Authors: Mackenzie Crowne
God, what was wrong with her? Hadn’t she witnessed her mother’s pain and misery, thanks to her father’s womanizing? She should be immune to Tuck’s dark and mysterious allure. Yet, here she was, fighting a giddy, consuming excitement every bit as powerful as the trepidation clawing at her mind like desperate fingers. Which only proved what she’d suspected all her life. Men like Tuck were sensual demons, devilishly smooth dealers in the powerful drug of unadulterated lust.
Perhaps she was suffering from a case of massive rationalization, but still… She had less than three weeks to fulfill her birthday promise, and freedom from her neuroses far outweighed the potential risk of falling under Tuck’s spell. She’d made her deal with the devil and would stick to their bargain, but she had no intention of ending up like her mother by following through on the tempting promises of unspeakable pleasures in his enthralling eyes.
The trick was to keep her eye on the prize, which should be as easy as pie, considering how often reminders of Tuck’s gigolo status came up. For crying out loud, in the three blocks from her condo to the park where Walter’s lessons would be held, she’d spied six women shooting Tuck blatantly inviting smiles.
Six! Not that she was counting.
She shuffled to a stop as he paused at the top of a small rise overlooking the grassy lawn. At the bottom of the hill, a half dozen dogs and their owners formed a half circle. Among the group were five women and one man, along with a German shepherd, a boxer, two beagles, a sleek greyhound, and a white furball of an unrecognizable breed. Walter fidgeted at her side, anxious to join the pack.
The Barbie doll brunette holding the greyhound’s leash turned and spotted Tuck. She lifted her hand and greeted him with a fingertip wave and a syrupy sweet smile.
Make that seven.
Tuck waved back and CC pressed her lips together. What the hell? Was he about to introduce her to one of his cast-off lovers? The possibility made her jittery with the need to announce an addendum to her rules. An exclusivity clause was in order. No way in hell would she be spending the next twenty-one days with Tuck and his exes. Unfortunately, having that discussion would have to wait. The park was full of strangers, six of whom were currently watching them with marked interest.
She bit back a snarky comment, sucked in a nervous breath, and sliced a condemning glance his way. “Friend of yours?”
The flirt didn’t even have the grace to look uncomfortable. “Not exactly.”
“Not exactly? As in just someone you’ve seen naked?”
He met her gaze and smirked. “Hey, what can I say? We gigolos have a reputation to maintain.”
Ha! Keeping her eye on the prize was going to be a breeze.
His smirk slid into a sensual smile. “Jealous?”
“Not on your life.”
He chuckled and tugged on her hand, leading her down the hill. “As it happens, I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Bridgette naked. She’s the class instructor. We’ve never met.”
CC rolled her lips flat into an embarrassed line. Guilt might have sunk its claws deep if not for the predatory gleam in the tall instructor’s eyes latched onto Tuck as they approached.
“Hey, aren’t you Tuck?” The lone male in the group, a barrel-chested man in jeans and a T-shirt, spoke before they’d come to a stop.
Tuck smiled congenially. “That’s me.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” The big man performed an odd dance in his attempt to stay clear of the fluffy white dog running in nervous circles around his feet. A pink bow flopped in her top knot. He finally scooped the animal up, patting her head as he cradled her in his thick arms. He grinned in Walter’s direction. “Now that’s a dog. Never thought I’d ever be walking a Cockapoo, but the wife…well.” He shrugged his wide shoulders and shot Tuck a what’s-a-guy-to-do smile. “Women.”
Bridgette opened her mouth, but before she could speak, one of the other class attendees, a forty-something blonde, carrying a few extra pounds, graced Tuck with a dimpled smile. Excitement twinkled in her blue eyes. “Wow. You’re in our class?”
“Actually—”
“My husband is never going to believe this.” The blonde rested a hand on the boxer’s head. “He’s your biggest fan.”
Tuck grinned. “That’s nice to hear.”
“Fan?” A petite Asian woman held a phone in one hand and the German Shepherd’s leash in the other.
Poodle guy answered her question. “Tuck plays for the Marauders.”
A bland expression settled on the woman’s brow.
“The Manhattan Marauders. They won the Super Bowl earlier this year.”
“Oh. Football.” She pointed the phone at Tuck and snapped a picture.
