The room positively hummed with tension, but her sure smile never wavered. She jotted down some notes in the file in front of her before continuing. “Okay, back to the exercise. Owen, why don’t you go first? Tell Lindy what you hope to get out of this experience, and the one thing you expect from her in your marriage, above all else.”

She stared sightlessly at the sheet of paper trembling in her hand. She could sense Owen’s gaze drilling into her. Antagonizing him had been a crucial misstep on her part and she had no clue how to get back on safer ground. She’d poked the beast, and now he was awake and on the prowl. Aside from brief flashes of it that were quickly masked, like when she’d sprayed him in the mouth with perfume, or when they’d kissed earlier, he’d come across as confident but affable most of the time. Smart move on his part. If she’d seen more of this side of him—the wilder side—she would have never taken the job. It was hard enough being around him when he was on a leash. Without the civilized veneer in place, he would eat her alive.

As she met his knowing gaze, heat sizzled between them, building an ache low in her belly, and she couldn’t for the life of her recall why that would be such a bad thing.

…

Owen couldn’t take his eyes off Lindy as she regarded him with a heady mix of want and trepidation. Good. She should be afraid. Hell, he was so close to the edge he was scaring himself. She dampened that smart mouth of hers with the tip of her tongue and he stared, enthralled. His body amped to high alert, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to pounce on her.

Sarabeth cleared her throat delicately again, breaking the spell. “Owen?”

Focus.

He came back to reality with a thump and tore his gaze from a relieved looking Lindy. “Sorry, yes.” He glanced at the piece of paper on his lap. “I’m here to connect with my wife the way we used to earlier in our marriage.” A bit of fluff that actually said nothing at all, but he couldn’t imagine many of the other men coming up with anything better.

Sarabeth nodded encouragingly. “Very good, Owen. Over the next few visits we’ll try to pinpoint the things you miss most about that time, all right? Now tell us the one thing you expect from Lindy in your marriage, above all.”

“Loyalty,” he said instinctively. Lindy shot him a puzzled look. That hadn’t been what he’d written down and she knew it. He’d better learn to separate Owen Phipps from Owen O’Neil, or he was in danger of revealing more to his accomplice than he’d ever revealed to anyone.

“Now you, Lindy.”

“I’m here because life’s too short to be unhappy, but we made a commitment. I don’t just want to make it ‘work.’ To me, that means settling…jury-rigging it up until it functions. That’s not what I’m looking for in my forever relationship. I want to fix it until it’s right and really…good.” Her voice rang with sincerity, and Sarabeth gave her a beaming smile.

“Excellent,” she said, scribbling furiously in her book.

It sure was. A pretty reasoned approach to a relationship. Why should a person settle for “so-so” if, with a little elbow grease, true contentment could be achieved? Maybe a re-assessment of his own thoughts on choosing a partner was in order.

Filing that away for later examination, he regarded Lindy through new eyes. Her funny, oddball charm camouflaged how together she really was in some aspects. He found himself not only enjoying her company immensely, but also respecting her ideas more with each passing hour.

“And what’s the non-negotiable for you?”

“I want a man whose face lights up when I walk into a room.”

Sarabeth’s eyes went suspiciously soft for a second, the encouraging therapist-mask faltering. “Yeah,” she breathed. “That’s exactly it, isn’t it?”

Something intangible passed between the women and Lindy nodded slowly. “Simple as that.”

Right when he’d given her credit for being sensible she had to go and parade around some nonsense. “Not to burst your bubble, ladies, but that’s nothing more than drivel out of a romance novel. In real life, you give someone that kind of power you’re leaving yourself open to world of hurt. More than half of marriages don’t last, and of those that do, most probably aren’t happy ones. If your sun rises and sets on a person and they call it quits, where does that leave you?”

The women exchanged a nervous look, but neither responded.

“I’ll tell you where. Alone in the bloody dark.”

Chapter Six

“That went well,” Lindy said, forcing as much enthusiasm as she could muster into her tone.

“Did it?” Owen’s voice was deceptively soft and he closed their suite door behind him.

Since early that afternoon, right about the time she’d suggested he was lame in bed, he’d been exuding an energy that had her so on edge, she could hardly stand it. Fortunately, after their session with Sarabeth, they’d been separated for some “me-time” workshops. One was geared toward the husbands, the other toward the wives. It had been a blessed reprieve. She’d hoped by the time they were alone again, the whole pissing match they’d gotten into in their therapy session would have blown over.

No such luck.

“Yeah. Especially the confidence-building session I was in with the other women. I think I made some good connections with a couple of the wives that I can start to mine over the next few days and see if they’ve been approached about investment opportunities or anything.” She shucked off her shoes and padded over the plush carpet to the bar for a seltzer, determined not to look at him.

“I agree. The men were fairly talkative in mine as well, but I’m not interested in that right now. I’m much more interested in discussing our meeting with Sarabeth. You think that went well, Lindy?”

