“Four days,” I groan, closing my eyes as the hot water of the shower washes over my face. Four days pretending I like this jackass. I should have asked for a million dollars.

I squeeze some body wash onto the loofah and rub it over my body as I go over the afternoon in my mind. It’s not long before I’m gritting my teeth. He’s so frustrating!

Dex took every opportunity he could to grab and grope me, wrapping his hard, muscular arms around my waist, grabbing my ass with his strong hands, and kissing my cheeks and neck with his soft tender lips.

My hand slides down my soapy stomach, and I let out a low moan as my fingertip finds my sweet spot. Is it so bad that I’m attracted to an arrogant pervert?

Yes, Riley. It is.

He’s all wrong for me, but it feels so right. I must be broken. It must be his pilot’s uniform. I must be drunk.

My hand slides further between my legs as I picture Dex without a shirt on, lounging by the pool. His hard abs, glistening with water as he sips on his drink and gives me that look that makes my heart race for all the wrong reasons.

Fuck.

I slip a finger inside my wetness and massage my breasts as I remember what it felt like when he touched them. His strong hands were firm yet gentle, making my breath catch in my throat. I pretended like I hated it, but my pussy was on fire the entire time.

It’s frustrating, having dirty thoughts of your arch nemesis. I want to hate him, and I do, but I can’t stop having these dirty fantasies about us having hot, wild sex.

“Mmmm,” I moan, rubbing my clit as I picture Dex in the other room. Of course, we have to share a room and a bed again. Four days. I have to stay strong for four days.

But I only have to stay strong when I’m with him. Alone in the shower on the other hand…

“Oh, God,” I moan as I slide another finger in deep. I press my forehead against the cold shower tiles as I imagine him walking in when he does.

“What the fuck?!” I scream as he opens the door and casually walks in. I quickly make a hand bikini as he strolls to the toilet, thankfully keeping his eyes off of the steamy glass wall of the shower. It’s the only thing standing between him and my naked body.

“What are you doing in here?” I yell as he lifts up the lid of the toilet and unbuckles his shorts.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” he asks with a chuckle.

I slide the door open a sliver and reach out, grabbing the folded towel off of the shelf. “It looks like you’re pulling your dick out,” I say as I yank the towel in and wrap it around me. “Get the fuck out of here!”

“I have to pee,” he says casually, shrugging as he looks down.

He glances over his shoulder as he starts peeing. “Your towel is getting wet.”

The jets of the shower have already soaked it. “Actually, it’s your towel. I’m keeping the dry one.”

“We can share the last towel,” he says. I can hear the grin in his voice. “I don’t mind that at all.”

“Well, I do!” I shout. I’m in complete disbelief over the brazenness of his actions. To think I was actually fantasizing about this jerk.

“Leave your panties,” he says, glancing down at my pile of clothes in the corner. My lacy yellow underwear is on the floor, visible for him to see. “I’ll dry off with those, if they’re not already soaking wet from seeing me shirtless all afternoon.”

“Why don’t you dry off with all of that hot air coming out of your mouth?” I ask, sticking my head out of the door. It’s not the best comeback, but he’s kind of caught me off guard.

“Did you just call me hot?” he asks, smiling as he glances over his shoulder.

I can only stare at him in disbelief. “I can’t tell if you’re delusional or stupid.”

“Let me know when you figure it out,” he says. He turns and points to his dick that’s hidden by his body. “Want to shake it for me?”

He flushes the toilet when I just glare at him, not answering his question. He then washes his hands, watching me through the reflection in the mirror.

“Need some help washing your breasts?” he asks, strutting to the door. He stops in front of the shower with a smirk on his lips. “I’m an expert.”

“No!” I shout at the top of my lungs. “I need some help getting a pervert out of my bathroom while I’m taking a shower!”

“I’ll take that as a ‘next time,’” he says, laughing.

I throw the shampoo bottle at him and hit him in the shoulder.

He laughs as he points at my leg. “You missed a spot.”

He hurries out as I grab the conditioner. I launch it at him, but it hits the back of the door as he quickly closes it.

I’m not sure if I’m angrier at him for trying to see me naked or at myself for getting turned on by it.

I turn off the hot water faucet and hold my breath as the shower turns freezing cold.

Only cold showers from now on.

* * *

“Wow,” Dex says when I walk into the room before dinner. His jaw is hanging down, looking like it’s unhinged from his skull.

I hide my grin, pretending that I don’t care what he thinks. I found a beautiful summer dress in the communal closet, which is pretty much a warehouse stocked with the nicest designer clothes on the planet. The dress is bright red, and I grabbed some sexy Louboutins to match.

