She found only a certain hardness there that hadn’t been there before. Jess was pretty sure it was because he was mad about what he’d overheard earlier that day.
“All I’m saying is you’re making the moves of a woman who’s done this a time or two,” he said.
“Well, I haven’t. Should I stop?” she asked him.
He laid his head back and wondered what the hell he was doing to himself. Sabotaging a blowjob that looked as if it might be a pretty great experience for him. “No, go for it.”
“Fuck! Don’t be so damn enthused, Griffin!”
“You’re mad now?” he asked as he lifted his head back up.
By the pink color of her cheeks, he could see she was mad. And when she got off the bed and pulled her bra back to cover her tit, he knew the little make out session was over.
Then it hit him that he still needed her. He still needed her to win the bet, and he needed to make her think he was looking at her as marriage material.
Changing his actions, he sat up and pulled her into his arms as he laid back with her. “Don’t,” she said with a muffled voice as he held her close to his chest.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he cooed. “It’s just that I had something I wanted to ask you to do with me this weekend and I’m kind of afraid to let you know more about me and those I come from.”
“Huh?” Jess asked as she pulled her head off his chest and looked at him.
“I want to take you home to Montana this weekend to meet my family. And I’m afraid of what you’ll think of them and the things we all do,” he said, looking sheepish.
“You want to introduce me to your family?” she asked, feeling kind of shocked he’d bring his family into his sinful bet.
“I do,” he said, then ran his hands through her hair. “But I’ve never taken anyone home before. I’m nervous about it. And about how you’ll like them.”
Jess was unsure what to say. “Why would you be nervous about that? You see where I come from. What do you have to be embarrassed about?”
“Just some things,” he said with a frown. “Would you like to spend this weekend with me at our ranch in Montana, baby?”
“Um, maybe I should ask Kel.” Jess chewed her lip.
Griffin took her face in his hands. “You’re plenty old enough to make this decision on your own, baby. Now tell me, what it is you want to do?”
“I’d like to see your ranch. I’ve never been up that way before.”
“So you’ll make me happy and come with me then?” he asked with a grin.
“I guess so.” Jess wasn’t sure what Kel and Cait would think about her accepting his offer. But she wanted to go for some odd reason.
Another loud blast of thunder that accompanied a flash of lightning had them holding each other tightly.
Both were a little afraid of what it was they were feeling.
Chapter 27
Phoenix looked down at Cait and couldn’t believe the young woman was resorting to such tactics to get a husband to pay off her debts. She just simply didn’t seem the type.
Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at him like she adored him. But did she really like him as much as she claimed to? Or was she just pretending?
He pushed back her hair and whispered, “You’re beautiful.”
Cait ran her hands through his hair. “Thank you. So are you.”
He kissed her because he couldn’t stop himself. It made him sick that he was falling so much into her trap. He’d nearly called off the bet to make things right with her. Then her secret was found out, and it made him sick.
Their bodies worked so fantastically together. He knew sex would be phenomenal with her. She was in tune with him in almost every way imaginable. As their mouths copulated the way he wanted their lower regions too, he got the impression that she might be about to let him go all the way as she moved his hand to cup her breast.
She was grinding her body up to his and moaning. He could feel the heat coming from her as he was wedged between her legs. Rain began to pelt the window panes, making things even cozier than they’d been.
Phoenix was all over Cait; their breathing was growing more frantic as they rubbed each other in all the right ways. She moved one hand between them and reached into his jeans, taking his swollen cock into her hand and stroking it.
His lips left hers as he said with a husky voice, “Cait, please.” He kissed her neck, nibbling it then biting it as she moved her hand faster. He ached to be inside her. But she wasn’t about to give him everything.
She tried to get a confession out of him. “Phoenix, tell me.”
Both of their minds were nothing but blurs as the passion dulled all other senses except that of touch. Phoenix thought she wanted to hear something other than what she really wanted, so he said, “I love you, Cait.” It just came out without him expecting it to.
He wasn’t even sure he meant it. But he went with it, anyway. Why not coddle her into thinking she was going to get what she wanted?
Him to marry her.
“Phoenix,” Cait moaned. “Don’t lie to me.” She stroked him harder, making him quiver.
“Cait, come home with me this weekend. I want to prove to you I want more with you.” He cupped the back of her neck then kissed her as she kept stroking him with her hand.
The kiss was sensual, making Cait want to give herself to the man. The waiting was killing her. But he’d gone too far with telling her the lie of loving her. She knew better than that.
Phoenix was going to resort to anything so he could to win the bet. And now her passion turned to anger. Pulling her hand out of his pants had him groaning and trying to get her to keep it up. She wrenched her mouth from his. “My parents will be home soon. We need to stop.”
“Are you fucking with me, Cait?” he growled at her. “Are you really going to take me this far and leave me hanging?”
“I have to,” she said as she pushed at him to get off her. “You guys need to get going before our parents get home. Dad’ll give you all what-for if you’re still here.”
Phoenix made a short laugh. “Your dad’s a kitten compared to your mother.”
