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  She shook her head. He had to do what he felt right, but she didn’t like the thought of some skank trying to hook her claws into him.

  “Sorry, Shelby.”

  “For what?”

  “I’m supposed to keep this light, right? Just hotter than hell sex. And here I am yakking about my job. Ignore me.” He gave her a peck on the lips.

  “No, it’s okay.” She felt suddenly shy and had no idea why. “I like you talking to me. About work, I mean. It’s not a problem.”

  He frowned but nodded. “Well, if you’re sure. I don’t want to screw this up, what you and I are doing.” He stared at her breasts and grinned. “Man, I should have been a doctor.”

  She laughed, and for the first time in months didn’t inwardly flinch when someone mentioned the Rick the Prick’s profession. “I agree. You’d have a ton of repeat clients, I can tell you that.”

  “Long as you’re one of them, I’m good.”

  The smiled at one another, the mood intimate.

  Shelby cleared her throat. “Next time, I pick the place.”

  “Anytime, anywhere. Although my office will never be the same. It’s tough to concentrate in there now. I’ll be in the middle of work and remember you splayed out on my desk.”

  “Well it’s not going to be easy forgetting what we did in here. Thank God my doctor is a woman. I couldn’t handle putting my feet in stirrups for a man after what you just did. He’d be down at that end and I’d keep wondering what was going into me.”

  He chuckled and adjusted himself in his pants. “Damn. Cut that out. I have to go back to work. I really don’t need to be showing off my package.”

  “But it’s such a nice package.” One that Grace woman needed to keep her hands off of.

  He kissed her once more. “Back to work.” He paused. “I have some family stuff to do Saturday, but I’m free Sunday. To get together again, I mean.”

  Later tonight sounded even better, but she didn’t want to appear greedy. Or needy. “That works for me. How about Sunday afternoon, my place?”

  “Perfect.” He looked relieved. He couldn’t possibly believe she’d say no to more sex from him, could he? “Text me the details. Bye, Shelby.”

  She watched him go. The minute he left, she sagged to the table and wondered what she’d gotten herself into. He was dangerous. The first time with him had been bad enough, but after playing doctor, she wanted him even more. Again. But trust her dumb psyche not to be content with just the sex. Her emotions started spider-webbing all over the place, wanting bits of him to linger with every thought and breath.

  She made a mental note to be early for her doctor’s appointment tomorrow. She liked that Shane trusted her and didn’t want him to think his faith misplaced. That warm fuzzy feeling blossomed into affection. What if sex between them proved him to not only be an outstanding lover, which she could verify, but boyfriend material as well?

  “Shut up, romantic Shelby.” And this was why she’d had her heart broken before. She’d seen Rick’s problems but had overlooked them because he had looks, a decent profession, and seemed to like her. Now she had Shane, who had looks, a decent profession, and seemed to like her. Except unlike Rick, Shane had been bluntly honest from the beginning. They would have sex and nothing else. A friendly relationship centered on orgasms and naughtiness.

  She could handle that. She prized honesty above all things. But that didn’t mean she had to be honest with herself. Not yet. Because she had a feeling the sex with Shane was turning into a crush she might not be able to stop. She didn’t look forward to heartache again, but damn if she could resist him. Not good, not good at all.

  Chapter Twelve

  Shelby toyed with her food Saturday night. She’d met Maggie at Maggie’s house, due for a good girl’s night out. Which with Maggie, amounted to a pot of buckwheat spaghetti, Maggie’s killer pesto sauce, and a healthy salad, followed by some decadent chocolate dessert and a movie on the television.

  “What did I do?” Maggie asked.

  Shelby started. “What?”

  “You’re not eating my famous noodles. And you’ve barely commented on my hair.” Maggie twirled her shorter locks. The more severe cut made her look even more like the model she insisted she would never be again.

  “I’m sorry. Work this week was tough. Denise and Ann did their thing, but I’m feeling burned out.” And frazzled because she couldn’t stop thinking about Shane. It was killing her not to tell Maggie, but she really didn’t want her mother and Ron bothering her about him.

