But now that he’d stampeded back into her life like an angry bull, she wondered if maybe her desire for him had always been there, just waiting to rise up and break through the surface. She wasn’t in love with the man. She was just drawn to him. Physically drawn to him.
And no matter how many times she tried to convince herself that seducing Luke would be a piece of cake, she still didn’t buy it.
Viv was right. Luke was fire.
And when you played with fire, you got burned.
“Okay, let’s talk this through,” Vivian said in her usual, no-nonsense tone.
“Talk away,” Ellie answered with a grin.
“So you want Luke to leave town, but he won’t go unless you come with him.”
“We already know this part.”
“But the guy’s stubborn. He can’t be paid off, and he doesn’t listen to reason.”
“No, no, he doesn’t,” Ellie said, rueful.
“So the only way to make him go is to scare him away.”
“Yep.”
Vivian met her eyes. “How are you so sure seducing him will achieve that? What if he wants to be seduced?”
“Oh, believe me, Luke doesn’t want to be seduced. Especially by me.”
Because I’m nothing more than Josh’s kid sister.
“Do you plan on having sex with him?”
Ellie choked on her lemonade. “Viv!”
It was hard to believe that the gorgeous blonde sitting in front of her had an adult daughter. Vivian didn’t act or look like a forty-four year old, and Ellie still had a tough time accepting the woman she’d grown close to was the mother her college roommate Tanya had always complained about.
Talking about sex with someone’s mother seemed…wrong.
“It’s a valid question,” Vivian said in her defense. “Seduction and sex go hand in hand.”
Seduction and sex. The words brought a barrage of sensual visuals to Ellie’s brain. Images of Luke. Naked. Lying in a tangle of sheets. Looking at her with those smoldering eyes. Running his big hands up and down her—
Focus.
“I’m not going to sleep with him. I’m just going to…tease him,” she finally said. “Tease him until he gets so uncomfortable he can’t wait to be out of here.”
“And if it backfires?”
“How can it backfire?”
“He can give in to your teasing.”
“He won’t.” Her voice was firm.
“Really?” Vivian gave a sly grin. “I’ve never known a man to pass up what a pretty girl is offering.”
“That’s the thing,” Ellie insisted. “Luke doesn’t see me as a pretty girl. He sees me as Josh’s little sister.”
“And if his view changes? If he realizes how drop-dead gorgeous you are?”
Ellie flushed. “Thanks for the compliment. But he won’t.”
Vivian let out a long sigh. “I don’t want you to get hurt. You’ve been through enough these past six months.”
“I won’t get hurt.”
“I hope you’re right, kiddo.”
Luke stood in the center of room number eleven of the Lucky Strikes Motel, the one and only place to stay in town. He hung up the phone and stared at the receiver for a good two minutes, wondering what just happened.
See you in twenty minutes!
Ellie’s cheerful, melodic voice floated around in his head, bringing with it a spark of suspicion. No doubt about it, she was up to something.
When he’d dropped her back at the club after last night’s dinner, the farewell hug she’d given him was so full of warmth and affection that his guard instantly soared up. Ellie never hugged him, and no matter how good her lithe body felt in his arms, he’d been wary. Still was.
She’d just called and invited him to join her for an afternoon swim, her tone so light and breezy that the guard he’d briefly let down shot up another ten feet.
What was the little spitfire planning?
Luke walked over to the rickety wood dresser and rummaged around in the top drawer for his swim trunks. After he’d stripped off his boxers, he pulled the trunks up to his hips, his mind running.
She wanted a swim?
Or had she come up with a plan?
She has a plan.
Okay, so that was indisputable. Ellie Dawson always had an ace or two up her sleeve. Like in college, when Josh had refused to release funds from her trust fund to allow her to go on a coed singles cruise. Rather than giving in, Ellie took a month off from her classes and worked full-time at a frozen yogurt stand to save up the money. And the kicker—she’d convinced her professor to count the job as extra credit.
Oh, she definitely had a plan, and it obviously involved him. She’d made it clear she didn’t want him in this town, and if he knew Ellie, the wheels in her head were working overtime looking for a way to get rid of him.
He reached for the sunglasses sitting on the dresser and pushed them on top of his head. Then he sighed.
Damn, he wasn’t in the mood for games. He’d endured too many of Robin’s games these past few months, had suffered enough manipulation to last a lifetime. Why did women always feel the need to play games?