“Don’t do me any favours, Abbot,” I snapped, collecting all the rubbish and dropping it into the bin. “I think my life will be just fine without a pity fuck from you.”
I walked out of the kitchen and into my bedroom, grabbing my duffle and throwing random things into it—angry packing.
“What just happened in there?” Abbot asked, his huge frame filling my doorway.
I opened a drawer and grabbed a handful of underwear. “I shot you down, Abbot. That’s what happened in there.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “OK. Then why do I feel like you’re pissed and I’m about to cop a face full of underwear?”
I looked at my hand and the collection of colourful knickers held in a ball, then threw them into my bag with a growl. “I’m not pissed.”
Abbot laughed. “You’re super pissed.”
Opening the next drawer, I scooped up a pile of shirts and threw them in my bag too. “You know, I don’t even want you to sleep with me. I am literally fine with being your friend. But you”—I shook my head and threw more shirts into my bag—“you act like I’m going to throw myself at you in desperation and you’ll just fuck me, because why? It’s rude to say no? You aren’t God’s gift to women, Abbot.” I dumped the entire contents of the next drawer into my bag. “I can resist you.”
When I looked up at him with fire in my eyes, there was nothing but mirth in his.
“Challenge accepted,” he said.
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“You think you’re going to tempt me into sleeping with you?”
“Not sleeping. Fucking.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
He threw his head back and laughed. Then he walked out of the room, leaving me with an open mouth and an overflowing bag. What the hell just happened?
Chapter Eight
Battle Of Wills
I ate avoiding eye contact. Then I cleaned up our bowls with my head down. The entire time, I could feel him watching me with a smile fixed on his face.
“Want to make it even more interesting?” he asked as he took the bowls from the strainer and dried them.
“You know, I’m really not interested. How about you just put me back in the friend zone where I belong?”
“Who said you belong in the friend zone? With that arse?” He shook his head, blatantly staring at it. “You’re top shelf.”
I sighed. “Abbot, this is stupid. We’re too old for silly games, and this is a conflict of interest. Never mix business with pleasure.”
“So you admit that fucking me would bring you pleasure?”
I almost laughed. Of course fucking him would bring me pleasure. I was wet just having this conversation, but there was no doubt in my mind that sleeping with him would be a terrible idea. He was a criminal, for fuck’s sake. I had history with his family and I was trying to maintain some sort of dignity around them. If they found out I was fucking Abbot it would look…I don’t know…desperate? Sad? Like I couldn’t get a brother closer to my age so I went after a younger one. Ugh. This screamed complicated, and turned on or not, it wasn’t happening.
“Abbot.” I said his name like a sigh. “I just want to do my job and get paid so I can get back to my life. I don’t want to complicate it.”
“I thought you said that men and women can be friends and have sex without complications.”
“You’re twisting my words.”
He leaned closer. “I’m seducing you with logic.”
A laugh burst from my chest, and I pushed him back. “No.”
“Come on,” he said. “We’ll make a bet to make it fun. Just two friends trying to get into each other’s pants.”
“Uh, I won’t be trying to get into your pants.”
“Liar.”
“You’re so confident.” I laughed. “Why don’t you tell me how this bet would work? I’ll see if I’m tempted.”
“Well, you like competition, right? Consider this a challenge like one of your triathlons, except it’s an exercise in willpower. You have to resist me, but I can’t just take you—not that I’d do that, anyway. You’ll have to give yourself to me willingly.”
“You think you’re that good?” I folded my arms, grinning because this was crazy. “OK. What are the terms? Besides sex, of course.”
He thought for a moment, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. “Timeline: I have until you open the safe to get you to open your legs.” I rolled my eyes.
“And what happens if you don’t succeed in tempting my knees apart?”
He grinned as I matched his level of crassness. “Then I double your money.”
“You’re going to pay me double not to have sex with you? Five hundred thousand?” I laughed, disbelieving.
“Absolutely.”
“There is no way I’m fucking you now.”
“Sloane, come on. I’m irresistible.”
With a scoff, I shifted my hands to my hips. “Whatever, dude. What happens if your allure is too much for me and I cave?”
“Then you work for free.”
My mouth fell open. There was no way I was giving up that money for a fuck. But if he was willing to pay me double to give him blue balls, then I was all for that. “You’re on,” I said, holding out my hand to shake his.
“I’m gonna be unrelenting, Slater.”
“Do your worst, Cartwright. I can take it.”
He grinned until the lone dimple popped in his right cheek. “You’re so gonna lose,” he said as he wrapped his large hand around my own, the warmth of his touch sending a heated jolt to the depth of my stomach.
“I don’t think you understand quite how competitive I am, Abbot. Losing isn’t an option.”
“You’ve got a shelf covered in participation medals out there that says otherwise.”
A laugh burst past my lips. I could pay that comment, but it didn’t mean he was going to win. That shelf was a testament to my staying power. Quitters didn’t get medals at all.
Gorgeous or not, Abbot Cartwright was not getting into my pants. He just gave me half a million reasons to buy a really complicated belt.
