Taking Chances (The Chances and Choices Duology - Book 1 of 2 - Contemporary Romance) (10 page)

I was so warm and relaxed that his soft knock on
the door startled me. “Umm. I’m still in the tub.”

He opened the door but didn’t cross the
threshold. I quickly moved to make sure the bubbles were covering all of my
important parts and was relieved to find that they were. “What are you doing?”
I asked, annoyed that he had opened the door when he knew I was naked in here.

“I brought you some clean clothes.” He held up
some neatly folded black sweats to emphasize his point. “Your clothes are soaked.
I can come back with these dry ones later, when you are standing there with
just a towel to cover your wet, naked skin, if you like.”

My whole body tingled when he said the words
‘wet, naked skin.’ “No, just leave them over there, please.” I pointed to the
antique dresser where he had retrieved the towels and bubble bath.

He pointedly ignored me, setting the clothes
next to the sink and then walking over to sit on the floor beside the tub. I
was unnerved by his nearness and overly aware of my nudity. “You can’t stay in
here,” my voice sounded shrill.

“Sure I can. Besides, your girly bits are
covered, and I won’t climb in there unless you want me to.”

I snorted with laughter at his reference to my
girly bits, surprised by his word choice. He leaned his head on the tub and
smiled at me. I felt my traitorous nipples pucker into hard nubs and looked
down to verify once again that they were covered.

I needed to put some distance between us, so I
said, “would you please bring me the phone, so I can give Courtney a call as
soon as I get out of the tub?”

“Already done,” he responded.

I was pleasantly surprised that he had listened
and remembered the number, but that quickly wore off when he continued. “I told
her you would be spending the night here, and that I would drive you home in
the morning.”

“Absolutely not!” In my alarm, I started to sit
up, but promptly remembered my state of undress and hunkered back under the
water. A mental image of spending a hot, sweaty night rolling around in Sam’s
bed flashed through my mind. I fought to suppress it as I added adamantly, “I
will not be spending the night here with you.”

“You are as stubborn as a mule, Woman.” He shook
his head at me. “You saw the storm rolling in out there. The road to town from
here isn’t great in the best of conditions. It’s certainly not safe to drive it
tonight.” As if to prove his point, lightening flashed and thunder boomed,
shaking the whole house.

“You are my brother’s girlfriend, and I won’t
touch you,” he reassured me, as I attempted to ignore the sinking feeling in my
stomach. “No matter how much I want to.” He said the last part so quietly I
wasn’t sure if he had actually uttered the words, or if I had imagined them.

He feels
it too!
I was elated and confused. I didn’t want to like him. I didn’t want to crave
him with every fiber of my being. I didn’t want him to want me and, at the same
time, I wanted him to want me like no other. None of it made any sense.

We dropped the subject of where I was staying
tonight, knowing that I didn’t have a valid argument, and that it was settled.
My body felt electrified by his nearness. I didn’t know how I would survive an
entire night in the same house with him, especially if he felt remotely the
same way I did. I would just have to make sure we stayed as far apart as
possible.

Staying far from him was not going to be an easy
task, especially considering he had made himself comfortable right next to the
tub where I was currently soaking completely naked. My body was achingly aware
of his proximity, and my mind worked furiously to devise a reason why he needed
to leave the bathroom.

I finally decided on, “Please excuse me, the
water has gone lukewarm; so I’d like to get out of the tub.”

I was appalled when he reached down between my
feet and pulled the drain up. “What are you doing?” I spluttered, panicked. I
tried to scoot my body down to reach the plug without raising up to expose
myself, but my arms weren’t quite long enough.
 
“This sudsy water is the only thing that
is covering me.”

“Believe me, I know.” He chuckled, obviously
enjoying himself. He reached up to turn on the tap, tested the running water
and adjusted it to his liking, then dropped his hand into the water and
retrieved my foot.

He began rubbing my heel, so I jerked it away
from him. “You are supposed to be relaxing,” he reminded me, as he grabbed my
foot again and set it on the edge of the tub. I wanted to protest more, but
when he started circling his thumb from my heel up over the arch, I decided to
let my defenses down and enjoy it for a minute.

I eased further down into the tub and let the
relaxation wash over me. Despite my sore ankle, this was the best I had felt
since I had last seen Seth.

As if sensing the change in direction of my
thoughts, Sam said, “So, what’s up with you and my brother?”

“What do you mean?” I stalled for time, not
wanting to admit that whatever was between Seth and I was over.

“Well, for starters, he showed up at our family
brunch without you today.” I felt like I had been punched in the gut at this confirmation
that Seth was alive and well and just avoiding me, but I tried not to let it
show on my face. I had been hoping that there was some other logical
explanation, even though I hadn’t been able to think of one.

Sam didn’t seem to notice my inner turmoil, as
he continued on, “And since you would rather spend time with the twin that you
hate than to have me call him, I’m guessing that there’s trouble in paradise.”

“I don’t hate you,” I answered automatically. He
raised his eyebrows, waiting for my response about Seth. I struggled to find
the right words, and finally settled on, “We’re taking a break.”

I didn’t miss the sparkle that lit Sam’s eyes
before he was able to mask it. “Hmmm,” he murmured noncommittally.

I was glad that he didn’t question me further,
and decided to use the opportunity to question him a little. “Enough about me,
what’s with you and the ‘I’ girls?”

“Whatever do you mean?” He smiled and batted his
dark lashes, letting me know that he knew exactly what I meant. He lowered the
foot he’d been rubbing and gingerly lifted the injured one to give it the same
treatment before continuing. “They serve two purposes. They look good on my arm
and they feel good in my bed.”

I was surprised and rather taken aback by his
blatant honesty. “So, women are just playthings to you, meant to be shown off
and used, then tossed aside?”

