Glancing at Huggie’s departing figure, Sam knew they were the same height and roughly the same build, but that’s where the resemblance stopped. And Sam was pretty sure he knew some moves Huggie didn’t, thanks to Friday nights in the ER. Then again, Huggie undoubtedly knew some moves Sam didn’t, so he guessed they were possibly equal.
But he sure couldn’t be bothered to try them out. Trying to prove who was more macho didn’t interest him. He was just happy if people got on with their lives and left everyone else in peace. That was his mantra. Peace, man. He made a mental ‘peace’ sign in his head and grinned.
Following Ed into the kitchen, he found the table had been extended from a circle to now an oval shape, chairs positioned around it. A couple of bowls containing chips and Twisties, a packet of Tim Tams, and a bowl of mints sat on the kitchen bench. Carly was opening a large bottle of Diet Coke, and Lisa had the kettle boiling. A couple of light beers stood next to the Diet Coke.
“Hey, Sam.” She smiled. “Help yourself to a drink. Tea, coffee, soft drink, beer?”
Before he could answer, Ed popped the caps off three small bottles of light beer and handed him one, placing the other in front of Huggie at the table. “Please, Carly, he’ll think he’s at a girls’ night.”
“Girls’ night was never this tame,” Lisa said.
“Pillow fights.”
“Don’t you wish.” She smirked.
“Take a seat,” Huggie told Sam. “We need to get started.”
“In such a hurry to lose your money.” Ed tsked.
“Just deal.”
“Hang on.” Carly glanced around. “Who has the toothpicks?”
Toothpicks? Sam blinked.
“Sorry, forgot to tell you.” Ed riffled through a deck of well-used cards. “No money, strictly toothpicks. Mostly because we’re all broke, or near to it.” With a practised move of his hands, he fanned the cards on the table top, flicked them over, and shuffled them expertly. “Get your arses over here, girls.”
Lisa sat next to Huggie, Carly taking the seat across from Sam.
Sam relaxed a little. He’d brought some money but he had a limit and it wasn’t high. Losing money didn’t sit well with him, so regardless, he’d have folded early if the betting had gone beyond his limit. Instead, he could relax and enjoy the game. It was turning into an okay night after all.
Looking across the table, he caught Carly’s gaze on him and smiled. When she smiled back, he felt the warmth of it right down to his marrow.
“Hang on.” Lisa looked around. “Where are the joints?”
Sam swung his gaze to her. Shit, surely not…?
“Relax, man.” Huggie studied the cards Ed dealt him. “The only joint my lady’s had is the one she cooks in the oven every Sunday.”
“Just testing.” Lisa studied her cards.
“Ignore her,” Carly advised him. “She likes to tease.”
“Gee, talk abut me like I’m not here,” Lisa complained.
“You should hear what I do say when you’re not here.”
“Oh girlie, you’re going to get your arse beaten tonight.”
“Kinky.” Ed shivered in delight.
Alan would really like Ed.
Ed tossed everyone a packet of toothpicks. “Two hundred to a pack. Remember, winner washes and polishes my bike.”
Huggie sneered.
“If it’s you, I want you in that pretty little pink bikini I just know you have hidden in the back of your cupboard.” Ed studied his cards, rearranged them. “Along with the high heels.”
Yeah, Alan and Ed would get on like a house on fire.
Amused, Sam checked his own cards. Good hand. A glance around the table showed Huggie sucking in his bottom lip, Lisa pursing her lips, Ed continuously arranging his cards before nodding in satisfaction, and Carly, well, Carly just held her cards quietly and looked calmly at her friends.
And she played like crap? Sam couldn’t imagine it. Her friends were bound to give themselves away, whereas she had a good poker face.
However, it wasn’t long before he realised that Huggie sucked his bottom lip regardless if he had a good hand or not, Lisa pulled all kinds of weird expressions at any time, Ed shuffled all the time, and Carly, well, she couldn’t stay calm all the time. She fidgeted when she had a bad hand, tried to keep a straight face when she had a good one, but failed to stop the slight upward curve of her lips, so no matter what she did, she gave it away.