  “Tell me what’s wrong. I can help.” Maggie blinked at her with those big blue eyes, and Shelby weakened.

  “It’s just…” The notion of her mother cornering Shane and scaring him away before Shelby could make sense of what he might mean in her life scared her straight. “I feel bad that I’m manless. Does that make sense?”

  “Join the friggin’ club.”

  “But you’re manless because you choose to be, not because you can’t find one. You’re different than I am.”

  “Well, I’m smarter, sure.”

  Shelby ignored the smartass comment. “I mean, I’ve never been really sure when it comes to guys. Before Rick, there weren’t that many interested in me.”

  “That’s because you don’t see yourself the way others do. You call yourself average, but you’re beautiful. You’re built like a real woman, with curves. But you’re toned too. You know what I wouldn’t give to be taller than five-four?”

  “Five-three.”

  “And a half. But the point is, you’re closed off because you’re insecure.”

  The insight surprised Shelby.

  “You definitely fit the profile.”

  “What profile?”

  Maggie looked so earnest as she leaned over the kitchen table. “The one about beautiful but insecure women that Dr. Phil talked about yesterday on television.”

  Shelby groaned. “Not the relationship special. I thought I told you not to watch that?” Maggie had a bad habit of following talk show advice.

  Maggie shrugged. “Say what you want, but I need as much help as you do. I seem to go for losers. You refuse to see that guys want to date you. Remember Todd what’s-his-face from last month?”

  “No.”

  Maggie huffed. “You know, the dark-haired guy hanging around your office all the time? I ran into him by accident, and he knocked me over Denise.”

  “Oh, that guy.” Shelby grinned. “Now I remember.”

  “He liked you.”

  “He was a client. He hung around because he was booking an appointment.”

  “So he could date you. Hell, I was right there. He danced around your availability for like ten minutes. It was embarrassing to watch you ignore him.”

  “I didn’t ignore him.” Shelby frowned. “I don’t remember it like that. He wanted to know where to go out in town, since he was new to Queen Anne. I gave him a few ideas, booked him an appointment which he never showed up for, and that was that.”

  “You are so clueless.” Maggie shook her head. “He wanted to go out with you. He asked you to go to dinner with him.”

  “He did not!”

  “He almost asked it. Until you bluntly asked why he staring at you. You’re kind of intimidating, you know? You sounded mean.”

  Shane didn’t seem to mind her being mean. Even when she’d been rude to him, he’d laughed it off.

  “And Bob?” Maggie continued.

  “Bob was an idiot.” A contractor who had spent way too much time fixing her pipes when he should have gotten the job done right the first time. “Only thing I can’t fault him for is that he didn’t charge me for all those follow-up visits.”

  Maggie smacked herself in the head.

  “What?”

  “You are so clueless.” She stuffed her face full of noodles and washed it down with wine.

  “What movie do you have for us tonight?” Shelby asked to change the subject.

  “It’ll keep.” Maggi
e paused. “So I’m thinking of joining a new gym.”

  “Okay.”

  “Not to get fit, but to get paid. I’ll be working there. You should come to my class.”

  Shelby groaned. “Didn’t I tell you when we first met? I’m a walker, and on bad days, a runner under protest. Aerobics is for more coordinated people. I felt off a step once, in the middle of my one and only class. It was embarrassing.”

  “But I’m teaching. The place is a step up from the other gyms I worked. You have to go and tell my new boss how great I am.”

  Maggie sounded desperate, and Shelby wondered if her friend had been having money problems again. Though Maggie seemed to do well with her hours at the gallery, teaching aerobics helped fill in the gaps while her artwork started to sell. Lately she’d been doing better on her commissions, selling more through Shantell than she’d thought she might. But Maggie would be the last person to ask for financial help, even if she needed it.

  “It means that much to you to keep this new job? What if your boss is a loser? Or the gym is for steroid abusers and catty women?”

