A Daring Bargain

** Eli **

What the absolute hell did he just hear?!

Eli felt as if he had just been struck by lightning. The world stopped making sense. Surely he misunderstood what she was trying to say, right? Right?

"Um," he cleared his throat. "Harper—"

"Don't start telling me this is a bad idea," Harper cut him off in alarm. "I'm an adult and I know the significance of decisions I make. I've thought through this. Of course, unless you don't want to agree for your own reasons … then it's a separate issue."

Eli was rendered speechless. The girl was prepared — he didn't even get a chance to argue one word before she completely shut that door. Belatedly, he realized that she had been planning for this conversation all along. The question about his ex, the hint about her lack of experience, even the fact that they were meeting at her apartment out of all places …

Oh dear God, what did she think tonight was going to lead to?

He wondered once again how it was possible for the situation between them to derail to such an extent. In a brand new light, he studied the girl in front of him with a fresh eye, trying to figure out what it was that he kept missing about her.

She had certainly chosen her look this evening with care. At first glance, it was all casual, a jade green summer dress that perfectly attenuated the warm copper tone of her hair. And that was all he picked up … until now. Now, he started to notice the sweetheart neckline, revealing her delicate collarbones and drawing attention to the curves of her breasts. He started to notice the laces hugging her slender waist before flaring out into a miniskirt, stopping way above the knee as she sat. He even started to notice the plumpness of her cherry lips, and he remembered the sweet fragrance that greeted him at the door …

Damn. How blind was he to let all these clues fly right over his head?

Eli ran a hand through his hair. "So you're completely serious about this," he murmured, less of a question than a statement to clarify the situation to himself.

"Completely and definitely." The reply came without the slightest hesitation. "It's something that I want anyway, besides just to help with my writing."

Eli wanted to curse. Or better, he wanted to talk her out of this insanity. But knowing Harper — well, if he could still say that he knew her — there was no changing her mind once she truly decided on something. Given the length she had gone to get them to this point, he was certain that she meant what she said, and that he wouldn't possibly succeed in dissuading her. If he tried too hard, the most likely outcome would only be that she gets annoyed and goes to find someone else to ask.

Somehow, such an alternative sounded even worse.

Eli sighed inwardly. "Well … I need some clarification before I can tell you yes or no," he said at last.

Harper tensed visibly at the statement. Eli wondered if she was fearing an answer she didn't want to hear. Which answer would that be?

Brushing that thought aside, he got back to what he needed to know. "First, you said this isn't dating."

"Absolutely not," Harper confirmed. "I don't want to make it complicated. This will be nothing more than what it is — lessons. No strings attached, no commitment required."

Somehow, this kind of standpoint didn't sound like her. But Eli was no longer surprised to hear it, after already being shocked to death by her daring proposal. He nodded. "I agree that would be the ideal case. Second, do you have anything particular in mind that you … want to learn, or want me to show you?"

This time, Harper didn't manage to keep up with that liberal coolness. Despite the subtly phrased question, a flaming blush flooded her cheeks, rising like a sweeping pink tide over her fair skin. Her eyes darted away. "N-No," she stammered, the boldness she spoke with all evening withering. "I mean, u-up to you, I guess … I'm sure you can … tell from the book what's most lacking …"

The look of her reminded Eli of last Saturday. He wondered if he should feel bad again for making her so embarrassed, but ironically, with everything that had just gone down this evening, he found her blushing increasingly cute. It was as if he found a secret peephole through her bold facade and caught a glimpse of her true inner self … who was still just a little dove despite how much she pretended otherwise.

Eli fought back a chuckle. It did appear that she'd need some help if she wanted to completely come out of that shell. And surprisingly, he realized that he didn't mind offering a hand. Some might say it's weird to date a girl that grew up with them like a sister, but she wasn't actually his sister, and he wasn't actually going to date her either. As long as they stayed within their limits, he saw no reason why he couldn't be part of this.

Speaking of limits … "I'll just decide the agenda on the go in that case," he said. "But one thing I want to be clear about: I'm not going to have sex with you. Not in the common sense of the word, at least. That is a line I will not cross."

Harper's eyes snapped back. The blush that was still in full bloom slowly blended in with confusion. Then that confusion turned into defiance. "Why not?" she demanded.

Eli could imagine what she was thinking. "I'm not saying you should save it for the right person or any of that BS. This is not the seventeenth century. But it won't hurt to leave some things to go at your own pace, and like you said, I don't want to make our deal complicated either." He lightened the air with a suggestive smirk before adding, "Besides, as far as your current concern goes, I can teach you perfectly fine without resorting to that."

Her blush deepened as the meaning of that last sentence sank in. "O-Okay … I'll take your word for it now, but if … if things turn out otherwise, that might have to change."

Eli arched an eyebrow. Her lessons hadn't even started, and she was already doubting his ability? That was a punch to his male pride.

Considering the inner turmoil that she must be going through at the moment though, he let that go, moving on to the final bullet point. "And third … I need your promise that if I do agree to this, Tyler will never know."

The mention of her brother's name made Harper blink. "Tyler? What does any of this have to do with him?"

Eli huffed. "Oh, it has absolutely nothing to do with him until he finds out and challenges me to a duel. I'm not even going to try explaining to him what I'm doing with his innocent little sister behind closed doors. That's going to end up with me losing either a friend, or a certain important body part, or both."