"Ha! Why play if the stakes aren't worth much?"

"You're saying my kisses aren't to be devoutly sought?"

"Not by Carlie McDaniels."

"Carlie, Carlie. You've already forgotten that this is a date. You should have been more determined to win, with a kiss as the prize."

Carlie twisted her lips into a wry smile. "How about you help me grade tests next Friday night when you lose? You're college-educated. You could probably handle third-grade math."

"I would, of course, endeavor to do my best-if I lost, which I won't. Now, hush, the movie is about to start."

The picture began with a bloodcurdling scream, then continued with screams for quite some time. Ten minutes into the movie, Carlie was glaring at Tyler. "This is awful!"

"I know. Don't you love it?"

"Oh, I don't believe this! They almost die at the hands of a monstrous alien, and now, while hiding in a dark, dank hole, they're getting aroused?"

Tyler put his arm around her, reacting with world-weary logic. "These things happen."

"Good grief!" Her eyes were glued to the picture. "From blood and guts to p.o.r.nography! It's obscene."

Halfway through the movie, Carlie was watching through her fingers, her hands covering her face. She was leaning toward Tyler, or he was pulling her close, she wasn't sure which.

But she liked it. Tyler kept smoothing his hand over her shoulder, not paying the least attention to the movie. When she gasped and moved close to him again, his arm tightened, instinctively offering her comfort.

He was unbelievably hard and warm. And he smelled good, like the storm outside, fresh and alive and very male. She wanted to cuddle closer, to turn her nose into his chest and breathe deeply of his unique scent.

Instead, she forced herself to pull away slightly.

Tyler refused to let her move too far. He turned her chin toward him. "You about ready to give up and crawl into my lap?"

"Very nearly," she whispered back, seeing the glimmer of his dark eyes in the dim light. She could feel the firm, unyielding muscles of his upper arm pressing into her breast, and there was a strange tension in the air. Carlie wondered if Tyler felt it, too. Probably not.

She was beginning to accept how easily he could make her react to him. She'd never had the problem with any other man, and in fact, had been repulsed when they'd tried to become romantic. But not so with Tyler. He could easily infuriate her one minute, make her laugh the next, then fill her with sensual heat with only his smile.

But he didn't want her. He wanted a masked harem girl.

Suddenly, there was a particularly grotesque scene, accompanied by a blast of startling noise. Carlie launched herself against Tyler in reflex, and he pressed her face into his throat. Just as she turned her gaze back to the screen, she felt Tyler's lips skim her temple.

She went perfectly still, unable to believe what had just happened, wondering if she'd imagined the fleeting touch. But then she felt his breath, warm and gentle on her cheek, and the feel of his lips on her skin again, tentative and soft. He sighed quietly into her ear, sending ripples of sensation over her skin.

Oblivious to the movie, Carlie shuddered with the shock of the erotic kiss. He lightly circled the rim of her ear with the tip of his tongue, then delicately slipped his tongue inside, teasing her with a leisurely attentiveness to detail.

Softly, with consternation, she asked, "Tyler?"

"Hmm?" He was laving her ear, tracing the swirls, his breath warm and moist.

"What...exactly...are you doing?"

"Exactly?" He asked the question against her temple, his voice husky and low. "Putting my tongue in your ear."

Carlie pulled back, incredulous at the easy way he made that confession. "You're putting your tongue in my ear?"

Tyler stared at her, his dark eyes appearing almost black in the dim shadows. "Well...yes."

"Whatever for?"

"You, ah, didn't like it?"

Carlie searched his face, unable to tell if he was being serious or clowning around again. She thought it must surely be another of his jokes, like the lessons in dating. "I don't know. I suppose you took me by surprise. I thought this was to be strictly platonic."

He shrugged, totally unconcerned. "I love women's ears. Yours are very nice."

Carlie opened her mouth, but then closed it again. He was playing with her, and she didn't like it. "I'm not at all certain you should be doing this, Tyler."

He ignored her vague protest. "I want to know if you liked it, Carlie."

"Why?"

