Free Living with Temptation by Melinda Hale

again.”
    “A tough promise to keep around me.”
    Chelsea laughed, shocked by his ego. The man had confidence,
which she hated but also admired. It was something she could never find.
Despite herself, she smiled.
    “How can you be like this?”
    “Like what? Charming and handsome?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Positive. And confident.”
    Dean shrugged. “It’s how I was raised.”
    “I don’t buy that.”
    “Okay, how about I earned it? Life for me has been a bumpy
road full of potholes and shit I don’t want to deal with.”
    “Same for everyone.”
    “But not everyone’s a millionaire featured in the Times .”
    Chelsea laughed. “Now I see where it comes from.”
    Dean hesitated, and for a brief moment, they looked into
each other’s eyes before Chelsea turned away. “How do you know that kiss wasn’t
a moment of temptation? I was vulnerable, like you said.”
    Dean leaned closer to her, and she could feel his breath
against her face, warming her skin. Oh, how she longed to feel his touch, the
heat of his lips on hers. A kiss is an understatement, she thought. He
touched me. Her heart was racing, and Chelsea was drawn into the glimmer of
those green eyes, the playful smile curving his lips enticingly.
    Dean’s smile widened as if he knew what she was thinking.
    “It was more than a temptation.”
    His voice was teasing; every word seemed to linger in her
mind. Now she understood how easily he could seduce women – it wasn’t just his
looks.
    Chelsea shrugged, and turned away to face the beach. He
wanted to be blunt, then she would play along. “You’re a sexy millionaire. It’s
only lust.”
    An awkward silence settled between them and as Chelsea shot
a look at Dean, a frown had deepened on his face, his lips pulled back in a
bitter expression. Had she finally managed to offend him? She glanced away
before he noticed she was watching him.
    Then something occurred to her.
    “Haven’t you been married before?” she asked gently. She
wanted to ask if he’d been in a long term relationship, but putting it in that
way might hurt his feelings. Chelsea was his houseguest after all, and didn’t
want to get on his bad side, if he even had one.
     “No,” Dean replied without hesitation. “It never appealed
to me. But sometimes, you wonder. If it’s something worth pursuing. If there
really is a woman out there for me.”
    “There’s someone for everyone,” Chelsea intoned. Months ago,
she’d believed Ryan was The One. Her statement seemed so perfect, but after
experiencing the bitter fallout of her marriage, she doubted there was anyone
for her.
    Dean didn’t want marriage. That was understandable. She
didn’t think it was something she wanted again, and definitely not with a
playboy like him.
    Chelsea swallowed, shivering slightly from the cold. The motion
of her body seemed to draw Dean’s gaze and for a moment, she wanted to lean
against him. Desire heated her body again, and she felt herself getting tight
with need.
    “Was that Ryan in the van when you moved in?” Dean asked.
    Chelsea stared. It almost sounded like jealousy in his
voice.
    “No, of course not,” she replied. “That was Matt. He’s my
cousin Leanne’s husband. They’ve been together for three years now. They live
out in Brooklyn, but he traveled all this way to help me out.”
    “Nice of him.”
    “He’s a nice guy. What about your family? Don’t you talk to
your brother much?”
    Dean’s brows furrowed. “Not anymore. Haven’t said a word
since my parents died.”
    “Must’ve been hard on you both.”
    “For Jake it was the hardest. He was only eighteen when it
happened. It was an accident – they were taking a vacation to Canada, one of
their annual visits. Their private plane went through a storm, they didn’t make
it.”
    Chelsea saw pain in his eyes, even as he gave her a weary
smile. This wasn’t something he was used to talking about. But he’s opening
up to me, she realized. It meant as much to