Yep, Carly was crap at poker.
She was also the first to fold. With a sigh, she sat back, picking up the almost empty bowl of chips and proceeding to nibble mournfully on the scraps.
Gleefully raking in Carly’s toothpicks, Lisa eyed Sam’s medium sized pile. “That’s gonna be mine.”
Sam smiled slightly. “Sure.”
Huggie shot him a look from under heavy eyebrows, the piercing in his nose catching the light.
Calmly taking a mouthful of Coke, Sam accepted the cards Ed dealt, arranging them and sitting back.
Lisa was a good player, but she could be reckless when she thought she was on a winning streak. Within half an hour, she was finishing up the Tim Tams and watching along with Carly, sighing when her pile of toothpicks joined Sam’s.
“Card shark,” Ed informed Huggie.
Huggie, eyes gleaming, covertly eyed both Sam and Ed’s toothpicks. Half an hour later, he was scowling, arms folded across his chest, watching Sam and Ed battle it out.
Carly was watching with a smile, cheering Sam on, while Lisa couldn’t make up her mind who she wanted to back, encouraging first Ed, then Sam.
Sam was more than aware of Carly sitting opposite, seeing her pluck a mint from the bowl and eat it as she watched in delight. Man, she looked pretty. He cast her another glance over his cards. Eyes shining, glossy black hair bobbing around in a high ponytail, a few strands straggling loose to caress her cheeks which were flushed a soft pink.
A sound from Ed made him reluctantly drag his gaze from Carly to find Ed watching him with a slightly odd expression on his face. But then Ed grinned. “You gonna fold, man?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Want another card?”
“No.”
“Tough guy, huh?”
Sam just watched him calmly.
“I think you’re bluffing,” Ed said.
“Okay.”
Ed rubbed his chin.
Patiently, Sam waited, his gaze drifting back to Carly. Lisa was all excitement, bouncing in her chair while Carly sat enraptured, her eyes shining and lush lips slightly parted. He just bet her mouth tasted like mint now.
“How about we sweeten the pot?” Ed broke into his musings.
Sam raised his brows.
“Uh-oh,” Lisa said.
Ed grinned widely. “Yeah, how about we sweeten the pot, Sam?”
“You want to play for the last of the Twisties?” Sam queried.
“Small change. Something more interesting.”
“Here we go.” Huggie sighed.
Carly laughed. “I wouldn’t take him up on it, Sam. He never does that unless he’s sure he’ll win.”
“Quiet, woman.” Ed pointed a Twistie at her. “You don’t know me that well.”
“Sorry, Uncle Ed.” Carly dimpled at him.
“Yeah, show some respect, child.” Ed turned back to Sam. “You game?”
Sam gave his jaw a thoughtful scratch. “Tell me what we’re playing for and I’ll give you my answer.”
“I win, you polish my bike.”
Huggie rolled his eyes.
“And if I win?” Sam asked.
Ed’s smile was distinctly sly when he slid his gaze to Carly.
“Ed.” Expression suddenly wary, Carly’s back straightened. “Watch it.”
Lisa was holding her breath, her gaze flicking between Ed, Sam and Carly.
“If you win,” Ed said, “you get to kiss Carly.”
“Ed!” Carly
almost shouted, her cheeks blazing.
Lisa’s mouth fell open in shocked delight. “Oh, Ed!”
Sam blinked. “What?”
“You win, you get a kiss from Carly.”
“You can’t do that,” Carly objected hotly.
“You’re related to me. I can bet you,” he replied.
“You dick! You cannot!”
“It was done all the time in the old days. Some men bet away their wives.”
“This isn’t the old days. Sam!” Carly swung her gaze to him, and the panic was there in the brown depths. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t mean it-”
“Do so,” Ed said cheerfully. “Sam, you in?”
Jesus. Sam looked at Carly, knowing deep down inside that it was wrong, that he should refuse on the simple basis that it wasn’t right, but hell, just looking at her all evening across from him, the laughter in her eyes, the lushness of her breasts when she leaned forward, the plumpness of her lips as she chewed on them, bit them, licked traces of chocolate off them… For the first time in his adult life, he ignored the respectable thing to do and went right with his desire. “I’m in.”
