Bedding the Bachelors Box Set (Books 1-3) (13 page)

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Then it's not really a pop quiz. A quiz implies by its very nature that there's a right answer or a wrong answer.”

A huge grin split his face now. “What about multiple-choice questions? Haven't you ever answered a question with D, all of the above?”

“Well, sure,” she began hesitantly. “But—”

“There is no 'but,'” he said softly. “Not in this scenario.”

Looking like she wanted to argue some more, she simple shrugged and said, “Fine. There are no wrong answers.”

“Good. The other thing about this question is that you don't answer it right away. You just think about it. And you answer when you're ready.”

“So what's the question?”

“What would you do to have me?”

She stared at him blankly. “Excuse me?”

Reaching out, he rubbed his thumb against her bottom lip, loving the way her eyelids suddenly grew heavy. “That's the question for you to think about. What would you do to have me? Sexually, of course.”

Her brows furrowed. “I'm not sure I understand the question. In the context of our…our agreement, I suppose I'll do whatever you tell me pleases you.”

“So that's how you plan on handling the next man in your life? Letting him have carte blanche? Anything goes?”

“Well…”

“Bondage?”

Her eyes rounded. “I guess it depends…”

“Sex toys?”

She glanced away, blushing to the roots of her hair. “I-I don't have a problem with—”

“How about multiple partners? Two women? Two men?”

Her eyes snapped back to his. “No. I'm not having any luck keeping one partner satisfied. I don't need an extra person in my bed to worry about.”

“How do you know that's your stopping point? Have you ever tried it?”

“No. I've never tried eating worms, either, but I know that's never going to happen.”

“Okay, so you have a definite sense of what you wouldn't do. Not so much of what you would.”

“Why don't you just tell me what you want, and I'll let you know if it's something I'm not comfortable with.”

His expression grew serious. “And is that where your willingness to learn ends? With the obvious answer?”

She reacted just as he expected she would. Challenge Melina's thirst for knowledge and complexity, and expect her to sit quietly and take it? No way. Hands on hips, she thrust her chin out. “Just what are you getting at, Rhys?”

“You know as well as I do that sometimes the key to learning is figuring things out for yourself. Why wouldn't that apply in this situation, as well?”

She came very close to pouting. “Seems to me this is a trick question.”

He laughed. “It can't be, because the answer is what it is. If you're willing to do what I ask and nothing more, then that's the answer.”

“You're talking in circles,” she cried. “I don't want to guess what I need to do. I want to know. That's the whole reason I asked Max for help. I don't want to play the game just to fail again.”

His heart skipped as he saw the real distress in her eyes. “Baby, you're not going to fail. There's no way that's possible.”

She just shook her head, biting her lip until he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her close. So that's what he did. He pulled her in for a hug and rocked her. She let him hug her but didn't return the favor. Soon, she pulled away.

“I'm sorry. I obviously can't even do this right. I think I should just leave.”

“Is that what you really want?” he asked quietly to mask his own desperation. “To quit before we even get started?”

“No. But I don't understand why you're making this so complicated.”

“Because despite what you obviously think, men are complicated. Pleasure is complicated. It's not just a matter of telling someone what I like. It's about you figuring it out. Reading the signs. Learning to trust your instincts. And then acting even though it makes you uncomfortable. Because you know that in the end, the pleasure's going to be worth it.”

She looked unconvinced. Hell, she practically rolled her eyes, which sure told him something about the degree of pleasure her lovers had been giving her. She was obviously going to need more convincing before she'd willingly agree to his lesson plan.

“Okay, so let's go back to our conversation in the car. You said men wanted overt. An arrow painted with red lipstick falls into that category, right?”

She frowned, obviously not happy with thinking about that little message again.

“Well, things aren't always so black and white—even when the shade is Shanghai Crimson. When you say men like the overt, you're oversimplifying.”

“Really. And how's that?”

“What that woman did…it wasn't a turn-on because she sat down across from me practically naked—”

She snorted and he paused, glaring at her.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“It was a turn-on because she went for it. Whatever her reasons, she wanted to have sex with me that much. Not me, necessarily. I could have been Max or any other successful magician, but she was going to get what she desperately wanted, one way or another. Have you ever wanted anything like that, Melina? Because, believe me, I have. And I never thought I had a chance in hell of getting it. Not until I walked into my hotel room last night and found you waiting for me. Not until I realized I'd do anything—run down the Vegas strip naked with lipstick all over my body—to have just one taste of you before you came to your senses and left.”

She was breathing hard, her eyes wide and dazed, staring at him as if she'd never seen him before. And she hadn't. Not really. He'd never let her see the passion he harbored for her, not so clear and out in the open. But he was letting her see it now, if she bothered to look.

“Have you ever felt that way about any of your lovers, Melina?”

Slowly, she shook her head.

“Then if your exes found you wanting, it wasn't because you lacked skill. It was because they
knew
you didn't feel that passion for them. That doesn't mean you don't have the passion inside you.” I should know, he thought. She'd given him the taste he'd been craving, and it had almost blown his mind.

She shook her head, and her eyes cleared and narrowed. “I don't believe you,” she murmured. “What's that old saying? All cats look alike in the dark? A woman without inhibition, a woman who cares only about her own pleasure, makes demands. Her focus isn't on the man. Sure, it's an ego boost to have a woman crazy for him, but in the end the man's going to want his. I'm not the most passionate person, but if I have the skill, that's what's going to matter most.”

