Hidden Pleasures. Brenda Jackson

in the room was their breathing, and then Brittany spoke and she tilted her head back and her gaze locked with his as she stared up at him. “Let me get this straight. You will turn over that house to me if I spend a week with you?”

      He nodded slowly and the gaze holding hers didn’t flinch or waver. It was steadfast and unmovable. “Yes, but on my terms, which includes living under my roof.”

      Galen watched as she crossed her arms over her chest, just like she’d done that day in New York, reminding him what a nice pair of breasts they were. Standing this close to her again was calling his attention to a number of things about her that he’d missed that day. Like how her bottom lip would start quivering when she was angry or how her eyes would darken from a caramel to a deep, rich chocolate when things weren’t going her way. He wondered if that same transformation took place while she was in the bedroom making love.

      Her eyes narrowed on him. “Mr. Steele, you’ve lost your mind. What you’re proposing is preposterous.”

      “No, it’s not. It’s what I want and personally, I think it’s a rather good deal considering what you’ll be getting,” he pointed out. “In the end you’ll get what you want and I’ll get what I want.”

      Fire leaped into her face and he actually got aroused watching it. He wondered if anyone ever told her how hot she looked when she was angry. “How can you even suggest such a thing? A decent man would never talk that way to a lady. How dare you.”

      He chuckled again. “Yes, how dare me.”

      “And why in the world would I want to live with you for a week? Give me one good reason.”

      He shrugged. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll give you two. First, you want that house, so that should be incentive enough. Because it’s not, there’s the issue of what you said that day in New York about someone teaching me some manners.”

      “Well, they should!”

      “Then do it. I dare you. I dare you to stay with me for a week and teach me manners.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. And then he handed her his business card.

      “You have only forty-eight hours to make your decision to contact me. If I don’t hear from you, then I will donate the house, the land and all its contents to charity. Goodbye, Ms. Thrasher.”

      Then he walked off and didn’t look back.