Secret Moves (Secret Dreams Contemporary Romance 3) (2 page)

He still let himself be seduced by beautiful women, though. He was a full-blooded male, after all. But he was careful enough—and, he'd like to think, considerate enough—to let them know he wasn't interested in anything beyond casual.

So Kris was right. He wouldn't want her falling for him at all. Better not go there.

"Okay," he said. "It's loud and clear. You and I won't be having sex. Right?"

"Right," Kris agreed.

"Great," he said, ignoring the deflation he suddenly felt. "Let's go back to the topic of dancing—real dancing. Dylan mentioned you guys took some lessons for the bridal waltz. Where did you go?"

Kris chuckled. "I taught everyone."

His eyebrows arched. "You taught everyone?"

"Yes. I'm a part-time dance teacher at a Melbourne dance studio."

"That explains a lot," he said with admiration. "You do dance like a pro."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "But the guys were excellent students. We only had a handful of sessions and they got the steps pretty quickly."

"If I were in that bridal party, you would have had a harder time. I don't think you could teach me how to dance like that in one hundred lessons," he said self-deprecatingly.

"Oh, but you underestimate my teaching skills!" she teased. "Let's have a bet on this."

"What do you mean?"

"I bet I can teach you how to dance well in a few lessons. By the time I have to go back home to Melbourne, you'll be a good enough dancer that you could be the centre of attention on any dance floor."

He snorted in disbelief. "Me become a good dancer in three weeks? Yeah, right."

"Prove me wrong then," she challenged.

He smiled.
This could be fun.
"Okay. I bet I'll be the first guy who fails your class."

"I bet you'll pass with flying colours," Kris answered.

"What does the winner of this bet get?" he asked.

Kris grinned. "If I win, you take me to a nice dinner. If
you
win, meaning you're still a crap dancer in three weeks, I'll take you dancing—where you will have the wonderful opportunity to dance solo in front of an audience."

"Hang on a minute. That doesn't sound right," he said in confusion. "If
you
lose and I still have two left feet by the time you go home,
my
prize for winning the bet is to dance solo in front of people?"

"That's right. That would ensure you work hard and not pretend you're not learning even though you are."

"Why would I want to win, then?"

"Exactly. That's why I should win."

"I don't know about this. I make a fool of myself every time I dance, so I just don't," he admitted.

"You're dancing right now," Kris pointed out.

He laughed to cover his embarrassment. "Yeah. It's your fault."

He was rewarded by a sweet smile.

"You're not doing too badly," she consoled him.

He snorted. "You don't need to spare my feelings."

"Look around you," she encouraged. "See how much fun everyone else is having? You don't have to be a good
dancer to enjoy dancing. You just need to be less self-conscious."

"There is still no way in the world I'm going to dance solo with everyone staring at me."

"That's why you have to help me win this bet, you see? Come on, it'll be fun!"

"You sure know how to motivate your students, don't you?" he grumbled.

"So we have a deal?" she asked in an almost-squeal.

Oh, hell. How could he say no to that excited face? Plus, the idea of spending more time with Kris appealed to him—even if they weren't going to sleep together. "Okay, we have a deal," he said a tad cautiously.

"Yay!"

"I do have one big condition, if I'm going to participate in this very scary bet," he said.

"What's that?"

"Don't tell anyone you're teaching me how to dance. My friends would undoubtedly want to watch me trip over my own feet, and that would be mortifying."

"Okay. But how are we going to keep this from them?"

They were both silent as they thought of a good enough excuse. Suddenly, Kris said, "I know. We can tell them you're taking me to all these different clubs so I can find a decent man to have a short fling with. My cousin Sam wouldn't want to tag along if that's the reason we give her."

He laughed. "Okay, for some reason, I can actually see them believing that. Little would they know you're trying to convert one of my left feet to a right one."

"Now that I think about it, it
would
be great if you could take me to places where I could have my choice of hunks to play with. Maybe after our lessons we could go out and do that?"

What?
He stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm not kidding, Trey. I still intend to fulfil this little fantasy of mine. Take me to your favourite pick-up places. Pretty please?"

