Seductively: Playing for Hearts Book 2 (Crimson Romance) Read online

  Mr. Dogger already needed her. Goodbye, vacation. Hello, Ferriday house. “Hang on a second. I need to take this.”

  She pushed the button. “Hello, Mr. Dogger. How are you?”

  He rattled in her ear in short sentences, his voice rising. She grinned and shimmied around the table. “I’ll be happy to help you. That’ll be double time. I’m on vacation, remember?”

  She disconnected the call and squealed. Halfway to the door, she remembered Dominic and paused. “I’m sorry. I need to go back to work. Good luck with your problem.”

  Dominic hurried over and blocked the door. “I’ll pay you five hundred thousand dollars to spend the next two weeks with me at my home, so I can continue to play hockey.”

  Her head snapped back and she blinked. A half a million dollars?

  “You’re joking.”

  “There’s nothing funny about my life.” He dropped his arms to his sides. “You’re my only hope, or I’m going to give up hockey completely and go back to Russia. At least there, I can live in peace. I’m desperate, Diana.”

  There was no denying he had money, and she knew how much playing hockey meant to him. She bit down on her bottom lip. With that much money, she could quit her job, buy the Ferriday house, and be open for business in no time. Best of all, she’d be debt free and wouldn’t have to take out a loan, which would make her parents proud of her.

  But she’d have to put up with Dominic for two weeks. She’d end up killing him within three days. She ground her teeth together. It would test all her patience, but she would have more than enough money if she survived staying with him with her sanity intact.

  She didn’t have to think twice. The Ferriday house was her dream. “I’ll do it.”

  Chapter Two

  Dominic’s adrenaline kicked into high gear, but he hid his elation over Diana’s willingness to help him. Finally, he would have her to himself and she couldn’t keep running away and turning him down.

  He stood at the top of the employee stairwell, waiting for Diana to come back from kicking the women off the floor of the hotel and informing her boss of her change of plans. He grinned to himself. The first time he caught a glimpse of her at the fundraiser, she’d taken his breath away with her overconfident attitude that made her sexier than hell.

  The first time he saw her she’d stuck her nose in the air and turned her back to him when she caught him staring. The result of someone, a woman, snubbing him shocked him into action. He couldn’t get her out of his head.

  He fumbled over introducing himself, and came right to the point of demanding she go out on a date. It wasn’t until Grayson and his friend Juan informed him you don’t order a woman to go out to dinner that he’d received his first lesson about the opposite sex.

  She started as a challenge to him. A beautiful phenomenon that held the key to his troubles, and gave him hope of changing his life around. The one woman who made him work hard to catch her.

  So he politely asked her to go out with him again. Six times. She went from turning him down with an I-don’t-think-so to rolling her eyes and walking away without a word. Each time she rejected him, her refusals turned him on more.

  Now he was desperate. He wanted her, and he wanted her bad.

  Since meeting her, his life careened out of control and he realized he needed her. She gave him confidence that he could end his nightmare of attracting woman the way brokers bet on hockey games. Without her showing him what he could do to turn off his charm, he’d kiss his career goodbye and end up living back in Russia.

  He loved his homeland, but hockey in America was his life. He lived and breathed time on the ice, competing, and rigid play. The advantages of staying in the United States outweighed going back home and playing in the minor leagues or worse, retiring and becoming a coach.

  He wasn’t ready to call it quits. The lack of excitement would bore him in a month.

  Diana slipped through the doorway, grinning. “All clear. The women are out of the building and walking to the grocery store after I hinted you’d gone out for shaving cream.”

  He bent over and picked up her purse, handed it to her, and motioned for her to lead the way. “Great. My security team is parked behind the hotel to draw the crowds to the back, while one of the guys parked my car in front of the main entrance. Hopefully, we can make a clean break.”

  “Smart. They’ll never think we’re going out in the open. It might buy us more time,” she said.

  Her soft blond curls bounced with each step. The fire in her hazel colored eyes challenged him. He found himself wanting to tease her, just to have her nail him with that killer look she always threw his way.

  He’d tried to stay away and respect her wishes, but during the last couple of months, he found himself thinking about her constantly. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  She had him feeling like a beginner in the dating world. When he’d arrived in the United States, he’d quickly learned it was the home of the free. Women asked him out. Women paid for his dinner. Women slept in his bed. Before he knew how it happened, women consumed his life.

  It was hard for a man to say no, but he’d learned rather fast that saying yes wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Even his friends laughed about his problems. No one took him seriously, but he’d reached his limit. And, now that his coach had given him the ultimatum to lose the women or leave the team, he was desperate. He wanted to be left alone.

  Outside the hotel, Dominic nodded at his security team. He placed his hand low on Diana’s back and refused to let her shrug him away as he ushered her to the rental car. He planned to head straight to the charter plane and get out of Cottage Grove before news hit the airwaves that he was leaving.

