Tycoon For Auction

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“Wanna play?”

No, she thought. She wanted to retreat to her home ground—her safety area—and forget about her job and men and everything. At least until Monday when life would be normal again.

“I’m not good at sports,” she said carefully. She prided herself on mastering whatever she attempted. When her prowess at sports never developed she’d given up on them.

“You said winning wasn’t everything.”

“But to you it is.”

“How about we just have fun?”

“I can do fun.”

“Really, without your laptop?”

“Make up your mind. Do you want me to play or not?”

“I want you to play, but it’s up to you,” he said.

She knew he’d be disappointed if she didn’t play. Why did pleasing him matter? But for some reason it did. Before she could answer, Paul returned with Angelica.

“Come on, Corrine. It’ll be fun,” Angelica said.

Corrine nodded and found herself in a very short time standing barefoot in the sand wearing borrowed clothes. Rand wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

Her mind ceased functioning and all she could do was breathe in the masculine scent of his aftershave and feel the warmth of his body pressed to hers. His leg was hairy and tickled where it rubbed against hers.

“Here’s the plan,” he said, his words brushing across her skin.

“I can’t hit the ball very hard,” she said.

He smiled at her. It was the kind of smile that people always gave you when you were athletically challenged. “Don’t worry. I can.”

“Tell me what to do.”

“I will.”

“Don’t let this go to your head,” she said.

“How?”

“I’m still in charge.”

“How can I forget it? You bought me, remember?” he asked.

She knew she didn’t want to like him but realized it was too late. He served the ball and the game progressed. She realized that Rand Pearson was the kind of guy that made her wish she still believed in happy endings.

Three

Rand knew Paul had meant for the game to be friendly; the inclusion of the women pretty much said it without words. Angelica, though, was a fierce competitor and Corrine as well rose to the occasion, playing with more spirit than skill. But Rand had never been able to participate in any match and not give it his total concentration.

Even his demons demanded perfection from him. He did everything to the max without worry for the consequences. And sometimes the price he paid was high.

He forgot about winning the first time Corrine flinched, putting her hands up to block the ball instead of hitting it back over the net. But it soon became apparent that Corrine didn’t like to be unsuccessful. She watched Angelica and Paul and found weaknesses in their game that allowed her and Rand to stay even with them.

They’d probably be able to win if he could keep his eyes off her bare legs. It wasn’t as if hers were the first he’d ever seen. But for some reason his eyes kept straying there. And his libido went into overdrive.

The sand was warm beneath his feet and he imagined only the two of them remained on the volleyball court. She was sweaty from the sun and from playing. Her T-shirt clung to her torso like a second skin, revealing all that her neat dress had hidden earlier. He wanted to toss the ball to the ground and pull her close to him. Not to huddle over game strategy but to taste those full lips of hers.

“Rand?” she asked. He imagined her calling his name in a much more intimate situation. Urging him closer to her body, bringing her mouth to his and whispering his name as her lips touched his.

“Rand?”

He glanced up to find Corrine staring at him. He became aware of the ball in his hands and the fact that he was supposed to be serving instead of ogling his teammate’s legs. Damn, she got to him faster than any other woman he’d ever known. The tension that was always his companion settled in the pit of his stomach. It had been a long time since another person had affected him this deeply.

“Yes?” he asked, hoping his reaction to Corrine wasn’t visible to the world. His beach shorts weren’t made to disguise the hardening of his groin. He shifted a little and decided he had to concentrate on the game. The sexual thing he could handle if that were the only draw to Corrine. But the depths he kept glimpsing of this woman’s soul made him wary.

“You okay?” she asked. She’d pushed her sunglasses to her head, and her eyes were serious as she watched him.

Did she suspect where his mind had been? “Fine. I was figuring out the score.”

“Two-two,” she said.

Okay, time to play and forget about the tempting woman whom he didn’t want to like. The woman who’d shared some of her past with him and whom he realized he wanted to know more about. But he’d never ask. Because knowing more meant forming bonds and commitments. He wasn’t a “forever” kind of guy. He couldn’t ask anyone to share the life he lived because it was based on subterfuge.

He served the ball and the game ensued. It was fast and furious, and despite her claim not to be good at sports, Corrine played well. The next serve would determine who won the game.

Rand just couldn’t wait for it to be over so he could hit the shower, preferably a cold one. And try to forget about how Corrine’s shorts had ridden up on the curve of her buttocks as she’d lunged for the ball. She had a sweet, curvy rear that made his fingers tingle with the need to test the resilience of those curves.

“Time out,” Corrine called, and walked to the center of the court. She stood there staring at him. Had she realized his mind wasn’t on the game?