He stopped rubbing as he looked directly in my
eyes to answer. “Make no mistake. They are using me every bit as much as I am
using them. They know exactly what they are getting into. I make no pretenses
about it.”

“And that makes it okay?” I wondered aloud. “So,
that’s why you never kiss them on the lips? You don’t want to give them any
false hopes?”

If he was surprised that I knew this little
tidbit of information about him, he hid it well. “It’s something like that, I
guess. I don’t want anyone getting too attached.” I wondered if he was
referring to the never-ending parade of women or himself becoming attached.

The discussion had taken a serious turn. He
still had my foot in his hands, but his fingers had stilled. I gently nudged
him with my foot, and he smiled as he resumed my fabulous, relaxing massage.

“It’s a good thing you picked Seth,” he said
somberly. I hadn’t even met Sam when Seth and I started dating, so I didn’t
really have a choice, but I wasn’t about to point that out to him.

When he continued, his words surprised me.
“Sometimes I think I’m the evil twin.” This
uber
-confident,
stubborn man was opening up to me about his insecurities. I wanted to proceed
carefully, lest he clam up or, worse yet, put up his overbearing, obnoxious
façade.

“I wouldn’t say you’re evil.” At his grin, I
decided to tone it down a little, “Ornery and vain and annoying, but not evil.”
I smiled to let him know I wasn’t being too serious.

“Ornery, vain and annoying – yep, that
pretty much sums me up. I need to write a theme song.” He gently laid my foot in
the water, turned off the tap, restored the drain plug and situated himself
beside me at the head of the bathtub. I lowered myself further into the water.
I felt as relaxed as a bowl of noodles, with the exception of my heart, which
was about ready to beat out my chest, as it always did when Sam was near.

I had sensed the return of his façade, so I
shifted the conversation. “Why would you think you are the evil twin?”

“Because Seth is so good, and I am so bad.” His
answer was simple.

“Seth wouldn’t agree with that. He was quick to
tell me that he wouldn’t be alive, if it weren’t for you and your ‘twin
sense’.”

“Well, what he doesn’t know, what no one knows,
is that I hesitated that day out on the boat.” He peered up at me from lowered
lids as if concerned that I would be shocked by his confession. I wasn’t sure
what to say, so I waited for him to continue.

I didn’t have to wait long. “Seth was born
first, and ever since, I have been trying to catch up with him. He’s always
been a little faster, a little smarter and a little better at everything. The
really annoying part is that he doesn’t even try. He doesn’t have a competitive
bone in his body and couldn’t care less if he wins, but somehow he always comes
out on top. I try not to let it bother me, but sometimes it gets to me.”

He ran a hand through his shiny black hair
before forging on. “When we were out on the lake that day, no one else noticed
that he didn’t surface right away. I could feel that he was in trouble, and I
waited. I stood there imagining what life would be like without him, rather
than immediately jumping in to save him.”

The tortured look on his face said more than his
words. I grabbed his hands with mine before saying, “You did save him, that’s
the important part. Anyone might have had wayward thoughts, but you overcame
them and did the right thing.”

“I shouldn’t have hesitated. What if something
had happened to him because I didn’t jump in right away?”

“Nothing bad happened. It all worked out in the
end,
so you need to stop beating yourself up about it. We
all have thoughts that we aren’t proud of, but it’s our actions that matter.” I
pictured the sexy fantasies that I imagined whenever I was with Sam.

I wondered if he could read my mind when he
said, “What if I have naughty thoughts about my brother’s girlfriend?”

Was he
teasing me?
I couldn’t read him very well, but he certainly seemed sincere. I decided to
play it off as a joke. “Oh please, I’m not your type at all.”

“How do you know what my type is?” he countered.
“I’ve been thinking about you non-stop since our unbelievably hot make-out
session in the bathroom at the charity auction.”

“I thought you were Seth,” I responded
automatically.

“I know, and that makes it even worse. He always
wins. Why did he get to you first too?” He was looking down, shaking his head.
“Now I sound like a whiny brat,” he muttered.

I realized what this was. He wasn’t interested
in me. It was just another way to compete with his brother. “I won’t be a pawn
in your rivalry with Seth.” I spat the words out.

“I thought that too at first, but it’s more than
that.” He placed my hand directly over his heart and I could feel it thumping
wildly. It was beating almost as frantically as my own.

I yanked my hand back. “That is a purely physiological
reaction. My heart is racing too.” He held up a hand and wiggled his brows,
indicating his willingness to feel mine. I shoved his hand away, chuckling at
his naughtiness.

“I’m very attracted to you, Abby, and believe me,
it has nothing to do with my brother.”

I felt flustered by his direct gaze and blunt
words. I could feel my body reacting to him, wanting to pull him to me. I
didn’t dare to admit, even to myself, how much I wanted him, but there was no
denying that my body had a magnetic reaction to him.

He shifted so that he was face to face with me.
“I do have one question, before I jump your bones.” His words filled me with
anticipation, as arousal zinged through me. “Are you and Seth finished?”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. I desired this man
more than I had ever wanted anyone, even though he had made it clear that he
uses women for sex. I was appalled that I wasn’t utterly revolted by his
attitude.

My brain wanted to tell him to buzz off, but
every pore in my body was screaming at me to go for it. The rational side of me
couldn’t fathom being intimate with brothers, especially not twins; but the
lusty side of me just didn’t care. I wanted him. My body craved him.

I wondered if Seth would mind if he found out. I
was pretty sure he wouldn’t like it, but hadn’t he given up the right to say
anything about whom I slept with when he unceremoniously dumped me?

It’s just
wrong,
my brain screamed at me.
Do you want to
end up on a sleazy talk show?

“I’m waiting for an answer,” Sam reminded me.

I took a deep breath, still struggling to
formulate my response.