"Most women have sensitive ears. I just-"

"No. I mean, why me? Why should you care if I liked it?"

"Curiosity?"

She frowned at him a moment, struggling to hide her disappointment. She shouldn't have asked, and now she wished she hadn't. Turning back to the movie, she pushed on her gla.s.ses. "I think it would be best if we forgot the idle curiosity."

"Aren't you just a little curious, too, Carlie?"

His insistence annoyed her. "I'm curious about a lot of things, Tyler. But sometimes curiosity is better left unappeased." She refused to look at him again, overwhelmed with uncertainty.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't."

"You provoked me, you know."

She slanted him a quick look of exasperation, pretending a great interest in the movie. "I did no such thing."

"Sure you did. You crawled, just as I said you would, into my lap. I'm only a man, Carlie."

She gave him her full attention. He was behaving exactly like the cad she'd accused him of being, flirting with her simply because she was female and available. What other reason could there be? "Were you this pushy with your lady friend from the party?"

Tyler rubbed a hand over his face, then stared at Carlie in chagrin. "You know, as incredible as it seems, I'd all but forgotten about that little incident. I don't think I'll thank you for reminding me." He looked away from her, then said, "I knew you'd help me forget the mystery woman's desertion, but I didn't think you'd deliberately bring it up again."

"This morning, you acted as if you had to know who she was. How could you forget about her so easily, anyway?" As soon as she'd asked the question, Carlie wondered if she was losing it. She was purposely treading on very dangerous ground.

"You don't want to hear about my conquests, remember?"

"Ah, so it was a conquest. Not that I'd ever doubted otherwise, given your reputation. But it is unfortunate the lady was masked, don't you think? Otherwise, it might have been her here now, and I'm sure she'd be more appreciative of your charms than I am."

Tyler caught Carlie's hand, demanding her attention. "It isn't like that, Carlie. I-"

His innocent look of confusion infuriated her. "Isn't like what? I like you, Tyler, I really do. But I don't appreciate being treated like a fool. Does it make you feel macho to come on to every woman you meet, even those you don't really want?"

Tyler looked startled by her anger. He visibly collected himself. "I like you as a friend, too. More than I've ever liked a woman. I feel completely at ease with you. And I'm not 'playing' with you, Carlie. You're a woman. That's an irrevocable fact. I can't help being-"

"Don't you dare tell me again that you're curious!"

His hand came up to cradle her cheek. Smiling slightly, he said simply, "Then you'll have to stop being so unique, so intelligent and witty and fun to be with."

"So." Carlie tightened her mouth, and moved out of his reach. "What about your masked lady? Have you given up on finding her?"

She could see the frustration that replaced his smile. "I don't know." He gave her another smile and shrugged. "You know, I'd never met a woman who could so easily confuse me, and now I've met two. Not really sporting, is it?"

"Tyler..."

"Shh. Stop fending me off and just relax, okay? I promise not to attack you again. I won't lose my head and have my wicked way with you."

He was back to normal, or what she accepted as normal. When he talked complete nonsense, she was comfortable with his attention. Carlie finally smiled, then playfully slugged Tyler in the arm before giving her attention back to the movie. "You're impossible."

Carlie wanted to linger once the movie ended, but Tyler didn't invite her to stay, and she didn't know how to ask. It didn't feel as though he was tired of her company, but rather that he was tired of his apartment.

He said, "I'm not here all that often. I only come home to sleep." Then he laughed. "I've probably only used that television a handful of times. But it was fun today, with you."

She berated him all the way home for showing her such an outrageous movie. And then he reminded her she owed him dinner.

"All right, though I don't think you played fair. You'd already seen the movie and knew what to expect."

Tyler grinned. It was still storming, and the driving was slow. The inside of the car was warm and humid and Carlie's hair had once again rebelled. She tried to get the damp tendrils back into place, but gave up after Tyler shook his head at her. He reached across the seat and took her hand with easy familiarity. "I suppose I did have the advantage. So how about I help you grade your papers, anyway? I wouldn't mind."

