Rick jumped up and grabbed Mia's hand, nearly knocking over his barstool in his haste to accept her offer. "I'm not about to refuse a lady."

Cameron snorted at the term lady, but his attempt at sarcasm was lost in the wake of their departure. Annoyed at Mia's calculated attempt to provoke him, which had worked too well, he watched as the two of them made their way through the throng of people in the bar and up to the crowded dance floor.

The loud, upbeat music combined with the pulsing colored lights flashing above the dance stage encouraged a person to shed inhibitions and move to the suggestive rhythm-and Mia didn't hesitate to do exactly that. Despite all the other women bumping and grinding up on the stage in tight, skimpy outfits, his gaze never strayed from Mia-and every once in a while he caught her glancing his way as well, as if to make certain he was watching her have a good time with his friend.

Every one of her movements were damn sexy and arousing, and he couldn't help but notice he wasn't the only guy in the place who was drawn to her. She was naturally sensual, her body loose and unrestrained as she rolled and swayed her hips in time to the music. Then she turned, raised her hands above her head in sheer abandonment, and shimmied her curvaceous backside against the front of Rick's jeans. Rick made a grab for Mia's hips to pull her closer, and she laughed and easily slipped away in a lithe move that was as playful as it was teasing.

Cam clenched his jaw, along with his fist, shocked by the uncharacteristic and too-possessive urge he had to plant his knuckles against Rick's jaw for being way too intimate with Mia-even if she'd been the one to encourage his friend to be a little touchy-feely in her attempt to incite some kind of reaction out of Cam.

Typical Mia. She never missed an opportunity to taunt, tease, and provoke him in her never-ending quest to see just how far she could push him before he finally snapped and gave in to the heat and attraction simmering between them.

It wasn't going to happen, he vowed. He'd spent the past two years resisting her, and no way would she ever find out just how much she aroused him, and just how badly he wanted her. Doing so would undoubtedly be his biggest downfall and her greatest triumph.

Forcing his fingers to relax, he drained the last of his beer, which did nothing to ease the burn of frustration churning in his belly.

"Would you like to dance?"

Startled by the question because he hadn't been aware anyone had approached him, Cam glanced at the woman who'd issued the invitation. He instantly recognized the pretty redhead as Carrie, the friend Mia had pointed out earlier as one of the women she'd come to the bar with.

Her expression was hopeful and expectant, and he hated to be the one to deliver a rejection, but he wasn't in the mood to join Mia and Rick on the dance floor. "I'm sorry, but I'm not much of a dancer," he said with a friendly smile, trying to let her down as gently as possible.

She looked at Mia, then back at him, something akin to resentment flaring in the depths of her hazel eyes. "Sure, I understand."

She turned around and walked away. Cam frowned, finding her sudden change in attitude totally bizarre, considering she was a friend of Mia's, but Cam didn't have time to contemplate the woman's behavior for long. One of the bartenders rang a loud cowbell, and more bedlam broke loose in the bar.

The DJ put on "Legs" by ZZ Top, and the crowd went wild. Their ecstatic cheers and whistles seemed to reverberate off the walls as the cocktail waitresses and waiters jumped onto the surface of the bar and platforms and gave their audience quite a dance performance. The guys threw in some outrageous bump and grinds for the female customers, while the girls strutted their stuff in their low-riding jeans and their cleavage- and midriff-flaunting bar shirts.

Above Cam, one of the cocktail waitresses tried to grab his attention with a provocative dance move. Any other time he would have appreciated the girl's flirtations and rewarded it with a wink and a grin, but not tonight. He was too obsessed with a woman who had him completely tied up in knots.

Once the song was over he ordered another beer and was grateful to see Rick and Mia finally leave the dance floor. Mia said something to his friend, and they parted ways. Rick made his way back to the table with a goofy, infatuated grin on his face, while she headed toward the bar where she bought herself another one of those frothy, froufrou drinks. Then she met up with Carrie, the woman he'd turned down earlier, who was talking to a young guy who barely looked old enough to drink the beer he held in his hand.

As soon as Mia arrived, the guy's attention shifted from Carrie to Mia. Once again Cam watched her friend's posture stiffen and her expression change because of Mia's uninvited appearance, along with the fact that the guy Carrie had been talking to now barely acknowledged her. Though Mia spoke to both of them, it was clear to Cameron that she was oblivious to the underlying jealousy Carrie seemingly harbored against her.

"God, she's hot," Rick said as he settled into the seat next to Cam and finished off the rest of the beer left in his bottle.

"She's a royal pain in my ass," Cam muttered irritably. Not to mention she gave him a serious ache in other parts of his male anatomy.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I hooked up with her, right?"

Without thinking of what his actions might imply, Cameron shot Rick an ominous look that said way too much about his feelings toward Mia.

Rick immediately held up his hands in supplication and grinned knowingly. "Hey, say no more. But if I don't hook up with her, you've got to see that at least a dozen other guys in this place will."

The waitress came by with his second beer, and Cameron drained half of it in one drink. "I don't give a damn what Mia does, or with whom."

Rick laughed heartily at that. "You're a piss-poor liar, Sinclair. It's pretty obvious that she makes you hot, bothered, and very tense. You clench that beer bottle any tighter in your fist, and it's going to shatter," he said, pointing out just how on edge Mia had made him. After a moment, he asked, "What's the deal with you two, anyway?"

