Conquering King's Heart / Montana Mistress: Conquering King's Heart

Which was weakening, darn it.

She felt the heat of him sliding off his body, reaching for her, and it was so tempting to stand her ground, let him close that last inch or two of space so she could feel his tall, lean body pressed against her. Her memories of their one night together were still so vivid, it was all she could do to keep from flinging herself at him. But if she did that, then she’d be lost and she knew it. So she did the only thing she could. She stepped back—mentally and physically.

He sighed. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Bella.”

“I’m not. Afraid I mean. Just…cautious.”

“Cautious is okay,” he allowed, giving her a small, wicked smile. “It just means that you take your time. But once you’re sure of your footing, you’ll move ahead.”

She knew what he was talking about. There wasn’t much subtext there. He wanted her. And oh God, she wanted him, too. But she’d wanted him three years ago, too. And what had that gotten her? One night of glory and three years of misery. Was she really ready to set herself up for that kind of pain again?

Jesse King wasn’t the “forever” kind of guy. Bella wasn’t the “temporary” kind of girl. So never the twain should meet.

“Why don’t you go to dinner with me?”

“What?” Okay, that offer had come out of nowhere.

“Dinner,” he repeated. “Usually considered the last meal of the day?”

His smile really was a weapon all its own. At least, for her, it was. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea,” he said, and closed the distance separating them again. “Look, you’ve been on a tour of the business. You’ve seen for yourself that the place isn’t a sweatshop. Happy, well-paid employees, I must be a halfway decent boss, yes?”

“Yes…”

“And I’m not that hard to spend time with, am I?”

“No…”

“So we have a meal. We talk. We…”

“Jesse, I’m still not going to sell my business to you.”

He cut her off, laid both hands on her shoulders and she felt the heat of his skin seeping through the fabric of her shirt and down, deep into her bones.

“I’m not talking about the business right now. I want you, Bella. I’ve wanted you for three years.” His gaze moved over her like a warm caress. “Hell, I’ve dreamed of you for three years. You want me, too. I can feel it every time we’re together.”

“I don’t always do what I want,” she told him, and kept thinking, Strong, Bella. Be tough. Be strong. Don’t give in. Unfortunately, her body wasn’t listening.

“You should,” he said with a quick grin. “But that’s a talk for another time. Right now, I’ve got a deal for you.”

Uh-oh. Making deals with a man who refused to lose could never be considered a good idea. Warily, she asked, “What kind of deal?”

“A simple one. Perfect for both of us.” He stroked his palms up and down her arms and the friction he caused was enough to kindle a sort of sweeping wildfire that began licking at her insides. “You think you know me, right?”

“All too well,” she said.

He nodded. “Well, I think you’re wrong and I’m willing to bet on it. If I manage to show you something about me that truly shocks you, we have sex. Again.”

That one, three-letter word—sex—conjured up so many different emotions and needs, she could hardly draw a breath for the strangling effect on her lungs. “Now just a minute—”

“Come on, Bella. You’ve said yourself that you know exactly what kind of guy I am.”

“Yes, but—” She waved a hand at the wall of family photos. “You’ve already surprised me there.”

“Because I love my family,” he said, as if he still couldn’t believe that. “But I’m not talking about a surprise. I’m talking about shock. If I can really shock you, you have sex with me. Again.”

“Stop saying again.”

He grinned. “No reason to pretend you’re insulted or anything,” he pointed out a second later. “We’ve already had each other once. I’m just saying, it’d be nice to have each other again.”

“You’re doing that on purpose. Reminding me.”

“Damn straight. Is it working?”

Yes, she almost shrieked. She was so out of her element here, Bella thought. Jesse King was a Major League Flirter. He could play this game in his sleep—probably did—where Bella was just lost. She didn’t do the flirting thing. She was much more the honesty-is-the-best-policy type. Which probably explained the dearth of dates in her life.

Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze squarely, determined not to let him see just how rattled she actually was. But he’d know how crazy he was making her if she were too afraid to accept his deal, wouldn’t he? She gave an inward sigh. “This deal. I know what happens if I lose. What do I get if I win?”

One eyebrow lifted and his mouth curved into a smile. “If I fail to shock you completely—and you’ve got to be honest—then I’ll quit bugging you about buying your business.”

Well. She hadn’t expected that. This was too easy, Bella thought, watching him as he stood there staring at her with a smug smirk on his face. Clearly, he believed he would win this bet easily. But then, that was a part of who he was, wasn’t it?

Hadn’t he just told her that Kings never expect to lose?

