Romance Me (Boxed Set)

by Susan Hatler

  “Because what happens between you and me has nothing to do with him.”

  He looked so fierce, so possessive, that she shivered. “In this case, it did. He tricked you, didn't he?”

  “He didn't trick me. He just didn't tell me what was waiting for me.”

  “And if he had?”

  “If he had, I wouldn't have waited for you to do your little fashion spin. I would have been on top of you before the door shut.”

  Her entire body responded to his quiet statement. Her skin prickled, her nipples peaked, and her pussy wept. She would've sworn that if he were to touch her hair at that moment, she would come so hard she'd probably black out. She urged her mind to quiet the urges of her body and be logical. “Liar,” she whispered. “You haven't called. You haven't visited. You haven't wanted anything to do with me.”

  “Not because I didn't want you.” He hesitated. “You didn't exactly advertise that you wanted me.”

  “I-I didn't—”

  “Don't lie,” he commanded, cupping the back of her head and pulling her in to his chest. Stunned, she closed her eyes and soaked him in. With a slow, firm hand, he rubbed her lower back. “We've lied to each other enough, don't you think? You might have picked Max to be your tutor, but it was my name you said before you fell asleep last night. And I want you, Melina. I'm willing to say it. I'm willing to act on it.”

  She leaned back to meet his gaze, doubt and suspicion boiling inside her. “Why now? After all this time?”

  “Because you offered it to me.”

  “I pushed it on you.”

  “That's a stupid thing to say, and you're not stupid.”

  “Yes, well, here's where my stupidity ends.” Pulling away, she urged, “If you'll just get me my clothes, I'll get out of here.”

  “Why? You were willing to sleep with Max. Was it because you love him?”

  “No! I mean, of course, I love him, the same way I love you. We're family. I don't want to ruin that, Rhys, and what you're talking about will. Admit it. We want different things in our lives and trying to pretend otherwise would be foolish.”

  He didn't contradict her. How could he? “You and Max want different things, too. Why were you willing to let him teach you but not me?”

  Ah, so she'd been right. This was about his male ego. “Because he was around, for one.”

  “I'm here now. And I've got the weekend, just like you and Max agreed, right?”

  Alarm bells blared in her head. “Yes, but—”

  “And I think we established last night that we have chemistry. That I have the skill to make you come.” He said it quietly, with none of the cockiness that would have made her question her attraction to him.

  Instead, Melina struggled to breathe in the rapidly thinning air. “Your skill has never been in question. And my ability to…to—” She felt herself turning beet red. “—climax isn't in issue. It's my ability to pleasure a man that is.”

  “Says you.”

  “Says Brian Montgomery. Lars Jensen. Gary Somada.”

  “Idiots. If they wanted something from you, they didn't work hard enough for it. Besides, I can show you how to please a man.”

  “You seemed more concerned with pleasing me last night.”

  “The two things aren't independent. I showed you one thing that gives a man pleasure. Submission. Total trust by his partner. But there are other things you can do, and I'll show them to you if you'll let me.”

  The alarm in her head was still sounding, but somehow it had quieted a bit. Curiosity, she told herself. That's all. She wasn't actually going to consider his proposition. Was she?

  At her continued silence, he pressed on. “Don't get me wrong. I'm not immune to some satisfaction, as well. I put in some work last night. I think I'm entitled to a little return on my investment, don't you?”

  Her alarm kicked up a notch. “So this is about paying a debt owed? Compensating you for services rendered?”

  “This is about you and me and giving each other the best sex we've ever had.”

  “See? That's exactly it. If you're expecting great sex from me, it'll never work. I'll be anxious. Feel pressured. You're deluding yourself if you think I can compete with the women you've been with, Rhys.”

  He raised a brow. “And you're underestimating my ability to inspire you.”

  Okay. Her curiosity was definitely getting the better of her now. Melina forced herself not to think of Rhys's special brand of inspiration. “We barely know each other anymore—”

  “You know that's not true. Like you said, Melina, we're almost family. What we're doing this weekend might not fit within the boundaries of our previous relationship, but once it's over, I want to know you're going to be okay. I can help you. Why won't you let me?”

  Once it's over, he'd said. Once he was gone, he meant. A wave of sadness washed over her. If she understood him correctly, this was to be their swan song to whatever relationship they'd been clinging to. Sort of like his parting gift to her. Since it had been coming for a while, she tried not to show how much the thought devastated her. Or swayed her.

  As soon as the weekend was over, he'd be leaving again. Who knew when she'd see him next? She'd be a fool not to take what he was offering.

  “And then what?” she forced herself to ask, even though she already knew the answer.

  “What were you going to do after you and Max were done with each other?”

  It seemed obscene somehow, the way he kept bringing Max into this. Which was silly, of course. “We were going to part friends. Go back to the way things always were. No expectations. No embarrassment.”

  He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said, “I can do that. Can you?”

  Given his cavalier attitude, what else could she say? Slowly, she nodded.

  Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. “Good.”

  He moved forward and she tensed, expecting him to reach out and kiss her. Anticipation streaked through her, but all he did was turn, bend his knees slightly, and retrieve a familiar-looking bag from under the desk. He tossed it onto the bed next to her. “Now get dressed.”

