LITMIR.BIZ

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sitting in this booth with Jack Montrose.

      “It’s just…this is odd. Why did you call me tonight?”

      “I want to get to know you better.”

      “How much better?”

      “Naked,” he said, lifting one eyebrow and gazing straight through her to her soul.

      She wanted to see him naked, too. He probably had an all-over tan, and she could tell from the cut of his sweater and jeans that there wasn’t any spare fat on his body. “Well, that’s to the point.”

      He leaned across the table, all possessive male intent on keeping the advantage. Another shiver slithered down her spine and she leaned toward him. Their faces were inches apart. She felt the brush of his breath against her cheek.

      “You were hedging toward it too slowly for my tastes.”

      “I’m not a speedy person.”

      “I am.”

      His gaze fastened on her mouth. She licked her lips and heard him groan. “Then you should try out our Mile of Men.”

      “No, thanks.”

      “Why not?”

      “Because I don’t want a strange woman picking me off the line. I want you.”

      “Why?”

      He shrugged. “Who knows? Tell me about you, Lauren. What do I make you wish for?”

      She sank back against the chair and took a sip of her tea. “I thought you’d forgotten that.”

      “I forget nothing.”

      “Really?”

      “Truly. Photographic memory. It’s a pain in the neck sometimes.”

      “Like me?” she asked. Anything to avoid discussing her ill-timed remark earlier. What had she been thinking?

      “I wouldn’t say that.”

      “Nah, but you’d think it.” She should finish her tea, say thank you and get the hell out of here before she said anything else she’d regret revealing to him.

      “Not about you. Tell me.”

      “Do we know each other well enough to exchange secrets?” she asked, stalling.

      “I want to see you naked, so I think we have to swap secrets.”

      “No quickie one-night thing?”

      “Would you be happy with that?” he asked.

      She thought about it. A one-night stand wasn’t her thing, but Jack teased at something deep inside her that she was afraid to let out. Something oddly vulnerable that all the men who’d loved and left her had damaged, and she didn’t want to risk that again. And a one-night stand—well, that was about lust, not about emotions and scarred souls.

      “Lauren?”

      “No. I want more than that with you.”

      He lifted her hand from the table and brushed his lips over the back of her hand. “I knew it. Trust me.”

      She tugged but he wouldn’t release her hand. Finally she realized that he wasn’t going to do anything he didn’t want to do, anything that wasn’t in his plans. It had been a long time since she’d met a man who didn’t let her set the pace and make all the decisions.

      “It seems silly.”

      He said nothing, only waited.

      She dropped her head and looked at the chipped Formica table. “I wish I still believed that Prince Charming was out there, because you have the trappings of being one.”

      “A fairy-tale prince, eh?”

      She glanced up. He was studying her as if he’d never seen her before. “Don’t let the tough-girl act fool you. Deep inside I want the white picket fence, like every other woman. It’s just that I’ve spent the last ten years kissing toads.”

      “So experience tells you that even though I look like I could be the prince, I’m the toad?”

      “You got it.”

      “What would it take to prove you wrong?”

      “A lot of trust, a little love and…the man of my dreams.”

      “That’s a tall order,” he said. “How about a lot of fun, a little daring and me?”

      Three

      Jack knew he was no fairy-tale prince. In fact, given his lifestyle, he was probably more like the toads Lauren had kissed. But he didn’t want to let this thing go so easily.

      The diner was quiet in this early-morning hour. A few people trickled in and he noted their factory uniforms. They probably worked the early shift. Two guys waved at Lauren and she smiled back at them.

      “Longtime listeners. They set me up with their crew chief, Joe Brigg. We’re getting him to participate in the Mile of Men.”

      He felt a surge of jealousy that he knew was irrational. “Are you still seeing this Joe?”

      “Nah, he wanted a traditional sort of wife. And despite the fact that I’m low-key, I’m not stay-at-home material. I love my show and my listeners. Giving that up would be hard.”

      Jack didn’t know what to say to that. His life was all about change. He didn’t know from one day to the next what might strike his fancy. He ran a record label, true, but he had enough leeway in that job to take off at a moment’s notice.

      “Boy, do I know how to end a conversation or what?” she asked lightly, but there was more than a little unease in her posture.

      He reached for her hand where it lay on the table. He held it loosely in his own grip. Her fingers were cold, and he stroked his thumb over her knuckles, trying to warm her a little. He wanted to pull her out of the bench seat and around to his side of the table.

      Wanted to tuck her up against his chest and promise her that the days of kissing toads were gone. But he wasn’t the right kind of guy to make that kind of promise. The one time he’d tried to make something last longer than six months had backfired on him and the woman he’d made promises to.

      “I asked for the truth,” he said at last. He prized himself on honesty in all relationships. In fact, he’d ruined two friendships because of his fanatic devotion to the facts.

      Lauren was watching him carefully, seeming to measure the man he was. Jack had never been so conscious of the fact that he might not measure up to whatever standards she had that said “man.”

      She gave him a sad-looking smile. “You did. Should I have lied?”

      It would have been easier on him. He could have blithely continued with his seduction plan. A nice, easy affair that would have been mutually satisfying. At the end of it they could’ve gone their own ways with no hard feelings. Just pleasant memories. “No. I don’t want there to be lies between us.”

      “Still want to get naked with me?” she asked in that husky alto voice of hers.

      God, he’d give five years off his life to have her naked in bed and just listen to that voice talking dirty to him. “Hell, yes.”

      “Wish you’d kept it light?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

      Now it was his turn to be honest, and for the first time in his life he didn’t want to be. Because the truth would put a barrier between them. And he wanted to be breaking down the problems between them instead of reinforcing them. “Yes and no.”

      “Why no?”

      “Things were uncomplicated before. You were just an attractive woman. Now you’re…”

      “What?” she asked.

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