The last two attendees, stunningly sleek, redheaded twins, moved closer with their matching beagles to join the conversation. “Hi, Tuck. Remember us? We met at a players’ meet and greet last year.”
CC rotated her head slowly to shoot him a raised brow.
A grimacing smile crooked his lips. He looked away, cocking his head to glance between the twins. “Lilly and Lorna, right?”
The twin on the right pouted. “Linda and Lara.”
He cleared his throat. “How could I have forgotten?”
Poodle guy cupped a hand over his mouth to cover his smile.
CC snorted disdainfully. How could he forget? More like how could he remember a mere two out of the thousands of woman he’d obviously seen naked?
The smile Bridgette offered Tuck was more than a few degrees cooler than the one she’d worn only moments ago. “We’re honored you’ve joined us today, Mr. Tucker, but only dog owners are allowed to join in the class.” She tossed her head toward a row of benches several dozen yards away. “If you wouldn’t mind watching your”—she lifted a brow at CC—“lady friend and Walter, is it, from there?”
All eyes turned CC’s way. Heat bloomed in her cheeks, and a tightening band around her chest threatened to steal her breath. Oh, crud. This was a bad idea.
Tuck slipped his fingers around her upper arm before she could spin around and run. His puckered brow indicated he noted her blooming distress. He dipped his head, bringing his lips to hers to speak quietly. “Breathe, sunshine. I’ll be close by if you need me.”
The breath he suggested sawed raggedly from her compressing lungs as he brushed his lips over hers in a gentle kiss. He straightened, eyeing her intently. Despite the deepening heat of her cheeks at his public display, she clung to the confident encouragement in his deep blue orbs.
If she needed him? She couldn’t allow that to happen, ever, but if she was going to cave at the first sign of trouble, she might as well call a halt to her test right now and admit defeat. Not going to happen.
She nodded and dragged in a calming breath. He smiled and winked, then turned to wander off to the line of benches. She cast her gaze about. Several pairs of feminine eyes followed his departure, and she straightened her spine. She’d be demanding that exclusivity clause the moment class ended.
Chapter 8
“He did it again.”
On the machine next to CC’s, Kris turned her head. “Who did what?”
CC’s feet thudded a quick pace on the treadmill’s rolling belt. She shot her cousin a guilty grimace. “Tuck. He kissed me and killed a panic attack about to strike.”
“What? When was this?” Kris jammed a fingertip to her control panel. The belt slowed to a stop. Eyes wide, she stared. “You sneaky dog. Why didn’t you tell me you saw him again?”
“I thought I just did.” Which was the reason she’d agreed to meet Kris at the busy private gym instead of working out at the much quieter Y around the corner from their condo. Since Walter’s lesson in the park, CC had been swamped with doubts, and her cousin was the only person she could talk to about her arrangement with Tuck.
Kris swiped the small towel from the handrail and dabbed at her throat. “And
I
thought you’d decided to ask Ronald to help you out with your theory.”
Funny, she hadn’t given her agent a thought in days. Odd, considering how embarrassed she’d been over his rejection, but then, from the moment Tuck made his irresistible offer, she hadn’t exactly been thinking clearly. God, the man scrambled her brain almost as much as he heated her insides.
Kris cleared her throat.
CC blinked. What were they talking about? Oh, right. Ronald’s refusal. Her cousin already had a low opinion of her agent. His humiliating rejection was something she’d rather keep to herself. She shrugged. “I changed my mind.”
A sly grin tipped the corners of Kris’s lips. “You go, girl!” She flipped the top on her water bottle. “So, Tuck agreed to your little experiment? Details. I need details.”
She glanced away from her cousin’s intent regard. “There’s not much to tell.”
Kris leaned a hip against the rail and crossed her arms. A laugh sparkled in her eyes beneath arched brows. “You’re a terrible liar, Cees, and worse at keeping secrets. At least from me. Spill it.”
She scowled and punched the stop button on her panel. “Fine. I didn’t change my mind. I approached Ronald with the idea of the two of us dating.”
“And?”
She squirmed beneath Kris’s watchful stare. Squatting on the belt, she snagged her duffle bag. “He declined.”
Kris straightened away from the bar with a hiss. “The dweeb turned you down?”
“Shh!” CC glanced around. Thankfully, none of the several dozen patrons working out in the busy gym paid them any attention. After rising, she hopped from her treadmill and headed for the free weights.
Kris hurried after her. “Cees?”