  She stared at the bag blankly. “Now you want me to get dressed?”

  He smiled slightly. “Yep.”

  “Why?”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Because, my dear Melina, the next lesson involves something the best magicians and lovers know how to work with a very subtle yet sure hand.”

  “What's that?” she whispered.

  “Unpredictability.”

  Chapter Six

  Dalton's Magic Rule #7: Don't forget your magic wand.

  As he turned Melina's car onto the freeway that would lead them north of Sacramento, Rhys had to struggle not to show his amusement. Although she was valiantly trying to act nonchalant, he'd definitely thrown her off balance. And if he was reading her correctly, and Rhys had a definite talent when it came to reading people, she was a bit disgruntled that she was fully clothed going who knows where instead of enjoying more time in his arms and in his bed.

  Which was exactly the response he'd been hoping for.

  He hadn't been lying when he'd told her that unpredictability was key to good magic and good sex. It was also the key to getting Melina to lower her guard and stop those gigantic wheels in her mind from trying to analyze everything to death. God knew, if he was going to participate in her ridiculous sex experiment, he was going to enjoy every second of their time together.

  He wanted the same for her. He wanted her relaxed and with her guard down, enjoying their time together instead of focusing on things like technique and statistics—each orgasm used as a marker of sexual prowess.

  He almost snorted.

  She actually thought she sucked in bed because he hadn't allowed himself release when the truth was he'd found more sexual pleasure giving her orgasms and having her sleep in his arms than he had in a long time. He hadn't been willing to go for the fast finish or self-induced hand job, because he'd wanted more with her. More
kissing. More touching. More.

  And now he'd have the opportunity, but only because she'd gotten it into her head that she needed tutoring. Ridiculous, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not this time.

  She cleared her throat. “So, where are we going?” she asked, as if he hadn't already refused to answer her the four other times she'd asked.

  He turned to look at her with a carefree grin. “That wouldn't exactly keep the mystery going now, would it?”

  She pouted so adorably that he barely stopped himself from grabbing her chin and pulling her over for a kiss. It didn't take a genius to figure out that his Ladybug instinctively resisted anything that she couldn't control. He obviously needed to steer her mind to safer ground.

  “How're your parents, by the way?”

  The question wiped the pout off her mouth, and she sat back. “They're good. They're in China now, checking out the Great Wall.”

  “We were there a couple of years ago. It was an amazing trip. They've been traveling for the last couple of years, right? And things are still good between them?”

  “Sure, why wouldn't they be?”

  He thought of all the fights his parents had gotten into while on the road, just another thing he'd had to learn to adjust to. “It's a miracle that my parents' marriage survived their touring. Sometimes I think they brought us along with them as a buffer just to keep their marriage intact.”

  She shifted slightly in her seat, turning closer toward him instead of continuing to hug the door. “But your parents seem so compatible. I don't think I've ever seen them fight.”

  He couldn't help his smirk. “Yes, but you only saw them at home. They're completely different on the road. You ever see that show The Amazing Race?”

  “Sure. I love it actually. You're not saying…”

  “All those pairs trying to navigate around foreign countries under intense pressure—that doesn't exactly bring out the best in them, right? Well, let's just say my mom shows a whole different side of herself when she's tired or hungry. And my dad seems to lose his ability to read her when he's distracted and on the road.”

  “Was that hard for you? That they fought a lot?”

  It had been, at one time. Until he'd realized it was just part of his parents' process. They fought on the road, and probably made up just as fiercely. Once he'd realized their love was solid enough to withstand the fighting, he'd stopped stressing about it. He, on the other hand, wasn't willing to put up with that kind of strife in his personal relationships.

  “Rhys?”

  Melina reached out and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Affection washed over him. Melina was such a doll, with a generous heart and fierce loyalty. She would make some lucky guy a wonderful wife, some child a wonderful mother. For a moment, disappointment that he wouldn't be that husband, and that it wouldn't be their child, spiked through him. He squeezed her hand back and shot her a quick smile. “Sorry. I spaced there for a second. What did you ask?”

  “How are they doing now?”

  “They're learning to enjoy one another again, but they're still on the road with us about half the time. Dad's our manager, you know, and Mom's mentored each of our female stage assistants. They'll always be part of the act in that way.”

  “Is that a drag for you and Max, when they're with you?”

  He frowned when she pulled her hand away. When he glanced at her, she was looking out the window and blushing. His eyebrows shot up. Just what was his little Ladybug referring to? “Not at all. Why?”

  “I can't imagine it's conducive to—” She waved her hand in a yada-yada circle. “You have a lot of women interested in you on the road. I'm not naïve enough to think that you don't take advantage of it.”

  Internally, he winced. The last thing he wanted to discuss with Melina was his sex life, but because she was brave enough to ask, he forced himself to be honest. “It's hard not to. There are a lot of willing women. But it got old for me pretty quickly. Believe it or not, I'm often relieved when my parents are on tour with us. Gives me a great excuse to bow out of the nightlife and just hang with them.”