Lisa gasped and clapped her hands together, snugging them under her chin. “How romantic!”
“How stupid!” Carly blurted, her cheeks scarlet. “Ed, if you go through with this, you are a dead man!”
Huggie just watched silently, his gaze going from Sam to Carly and back again, but he didn’t say one word.
“Right.” Ed looked at Sam
Sam looked once more at Carly, his heart beating a little faster, his blood thrumming a little slower, a little hotter. He knew the others were watching him, but he was only interested in Carly.
Her expression was a mixture of disbelief, embarrassment, horror and – yeah, something more, something that flickered in her eyes when she looked at him.
Was that heat? Jesus, yes. Unmistakeable, fleeting, but definitely there. Any hesitation he might have had vanished.
Switching his gaze to Ed, he nodded.
“Can’t wait to have my bike polished.” Triumphantly, Ed fanned his cards on the table. “Look and weep, man!”
It was a good hand, no doubt about it. Lisa gave a sigh of disappointment, grunting when Carly nudged her sharply in the ribs.
Huggie kept his gaze on Sam’s cards.
Ed leaned back in the chair. “All yours, Sam.”
He had no idea.
Sam's eyes locked onto Carly’s as he slowly placed his cards on the table. Her eyes widened.
Lisa let out a shriek of joy. Ed slapped the table with his palm and hooted. Huggie rolled his eyes.
Swallowing, Carly stared at Sam.
“Might as well collect your prize,” Ed said happily.
Carly didn’t look delighted. Right then, she looked like she was going to bolt. In fact, she stood up and actually backed up a couple of steps.
Call him sick, but that helpless movement actually had him feeling like a predator. Like she was the prey and he was eyeing her off, which, bloody hell, some part of him knew he was doing.
He wasn’t even aware he was moving, one minute he was sitting, the next he was standing, moving around the table and approaching her, his gaze locked on hers, his hands slightly out to the sides as though getting ready to catch her if she fled.
Her eyes widened and she swallowed nervously.
“Come on, Carly!” Lisa whistled loudly, the sound breaking through Sam’s haze, reminding him instantly that there was an audience.
And that Carly was mortified.
Shit, maybe he’d mistaken the heat in her eyes. What was wrong with him? He’d never done such a thing before, taken a kiss from a woman who, apparently, wasn’t as into him as he was into her.
That was a bloody first. And what freakin’ shitty timing.
He almost stopped, actually slowing down, about to tell her it was all right, to let her go, but then she licked her lips, that little pink tongue just peeking out to swipe across her lower lip, and almost instantly heat speared through him.
Damn his good bloke side, for the first time he shoved that firmly down. She might not be willing for this kiss, but he wanted it. Needed it. One kiss, one taste, that was all.
She didn’t shift, didn’t move, frozen in place as he advanced, and then he was right there, standing so close to her that he’d have been hard put to slide a finger between them. Her head tipped back as she looked up at him, and towering above her, he had the sudden overwhelming urge to grab her, kiss her ruthlessly, and drag her off to his bed for hours of pure, unbridled debauchery.
Oh God, yes.
He started to lower his head, his hands reaching for her, when she caught him by surprise.
One swift lunge, one fleeting press of her lips to his, and then she was gone, slipping so fast to the side that he was still bent over, his mouth partly open while he blinked.
What the hell…?
“Done!” Carly almost yelled.
Ed yelped, Lisa laughed, and Huggie grunted.
“You arse,” Carly said. “You asked for it.”
Straightening, Sam’s common sense returned. Jesus, he’d been about to kiss Carly senseless, regardless of who was watching. He’d never had his emotions run away like that before, his control vanish. And, even more sobering, she hadn’t seemed to want his kiss anyway.
That was sobering enough to make him take a deep breath, and pushing the glasses back up his nose, he shoved his raging hormones down, turned, and managed to grin at Ed. “Thanks.”
Rubbing his just-kicked shin, Ed gave him the thumbs up.
