“It took three highly skilled professionals to get me looking like this.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Uncomfortable, she turned to face the rail, bracing her hands and gazing out across the grounds of the country club. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Absolutely.” He moved in behind her, his voice intimate behind her ear.

“Do you think that’s such a good idea?”

“I think it’s a terrible idea.” He stroked the backs of his fingers down her bare arm. “If we flirt, I figure there’s a better than even chance we’ll end up in bed.”

She started to call him on his bold assertion, but he kept right on talking.

“And, after we make love, there’s a better than even chance we’ll fight.” He drew a breath. “And I don’t like the way that pattern ends.”

A gust of wind flitted through the palm trees, rustling the leaves above them. Partygoers made their way up and down the stairs to the lawn below, talking and laughing while strains of the string quartet wafted out from the dining room.

Lucas was right. If anything, the sexual pull between them was growing stronger. She was dressed up in diamonds and great shoes, and she was at a snazzy party with exciting guests, and she was standing out here on a sultry evening with the sexiest man she’d ever met. She wanted nothing more than to throw caution to the wind and flirt the night away.

But first, she owned him some honesty.

She turned. “I’m really sorry, Lucas.”

He nodded, easing back a couple of inches. “Understood.”

“I should never have looked at Konrad’s emails,” she continued. “I was wrong. And I knew it at the time. And, please believe me, I was about to stop.” She closed her eyes for a brief second. “But, for a minute there, the end seemed to justify the means.”

“Are you asking me to take your word on that?”

She opened her eyes again. “Yes. I am.”

“Okay.”

“You will?”

“Yes.”

“Really?” Her heart lightened.

“I will. Now, will you take my word on something?”

She hesitated, bracing to see how he’d push his agenda. “What?”

“You are drop-dead gorgeous, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the dress, the diamonds or the shoes.”

Awareness prickled her skin in the thick, moist air, and she reached to touch the necklace that had warmed against her skin.

“Though, I admit, I am partial to your new underwear.”

“How do you know I’m wearing it?” she teased.

“No panty lines.” He glanced down at her neckline. “And I can see the lace from the bra.”

Devin sucked in a breath, as Lucas shifted closer, slipping a hand to the small of her back, lowering it ever so slowly to the curve of her buttocks. The lacey underwear suddenly felt sinfully delicious. She inhaled the scent of his skin, reveled in the vibration of his deep voice and struggled not to move under his feathery touch.

“I never would have slept with you,” she told him, “if I didn’t want to do it.”

“Glad to hear that.” His head tipped to one side, and his lips parted.

“Not here,” she whispered, cursing the fact they were in full view of the other guests.

“Afraid we’ll shock the royalty?”

“Afraid you have more in mind than a kiss.”

“I have way more in mind than a kiss.”

“That will have to wait until we get home.”

“Define home.”

“The ranch.”

Lucas’s hand tightened on her rear end, snuggling her up against his body. “Uh-uh. No way.” He jerked his head to one side. “See that big building over there? That’s the Gulf Port Grand Hotel.”

“We’re not staying in Houston.”

“Oh, yes we are. You don’t get to tease me like that, then expect me to make it all the way back to Dallas.”

“Tease you?”

“The underwear.”

“You bought the underwear.”

“You wore it.”

“It matched the dress.”

His gaze went to her neckline again. “You’ll be lucky if I make it to the hotel.”

“What about Lexi and Byron? It’s his airplane.”

“You don’t think I could get my own airplane down here? And Byron already has a reservation at the hotel.”

“He does not.” Devin refused to believe Byron intended to seduce Lexi. Not that she thought Lexi would object. But it sounded as though they hadn’t even kissed yet.

Lucas surreptitiously stroked the pad of his thumb along her collarbone. “He bought her three dresses and an emerald watch, you don’t think he’s hoping for a romantic ending to the night?”

Devin allowed herself a small shudder at the touch, but then she determinedly pushed his hand away. “You bought me a diamond necklace,” she accused.

He grunted. “And I expect you to put out.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“No. Absolutely not.” He twined their fingers together. “Why? Are you getting mad?”

“No,” she admitted. Then she reached out and straightened his silk charcoal tie and ran her palms down the front of his shirt. She curved her mouth into a sultry smile. “And, just so you know, I am going to put out.”