Carlie smiled. It would probably be best to refuse, but he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, and she found herself agreeing. "Very sporting of you, Tyler. Thank you."

"You're welcome. And I'll bring dinner. Pizza or something. Okay?"

"Why are you so conciliatory all of a sudden? You're making me very suspicious."

They pulled up in front of Carlie's house. Tyler put the car into Park and turned off the engine, then shifted in his seat to face her. The air, sealed by the heavy rain outside, smelled of damp flesh and wet hair and Tyler, masculine and seductive.

"I meant what I said today, Carlie. I can't recall ever enjoying another person's company as much as I enjoy yours. I like helping the kids and I like the exercise. But I think I like arguing with you most of all. You get riled so easily."

"Arguing with you is my pleasure. And as to the rest, the children and I should thank you. You're making a difference, and we appreciate it." Tyler looked embarra.s.sed by her praise. She knew she shouldn't, even debated with herself for several moments, but she couldn't resist inviting him in. "I don't have anything pressing to do. We could play cards or something."

"I thought that if I sat here in the rain, looking forlorn long enough, you would finally ask."

Carlie indicated the rain lashing the windows. "Are you ready then? We'll have to make a run for it."

Tyler grinned at her. "I'll race you."

They each dashed from the car as the rain pounded them with stinging force. They huddled together, Tyler protectively putting his arm around Carlie, trying to cover her as best he could. Laughing, they nearly tripped each other in their race for the house.

Stumbling onto the front stoop and under the tiny roof, they collapsed against the door. Gasping and winded, with rain dripping from their bodies, they shivered from the chill October air and tried to stifle their laughter.

Carlie pulled off her gla.s.ses and swiped at her eyes. She looked at Tyler, then burst out laughing again, falling against his shoulder. "Oh, Tyler, you're soaked!" She reached up and pushed a wet strand of dark hair from his forehead.

Tyler didn't move. She was huddled under his arm, her hair plastered to her skull, her gla.s.ses in her hand. He raised a finger and brushed gently against her eyelashes, spiked from the rain. Carlie smiled up at him.

Then his eyes dropped to her lips, and she parted them, without speaking, without even breathing. The tension was back, nearly choking her now. She ached so badly...

"Carlie?"

His voice was husky. Carlie tried to lean away, but he held her firm. His eyes drifted over her face and she blinked at the tenderness there.

And then he kissed her.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

Carlie gasped and squirmed against him. The sound of Tyler's breathing was even louder than the rain pelting the roof of the overhang. Carlie felt his tongue touch the seam of her lips, and without conscious decision, she parted them. He groaned low in his throat, held her face between his hands and slanted his mouth over hers, stroking deep inside, imitating the lovemaking she was only recently familiar with. It made her body tingle with remembered heat.

He released her mouth, his lips traveling over her cheek and temple and the bridge of her nose. "Carlie..." He murmured her name wonderingly, over and over again. His hands slid down her shoulders, and one palm ventured forward to cover her breast, rubbing over her nipple with tantalizing expertise.

It was that expertise that brought her to her senses.

Shoving him away, Carlie covered herself with her hands. Tyler stood staring at her, apparently dazed. "Carlie...?"

"You...you..." She couldn't believe what she had almost let happen. Her thoughts were in turmoil, her emotions sensitized, and it was all his fault. "How dare you!"

He frowned, his eyes black with a mixture of pa.s.sion and frustration. He shook his head the tiniest bit, then growled, "I don't know. I...h.e.l.l." He turned his back, his hands flexing, but when Carlie began struggling with her keys to unlock the door, he jerked around to face her.

She flinched from the hand he reached toward her. She felt so confused and angry at Tyler for complicating things further, for apparently wanting his mystery woman, but willing to toy with her, as well. She concentrated on the anger, unreasonable as it seemed. "Don't you touch me! You lied!"

"About what?" His shout matched the volume of her words.

"You said you wouldn't attack me!"

"I didn't attack you, dammit! I kissed you. There's a big difference."

"You... you pawed me."