Kitabı oku: «Truly, Madly, Deeply», sayfa 4

4

ERICA WAS REASONABLY SURE Dustin would back down before her challenge. He had a whole other strategy mapped out that involved both of them getting naked, and this suggestion wouldn’t fit his preconceived idea. So she’d get credit for being a bold, swinging chick without having to follow through.

All her years of debate strategy were paying off, judging by the startled look in his eyes. Do the unexpected and gain the advantage. His phone call had been totally out of the blue, so he’d had the advantage in the beginning. By confessing that he’d been thinking about her for ten years, he’d lost a good part of that advantage, though.

Now his advantage was completely gone. Obviously she’d shocked him down to the toes of his expensive snakeskin boots.

His throat moved in a convulsive swallow. “I…that’s not what I—”

“How are you two coming along?” Henry sauntered back to the booth. “Are you saving room for dessert?”

Erica felt a naughty thrill knowing what she and Dustin had been discussing right before the portly restaurant owner showed up. She’d bet that Dustin was dealing with a major erection right now. The thought made her go all squishy inside, but she didn’t really want to make out in a restaurant booth. Of course not.

Sliding back to the middle of her seat, she gave Henry a broad smile as she glanced up at him. “Dessert sounds wonderful.”

“Terrific.” Henry clasped his hands in front of him. “We have mud pie, an unbelievable hot-fudge sundae, a raspberry cheesecake that’s out of this world, and pecan pie to die for. Why don’t I bring all of them and let you sample to your heart’s content?”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Erica looked over at Dustin and somehow managed to keep her face straight. “Are you up for that?”

He coughed. “Um, sure.”

“May I clear your plates?” Henry asked.

“You can take mine,” Erica said. “And it was delicious, Henry. Even the barbecue, and you know I’m not much of a carnivore.”

“I thought I’d tempt you with that sauce,” Henry said. “Be sure and mention the sauce in the review. We’re known for that.”

“I’ll be sure and mention the sauce.” Erica reached over to Dustin’s plate, swiped up a bit with her finger and licked it off, totally on purpose. She’d never been this motivated to sexually taunt a guy. “A taste that yummy should be illegal.”

Henry beamed. “My mom’s secret recipe.” He turned toward Dustin. “Sir, do you want to keep your plate?”

“No, that’s okay.” Dustin’s voice sounded gravelly. “You can take it.” He cleared his throat again. “It was very good, though.”

“A positive review in Dateline: Dallas guarantees increased traffic.” He picked up Dustin’s plate. “I’ve been trying to get Erica in here for months.” He glanced at her. “And the review will be out Saturday, right?”

“Absolutely. I’ll write it this afternoon.”

“Cool. I’ve scheduled everybody to work Saturday night, to handle the crowd. More beer for either of you?”

“One beer’s all I can handle if I’m going to make my deadline,” Erica said, “but iced tea would be nice.”

Henry looked at Dustin. “And what can I get for you?”

“The same, thanks.”

“Good deal. Be right back.”

After he left, Erica gazed at Dustin in silence, waiting to see if he’d say anything more about her outrageous suggestion.

“You weren’t serious about it, were you?” he asked at last.

“What makes you think I wasn’t serious?”

“Well, for one thing, Henry keeps wandering back here.”

She’d honestly forgotten about Henry, but that didn’t matter, because Dustin wouldn’t take her up on her offer. “The possibility of discovery increases the excitement,” she said, continuing to have fun with him. “I did one issue on restaurants where it would be possible to fool around. I keep getting requests for reprints of that issue.”

“Did you test out the restaurants personally?”

“I’ll take the Fifth on that.” Sadly enough, the guy she’d been dating at the time hadn’t had an adventurous bone in his body. When she’d tried to fondle him under the table, he’d insisted they leave the restaurant.

“I’ll bet you did it. Which is exactly what I’d expect of you. You’re one gutsy woman.”

She was pleased with that assessment. Maybe Dustin would go back to Midland and think about her for another ten years. This time she’d be able to visualize him pining away, and that would be sweet, indeed.

“Here we are—decadence personified.” Henry appeared and unloaded three dessert plates, a tall hot-fudge sundae and two iced teas.

“Positively sinful.” Erica winked at Dustin.

“Use that in the review,” Henry said. “Just say my sauce oughta be illegal and my desserts are positively sinful. I’ll have a line clear down the street Saturday night.”