“Oh, man,” he breathed, his hand convulsing over hers. “Get me to the limo.”

Ten

In the giant bathtub of the Gulf Port Grand Hotel suite, Lucas handed Devin a flute of chilled champagne. He couldn’t remember ever having a bubble bath before, but he loved the feel of Devin naked in his arms. Her slick little body was cradled between his thighs, and she lay back against his chest so that he could rest his chin on her fragrant hair.

“What are we celebrating?” she asked as she accepted the glass. Candles flickered in every corner of the room, and her skin glowed under their radiance.

He touched his crystal glass to hers. “To changing our pattern,” he proposed.

“We’re definitely not fighting,” she observed.

And Lucas was hoping to keep it that way. He took a sip of the bubbly liquid.

Devin did the same. “Who’d have thought we’d have Steve to thank.”

Lucas coughed on the champagne bubbles. “Steve doesn’t deserve thanks for anything.”

Devin selected a fresh strawberry from the glass bowl at the edge of the tub and popped it into her mouth. “I’ve decided to picture him home, alone in his sterile penthouse, rubbing his miserly hands together, unaware that he’s headed for a life of loneliness and despair.”

“Nice picture.” Lucas chuckled. “I like it.”

“Unlike you and I,” Devin continued, sliding her wet leg along the inside of his thigh, “who are making the most of our enforced partnership.”

“Is that what we’re doing?”

“What would you call it?”

“Let me see.” He pretended to ponder. He wrapped his free arm around her waist, enjoying the heat of her skin and the way she fit to his body. He tipped his face against her hair and couldn’t resist giving her a gentle kiss. “Bliss,” he told her.

She bit into another strawberry. “Bliss for us. Despair for Steve.”

“And justice for Amelia.”

Devin leaned her head back. “I think Monica would approve.”

“So would Konrad.” Lucas watched the candlelight flicker against the butter-yellow walls. It reflected back from the frosted bay window and made patterns against the ceiling. “Thank you, Devin.”

She twisted in his arms, splashing water against the side of the tub. “For?”

“For agreeing to write the letter. For taking a chance on me.”

“Do you miss Konrad?” she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder where she could look up into his face.

“Very much.” Lucas took a sip of the champagne. “You know, it sounds trite, but it really is lonely at the top. I’ve been surrounded my whole life with people who want something from me. I’ve never known who to trust. I never know who my friends are. But Konrad was always there. And now he’s not.”

Lucas stopped talking, not sure why he’d confided in Devin.

“I missed Monica when she got married,” said Devin. “And some nasty, terrible little part of me was glad when she left Konrad to come home.”

“You’re not nasty, and you’re not terrible,” he felt compelled to point out. She was compassionate and protective, supportive and loving, and Amelia was lucky to have her in her life.

“Maybe,” Devin answered. “Of course, I’d have supported her unconditionally if she’d decided to go back to him. But I’ve spent very little of my life without her. Until now.”

Lucas’s heart went out to Devin. “What happened to your parents?”

“My dad left years ago. With his secretary if I remember the fights correctly. I never did ask my mom what happened. And I haven’t a clue where he is.” She took a breath. “Mom died when I was twenty. Monica was nineteen. Amelia seems like a miracle.”

“I agree,” said Lucas, smiling when he thought of his adorable niece. “Did I tell you I changed her messy diaper yesterday?”

“No way.”

“I did,” he confirmed.

Devin nudged him with a playful elbow. “You have any proof?”

“Ask Teresa.”

“Teresa works for you.”

“You think she’d lie?”

“I think she’d say whatever you told her to say.”

“You’re accusing me of a grand conspiracy over a dirty diaper?”

“I’m saying I saw you turn green that time at my house.”

“Well, I’ve hardened off since then.”

Devin set down her champagne glass and dipped her hand below the water. “Speaking of hard.”

Lucas sucked in a breath. “Are you kidding me?”

“I am not kidding you.” She turned to straddle his lap. Her breasts bobbed out of the water…slick, soapy and tantalizing.

He quickly set down his own glass as his body responded to the view. His hands automatically cradled her buttocks, sliding her fully up the length of his thighs. She bent to kiss him, her mouth hot while the steam wafted from the water to fill the space around them.

He cradled her face, kissing her deeply.