  Maggie got that stubborn look on her face. “It’s a nice place. I don’t want to lose the job.”

  “Fine, fine.” Shelby held up her hands and pushed her half-eaten plate away. “I’ll come. Just tell me when and where.” As long as it’s not tomorrow.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about Shane and what they’d do during his visit. It was her turn to come up with something sexy. She had to top his doctor fantasy. With so much she wanted to do, she didn’t know what he might consider off limits, and what he might really be into.

  “Hey, Maggie.” She joined her friend in the living room to watch the movie.

  “Yeah?”

  “Ever wonder what it would be like to have a man cater to your fantasies? I mean, to have a guy who would do whatever you wanted in bed? What would you make him do?”

  “Ooh, I love these kinds of conversations.” Maggie muted the television and faced Shelby on the couch. “Well, not to get too involved, but I kind of like the idea of being overtaken by someone stronger, you know? I mean, I’m smaller than most men, but I have a tendency to be kind of aggressive.”

  “You think?”

  “Please. Pot calling kettle, hello? Except you look as tough as I really am. Every guy treats me like glass when we date, like I’ll break because I’m not huge. Dominance sounds like fun, but not the kind where the guy wears leather and makes me call him Master. Something a little tamer, I think. What about you?”

  “I don’t know. I read a lot of books with sexy storylines. Slave girl sounds fun. So does roping my own cowboy.”

  “What about a threesome? I’ve read a few of those. Thought about doing it too.”

  Shelby shook her head. “No way. I have a hard enough time with one guy.”

  “But just for the sex, not a relationship.”

  “Nope. Just one. But I wouldn’t mind trying a lot of other stuff. Bondage, maybe.” She flushed, suddenly knowing what she Shane should do tomorrow.

  “Hmm, that does sound like fun.” Maggie laughed. “Now if we had a few guys on hand, we could make some magic happen.” She turned and grabbed a bag of chocolate covered pretzels. “But since we don’t, how about some fun food, a scary movie, and more wine?”

  “Sounds good. What’s tonight’s entertainment?”

  “The original Nightmare on Elm Street. One of my personal favorites.”

  “You just like Freddy’s glove.”

  “Yep. And I’m wearing it this Halloween. I look good in red and green stripes, don’t I?”

  The woman looked good in everything. But it was funny how much Maggie enjoyed being scary, considering she looked so soft and feminine. The opposite of terrifying.

  “Don’t say it,” Maggie warned, expecting what Shelby so often told her.

  “Fine.” She paused. “But beauty is not a curse.”

  “You would know.”

  “Yeah right.”

  “You’re pretty,” Maggie stated in as insulting a tone as possible.

  “No, I’m not.” Shelby was okay, not ugly, but nothing like Maggie.

  “Are too. Beautiful with a capital B. Now shut up and watch while Freddy gets ready to rip into Johnny Depp.”

  “Loudmouth.”

  “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…”

  * * *

  Shane couldn’t wait to see Shelby again. Though they’d had sex just three days ago, it felt like forever since he’d been with her. Mac would have called him a pussy for wanting to see the woman’s smile so much, but Shane couldn’t help it. He had a bad feeling he could really fall for her, and though it had a lot to do with their natural chemistry, more of it had to do with the woman he sensed hiding behind sexual need.

  He arrived on her doorstep at two on Sunday afternoon. He knocked on the door of a cute townhouse a few blocks from her work. The door opened, and he entered into a contemporary living room done in bright colors. Unlike his house, she had clutter, and a lot of it. But she also had a sense of organization, so that her myriad crystal figurines, artwork, and eclectic furniture seemed cozy and not crazy.

  The door shut behind him, and he turned to face her. The blood rushed from his head and centered between his legs. The woman wore a red lace teddy that cupped her breasts yet left a hint of her nipples exposed. It also showed off her tapered waist and rounded thighs. And when she turned, Christ, he saw a thong between those luscious cheeks.

