Mitch a wink then held out her other hand for him. He eyed it, wondering if this was how the mighty felt after the fall. But it’d be rude to refuse, so he put his hand in hers and effortlessly hopped to his feet.
“Nobody seemed to have the straight of it on what the stakes are between the two of you,” Roz said. “But the stakes between those two are a lip-lock versus a date.”
Livi frowned.
“We tied. That means it’s a draw,” she pointed out. “So why are they arguing? Neither lost.”
“Because Tessa says the draw means all bets are off. Romeo claims it means they both have to pay up. The money’s on Romeo, if you’re looking to cash in,” Roz said with a laugh before heading off to do all those things she needed to do.
Mitch watched Livi as Livi watched her aunt.
And he kept watching, giving her time to work it through.
It didn’t take her long. As soon as her aunt cleared the door, she turned her gaze back to him.
“So I owe you a kiss?” she asked.
“And I owe you a date,” he confirmed. Mitch tilted his head toward the side door. “Shall we go discuss payment?”
* * *
STEPPING INTO THE COOL, dark storeroom ahead of Mitch, Livi flipped on the light. The bulb cast a dim glow on boxes and crates, leaving Mitch’s face in shadows as he let the door shut behind him.
Livi knew she should have felt ashamed of the naughty way she’d manipulated that competition.
She didn’t.
But she should have.
Her mother was fond of saying that only results counted. But having grown up as one of her results, Livi was just as fond of believing that actions mattered, too.
And intentions.
She leaned against a waist-high stack of crates, her eyes locked on Mitch’s face as he walked toward her.
Out there in the bright room surrounded by partiers he’d seemed like a seductively sexy, extremely gorgeous, abundantly charming man. The kind of man she fantasized about.
In here he was still sexy, gorgeous and charming. But the dim shadows added an air of danger. Hinted at everything he was capable of doing. Because he was the ultimate fantasy...a SEAL.
Her excitement took on an edge that made her nervous.
What did it say about her that her anxiousness just turned her on more? He stopped a few inches away. Her pulse sped up even faster than it had during the push-ups. She tried to swallow but her throat was sandpaper.
“So, some challenge, huh?” she said, her bright words ricocheting around the room like a poorly aimed racquetball.
“It was interesting,” he acknowledged. His eyes were like X-rays, looking so deep Livi wondered if he could see her nerves. Did they teach that in BUD/S? What other skills did he have? More than she did, for sure.
Panic pushed through her excitement.
She didn’t know how to do this.
She knew how to win.
And—although some might debate it—she knew how to kiss.
But how did she handle winning a kiss?
“Interesting in what way?” she asked, desperately trying to find something clever to say, something that would keep him occupied until she figured it out.
“You play to win,” he noted quietly, skimming his fingers, just the tips, down her arm from shoulder to wrist. Livi shivered, need edging aside nerves again in her stomach.
She watched his face, wishing she could see as much there as she knew he saw on hers.
“I don’t do this,” she blurted out. “I mean, not usually.”
“Don’t play to win?” He waited a beat. “Or don’t play, period?”
She wanted to admit the latter. But her lack of sexual savvy had been a major bone of contention between her and Derrick—one of the key reasons for their divorce.
Any sexual shortcomings she might have were probably the kind of thing Mitch should find out for himself. After she’d found out if his mouth was as good as his body. How’s that for sexual savvy? she congratulated herself.
His hand was still skimming, light as silk, up and down her arm. His touch was a whisper. A reminder. As if she needed one. Her body was wound so tightly she didn’t know how long she could stop herself from grabbing his face in her hands and yanking that mouth to hers.
Long enough to keep from making a fool of herself, she silently promised.
“I like to win,” Livi admitted. “But I don’t think winning is everything.”
“Heresy.” His grin flashed like lightning in the dark, quick and striking. “Don’t let the team hear you say that.”
“You play to win?”
“I play. I win.”
“You are so confident,” she breathed, shaking her head in admiration. That was almost as much a turn-on as his well-muscled body.
“I’m good.”
He was good. He knew it and so did everyone else.
“But we drew,” she pointed out. Tilting her head to the side, she wondered, “Did that bother you? Since you’re used to winning, I mean?”
“I didn’t lose.”
“But you didn’t win.”
His smile was a slow seduction that meandered its way through her system with hot little licks of pleasure. It was so intense it made her nipples ache.
“Sweetheart, sometimes a draw is a win. It’s all about the bigger picture. What’s the real goal?”
Right now her only goal was to taste him.
Livi wet her lips in anticipation but couldn’t make herself say that aloud.
“Is that one of those military things?” she asked instead. “Like sometimes losing the battle to win the war?”
“I didn’t lose.”
As delighted as she was turned on, Livi laughed.
He really was confident.
What was that like?
Ready to find out, she touched the tip of her tongue to her upper lip and reached out to trace her finger over the letter S on his chest.
Oh, my. He felt good. Very, very good.
She lifted her eyes to meet his, tilting her head so her ponytail swept over his hand where it rested on her shoulder.
“Super SEAL?” she asked.
“Man of iron,” he promised, his hand sliding behind her neck to cup her head. Fingers tangling in her ponytail, he closed the distance between their bodies.
“Ready?” he asked, his mouth inches from hers.
“I think so,” she breathed, shifting closer.
His lips brushed over hers. So soft, almost sweet.
Once.
Twice.
The third time, he added his tongue. Sliding it over the seam of her lips, along the edge of her teeth.
Livi’s body flashed hot, then cold, then hot again.
Her fingers curled into his chest, the other hand grabbing his shoulder for balance.
She’d thought she was ready for this?
Oh, how wrong she’d been.
Drowning