Seductively: Playing for Hearts Book 2 (Crimson Romance) (8 page)

She must be missing something.

At odds with her feelings, she leaned over and picked her purse off the floor. Finding her phone, she called Shauna. If anyone could talk some sense into her, it was someone who’d loved someone famous for her whole life.

“Diana?” Shauna mumbled on the other end of the phone. “What’s wrong?”

“Hey. I need your help.” She rolled over on her back and sighed. “Sorry to call at this hour. I don’t want you to panic, but I think I’m in trouble.”

Without stopping, she quickly filled Shauna in on what happened. She even explained why she took the job and swore her to secrecy. She had no doubt her plan to buy the Ferriday house would remain between them. She could ask for no better friends than Shauna and Kate.

“Then he asked me to kiss him.” She lifted the collar of Dom’s jacket and sniffed. “I can’t do that, although I want to. God, I want him in the worst way and it’s driving me insane. I’m freaking losing my mind. I swear, you wouldn’t even recognize me and the way I’m acting.”

“Why?” Shauna asked. “What’s stopping you from going for it with Dominic? He’s a good guy, babe.”

“I refuse to be another conquest in his life.” She lowered her voice. “I thought this whole thing of hiring me to play his girlfriend and discovering why I wasn’t attracted to him was his way of convincing me to sleep with him. I had no idea he was serious. I really thought I’d play him in his own game, but everything backfired on me. Do you know a woman tonight even pulled his hair, and we think she was hired by the cologne company that’s after him?”

“That’s sick.” Shauna paused. “Then why did you go with him tonight if you think he’s playing you?”

She snorted. “Honestly, I wanted the cash. I figured if he was stupid enough to offer, I’d be smart enough to take it.”

“Oh, Diana … that’s so wrong.”

“I know, and I feel awful.” She swallowed. “He’s a professional athlete. I’m … only beginning to figure out what I want in life. The truth is, he only asked me to stay with him, because I wouldn’t agree to go out with him all the other times he asked and we haven’t figured out why he attracts women the way he does. I have a feeling I’m going to get my heart broken whether I make it the two weeks without having sex with him or not.”

“Wait a sec. I want to ask Grayson something … ”

Diana rolled over on her side, and pulled her pillow to her chest, hugging the silk pillowcase. In the background, she could hear Grayson speaking to Diana.

“Did you get that?”

“Not all of it.” She sat up and crossed her bare legs.

“Long story short, Grayson said that Dominic never dates. Ever.”

“No way.” Diana propped her head in her hand. “He can’t go anywhere without women giving him their phone number or falling over him. No man can refuse women who are openly willing to conceive his first born child in every position possible while stroking his ego.”

“It’s true. Grayson wouldn’t lie about something like that. He goes out with women, but never has a relationship with them. Even Grayson thinks it’s weird how Dominic refuses to take advantage of the women … which I’m going to punch Grayson when I get off the phone for even admitting that to me.”

A man in complete control? She groaned. He was making her life crazy.

The sound of his voice, that deep timbre that left her trembling in his arms in the VIP room, rasping over her senses, had nearly been her undoing tonight. Was she wrong about Dominic?

“What am I supposed to do now?” she whispered into the phone.

Shauna laughed. “Go get laid. Isn’t that what you always told me?”

“Look how that worked. You still waited to give yourself to Grayson. You were the only virgin all the way through college and even after.”

“Listen. Dominic isn’t like Grayson. You’re not competing with anyone. There’s no hurry to make up your mind tonight. You still have a couple of weeks with him. Get to know him.” A slap came over the phone. “Grayson, stop.”

“You two make me sick, you know that right?” Diana smiled. “I’m sorry for waking you up, go back to sleep, or back to whatever you and Grayson were doing before I called and interrupted.”

“What are you going to do about Dominic?”

“Hell if I know.” Diana blew her hair out of her eyes. “I’ll talk to you later.”

She tossed the phone to the end of the bed and flopped back on the mattress. There was nothing she could do about Dominic tonight that couldn’t wait until the morning. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and groaned.
Make that this morning.

Despite going to bed two hours ago, Diana woke early. Biding her time, she took a bath, performed twenty minutes of yoga, and paced her room before finally opening the door and taking the chances of facing Dominic.