“You tired?” he asked. She was flushed and her eyes seemed exhausted.

She shook her head. “I want to talk to you.”

He waited, but she gestured impatiently for him to join her. Angelica and Paul were huddled together, but it looked as if they were smooching rather than discussing strategy. Part of him hungered for what they had, but Rand quickly pushed it deep down and ignored it as he always did. Having it all came at a high cost and he wasn’t willing to pay the price.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Umm…”

He waited. She didn’t smell sweaty, he realized, but faintly floral and something else that he associated only with Corrine. He’d held her in his arms twice and some things had become imbedded in his senses.

“Were you serious about playing for fun?” she said at last.

Not really, but he knew that coaxing her into the game had been his motivation earlier. Still, he couldn’t tell her how important winning was to him. “Yes, why?”

“Good.” She nibbled her lower lip and he watched. He thought she said something about not caring if they didn’t win, but all he could do was watch her teeth and tongue and her sexy lips and wonder how they’d taste under his. Would she react with the passion he sensed was bottled up inside of her? Or would she be cool like her outer surface image?

“I think we have a good shot at winning,” he said at last.

“What if we didn’t?” she asked.

He realized she was trying to tell him something without saying the words. “I’m not making the connection here, darling. Just tell me what you’re trying to say.”

She shrugged. “I don’t think I should beat my boss.”

“Paul doesn’t care if we win. I’ve played him lots of times at basketball and golf. I usually win,” he said.

“That’s different.”

“How do you figure?” he asked, leaning closer to her.

She tilted her head to the side and then stood on her tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “You don’t work for Paul.”

He ignored the jolt of that went through him. “That’s right, I don’t.”

She pulled back and met his gaze evenly. “You work for me, right?”

He arched one eyebrow. “We both know I do.”

She grimaced at him. “I’d like to see you lose when you do that eyebrow thing.”

“Oh, does it bother you?”

“You can be so annoying when you try.”

“I know. It’s a gift.”

“I don’t like it, Rand.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

“Good. Remember what else I said.”

“You didn’t say anything.”

“Then I’ll say it now. I’d rather not win.”

“Do you have a plan to lose? Because Paul will notice if we suddenly start missing the ball.”

“You’ll just have to pretend to be distracted,” she said.

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“You’re a smart man. You’ll think of something.”

Several seconds passed before Rand replied to her rather provocative words. “Will you be distracting me?” he asked. There was something very masculine in his tone that made everything feminine in her stir. She wanted to run from Rand and the male gleam in his eyes but she was made of stronger stuff.

The cowardly part of her doubted that. But she was determined to stay where she was. “How?”

Her world was very narrow and she’d never had to distract a man before. Manipulate them a time or two in a business situation to get the results she wanted, but never distract. Her mind was going wild trying to figure out what he had in mind.

He muttered something under his breath. She tugged at the hem of the jogging shorts that Angelica had loaned her. They were shorter than she was used to, but otherwise fit well.

“What’d you say?” she asked.

“Nothing. You just stand there and I’ll be distracted,” he said.

It was the closest thing she’d ever had to a compliment from a man. Usually she froze them out before they could work up the nerve to say anything personal to her. She’d learned a long time ago that life was simpler without interpersonal relationships.

But there was something about Rand that made her not want to freeze him out. That made her want to try to bring him closer to her. That made her…just want him.

“Really?” she asked without thinking.

He gave her one of those lord-of-the-manor looks and she wished she’d kept her mouth closed. But it was too late. Besides, he was too arrogant for his own good.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know that you are an attractive woman,” he said.

Scooting a few feet away from him, she glanced objectively down at her body. She spent some time working out so she wasn’t overweight, but when she looked in the mirror all she saw was a rather average-looking woman. Now wasn’t the time to argue the point with him, but she knew he was mistaken.

A change of subject was needed. “What if I just talk to you?”

“You haven’t been quiet the entire game and that hasn’t affected my playing,” he said.

He was right. She didn’t really know how to play the game and had been calling questions to him. He’d been really good and he was hard to distract. One time she’d yelled at him to watch out when he’d dived for the ball and he’d still managed to hit it over the net.

He was a superb athlete. He wore only surf shorts, leaving his chest bare. He was tanned and his muscles were firm and delineated. She knew why she wanted to believe he found her attractive—he was the kind of man that she’d always secretly drooled over.

Actually, she should probably be the one to act distracted by him. Of course, it wouldn’t be an act. She hadn’t been able to keep her mind on work all day. Instead of being the key to her next promotion, Rand seemed more like her Achilles’ heel.