them to go relax and go to bed. We’re moving to the house early tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s good,” Kiki said. “But I really dislike the dance part of this show.”
“That would be the entire show,” Meagan responded.
Kiki snorted and addressed the group. “We’re moving into the new house tomorrow, everyone,” she called out, “so be ready to leave at the crack of dawn. Time for bed.” There were lots of moans and groans, and chaos that followed, but the announcement got everyone moving.
Meagan and Kiki chatted with DJ and Ginger to ensure they were prepared for their lead roles in the move, and then in the new house. Sam and several of his staff ended up in a powwow of some sort by the elevator, and as much as she didn’t want to notice, she could tell the instant Sam stepped away. Once all the contestants were in their rooms, Sam positioned several of his people on the floor to ensure no one snuck out. Sam then disappeared with Josh in tow.
In her room, Meagan fought the empty, disappointed feeling she had. She was alone. As in, without Sam, and she admitted now just how much that wasn’t how she wanted this night to end.
For the first time in three years, Meagan had not only let someone into her life, she’d let another alpha in. That should terrify her, and scream of a mistake. She’d always chosen the wrong men. But Sam didn’t seem wrong. Nor was he some alpha control freak. Sam was …
well, he was Sam, who managed to somehow make being tough and strong so darn alluring and perfect. And now that he was in, she wanted him here, with her. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing, if he wanted to be here. And if he did, why wasn’t he?
She laughed that off, knowing all too well, it wasn’t as if he could just walk up to her door and come in without creating talk. She might have caved to the impossibility of staying away from Sam, but she still didn’t want to paint a bulls-eye on his chest for Kiki. Kiki seemed to be into the show though. Meagan had researched the other programs Kiki had been involved in and this was the first with huge ratings out of the gate. Her hope was that Kiki would believe this show’s success was a bigger feather in her cap than its demise.
She shoved aside thoughts of a failed show, and headed to the bathroom, for her surefire comfort ritual of a hot bath. She was about to step into the tub, when her cell rang.
She rushed to grab it from her purse, saw Sam’s number and smiled. She flipped the cell open.
“And now you know why I kissed you by the car,” he said, without a hello.
She returned to the tub and sank down into her favorite jasmine-scented bubbles. “Now I know.”
“Where are you?”
“In my room. You?”
“On my way back to the hotel from the property. We had a problem with some reporters who managed to find their way out there, but it’s under control. They’re gone.”
“Wow,” Meagan said. “I don’t know whether to be frustrated or excited that the show is getting so much attention.”
“I’ll handle the frustrated,” he said. “You just be excited.”
Warmth filled her. “You keep making me want to say thank you, and I’m afraid it will go to your head.”
“Sometimes you have to live dangerously.”
“Hmm,” she said. “I would rather do that in person.”
“Alone time isn’t going to be easy to come by.”
“Yeah, I know. That kind of stinks.”
His voice softened. “Do you wish I was there now?”
She was done being cautious with Sam. “Yes. I do.”
“I do, too. You want to have phone sex?”
She laughed. “I’m not into phone sex, Sam.”
“Have you ever had phone sex?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know if you haven’t tried?”
“I don’t want to try. Though I can certainly imagine all kinds of things I’d do to you if you were here now.”
“Like what?”
“Sam, I’m not—”
“Humor me.”
“Fine. I’d be in charge. I’d make you undress—as in completely. I wouldn’t undress. Then I’d drop to my knees and lick—”
“Stop,” he ordered. “Bad idea after all. I’m driving, and you’re going to make me crash.”
“Or you don’t like the idea of me being in charge?”
“You want to play dominatrix, bring on the leather and whips. Just as long as you remember whatever torture you dish out, I plan to return tenfold.”
“Promises, promises.”
“That is a promise. You can count on it.”
She was so counting on it. And when they hung up, after talking about everything from Kiki to the odd ménage possibilities between Tabitha, Carrie, and Jensen, Sam’s brother and their relationship, and even how much Meagan had often wished for a sibling, she was still counting on it.
She couldn’t wait to test Sam, to discover her inner dominatrix and see just what his “tenfold” promise would reveal.
17
THE NEXT DAY CAME and the arguments over who got what room, while impossible to avoid, were easy to predict. When it looked as if Tabitha and Carrie might end up rooming together, Meagan vetoed it, in spite of Kiki’s approving the pairing. Ultimately, Carrie would be crushed if she lost this competition, and Meagan saw the writing on the wall—Tabitha would happily manipulate Carrie to ensure that Carrie failed and she succeeded. In the midst of this, Meagan reviewed the locations of cameras, and a list of house rules.
When it was all said and done, what Meagan hadn’t predicted was the somber mood that would overtake the group as they settled into the house. One of them would be gone in only a few days, eliminated at the first live show.
Prior to rehearsal at the studio, Meagan and Sam had managed a few steamy stares with, frustratingly, no hope of acting on the crackling energy anytime soon.
Per Sam’s instructions, at nearly ten that night, Meagan called him to report their approach to the house. He was determined to greet her, and the contestants, at the house, to personally ensure he prevented any problems for their first night’s stay.
The contestants filed up the stairs, with moans of aching bodies, and a need for bed. “I’m going, too,” Kiki said from the doorway. “I’m dead to the world.”
That left Meagan and Sam in the foyer of the main house, staring
