Secret Moves (Secret Dreams Contemporary Romance 3) (10 page)

"Name," Sam prompted.

"Trey."

"Andrews?" Ari squeaked.

"No. Sex God," she joked. "Yes. Andrews."

"Oh, Kris," Ari said in dismay.

"I know what you said about him, Ari. At this point, I just want to enjoy what's left of my holiday with him. If he's not interested in an ongoing relationship after that, I promise I'll move on and not be one of those stupid girls who keep on hanging around where they're not wanted."

"But I thought you said you're done with playboys!" Sam said, almost whining.

"Well, Trey's…"

"What? Different? Just like your last two boyfriends were different from all the other players?" Sam queried.

"Hey, I don't think Trey's like any of those guys," Kris said, her tone laced with defensiveness.

"How is he different from them?" Ari asked curiously.

Kris scanned her brain for an accurate-enough description. "I know this sounds strange, but I think being a playboy is not Trey's true nature."

"How can you tell?"

She shook her head vigorously. "I don't know. It's just a feeling. Call it intuition. Or sheer stupidity," she added, realising how daft she must have sounded.

"I don't know what to say," Ari murmured.

"Me neither," Sam said with resignation.

"You guys don't need to say anything. Just be there for me in fun and tears," Kris said flippantly.

*******

The three of them worked solidly for hours, and by almost six in the evening, they'd packed most of Ari's stuff, apart from some things she would still need for the next couple of days.

"I cannot thank you enough, girls. Thank you, thank you, thank you," Ari gushed as they gazed at the room full of sealed boxes.

"Don't mention it," Sam said. "Now we won't have Dylan texting us in the middle of the night to remind us to help you pack."

"Tell me he didn't really do that!" Ari said in horror.

Sam laughed. "He did. Once. But he was very nice about it and we didn't mind. I'm sure he'll be very pleased to hear you're all set for Saturday. How do you feel about it all?"

Ari sighed, shaking her head in mock exasperation. "I'm really excited. I've been having a hard time concentrating on work this week because all I wanted to do was get ready for the move. I'm nervous, too. I've never lived with a guy before so I'm sure there'll be some adjustments and compromises that both Dylan and I will have to make."

"Think about it," Kris said. "Sometime in the future, you and Jazzie could be sisters-in-law."

Ari giggled. "Would I sound really keen if I tell you I'm already designing my own wedding dress in my head?"

"I'd say just as keen as Dylan when he booked that removalist the day after you agreed to move in with him," Kris quipped just as Ari's phone rang.

"It's Dylan," Ari announced with a soft smile before answering the phone.

Kris watched Ari as she spoke with her boyfriend. The love and tenderness in Ari's expression was clear. She sighed as a longing for Trey hit her.

Trey!
She was supposed to call him but the day had been so busy she'd forgotten all about it.

She fetched her phone from her handbag and her heartbeat instantly accelerated when she saw the text waiting there for her.

*Are we still on for tonight?*

She grinned. Trey had sent it almost an hour ago. She was thrilled that he was thinking of her—and that he missed her. That message meant he missed her, right? She dialled his number.

"Hi, Kris," Trey answered.

"Hello Trey," she said with feigned seriousness. "I'm calling to say that no, you're not having the night off."

"Oh, damn. I was so looking forward to a boring night watching senseless TV. Now I have to have amazing sex with a hot, sexy woman all night."

"Well, far be it from me to deny you your well-laid plans. So, okay, if you'd prefer to spend the night watching TV—"

"And be accused of not keeping my word?" Trey interjected. "No. I said I'll be at your beck and call, and since you
called
and said I'm not having the night off, then I'm not. What time do you want me to pick you up?"

"Seven?"

"Good. See you soon."

"See ya."

She was grinning from ear to ear when she noticed Ari and Sam staring at her.

"What's your plan?" Sam asked.

Kris arched her eyebrows. "Plan for tonight?"

"No. Overall plan regarding Trey."