* * *
“How long do you think opening this safe will take?” Abbot asked the next day when we were back in the warehouse at Geelong. We’d spent the night at my place and the morning getting all of my affairs in order before hitting the road. Not once did Abbot touch me, or even make a lewd remark after our conversation the night before. That was strange considering he was so adamant it was game on before we went to bed. But maybe after sleeping on it, he’d changed his mind and was going to call it off? Bummer. I already missed the five hundred thousand.
Glancing up from the notepad in my hand, I slid the pencil behind my ear and gave Abbot my full attention. “I watched a guy on YouTube who worked on this same model. He probably had the same level of experience as me, and it took him almost a month. So anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, I guess.”
“A month.” He nodded slowly, his lips pursed in thought. “OK, I can work with that. But, I think we should set some extra ground rules.”
Ground rules. “About the safe?” My heart picked up as my mouth went a little dry. Maybe he wasn’t calling the bet off after all.
“Quit being so facetious. You know I’m talking about our deal. Unless of course you want to back out.”
“I’m not backing out,” I said quickly, pulling the pencil from behind my ear. “What kind of ground rules are you thinking?” I scribbled some notes onto a pad of paper, hiding the waver in my voice with my concentration.
“Let’s see… None of this touches my family. I don’t want Jasmine getting it in her head that we’re a thing.” He was so bloody panicked over his mother. Such a commitment-phobe. It was like having a conversation with Mark all over again.
“That’s not going to be a problem for me since I’m not the one chasing you. But I get it. No flirting around your family—especially your
mother since she’s got the wedding bug and wants all of her sons married and producing babies,” I said, leaning closer to the dial as I wriggled it back and forth, trying to find the point where the hammer stopped dragging along the second wheel.
“Exactly. And I’m not about that life, so we keep this low-key.”
“Gotcha. Secret flirting. What else?”
“No flirting with anyone else either. If Jazz thinks you aren’t into me, she’s probably gonna try set you up with Toby. That can’t happen. I need your attention on me.”
“But, what if Toby is my soulmate?” I asked distractedly, teasing him as my twists of the dial got smaller and smaller and I strained my senses. I was so close to finding that number range, I just needed—
“Abbot,” I shrieked as I was lifted off my low seat and planted on the top of the safe like seventy kilos of human was nothing to him. His arms caged around me either side as he leaned in, his chest brushing against mine, my legs spread either side of him. “This does not count as me opening my legs for you.”
“You are not into Toby,” he insisted, his light eyes boring into mine as our bodies pressed closer than they ever had before. My skin hummed from the pleasure of our mingled heat, my pulse quickening. “Right?”
His breath washed over me, and my body screamed, “Kiss me!” but I just swallowed and shook my head. Not since he flat out rejected me.
“Say it, Sloane.”
“I’m not into Toby.” Anymore. My words came out high-pitched, defensive. Nothing had ever happened between any of the Cartwright brothers and me. But that didn’t mean I hadn’t wanted something to happen. We were teenagers with raging hormones and I may have developed a crush on the quiet and controlled Toby. The feelings were never reciprocated and mine had long since faded. But still, it happened.
“No flirting with any of my brothers.” He added that addendum to the rule then stepped back and turned away, running his hands through his hair as he blew out his breath.
“OK.” I slid off the top of the safe, also running my hands through my hair. That was…hot, scary, intense, hot. Now the air was sexually charged, and I was shaking.
“You might want to lay off those kind of sudden movements in future,” I said as I sat back in front of the safe, clenching my fists to calm the rush of hormones. “We don’t want to risk cracking the vials.”
He didn’t respond for a few seconds, but when he did, it was with something I wasn’t expecting. “No masturbating.”
My fingers slipped and the dial spun so much it reset. “Excuse me?”
“No relieving yourself in any way unless it’s with me.”
I stared at him, wide eyes. “Fine. But you don’t get to jack off either. Or mess around with anyone else until after I go home.”
“OK. You have to spend time with me.”
“Like on dates?”
“Kind of. I have to be given the opportunity to woo you. Time alone without that safe as a distraction.”
“OK. But for this challenge to be won, there has to be actual naked sex. If we start messing around and I come to my senses, it doesn’t count.”
“If you orgasm while we’re messing around, it counts.”
“I can control myself,” I whispered.
With dark, sexy eyes, he released a loaded breath. “You know what I think, Sloane?” I swallowed as I waited for him to fill me in. “I reckon you’re so wet just thinking about me touching you that your clit is throbbing.”
My eyes lowered, catching the impressive bulge pushing against his jeans. Two years is too long to go without sex. I had visions of him putting me on the safe again and fucking me so hard I screamed. Pulse, pulse, pulse. That no masturbating rule was going to be harder than I thought.
“Well”—I let out my breath before turning my attention back to the safe—“too bad you’re never gonna find out.”
Abbot chuckled then pulled his cigarettes from his pocket and shook one out. “Never is a strong word, Ms Slater.”
“Maybe. But those things you keep puffing on make it easier for me to maintain my resolve.”
“I’ve been chewing gum.”
