"Gordon Montague at your service." Their host lifted her hand to his lips in a gesture that should have seemed gallant, but came across as creepy instead.

Julie fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Thank you for allowing me to accompany Ty to your party." Gordon turned to the devastating man beside her. "Even a superstar like you pales in comparison to your companion's ravishing beauty."

"Hey, Monty," Ty said, pulling Gordon's tight grasp off her hand under the pretense of shaking it.

"How goes it? What's on the agenda for tonight?"

He was doing it again. Always coming to her rescue.

"We're fund-raising for leukemia tonight." He turned to Julie. "My wife's sister's friend was touched by the disease."

Feigned concern did not suit Gordon in the least.

Ty grinned. "I'm always up for a dog and pony show for a good cause. Who would you like me to meet first?"

Ty was so irreverent, not the least bit bowled over by Gordon's money, his connections, his power. She'd grown up in this world, yet she'd never learned how not to take it seriously. She could learn something from him. Gordon led them inside, and as the evening progressed from cocktails and appetizers to a sevencourse sit-down dinner paired with expensive wines, it became abundantly clear that no one knew quite what to make of her. Was she Ty's girlfriend? His business associate? A groupie?

Julie didn't want to make Ty look bad by saying, "I was hired to watch over him," but she didn't want people to think she was the latest in a long string of one-night-stands, either. She settled for pleasant, but distant when answering curious questions. She enjoyed herself, but not too much. She stood near Ty at all times, but not too close.

Out of the blue, a lovely woman who seemed out of place in a light blue linen dress and shawl pulled Ty aside.

"I'm Gordon's sister, Gina the black sheep of the family. You must be the prized pig." Ty didn't take offense, just shook her hand and said it was nice to meet her.

"I'm afraid I can't stand too close to you for too long, though. When a man is as good-looking as you, it's dangerous to give anyone the chance to make comparisons." Gina gestured in Julie's direction.

"Although I do have to say that the two of you look good together." Ty turned to Julie. "I told you so." Then to Gina, he added, "She refuses to believe me." Julie bared her teeth at him, hoping it looked at least a little bit like a smile. "That's because I've never heard so many people use the word 'pretty' to describe a man before." Gina grinned. "Mark my words, this is the girl for you. She's not blinded by all of your shimmer and shine."

Julie felt completely transparent. She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that Ty started to get to her; all she knew was that he had, and was doing it still.

And she couldn't let him. No matter what.

"Excuse me, I need to find the ladies' room."

She dashed through the lavish ballroom, searching for a place to hide out for a few minutes, to try to regain her equilibrium. She ran into the kitchen, where she saw a set of stairs, a narrow, dark flight that she hoped led up to maids' quarters.

The stairs seemed to go up and up forever, growing darker with every step, climbing up to a secret tower. Something told her to turn back, that she shouldn't be trespassing in a stranger's house, but she was more afraid of the devastatingly handsome man who awaited her at the bottom of the stairs than she was of being caught.

Continuing to climb, she felt for a light switch along the wall. She heard footsteps on the steps behind her a moment before she flicked the switch and gasped aloud.

At the top of Gordon Montague's secret tower was a fully equipped sexual hideaway . . . the last place on earth she wanted Ty to find her.

Only, judging by the heat she felt at her back, he already had.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ty had long believed in the power of positive thinking. Coach after coach during the past decade had pressed the power of visualization upon him and his teammates. Although he wasn't big on woo-woo stuff, acting like you already had what you wanted worked most of the time on the field. Ty wanted to win games; he won them. He wanted lots of money; he had it. It hadn't occurred to him to use this technique for getting a girl, but then, he'd never wanted anyone nearly as much as he wanted Julie. And he'd certainly never had to work for it like this before, either. He'd made his way through the kitchen, signed a few autographs, and asked which way she went. Something about the dark stairwell conjured up a flow of sexy images. Julie asking him to unzip her dress, beckoning him over, ripping his clothes off, lying across his lap, begging him to spank her sexy lace-clad ass.

He'd been stuck on this fantastic image as he made his way up the circular stairs. A light scent of apples and cinnamon lingered in the air and he'd known he was on the right track. His c**k had hardened at the thought of how soft her ass cheeks would feel beneath his palm, at how good it would feel to cup her br**sts with his other hand.

And then she'd switched on the light, and he'd seen a sex toy wonderland. He'd never seen so many erotic pictures, paintings, sculptures, dildos, vibrators, and books outside of a  p**n  shop. He was clearly better at this ask and you shall receive stuff than he'd ever realized. Maybe when he retired from the game, he'd write a book on visualization.

He whistled at the S and M equipment hanging from the walls, the thick chains by the bed. "Damn. This is some room." He figured Julie was probably freaking out right now. She giggled. "You know when you took me into your basement? I thought you had one of these rooms under there."

He smiled. "As if I'd ever need to chain a woman down."

Her eyes were big as she examined a two-headed dildo from a distance. He was pretty sure she had no idea what it was for.

"True," she agreed. "But you still could have been into kinky stuff." He pushed her farther into the room. "Go ahead, examine everything. I know you're dying to." She made a face. "I'm too grossed out right now. Just thinking about Gordon in here with ... whoever he comes here with." Her shoulder nearly brushed into a fully erect statue and she jumped. "I hope he washes everything on a regular basis."

As Ty did a quick perusal of the room's contents,he could see Julie warring with herself, opening her mouth, then shutting it.

"Go ahead, ask me. I know you're dying to." She stood in the center of the room, a perfect, pure goddess in the midst of sin. "Have you ever ..." Her cheeks flushed pink. "Once." Her mouth flew open. "You've used this stuff?"