It’s almost dinnertime, and we have to go over our notes. I dig them out of my purse and unfold the papers. “Where did you go to school?” I ask.

He just ignores me as his eyes wander all over my body, darting from my breasts, to my legs, to my breasts, to my waist, and then back to my breasts.

I don’t think I’m the prettiest girl in the world, but I did make sure I looked hot as fuck before leaving the bathroom. Dex and I are fighting a war, and I believe in torturing my enemies.

I’m thrilled that it seems to be working, but we still have work to do. My future is on the line.

“Where did you go to school?” I repeat. I roll my eyes and turn the page when he doesn’t answer. Is that drool on the side of his mouth?

“What is my favorite color?” I ask.

“My favorite color is red,” he says, staring at me.

“That’s not what it says in the notes,” I say, shaking the papers.

“I don’t care,” he says, swallowing hard. “It’s my favorite color now.”

“Ugh,” I say, tossing the notes on the bed. “Let’s just go.”

Dex stands up and now it’s my turn to gawk and gasp. He’s wearing fitted gray slacks with a tight black button up shirt that clings to his broad shoulders and round biceps. A gray tie hangs loose around his thick neck, and for a split second, I picture grabbing it in my fist and pulling his lips down onto mine.

His blue eyes are looking brighter than ever against his tanned skin, and his hair is in a style I haven’t seen it in before-gelled and combed to the side. I like it.

A lot.

He slides his hand on my lower back as we leave, and although I specifically said there will be no touching, I let it go. He is supposed to be my husband, and husbands touch their wives. It’s definitely not because I like it.

We bicker on the way down to the dining room, basically me getting pissed that he still hasn’t memorized our notes from breakfast. All of that is pushed to the side when we walk into the room and greet Prince Kalib, Marv, and Kara with smiles on our faces.

After a quick drink, we sit down at the gorgeous oak table under the minivan-sized chandelier that’s dangling over our heads. The room is pure luxury, from the large Japanese vases in the corners that look so old that I wouldn’t be surprised if they were once owned by a Samurai, to the solid gold silverware that I consider sneaking into my purse.

Marv tries to bring up the yachts again as the servers bring out salads and wine. Prince Kalib isn’t having any of it. He turns away from my boss and locks his eyes on me.

“Where did you grow up, Riley?” he asks, never taking his eyes off of me as he tastes the wine and then nods to the waiter who’s holding the bottle.

Dex and I had agreed this morning on the story that I was born in New Hampshire and he was born in LA. We met on vacation in Miami and decided to stay for good after falling in love.

Dex answers before I can open my mouth. Shit.

“We grew up together in Wisconsin,” he says, nodding at the prince. “Isn’t that right, honey?”

I squeeze my napkin under the table as my chest aches. I have a sudden sour taste in my mouth as the entire table turns to look at me. He’s done exactly what I was worried he was going to do. He’s gone off script. He’s gone rogue!

I have six-hundred thousand dollars on the line and he’s freeballing it! Well, he’s going to pay for every word.

“That’s true,” I say, gulping as I nod. “That’s where Dex joined the Air Force. I was so worried about him when he was enrolled.”

Dex is watching me carefully, probably wondering what my game is. He’s about to find out.

“I was so happy when he got discharged,” I say, taking his hand in mine. “That’s a great story, honey. Why don’t you tell them?”

Checkmate.

Dex furrows his brow as he pulls his hand away from mine. He wipes the corner of his mouth with his napkin as his face turns serious.

“I didn’t realize you were in the Air Force, Dex,” Prince Kalib says. “Why did they make you leave?”

I’ve been wondering why he got discharged from the Air Force ever since we first met. I lean in, excited to find out why.

“My little Riley Coyote was so worried about me that she traded her body for my safety,” he says.

“What?” Marv grunts, tilting his head as he looks at Dex.

“Yeah, what?” I repeat, staring at him.

Dex nods, looking like he’s getting choked up. “Riley slept with my commanding officer in exchange for my discharge. Some wives will say they’ll do anything for their husband, but not many wives will get naked and spread their legs on a pool table in the back of a seedy bar to keep their husband safe. My Riley Coyote took an old saggy man cock for me, and I won’t forget it. Ever.”

I’m not even mad. I just watch him with admiration as he takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. Here I thought I had him in checkmate and he steals my queen. He’s a master at this game.

“That’s so romantic,” Prince Kalib says, wiping the corner of his eye.

