Tamed by Love (Agent Lovers Series Book 2) (10 page)

“How do you feel about killing a little time?” asked Liz, sweeping the wet strands of hair out of her face and wrapping a towel around her waist.

“What do you have in mind?” asked Jennifer.

“A little poker. Are you game, Terence?”

“Of course! I hope you won’t be mad when I take you to the cleaners,” he said. He almost always won at poker.

“Not at all.” Liz quickly pulled out the cards and Jennifer took care of the drinks before they changed into some dry clothes and returned to the table.

Liz sipped her Coke and cast a glance at Terence over the rim of her glass. He returned her gaze and raised his eyebrows. “You know, Terence, I was just wondering how you can take a vacation again so soon.”

“Really?” He continued dealing the cards again and sipped his coffee. Then he picked up his cards, arranged them and looked at Jennifer; it was her turn.

“Yes, really. You’re here on vacation, aren’t you?”

“Of course! What else?”

“Shouldn’t you be traveling to foreign countries, lying on the beach, or going on an excursion, or something?”

“I’ve been to so many foreign countries, I prefer to spend my free time recuperating in homey places.”

“And visiting your friends?”

“Exactly. I visit my friends.” His gaze moved from Liz to Jennifer. “It’s your turn.”

Liz picked up her cards from the table, arranged them and looked up again. “You know, I think playing poker with nothing at stake is boring. How about a little wager?”

“You want to play for money?” Amazed, Terence raised his eyebrows.

Liz stopped him with a wave of her hand and laughed. “Not for money; that’s dull. I had something else in mind.”

He looked from Liz to Jennifer, who also looked surprised. Liz obviously didn’t plan to lure him into a trap. As he had gotten to know Liz and Jennifer, the two usually worked together, regardless of what it was about.

“We’ll wager our clothes.”

“You want to play strip poker?”

“Not real strip poker! A modified version. Whoever wins the round, distributes, at his or her discretion, the items to the losers and they have to wear them. The articles of clothing you receive can only be put back on the table as bets after three more rounds. Jewelry as a wager is allowed, of course. It’ll be fun.”

“That’s really unfair. I’d never fit into your things,” Terence said, laughing.

“So you think you’re going to lose?” Liz said with a smug smile.

“I’m definitely not going to lose!” He took the bait and picked up his cards again. “You’ll be the losers.”

“Then it’s a go?”

Jennifer and Terence nodded. One after the other put their first wager on the table. Two T-shirts and a shirt lay in the middle of the table and Terence tried to ignore the fact that Liz and Jennifer were wearing extremely alluring lingerie.

Focusing hard, each of them tried to win the first round. To Terence’s amazement, Liz won and pulled the small pile of clothing toward her. “Let’s see how I distribute these.”

“Give me back my T-shirt!” said Jennifer, holding out her hand. Terence had already guessed he wouldn’t get his shirt back so quickly. Liz grabbed Jennifer’s T-shirt and pulled it over her head. Jennifer got Terence’s shirt, while he had to settle for Liz’s top.

“And I’m supposed to fit into this?” he asked, holding up the tiny thing. On Liz it stopped above her bellybutton, so where would it sit on him? With a sigh, he squeezed into the tiny garment. In vain he tried to stretch it, but it fit like a tight band around his broad chest. Liz and Jennifer broke out in laughter, to Terence’s annoyance.

“Just you wait! In three rounds, I’ll be rid of it again!” he said, taking off his watch and putting it in the middle of the table. The women each bet a necklace. This time Terence won. He swapped the necklaces and put his watch back on his wrist.

Several rounds later, all three players wore an interesting mix of clothing. Terence only got rid of Liz’s T-shirt briefly. After three more rounds he squeezed into it again, groaning, because Jennifer had won the previous round and pushed it across the table to him.

After he lost the next round, he had to put on more feminine garments. Awkwardly he tugged at the ties on Jennifer’s wraparound skirt—which, of course, was much too small for him—and tied it at his hips. Meanwhile he had been praying that none of his friends would show up before he had gotten rid of it again. The whole matter was terribly embarrassing. He berated himself for being such an idiot and getting himself roped into this stupid game. But he would never throw in the towel. He would never be taken at poker by two women, although he already had been.

