Bodywork (19 page)

Then she realized something else.
“You’re going back to work
w
ith
out
underwear?”

“
Actually I put them back on when I cleaned up. And a good thing.
The Graces are in today.”

“The Graces?”

He grimaced. “
Mr. Grace
is terrific
. H
e’s older,
has a real thing for quality architecture
, and can afford to indulge
. Problem is, he
married a much younger w
oman with a
roving eye, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh wow. Has she sexually harassed you?”

He grunted. “Is the sky blue? But they’re big clients. And frankly, any man who claims sexual harassment
from a woman
is asking to get his ass kicked. Not PC, I know, but come on. I’m a former Marine. If my dad or Mac heard I’d lodged a complaint, I’d never hear the end of it.”

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.

“N
o
, 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 thi
s 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 kisse
d 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 earl
y
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 lov
er, 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.
Sh
e 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
. T
he 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. I
t
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 buil
t
like a real woman, with curves. But you’re toned too. You know what I would
n’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.” Maggie paused. “So I’m thinking of joining a new gym.”

“O
kay.”

“
Not to get fit, but to get paid. I
’ll be working the
re. 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 wat
ch
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 get
s ready to rip into Johnny Depp.
”

“Loudmouth.”

“One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…”