Checkmate

There was no doubt in her mind that more than two decades worth of hate was responsible for this. They say there's a fine line between love and hate and for the first time in her life she truly understood what that meant. As much as she hated him, and she really did, she tried to tell herself, she also loved being close to him, touching him and kissing him. As long as they had this deal, she was free to do all those things and last night she decided that for the sake of her project and to put an end to the town drama that she would have to do just that. That didn't mean that she pla

"We might have a deal for the project," she said, placing her hands on his chest and ignoring just how good the man felt beneath her touch, "but that doesn't mean you have the right to tell me what to do, Co

She kept her eyes locked on his as she pushed him back, getting to her feet in the process. He allowed it, but she did notice his eyes narrowing even further as his jaw clenched until the vein in his jaw was doing double time. Deciding that she'd made her point, she turned around, grabbed a shirt out of the bottom drawer and moved past him, not even sparing him a look as she headed for the door.

"Then let's make a new deal," he said, drawing her attention.

"A new deal?" she asked, slowly turning around even as she prepared herself for the next blow. Oh, she had a pretty good idea of where this "new deal" was heading and knew that it would probably cause her to go for his nipples. If he tried to use this project to control her, she was going to-

He cut off her slightly murderous thoughts with a soft kiss and a chuckle that she refused to find sexy. "Hear me out before you go for the pliers," he said, taking her hand into his and giving it a slight tug that had her grudgingly following after him.

"I was pla

"That's good to know," he said, sitting down in the middle of the couch and with another slight tug that had her rolling her eyes, she climbed onto his lap.

"If you want to talk then why do I have to sit like this?" she asked, sighing in exasperation as Co

"Cause I think better with you in my arms," he murmured, letting out an appreciative little sigh that had her lips twitching.

"They're just breasts, Co

She really didn't.

"That's blasphemy, Rory," he said, sounding pleased as she moved closer, for safety sake of course. Falls from this height could be very dangerous, she decided as she moved forward until she was sitting directly over his lap, her hands resting on his chest and his warm breath fa

"What's this new deal, Co

With a sigh, he looked up and met her eyes, but immediately looked back down, sighed heavily again before finally looking back up. Once his attention was on her face she couldn't help but notice that his expression became even more pleased, looking as though he was truly happy with what he saw.

"Put all the focus on the main project for three months and I promise you that we'll get those suites built by the deadline," he swore softly as he wrapped his arms around her.

For a moment all she could do was to stare at him in shock. Finally, she managed to choke out, "Are you high?" as she tried to climb off his lap, but he wasn't having that. He tightened his arms around her, keeping her right where she was.

"Just listen to me for a minute, Rory. If we put all of our extra resources towards your suites right now, we'll screw ourselves over and even if you manage to finish them on time it won't mean a damn thing if the rest of the hotel isn't completed by then," he explained, making sense.

Damn it!

"You know that I'm right, Rory."

She let out a frustrated groan as she once again settled into him. She'd always hated it when he was right and this time there was no question about it. It didn't matter if she got her suites built. Without the hotel being fully functional in time they would mean nothing.

"Give me three months," Co

"Fine," she whispered against his lips.

She'd give him three months to get the hotel going and when the time came he better keep his word. Until then she should focus all of her attention on the job, she decided as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss even as her brain screamed at her to stop. This was just a deal. She shouldn't be doing this. They had to stop, she reminded herself, moving to get off his lap, but she couldn't do it.

It didn't matter that none of this made any sense and that they hated each other, always had, always would. The only thing that she cared about at the moment was that she wanted this man so much that just the thought of putting space between them made her body want to scream in agony.

Why did it have to be him? she wondered, threading her fingers through his hair as she struggled not to press down and take what he was offering. She'd always been attracted to Co

Him.

This whole thing was crazy, but knowing that wasn't stopping her from wanting him. She'd never been this turned on by a man before and if she didn't stop now, she knew that she'd cross a line and she'd end up hating herself. It didn't matter that over this past week she'd come to enjoy spending time with him, found him fu

This was all just a game to him.

Not that she could or even would cry or complain about that since she was a willing participant in this game of theirs, but that didn't change things. This didn't mean anything and as long as she remembered that, then everything would be fine.

It would help her deal with the changes in Co

She needed to kiss, touch and enjoy every inch of his incredible body, for their deal of course. Not that she was dying to run her hands over him or anything. She had to do this for the good of the project, she thought, releasing a little gasp of pleasure as she allowed herself to settle more comfortably on his lap. Not only for the project, but to stop the town drama, she reminded herself with a moan as she adjusted herself on his lap.

"Have di

It actually surprised her how badly she wanted to say yes, but she couldn't. "Can't. I have plans tonight," she said against his mouth, because she really saw no reason to stop kissing him so they could have this conversation.