Unexpected Guest Ch. 01

"No thanks," she glared at him.

"You sure about that?" he gave her a sultry smile as if he offered himself to women all the time and always knew that 'No' actually meant 'Yes'.

"Speaking about girlfriends, where is your latest victim? Or don't tell me you are alone all summer?"

"I am actually," he replied uninterestingly.

"What? Are you single again? Oh my, that can't be good. Not getting any release these days then?" she teased him.

"If that was the case, would you volunteer to remedy that?" he countered suddenly.

"No. But I intend to offer some good advice though."

"Advice?" He turned to her, slowly sipping his coffee.

"Have you ever considered bondage?"

He spurted out his coffee, and coughed hard before turning to her. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Bondage, of course. What a better way to prevent your girlfriends from leaving you?"

"They don't leave me. I leave them," he replied icily.

"Ah, you're having troubles committing, is that it?"

"None of your business."

"Well, then, whenever you find another victim, I'll tell her to bind you to her bed, in order to cure you from your commitment problems."

"I don't have a problem!" he said angrier now.

"It definitely seems like it. You know... The thrill of the hunt and all that..." He just scowled at her. "And then when you catch your prey...uh...victim...you don't know what do to about it, isn't that so?"

"Spare me the amateur psychology lessons," he snarled at her. "Why don't you read a decent book for a change? I'm heading out to kill something." He angrily collected his things and wandered out of the door.

Ann just shook her head in disbelief. If she had known it would be that easy to get rid of him she would have tried that yesterday. She laughed out loud. Talk about having commitment issues. The guy seemed unable to discuss even the smallest details of his sexlife. She had definitely struck a nerve in there somewhere.

Now she just had to figure out what the nerve was and press it a little more. She ate half of her sandwich, enjoying the quietude and calm that settled over her. Finally her holiday could really start. She was bringing a few books with her to the sun lounger and vowed to stay there reading for the rest of the day. Could life get any better than that?

Damn that woman and her nosiness, Jared fumed as he tramped through the grass, scaring away the birds he intended to hunt. Damn her questions and snide remarks and the fact that her guesses was too close to the truth. He didn't want to face the truth. He hadn't for years and he had no intention of starting now. And damn that Cade for putting him here in the first place. Cade had practically ordered him to take this week off and borrow the cottage for his yearly holiday.

Cade knew that he always spent the week alone so there could be no doubt that Cade had thrown his sister and Jared together on purpose. He had no idea why and it irked him terribly. He had hid his feelings for Cade's sister for years, safe in his assumptions that Cade had never had any reason to suspect anything. He had even gone so far as to avoid the said sister as much as he could. But now, he worried that Cade had seen through his facade at last? Or did he think it safe to let his best friend share the small cottage with his sister? Believing that Jared would never want to touch the woman?

Damn it, he swore loudly. Perhaps he should have brought his tent after all. Then he could have slept outside instead of being cramped inside with her. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night either. Instead he had been listening to her twisting and turning, trying to get a few hours sleep. He had lain quietly, breathing slowly and waiting for her to fall asleep.

In the end she had done so and he had taken advantage of the morning light to watch her expression as she slept. In the morning he had dressed himself before she awoke and could notice the erection he tried hard to hide. Getting undressed in front of her the night before was a major mistake, and one he didn't intend to repeat.

Unless she decided to challenge him again and he needed a forte to shake her foundations with -- maybe then he would accept her challenge. He couldn't fool himself. He liked the sexual teasing that she thrown at him. It fired his blood as nothing else and he felt more alive than ever before.

Still, he knew the bantering would inevitably lead to something else, at least on his part. That meant he would have to make up his mind whether to jump into the unknown waters or take off while he still had the chance to leave unscathed.