“I hope you do.” Erica surveyed the banquet of sweets and decided to put a little more pressure on Dustin. “Thanks, Henry. You know what else I like about this place?”

“The charming owner?”

She smiled at him. Henry was gay, so she knew he wasn’t even remotely hitting on her. “Definitely. And also the fact that the service is discreet. You don’t hover over us while we eat. You leave us alone to enjoy our food.”

Henry flushed with obvious pleasure. “I try to treat people the way I’d like to be treated. I make sure they don’t need anything, but once I’m sure they’re all set, I disappear. Most people like a little privacy to enjoy their meal.”

“You’re smart to realize that,” Erica said.

“That said, I’ll leave you two to your desserts.” Henry bowed slightly. “Bon appétit.”

Once he was gone, Erica trained her gaze on Dustin. “Take whatever appeals to you.”

His chest rose and fell rapidly. “Did you do that on purpose?”

She played dumb. “Order dessert?”

“Let Henry know that we wanted to be left alone.”

She pulled the hot-fudge sundae toward her and dipped a spoon into the whipped cream. “You seemed worried about Henry running back here all the time, so I decided to remove that obstacle for you.” She licked the whipped cream from the edge of the spoon. Then she waved it over the table full of goodies. “Have some dessert.”

Dustin pulled the cheesecake plate in front of him. “I’ll bet if I came over there you’d freak.”

“Try me.” She picked the cherry up by its stem and dangled it above her mouth before plopping it inside. She was giddy with power. Dustin was squirming in his seat and wondering if she was as wild as she seemed to be. Sweet.

He grabbed a fork and ate the cheesecake automatically, shoveling it in like a robot unaware of what he was doing. “I should call your bluff.”

Pulling the cherry with her teeth, she twirled the stem between her fingers as she chewed and swallowed. Her heart hammered, but she kept her tone casual. “Assuming I’m bluffing.” This was the most fun she’d ever had in her entire life. All this teasing was giving her quite a buzz.

“You’re bluffing. You might have done something in a dark restaurant at night, but this is the middle of the day.” He finished the cheesecake and started on the mud pie. “No way would you go through with it.”

“Whatever you say.” Digging out some hot fudge, she left the spoon poised over the dish so the warm chocolate dribbled over the whipped cream. “You’re the one who said we couldn’t be friends if you didn’t give me an orgasm. I’m only trying to accommodate you.”

He paused, his fork in midair, and watched the hot fudge ooze from the tip of her spoon. In what looked like an unconscious gesture, he ran his tongue over his lips. “Tell me again when you’ll be finished with the newsletter?”

“I have to put it to bed, as we say, by noon tomorrow. I got behind this week so I’ll probably pull an all-nighter to get it done.” She turned the spoon upside down and slid it into her mouth as she held his gaze.

“Will you be free after that?”

She sucked the hot fudge from the spoon and slid it back out of her mouth. “I’ll have to check my calendar. I might have a date tomorrow night.” She didn’t. She’d broken up with Brian two months ago, and nobody promising had appeared on the horizon since then. But she had to protect herself, or she was liable to end up in Dustin’s hotel room tomorrow night.

Although she’d been an easy conquest once upon a time, she wouldn’t make that mistake again. No matter what he might say to the contrary, this could be all about the chase. Once she gave him what he wanted, he could easily drop her again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

His voice was husky with leashed tension. “You’re torturing me on purpose, aren’t you?”

She gestured with her spoon as she leaned toward him. “I’m trying to show you that this is an impossible situation you’re trying to set up. You can’t ride into my life after ten years and expect me to fall into bed with you so that you can have a perfect record with the ladies.”

“So you won’t see me tomorrow night?”

“I might, if I don’t have a date. But we have to have an understanding that I won’t go to bed with you. That would put way too much pressure on both of us.” And might leave me open to another painful rejection.

“All right.”

She was a little disappointed that he’d give up the campaign that easily, but she smiled as if pleased with his decision. “Good. Then we understand each other. I think eventually you’ll see that—” She paused as he eased out of the booth. “What are you doing?”

“Move over. I’m taking you up on your earlier offer.”

“Uh…” The spoon dropped from her fingers and clattered to the table.

He sat on the edge of her seat, his thigh brushing hers, his arm over the back of the vinyl seat. His mouth was inches from hers, his scent surrounded her, bringing a surge of memories. “Lost your nerve?” he murmured.