“Well? Are you having fun, Terence?” asked Liz cheerfully, looking innocent, as she pulled his pants up over her hips.

“It would be a lot more fun for me, if I won more often or lost my things less frequently,” he said, drawing laughter from the women. Then he bent over, pulled off his shoes and put them on the table, smiling. He figured Liz and Jennifer couldn’t put in anything other than their sandals, so it wouldn’t be so bad if he were to lose again. But he was wrong!

Jennifer pulled her arms into his—much too large for her—shirt and fiddled around under it. Then she threw her black, lace-trimmed bra onto the table. A moment later, another bra landed on the table, a deep red one.

“Are you kidding me?” Stunned Terence looked between the women and the sexy lingerie lying on the table next to his shoes.

“Not at all,” said Jennifer, smiling. She stopped shuffling the cards and deftly dealt them.

I have to win, or I’ll make a complete fool of myself,
Terence thought, hoping for a good hand when he picked up his cards. Unfortunately he didn’t have any luck and lost, along with Jennifer. His premonition was confirmed when Liz threw him her bra, which he caught with one hand, and gave Jennifer back hers. She slipped into Terence’s shoes after she had gotten rid of her sandals. Jennifer put her bra back on under Terence’s shirt and smirked when she saw his sullen expression.

“You have to put it on. That’s the rule,” Jennifer said.

“Oh no! I will not put that on. Not under any circumstances,” he said and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You will, too, put it on! Since you won’t be able to fasten it, I’ll permit you—as generous as I am—to just put it on,” Liz said and nodded.

But he didn’t give an inch. “I won’t put your bra on under any circumstances!”

“Yes you will! After all, you didn’t have any problem squeezing into Jennifer’s skirt or my shirt.”

“But they weren’t sexy lingerie!”

“It’s only a game. Someone has to be the loser,” said Jennifer, biting her lower lip so as not to burst out laughing. She couldn’t believe how easy it had been to dupe him. Never in her life had she thought Terence would join their game.

***

Home, finally! Gray couldn’t wait to wrap Liz in his arms and see that she was okay. He put on the parking brake and got out of the SUV with Chris and Jeff. They took their shopping bags out of the back and went to the front door. They were barely in the house, when they heard Terence’s exasperated voice.

“Oh no! I won’t do it! Give me my things back and you can get dressed again, Liz.”

Shocked, the three men looked at each other before they dropped their shopping bags on the kitchen counter and ran out. They stopped abruptly when they saw Terence standing next to the table, arms akimbo. Furiously he stared down at Liz and Jennifer, who both wore sanctimonious smiles.

The wraparound skirt and tiny shirt robbed Terence of any authority that he might have once possessed. Jeff disappeared quickly while Gray and Chris continued to stare baffled and, at the same time, fascinated by the scene.

“Why are you wearing Jennifer’s skirt?” Chris asked after he had regained his composure.

“And Liz’s shirt,” said Gray, still grinning.

Terence slapped his forehead, before he shook his head in resignation and closed his eyes. This simply couldn’t be happening! Now his friends were witnesses to his humiliation. It couldn’t get any worse. Could it? But it could!

A clicking noise resonated and Terence’s eyes flew open. Jeff stood in front of him with a camera, vigorously capturing it all on film. Laughing loudly, Jeff spun around and ran away as fast as his feet would carry him. Terence swore and sprinted after him.

“Stop and give me the camera right now!” he said as he ran, circling the pool after Jeff. Barking, Lucky and Nero joined the chase and ran after them, snapping at Terence’s skirt and almost making him fall. Jeff ran—still laughing—to the house, disappeared inside, ran up the steps and escaped into his room. With his head held high, Terence walked up to Gray and Chris who were standing by the glass door to the kitchen and trying hard to suppress their laughter, although they couldn’t keep the corners of their mouths from twitching.

Terence stopped in front of them and glared. “Never again! Do you hear me?
Never
again!” Then he strutted like a peacock past them and they finally lost their composure and exploded with laughter, hardly able to stay on their feet.

“I told you not to offend him,” said Gray. “What were you even playing? And how did you ever get him to put on your clothes?” he asked and wiped the tears out of his eyes.