She peered into his open bedroom on the way down the hall, not expecting to see him lounging atop his bed in a pair of boxers reading the newspaper. Realizing she was staring, she turned to go to the kitchen when Dominic called her name.

“Yes?” She looked everywhere but at him.

“I thought you’d sleep in later after we got home so late last night.”

“Habit.” She shrugged. “You’re up early too.”

The newspaper crinkled and she snapped around to look at him. Big mistake. He’d rolled over onto his back, stretched out, and clasped his hands behind his head.
Oh. My. God.

She couldn’t help gaping at his muscular chest, the broad shoulders narrowing slightly at his waist where his boxers hung low. She gave a fleeting glance at the black boxers, and zoomed in on his thighs.
Oh, save me.

Relaxed and looking perfectly composed, he said, “We made the paper. Someone caught us dancing in the VIP section after all. From the angle, they must’ve had a powerful camera and taken the shot from downstairs. Plus, they have a shot of me holding you to my chest when we exited the club.”

“That’s good. Your plan worked. I’m glad it wasn’t a wasted evening, and you got everything you wished for.”

He cleared his throat. “About last night … ”

She shook her head, blinking rapidly to focus. His voice made it difficult to concentrate when he still had the rough, low timbre of sleep evident in his tone. “Yes?”

He came off the bed in one smooth move. “I wanted to apologize.”

“About what?” She walked backward into the door and stopped.

“I think you’re under the impression that I asked you here to get you into bed with me.” He scratched his bare chest. “That you think I’m a joke … a … ” He looked confused for a split second. “A player.”

The tightness in her chest eased, and a dawning took shape in her mind. “Dammit. You talked to Shauna, didn’t you?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Grayson?”

He grimaced. “Yeah.”

“I can’t believe this.” She glared at him. “I suppose he told you how I hate the fact that I’m falling for your stupid charm and I worry about being just another woman in your fan club. Don’t think that’s gonna let you get out of paying me, because the stress alone is worth more money than you’re offering me.”

“He — ”

“No!” She covered her ears. “I don’t want to hear it. God, how embarrassing. I thought I could trust Shauna, but she’s got a big mouth now that Grayson is back in her life. She shares everything with him. I’m going to kill her when I get home.”

She whirled around and marched out of his room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen. First chance she got, she’d call Grayson and lecture him on the unspoken trust between girlfriends and girlfriend’s fiancée. What was it with jocks? Did they have a union, swearing to tell all secrets?

Dominic followed her into the kitchen. She grabbed a mug, thankful he’d made coffee already. Ignoring him, she carried her drink into the living room and curled in the corner of the couch.

He entered the room wearing a pair of jeans only, with his own cup of coffee in hand, and sat down in the leather chair by the window. Her skin prickled, her lungs constricted, her vision blurred as she stared at the coffee table. He was like a cake in an otherwise empty house, and she was starving.

“I emailed the rep at Nomora. He’ll be here in an hour.” He drank his coffee as if she hadn’t just made a fool of herself.

If he was willing to ignore her bout of insanity, then so could she. “Why?”

“I’m giving them their samples they need to make cologne.” He managed to give her that information without giving anything away.

“I thought your point of hiring me was to keep Nomora away from you. That kind of defeats the purpose.” She sagged against the couch. “Oh, I get it.”

“No, I don’t think you do.”

She put her feet on the floor. “Hey, if you want to call this job off, fine. Give me a plane ticket, and I’m outta here.”

“Stop. I don’t want you going anywhere.” He scooted forward and leaned over, bracing his elbows on his knees. “I thought a lot about my situation last night. If I give Nomora what they want, I’m done with them. They’ll leave me alone. That’s half the battle. Only the women remain, and with you being seen with me every day it’s getting easier.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that every man will go around smelling like you?” She couldn’t help snorting.

“Is that funny?”

“The world will end. Women everywhere will otherwise be occupied, chasing after all men. No one will be able to work with all the wild monkey sex going on.” She laughed, and continued. “It’ll be the downfall of society as we know it.”

“Roles would be reversed.” Dominic rubbed his hand along his jaw. “I’ll be left alone.”

“I doubt that.” She lowered her gaze to his bare feet. Ugh, even his toes were sexy. “You just won’t have as many women after you, because their interests will be divided.”

