nodded. Regardless of what he’d just said, she knew there was more to him hanging around Oklahoma City than he let on. The look in his eyes said as much. The man just refused to give up. She would hate to make him another casualty, like every other player who thought she was fair and easy game. Evidently, he felt pretty damn sure of himself.
Any other time she would have jumped at the opportunity to prove him wrong, but with the phone call she’d received from her parents before leaving the office, she didn’t have the time or the inclination. Although she was pretty good when it came to multitasking, she didn’t want to take on both Blade and her parents at the same time.
Her mom and dad, who had been responsible for choosing Guy as their future son-in-law, were at it again. For some reason they couldn’t leave well enough alone. At first, when they had called last week, they’d insisted that she fly home to New York to meet the man they thought was the perfect match for her.
When she had refused, they had tried playing on her sympathy by claiming that they would be too old to enjoy grandchildren when she and her brother, DeAngelo, finally settled down and produced offspring.
“Peyton sends her regrets, but she wasn’t able to make it, Blade,” Mac said, diverting his attention.
Sam glanced at him to see if any disappointment registered on his face. He smiled. “Luke told me and I’m disappointed,” he said evenly.
Was he really? Hmm. As if she’d spoken out loud, Blade shifted his gaze from Mac to her and once again gave Sam that predatory smile. She was relieved when the waitress appeared and placed glasses of water in front of her and Mac, and gave everyone menus. She had dined at this restaurant before, so it didn’t take long to decide what to order.
Sam closed her menu and glanced up to find Blade staring at her. She was about to ask if there was anything wrong, but decided not to. Instead she stared back at him. She smiled to herself. If he thought he could outstare her, he was so wrong. This was one of the games she and her brother would play as children, when they didn’t have anything better to do. Not only did she play it well, oftentimes she beat her older brother. She could hold her own with the best of them and could stare down anyone without blinking.
It didn’t take long for her to see that was exactly what Blade was trying to do. Evidently he’d played a similar game as a child and could definitely hold his own. But she had to admit—even though it bothered her to do so—that staring at him was affecting her in ways that the game she’d played with DeAngelo never did.
She felt a stirring sensation emanating from Blade’s dark eyes. They seemed to be staring right through her, reading her thoughts.
“Blade, I understand Jake will be hosting a huge party in a few weeks to celebrate Sheikh Valdemon’s marriage,” Mac said.
It was only then that he looked away from Sam, to answer her. “Yes, he is. And you know nobody throws a party like Uncle Jake and Diamond. They would have given the party sooner, but it’s been hard for the newlyweds to visit the States because of commitments between the two countries.”
“I can’t wait to meet the woman the sheikh chose as his bride,” Mac said excitedly.
Blade shrugged. “Everybody who attended the wedding celebration said she’s a beauty. Still, I thought Rasheed would remain a bachelor forever. But I guess he had to marry sooner or later to produce an heir.”
Sam remembered the sheikh. What woman who’d attended Luke and Mac’s wedding hadn’t? She had certainly checked him out herself. “Who did he marry?” she asked.
“A young woman from his country,” Blade said. “One chosen for him by his family. If I remember correctly, she’s the reason he had to unexpectedly leave Luke and Mac’s wedding. Rasheed wasn’t happy about that. But according to Uncle Jake, it ended up being a love match anyway, and I’m glad. I would have hated for him to have gotten tied down for the rest of his life, married to a woman he didn’t love,” Blade concluded.
Sam took a sip of water and looked over the rim of her glass at him. “So when you marry, it will be for love, Blade?”
She knew by the look in his eyes that he didn’t appreciate her question, and from the silence at the table it was evident that, like her, Mac and Luke were waiting for him to answer. Sam wasn’t exactly sure what had possessed her to ask such a question when she already had a pretty good idea what his response would be. But she had asked, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would make it crystal clear for her, so that there would never, ever be any misunderstanding. He enjoyed being a womanizer, and he proudly played the part.
He took another sip of water before flashing a smile that revealed a pair of dimples she hadn’t noticed until now. His eyes locked on her face. “I don’t ever plan to marry, Sam—for love or any other reason. I enjoy my life just the way it is. I could never be a one-woman man. What’s the point?”
“Yes, I agree with you one hundred percent. What’s the point? I don’t plan to marry, either. Like you, I like my life just the way it is, and I could never belong to one man exclusively.”
She wasn’t quite sure what he had expected her to say, but from the look on his face she could tell that hadn’t been it. He evidently thought men were the only ones who could play the field.
Sam was spared from saying anything else when the waitress returned to take their orders. But that didn’t stop her from glancing across the table at Mac and seeing the sly smile on her friend’s lips. Luke seemed inordinately preoccupied with his silverware.
It was obvious she had stunned Blade, so everyone was giving him a chance to recover. From the way he was staring across the table at her, he had to be wondering why—since they had the same outlook on life when it came to commitment—she had refused to give him the time of day.
Sam looked away as she ran a finger around the rim of her glass, then seductively touched the tip with her tongue, knowing Blade’s eyes followed her every movement. She tried to ignore the shudder that passed through her each time their eyes connected. When the waitress delivered their food, and she began eating, she tried to overlook the intense sexual chemistry between them even as they shared the table with others. She wasn’t sure whether Mac and Luke were aware of what was taking place between them or not, but both she and Blade knew it. Dinner was as enjoyable as it could have been under the circumstances, and at the end of the meal she thanked everyone for inviting her, and stood up to leave.
“Where are you rushing off to?” Blade asked, quickly rising to his feet.
The tone of his voice, to her way of thinking, sounded a lot throatier than it should have. It sent shivers up and down her body.
She met his gaze. “I’m going home. I drove Mac over. But since Luke’s SUV is here, I’m sure all three of you will be riding back together and—”
“No,” Blade said smoothly. “I’m staying at a hotel in town.”
That surprised her. “You are?”
His smile widened. “Yes. I didn’t want to impose on the newly weds. Would it be a bother to drop me off at the hotel?”
“Drop you off?” she asked, as if she hadn’t heard him right. She inhaled deeply, silently telling herself to get a grip. Handle her business. So what if she had to drop him off at some hotel? She could do that. Put him off at the curb and keep going.
“Yes,