And how satisfying would it be for her to knock him off his feet, so to speak? To beat him at the very deal he’d proposed? Oh, that would be sweet. The chance at doing just that was too tantalizing to turn down. Besides, he couldn’t possibly shock her.

She knew exactly who Jesse King was.

“Okay,” she said suddenly, before she could change her mind, or listen to the outraged, rational screams rattling through her brain. “You’re on. It’s a deal.”

“Friday night. Dinner and the bet.”

She nodded. “Friday.” Then she lifted her chin, held out her hand and waited.

“You want me to shake your hand?” he asked, glancing down briefly at her outstretched palm.

“Well, yes.”

“Well,” he countered, “no.”

Then he caught her hand in his, pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her. She was pressed so tightly to him, she felt every lean, muscular contour of his body—not to mention one specific part that left her no doubt as to just how he was feeling about her at the moment.

Bella looked up, met his gaze and held her breath as he lowered his head. The moment his lips met hers, everything stopped. Time screeched to a halt. The world probably stopped spinning on its axis. She knew for sure that she’d stopped breathing.

And more important, she didn’t care.

Every cell in Bella’s body leaped into life. Her blood rushed through her veins like a fiery flood. Her skin hummed. Her heart pounded frantically in her chest.

His mouth took hers in a hard, hot kiss that sizzled throughout her system like an out-of-control fireworks display. She felt alive and tingly and expectant. His tongue tangled with hers and heat dived through her, scalding everything she was, dragging her down, down into a kind of vortex where nothing was as it should be and everything shone with possibilities.

He gave her hunger and fed it.

He gave her passion and stoked it.

He gave her want and nurtured it.

Bella clung to him, pressing her body into his, relishing his hard, broad chest aligned with hers, loving the feel of that rigid proof of his desire for her pushing against her body. And while her brain shut down and her body sang, all Bella could think was, God help her if she really lost that bargain they’d just made.

Chapter Seven

For the next few days, Bella tried to put Jesse King and that kiss out of her mind. Which wasn’t easy. Heck, the night she’d spent with him three years ago was still fresh in her mind. Having this latest example of his kissing prowess burned into her brain made it twice as hard to keep her mind from straying to him.

Still, if she kept busy, that helped. It was all the downtime, like sleeping, showering, washing dishes, taking a walk on the beach or even watching TV that was getting to her. The moment her brain had a free second, it leaped into thoughts of Jesse.

And her body wasn’t far behind.

She’d almost been able to convince herself over the years that Jesse’s kisses hadn’t been that great. That the feel of his skin under her hands hadn’t really felt like a slow burn. That his body wasn’t actually that buff.

But a few short minutes alone in his office with him had shot down those little attempts at self-deception. Jesse was every bit as amazing as he had been three years ago. Her skin was still humming. And now that it was Friday, it was time to make good on the deal she’d made with him. Tonight, they’d have dinner. And if he managed to really shock her, they’d be having sex for dessert.

Oh, this was so not a good thing.

“Bella?” A voice called out from the dressing room and she walked toward the back of the store.

Desperately grateful for the distraction, Bella asked, “Do you need something?”

A blonde with big blue eyes poked her head up over the dressing-room door and grinned. “I need a smaller size in the silver swimsuit.”

Bella laughed. “Didn’t I tell you?”

The woman was a new customer and, like everyone else who came into her shop for the first time, she hadn’t believed Bella when she’d advised that a well-made swimsuit would fit far differently than she was used to.

“I can’t believe it,” the blonde said, “but yeah, you were right.”

“I’ll be right back with a smaller size.”

“Woo hoo, do I love hearing that,” the woman said with a laugh.

Bella passed three other women looking through the racks of suits, sarongs and wraps as she headed for the hip-hugger bikini section. There she flipped through the suits hung on short plastic hangers until she found the silver mesh suit in a size 10. Smiling, she walked back to her customer, handed it over and went back to the front of the store.

September was generally a slower month than usual. She had plenty of walk-in business during the summer months, but by September, summer was ending and only the hard-core sun worshippers were out in abundance. Of course, she still had plenty of business from the female surfers in town.

When the door opened, she sent a smile of welcome, only to bite it back at the last minute. Jesse King strolled in, looking completely at home. He paused on the threshold, took a look around and smiled at her customers before focusing his attention on Bella.

God, she hated to admit what just seeing him could do to her. He was wearing his own sportswear, a red polo shirt with a collar and the KB logo in gold on the left breast, along with a pair of khaki slacks and brown suede boots. His dark blond hair was wind-ruffled and the sun-carved crinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened as he smiled.

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