Bet in the Dark (29 page)

             
His jaw ticked with frustration, but he said, “I’ll figure it out. This is for you. Take it or leave it.”

             
“I want to take it,” I admitted and I watched his shoulders relax noticeably. “But you have to realize this isn’t fair. You are one of the fastest people on the planet, how exactly is this evenly matched?”

             
“On the planet?” he laughed.

             
“Ok, that I’ve ever met.”

             
“I’m giving you the inside lane and I’m going to run backwards,” he finished matter of factly.

             
“Yikes, don’t spare my pride or anything,” I grumbled. But it was actually starting to sound fair.

             
“You’re fast, Ellie. This should be easy for you.”

             
It should be if he was running
backwards
. He was right. Plus, he was giving me a fight, not just backing down. I could leave with my integrity.

             
“Ok,” I finally admitted in an uneasy voice. “I’ll take your bet.”

             
A smile broke out on his face, blinding and bright. His hair was perfectly tussled, his eyes dark and twinkling. Fin Hunter was
staggering
. I let out an unsteady breath and hoped he assumed it was from nerves.

             
“Go line up, I’m going to stretch first,” he instructed.

             
I walked over to the starting line of the inside lane and did a few more calf stretches and then some high knees to warm up. The lights were still bright above me but the night beyond them was pitch dark. We were alone in the stadium, the only ones left on the track.

             
I breathed deeply a few times. I was really nervous for this. My fingers weren’t trembling anymore they were shaking. I felt the familiar nausea I always dealt with before every one of my races in high school. My throat itched, my forehead started sweating and my mouth salivated excessively.

             
I was going to puke.

             
Yep, it was time for a race.

             
Several times throughout my high school career I would vomit as soon as the race was over. It was like I got myself so worked up, so full of adrenaline that after it was over I had to get rid of it somehow.

             
My coach always had a paper bag waiting for me just off the finish line.

             
I hadn’t raced since I was in high school. This was going to be really embarrassing if I puked all over Fin.

             
“Alright, let’s go over the winnings one more time,” Fin said, taking his place in the sEcond lane, just a few feet ahead of me.

             
“Uh, su-sure,” I stuttered. Fin had lost his shirt over on the bench and was facing me all toned, long muscles and perfect abs. Holy hell, he was perfection. His arms and torso were elongated with sinewy muscles that rippled and stretched with every movement. His hips narrowed at his waist, pushing forward muscles I didn’t know existed. His broad shoulders flexed as he swung his arms around in more stretches. I bit my lip at the trail of darker hair making a path from his belly button to shorts and ahem, lower.

             
This was cheating.

             
He was cheating.

             
How in the world did he expect me to run now? I couldn’t even breathe! I was panting like I already ran around the track and now he wanted me to compete for a prize?

             
Bastard.

             
Fin continued as if I wasn’t drooling at the sight of him, “If you win, I erase your seven thousand dollar debt, you can stop working for me and we can forget your little gambling fiasco ever happened.”

             
“Because it never happened,” I picked my jaw up off the floor and replied self-righteously.

             
He returned a taunting smile which helped me remember what I was doing and where I was. I was about to kick his ass.

             
“If I win, you go on a date with me. I get to choose the night, the location and the time-frame,” he finished and his eyes were twinkling again as if the victory was already his. “I’ll even let you count us off.”

             
“How generous.”

             
“Are you ready?” he asked, provoking me again.

             
“Are
you
ready?” I asked. My eyes flickered to his chest again and I felt a weight press against my chest. I wasn’t ready. Not when he stood just feet away from me, his back to the track, poised to run. He was all male sexiness and all I wanted to do was forget the bet and lick his body from navel to earlobe.

             
Oh, gosh. Where did that thought come from???

             
“Count off, Ellie. Whenever you’re ready,” Fin reminded me.

             
I shook my head a little to focus. I could do this. I could beat him. I could play his game.

             
And then it hit me.

             
His game.

             
At which two could play.

             
If he wanted to be a cheater, so be it. But I also had cheating ways. I got into position, my knees bent, my feet poised; but instead of staring at the track ahead of me, visualizing my win, I stared straight into Fin’s eyes and held his gaze.

             
“On your mark,” I started, breathlessly…. seductively. My fingers grabbed the edge of my athletic t-shirt and I tugged it up just enough to reveal my stomach.

             
Goosebumps immediately pebbled across my skin and the cool night air against my belly made me tense up, my muscles going taught with strain. But being uncomfortable was worth it. Already Fin’s eyes had widened, his pupils dilating and his tongue darting out to nervously swipe at his bottom lip. Which only encouraged me.

             
“Get set,” I continued in that same airy voice, but this time it was more from nerves than anything else. I pulled my shirt off all the way, revealing myself in just a sports bra and shorts. My pony tail whipped around my neck, tickling my shoulders, the goose bumps covered all of my skin now and I embarrassingly felt my nipples push against the thin material of my sports bra. It wasn’t like I’d never worked out in a sports bra before, but this wasn’t a normal workout. I was on display for Fin and he was devouring every inch of me with his eager gaze.