“We played poker and wagered our things. Whoever won could redistribute them,” Liz said as she stood up. “I never would have thought he would actually play along.” She held Terence’s pants at the waist and shuffled up to Gray in the large shoes. When he saw her get-up, he burst into laughter again and held his stomach.

“And what about your lingerie?” he asked, out of breath.

“That was my last wager before you arrived. Terence refused to put on the bra.”

“I believe it!”

Chris walked up to Jennifer and examined her from top to bottom, chuckling. “And what did you relieve him of?”

“His shirt and his watch,” she said proudly and raised her arm as proof.

“You better give him his things back, otherwise he won’t want to be friends anymore.”

“He’ll get his things back! We can undress quickly.” Liz took Terence’s shoes off and carried them into the house, followed by Jennifer. At the steps Liz turned around and ran back to the table. Gray grinned when she took her bra from the table and disappeared again. Shaking his head he looked after her.

“Actually, we should have figured they would try to pull something on him,” Chris said as he pushed the cards together on the table and put them back in the pack.

“Next time we should leave Jeff here. He can deal better with their shenanigans.” Gray lit the grill and went into the kitchen to get the steaks.

“Have you seen Terence?” Jeff cautiously peered out of the patio door and looked around.

“He’s getting dressed now. But it would probably be best if you just give him the camera, otherwise he’ll probably nail your scalp to the wall,” Gray said.

But Jeff just shook his head as he stepped onto the patio. “If he wants, he can get a couple prints. But I’ll never give up this camera! It’s my favorite disposable.” Then he sat down at the table, stretched his legs casually in front of him and watched Gray, who was flipping over fantastic smelling steaks. A moment later, Jeff caught the meat fork his brother had thrown to him and watched Gray disappear into the house.

As Gray climbed the stairs, he prepared to play the lion tamer. The testy “What?” he heard when he knocked, confirmed his suspicion. Gray took a deep breath before he opened the door and looked at Terence. “Have you calmed down yet?”

“I keep asking myself how you put up with her.” Terence was still angry. “Did she ever pull something like that over on you?”

“Trick me? Make me look silly? No. But if she had tried, she wouldn’t have succeeded.”

“Why not?”

“The two of them probably, well, let’s just say, cheated.”

“You mean I was screwed the whole time?”

“Probably. Most likely even.” When he saw Terence’s outraged face, he couldn’t suppress a laugh anymore.

“I’ll get them for that!” Terence said and put on some clean jeans with a jerky movement. “And I’ll get Jeff too!”

“You can torture him until the cows come home. He’ll never give you the camera. But he said you could have a couple prints.”

For a moment, Terence’s bleak face looked almost sinister. Then a smile flashed across his face. “Did I look that bad in their things?”

“The color of the skirt looked really good on you. But the shirt? If I were you, I wouldn’t put it on again.”

“I hardly think Liz will be able to wear it anymore.” He took the stretched out shirt from the bed and threw it at Gray, who caught it with one hand. Terence grabbed the dark green, wildly-patterned skirt and followed Gray out. In front of the door, neatly folded and stacked, lay the things he had lost to Liz and Jennifer. He picked up the pile and threw it toward the bed before he went downstairs with Gray.

Liz and Jennifer were sitting at the table, which was already set, and looked at him with angelic expressions. He understood they had very deliberately made a fool of him and Jennifer had very likely put on a skirt for good reason. Terence narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between both women and Chris and Gray, frowning. Gray shrugged as if saying, “See, I told you so!” Terence sat across from Liz and Jennifer and glared. Chris and Gray sat down next to their wives and left the chair next to Terence empty for Jeff.

“Considering you’ve already suffered a lot today, you get the largest steak,” Jeff announced patronizingly, and put a monstrous piece of meat on Terence’s plate. Jeff ignored the poisonous look and smiled.

“For dessert, I want that camera, or your head!”

“Oh no! The next time we have a meeting I’m going to have it made into a poster and hang it in the entrance so everyone can see what you do in your spare time.” Then he quickly hid behind his brother when Terence jumped up in a rage.

“Tell him he should give me the camera right now, otherwise there’ll be a bloodbath in here!” Terence said to Gray, his hands balled into fists.

“Jeff!” Gray warned. “Don’t get carried away!”