  “It's nice,” she said wistfully, turning to face him again. “The relationship that you have with them.”

  “What about your parents?” He hesitated, then asked the question he never thought he would. “Would you ever want to join them on the road?”

  “They wouldn't want me to.”

  He jerked in surprise. “You can't be serious. Your parents have always adored you. How can you say that?”

  “Oh, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Outwardly, they'd welcome me. But, really, I'd be a third wheel. I know they love me, but there's a bond between them. They wouldn't want me around.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It was only after I was grown and out of the house that my parents started traveling. Maybe that's when they truly felt they could be a couple. So I try not to intrude. Plus, I don't enjoy traveling all that much. It takes me away from work, and I like having a home base.”

  More proof that he wasn't the right man for Melina. He didn't have a home base. Didn't even know what having one would feel like anymore.

  He was tempted to ask her how much traveling she'd done. As far as he knew, she hadn't done much, and he'd always assumed that had been her choice. Now he wasn't so sure. Now he wondered if it was just that she hadn't wanted to travel alone. But it seemed to be a topic she didn't want to continue. And he wasn't sure he wanted to continue it either, given the melancholy look that had come across her face. “Once you were on your own, I thought your mom might start acting again.”

  Melina's mother had been an up-and-coming actress right around the time she'd met Melina's father. Years ago, he'd rented one of her movies, amazed at how animated she'd been. Whenever he'd seen her as a kid, she'd been friendly but quiet. Serious. Far from the chirpy, flirty girl on the screen. Although she hadn't been as quiet or serious as a child, Melina had slowly adopted those traits as she'd grown up, and he'd felt more and more separated from her. He now wondered which of her mother's personas had been real versus an act. He already knew that Melina's quiet exterior hid something amazingly passionate, but that was a new discovery made only last night.

  “No. She gave that world up a long time ago. She loved my father that much.”

  Rhys wasn't sure why giving up her acting dreams was part and parcel of being with Melina's father, but he had to admit they were a good pairing. It was, in fact, hard to believe that Susan, Melina's mother, had ever been in show business. She'd adapted to academic life as if she'd been born to it. Their relationship had been completely different than Rhys's parents' because there didn't seem to be a lot of volatility to it. Melina's parents always worked together in sync, similar personalities that managed to converge into one unit. For the first time, he wondered exactly how it would feel to be the outsider in that relationship, when a daughter shouldn't ever be made to feel like an outsider. But that was clearly how Melina felt.

  “So these willing women. How do they let their willingness be known?”

  Something close to panic shot through him. “Um…I don't think we should really talk about that.”

  “Why not? You now know intimate details about my sex life while I know nothing about yours.”

  “All I know is that, up until last night, your choice in lovers was lousy.”

  “Are you referring to your brother? Because I didn't exactly choose you, did I?”

  He didn't miss the way she kept bringing up Max. She was using him as a shield, just as she had many times in the past. “You're here now, aren't you? And considering what we're going to be doing for the next two days, I'd say that you've definitely made a choice. Or have you changed your mind?”

  She hesitated long enough for him to begin to sweat. Don't change your mind, he urged silently. Not when I've only had a taste of what I've dreamed about for so long.

  “No,” she whispered. “I haven't changed my mind. Not if
you haven't. But I am here for a reason. So that means you have to answer my questions.”

  Frustration made him clench his teeth, but he slowly relaxed his jaw. “It's usually a note passed to us by an usher. Sometimes they'll wait around until we're leaving the theater. One time—” He cleared his throat, then forced himself to be honest. “One woman actually found out where we were staying and walked up while I was having dinner. She, uh, made it pretty clear she wasn't wearing anything under her trench coat. Then she said she had a message for me. Drawn on her body with lipstick.”

  Silence filled the car for several minutes, and he struggled for something to say. Screw honesty. He should have kept that last one to himself. “So, why don't we—”

  “Well, the lipstick was certainly…overt. But that's what guys like, right? Did it work? Did you end up having sex with her?”

  He tightened his fingers on the steering wheel. Without taking his eyes off the road, he answered quietly. “Yes. But that was a long time ago. When I was still reeling from the attention and thinking with my dick more than my brain.”

  “Did she really have something written on her body with lipstick?”

  He glanced over at her. “Yes.”

  Her eyes widened and she blushed. “Was it something…explicit?”

  Sighing, he shrugged. “Let's just say it involved an arrow and two short words.”

  “Did you do what it said?” she whispered.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  How could he explain that he simply he hadn't wanted to? That he never did unless he knew the woman well. Cared about her. Yet he'd had sex with her. It sounded so distasteful now. Made him cringe to imagine what Melina must think of him.

  Before he could reply, she said, “I bet she went down on you, though, right?”

  He gritted his teeth, then willed his muscles to relax. As much as he wanted to be for Melina, he'd never claimed to be perfect. If she was going to be with him, it would be all of him, flaws and all. Still, he didn't want to spend any more of their precious time together talking about something he barely even remembered now. So in his own way, that's what he set out to tell her. “Honestly, that entire night's pretty much a big blur now. One big red blur of Shanghai Crimson. Revlon, I believe.”