"Sure," he replied, feeling bothered. He found himself hoping that Kris was simply way too tipsy to mean what she'd just said.

"I wonder who that could be?" Kris mused as the doorbell rang loud enough to be heard from the expansive outdoor deck of Kane and Jasmine's house.

"Maybe it's a late wedding present delivery for the newlyweds," her cousin Samantha guessed from her relaxed floating position in the swimming pool.

Kris wrapped a towel around her bikini-clad body and went to answer the door. It was Ari.

"Hey, darl," Kris cried as she gave Ari a hug and a kiss. "We weren't expecting to see you today."

"Dylan has some urgent work to finish for tomorrow, so I thought I'd spend the day with you guys," Ari replied. "I tried to call but you weren't answering your phones. I figured you must still be in bed, while Sam must have her hands full whipping something up in the kitchen."

"Oh, sorry. We've been sunbathing and having a dip in the pool. We didn't take our phones outside.
 
Did you bring your swimsuit?"

"Already wearing it underneath my clothes," Ari grinned.

"Great! It's a pity Jasmine's not with us," Kris replied as they headed out the back to join Sam. "She's probably not even thinking about us. She could even be in the throes of passion right now as her hunk of a husband makes love to her."

"Kris!" Ari gasped, laughter bubbling out of her.

Kris covered her face in embarrassment. "Oh, my God, Ari. What the hell is wrong with me?" she lamented.

"Like you said, hon, you just need to get laid," Ari replied, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, Ari," Sam cried. "It's great that you're here. Is Dylan joining us later?"

"Not until dinnertime. He fell behind with his work because of his groomsman duties for his brother. But are you girls free to have dinner with us tonight? We want to take you to our favourite restaurant near his place."

"Sure. Sounds good," Sam replied.

"Just us three and Dylan?" Kris asked.

"That's the plan," Ari answered. "Were you wanting other people to join us?"

Kris could see the curiosity in Ari's face and could imagine what her friend was thinking. "It would be good if Trey could be there, too," she said with an enigmatic smile. She was looking forward to seeing Trey again. She still couldn't believe he'd agreed to that bet she'd suggested while under the influence. He must have been just as inebriated as she had been to even consider it.

Ari's eyes widened. "So you're going ahead with it with him?"

"Going ahead with what with whom?" Sam asked suspiciously.

Kris laughed at the girls' expressions. "I'm going ahead with it, but not with Trey, Ari. He's just going to take me to
decent
places where I could meet
decent
men so my cousin here won't get so worried about me."

"As long as you're after casual sex with a stranger, I will continue worrying about you," Sam said to Kris with a pointed look. "How do you know that the guys you meet are … healthy?"

"Condom, Sam. Condom. Plus, I'll ask Trey to help me suss them out. He might even introduce me to friends of his that none of us have met before."

"Why don't you just do it with Trey?" Sam asked. "You two looked liked you got along like a house on fire at the reception last night. With him being Dylan and Kane's friend, he's likely to be, you know, safe."

"Ari thinks it's not a good idea."

"Why not? You think he might not be healthy, after all?" Sam asked Ari in wonder.

Ari laughed. "Oh, Sam. That's not it. I'm sure Trey's safe—physically, I mean. But he's a playboy."

"Oh," Sam said in understanding. "You're right, Ari. Bad idea."

"Come on, girls. You think I'm going to let myself fall in love with another playboy?" Kris asked with a laugh. Sam and Ari were well aware of her past relationships. Twice in her life, she'd fallen in love. Twice, it was with a gorgeous, hunky man who was a self-confessed playboy. Twice, she'd been rather elated that she had managed to get a smooth operator to commit to a relationship with her. Twice, she realised true playboys didn't change their spots.

She shook her head, not wanting to relive painful memories.

"By now I'm pretty sure I've learned my lesson," she said lightly.

Sam reached out and squeezed her hand. "I hope so, Kris. I'd hate for you to get hurt again."

She smiled and squeezed her cousin's hand back. Samantha Lane was as close to her as a sister could be. Both of them were twenty-seven, with Sam only two months older than her. But even so, sometimes Sam acted like a mother hen.