She dropped her bag to the floor, selected two ten-pound hand weights, and straightened in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. Her biceps contracted with the first curl of her arms. “It was a nightmare. I thought he was going to swallow his tongue. He looked at me like I’d grown a second head and couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”
A low growl rumbled in her cousin’s throat. “Bastard.”
Guilt simmered in her belly. “Though I’d like to agree with you on that, I can’t. Turns out he’s seeing someone.”
The towel hung from Kris’s fingers as she folded her arms. “He’s an uptight nerd. You got lucky, as far as I’m concerned.”
“And stepped into the path of a runaway train. Guess who was standing outside the condo’s open door and heard every humiliating word?” She nodded wryly as Kris’s mouth formed a silent
O,
then explained how Tuck had shown up the day before and about his gift of the dog obedience classes for Walter. “The minute Ronald left, Tuck offered his services as test stud.”
Having lifted her water bottle to her lips, Kris coughed. She dragged the back of her hand across her mouth. “Stud as in
stud
?”
“Is there another kind?” CC squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her arms to her sides. “God. I’m as bad as Mom.”
“What do you mean?”
“Apparently she passed her inability-to-resist-a-bad-boy flirt gene down to me.” She opened her eyes and turned her head. “I was scot-free, Kris. By the time I’d finished laying out my rules for the test, Tuck had changed
his
mind. He said no thanks, but instead of counting my blessings and sending him on his way, I practically badgered him into reconsidering.”
Disappointment puckered the redhead’s brow. “Why would he say no?”
“Why would he say
yes
? I’d just explained about the panic attacks. Talk about baggage.”
Kris rolled her eyes. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
She scowled and purposefully turned her back on her reflection. Kris rolled her eyes, but CC didn’t need to follow her cousin’s gaze to know what she’d see. She’d never be considered a great beauty. Clearly, the knockout gene had skipped a generation. Unlike her mother, who stood at a statuesque five-foot-ten, CC took after her paternal grandmother. Not that she was a dog. Her five-four frame was well proportioned, with healthy breasts and slim hips, and her curly blond hair and pale skin complemented her large green eyes. With a little time and effort, she could be presentable, but at the moment, free of makeup, with sweat dampening her curls and the front of her T-shirt, she fell somewhere just short of average.
She smirked. “You’re biased, Kris. Or blind.”
“Of course I’m biased, and I’m not blind. Think about it. You’ve worked damn hard to remain anonymous. In an age where anyone can be found with a few clicks of the mouse, you’ve managed to avoid the grid. For all intents and purposes, you don’t exist. You don’t even have a Facebook account, for heaven’s sake and yet, one of the hottest bachelors in the country took the time and effort to track you down. A man who goes to that kind of trouble has
got
to be interested.”
She cursed her fair skin and the blush that heated her cheeks. “Oh, he’s interested.”
“Well then?”
Frustration filled her sigh. “You know how I am. I started babbling. He deserved to understand the full scope of the situation, but apparently, he’s got a brain beneath all that brawn. The minute he realized how little experience I have had with guys, he slammed on the brakes. I should have done the same, especially when he warned if he consented to help me prove my theory, he’d be doing his damndest to get me into bed.”
Kris’s eyes went owl wide. “He said that?”
“Almost verbatim.”
“Wow.” Kris dropped to a weight bench with a faraway stare, then her brows snapped together. She slapped her towel to the padded leather seat at her side. “Man. Why doesn’t stuff like that ever happen to me?”
CC spun to face her. “I’m serious.”
With one long leg crossed over the other, Kris leaned back on her hands. “So am I. He’s single, sexy as hell, and, if the rumors are true, knows his stuff in the bedroom.”
No arguing there. If his kisses were any indication… She huffed. “Well, I don’t. What’s more, I’m not interested in learning.”
Kris rolled her eyes. “Oh, you are so full of it.”
She coughed a laugh, and they shared a grin.
Kris held out one hand to study her nails, then brought it close and frowned. “Oh, man. I’ve got a chip.” She bent at the waist and rummaged through her bag. Sitting up, she sawed a nail file back and forth over the jagged edge. “Face it, Cees, you may live like a nun, but you’re as attracted to a broad chest and a pair of muscled arms as I am. Besides, aren’t you the one who said you’re sick of being a twenty-six-year-old weirdo who’s never had sex?”