We finish our salads, and all hell breaks loose when Prince Kalib excuses himself to go to the bathroom.

“What the hell are you two playing at?” Marv screeches, trying to keep his voice down but failing miserably.

“She’s wearing my rings!” Kara hisses, pointing at my finger. I keep my hands on the table. My left hand is closing except for my middle finger.

“I’m just borrowing them,” I say defensively.

Kara tugs on Marv’s sleeve. “She’s wearing my rings!” she whines like a spoiled little brat.

Marv sighs. “I’ll buy you new ones when we get home. Like you don’t have enough,” he mutters under his breath.

Kara shoots me an ugly look. “Just throw them in the garbage when you’re done with them. They’re tainted now.”

“I want everyone to act normal,” Marv says, squeezing his hand into a fist. “You guys are blowing this!”

“He loves us!” Dex says, shrugging his broad shoulders. “Don’t worry, we both want to sell the yachts and get our rewards too.”

“What’s your reward?” I ask, looking at him sideways.

“Yeah,” Kara asks, smirking at us. “Why don’t you tell her, Dex?”

His body turns rigid as he glares back at her.

“Dex?” I whisper. “What’s your reward?”

“Will you guys stop?” Dex asks, looking around in a panic. “He’s going to hear you!”

“Dex?” I say once again. He’s pretending he doesn’t hear me.

“Who’s ready for the main course?” Prince Kalib asks, rubbing his hands together as he walks back into the dining room.

We all swallow our scowls and flash him fake smiles. “I am!” I say, smiling like a crazy person.

The waiters serve us grilled fish and veggies on silver platters. Real silver platters.

Prince Kalib asks me a million questions as I cut my fish, trying to take out the tiny slivers of bone. He seems to be quite taken with me.

And by the way Dex is clenching his teeth, muttering under his breath and sneering at Prince Kalib, it seems he’s quite taken with me too. I’d laugh in his face if I wasn’t putting on a show for the prince.

By dessert, Dex has had enough.

“You took gymnastics as a child,” Prince Kalib says as he sinks his fork into the crème brûlée. “Are you still flexible?”

“All right,” Dex says, springing up from the table so fast his chair skids back across the floor. “I think it’s time to go to bed.”

“So early?” Prince Kalib asks, looking at his diamond-encrusted watch.

“Yes,” Dex growls back, locking eyes on him.

“We’re sorry to cut the evening short,” I say, tossing my napkin on the table. “Dex has a nightly tradition where he calls his mother every night before bed so she can sing him a lullaby. At first I thought it was very strange and creepy that a grown man needs to be sung a lullaby by his mommy, but now I think it’s sweet. A little bit strange but sweet.”

Dex doesn’t look like he’s in the mood for any more games.

“Let’s go,” he mouths to me.

His face is red and he looks unpredictable at the moment. I’m afraid he’s going to blow the whole charade, so I say goodnight to everyone and go with him.

“Geez,” I say, yanking my hand out of his when we’re in the hallway. “What is your problem?”

He’s steaming mad as he paces around while I rub my wrists. “The fucking nerve of that guy!” he hisses before kicking a plant. “He’s been hitting on you all night!”

“Are you jealous?” I ask, grinning in triumph at him.

“No!” he says, snorting out a laugh. “As if. He thinks you’re with me. It’s rude.”

“And you’re jealous,” I say, biting my bottom lip as I watch him kick the base of the plant again.

“It’s not the plant’s fault,” I say, giggling at him.

“There you are,” Prince Kalib says as he turns the corner.

“What do you want?” Dex asks, puffing out his chest.

I grab his flexed arm and pull him behind me. He wouldn’t have budged if he didn’t let me move him. “Please excuse my husband. He has the temperament of a toddler when he stays up past his bedtime. What can we do for you, Prince Kalib?”

“You have done so much already, Mrs. Riley,” he says, smiling warmly at me. He turns to Dex and stands up straight. “I was wondering if I could have a moment of your husband’s time.”

I raise an eyebrow as I turn to look at Dex. His shoulders drop, the aggression gone as confusion takes its place. “Uh, sure,” he says, rubbing his chin.

“This way please,” Prince Kalib says, motioning down the hall with his hands.

Dex turns to me and shrugs. “I’ll meet you back at the room.”

“Sure, whatever,” I say, trying to seem like I don’t give a fuck. But I’m lying. I give lots of fucks. I’m secretly upset that he’s leaving me by myself.

As frustrating as his company is, it’s also kind of fun.

It still doesn’t stop me from flipping him the bird as he walks away.

Dex is still my enemy after all.