Page 68 of Extreme Romancing in Idaho

What was I doing?

This man manipulated people—women in particular—for a living, and I was about to give myself to him.

I grabbed his wrist, halting the progression of his hand. “No.”

Ragged breaths shuddered from him. He rested his forehead against mine.

My former conviction came back to me. I would not be seduced by him—okay … I would only be halfway seduced. I shoved against his shoulders, severing our connection. “I can’t do this.”

Yes, you can,the other half of me screamed, but I didn’t allow these thoughts to slip out.

Remi immediately stilled and pushed up from me, dragging his palm along my bare skin as if resistant to relinquishing his hold over me. Currents of mountain air replaced the heat of his body, cooling me and further clearing my mind.

“You’re right. We can’t do this.” His chest heaved with each breath, and he leaned back to rest against the tree, looping an arm over his bent knee.

I lifted myself onto my elbows, wanting nothing more than to pull him back on top of me and beg him to finish what he started.

But how could I let a professional player have his way with me on the side of an abandoned dirt bike trail? I’d be chalked up as another one of his conquests and he’d leave me after claiming my land.

I fought to get to my feet, cursing the stiff boots Remi had insisted I wear.

I’d chosen Dan. Dan was my future. He wanted kids, a wife, a family. We were planning a future together, and I was one button and a zipper away from ruining everything. As it sat, I wasn’t sure how Dan would react if he found out about this. Long-lasting relationships didn’t start with cheating. And that was what I was. The cheating-est cheater of all time. Damn Remi. Damn him for risking my entire future for one kiss.

What a kiss it had been. I closed my eyes and licked my lips, remembering his touch.

But Remi’d given me no hint he ever wanted to settle down. I’d be no different from any other woman he’d roll around naked under a tree with.

Was this part of his sick, twisted plan? Sex me up enough to sign his purchase agreement?

“Angie—” Remi stood and took one step toward me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”

I angrily brushed at the leaves clinging to my hair and jerked my shirt back into place. “Sure. You must have fallen, and your lips locked onto mine.” I turned my back to him and walked to my bike.

“Oh, no you don’t.” He shoved his way between me and my downed metal pony, breaking into my inner bubble once again, he whispered, “You wanted that as much as I did.”

While I didn’t verbally respond to his suggestion, my body gave him all the clues he needed. From my goosebump paralysis the warmth of his breath against my ear caused, to my soft exhale and slight tilt in his direction, my body—the two-faced hussy—all but begged him for the soft kiss he planted on me before he righted my bike and rolled it to the center of the trail.

My mind broke through my temporary immobility. I dug my toe into the dirt and cleared my throat. “Promise you won’t kiss me again.”

He shot me a half smile and winked. How was I supposed to interpret that?

“Is that a yes?”

“What are we, two?” He pressed on the bike’s starter button, and it chugged. “I’m not going to promise you that. What Iwillpromise is you’ll want me to kiss you when I do it again.”

How could I have let this happen? He was my declared super villain. The one person on this planet I was destined to beat. It’d be like Supergirl kissing Lex Luther. Like the coolest members of the X-Men, Storm or Rogue, macking on Magneto.

Like Batman seducing Catwom—wait. Never mind.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” I marched to him, shoving him with my pointer finger. “I’ll never respond like that again. I can’t do that to Dan.”

“What you have with Smoot’s not real, and you know it.” He took hold of my wrist and tugged me to him until we were chest to chest. “This. You and me. This is very real.”

My heartbeat intensified and escalated at the same time. His gaze met mine before it dropped to my moistened mouth, and before I could douse my body’s reaction, I leaned ever so slightly toward him. He lowered his head until he once again claimed my swollen lips with his. This time he toyed with my bottom lip, sending shivers tumbling down my body until I—Wait. No. Not again.

I elbowed him hard enough that he grunted and jerked away from me.

His soft chuckle shredded my nerves worse than Grandmama’s antique cheese grater. He raised one eyebrow at me and quirked his mouth into a crooked smile.

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