10

Cohen stood rooted in place for a minute. Should he be surprised she hadn’t invited him in? Had he expected her to?

She was doing the right thing. He had no business being in her room. No man did, for that matter. Why couldn’t she have come here just to enjoy the beach? Read by the seashore? He would gladly take her into town to find a book store. Surely, there had to be a few books that would hold her interest.

He moved away from the door, in case she was watching him through the peephole. At least now, he knew where her room was located. Lucky for him, it wasn’t too far away from his. Same side of the building, just different floors. She was on the tenth floor and he was above her on the eleventh.

Above her…

Why did just thinking that conjure up erotic images in his mind? Hell, he wasn’t the horny one here. She was. And he intended to help her handle it. But how? He knew several ways of controlling male urges but had no idea about how a woman was supposed to control hers. And Dee had shared some pretty vivid needs with him over the last few days. She’d been too open, too upfront, to damn revealing. Women didn’t say stuff like that to men, even those they trusted.

As Cohen went to his room, he thought about the guy on the elevator earlier, the one who’d assumed Dee was alone. He really couldn’t blame the man for hitting on her. Tonight, Dee had been seduction personified. The minute she had walked into the ballroom, men had taken notice. Why did she have to look so damn seductive? Even now, he was still aroused. Then again, she’d pretty well told him that her breasts needed some attention, and that she dreamed of having his tongue on her. Jeez. His throat tightened and he could barely catch his breath.

Two hours later, he’d showered and was kicking back on his balcony with a beer from the bar in his room. Why was he still up at close to two in the morning? Why was he wondering what Dee was doing, wondering if she’d changed her mind and had someone with her in her room?

He shook his head. She didn’t. She’d given him her word, right? In all actuality, she really hadn’t, he thought before downing another mouthful of beer. She’d only agreed to talk with him in the morning.

What would he say when they met? Hell, he’d never had to deal with this kind of situation before. He needed help. Advice from someone who would know.

He then thought about Tyson. His best friend was an expert when it came to females. Luckily, Cohen knew Tyson was working the late shift at the hospital this week. He reached for his phone and hit Tyson’s number.

“Hey Cohen. What are you still doing up?”

“Pondering something. I have a ‘what-if’ situation that I could really use your help with.”

“Okay.”

“Hypothetically speaking,” he said.

He heard Tyson’s chuckle. “Okay, hypothetically speaking.”

Cohen smiled. They both knew there wasn’t anything hypothetical about it. Tyson knew why he’d come here--to keep Dee out of trouble. “What if the person I’m trying to keep safe from the wolves is determined to act like Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Umm, then you need to become a more proactive wolf.”

A proactive wolf? “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“I mean that evidently, Little Red doesn’t have a problem with the idea of being gobbled up. So you might as well be the wolf that enjoys the meal.”

Cohen almost fell out of his chair. “Come again?”

“Think about it, Cohen. Have you considered the reason for Dee’s strange behavior? You rejected her.”

“I didn’t reject her. I just refused to be set up for any more seductions.”

“To a woman, that’s basically the same thing. So now, she wants to seduce any man but you. She’s been there, done that. Got rejected for her efforts. So now, she’s looking for a guy who will appreciate her.”

Hell, he’d appreciated her. He’d made love to her and would still be making love to her, if he hadn’t come to his senses. “I don’t want another guy to touch her, Tyson.”

“Then you need to determine why. You can’t give her the kind of love you thinks she deserves, yet you don’t want another man to love her, either. That’s just wrong.”

“The men she’s targeting are all players--carefree, love ‘em and leave ‘em types. Stone cold womanizers.”

“Oh. The kind of men Galen, Jonas, Eli and I used to be, before finding the right girl?”

Cohen rolled his eyes and took another swallow of beer. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do. But have you considered that she might find a keeper in the group?”

“And she might find someone who’ll break her heart.”

“If you ask me, her heart is already broken,” Tyson said. “Sounds like she’s looking for someone to mend it.”

Cohen drew in a deep breath. “Are you suggesting that I seduce Dee?”

“From the way it sounds, either you seduce her or someone else will. Which is it going to be?”

**

Dee couldn’t sleep, but it was too late to call Stacey. So here she was, at two in the morning, playing a game on her smartphone. And winning. Why couldn’t she win with Cohen? Why did the man have to make things so difficult?

In a way, it wasn’t that she couldn’t sleep. She just refused to try. Each time she closed her eyes, she would see Cohen. But not as he’d looked last night. Instead, her mind would conjure up remembered images of him naked, in her bed. She’d always thought his features were the epitome of masculine beauty. And his body was a piece of perfection, with chiseled pecs, powerfully built shoulders, and an iron tight chest, sprinkled with rough hair.

