promise you wonât regret it. What I lack in experience I make up for in enthusiasm.â
She was as bright as she was pretty and he knew her âmisunderstandingâ was deliberate.
â
Theé mou
, you should
not
be saying things like that to a man. It could be taken the wrong way.â
She sliced into a tomato. âYouâre taking it the way I intended you to take it.â
Nik glanced at the bottle of champagne and tried to work out how much sheâd had. âIâm not taking you to my home, Iâm taking you to
your
home.â
âYou donât want to do that. My bed is smaller than a cat basket and youâre big. I have a feeling weâre going to get very hot and sweaty, and I donât have air conditioning.â
Nikâs libido was fighting against the restraining bonds of logic. âI will give you a lift home and then Iâm leaving.â
âLeaving?â Disappointment mingled with uncertainty. âYou donât find me attractive?â
âYouâre sexy as hell,â he drawled, âbut youâre not my type.â
âThat doesnât make any sense. You donât like sexy?â
âI like sexy. I donât like women who want to fall in love, settle down and have lots of babies.â
âI thought weâd already established I didnât want to do any of that with you. You donât score a single point on my checklist, which is
exactly
why I want to do this. I know Iâd be safe. And so would you!â
He decided he didnât even want to know about her checklist. âHow much champagne have you had?â
âIâm not drunk, if thatâs what youâre suggesting. Ask me anything. Make me walk in a straight line. Iâll touch my nose with my eyes closed, or Iâll touch
your
nose with my eyes closed if you prefer. Or other parts of youââ She gave a wicked grin and leaned forward. âOne night. Thatâs all it would be. You will not regret it.â
Nik deployed the full force of his will power and kept his eyes away from the softness of her breasts. âYouâre right. I wonât, because itâs not going to happen.â
âI do yoga. Iâm very bendy.â
Nik gave a soft curse. âStop talking.â
âI can put my legs behind my head.â
â
Cristo
, you should
definitely
stop talking.â His libido was urging logic to surrender.
âWhatâs the problem? One night of fun. Tomorrow we both go our own ways and if I see you in the office Iâll pretend I donât know you. Call your lawyer. Iâll sign a contract promising not to fall in love with you. A pre-non-nuptial agreement. All I want is for you to take me home, strip me naked, throw me onto that enormous bed of yours and have sex with me in every conceivable position. After that I will walk out of your door and youâll never see me again. Deal?â
He tried to respond but it seemed her confusing mix of innocence and sexuality had short-circuited his brain. âLilyââ he spoke through his teeth ââtrust me, you do
not
want me to take you home, strip you naked and throw you onto my bed.â
âWhy not? Itâs just sex.â
âYouâve spent several hours telling me you donât do âjust sexâ.â
âBut Iâm going to this time. I want to be able to separate sex from love. The next time a man comes my way who might be the one, I wonât let sex confuse things. Iâll be like Kevlar. Nothing is getting through me. Nothing.â
âYou are marshmallow, not Kevlar.â
âThat was the old me. The new me is Kevlar. I donât understand why you wonât do this, unlessââ She studied him for a long moment and then leaned forward, a curious look in her eyes. âAre you
scared
?â
âIâm sober,â he said softly, âand when I play, I like it to be with an