Authors Note: Sorry for the wait. I copied and pasted the last bit of the last chapter just to remind you all of where I left it off last time. I was gonna make this one the last chapter, but I'm having one more. I could have put the rest of it in this chapter, but I wanted to update quickly, since its taken so long. WARNING: this chapter has some swearing in it. Hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 23

That was Elena's problem with the bet though. Reno was doing better than her because he managed to twist it around to suit him. Elena however, could not pick on the redhead's weaknesses to manipulate the bet in the same way that he did.

'So…?' she thought to herself as she pulled on a fresh t-shirt. 'What are Reno's weaknesses?'

"Weaknesses, weaknesses…" Elena muttered to herself as she rifled through her clothes drawers. "What are his weaknesses…?"

Suddenly, her hand brushed against something soft somewhere at the bottom of the drawer. She reached in and pulled out a top that she hadn't seen in years. It was made of a soft pink material, and was very low-cut and revealing. She had been given it has a gift a while back, but it had been too small for her then. She hadn't tried it on since she had become a Turk though, so maybe it would fit her now she had been getting more exercise.

She quickly pulled it on and looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit, it actually looked really good, and it was a perfect fit. An idea forming in her head, Elena continued to search through her clothes until she came across a short, black skirt. Usually, she wouldn't have the confidence to dress like this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She pulled off her trousers and slipped the skirt on, looking in satisfaction at the result. A little eyeliner and lip-gloss later, along with a quick ruffle of her hair, Elena was ready to go and test her little experiment out.

Reno looked taken aback when she walked back into the living room, there was no mistaking his jaw dropping slightly as she smiled and strolled casually past the redhead, who was now sitting on the couch, and stood by the window.

"You're a little dressed up, aren't ya?" Reno said. He had a smirk on his face, but Elena could see he was struggling to take his eyes off her.

"Oh yeah…" Elena smiled at his, her eyes slightly narrowed in a suggestive way. "Just the first thing I grabbed from my drawers."

"Right…" Reno raised his eyebrows and shook his head, but still, his eyes did not move. "I know what ya playin' at."

"Yeah?" Elena laughed lightly and walked slowly over to where Reno was sitting. He moved backwards in his seat, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Don't pretend it's not working." she said in a soft voice, leaning toward the redhead. His bottom lip shivered slightly, and Elena pulled away, laughing.

"W-whatever, 'Laney." Reno watched her out of the corner of his eye as she sat down next to him.

She stretched her arms up, knowing her top had ridden up slightly, revealing some of her stomach. Reno's eyes travelled downwards and he swallowed slowly, his Adam's apple twitching.

"Fancy a little re-enactment of what we did earlier?" Reno asked, his usual smug expression returning to his face. Elena was determined not to let him win however.

She leaned right forwards so her lips were inches from his. She could feel his hot, shuddering breath on her face.

"Now, Reno… that wouldn't be very responsible, would it?" she whispered. The redhead blinked, his aquamarine eyes filled with lust that couldn't be disguised. That lust was the last thing Elena saw however, before her mind forced her eyes to close when Reno's soft lips pressed against hers.

Her heart filled with all sorts of elation. For a start, there was no denying she had won the bet now. The main thing however, was that she had seen Reno's true desire for her for the first time. She let him kiss her for a moment, savoring the emotions, but then she pulled away and laughed loudly.

"That's it!" she exclaimed. "I win."

"Fuck you!" Reno shouted, suddenly looking very alert. "You don't win shit!"

"Yes, I do. If I didn't just win with that little outburst, nobody is ever going to win." Elena said, standing up. She could tell from Reno's expression that he knew he was going to lose.

"Yeah?" he said, reaching up and grabbing her wrist. "Win this."

He pulled her back down onto the couch and pushed her so she was on her back. Elena waited with bated breath until the redhead had positioned himself so he had Elena pinned to the couch. He leaned down and kissed her. Even though Elena had felt his lips against hers many times now, it still felt as powerful as the first time. There was a passion in Reno's aura that had never been there before. It felt like nothing in the world could interrupt them, until they heard a small cough coming from the doorway.

"Oh shi-" Reno began, but Elena clapped her hand over his mouth before he could finish. The redhead jumped off her and looked awkwardly at the new arrival.

"Mornin' Drake." he said innocently, grinning.

"You were doing naughty things." The little blond boy said bluntly.

"Naughty?" Reno scoffed. "Pfft… haven't ya been taught the facts of life yet, kid? Go on the internet if ya wanna find out what's naughty."

"Reno, shut up." Elena smacked the redhead lightly on the head. "Just because you lost the bet doesn't mean you can be vulgar again."

"I didn't freakin' lose!" Reno growled, staring seriously at the blond. It was funny how worked up he could get for such a trivial thing.

"Reno, in the past 5 minutes you've sworn 2 and a half times, tried to introduce a child to pornography, and given into the basic animal instincts only you have. And they're not things I would do now, are they?"

"Yeah?" Reno looked her up and down. "And I don't think I'd go dressin' in a skimpy top and mini-skirt to seduce the nearest man, would I? But there ya are."

Elena ignored the disturbing mental picture that last comment had put in her head and glared angrily at the redhead. "You try and seduce people of the opposite sex in exactly the same way. Unless you're suggesting we should've both gone and had sex-change operations, I say I won fair and square."

"'I say I won fair and square.'" Reno mimicked in a childish voice. "Well I say you can shut the f-"

"That's it." Elena clapped her hand over Reno's mouth before he could utter the inevitable profanity. "There's only one man who can settle this argument."

"Oh, no, Elena…" Reno shot her a warning glare. "If you're thinkin' what I'm thinkin' , that's not a good idea…"

"Well, you're quite clearly not going to listen to me, are you?" Elena stated. "Rude is the only person you ever listen to."

"I only listen to him a tiny amount more than I listen to anybody else…" the redhead retorted. "And that's because he could rip me in two if he really wanted to."

"I would like to think you listen to him because he's your best friend and you respect his opinion." Elena shook her head at the amused expression on Reno's face. "But we both know you're not going to admit to that."

"Weeell… ya can't make me go and see Rude." Reno smirked and crossed his arms.

"No, I can't." Elena returned the smile with equal smugness. "But I can ask Rude to come here. And I'm sure he'll be even more angry at you then; I'm sure he's very busy at work."

"Fine." Reno sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'll go if it'll shut you up."