and pitied her. Like, who would want to fuck someone like that? It would be like fucking a cupcake.
“Exactly what I said to Cole back there,” Terry declared. “I’ve decided he’s quite a catch.”
“A catch? You’re talking about him like he’s some sort of Big Fish. He’s a tiger, dammit . . . no, that’s not what I meant to say. He’s a person! Not some sort of halibut spearing competition!”
Terry crossed her eyes.
“He is, for your information, a fish. And all bets are off now. It was I who saw the ad first.”
“But I wrote to him first!”
“Only because I egged you on.”
“I – ” Ellen faltered.
“There you go . . . you admit it.” Terry was triumphant. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have offered yourself up to him in the first place.”
“I didn’t offer myself up! I just replied to his ad! It’s like two minds meeting. It’s like . . . Samson and Delilah.”
“I really don’t see you as a Delilah, Ellen. You’re more like an Oprah, but not in the billionaire talk show hostess success way. If I were you, I’d just roll over and give up.”
Ellen opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish.
“That’s right,” Terry said. “You can just think about going home. You don’t even know the guy. You’ve barely met him.”
“ You’ve barely met him too,” Ellen spluttered.
“I saw him naked first.”
“That doesn’t count!”
“He has quite a package.”
“That still doesn’t count!”
“ Men are my specialty. I practically graduated with first class honors in them. Let’s face it, you’ve never gone against me before and you want to know why?”
Ellen shook her head .
“I’m going to tell you why anyway. Because you just can’t win. I’m younger, prettier, sexier, and everything else you’re not. So deal with it, OK? Take the next flight back to Omaha.”
Terry turned heel and headed out of the tent into the dark, tropical night.
“Don’t wait up!” she called as a parting shot.
There was still no sound from Ellen, and she allowed herself a smile.
10
Ellen could only stare at tent flap opening for a long, long time, her mouth agape.
Unbelievable!
Did what just happened really happen? Her sister . . . her own sister! Now she has become the competition!
But wait a minute – what exactly were they competing for? The affections of a man they’d just met? And suddenly, he’s the most desirable tiger shifter on the planet?
(OK, maybe he is.)
But this was stupid! They didn’t even know the guy! And suddenly her sister wanted him – based on his paper credentials? The guy could still be a serial killer!
Ellen remembered how Cole’s brown eyes lighted up as they crinkled in amusement. Somehow, she didn’t think he was a serial killer.
But it wasn’t fair! She wrote to him first!
Since when was anything in this world fair? her inner voice told her. If you want something, you’ll have to fight for it.
But did she really want to fight for a man she’d just met? She – who never fought for a man before? What assets did she have? What feminine wiles did she possess? She – whom all her life had never been looked at twice by a boy who didn’t want to make fun of her?
Ellen pursed her mouth. It was decision time.
It was not about fighting over a man anymore. It was about fighting her sister .
Are you going to be her doormat all your life?
11
Terry walked confidently to the direction of Cole’s tent. There were flaming torches at strategic positions at the camp so she could see her way. The moon was a ghostly ball in the sky, and the constellations were different here from what they got at home.
She was dressed in a sleeveless plaid shirt and shorts for the heat. She quickly unbuttoned the shirt to expose her breasts – well, as much of them as she could. She always did have a nice set of tits on her slim rack. The only thing unsexy about this whole tropical archeological dig thing was the amount of mosquito