She shrugged. "I don't have any, except to be myself and hope that's enough."

Trey exhaled his relief, raking his hand through his hair. Kris still meant to see him. For a while there, he thought she'd lost interest.

Earlier in the day, he had been worried for a very different reason. After Dylan's disclosure about Kris' past, he'd wondered if it was a good idea to keep on seeing her. He didn't want to lead her on. Knowing what she had gone through, he didn't want her to think there was any future for the two of them.

He was even ready to tell her he couldn't see her tonight, fearing it would give her the wrong impression. He had waited apprehensively for the phone to ring since lunchtime so he could turn her down. That kept him on the edge for hours.

But she didn't call.

It dawned on him that perhaps Kris wasn't as emotionally interested in him as Sam and Ari feared she might be. Kris was a straightforward woman. If she said she only wanted a fling, she must have been telling the truth, right?

He sent her a text to see how she would respond. She didn't reply straight away, which cemented his belief she wasn't love-struck or anything like that. Most women who were the chasing, desperate type were all over him the second they got a text or a phone call from him.

The fact that Kris wasn't needy or too keen brightened up his day. He didn't have to avoid her, after all.

He was extremely glad about that. He didn't think he could stay away—for no other reason than the fact that she was incredibly hot in bed, he assured himself.

*******

"It's funny how, with all the other good restaurants around, you want to keep coming back here," Trey commented as he and Kris went inside the establishment they'd been to a couple of times already in one week.

"Their food here is really good. When I find something I like, I stick with it," she said. "Would you prefer to go somewhere else?"

"No. Here's good. This is one of my favourite places too. Dylan, Adam, and I come here a lot."

They decided to try a couple of new dishes neither of them had had before. As Trey casually surveyed the room, he remembered the other day, when he had seen Kris and Sam dining there with two other people.

That nagging feeling bothered him again. He didn't know why, but there was something about the guy they were with that time that irked him.

"You know the other day when you were here with Sam and a couple of others?" he said nonchalantly. "Who were the other two?"

"Oh. Jill is Sam's friend. She's her former schoolmate. She moved here to Sydney years ago and got married here. The guy, Blake, is Jill's brother-in-law. He owns that dance studio a couple of streets from your place."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I'm actually hoping he'll give me a contract job. It's short-term for three months. He needs a dance teacher/choreographer while he's working on a musical."

His eyebrows shot up. This was news. Kris could be around for three more months? The thought made him smile.

"That's great! Have you applied yet?"

"Yes. I auditioned for him the morning you saw us here for lunch. He said he'd let me know his decision in a few days. Hopefully, he doesn't make me wait for too long," Kris said with a cute scrunch of the face.

He frowned, remembering the conversation that went on between Kris and Blake. She'd mentioned something about her having a heavy workout, and a teasing banter ensued between them. He shifted in his seat, feeling nettled. What kind of dance did she do for him?

None of your business, Andrews,
he reminded himself.

"Who were those two ladies with you that day?" Kris asked.

"Oh, my sister and my mother," he said, taking a sip of the cold water as he tried to push away an unfamiliar sensation. It felt so much like…jealousy. He shook his head at the ridiculous idea that he could be jealous. Surely, it was just some sort of male possessive, territorial, whatever feeling. Kris was
his
fling partner and, casual though it might be, he didn't like sharing.

He glanced at Kris who was staring at him thoughtfully.

"You don't need to talk about your family if you don't want to," she said softly.

He gave her a small smile, grateful for her misapprehension.

"My mother and I have a strained relationship," he found himself blurting out. "She was telling us her
good news
that she was about to re-marry. For the fourth time." He couldn't keep the sarcasm from his voice.

"I'm sorry that you're not happy about that," Kris said gently.

"I just don't see why she has to marry all those guys," he continued, warming to his topic. "By now, it's obvious she can't stay in a relationship. Why keep getting married? Why not just live with them then move on when she's done? Oh, that's right. She's a bit of a gold-digger."