  She turned back around and smiled at him. “I’ve been waiting for you.” He saw she wore a bit of make-up. He liked her face without it, but right now she looked like a siren out to seduce him. Dark black lined her eyes, and her lips shone a glossy pink. Man, he couldn’t wait to feel those lips around his cock.

  Any ideas he’d had about getting to know her better before sinking his dick into her again disappeared.

  “You’re in my house. My rules,” she whispered before stepping closer and looking him over.

  He wore jeans and a button down shirt, casual clothing he’d planned to discard the moment she said so. He had no problem following her lead, because he was curious to know what she fantasized about. The teddy, now that was something he might have asked her to wear. To know she wanted to wear it only made her that much hotter.

  Her long hair draped over toned shoulders and curled over the exposed slopes of her breasts. He couldn’t quite see her pussy past the red silk covering her, but he saw snaps and knew he could have easy access when needed.

  His cock pressed uncomfortably against his jeans. He’d gone without underwear, wanting to give her easy access to him whenever she wanted it. God, he still had a hard time believed he’d really fucked Shelby Vanzant. The Amazon who’d captivated him from the first kept getting better and better.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked, his voice thick.

  “Everything I tell you to. At first…”

  At first? He couldn’t wait to see what she had in mind.

  “Come into the back room.”

  He followed her into her bedroom. Pale blue walls framed the centerpiece, a large brass bed that had scarves tied to the corner posts. Oh hell yeah, he was going to love letting her have the lead. He almost wished Lisa was here to see him behaving in a thoroughly non-vanilla way. But then again, he couldn’t imagine doing anything outside of missionary with her. The few times he’d tried, she’d given him so many instructions he’d lost the will to carry on.

  Odd how his few times with Shelby beat anything he and Lisa had done, and he’d thought himself in love with his ex. Maybe he was more like Mac than he thought. Because he didn’t know Shelby all that well, but he felt connected to her from a few sexual romps. Or maybe—

  “You’re thinking too hard.” She shoved him forward and he landed face down on the bed.

  Before he could move, she lay on his back, and he stilled.

  “That’s better,” she practically purred. “Now let me take off these clothes
of yours.” She left him to remove his shoes and socks.

  He wondered if she could hear his heart beat, because it sounded like banging war drums to him. He was really hard, stirred up because he had no idea of what she might do next. It was like telling secrets to a stranger. The ability to be anyone and do anything with Shelby was a freedom all in itself.

  “I’m yours.” He cleared his throat, alarmed at how much he liked that simple phrase and the implications that went with it. “I mean, whatever you want to do, I’m good. Nothing is off limits for me, nothing too kinky for us to try. You’re completely in charge.”

  She leaned up over him and whispered in his ear, “I’m so glad you said that.”

  Her breasts pressed against his back, and he swore he could feel the points of her nipples against his shoulder blade. Wishful thinking, but the mental image had a huge effect on his erection.

  She leaned up and tugged at his shirt. He helped her take it off him. Then he felt her hands reach around him to the snap of his pants. Her fingers brushed his abdomen, caught between his flesh and the bed, and he shuddered.

  “Have I told you how sexy you are? That belly is so tight.” She kissed his neck and he arched his hips to give her easier access to his fly. Reading his actions, she pried open his jeans. The button first, then the slow glide of the zipper over his cock.

  Once the denim parted, she reached inside and gripped him tight, running her fingers over his slick cockhead. “Oh yeah. My big boy is ready for me.”

  He groaned and pushed into her hand, ready to come right now.

  “But not yet.” She let him go and stepped back. He helped her take off his jeans, careful to positioned himself belly down over her bed. He didn’t know how keen she’d be if he came all over her pretty blue comforter.

  “Shelby, your bed is—”

  “Hold that thought.” She moved away and returned, then slid something near his head. He glanced at a copy of her medical report. Touched that she’d gone through with her physical even though he’d pretty much made health issues a moot point by going down on her last time, he read over it and handed it back when finished.