And if he did yoga, too, that could be all kinds of fun.
Right now, though, she couldn’t afford to be distracted by naughty thoughts of him. It was time to pick her brain up off the floor and find a way out of this mess.
“How much is it worth to you?” The words popped out of her mouth before she thought better of it. Then her eyes went big and she bit back a smile. Now she was thinking. Her smarts hadn’t totally eluded her after all. Thank God. Dina had agreed to one hundred grand for the cross necklace. Would it be worth the same to him to get it back? Would it be worth more?
He scowled and his brows drew together over those clear gray eyes of his. “What did you just say?” His voice had gone dangerously soft.
Okay, so maybe she wasn’t that smart after all. “Nothing.”
Lorelei watched in fascination as a tic started in Mark’s strong jaw and his nostrils flared. His bottom lip was busted and the corner of his mouth bruised, but he still raised it in a chilling smile. Perfect white teeth snarled at her from between his abused lips. She wondered how many times they’d been capped.
She dropped her gaze and took in his clothing while she raced after her scattered thoughts. Last night he’d worn jeans and an expensive sweater. Now her gaze traveled over a ratty gray sweatshirt with the Rush logo on it and a pair of old, ripped jeans encasing his heavily muscled thighs. Then her gaze landed smack on the front of his jeans, and her lungs squeezed tight. Wow.
That was quite an, um, bulge. It was suddenly very hot in the hotel room. Or maybe it was just that her face was on fire.
And if he’d only step back she could get some more oxygen to her brain and really put it to use. But apparently Mark didn’t know the meaning of personal space. He was so close the heat of his body surrounded her, smothered her. And now he was using it to intimidate her and it was making her claustrophobic.
It was making her think of things she should not be thinking. She needed to put some distance between them. Placing her hands against his solid chest, Lorelei pushed hard. “Get off me, you oaf. Let me breathe.”
Amusement flickered across his face and he stepped back, allowed her to move. “Whatever you want, Lorelei. As long as I get what I want.”
Inhaling a deep breath, she thanked her lucky stars that she’d left his charm in a plain envelope at the concierge desk. She’d thought it a paranoid precaution, but now she was ever so grateful for her decision. Even if he ransacked her room he wouldn’t find it. And no way was she telling him where it was until she got money—from him or Dina. She really didn’t care now. Heck, she’d gone this far. She might as well go all the way.
Lorelei crossed her bare arms over her chest, glared at Mark, and considered again. What was it worth to him?
Mark glared right back, his eyes like a gray ice storm beneath the black brim of his hat. Anger fairly vibrated off him. She guessed if she’d played as bad as he had she’d be pretty ticked, too. But she wouldn’t blame it on a stupid charm. His lousy performance was his fault entirely.
She broke the tense silence. “I saw the sports recap tonight, Mark. You played like shit.”
One corner of his bruised mouth turned up and smirked. Sticking his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans, he leaned against the wall and replied. “Gee, you think?”
No, she didn’t think. Not since she’d met him. And that was a very serious problem.
Lorelei shrugged. “I call it how I see it. You played like crap and took it out on somebody else. What did the Arizona guy do that was so offensive anyway? Make fun of your hair?”
Mark touched his split lip with a long finger, and laughed low in his chest. “He hit a triple on me, sugar. Know what a triple is? I wasn’t feeling too friendly about it.”
Did she know what a triple was? Jerk. “And here I thought it was because you didn’t play well and were being a sore loser. Had to take it out on someone.”
Something white-hot and dangerous flashed in his eyes. Apparently he didn’t like being called names. Suddenly she wasn’t too sure that provoking