Bedding the Wrong Brother(35)

Today, however, he'd felt compelled to show it to Melina. Like it or not, he was nervous to see what her reaction would be.

He needn't have worried.

“Oh, Rhys,” she breathed when she caught sight of the little house on an elevated lot at the end of a dirt driveway. “It's wonderful.” She got out of the car and turned slowly in a circle, taking in the view of redwood trees and hills. “What a beautiful setting.”

He could tell she loved it. The wonder on her face was genuine and closely mirrored the way he'd felt when he'd first seen the land. “Thanks. I like it.”

“How did you find it?”

“Rod and I have been friends for a while, ever since Max and I rented a houseboat on the lake years ago. I mentioned that I wouldn't mind having some vacation property up here, and he gave me a call when this lot became available.”

She smiled, a broad, carefree smile that made his breath catch. “Will you show me around?”

He laughed. “There's not much to see, but sure, I'll give you the grand tour.”

About thirty minutes later, he rubbed his palms together. “So let's go for a picnic by the lake. Take a swim.”

She frowned. “But what will I do for a swimsuit?”

A grin split his face. He'd liked the underwear she'd worn last night. He was hoping she had on another set just like it. “I think we can come up with something.”

She hesitated, then lifted her chin. “Okay. That would be nice.” She moved toward the guest bedroom, stopping when Rhys called out.

“We'll be sharing the bed in the master bedroom, Melina.”

She blinked and blushed. Her eyes darted nervously to the open doorway, where his big bed was clearly visible. “Oh. Sure.” Changing course, she stepped into the master bedroom and shut the door.

When the bedroom door opened, Melina came out wearing baggy sweat shorts and an oversized tee. Although the clothes did nothing for her figure, Rhys didn't sweat it. Even if he couldn't talk her out of her clothes, water did wondrous things to a white tee.

“I'm ready,” she said softly, sounding far less sure of herself than she had when she'd placed her hand on his thigh. Once he'd gotten over the shock, he'd recognized the satisfaction his response had given her. Melina definitely liked a challenge, and he was about to give her the biggest one so far.

“Great. I’ll be right back.” He went into the bedroom and swiftly changed into shorts and an open button-down shirt.

When he walked out of the bedroom, Melina smiled and turned toward the front door. “Wait,” he called. “There's something I need to do first.”

“What's that?”

He gently clasped her arms and she tilted her head back, her eyes wide, her lips parting slightly. “I need to give you your first pop quiz.”





Chapter Seven





Dalton's Magic Rule #8: Encourage active participation.



The idea of a pop quiz obviously wasn't something that turned Melina on. She pulled away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes immediately reflecting her discomfort. “I'm not really big on pop quizzes.”

Amusement tipped up one corner of his mouth. No, she wouldn't be. Melina liked to prepare. Research. Have the answers in hand so she could control the situation. Lucky for her, he was here to nudge her out of her comfort zone. “There's no wrong answer to the question I'm about to ask.”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Then it's not really a pop quiz. A quiz implies by its very nature that there's a right answer or a wrong answer.”

A huge grin split his face now. “What about multiple-choice questions? Haven't you ever answered a question with D, all of the above?”

“Well, sure,” she began hesitantly. “But—”

“There is no 'but,'” he said softly. “Not in this scenario.”

Looking like she wanted to argue some more, she simple shrugged and said, “Fine. There are no wrong answers.”

“Good. The other thing about this question is that you don't answer it right away. You just think about it. And you answer when you're ready.”

“So what's the question?”

“What would you do to have me?”

She stared at him blankly. “Excuse me?”