Safely on the other side of the table, Carly was gathering the toothpicks together. Lisa plopped down onto Huggie’s lap and gave him a smacking kiss on the lips.
Lucky bastard. At least someone got more than a peck.
Moving forward, Sam gathered up the cards, seeking a way to bring some sense of normalcy back, because sure as hell he could feel the sudden tension radiating from Carly.
“Hey,” Ed said. “I hear you’re a nurse.”
“Yep.” Relieved that someone was introducing a topic, Sam stacked the cards neatly.
“Weird job for a bloke, isn’t it?”
“Maybe I’m a weird bloke.”
Ed laughed.
Lisa looked at her watch and stood up. “Come on, Huggie. Its ten thirty and we have to drive over to your Mum’s to pick up the kids.”
Huggie surged to his feet, his arm going around her shoulders. “Okay. ‘Night, all.”
“I’ll see you to the door,” Ed said. “You staying for a nightcap, Sam?”
Sam glanced at Carly, but she was packing the cards and toothpicks into a small box. “No thanks, Ed. Had an early morning this morning, so I think I’ll call it a night.”
“Sure.” Ed also glanced at Carly, but with a shrug, he followed Lisa and Huggie out into the hall.
Hesitating, not wanting to leave things so awkward between them, but not quite knowing what to say or do, Sam said, “Goodnight, Carly.”
The brief smile she flashed him didn’t reach her eyes. “Night Sam. Thanks for coming.” Crusher came running in and she bent to pick him up. “Want something to snack on before bed, boy?”
Taking that as his cue to leave, Sam followed Ed into the hall. After bidding everyone good night, he returned home. The evening definitely hadn’t turned out the way he’d thought, and Ed’s friends weren’t anything like he’d suspected.
But Carly’s lips, well, the kiss had been brief, too brief, but the softness of them was in his mind. Brief, soft, warm.
She had to be the first girl he knew who didn’t want to kiss him.
Musing over the unusualness of it, but not egotistically, Sam put his jeans back into the cupboard and draped the t-shirt over the back of a chair for the next day.
SJ didn’t move from his position on the bed when Sam dropped down onto the mattress. Rolling with Sam’s weight, SJ came to rest against Sam’s leg, his back legs flopping across Sam�
�s calf.
“Don’t move on my account,” Sam told him.
SJ didn’t even open his eyes a fraction.
“And you better not stalk Crusher.”
SJ’s whiskers twitched.
Lying back against the pillows, Sam linked his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. It was the weirdest evening he’d known. Fun, happy, but that last part, man, he’d never known himself to be so, well, dominant.
Yeah. Dominant. What was with that? She’d looked at him so helplessly and that had made him turn all kind of…predatory.
Giving his forehead a quick scratch, he thought about it. He’d never felt like that about a woman before, not ever in his whole life. Not even with his old girlfriends. There was something about Carly that just brought an almost single-minded purpose surging through him.
Shifting his fingers to scratch through his hair, he frowned. Man, he had to get a grip on himself. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t him. It had to be this crush-like thing he had on her, the dreams he’d been having. Yeah, that was it.
Maybe he needed to talk to someone.
Or maybe he just needed to get himself back in order again, stop thinking about the generously curved woman across the road with her soft brown eyes and plump lips, and concentrate on something else. Like surfing. Yeah, in the morning he’d go surfing, clear his head.
With a nod of purpose, he flopped over onto his side.
And dreamed all night about a fleeing temptress who he couldn’t catch, no matter how much he howled at the moon and gave chase.
~*~
Ed was lucky to be alive.
“Lucky I didn’t smother him in his sleep,” she informed Crusher, who whined while staring at the dog biscuit she had in her hand. “Lucky I didn’t kick his skinny arse up and down the street. Geez, what kind of a stunt was he pulling?”
She’d asked him that as soon as everyone had left. He’d protested innocence, believed he was on a winning streak and pleaded ignorance to even guessing that Sam had a winning hand.
Not that it mattered. The very idea of betting her kissing Sam was ludicrous, but she couldn’t get it through Ed’s thick head, so she’d given up after threatening him with death if he ever pulled a similar stunt in the future.
Seducing Sam Page 10