“No,” she lied, looking into eyes blue as the center of a flame. “You just…took me by surprise.” Do the unexpected, gain the advantage. She’d seriously miscalculated, and if she backed down now, she’d lose all the ground she’d won. Her reputation as a sophisticated, savvy chick would be seriously damaged. Then she realized with a jolt of awareness that she wanted to let him do this.

“You didn’t expect me to come through, did you?” His voice was soft, his touch even softer as he trailed warm fingers up the inside of her thigh. Only his quick, shallow breath and the intensity of his gaze revealed his excitement.

She could barely breathe, herself. “Seriously, no.” Her voice was choked with tension.

“You thought a clodhopper cowboy from Midland wouldn’t rise to the challenge.” He slid his hand under her short skirt and brushed the hem of her organic cotton panties. “But the way you’re throwing roadblocks in my way, this looks like my only option to change your mind about giving me a second chance.”

His warm hand on her inner thigh made her heart race, but she met his gaze, determined not to flinch. “I won’t change my mind. I’m still not going to bed with you.”

“Then this will have to do, won’t it?” He nudged her with his thigh. “Ease over a little and give me more room to work.”

She was so excited she thought she might pass out. “Have you…ever done something like this before?” She had visions of creating a scene that she’d never live down, but she was too aroused to care.

“Can’t say that I have. But I figure you’ll coach me.”

She swallowed and scooted further into the booth.

He followed, his hand wrapped around the inside of her right thigh. Then he angled his torso so that he blocked her from view and cupped his other hand around her shoulder. Holding her gaze, he stroked her thigh. “Last chance. Want to back out?”

Not bloody likely. Not when she was burning like this. She shook her head. A woman of the millennium should be able to take her satisfaction whenever and wherever she wanted. And he was right—he owed her. Taking her pay-back this way, wild as it was, didn’t scare her as much as the bedroom scene.

He rubbed his knuckles over the damp cotton crotch of her panties. “I think you want this.”

“Maybe.” She gripped the edge of the table with both hands.

“No maybe about it.” He worked his fingers through the elastic leg opening. “Damn. You’re so wet.”

As if he had to tell her. The minute he’d laid his hand on her thigh she’d become drenched. She caught her breath as he slid two fingers inside. Her muscles automatically tightened around them.

“Oh, you’re ready.” His lips parted as he stroked slowly back and forth, curving his fingers upward to ride along her G-spot. “This will be easy.”

She held back a moan and closed her eyes.

“Better open your eyes.” His voice was rough and breathy. “Make it look like we’re having a serious conversation.”

Her eyelids fluttered upward and she looked into the furnace of his gaze. “You want me…to talk?”

“Sure.” He brought his thumb into play, brushing it lazily back and forth. “That gatekeeper of yours is getting real excited. Tell me how this feels.”

Her tongue felt as swollen as that gatekeeper he was teasing. “Good,” she whispered.

“I thought so. Your cheeks are pink and your eyes are dark, like there’s a storm rolling in.” He thrust with his fingers as he kept up the relentless motion with his thumb.

“There…is.” She clutched the edge of the table and started to close her eyes again.

“Don’t close your eyes.” He seemed winded. Leaning closer, he subtly increased the rhythm of his fingers as his breath came in ragged bursts. “Come for me, Erica.”

In an instant the spasms took hold of her. She clenched her jaw against the cries that threatened to erupt and clamped her thighs tight, holding his hand prisoner. Then she ducked her head, closed her eyes and struggled for breath.

“Incredible,” he murmured.

“Not…bad.” She drew in one trembling breath after another. He’d taken the edge off, but an insistent throbbing told her that if he started over, she’d come again.

He leaned in close. “You’re not even finished, are you?”

She grasped his wrist and pulled his hand from between her thighs. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“I don’t believe it. You’re still humming like a top.”

She looked into his eyes and heat simmered between them. “We need to go.”

Eagerness flashed in his gaze. “We sure as hell do. Your place or mine?”

“Mine, but you’re not staying.” And he would have no idea how much she wanted him to. “I have a newsletter to put out.” Thank God for the newsletter. It would keep her from making a complete fool of herself.

His jaw tightened. “Would it be the end of the world if you missed the deadline? You told me yourself that the newsletter isn’t all that important. So it’s a little late. So what?”