McSexy is the name she often gave him in her erotic dreams. And what she’d told him earlier was true, she often dreamed of having his mouth on her. He’d appeared scandalized by her confession, but as far as she was concerned, he had needed to hear it. In all honestly, just being around him made her ache.

She smiled, recalling their conversation tonight. She hadn’t pulled any punches with him. And tomorrow, she’d do the same. He might have been shocked at her brazenness…but his body had reacted. She’d seen it, each and every time. There were some things a man just couldn’t hide. Whether he knew it or not, Cohen’s breathing pattern changed whenever he got turned on. And knowing she was the cause of it had just encouraged her to push him harder.

When she saw him in the morning, she intended to be even naughtier. Like she’d told Stacey, she was going to drive him crazy with lust. It was time for him to either fish or cut bait. If he didn’t want her to get laid by someone else, then he needed to do the honors himself. Not that she was really looking for someone else, mind you, but she intended to make him think that she was.

So right now, her plan was to put erotic pictures in his head, images of her getting her brains screwed out while engaging in wild, hot, endless sex with a man whose face she wanted to be his. She hoped he wanted it to be his, too. If all she could get was noncommittal sex now, that would be okay. It would lead to committed sex later. She was willing to take it one step, one stroke, one hard thrust at a time.

She tightened her legs together when certain thoughts raced through her mind. She couldn’t wait for the morning to come. Right now, though, she needed to make him believe she desperately wanted a man in her bed, any man.

When she’d closed the door on him last night, she had watched him through the peephole. He’d actually looked stunned. Had he thought she would open herself up to rejection a third time?

But she was holding her ground. If he wanted her, he’d have to take her. She wasn’t going to offer herself up to him this time. It was his turn to be the seducer. And she intended to make him work for it.

Drawing in a deep breath, she put her phone down. She needed to be well-rested if she was going to match wits with McSexy tomorrow.

**

With very little sleep but a determination to keep Dee out of trouble spurring him on, Cohen knocked on her door at seven the next morning. He wasn’t taking any chances that he’d miss her. He had no intention of letting her go downstairs without him.

He heard the security chain being moved back just seconds before the door opened. And there she stood. He was certain his jaw dropped. She’d just stepped out the shower. Sprinkles of water dotted her skin. He wondered if she was aware that a towel only covered so much, and at times, almost nothing at all. This was one of those times.

“Come back in fifteen minutes.” She closed the door in his face.

He blinked, drew in a deep breath and knocked again. Moments later, she opened the door once more. “What do you want, Cohen? As you can see, I just stepped out of the shower. I need to get dressed.”

“Yes, I can see that,” he said, fighting to keep his gaze on her face and not shift lower. “Why can’t I wait for you in there?”

She rolled her eyes. “There’s not enough room.”

“I can sit out on the balcony. That way, I’ll be here once you’re ready to go.”

She gave him an impatient look before stepping aside to let him in. “Suit yourself. Just don’t get in my way. I intend for today to be a good day for me.”

He wondered what her definition of good was. “I’m looking forward to a good day, as well,” he said, though he doubted she’d heard him. She’d rushed back into the bathroom and closed the door.

He inhaled deeply. The room held her gardenia scent. Glancing around, his gaze shifted to her bed. Immediately, he visualized her in it, stretched out, naked beneath the covers, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. Then he started wondering what she slept in. A short nightgown? Long? Lacy? Sheer? Cotton? Maybe nothing at all. Did she sleep in the nude?

Knowing that following that train of thought would get him in trouble, he quickly moved toward the balcony. Since he knew Dee didn’t drink coffee, he had stopped at one of the resort’s cafes and bought his own. He eased into a chair and looked around. She had a beautiful view of the ocean.

This was a really nice place. He wondered how she’d found out about it. Then again, it was a singles’ resort. How many of them could there be in Virginia Beach? Still, Cohen didn’t have to think too hard to figure out why she’d selected this one...in addition to the obvious. She was surrounded by kids all year. He could certainly understand her wanting to be around adults for a change. He felt the same way. After hanging around medical professionals all day, he certainly wouldn’t want to vacation with them, as well.

His ears perked up at the sound of Dee moving around. She’d come out of the bathroom. Trying to clear his mind of images of a naked Dee getting dressed, he glanced down at the view below. It was early, yet people had already begun migrating to the beach. A few were even in the water taking a morning swim, which accounted for the number of lifeguards on duty.

He shifted his thoughts to the conversation he’d had last night with Tyson. His best friend’s suggestion had pretty much kept him up most of the night. Could he do it? First, though, he’d try one more time to get Dee to change her mind on her own. Then, only as a last resort, would he consider Tyson’s suggestion.

“I’m ready, Cohen.”

He stood and turned to look at her. Blood rushed to his face…and further south. Crossing his arms over his chest, he said in a firm voice, “No. I don’t think so.”