Wasn't that a loaded question, Cam thought. And where did he start in his explanation?

"I've known Mia since she was a teenager because of my friendship with her cousin, Steve, and his brothers, but it's only been in the past few years that she's-"

"Gotten under your skin?" Rick said with a smirk.

There was no use denying the truth. Not to his good friend who obviously knew better and had no qualms calling him on his pretense to feign otherwise. "Yeah."

"So why not just go for it?"

Such a simple solution for such a complicated situation. "Because she's so not my type. She's wild, brazen, and unpredictable." Having grown up with three older sisters and a mother who were stable, focused, and more on the refined side, now that he was in his thirties he'd come to appreciate and look for those sophisticated and dependable qualities in a woman.

And then there was the issue of Mia's brothers and cousins, who'd be none too happy if they found out he'd slept with their sister and the baby of the family. The Wilde men tended to be a protective group when it came to one of their own, Mia especially, and despite her continual efforts to rebuff their paternal instincts, Cam wasn't about to chance their wrath or screw up his working relationship with Steve because he couldn't keep his hands off Mia.

Cam shook his head and stated the other important fact. "I'm sure I'm nothing more than a conquest to her, like every other man before me."

Rick considered that for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't see how that's a bad thing."

Rick was a quintessential ladies' man who wasn't looking to settle down anytime soon. "Of course you wouldn't, but personally, I have no desire to be a notch in her bedpost." And Cam was certain she had many. "Besides, one-night stands just don't do it for me anymore."

He'd lost that urge a while ago, when he'd come to realize that sex for sex's sake left him feeling empty and craving something deeper that had so far been elusive to him. He supposed a part of that decision had evolved after witnessing just how happy and content his partner Steve was with his wife, Liz, and their new baby boy. He'd watched Steve go from being a confirmed bachelor to devoted husband and a doting, hands-on father, and the transformation was an amazing, inspiring sight to see.

Now, these days when Cam slept with a woman, it was important to him that there was something more substantial to back up the physical release. Like an emotional connection and some kind of commitment that made the romantic affair more meaningful and worthwhile. And from what he'd seen with Mia over the years, she lacked the ability to sustain a long-term relationship with any of the guys she'd dated.

One of the bartenders announced the wet T-shirt contest and encouraged the women in the place to enter, luring them in with a cash prize of a hundred bucks. The customers cheered enthusiastically, and Cameron paid no attention to the frenzy as the DJ put on the song "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" by Rod Stewart to rile up the crowd and contestants.

A headache started throbbing in his temples, and he'd just decided it was time to leave and go home when he heard a loud, raucous sound that made him, and Rick, glance toward the dance floor. What Cam next laid eyes on hit him like a solid punch to the stomach.

There was Mia, a willing and sexy participant of the contest, along with a dozen other adventurous women. All the ladies had changed into the bar's white T-shirts that were cropped to expose their stomachs and were deliberately a size too small so the soft cotton molded to their breasts. That was nothing compared to how the fabric adhered to their curves as the waiters poured a pitcherful of water over each contestant's chest.

And it was obviously very cold water at that.

Rick gaped right along with him. "Holy…"

"Shit," Cameron bit out succinctly.

"You can say that again," Rick said humorously.

Cameron almost did, except his mouth had suddenly gone dry as dust. He stared at Mia and the way she looked in clinging, wet cotton, certain she'd had too much to drink and wasn't thinking with a clear head. Yes, she was bold and outrageous, but he'd never known her to be an exhibitionist. Alcohol had to be clouding her judgment tonight There was no other lucid explanation for this scandalous display of hers.

Most of the women were completely bare beneath their now see-through T-shirts, but a few of them had opted to keep their bras on. And thank God Mia was one of those women, Cam thought gratefully, because he was certain he would have had a heart attack if she'd gone au naturel in front of all these strangers.

Still, that thin, damp material molded to her full, shapely breasts and tight nipples like a second skin, and it was apparent that her bra was sheer, lacy, and unpadded. That provocative peek at her sexy lingerie left enough to the male imagination, yet also made her look far more alluring and seductive than the other girls who'd dared to go braless.

Desire flowed hot and molten through Cam's veins, along with an unholy amount of lust. Both of those physical reactions were becoming way too frequent when it came to Mia-and they were unwanted as hell.

When all the women were soaked, it was up to each contestant to draw as much energy and excitement from the crowd to ultimately win the contest. A group of frat boys had surged toward the stage and were spurring on Mia with catcalls and whistles as she worked to earn her share of attention-of which she had plenty. Her hips swayed to the beat of the music, and she caressed her hand across her bare, wet, sleek stomach, sending the young bucks into another round of enthusiastic cheers.

Jealousy twisted like a sharp knife in Cameron's belly, and he was fairly certain that was exactly the response from him Mia was hoping for. Still, somehow he managed to remain outwardly composed as he continued to watch her too-arousing performance.

Her skirt had inched up higher on her legs, exposing way too much of those smooth, toned thighs of hers, but she didn't seem to notice… or care. Her lustrous hair swung around her shoulders as she tossed her head back and laughed, her eyes sparkling seductively as her gaze latched onto him and she gave him a slow, bewitching smile that spoke volumes.

Gut instinct told him she didn't give a damn if she won. This performance was all for him, and him alone. She was deliberately tempting him. Teasing him. Daring him to let go and have fun, with her.