And just like that, Cait was thoroughly pissed. “Well, be that as it may, you and your friends need to go.”
He stayed right where he was, pinning her to the sofa. “You haven’t told me if you’ll go back home with me this weekend. I want to show you where I live.”
She stared into his eyes. “Why would you even want to do that? Can’t you at least be honest with me about this one thing?”
“What one thing?” he asked in confusion. It was Cait who needed to be honest, in his opinion.
“This thing we have going on,” she said as her lips quirked up in one corner. “You know it won’t last. So why take me to your home?”
He trailed his fingertips over her cheek. “Are you psychic or something? What makes you so sure this won’t last?”
“Because it won’t. And what’s the deal with throwing out the I love you, Phoenix?”
He didn’t know why he had said it. How was he supposed to explain it to her?
“I just felt it in the heat of the moment,” he finally said.
“To get what you want,” she said as she frowned at him. “Isn’t that right?”
Suddenly it was he who was pissed. He moved off her and stood up. “I like how you act like you didn’t want it to go further than it did. Kind of an asshole sort of thing to do to us.”
“To us?” she asked as she sat up.
“You and me, that us,” he said as he zipped and buttoned his jeans. “Don’t pretend it isn’t hurting you to stop what we were about to do. I know you’re aching for it too. Just like I am. Only you’re teasing us both. When do you think you’ll stop doing that, Cait?”
“When are you going to be real with me, Phoenix?” she asked as she got up and ran her hands through her hair to tame it. Her clothes were awry, so she straightened them.
“Probably about the same
time you decide to be real with me, Cait,” he said, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Her body immediately pressed into his. Her mouth opened and her tongue played with his. She was warm and inviting as she ran her hands up his arms then over his back. Phoenix knew she was holding back in order to trap him. He eased his kiss then asked her again, “So, will you come home with me for the weekend?”
“Promise me you won’t pressure me into having sex the whole time and I will.” She leveled her eyes at him to let him know she was deadly serious.
“I tell you what, Caity-cat. I won’t even make one attempt to get you into bed. I have a spare bedroom that’ll be yours while you’re visiting me. But you have to do the same for me No, teasing. You know you’ve been doing that, right?”
She played dumb. “No, I didn’t realize that at all. I thought we were making out, is all. I’m not the kind of girl who sleeps around. I’m not easy.”
“No, you are not,” he said then let her go. “I’d never call you that.”
Cait watched as Phoenix walked away from her. And she had to fight herself not to blurt out everything about how they knew about their stupid bet and had come up with something just as stupid to get back at them for making her and her sisters pawns in their game.
What she didn’t know was that Phoenix was fighting himself not to tell her about the bet and what they’d overheard the girls saying too. It seemed that they were on the same wavelength but were too afraid of the others being mad at them to say what they wanted to.
Chapter 28
Though all the men went home unfulfilled sexually, they all had managed to get their women to agree to the weekend dates where they planned on scaring them off the marriage paths the men thought they were on.
Ethan hired a car to take him and Kel up to see his grandmother— a woman who wasn’t really his grandmother, but an actress he’d hired to play the part. He’d hired an entire comedy troupe to fool Kel.
Stopping to enjoy a nice lunch in New Jersey had the two getting into an in-depth discussion neither had planned on as they watched a couple with two young children as the parents tried to get the kids to act right and take their seats at the table rather than roaming around the little café.
The little girl, who seemed to be about three, wandered up to Ethan and pointed to his hair. “You have pretty hair.”
The little girl had blond ringlets that Ethen pointed to. “I think your hair is prettier than mine.”
She palmed her curls. “No, your hair’s prettier.”
“Jo Beth, come sit down and eat,” her father called out to her. Then he looked at Ethan. “Sorry, sir.”
“For what?” Ethan said with a chuckle. “I just received a great compliment from your little girl; she’s made my day.” He gave the kid a wink before her mother swooped in and picked her up.
Kel watched the little exchange as she ate her turkey on rye bread then took a sip of her root beer. “So, you like kids, huh?”
“Sure, who doesn’t?” Ethan said, then leaned forward to twirl a lock of Kel’s hair around one finger. “And you and I would make some really cute ones, love.” He leaned back in his chair, stretching out his long legs. “How many should we have?”
She laughed at him as she knew exactly what he was up to. “Oh, five or so. And I’d start trying for them as soon as I was married. I can’t wait to settle down and start up the large family I dream about having. I just need to meet Mr. Right, and then I’ll get right to that.”
He raised his thick brows as he grinned at her. “Is that right?”
She nodded and finished her sandwich. Ethan had finished before her, so she was ready to get going. “Yes. I’m done. We can get back on the road if you’re ready to. I really can’t wait to meet your grandmother.”
Ethan got up and held out his hand for her to take. “And she can’t wait to meet you. My cousin Tommy’s there too. He’s a little bit special. I hope you won’t hold that against him.”
Kel gave him a frown as he escorted her out of the little café. “Ethan! I’d never hold anything like that against anyone! Do you think I’m some kind of monster?”
