The Ultimate Romantic Challenge
Katherine Garbera
ISBN 0-7582-1243-7
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Go Ahead—Woo Me…
Building a successful South Carolina resort has been Alexandra Haughton’s passion. She’s not about to let her pride and joy be bought by some huge conglomerate—and she’s certainly not about to let the CEO, Sterling Powell, try to woo her out of it. So he’s handsome and charming, with a devilish smile that looks like it can be backed up with serious bedroom skills. Fine. If he wants a challenge, she’ll give it to him. Her body can be had. But her hotel—and her love—are off-limits. Place your wagers, and may the best player win…
Go Ahead—Resist Me…
It’s official: Alexandra Haughton needs some serious reintroducing to life’s most delicious pleasures, and powerful businessman Sterling Powell is just the man to do it. He’s never backed down from a challenge, and Alexandra looks to be the ultimate. Of course, no one said he had to play fair. Moonlight cruises, candle-lit dinners, walks on the beach, and the kind of no-holds-barred kisses that make certain mergers look very appealing are all on the menu. Oh yeah, she’ll cave—and not just in the bedroom. Sizzling sex isn’t enough. What Sterling wants is something of a more permanent kind, and this is one challenge he does not intend to lose…
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“What do you want from me?” she asked. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t running for the door. If she did get a fix on what would make him run, she’d do it. She needed him gone. He had rattled her more than she’d realized at first.
“Nothing you don’t want to give me. Actually, I’m going to do my damnedest to seduce you.”
She didn’t understand him and frankly wasn’t sure she wanted to. He was different than the other men she’d known in her life. There was something solid and sturdy about him. Or maybe that was just the determination that she knew he had when it came to running Pack-Maur. Was she letting the business executive she knew color the man he was?
“I wasn’t saying no to being seduced,” she said, walking closer to him. She loved the way he smelled. That super sexy cologne he wore. She wanted to touch him again, feel that stubble of his against her hands and just give into the physical impulses, but he wasn’t playing.
“Yes, you were. You want to keep this all about sex but I want more.”
“Why?” she asked, needing to try to understand him when he was behaving in a way she couldn’t comprehend.
“I wish I could explain it,” he said, moving closer to her. Barely an inch of space separated them. She felt the heat of his body and breathed deeply.
“I can’t believe I’m turning down no-strings-attached sex, but I want more than that with you,” he said with a grin.
But the smile didn’t reach his eyes and she had a feeling there was more to Sterling than the charming lover act he was peddling right now. She wondered if he’d give up his secrets for her.
“Don’t tell me love at first sight?” She didn’t buy it. What kind of game was this man playing? Did he think if he rattled her here in her home it would give him an edge in the boardroom?
“How about like at first sight? I think our lives are going to be intertwined for a long time both business and personal and I’m not willing to jeopardize that for a few hours of great sex.”
She didn’t want to think about lying naked with him. His muscled body moving over hers as she clung to him. Or maybe having him under her so she could be in control of every second of their time together. Yet those images ran through her mind. He’d be a thorough lover, she could tell that much from his kisses. His embraces weren’t hurried, but intensely passionate. “So you think sex between us would be great?”
“I know it will.”
He was a hundred percent cocky male, making statements and staking claims that he fully intended to back up at some later date and time. And the feminine part of herself that she buried down deep inside–the young girl dreams she still held–wanted to run away from him. Only the fact that she’d given up running from anything that scared kept her where she was.
“What exactly are you saying here, Sterling?” she asked. She wasn’t going to second guess him. She’d learned from running a resort that once she knew what someone wanted she could manipulate them better.
“That I’m going to romance you, Alexandra.”
“Romance me? Sounds like a challenge,” she said, trying to keep things light. No man had romanced her. With Marcus she was so easy, because she’d loved him from the first moment they’d met.
“It is.”
“Okay, then I’m going to seduce you. I’m not going to fall in love with a man again.”
“I don’t want you to fall in love with any man. I want you to fall for me.”
“I can’t, Sterling. I’ve already had a once-in-a-lifetime love.”
“How old were you?”
“Twenty-one.”
“You were still a girl with a girl’s fantasies. I’m betting on the fact that you are a woman now with a woman’s experiences and needs.”
“I do have needs which can be satisfied by going to bed with the man I’m attracted to.”
“I share those needs but I want more with you.”
“Back to the like at first sight thing?”
“Yes. And I think you like me too,” he said, with that cocky grin she was beginning to despise.
“You’re right. That’s why I want to keep this all about sex.”
“Let the best contender win,” he said, lifting his glass.
It was a bet she couldn’t let him win. If she let herself fall for Sterling, she’d end up losing because if she’d learned anything when Marcus had died it was that life really was random. And there was no such thing as forever.
