“No.” She waved her hand in front of her, gesturing to me. “What are you doing…like that?”
I glanced down at my state of undress with mock confusion and ran my hand down my torso before meeting her gaze, ensuring she saw me. And she did. Her chest rose and fell with each desperate breath she took while her eyes methodically traced every body part—every last one of them. When she turned her attention back to my face, I couldn’t help but rejoice in the sight of her flushed cheeks.
“Oh, I just got comfortable for a movie. If this makes you uncomfortable, I’ll gladly go put some more clothes on. I didn’t think it would bother you.” I might’ve laid it on too thick, because as soon as I finished, her eyes lit up and the faintest hint of a smile shadowed one corner of her mouth.
Had I not been looking, I would’ve missed it—the slight twitch in her left brow and the seamless transition from surprise to confidence in her body language. “No need to put clothes on for me,” she said without a hitch in her voice as she sashayed toward me, stalking me. “What you have on is perfect.”
She was calling my bluff.
This was the part where she expected me to get up, on my own accord, and either change or hide in my room. As uncomfortable as I knew playing this out would be, I couldn’t back down just yet. Janelle had to learn I wouldn’t concede to a fight. So instead of caving under the intense pressure of her gaze, I locked my hands behind my head and reclined into the overstuffed pillows behind me. “Then let’s get to it. Feel free to peruse through what I have…to watch. Check it all out. Let me know what looks good—what you just have to see.”
I’d known Janelle for a very long time. If I had to place a bet on who’d cave first, I’d pick her without a doubt. So when her brow arched and her lips curled into the most devious grin I’d ever seen on her glossy lips, I knew she not only called the ante, but she also raised it.
“I already know what I want to see.” She’d lowered her voice to this sultry, phone-sex operator level that seemed to hum through her. She had me so wrapped up in the way she purred, along with her bright-blue eyes and deceitful smirk, that I nearly lost my composure when she straddled my thighs and pressed her blazing palms against my shoulders, as if holding on.
“W-what—” I had to clear my throat, close my eyes, and take a deep breath before continuing, pretty sure I’d just given her an idea of my poker hand. But I wasn’t ready to fold yet. I knew well enough to predict we were both bluffing, and it basically was nothing more than a game of who could last the longest. “What movie did you decide on?”
“I’m torn. There are so many to choose from. Maybe you can help me choose.”
At some point—and I honestly had no clue when, considering I’d lost most of my brain cells after she perched herself on my lap—my arms had fallen away from behind my head to settle against the cushions. It’d been many years since the last time I didn’t know what to do with my hands in the company of a woman, but apparently, it could still happen. I dropped my gaze to her neck, thinking if I didn’t look her in the eyes, I would be fine. That’s when I noticed the rapid thrumming of her pulse just beneath her skin. It seemed she was just as affected as I was, and not at all cool, calm, and collected like she wanted me to believe.
I slid my hands up her outer thighs, running my palms over her smooth legs until I reached her shorts, and then took hold of her waist. But I didn’t move her. Instead, I kept her where she was, only flexed my fingers so she couldn’t forget where I touched her.
“What are my options?” I tried to make my voice husky and sultry like she did, but I doubted it worked. In my head, I sounded like a twelve-year-old boy getting ready to dive into the most exciting experience in this lifetime. There were some things women could do well that men had no business attempting, and phone-sex voice was one of them.
“Good Will Humping.” She widened her legs to pull herself closer to me, and breathing became difficult. “Legally Boned.” When she rolled her hips toward me, I had to close my eyes. Which did nothing to block her assault when she lowered her mouth to my ear and whispered, “Whorey Potter.”
It was now or never. I tightened my hold on her hips and flipped her onto her back, and then pulled myself over her. I couldn’t look at her, knowing the competition would end if I did, so I kept my cheek pressed against hers and used my other senses to assess the situation. Like the way her chest heaved with exertion, as if falling onto the couch from a sitting position wore her out. Her heart thrashed inside her chest, ricocheting against mine. But nothing affected her as much as when I rotated my hips to cause friction between our legs.
“I’d much rather prefer watching Missionary Impossible,” I whispered against her neck.
“That’s a good one.” Her voice sounded strained, like the words were forced out.
Nearing the breaking point, I pushed up with my forearms to hover over her and met her heated stare. “It seems we’re both incredibly stubborn, and there’s a good chance I’ll wind up balls-deep in you before either of us caves. We can either keep this up or both agree to give up at the same time.”
“Keep it going.”
I groaned and closed my eyes, knowing I’d have to be the one to put an end to it. I didn’t like losing, but this went beyond my need for victory. Being between the legs of a woman—especially one named Janelle—and calling it quits would cost me a handful of points on the man-meter. If the reason had nothing to do with whiskey dick or lack of protection, I basically deserved to bury my head in the sand.
I opened my eyes and found hers, shining back at me, full of challenge. “As appealing as that sounds, it’s not a good idea. At all. You’re here for a divorce, right? Starting something up between us would only complicate that.”
As if her need for me was nothing more than an act, she fluttered her eyes and pushed against my chest. “Fine. We both win—or lose, depending on how you look at it. But good game, York. I didn’t expect you to take a play from my book, especially so soon after I played it.”
I sat back and let her pull herself to a seated position at the end of the couch, where she grabbed the remote off the table and began flipping through the channels. With my hands cupped over my erection, I stood and headed toward my room.
“Where are you going? I thought we were going to watch a movie.” She giggled to herself and shook her head, turning her attention back to the screen on the wall in front of her. “Oh, yeah. You should probably put on clothes to cover that.”
“Actually, I’m headed to take a cold shower and ice my bruised ego.”
“What happened to your ego? You’re the one who stopped this.”
Pausing at my door, I called out over my shoulder, “You could’ve at least acted distraught for a few minutes, maybe pretended to be a little upset.”