“My subscribers expect to get it Saturday, and they’ll get it Saturday. Henry’s planning on my review, for another thing. Didn’t you hear him say that he’ll have a full staff on hand to deal with the rush of customers?”

“Not really. I was thinking of something else.”

She didn’t have to ask what that was. Now she’d have sex on the brain, too. Putting out the newsletter would be a challenge when all she wanted to do was fool around with Dustin. That would be a dumb move. She was so totally lucky to have an obligation she couldn’t ignore.

She put a hand on his arm and tried to sound blasé. “Dustin, that was great. Truly. A peak experience. But I have to go back to my apartment and work.” She smiled at him. “And now we’re even.”

“This wasn’t about being even, damn it. We still haven’t…you still don’t know whether I…”

“Can go the distance? I’m sure you can.” She wouldn’t mind finding out for herself, but that was too dangerous. “Now I really do need to go home.”

He sighed. “Getting out of this booth may take a moment.”

“I understand.” All in all, things were going very well between them. This little interlude hadn’t cooled him off at all. He was even more hot to have her. She wanted him to leave Dallas in that same condition. No way would she be an item checked off his list of things-to-do.

Eventually they left the restaurant. She called out a cheery goodbye to Henry, but Dustin only waved and didn’t look cheerful at all.

He remained silent for the first half of the ride back to her apartment. Finally he cleared his throat and spoke. “I didn’t realize your restaurant reviews had such an impact. Why do you think that is?”

She’d wondered about that herself. The rush of business after her first review had surprised both her and the restaurant owner. Her girlfriends had helped her analyze it, so now she had an answer to give him.

“The newsletter hits the right market, for one thing,” she said. “Single people eat out a lot. And I don’t review a restaurant unless several friends tell me it’s good, so my reviews are always positive and people trust my judgment. But I’ve had a good response even before people knew they could trust me, so I’ve had to conclude something else is going on.”

“What else?”

“Sex.”

He nearly ran a red light and laid a strip of rubber as he slammed on the brakes. “Are you telling me that what happened today is something you do all the time? And then write about it?”

“No. Today was unique. And I won’t tell a soul.”

His shoulders relaxed.

“Dustin, I’m not that uninhibited.”

“Anything’s possible. You were a rabble-rouser in high school, and I haven’t seen you in ten years.”

She laughed, happy to have him think of her as a wild woman. “When I said sex, I meant the way I write the review has sexual overtones. I didn’t realize I was doing it until one of my friends pointed it out. Now I purposely make the food sound sexy.”

“Like sauce that should be illegal and positively sinful desserts.”

“Exactly.”

“So you realize perfectly well that sex sells, and you’re using that to your advantage.”

“Okay, maybe I am.” She’d barely been willing to admit that to herself. Dateline: Dallas was really all about sex, even the date-worthy attractions. Movies were rated as to whether they’d get a date in the mood. She usually recommended nightclubs with dark, cozy corners, and outdoor trip suggestions always included one or two secluded spots for canoodling.

She was promoting places where people could get it on. Then in her column, she helped them figure out how best to do it. Fun and games—that’s what she was all about. Instead of seeking social reform, she was immersed in social intercourse. Literally. No wonder her parents hadn’t commended her on the success of her newsletter.

“Erica, if you don’t bottle this winning formula of yours and export it all around the country, you’re crazy. Whether you want to tie in with me or not is up to you. It’s obvious we have some issues between us, and maybe I’m not the guy you want to do business with, but you need to find somebody to back you. You’ve struck pure gold.”

“Fool’s gold,” she said softly.

He pulled into the parking lot of her building, but he kept the motor running. “Then if you really believe that, throw the damn thing together as fast as you can and give me a call.”

“I can’t throw it together. You know that.”

He gazed at her, his expression disguised by his sunglasses. “I dare you to stop writing about sex and come over to the hotel and have some. Call anytime. After what happened at lunch, I’m sure I’ll be awake all night.”

5

ALL THE WAY BACK to his hotel, Dustin cursed the very quality he admired most in Erica. If she weren’t so damned conscientious, she’d be in bed with him all afternoon, all night, maybe for the entire time he was in Dallas. Instead she was putting together a newsletter that she claimed not to care about.