“I didn't say the woman would only care about her own pleasure the whole time. Great sex is about making a connection, even if it's just on a purely chemical level. It's about give-and-take. It's about someone wanting you for everything you are and aren't, regardless of measurements, wealth, or background. Which is why that woman's forwardness turned me on, but only to a point. She didn't want
me
. She wanted my stage persona. Who she thought I was.”

Their gazes locked before she took a deep breath.

“But what you're talking about…it almost sounds like you're describing emotion. Love.”

He shrugged, wanting to push the conversation in that direction but knowing that would just scare her. And him, too. He was fortunate to have this weekend. He couldn't get carried away and expect more. “It does, doesn't it? As I said, it's not black and white. Very few things are. This weekend is about experimenting. Learning each other's likes and dislikes. Playing and petting. But it's also about pushing each other to our limits. Finding out what drives us. How far you'll go to have me. That's how you'll learn what pleases a man, Melina. Not by me showing or telling you. By being motivated to figure it out on your own.”

“And you think you can motivate me?”

Saying nothing, he shot her a wicked grin. That's all it took to have her blushing. To her credit, however, she didn't go down without a fight.

“So let me get this right. You're saying that instead of giving me clear instructions as to what a man likes, you're going to make me figure it out on my own?”

“I promise to give you lots of feedback. But what I like might not be what another man does. Doing it this way strengthens not only your confidence, but your instincts, too.”

“Or it just makes me look like a fool again. And probably leads to a lot of frustration for you.”

“If you're willing to take the chance, I think I'll be able to stand it.”

She pursed her lips, thinking about it. “I don't know, Rhys. Maybe this just isn't—”

“What do you say we compromise?”

She took a step back, clearly not trusting him. “How?”

“I'll agree to tell you what I like. What most men like. But each time I do, you need to try something on your own.”

“And what if I do something you don't like?”

“Then you win and you won't have to do it again.”

“You're that sure of your theory?”

“I'm that sure of you. You can stand there and do nothing and I'll be turned on. You actually do something, anything, to me?” He growled, making her eyes widen.

“In all fairness, how would you know if you win?”

“It's a win-win situation for me, isn't it? I tell you what pleases me, you do it. You try something I like, it pleases me. You try something I don't like, we're back to me telling you what I like. Right?”

She squinted, as if trying to make sense of his convoluted reasoning. “I guess.”

“Good. Now, we should probably get going if we want to get in the water before it's cold.” He handed her a basket with a blanket and paper goods. “What do you say we play a game on the drive there?”

“A game?”

“Yes. That's something most guys like, too. Teasing. Playing with their partner. Not just physically either. Last night, I pushed you a little to talk to me. To tell me what you like. You ever play the alphabet game?”

She followed him out to the car. “I'm familiar with it.”

“Good. Then let's start with that. I was going to propose we start in alphabetical order. Food first. Then the lake. But then I realized I've never really heard you talk dirty before.” At the car, he opened the driver's side door and turned to her with one raised brow. “So what do you think, Melina? Can you talk dirty to me? Tell me some of your favorite sex words. And just for kicks, why don't you alphabetize them for me?”

***

Melina didn't know why, but something about Rhys's request rankled her.

She got into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. As Rhys started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, she glared at him. “You don't think I'll do it, do you?”

“Why would I think that? You're very good at following instructions.”

She felt her temper spike, still not sure why she was so riled. All she knew was that he seemed too calm and controlled for her liking, especially since she felt anything but. “Meaning what? You don't think I have the creativity to be a good lover? Well, you're right. I don't. But if there's one thing I'm good at, it's words.”

“Why are you mad?”

She stared out the windshield and crossed her arms over her chest. “I-I don't know. Maybe because this seems to be one big joke to you.”

He braked so suddenly that she jerked forward against her seat belt. Bracing one hand on the wheel and the other on the headrest behind her, he glared at her. “Tell me one thing I've done to make you think this is a joke to me.”

“It's obvious, isn't it? You're trying to make me uncomfortable by drawing things out. Poking fun at my intellectual side.”

“I'm not poking fun. I love your intellectual side. Would you rather we just strip and do it a few times to get the nerves out?”

“Yes,” she snapped.

“Well, that's not what you need, and it's not what you're going to get from me. If you don't like my methods, I can drive you back home. I'm sure you can get Max to meet you with one phone call.”

With that, he shifted in his seat until he again faced forward.

She pressed her lips together, trying not to cry. “I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. And I don't want to call Max.” I want you, she thought.
It's always been you.

He sighed and started driving again. “There's nothing wrong with you. You're just feeling out of your element. But at some point, for us to go forward, you're going to need to trust me. Trust that I want only the best for you.”

She laughed humorously. “So it's my sweet sixteen all over again. You call the shots, and I just wait for you to make your move. Is Trisha James going to make a surprise appearance, too?”

His jaw tightened. “If you want to discuss that night, we can. Frankly, I don't think you're ready to hear what I have to say.”

No doubt about it, his words spiked her curiosity. What could he say besides he was sorry? She bowed her head. “No, let's not go there. And I do trust you, Rhys. With this, with me, I trust you.”

He said nothing. The mood in the car had grown so serious, and she had only herself to blame. Her one chance to be with Rhys, and what had she done? She'd blown it, all because he hadn't thrown her on the bed as soon as they'd walked into his cabin. Thinking fast, she blurted out, “Afterglow.”