“Doesn’t get the smell out of your clothes.”
Leaning back against the wall casually, he slid the cigarette back into the pack and crushed it in his hand. “Thanks for the tip.”
It wasn’t a tip. A man going through nicotine withdrawals was distracted. If anything, it was a strategy. “You think you can quit just like that?”
“I can do anything I set my mind to.” Of that, I had no doubt.
This game was going to be an erotic battle of wills. And after two years of little to no male attention, it was also going to be a hell of a lot of fun for me to be chased by a delectable specimen of manhood like Abbot Cartwright. I was actually looking forward to watching him squirm. How fucking exciting.
Chapter Nine
Think of the Money
Opening my eyes to the darkened room, I let out a sigh. I was really going to have to get over my inability to sleep anywhere but in my own bed. Exhaustion was not going to open that safe.
“You know, I have something that will help you sleep.”
The fuck?
“What are you doing in here?” I yelped, pushing up on my elbows to find Abbot sitting on chair in the corner of the room, the bag I’d rested on it now sitting open on the floor. How long has he been there?
“Thought I heard moaning. Needed to make sure you were holding up your end of the bargain.”
“Clearly, I am. What about you?”
“I have left several hard-ons unanswered during the course of the night. I’m doing fine.”
“Hmmm. So now you’re just watching me sleep?”
“That was sleeping?”
“Not really. I don’t sleep much when I’m not home.”
“Could that be because you were dreaming about me?”
I laughed. “Who knows? I can’t remember.”
“You know, sex can help with sleep.”
The corner of my mouth quirked as I sat up higher, my forearms resting on my knees. “Can it now?”
“Yeah. One good orgasm and you could be out like a light.”
“And let me guess, you want to be the guy to help me get there?”
He held his hands to the side in a magnanimous gesture. “I wouldn’t say no.”
Shaking my head, I laughed it off. “Nice try, Romeo. But you can go back to your own room now,” I said, lying back and rolling to the side.
“I just put the idea of orgasming your way to a good night’s rest in your head. I’m not leaving. I’m policing your pussy.” Policing my pussy?
The man definitely had a way with words.
I rolled my eyes. “I promise not to twiddle my nub, hand over my heart,” I assured him. “But I do need to sleep, otherwise I won’t be able to work tomorrow.”
“That actually works in my favour by giving me an extra day.”
“Abbot,” I whined, sounding like a little girl. “Go. Away.”
He chuckled and stood. “I’ll listen at the door then.”
“Oh my God.” I picked up a pillow and threw it at him while he laughed some more.
Then he was gone, and I was alone, my eyes straying to the door and wondering if he was actually there. “Abbot?” I whispered. Nothing. Hmm. Now all I could think about was sex. Which I needed to quit doing if I was going to win this bet and a nice chunk of money. But waking up to a god-like creature watching me sleep and offering his services…it was tempting to say the least. It had been too long since I’d had a man’s hands on my body, and something told me that being with Abbot would be unlike any sexual experience I’d had before. He oozed sexual confidence. He knew how to make a woman scream.
Rolling onto my back, I moaned out of frustration and desire as I covered my face with my hands and tried to ignore the heat pooling between my legs.
My door burst open, scaring me into a sitting position. “What the fuck, Abbot?�
�� I clutched my chest.
“You moaned.”
“I groaned.”
He moved his head from side to side, his expression contemplative, tense. “That’s it. I’m sleeping in here tonight.”
I opened my mouth to object, but when he reached behind his head and pulled his shirt from his body, I was at a loss for words. Then he dropped the shirt and hooked his thumbs in the waist of his track pants and I found my voice.
“Stop right there, mister!” I held my hand out, blocking my view from his waist down.
He paused and met my eyes, a mischievous glint in his. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen already, Slater. You already know I sleep naked.”
“Not in my bed you don’t. Especially when I didn’t even invite you.”
“New rule: we share a bed.” What?
“You can’t just add rules whenever you feel like it.”
“Sure, I can. We’re playing with my money.”
Five hundred thousand.
“Fine then,” I said, collecting the extra pillows to make a wall that would sit between us. Two could play at this game.
“Seriously?”
“Yep.” I tucked the blankets around it so he couldn’t slide underneath it. “And you keep your clothes on. I don’t want to see a scrap of skin.”
“Does this bother you?” He grinned as he made his pecs dance. I struggled not to smile.
“Not at all. I’m just wondering what Jasmine would think if she found you in my bed completely naked. I mean, it’ll be hard enough explaining it if you’re fully clothed. But naked…” I shook my head. “If you want to risk her jumping to conclusions then getting carried away, go right ahead and strip.” I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant in an effort to get him to cover up. My hormones could not take lying beside him naked. I was likely to sleep-fuck the man.
“I see your point.” Thank God. The commitment phobia was strong in this one.
He moved towards his shirt near the door. “So, that’s your only objection? If there was no risk of Jazz walking in here, I could sleep naked? You’d have no problem with it?”
Fool’s Errand: Cartwright Brothers, Book 4 Page 6
