“A workout, huh? I didn’t think I was that hard on you,” I teased as I handed him the glass.
He gulped down the water like a man who been stranded in the desert and placed the glass on the nightstand. Turning back toward me, he leaned back on his elbows and grinned. “I knew you’d be like that. It’s good. Nothing worse than a woman who just lays there and doesn’t participate.”
And there right in front of me he morphed into the Stefan who’d gotten under my skin from the first moment I met him.
“Participate? Maybe that’s a reflection of the partner, not the woman.”
He reached out and snaked his arm around my waist to pull me toward him. “Maybe, but I don’t think so. Whatever. You don’t have to worry about that. You’re definitely a partner worthy of a workout.”
“You’re pretty cocky, aren’t you?” I teased, secretly loving the feel of his body against mine and wishing he wouldn’t leave as soon as I feared he would.
He looked down toward where our bodies touched and back up at me. “Shouldn’t I be? I thought you liked the way I am.”
Arching one eyebrow, I pretended to be skeptical. “I didn’t say I didn’t.”
“Good. We need to do this again.”
“Really? Need to?” I mocked.
“Yeah. Good sex is a need thing.”
Smiling, I said, “Well, when you put it that way…”
Stefan nuzzled my neck and kissed me on the sensitive area just under my ear. “Good. Then we’ll definitely do this again.”
He leaned back with a satisfied look in his eye. Tapping him on the nose, I continued my teasing. “For a player, you’re not very non-committal. I thought players hit it and left. You’re all about making plans for next time.”
“Who told you I was a player?” he asked with a genuine look of confusion in his eyes, as if he thought he wasn’t one.
“Everyone. I mean, it’s no secret, Stefan.”
He shook his head. “Like I told you at the club, you think you know all about me, but you don’t. I might just surprise you, Shay Callahan.”
I climbed off him and slipped a t-shirt over my head. “I look forward to it, Stefan March. Few people in this world surprise me, so it would be a nice change.”
Leaning back on his elbows, he nodded. “That sounds like a challenge I’ll accept. I like surprising people who don’t believe I have it in me.”
Was he trying to charm me? Whatever he was doing, it was working, and I couldn’t have that. Regardless of who he was there lying naked on my bed looking more incredible than a man should joking around with me, Stefan was a player, pure and simple. Forgetting that would only lead to me getting hurt, and I couldn’t let that happen.
“Well, Mr. Surprise, I need to get some sleep or I’ll never get back to that place I work with the boss who cracks the whip, so you better get going.”
Stefan sat up and stood in front of me wearing a playful expression. “Crack the whip? That sounds kinky.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s find your clothes so you don’t have to ride that bike of yours buck naked all the way to your place.”
I turned to head out to the living room and he followed me. Scooping up his clothes, I had to smile. The man had already surprised me more than I thought possible. Not that I wanted him to know, though.
“Shay, are you trying to get rid of me?”
I shook my head. “No. I just figured since this is just a hook up, you wouldn’t be staying the night. Player, remember?”
He took the clothes from me and began to dress. “Yeah, but I’m getting a bum’s rush vibe here. Did you and your boyfriend really break up?”
His feelings were hurt. Damn, I couldn’t figure this guy out. He definitely was a player, yet he seemed bothered by me not wanting to have him spend the night. It was odd player behavior, but what did I know? No matter what Carrie believed, I wasn’t a player and my experiences with them had been limited, at best, but none had ever wanted to do the cuddling after sex thing.
“Yes, we did, Stefan. I wouldn’t do that to someone. If I’m with a man, then I’m only with him. I don’t cheat. It’s something I can’t abide.”
“Okay. Good. I mean, I don’t want to have to fend off an attack from that skinny guy. It wouldn’t be hard, but putting the beatdown on your poor boyfriend would really kill the good time we had, don’t you think?”
Chuckling, I brushed a piece of lint off his shirt. “There’s no boyfriend, so no need to kill our good time. But it’s time for me to get to sleep. I had a good time.”
In another classically un-playerlike move, he leaned down and kissed me long and deep, like we were separating for ages and he needed to remember the feel of my lips on his. “See you at work, princess.”
And then he was gone and I was left trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
STRETCHING MY arms above my head, I closed my eyes and thought about how good the night before had felt, loving the memory of Shay completely giving herself to me. Rarely had I enjoyed fucking a woman as much as I did her. I had a feeling she’d be wild, but I never imagined she’d be so…so able to make me want her.
Not that I’d gone over to the dark side like Cash had with Olivia, all lovey dovey and ready to race down the aisle. Fuck that! I was a confirmed bachelor committed only to the single life, and that wouldn’t be changing any time soon. I had the world by the tail. Why would I give that up?
I did enjoy myself, though, and I planned to get back inside Shay’s tight body as soon as possible. Now that she’d warmed up to me, it would be nothing but smooth sailing from here on out.
A knock at my office door tore me from my daydreaming, and before I could even yell to tell the person to come in, Kane appeared in my doorway with a look on his face that told me he knew. I didn’t know how, but he knew.
“What can I do for you today, Kane?” I asked wearing a grin I couldn’t wipe from my face.
He studied me for a long moment and closed the door behind him. Arching an eyebrow, he stared and said, “Just wondering how that bet of ours is going.”
I laughed. “You know what, big brother? Today’s your unlucky day, or my lucky day, depending on how you look at it. I was with her last night.”
His steely blue eyes narrowed. “No way. I can’t believe that woman would ever go with the likes of you. She’s too good for you.”