They had been close since they were kids. When Kris' mother had died in a car accident two and a half years ago, Sam had been the person who most helped her cope with that devastating loss.

They understood each other and embraced the fact that they had different personalities.

Even with men, their attitudes and behaviours were in stark contrast. Kris was an extrovert who took risks, while Sam was the ultra-cautious introvert.

She shook her head, unable to understand how Sam could handle not being with a man for more than a year and not be crazy with need like she was.

"What?" Sam asked, noticing her head-shake.

"I was just wondering why you're not missing having sex with a man," she responded.

"Who told you I'm not missing it?"

"Oooh!" both Kris and Ari exclaimed.

"But unlike you, I will continue to wait until I find myself a new boyfriend," Sam declared. "Casual sex just doesn't interest me."

"You mean you're too scared of it," Kris said teasingly.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, that's probably true. But to be completely honest, I don't see what the fuss is about. None of my past boyfriends set me on fire, so it's not like I feel I'm missing out on much."

"Oh, Sammy, really? You never told me that," Kris said. "But now that you've mentioned it, I'm not surprised. Your exes looked like they were all virgins before they met you—even your last one who was thirty-five. You need someone who knows his way around a woman's body."

Sam blushed even as she giggled. "Fine. I'll be more selective the next time around."

"Great! So do you want to go hunting with me?" Kris asked.

"No! I still don't want casual. I'll find a real boyfriend when we get back home," Sam said.

"Okay. Suit yourself," Kris responded. "I'm looking forward to going hunting—with Trey."

"How did you get Trey to agree to that?" Ari asked.

"You know me—direct as ever. I told Trey I had considered approaching him for a fling but changed my mind after I spoke with you."

"Oh. What did he say about that?"

"He said you were right to warn me off him, so we agreed it wasn't a good idea to sleep together. But he's a fun guy who knows his way around Sydney's nightspots so he'd know the better places I could hang out in—and get picked up from."

"It was considerate of him to admit you shouldn't consider him," Sam observed. "He sounds like a nice playboy."

"Trey
is
a nice guy, once you get to know him," Ari confirmed. "He's very loyal to his friends—incredibly so. Maybe that's why he doesn't have any loyalty left to give to a woman so he chooses not to be with one."

"Maybe he's someone who just hasn't met the one girl who would make him renounce his bachelor ways," Kris said. "Look at what happened to Dylan when he met you, Ari."

Ari smiled serenely. "Sure. Maybe Trey's still waiting for the right girl to come along."

"Whoever it is would be one lucky gal," Kris couldn't help commenting.

"Oh, no," Sam said.

"What? It was just a comment," Kris said innocently.

"Kris," Ari said with a sober face. "When Dylan and I got serious, Trey was genuinely happy for us. But Trey also
vowed
—that was Trey's word, not mine—that he would not go down that same path. He said he's happy to stay single for a long, long time—maybe even for the rest of his life."

"Really?" Kris said, surprised at the heaviness of the disappointment that coursed through her. "He must have had some painful experience with a woman to have that conviction."

"I know he's had a bad experience but I don't know what happened exactly. I'm sure Dylan knows, but I don't want to ask as it's really none of my business, and Dylan's quite loyal to his friends, too," Ari said.

"You're lucky, Ari. Dylan's a great guy," Sam said.

Ari sighed contentedly.

As Sam and Ari continued talking about Dylan and men in general, Kris only half-listened to their conversation. Her mind preferred to dwell on Trey.

Oh, God. Not another playboy.

*******

"Hey, girls. Good to see you again," Dylan said, kissing Kris and Sam on the cheek as they walked into his living room. "And you," he said to Ari as he pulled his girlfriend close for a lingering kiss on the lips. "I missed you."

Kris suppressed an envious sigh just as an image of Trey flashed in her mind. She shook her head imperceptibly. The sooner she found herself a handsome guy to have sex with, the better. When that happened, she wouldn't have to perceive Trey as the epitome of her perfect fling partner.

"By the way, girls, Adam and Trey are joining us tonight. Hope you don't mind," Dylan said.

Yay! I mean…so what?
Kris thought.