“No,” he said as he opened the car door and let her get in first. He slid in beside her, putting his arm around her and kissing the side of her head. “It’s just that I’ve had more than a few comments on my family. Not all have been kind.”
Kel looked at him and wondered if he was being honest. If that was true, she felt terrible for the man. “Oh, Ethan, that makes me sad. If you have someone with a disability in your family, no one should judge you on that.”
“But some do, love.” He kissed her with a light kiss as he cupped her chin. “I think you’ll be wonderful to have around my family. Such a caring and sweet woman. Honest to the core.”
She knew why he had thrown in the last part about the honesty. It was pretty clear he wanted her to come clean about the husband wrangling that the sisters had made up. But she wanted him to come clean about the bet. So they were at an impasse that neither would budge on.
Meanwhile, Cait and Jess were at the airport with their men. Each couple was waiting on private jets to be readied, and Cait and Jess were beginning to get an idea about just how much money the men really had.
“I know you said you were a salesman for your family’s business, Griff, but just how much do you make doing that?” she asked him as he brought her a cup of coffee and a bagel.
“Here, baby. You should eat something.” He handed her the bagel, and the coffee, then took a seat next to her. “I don’t like to talk about money.”
“I can see that. But I don’t like to be clueless about how much the man I’m seeing makes a year.” She took a bite of the bagel and waited for his answer.
“My money isn’t calculated on a yearly basis. It’s just always available to me.” It hit him that she was sizing up how much he was worth so she could try to get him to marry her and pay her damn bills. But he’d be teaching her that being married to him would be far from the picnic she thought it’d be.
So what if the things he was about to show and tell her were completely false? Jess would never know about that.
At that point, none of the men cared who won the bet. Things had changed. They saw it as their manly duties to teach the women a lesson about using men for their money.
If during that time any of them did score, that was purely a bonus!
“How is it you have access to money all the time without working, Griff? Are you some kind of a millionaire?” Jess asked him.
He decided to let her in on his financial state and wanted to gauge her reaction to that news. “Millionaire?” He chuckled as he shook his head. “Billionaire is the word most people use. My family is extremely well off.”
“Shut the fu …” Jess said then stopped as he kissed her.
When he pulled his lips away from hers, he asked, “You won’t hold that against me, will you?”
“Um, no,” she said then bit into her bagel again. She wasn’t sure if she should even believe him. Men thought women fell all over themselves if they thought they had money. He was most likely just saying it to win the bet.
“Good. A lot of wealthy people have issues with building relationships due to the fact they have a hard time knowing if the person loves them for who they are or for their money.”
“That’s just shallow,” Jess said, earning a frown from Griffin who thought about how she and her sisters were looking to trick men into marrying them so their bills could be paid off.
“Yeah, it’s as shallow as it gets, Jess.”
For a moment, Jess had forgotten what she and her sisters had done and went on to say, “I could never do that. Just know this, Griff; if I tell you that I love you then it’s true. I’m not a money grubber or a liar.”
Griffin was shocked at how sincerely she could say the lie. “That’s good to know.”
But it wasn’t good to know at all.
The woman was a master of deception!
Cait and Phoenix were getting on the jet he’d chartered. As he helped her to sit in the window seat, he buckled her in, then kissed her.
She placed her hands on his cheeks and asked, “This is going to be fun, isn’t it?”
He smiled and sat down next to her. “Oh, yeah. I’m about to show you how I live.”
They held hands as the jet took off. Cait felt a twinge of guilt for going off with him on false pretenses, but her sisters had begged her not to tell their secret, even though she wanted to in the worst possible way.
“Phoenix, I’ve never been to Texas. Is it really as big as everyone says? I mean, I’ve seen the size of the state on a map but, come on, it’s not really that big, is it?”
“It feels even bigger when you drive it,” he said with a smile. “And now I want you to know a bit more about me, Caity-cat.”
She began to have hope that he was about to be honest. If he told her the truth, then she’d tell him the truth about her and ask him not to ruin it for her sisters. Cait was sure he’d do that for her.
“I’d love to know more about you, Phoenix. Like, nothing would make me any happier.” She gave his hand a quick squeeze.
“Cait, I’m a rich man.” He watched her reaction and was surprised when she barely changed her expression.
That was because she wasn’t sure if she should believe him. “Are you? And how’s that?”
“I inherited some land. And that land ended up being on top of a giant oilfield. So, you’re sitting next to an oil tycoon. Does that make you think any differently about me?” He looked a bit worried, which made Cait want to laugh.
She didn’t, though. “I don’t much care if you have millions of bucks or not.”
“Billions,” he said as he watched her carefully.
“Billions, huh?” She tapped her chin. “So what?”
“Do you really think that? I mean, can I trust you not to use me for my money?” he asked her with the hopes he’d see greed in her eyes.
“Why in the world why I use you for your money, Phoenix? I did start talking to you on the pretense that you were a mere mortal man and not a superhero billionaire.” She laughed, and so did he.
The Naughty One Page 57