He didn’t buy that. She loved what she was doing, and yet she was so hung up on wanting to deal with big issues that she couldn’t admit that the newsletter was worthwhile. He couldn’t see a damn thing wrong with spreading the newsletter concept all over the country. It would help the local economy in each city and teach couples to have more fun.

But that was his opinion, and he couldn’t expect her to listen to anything a guy like him had to say. He was tainted by the oil business that had fed and clothed him for his entire life. From what he could tell, he had only one trump card to play when it came to Erica—she craved his body.

The feeling was entirely mutual. All he had to do was sniff the tips of his fingers and he was in a state of taut readiness. He’d thought he was one bad dude when it came to women, but he’d never experienced anything like those moments in the restaurant booth. Now that he’d seen Erica in the grip of a climax, he wanted a repeat performance.

Ten years ago he’d had a short-but-sweet plunge into her warm, wet body. But darkness had kept him from seeing much and they’d left some of their clothes on, anyway. Today he’d been able to watch the turmoil in her eyes when she’d climaxed. He’d seen her breasts quiver with each gasp and felt the ripple of her orgasm against his fingers.

Now he wanted it all—the meeting of mouths, the slide of naked bodies, the leisure to explore. He wanted Erica’s hands on his penis, and her mouth, too, for that matter. From the way she responded to him, he knew she fantasized about making love for hours, too. If he could overcome her resistance, they’d set the sheets on fire.

He was a tiny bit worried, though. She was such a babe and so incredibly sexy that she’d test the control he was proud of, the control that he wanted to demonstrate thoroughly for her. Still he’d take the risk if he could get her to agree.

Somehow he’d manage that. He was more determined about it now than he had been this morning driving to Dallas. Although he couldn’t explain why, he felt that her refusal to go to bed with him and her decision to drop the newsletter were tied together. It would definitely help if she trusted him more, but maybe this was about trusting herself, too. He sure could relate to that problem, considering how he struggled with self-confidence.

Once back in his hotel room, he gazed at the clock on the nightstand and realized he had a hell of a lot of time to kill before Erica put the paper to bed. She’d used that phrase on purpose, along with several other tricks to drive him crazy. If her goal had been to make his tongue drag on the ground, she’d succeeded.

But then she’d left him to stew. He didn’t appreciate that, and he didn’t intend to hang around the room feeling sorry for himself. His two racing buddies might not be the kind of guys he’d ask for business advice, but they knew how to party. He dug his address book out of his briefcase and reached for the phone.

USUALLY ERICA COULD BANG OUT a restaurant review in an hour. That’s all the time she’d allotted herself for this one, because she still had to pull together her main feature article about a day at Six Flags, write a review of a foreign film she’d seen at the beginning of the week and answer three more letters for her advice column.

Then she had to proof the whole thing, figure out her layout and round up some clever fillers. With a sigh she acknowledged that her fillers were always about sex. Anyone would think she was fixated on the subject.

She hoped that wasn’t true in general. But today it seemed to be all too true. Admittedly she’d never tried to write a review of a meal that had ended with a man giving her a climax under the table.

No matter how determined she was to get the words down, she’d only type for a few minutes before lapsing into a daydream about her lunch with Dustin. Then a bird outside her window or the chiming of her clock would remind her that she was sitting there motionless, not getting the work done.

If she wasn’t reliving their amazing time together, she was wondering what he was doing now that she’d abandoned him. She’d left him in quite a state. Although that had been her intent, now she felt guilty about it. She was still plenty aroused herself, and she’d had a chance to release some of that tension. She could only imagine how frustrated he must be.

Maybe he’d take matters into his own hands. Now that she had that picture in her head, she’d never be able to finish the review. Judging from the letters she received for her column, men weren’t shy about taking the edge off when they couldn’t get satisfaction from the woman they were seeing. She’d even recommended masturbation to guys whose sex drive was greater than their girlfriends’. It was way better than having an affair.

She wondered if Dustin preferred the bed or the shower, whether he took his pleasure fast or slow. Maybe he’d think of her at the time, and maybe he wouldn’t. He might picture her hand stroking him…

Damn it, this wasn’t getting her anywhere except ready to go find the vibrator in her nightstand drawer. Or call Dustin and ask him to come over. No. She would not cave in to these inappropriate urges. And she would get this review written.