“Not yours though.”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“Diana — ” The doorbell rang.

He stood. “Shit. He’s early.”

“I’ll get the door. You get dressed.” She walked over and took his mug. When he hesitated, she leaned in and pushed him with her shoulder. “At least go put on a shirt in case they sent a woman to the house. It’s too early for me to defend your virtue.”

The Nomora representative who walked through the door came with a satchel of supplies he got right down to business setting up. Diana watched from the kitchen, frowning. He looked like a weasel.

Short, scrawny with a bald spot growing at each temple, his glasses hung on a too small nose. Ironically enough, he said his name was Phil. Phil Ratt, with two t’s.

Sample bottles lined the table, along with tweezers, giant sized Q-tips, scissors, and a sponge. Her gaze swung to Dominic. He appeared ill, standing off to the side.

This was wrong in so many ways. For Dominic to have to sink to this level to find peace in his life was unfair. What happened to human compassion and morality?

“First thing we’ll need to do, Mr. Chekovsky, is have you exercise to work up a sweat. I’ll need two milligrams before we move on to the next sample.” Mr. Ratt held what appeared to look like paper towels in his hands.

Dominic rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t run around the block without my security team.”

“Understandable.” Mr. Ratt motioned through the archway into the living room. “You could do calisthenics until we gather enough perspiration.”

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea.” Diana stepped toward Dominic.

He shook his head. “It’s okay. The faster I get this over with, the sooner we can forget he was even here.”

Following Dominic and Mr. Ratt into the living room, she leaned against the wall out of the way. Dominic sighed and began doing jumping jacks rather reluctantly. He kept his gaze straight ahead, not looking at her or Mr. Ratt. She clenched her teeth together.

It might not bother Dominic for Nomora to use his body for science … or cologne, but it left a bad smell in the room. Her job was to help him find answers, but this felt wrong.

After five minutes, Mr. Ratt suggested Dominic try doing a different exercise to speed up his body heat. Dominic stopped jumping, sat down on the floor, and stretched out, pulling himself into a sit up. Over and over without gasping for breath or groaning. She squinted, studying his face. He appeared no worse for wear. Not a flush on his cheeks or spot of perspiration from his forehead from all the exercise.

If someone asked her to do ten minutes of exercise, she would’ve perspired and collapsed on the floor. She was more a yoga girl, and believed meditation and stretching were good for the soul and balance in her life.

She glanced at the clock above the fireplace. How long would he have to exercise to break a sweat?

Mr. Ratt glanced at his watch, turned his head, and said, “He’s in rather good shape, isn’t he?”

“He’s a Shark.” She pulled her shoulders back. “No one is better at hockey than Dominic.”

Dominic pushed to his feet and punched the air. One, two, added a kick, one, two. She leaned back. He was getting serious, and she wondered if he used those fighting skills to kick ass on the rink.

He caught her eye, and she almost pleaded with him to stop. Today was his day off. He shouldn’t be working out, or selling his sweat. A sharp pang squeezed her heart. He looked miserable and beaten.

“Dominic?”

He spared her a glance, but kept moving. “Yeah?”

“Don’t,” she spoke softly. “Please.”

At her pleading, he dropped his arms. Not even out of breath, he walked to her. Her heart raced. What did this man do to her? What was it about him that made her care if Nomora exposed him?

“What are you asking?” He caught one of her curls and hooked it behind her ear.

“Don’t give them a piece of you. You’re you, Dominic Chekovsky, and you shouldn’t be marketed. You’re my boyfriend, remember?” She grabbed his wrist. “We’ll figure out a way to make it all go away. Together.”

He seemed to study her, and then he nodded. She sagged in relief. “Thank you.”

Dominic stepped around her and faced Mr. Ratt. “I’m sorry. I’ve changed my mind.”

“B-but you can’t do that, Mr. Chekovsky. My supervisors are counting on me to bring them back the proper samples.” Mr. Ratt moved forward and swept the cloth down Dominic’s arm.

“No.” Diana rushed forward and grabbed the towel. “He said he doesn’t want to be part of the study. It’s time for you to leave, and if you come back without proper permission we’ll issue a restraining order and take you to court for harassment.”