needed a fan. She needed a walk-in fridge. She needed to stop blushing, Lu thought as fifteen briefs-clad, buff, super-sexy rugby players streamed into the Rays’ gym, their second home. Will was standing off to one side, fully clothed in jeans and a T-shirt, and the scowl on his face was as black as a summer thundercloud.
He’d yet to say a word to her.
Boxers, briefs, even a set of Y-fronts... Good grief, Lu, you can’t look there! Was the air-con working down here? The team members weren’t fazed about lounging around in their underwear. They chatted and joked and insulted each other about the size of their tackle and the state of their underpants.
‘We’ll let Lu decide,’ Matt hooted.
Lu lifted her eyebrows. ‘Decide on what?’
‘Boxers, briefs or thongs,’ Matt explained. ‘What do women prefer?’
Lu kept her face blank, knowing that they were trying to get a reaction. She knew boys—they’d push her until they got one. She hadn’t raised twin boys and had all their friends using her house as a second home for nothing. But she couldn’t look at Will, because then he’d know that she preferred commando.
Actually, just him buck naked would do the trick.
Matt snapped his fingers under her nose. ‘Lu! Concentrate, here—this is important research!’
Lu reached up and patted his cheek. ‘Sweetie...trust me. If I liked you enough to get to the point of wanting to rip your underwear off I wouldn’t really care what you were wearing. Though I’d have second thoughts if you were wearing a red thong with black lace...that’s just tacky.’
Matt placed his hand on her cheek and his eyes twinkled with fun. ‘But you’d like a leopard print thong, right?’
Lu laughed and played along. ‘Absolutely! Who can resist a man in a leopard print thong?’
Matt put his thumbs into his black boxers and shimmied them down his hips. Lu slapped her hands over her face and peeked out through her fingers as Matt did a slow turn, wearing nothing more than the briefest, tackiest, fakest leopard print thong.
Lu dropped her hand and bellowed with laughter as Matt posed in front of her, his hip thrust out in a typical model pose. She clapped before placing the back of one hand on her forehead and pretending to swoon.
The room roared. Matt high-fived her and Lu was still laughing when Will stepped away from the wall and cleared his throat. Cold eyes drilled through her and her laughter died in her throat as the room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
He jerked his head at the gym door. ‘Outside.’
Lu frowned. ‘Sorry?’
‘I want to talk to you...outside,’ Will stated, in a biting voice vibrating with anger.
‘Lu’s in trub-bel,’ Matt sang, and then winced when Will walked up to him and slammed his hand against Matt’s chest. Matt took two steps backwards.
‘If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut up,’ Will stated calmly, his eyes spitting.
Matt held his hands up. ‘Yes, boss.’
‘You—outside.’
Will looked at Lu and his furious expression had Lu climbing down from the table and walking towards the door. She heard the door slam behind her and looked up at Will, who was obviously thundercloud angry. What was his problem?
‘Stop flirting with Matt,’ Will stated through clenched teeth.
Wha-at?
‘Jeez, Will, he was just trying to make the situation less awkward,’ Lu replied, confused. He couldn’t be taking their banter seriously, could he? ‘What is your problem?’
Will stepped in front of her and pushed her back against the wall. He placed a palm on the wall next to her head and loomed over her. ‘My problem? You’re about to get fifteen guys naked and the only one I want you to see naked is me. That’s my problem. I’m frustrated and as horny as hell. That’s another problem. I don’t care if this is your job. I. Don’t. Like. It.’
It was the first time she’d seen Will totally stripped of the cloak of control he constantly wore. His eyes were full of misery and frustration. His body was clenched with tension. He looked almost unhinged.
Over her being surrounded by hot, buff men... Well, shoot!
As much as she wanted to smash her mouth against his and be kissed by this out-of-control Will, she had a job to do—a job that was important to her. The other rugby franchises, as Kelby had told her, were hiring big-name photographers to capture their images for the calendar, but he had faith in her that she wouldn’t let their side down.
She had no intention of doing that, but she couldn’t do it with Will hovering like an angry tornado; he’d make the players tense, they wouldn’t relax while he was watching over them, and she wouldn’t be able to function. She had to get rid of him. Yet she knew that nothing shy of a dynamite stick would get him to leave.
So Lu stood on her tiptoes, slammed her mouth against his and slid her tongue into his mouth. Her kiss was open-mouthed and hot enough to drain all the blood from his brain...just what she needed. It took all her will-power to step away before Will caught her in his grip and wouldn’t let her go.
Stepping back quickly, she gave him a quick salute, slipped through the door to the gym, slammed it closed and turned the lock. Ignoring his furious fist pounding against the door, she walked back inside and went to the box she’d carried in earlier and yanked out an i-Pod and external speakers.
‘Who wants music?’ she asked loudly.
‘Yes! But a drink would be better!’ Matt responded above a chorus of approval and whistles.
Lu grinned as she pulled two bottles of tequila from the box and waved them in the air. ‘I also think this would be a lot easier with a couple of shots. There are quite a few bottles, so don’t be shy. But we’d better get slammed before Mr Grumpy breaks down the door!’
* * *
Lu, dressed in a brief pair of cycling shorts, a crop top and trainers, stood in front of the punching bag in the empty Rays gym and looked down at the small pair of boxing gloves that Will had just tied onto her hands.
‘I tried to book a private lesson for you at a Thai kickboxing school with one of Kelby’s mates who is an instructor, but they have a couple of cage fights coming up so he’s swamped,’ Will told her, dropping her hands. He stepped away from her to get some distance. She was wearing little more than underwear, and his boys weren’t making the distinction between gym clothes and lingerie.
It had been a week since he’d held her in his arms, and he’d never be able to look at the sea again without remembering how responsive she’d been to his touch. He’d had a lot of sex over the years, but even the thought of Lu far exceeded the hottest, craziest sex he’d had before.
It was shocking to realise that he, King of Brief Flings, could think like this. He was a rational adult male. He knew that great sex never lasted for ever. It went from great to good, then to OK, and