Using every ounce of willpower she had, she kept her fingers moving over the keys for the next half hour and was fooling around with the final sentence of the review when her doorbell rang. Her first thought was that Dustin had decided to ignore her wishes and barge in anyway. Her heart began to pound and the dull ache of arousal that had plagued her all afternoon blossomed into full-blown lust.

But a look through her door’s peephole quieted her body’s response. Her buddy Denise, a short brunette who wrote obits for the Morning News, stood outside holding a bag of Chinese takeout. Erica opened the door with a smile.

“I knew this was deadline night,” Denise said. She’d pulled her long hair into a ponytail and was dressed in shorts and a Cowboys T-shirt. “And you’ve been known to go without food, so I decided to bring some over. I won’t stay. Unless you could use some help, that is.”

“I could use some company, but I won’t take the help unless you’ll let me pay you.” She led the way into her kitchen.

“You’ve already given me a complimentary subscription.” Denise put the bag on the table and began taking out aromatic cartons. “And I get a real thrill out of writing about live people once in a while. I got you vegetables and fried rice, plus we each have an egg roll and some egg-drop soup. But you can have a bite of my Kung Pao Chicken if you want to live dangerously.”

“I’m already living dangerously.” Erica poured iced tea and took out plates and silverware. She liked eating Chinese with Denise because Denise didn’t consider it necessary to struggle with chopsticks.

“How so?” Denise took her usual seat nearest the wall.

Erica sat down across from her and began dishing out her meal. “Do you remember when you, Josie and I got smashed on margaritas for Cinco de Mayo?”

Denise paused with a spoonful of rice halfway to her plate. “And we each told about how we lost our virginity.” She rapped the spoon against her plate to dislodge the sticky rice. “Yep, I remember.”

“Well, my Virginity Guy turned up today.”

Denise looked at her, wide-eyed. “No shit. The overprivileged jock from Midland?”

“Right. And he says he ignored me after we had sex because he was embarrassed about his poor performance.”

“It took him ten years to admit that?” Denise ladled some Kung Pao Chicken over her rice. “I’m not impressed.”

“Apparently he’s been thinking about me all that time, and…he wants another shot.”

Denise began to grin. “Outstanding.” She dug a fork into her food. “So what’s your plan?”

That was just it. She needed a plan. She opened her mouth to explain the complications.

“Wait, don’t tell me. Let me guess. You’re going to lead him on, and maybe, if he’s very, very deserving, you’ll let him have sex with you. Then you’ll dropkick his butt back to Midland.” Denise chewed her food and gazed at Erica with an expression of triumph.

If only she could do that. She shoved her vegetables and rice around her plate. “He’s very cute.”

“That’s a plus. You might as well enjoy yourself while you’re getting revenge.”

“I’m just afraid—” she paused and glanced up at Denise “—that I’ll like it too much. That I’ll want to keep him around.”

Denise’s smile faded. “Have you been thinking about him for ten years?”

“Kind of.” Erica took a sip of her iced tea.

“You never got over him.”

“I don’t know.” Erica sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I thought I had. Then I saw him again, and realized no one has ever turned me on like he does. But he’s totally wrong for me. He’s all V-8 engines and juicy steaks. His goals are completely opposite mine. He wants to provide financial backing so I can franchise my silly little newsletter in other big cities, maybe take it national.”

“Wow. I can see the problem. The guy may offer great sex and untold riches, but I’ll bet he doesn’t even recycle his beer bottles.”

Erica laughed. “Probably not. Go ahead, make fun of me.”

“I’m just jealous. My Virginity Guy is married with three kids. Nobody’s ever held a torch for me for ten months, let alone ten years. But I don’t want to see you get hurt, so maybe you’re right to steer clear.”

“I think so.”

“But can’t you picture yourself decked out in a Victoria’s Secret number and turning this guy inside out? Wouldn’t you love to show him that the shy little virgin is now one hot babe?”

“Yes, damn it!” She’d already made strides in that direction at lunch today, and she’d spent part of the afternoon fantasizing how she could build on the excellent beginning. Leaning her elbows on the table, she cupped her face in both hands. “I wish I could use him for sex and send him back where he came from. But what if I get all tangled up in this guy? There’s every chance he’d drop me before I could drop him. That would be a hideous ending to the story.”

“How soon’s he going back to Midland?”

“He’s here for two nights. And I told him I wouldn’t be available until after I took the newsletter to the printer at noon.”