Chapter 60

"Just so you know—if you’re planning on avoiding being seduced, you’ll definitely need more than a robe. Maybe an entire wardrobe." Chase’s voice sounded strained.

Amaya could see the bad boy inside was only barely contained. Just the thought of what might happen when he broke out added further to her inner trembling. In a voice that sounded higher than her own, she said, "Well, I wanted to talk about that—"

"Yes?"

His response was so fast it interrupted her mid-sentence, and Amaya gaped at him like an idiot for a moment, her train of thought derailed.

"You were saying something about seducing me?"

His wide grin broke the tension as she remembered how much she liked this man, and she grinned back.

She rolled her eyes. "You wish. We have a deal. No touching, no—whatever—this is, after all, business. Just business."

"You have no idea how much I miss you," Chase added with a small smirk.

His intense tone caused her belly to drop in a frightening free fall as liquid heat pooled in places long ignored, every inch of her hungry body on high alert as the bed dipped when he sat next to her.

"Stop playing games, Chase. This is what you want. Stick to it."

"I know."

While Amata’s scrambled brain tried to reform the words she was having such a hard time articulating, he sighed.

"But I thought about it, and you were right."

What? No! She opened her mouth, but he continued before she could speak.

"Let me guess. You’re not interested in changing the status quo between us. You don’t want to ruin a good working relationship. You don’t want to risk wrecking our deal by letting sex get in the way of the sound business decision we’ve made, right?"

Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

NO! Chase thought.

Logically, he made perfect sense, and he’d reiterated the arguments she’d been having with herself ever since she’d said yes to his ridiculous proposal.

Emotionally, she wanted to rant and scream and kick her Garfield slippers into the Great Barrier Reef. For now, she’d made up her mind to alleviate some of this growing tension between them; she didn’t want to take the safe, sensible option any more.

But what could she say?

Backing down from her previous stance would make her seem fickle, indecisive, and decidedly stupid, not to mention shoot down any credibility in convincing him that her acceptance of his proposal was 100 percent business.

For him, having sex would satisfy his lust factor. For her, it was so much more, and he’d know it. She’d told him in Greece; she showed him that she wanted more, and knowing Chase, he wouldn’t have forgotten.

He asked, relentlessly nodding his head, like he was convincing himself. "Just business, right?"

With a sinking heart, Amaya nodded.

"Right."

She faked a smile and said, "Okay, then, glad we got that settled."

He didn’t move, and when she raised her eyes to his, she knew nothing was settled—far from it, for while Chase might be spouting the business tune, his eyes were gobbling her up and coming back for seconds.

"Amaya?"

She gulped, knowing her voice would come out squeaky if she didn’t, for the longer he looked at her like that, the harder it was to breathe.

"Yeah?"

"You made a breathtaking bride."

It wasn’t his compliment that made her blush as much as the memory of how she’d envisioned him taking her wedding dress off.

"The dress was pretty special—"

"I wasn’t talking about the dress."

His hand snaked across the bed and rested on hers, the simple touch setting her body alight as her gaze flew to his, connected, locked, unable to look away even if she wanted to.

Tension crackled between them as she wavered between yanking her hand out from under his to re-establish equilibrium and closing the short distance between them and straddling his lap.

"You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, my daisy."

"Don't start with Daisy, Chase. I’m not buying it this time."

"I know that."

A soft, wistful sigh escaped her lips, a sigh filled with hope and fear and wishes that things could be different for them, that this could be a real wedding night in every sense of the word.

Mustering a smile, she said, "And you’re still the charmer."

He winked. "Is it working?"

"It depends on why you’re trying to charm me."

"Ah, the million-dollar question…"

Rather than releasing her hand, his thumb traced slow circles on the back of it, grazing her knuckles, dipping into the grooves, and sending heat spiralling through her body.

Her eyes drifted shut, as if she could block out his touch and what it was doing to her body, but if anything, the sensations increased tenfold.

Every nerve ending snapped to attention with every minute caress, every muscle liquefied with the barest brush of his thumb, and when he stroked her fingers from knuckle to tip, the tension strumming her body coalesced into a fiery yearning that had her leaping off the bed like he’d prodded her.

"I’m really tired."

His knowing gaze told her he knew exactly why she’d retreated, yet thankfully he didn’t push it.

"Okay then. Do you want to have supper? I can get Room Service to bring us something, or would you prefer a bed?"

To her endless embarrassment, she blushed and scooted around to the other side of the bed, the very mention of which made her feel like a schoolgirl jilted by the high school jock.

"I’m not hungry."

She slid under the six-hundred-thread-count sheets. The sooner she feigned sleep, the sooner she could avoid looking at his delicious body and wishing he were supper.

"You sure?"

His deep, husky tone had her imagining warmed honey drizzled across his torso and strawberries dipped in chocolate nestled in his navel, and she swallowed, at serious risk of drooling.

"I’m sure. Now, if you don’t mind, I need some rest. So scoot."

"Huh?"

"The couch? You know, that thing next to the table over there?"

He shook his head and sent her his best puppy-dog look, the one he’d perfected back in high school, the same one that melted her heart.

"I can’t sleep on that. It doesn’t convert into a sofa bed; it’s two feet too short and has rocks under the cushions."

"Well, you can’t expect me to sleep there!"