  “Wait.” Diana braced herself in the doorway of the car and turned around. “I can’t go for two weeks with only my purse. I need to pack and find someone to water my plants for me.”

  He held out his arms. “I’ll buy you anything you need.”

  “Oh no you won’t.” She smacked him square in the chest with the back of her hand. “Move.”

  He backed away. Damn. He liked the way she bossed him around and got all in his face.

  She marched across the street, holding her hand out in front of her when a car approached. He shook his head in wonder, watching the vehicle slow down and come to a stop. She gave no more attention to the traffic, hopped up on the sidewalk, and disappeared inside a one story blue building.

  The sign above the door read Cottage Grove City Hall. He closed the car door, walked around the front fender, and slipped into the driver’s spot. Grayson’s fiancée and Diana’s best friend, Shauna, worked at the City Hall. He’d wait and if she didn’t come back out in a few minutes, he’d go get her. The longer he stayed in one place, the bigger chance the women would find him.

  He chuckled. The sound in the empty car surprised him. Had it really been that long since he’d heard the sound of his own laughter?

  Movement in the rearview mirror caught his eye. He whipped around in the seat and groaned. He’d run out of time.

  The women walked four abreast and five deep. He’d rather face two pair of blueliners with only three minutes to go in the game than be at the mercy of the gang of women headed his way.

  Thankfully, the shaded windows of the vehicle protected him from the women’s view. Unable to go out and help his security team talk sense into the crowd, he waited. Anger grew and he tapped his fist against the steering wheel. This was ridiculous.

  He opened the car door. A piercing whistle stopped him from climbing out of the vehicle. Diana removed her fingers from her mouth, motioned for him to shut the door, and marched back across the street toward him.

  He closed the door, and watched Diana in fascination. His smile grew broader.

  Long, confident steps showed off the length of
her legs. He rubbed a hand over his mouth. Her words were lost in the noise of the cluster surrounding the car, but the passion in her expression and the firmness of her chin hinted at the conversation. His body hardened and he sat straighter. Two weeks with Diana would solve all his problems. Every. Single. One.

  He hadn’t had sex in weeks. Hell, months. Now, suddenly, he wanted Diana Spenner more than he wanted to escape the madness of his life.

  The passenger door opened and Diana slipped inside. He stared. Flushed cheeks, bright eyes, and one wayward curl caught in the corner of her mouth left him speechless.

  She glanced at him, frowning. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said.

  “Then drive.” She jerked the seatbelt around her and buckled. “Shauna’s going to pack a couple of suitcases for me and have them delivered. I need to text her and let her know where we’re going.”

  “Uh.” He pulled out onto Main Street. “I rent a condominium during the season.”

  “Think bigger, Dominic. I need a city … an address.”

  He’d need blood in his head to think and right now, every ounce of common sense headed south of the border. “Tell her to get the address from Grayson. He’s been to my place.”

  “You don’t even know where you live?” Diana snorted. “This is going to be a long two weeks. I hope you don’t lose me wherever we go. You seem rather one directional at times, Dominic. I don’t understand how you can play hockey. Are you the goalie?”

  He growled. “No. I’m not the goalie.”

  “Well, there’s hope.” She sighed. “I’m probably going to be bored to death and know way more about hockey than I need to know by the time this job is done. Which none of my gained knowledge will help me on my resume.”

  He glanced between her and the road. “You’re not looking forward to spending time with me … alone?”

  “With the amount of money you’re paying me, I’ll deal with whatever comes my way. I’ve had worse jobs.” She gazed behind her out the back window. “What kind of car are the security guys driving?”

  “Black Hummer.”

  “They’re behind us.”

  “Yes.” He pressed his foot down on the accelerator as he left the city limits, trying to keep ahead of the fans and still follow along on the conversation with Diana. “They go everywhere with me.”

  “Maybe you should quit using them. They only draw more attention to you,” she said. “Having the men in black is like holding a neon sign above your head that flashes, ‘I’m important, come bother me.’”

  “Then who will keep the women away from me?” The thought of being out in public by himself horrified him. The women would rip his clothes off.

  “Me. That’s what you’re paying me for.” She pulled out her phone, texted, and then slipped her cell back in her purse.

  “Who are you sending a message to?” he asked.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but Shauna.”

  He ran his tongue across his upper teeth. “I’m glad you’re staying with me.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up that it’s anything more than a job. I need the money.” She leaned forward, studied the distance, and then suddenly squealed and stomped her feet on the floor of the car.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She pointed over to the left and ahead of them at a large, old house. “See that beautiful home with the large oak tree in the front yard and the picket fence?”

  “Yeah.”

  “When I’m done working for you, I’m going to buy it.” She inhaled and her gaze softened.

  He slowed down, studying the large two-story colonial style house. Half the shutters hung crooked. The white paint peeled on the west side, showing its age. Overgrown weeds surrounded a For Sale sign staked in the yard. He couldn’t see whatever she saw in the rundown place.

