Hot for You - games for two

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CHAPTER ONE—A PROPOSITION

“I’ll make you a deal,” Melanie Kennedy Anderson said, leaning a little further toward her chief pilot, Cody Mitchell. Red-hot hormones, huge longing, and total honesty combined to give her courage. “Would you consider giving me two of your children in return for part of my airline?”

Cody’s dark brown eyes lost their sleepy warmth and shot wide open. He flinched but managed not to fall off his chair. “Dammit Mel, you don’t make jokes like that to a guy!”

Melanie’s direct gaze never left his. “Two healthy babies in the next three years,” she clarified, with only the slightest quaver in her voice. “We could start work on the project tonight.”

Cody continued to sit, ankle over knee, tumbler of Scotch in hand, speechless for at least the next twenty seconds. His eyes stayed locked with hers. His lips parted as though he might say something, but there was nothing further. The acrid smell of aviation fuel drifted through the open windows, and the blinds of the CustomAir depot slapped against the frames in the freshening breeze.

Mel’s bravado began to slide away. Was he even going to answer? “Well?” she asked after the silence had grown too long. “I’m serious, Cody, I’ll be thirty-four on Monday. Rob and I never managed any kids. Such a pity—he would have been a great dad. I need to get going on my family before my biological clock runs down too far.”

She absolutely needed him to help. Him and no-one else. His combination of looks, health, and intelligence would make beautiful children. And it didn’t hurt that nobody had ever turned her on so fast, and made her want so fiercely.

Cody gulped a large mouthful of his remaining drink, still looking astounded by her very direct proposition.

Mel saw his throat constrict as he swallowed. How long had she wanted to touch him just there? Right by his loosened collar, where his skin would be warm and smooth...

“I don’t want another husband,” she continued, dredging up a mite more confidence from heaven only knew where. “Just a good looking potent man willing to make me pregnant a couple of times. I’ve chosen you.”

Her heart pounded behind her ribs, and butterflies fluttered their soft wings in her belly. She breathed out slowly and carefully, trying to sound assured and casual, but inside she was a mass of pulsing nerves. Would he accept? For sure he wouldn’t have seen her offer coming. Not today anyway. Not on a regular old workday, like so many others they’d shared.

For the past six months, they’d always had a late Friday afternoon meeting in her office while they reviewed the week’s business and planned ahead.

This wasn’t business.

Well, not normal business—that was for certain.

Cody coughed and cleared his throat, looking as though too much Scotch had rushed down.

There’d been flickering heat between them since the moment they’d met, but she’d been Rob’s wife—his best friend’s wife—and therefore way off limits to him. However much he might have been tempted by her, it was ‘hands off’ because a man just didn’t do that to a mate.

Or ‘clear off’—because Rob would have given him a one-way ticket out of the company if he’d suspected even a hint of attraction between them.

She knew that Cody had had no reason to risk losing the job, or risk losing his friendship with Rob.

But Rob was gone, and finally Mel dared to dangle the ultimate temptation in front of him. She hoped his body had lit with anticipation. That heat prickled through him, fogging his brain until all he registered was her. She saw his breathing had deepened, and a pulse slammed on the side of his neck.

And surely his blood had rushed south, because he’d moved on his chair, uncrossed his long legs and leaned forward, elbows on knees as though he was hiding what she wanted so much.

Her eyes slid to the near empty crystal tumbler he rocked to and fro like a frantic pendulum. Giveaway, Cody! So she knew he wanted her, was ready for her. Now she just had to push a little harder.

He grabbed a deep breath and braved her direct gaze again. “I’m not ideal father material, Mel. I like my independence. I’ve never wanted to be tied down. Enjoy my freedom too much... and so on...” He trailed off as she started to smile.

“I know that Cody, so you’re perfect. It’s not you I want—it’s your children. With your looks and spirit. Your intelligence and good health.”

She saw the hot wash of confusion engulfing him. Would he be offended she didn’t want him, or relieved she found him perfect?

She settled back into her leather swivel chair, feigning indifference. She’d long ago decided he’d be a top quality sire but a hopeless husband. Rob had often boasted of Cody’s conquests, laughingly reporting on new girlfriends as they came and inevitably went.

Mel had no intention of joining that queue. She’d watched her mother trying to cope with her feckless father for years on end. Seen Cynthia slowly build herself a separate life once she realised she wasn’t wanted in his.

Maybe Rob had been as bad on those ‘boys’ weekends’ he and Cody and a couple of others had sometimes shared? Mel didn’t want to know, but after the example her father had set she wouldn’t be surprised.

“Just a private arrangement,” she continued, trying to sound neutral. “Your stud service—for as long as I need it. And then you get your reward. I do realise I’m asking a lot, so I’m willing to offer quite a lot in return. I’ll share my four planes, the airline’s good reputation, and all the ancillary stuff with you. Maybe twenty percent?”

She held her breath.

“For a couple of sperm?” he finally croaked.

Was he blushing? She couldn’t decide. Cody’s naturally olive skin already had a summer tan, but he looked amazingly uncomfortable. His eyes had darkened with shock, and he breathed as hard as if he’d just sprinted a mile.

“Probably for billions of them. Unless you can sort out the pair with the good looks and sharp brains on our first go-round.” She added what she hoped was a cheeky grin to soften her rather basic description.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The story behind the book

This one had a really strange birth. My author friend Bronwen Evans encouraged some of us to enter a Kensington Brava writing contest several years ago. “Come on girls – only twenty pages,” or whatever it was. I’d had a rather sweet story in mind about a woman who wanted children and lost her husband at the crucial time, so I wrote twenty pages of that and sent it off. I found out far too late they’d be looking for something much more erotic, but… well… woman wanting children obviously needed someone to make love with. Hmmm… maybe the initial judges might see it had potential. Fired up by this idea I ripped into the rest of it.

Right at that moment, my lovely mother died. She was quite elderly, but losing your mum alters you. Apart from anything else, the gracious lady who’d famously said ‘people don’t want to read about sex, dear,’ was gone. In a weird way, that set me free to write this book and make it plenty sexy.

Just in case the contest judges wanted more, I gave them more. By the time they’d decided on the finalists, I had the whole story finished. Of course from my first sweet twenty pages I didn’t final!

However, a book is a flexible thing. I re-wrote the start to tie it much better to the rest before publishing it. 

Oriental Bay in Wellington (named after one of the early sailing ships which brought settlers here.) Melanie lives high on this hill, and the steep road you can just see at the base of the shot is where Cody drove the Porsche. 

*****

You'll find the link to buy the book under the cover pic, top right of this page.