             
Fin became raptured, coming to a full stand, his shoulders and jaw slacking. His brows were drawn in confusion but his eyes were wide with wonder. 

             
I had him right where I wanted him.

             
“Go!” I squealed and then took off, right past him as he stared after me, still confused.              

             
The silence of the night seemed to settle over me. My limbs stretched and ached as I took long strides, pushing my body to its limits. I would win this bet. I had to.

             
Suddenly my feet were not the only ones pounding the pavement. I heard Fin sprinting after me, his feet going twice as fast as mine. I knew he couldn’t be running backwards, but I didn’t want to take the precious time to turn around and check. I pushed harder, panting for breath, forcing my feet to move faster.

             
A strong arm looped around my waist suddenly, plucking me up and against Fin’s chest. I let out a shriek of surprise and then wiggled against his hold out of instinct. He stopped running but turned and walked three purposeful strides to one of the high jump mats laying a few feet away.

             
This made me nervous.

             
“You’re a cheater, Ellie,” Fin rasped into my ear.

             
His chest was heaving, moving up and down against my back. His hot arm was pressed against my bare stomach and his body was firm and unyielding with so much tension I was afraid. 

             
“How did I cheat?” I asked, but my voice was no more than a whisper of nerves.

             
A gentle finger stroked my stomach from where his one arm covered my belly button to the bottom of my sports bra. “Stripping is definitely cheating,” he grated.

             
I shivered against him, suddenly terrified of the consequences of my actions. We reached the mat and he tossed me down on the thigh high mat. He loomed over me, his expression hungry…. desperate.

             
“I didn’t do anything that you didn’t!” I argued frantically.

             
“Is that so?” his voice was back to that calm, eerily quiet pitch.

             
His gaze held mine for three long sEconds before raking desperately down my body. I felt every inch as he moved his eyes over me, like a starving man presented with a feast. I was nestled in the softness of the mat, the scent of outdoors and sweat lingering on the vinyl surface. He gave me plenty of time to crawl away, to get up and leave, but when it came down to it, when I lay there anticipating his touch that I
knew
was coming, I found I didn’t want to leave. I was just as desperate, just as needy for him.

             
I shivered again, but not from the cold this time.

             
He set his hands tentatively on my calves where they kind of hung over the edge of the mat. Slowly he moved them upwards, past my knees, under my shorts.

             
“God, Ellie, you don’t know what you do to me.”

             
“Fin,” I breathed reverently.

             
And that was all it took. He hopped up on the mat, crawling over me, his hands skimming over my skin as he went. Once he was positioned over me, he met my eyes again with an unspoken promise.

             
His mouth was on mine before I could take in another breath, devouring me, consuming me. His tongue dove into my mouth hot and needy. At first all his hands could do was grip at my waist, holding me to him, but when he was confident I wouldn’t stop him they started roaming my body, exploring me.

             
Memorizing me.

             
And I mimicked his every move. My hands moved over his hard muscle and soft skin like I had never touched another living thing my entire life. Each inch was perfectly formed and I relished the feel of it under my fingers. When he moved his mouth to my jawline and down my neck, my fingernails bit into his shoulder and the muscle quivered underneath.

             
We were lost in each other. I felt how swollen my lips were as his mouth moved down me, kissing my neck, collarbone and more frantically. His hands slid up so that he held me just to the side of my breasts. I could feel his decision to keep them there, but the urgent need he had to feel more of me warred with his resolve.

             
The lights above shut off suddenly, pitching us into complete darkness. The whining sound of them shutting off was the only noise that broke up our desperate panting.

             
I thought the shock of no more light would wake Fin up from his this passionate haze, but instead it seemed to only make him more determined. He slowed his kisses, savoring each connection of his mouth to my skin. His lips brushed over my nipple through my sports bra and I let out an embarrassing moan.

             
“Ellie,” he groaned against my breast. “You win. I can’t do this anymore. I have to have you.”

             
Reason dug its heels into the fog of lust I had been reduced to and I was more disappointed than anything to realize this had to stop. Moral integrity and all….

             
Ugh.

             
Fin’s mouth dropped to my stomach and he trailed kisses along my belly, past my navel, and down to my hip. His hot breath fanned out across my skin raising more goose bumps and making my need sky rocket.

             
“Ellie, I need you,” he whispered against my skin. He lifted the waistband of my shorts and licked a hot path just under my hip.

             
“Fin,” I gasped, forgetting my argument completely.

             
My heart was hammering in my chest, my body alive with Fin’s attention. I had never been kissed like this before, never been touched like this. Like if he didn’t keep touching me, keep exploring me he would die.

             
But then I remembered his words
. “You win.”

             
Seven thousand dollar hooker.