  About the only thing it had going for it was location. On the edge of town, it was close enough to take advantage of the quaint community he’d enjoyed while staying here and yet without other houses around, it would provide a quiet atmosphere. He shook his head. A better choice would be to knock the whole thing down and build a nice new home.

  “It’s not livable. Even the fence is falling down and the upper window is broken.” He returned his gaze to the road.

  The thought of her staying in a home that could crumble down around her made him uneasy. What was wrong with her staying at the hotel where there were people around and everything was within walking distance?

  “It’ll be a showpiece when I’m done fixing the house up to its original glory.” She rolled her head along the seat rest and smiled. “Did you know it’s the oldest house in Cottage Grove? It’s practically famous already. It’s been vacant for two years and the town wants to sell the lot it sits on. They figure someone will tear the old place down and build a new home or expand the city limits and a huge land developer will build a mini mall or something. Not me. I’d never destroy something as cool as the Ferriday House with all the stories that come with it from age. I’m going to keep the history and make new memories for all the people who will visit the area.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to open a bed and breakfast.” She clapped her hands and laughed. “God, that felt good to finally tell someone, even if it’s just you. It makes it real. I am going to own a bed and breakfast. There. My secret is out for the next two weeks. Hey, maybe I’ll even name the honeymoon suite — ” she raised her hands and made air quotes “ — Dominic’s playroom.”

  He jerked his gaze off the road to Diana. “What?”

  Her brows shot higher and her jaw dropped. “That didn’t come out right. Forget I made that suggestion. It just hit me that this is really happening. I can do this, and no one can stop me.”

  He stared at the road. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. Was that some hidden message? Did she fantasize about him? Maybe she thought he was a playboy.

  “Maybe you should think longer about your plans for the future. It’s a huge business decision for a woman.” He entered the highway and set the cruise control.

  “A woman?” She leaned forward and narrowed her gaze. “I’ve dreamed about that house since I was in high school. When I came back to Cottage Grove after college and started working at the hotel, I knew what I really wanted to do is run my own business. I’m good at my job. My success or failures in life has nothing to do with being a female.”

  “Whoa.” He shook his head. “I didn’t say that.”

  “Sure sounded like it.”

  “I, um, apologize.” He grimaced, hoping the advice he received from the guys on the team about always letting women think they were right would work with Diana. The words sat bitter on his tongue. No woman had forced him to take responsibility for his actions as if he was a six-year-old who’d been caught swiping the cookies.

  “Good. Because I’m buying the house and property, and no one is changing my mind.” She leaned back.

  He relaxed, feeling successful at dodging another argument and continued driving, thinking there was more to Diana than he originally thought. Bossy and independent, she was also determined and goal oriented. He liked that.

  “San Jose,” he said. Proud of himself for finally remembering the city he called home nine months of the year.

  “Huh?”

  “That’s where I live.”

  “Oh.” She glanced over at him. “I’ve been there a few times when a group of us drove over on spring break when I went to Berkeley.”

  “I’ll show you around.” He glanced at her and winked. “We’ll go on a date.”

  “Nice try, but no.” She turned to gaze out the side window.

  A genuine smile came over him. Because right before she’d turned away, he’d seen the corners of her mouth twitch. Oh, she’d fight her attract
ion to him. She’d give him one hell of a challenge. But she wanted him.

  Chapter Three

  No sooner had Dominic shown her around the gated community where his upscale condominium was located and got her settled in the spare bedroom with the navy colored curtains with matching bedspread and bare walls lacking any homey feel, than he announced it was time for him to go to practice. Diana grabbed her purse off the bed, surprised to find she looked forward to watching a bunch of men beat each other up on the ice.

  Men that were not Dominic. What wasn’t there to like?

  Dominic blocked the doorway of her bedroom. “You can’t go wearing that.”

  She looked down at her clothes. The black slacks, heels, and white blouse the hotel required suited any occasion. “Not much I can do about my clothes until Shauna sends my bags to me. Trust me, I can’t embarrass you wearing business attire, and I won’t dress like a skank just so you can have bragging rights with the guys on the team.”

  “Come on.” He turned, marched down the hallway, and entered his room.

  She stood a step inside the bedroom. The musky aroma she associated with Dominic hung in the air. She swallowed. Goosebumps broke out over her bare arms.

  It was true — his scent should be bottled. Every freaking woman in the world would buy the cologne by the truckload. Not that she’d tell him that.

  A huge king size bed sat in the middle of the room. Four wooden posts from each corner held white mesh netting and offset the black plush comforter. She studied the area with interest, since it was the first sign that he cared about where he lived and put his own touch to the style of his room. Two framed pictures of winter scenes hung on the wall at the head of his bed. A long, lonely road covered in blown snow and a frozen pond. A black and red rug covered most of the wood floor.

  Impressed with his decorating skills, she wondered if one of the women who hung around him all the time helped him pick out the colors. She stepped toward the door Dominic disappeared through.