Kris reached out to touch his hand that was tightly gripping a glass of water.

Her touch snapped him out of his angry bubble. "I'm sorry, babe," he said, putting the glass out of the way to hold her hand properly. "Let's not talk about my mother. She's not my favourite topic."

"You look close to your sister," she mused.

He smiled. "Yes. Rebecca and I are close. She's still a bit annoyed with me for leaving her alone with Mum for the rest of that afternoon."

The first of their orders arrived, making him realise he'd been unconsciously caressing Kris' hand with his thumb. Reluctantly, he let go of her so the server could place their dishes on the table.

"Well, at least you still have your mother," Kris said wistfully after the server left.

His mouth dropped open. He felt all shades of foolish. How inconsiderate of him to talk badly about his mum when here was a woman who was missing hers.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, grasping her hand again.

She smiled at him. "Hey, no need to be. I lost my mum two and a half years ago, and I just still miss her. We were very close. One thing she taught me was that sometimes, other people would never know or understand why we make the decisions we make." She gazed in his eyes before continuing. "Whatever your mum's reasons for not wanting to stay in her relationships, at least she's still there for you."

He inhaled deeply and looked down at his plate. He didn't know how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry," Kris said, shaking her head in self-censure. "It wasn't my place to say things like that."

"Hey, it's okay," he assured her. "But let's move on to another topic, shall we? Tell me what you think of the food."

For the rest of the dinner, they tried to keep their conversation light, but for some reason, they kept straying to the deep and meaningful.

Trey couldn't remember the last time he'd divulged so much about himself to a woman.

*******

Trey opened his apartment door and was not surprised when Kris made a beeline for his floor-to-ceiling glass window.

"You know that you can see this view from the bedroom window, too," he murmured in her ear, snaking his arms around her waist.

She leaned back against him and he nuzzled her neck. "But it's from a different angle. I like this angle better," she said.

He chuckled. "You want to stay out here again? I guess the sofa is comfortable enough."

Kris twisted so she was facing him. "Where would you want to have your lap dance?" she asked huskily, her arms curving around his neck.

He ran his hands down her back until they rested on her butt. He gave those firm cheeks a gentle squeeze and pulled her flush against him. "How about right here?"

"While you're standing?"

"Well, I could sit in there," he said, pointing to the tub chair close to him.

Kris looked out the window. "I know the next building is far away, but do you think somebody could be spying on other people through a telescope?" she asked worriedly.

He laughed out loud. "If there was somebody doing that, we would already have given them a great show last night."

"I remember this TV program I watched one time, and this man and woman who lived in neighbouring buildings were communicating to each other through gestures while they peeked through the telescope," she said with a rather nervous laugh.

"If I switched off the lights in here, we would still be able to see from the lights outside and I doubt anyone would be able to make out what we're doing," he suggested, willing her to relax, and at the same time wanting her to have her favourite vista while they made love.

"Good idea. Why don't you sit down?" Kris gently pushed him onto the tub chair, then went to put on some music. She smiled at him and started swaying to the beat—doing that slow, seductive dance that made every single cell of his body focus on her alone.

She made her way to the light switch, flicking it off. The room went dark, but not dark enough that they couldn't see. As his eyes adjusted, Kris was slowly making her way back to him, her fingers working on the buttons and zipper of her dress. In the next second, she was just in sheer, lacy bra and sexy G-string.

Fuck.

He was already getting painfully hard just watching her. He reached for his shirt buttons, his fingers fumbling.

"I want to undress you," she whispered, moving his fingers away so she could take over.

His hands went to her waist, her hips, her thighs.

"You know, touching is not allowed during lap dancing," she said teasingly.

In response, he ran his hands up her torso and kneaded her breasts through the thin fabric of her bra. Then he flicked her nipples with his thumb.

"Ahh…but I think I'd make an exception in your case," she said breathlessly.

"Good decision," he said huskily, wanting to take one of her peaks in his mouth. He refrained. He wanted to take this slow, and they had all night.