She hated being wrong, but she’d obviously missed something because otherwise Tyler would have at least looked at her twice tonight. Instead, it had been all baseball and business. Oh, he hadn’t been rude and they’d talked a bit, but it hadn’t been anything more than the normal friendly chitchat, except this time surrounded by the Carlyles.
She jerked to a stop next to the low storage ottoman that did double duty as her coffee table. That was it. The variable that had messed things up. Having Hudson there to make her seem more desirable to Tyler was one thing, but having Sawyer and Clover—as nice as they were—changed the dynamics of her experiment. All she had to do was repeat the dinner minus two Carlyles and bam! Success.
“We have to do it again, but this time no Clover or Sawyer,” she said, calm settling in her belly as she realized that her plan just needed a small tweak not a total start over. Nothing was worse to a bulldog like her than having to switch plans mid-experiment; once she knew what she wanted, she went for it in a straight line, no curves, no alterations. “If it was just the three of us, then my plan to make Tyler jealous would totally work.”
“That’s not happening, Matches,” Hudson said, crossing over to her. “You agreed that if your plan didn’t work, then we’d do things my way.”
He was close enough that she had to tilt her head way back to give him a proper glare. The flinty look did nothing but make him grin down at her. That was annoying, but it was his follow-up wink that sent her right over to somebody-hold-my-earrings territory. Anger always made her stomach get all fluttery and her breath come faster. So that must be the reason why she could hear her pulse pounding in her ears. It had to be. The only other logical answer for why she was so hyped up and super-aware of the musky scent of his cologne and the way his muscular chest filled almost her entire view was that she wanted to rip his clothes off and climb him like a tree—and that was totally unacceptable. This was good old fight or flight, nothing more.
Refusing to give him the satisfaction of looking away, even though her neck was starting to get a crick, she stood her ground—literally and figuratively. “We need to give it one more try.”
“We will.” He brushed back his longish light brown hair that had fallen in front of his eyes. “But it’s gonna happen my way.”
“And what does that entail besides a makeover?” It wasn’t the best comeback. Hell, it wasn’t even a comeback, but it was hard to think with him looming over her like he was all brawn, sex appeal, and cocksure confidence.
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing again, Matches. It’s not how you look that will hook him,” he said, his gaze traveling over her as tangible as a touch. “You’re amazingly hot already, if the idiot would just take a look.”
Her cheeks flamed at the compliment, even if it was a bunch of hooey. She knew very well where she fell on the cute scale and it wasn’t anywhere near amazingly hot.
“I presume you’re going to enlighten me how that’s going to happen,” she managed to get out in an almost completely normal voice.
“You can’t force attraction.” His gaze dropped to her mouth, making her lips tingle with only a look. “Just like you can’t ignore an attraction that’s already there.”
Her focus skittered away from him before she used every last bit of determination she had to
force it back. “There is no attraction.”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded and reach out, his hands coming to rest on her hips with only a hint of pressure. “So, if I leaned down and kissed you right now, you wouldn’t feel a thing?”
Her heart made a break for it, hammering against her ribs. “Nope.”
He made an uh-huh sound as his grip rose to her waist and tightened. “And if I unzipped that dress that covers up every dip and curve of your body?”
She gulped and ignored the throb growing between her thighs. “Nothing.”
If she’d been wearing pants, they would so be on fire, but there was no going back once she’d decided on a path of action.
“So, when you start making those sweet, soft, needy moans again, that’s just my imagination and not actual attraction on your part?” he asked as he lifted her and set her on top of the ottoman.
Now it was her staring down at him. Sure, it was only by a few inches, but she’d take it. The new perspective gave her a different view, letting her better see the flecks of green in his brown eyes and the faded scar above his left eyebrow.
“Matches,” he said, sliding his palms down until his large hands covered her hips, with the tips of his fingers grazing the rise of her ass. “Is it really all just in my head?”
“Totally,” she said, her voice only registering at a breathy whisper.
SOS warning sirens blaring in her head had absolutely no effect on the reaction being this close to him was having on her body. Her skin prickled with awareness. Her bra had suddenly become tighter. A slick warmth of desire gathered between her thighs. And Hudson’s hands hadn’t even moved nor had he taken a single step closer. It was just the thought, the idea, of him kissing her, stripping her, touching her that had her ready to explode—and judging from the seductive promise in his eyes, he knew it.
“You’re a lousy liar,” he said, his hot, intense gaze zeroed in on her mouth. “You really want to make Tyler notice you?”
Answering was beyond her at that moment. The best she could do was nod.
The muscles in his jaw tensed as he clenched his teeth together and something determined, dangerous, and delicious sparked in the air around them. Her heart hiccupped, and she went totally still, more than a little bit desperate for what would happen next. But instead of tugging her closer and drawing her mouth down onto his, he exhaled a tortured breath and briefly closed his eyes.
“Then use the attraction between us to your advantage, so the clueless fuck begins to see you as more than just that girl who has spent most of her life mooning after him.”
Ouch. That hit smack dab right in the middle of her most vulnerable parts. “I haven’t been moon—”
He shook his head, stopping her words, before going on. “What you have or haven’t done up until now doesn’t matter anymore because from this moment on, everything is going to be different. You just have to trust me to show you how to charm Captain Clueless right out of his preconceived notions of you because you, Matches, shouldn’t have to moon after anyone.”