Page 34 of One Hot Deal

Her gaze lands on my throat, which lies at her eye level.But her attention inexorably slides lower and lower, passing over my chest and belly until she reaches my groin.Yeah, I'm already getting an erection.Diana always does this to me.

I lift her chin."Never would've imagined you would sleep in PJs, much less ones that have puffy clouds on them.I like it."

"Pippa gave them to me."

"Ah, of course.That explains it."I bend my head closer to hers, and our breaths reflect off each other."You're a good mom to that kiddo.You absolutely should have a baby."

"But I work too much."

"You're a smart woman, and you'll work out the logistics."

She glances at my dick again, swallows hard enough that I can see the movement, then straps her arms over her chest.After a few seconds, she finally lifts her gaze to mine."Good night, Derek."

Diana reaches for the doorknob.

I lay my hand over hers."Wait a minute.There's something I think we really need to do."

"Right now?I'm knackered."

"This will only take a minute."I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear."We've had sex twice, but we've only kissed once.Let's do it one more time."

"Why?Kissing is irrelevant to our deal."

"Come on, Diana, you liked it the first time.Now that we've gotten physical together, wouldn't you like to know whether kissing will feel different now?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Please, Diana."I'm pleading for a woman to kiss me.Never would have imagined I'd behave this way, but the more time I spend with her, the more I want this thing between us to be more than sex.

She squares her shoulders and lifts her chin."No kissing.That's my final word on the matter."

Diana Sangster shuts the door in my face.

Well, at least she didn't slam it.

I drop onto the bed and try to sleep, which is damn difficult when I've got a raging erection.But I pull off the feat by picturing slabs of raw meat dripping with blood.Yeah, it's morbid and gruesome.But the tactic works, and I finally fall asleep.

At seven a.m., someone bangs on my door.

I groan as I crawl out of bed.When that someone bangs on the door again, I holler, "Hold your horses, would you?I'll be there in a sec."

"Breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes, Derek," Avery says."Don't be late."

"I didn't know we had a strict schedule for meals."I pull on my slacks, the ones I'd worn yesterday with my suit, and hustle over there to open the door before Avery can decide to barge right in."Isn't this supposed to be a vacation?"

"Yes, but we still have an itinerary."She pats my cheek."Don't worry.We've penciled in plenty of free time."

"Penciling that in doesn't sound relaxing.Have you also jotted down the times when I'm allowed to hit the head?"

"Don't be silly.Your bathroom breaks are your business.I wouldn't pencil that in."

I wipe a hand across my forehead."Whew.For a minute there, I thought I might need to call for a shrink to work out your OCD."

"Ha-ha.Get dressed and meet us in the solarium.Kendall has set up a buffet table for us."

"I'll be there on time.Should I pinky swear?"

My sister rolls her eyes and walks away.

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