She took a gulp of soda and set it on the bar. “It was our first consultation and all, so we have to work out some kinks.” She cringed at the word choice, recalling Owen’s “confession” about her “appetites” to Sarabeth. “Bu-ut, all in all, not bad. She definitely believed we were a couple, which is all that matters, right?”

Owen held her gaze, advancing closer. “In a perfect world, yes.” He kept coming at her, with slow, purposeful steps.

Her teeth chattered and she took a tentative step back. “Cool. So we’re all good here, then.” She held up two thumbs and wheeled around, heading for the bedroom. “I’m going to take a shower, probably a long one. Feel free to, you know, go somewhere or whatever,” she called over her shoulder.

“Lindy?”

She turned to find herself eye to chin with him and nearly jumped out of her skin. “What are you, like a vampire? How did you get over here so quick?” She clutched a hand over her galloping heart.

“Never mind that. I think we need to have a little talk, hmm?”

“About what?” She craned her head back to make eye contact and regretted it immediately. His eyes were hot, but not with the anger she’d expected. He looked partly amused, sort of…aroused? And entirely terrifying.

“As I was saying, in a perfect world, Sarabeth falling for our ruse would be enough to make me happy. But I find myself oddly wounded by your portrayal of our sex life.”

“Y-you do?”

He lifted a finger to sweep the lock of hair from her forehead. “I do. And I’m not typically the sort of man who cares what other people think, so this is unsettling.”

She took another step back and hit the wall. “I was only fooling around, and you turned the tables on me anyway. I’m sure Sarabeth doesn’t think you’re bad in—”

“It’s not Sarabeth’s opinion that interests me,” he said, pressing close enough that she could feel the heat coming off his body. “For some bizarre reason, it’s yours.”

“Mine?” She swallowed hard. “No, don’t worry about that, okay? I bet you’re a real stallion.” She reached out to give his shoulder a maternal pat, but when she got a load of the firm muscle bunching beneath her fingertips, she snatched her hand back.

His eyes burned even brighter and he shook his head slowly. “Not okay. That’s lip service. I want to make you a believer.” He dipped his head, closing the last bit of space between them, his mouth brushing against hers as he spoke. “Do you want to be a believer, Lindy?”

She couldn’t answer that, but she couldn’t pull away either. For a moment, she withstood the sensual onslaught. Then, with a low groan, she bounced to her tiptoes and smashed her lips to his. It was out of control, and she knew it was stupid, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop. His tongue slipped and slid against hers in a primal dance she never wanted to end. Her ni**les tightened into stiff peaks and she pressed closer, plastering her body to his.

He growled low in his throat, a raw sound that sent a thrill skating down her spine and she shifted closer, giving in to the urge to bump her hips against his. Damn, his whole body was hard and tight. She lifted a tentative hand to lay it on his abdomen. The muscles bunched beneath her fingers, rippling under her caress.

His kiss grew more demanding, until the pounding of her heart was eclipsed by their shared, shallow breaths. Punishing fingers closed over her hips, kneading them, sending flashes of heat between her legs. He was the sun and she was a Popsicle, melting into a puddle for him.

Not good.

She pulled back. “We’ve got to stop.” Her voice sounded husky with need, undermining her words completely.

He regarded her with eyes gone so dark they appeared to be black. “Why is that? I thought things were going rather nicely.”

“I-I need to get in the shower now, though.”

“Feeling dirty, love?”

“Yes. No. I mean, not particularly. In that way.” The fingers on her hips continued their mesmerizing massage and she was fast losing the struggle for sanity. His perfect lips were still scant inches from hers. If she tipped her head back, a tiny bit, she could—

No.

This guy was out of her league in every possible way. She blinked hard and then did what she always did when she felt confused and overwhelmed. She opened her mouth and let it rip. “I’m a novelty to a guy like you. I get that. This is a fun little cat and mouse game, and it triggers your urge to conquer. I get that too.” She gathered her courage and peered up at him now. “But I’m not you, Owen. I can’t…do this when there’s no chance that it can ever turn into something more.”

…

Lindy’s clear blue eyes cut through the haze of lust like two lasers powered by sheer, unadulterated honesty. At first, the weight of it had him stepping back so fast that she had to clutch at the door jam for balance, but he tamped down the guilt. Why couldn’t two people enjoy each other physically without complicating things with lies and promises they could never keep? Instead, he opted to give her exactly what she’d given him. Total honestly.

“I understand,” he said.

She nodded, seemingly placated by his response, but before she turned away, he stayed her with a hand on the shoulder.

“However, all I can promise is this. I won’t lie to you to get my way, and I won’t ever do anything you don’t want me to. But don’t ask me to be strong enough for the both of us when you look at me the way you do. We’re different, you and I. I’m a selfish bastard and I take what I want. Right now, I can think of nothing I want more than you. And if I get the chance to sink myself into that sweet body of yours, I’m going to take it.”

She gasped, crossing her arms over her chest, but he pressed on. “One other thing. Next time you volunteer ‘intimate details’ about our love life, you’d do well to remember this moment. Every time you challenge my manhood in public, I’ll feel compelled to prove you wrong in private. It’s in my DNA.”