle stick of anything solid before discarding it into the trash.