Just One Look (19 page)

Matt watched Ed and Johansen snickering together. Why, those two old coots, he thought. They'd stranded him and Jennifer on purpose. His eyebrows lifted in surprise. Surely Ed couldn't have anticipated what would have happened. He had the grace to blush at the knowledge that Ed had set him up. Geez. Did it run in the family?

Matt was silent on the way back to the house. He climbed out of the boat and followed Jennifer to the house. He couldn't believe that the payback she'd dished out had its roots in high school. Why wouldn't she look at him? Maybe she didn't care anything about him? Maybe what had happened had been strictly sex? No emotion? He'd primed her, and she had finally given in to her desires.

He grabbed his cell phone then went out to place his gear in his truck. He stowed his tackle box and rod in the back. Then he got a call. Damn. That was all he needed right now. As he listened, he knew he'd have to leave. That wasn't the smart thing to do, but he had no choice. Maybe, if she was alone, she'd have time to think about what had happened between them.

Matt walked up to the house and made his apologies. Jennifer was in the shower, but he couldn't wait. He asked Ronnie to tell her that he would call. Maybe she'd talk to him after she'd had time to cool off.

"Good morning," Jennifer said, walking briskly into her office Monday. Her carefully made up face didn't reveal the sleepless nights she'd spent since Matt had walked away. She'd gone home Saturday night, turned the phone off, and tried to sleep, but she kept remembering the way she'd felt when she and Matt had made love. Her body clamored for him. Finally, she'd decided that she was being foolish. She'd put herself and him through hell because of a stupid high school incident and the stupid mumblings of her horny, drunk neighbor. She either believed Matt, or she didn't. It was as simple as that.

"Hi, Jen. Coffee's ready," Cathy said. "And here are your messages." She held a sheaf of pink slips out.

"So many?" Jennifer asked, reaching for them.

Cathy nodded sagely. "As near as I can tell, your friend Dr. Penrose called every hour on the hour from eight o'clock Saturday night on until this morning. He not only called," she paused while Jennifer opened her office door. "But he's waiting for you inside," Cathy finished with a giggle. Though Jennifer had already closed the door, Cathy added, "I took the liberty of canceling your appointments."

Matt sat on the edge of her desk. In his right hand, he held a huge carrot, lacy greenery still attached. He took a bite of the carrot. "Eh, what's up, Doc?"

Jennifer didn't try to suppress the laughter that bubbled up. The hope that had fluttered to life during the last two sleepless nights took wing. Her heart soared. "Why, Dr. Penrose, did you have an appointment?"

"I figured with an ambush like this that I might not need one. You know, laughter is the best medicine. Even for a bruised ego." He laid the carrot aside and walked over to the door and locked it.

"Now, Dr. Monroe," he said, "I believe we have some unfinished business." He loosened his tie, never taking his eyes from her.

Jennifer tried to maintain a serious expression. "I don't recall anything unfinished, Dr. Penrose." She set her briefcase down and watched as he dropped his necktie to the floor.

"First, we've got some old business from high school that we need to get straight once and for all."

"Dr. Penrose, I've given the matter a lot of thought and have decided that we're both old enough to put high school in the past where it belongs."

His teasing smile disappeared. "I didn't wrong you, Jenny, not back then and not last weekend. I'm afraid you misconstrued something I said. Something about not wondering any more, I believe was the incendiary comment." He began to unbutton his shirt.

"Perhaps I now believe that you weren't at fault all those years ago. And maybe I don't need an interpretation of the alleged incendiary remark. Maybe you should know that I realized exactly what you had been wondering about."

"Oh, and what would that be?"

Mesmerized, she watched, button by button, as he worked his way down the blue placket. She whispered, "Wondering how your body would feel next to mine. Wondering how it would feel when we were joined together."

"Wondering if you care for me," he said, his voice rough with desire. "Wondering if making love, for the first time, under such adverse conditions meant you loved me."

When he had the shirt open, he removed it, twirled it around and let it drop. It landed on top of his tie. "So, doctor," he said, unbuckling his belt and his trousers, "I'm glad we've got that cleared up. Now we can move on to the other unfinished business."

Jennifer removed her suit jacket and draped it over her chair back. She walked over to Matt. "And what might that be?"

"I promised to make love with you for hours on end."

"I don't recall hearing that promise."

"I didn't speak it. I promised it with my body. I plan to love every inch of you. Until neither of us can walk straight. Until you agree to marry me."

"Are you going to talk all day or get to it?" She asked, reaching for his zipper and sliding it down.

"I'm going to do both." Matt kicked off his shoes. "I figure we've lost so much time that we can't afford to waste another minute." He began to unbutton her red blouse. "I'm going to tell you over and over how much I love you. And I'm going to make love to you and kiss and lick every part of you until I have you so besotted that you'll agree to marry me."

"Hmm. That might take some doing," Jennifer said, fitting her body to his. "What if we get hungry?"

"We can always eat the carrot," Matt said, as he pushed her blouse from her shoulders. "How's next week look for you?"

He had her bra removed so fast it made her dizzy. "Next week?" She echoed breathlessly. "I can't think when you touch me this way." Her hands covered his and forced him to stop teasing her aching nipples. "What's next week?"

"We're getting married next week."

He freed his hands and continued his sensual torment.

Jennifer smiled. "I don't think so." Her hands reached inside his pants and found him. Now he was the one groaning.

"What's wrong with next week?" He gasped against her neck where he was stringing seductive kisses.

"My mother would kill me." She stroked him. "I need you inside me."

Matt lifted her in his arms and hurried to the couch. "Next week," Matt growled, letting her slide down his body.

Jennifer smiled and helped him remove the rest of their clothes. She tossed an afghan over the couch and lay down, holding her arms out to him. He joined her, pressing her into the cushions as he covered her. "Next week we'll set a date."

Matt kissed her and then murmured, "A week is an awfully long time to wait."

Jennifer felt his heart beating in sync with hers. "I may be open to negotiation."

"I'll see what I can do," Matt said, slowly sliding into her heat.

Jennifer gasped and held him tighter. "Why, Dr. Penrose, I'd say you've mastered the fine art of negotiation."

"Does that mean I win?" Matt teased.

Jennifer smiled. "That, my dear doctor, means we both win."

THE END

Hello! I'm Joan Reeves. I write funny, sexy, romance novels because I think the world needs more love and laughter, and let's not forget passion and committed relationships! If you want to read about two people who have yet to discover that they are made for each other, you've come to the right place.

If you haven't met me before, I guess you want to know a little about me. I can never figure out the best way to write a biography for readers. Should I use third person, as if some unknown assistant were writing it? (I should be so lucky!)

Ms. Reeves is a multi-published novelist who has seen her books published in North America, the United Kingdom, and in many countries of the world. She is known all over the Internet for her freelance writing published under her name, various pseudonyms, and as a ghost. Once she purchased her first ebook reader, she became an ebook fan and set a personal goal of publishing her backlist and original fiction as ebooks.

Now, doesn't that seem a bit pretentious in third person? Trust me on this. I'm the least pretentious person you'll ever meet. I'm just a small-town girl who ended up in a big city in Texas. Yes, I do have that distinctive Texas drawl in case you're wondering.

I lucked into writing as a profession. I say "lucked into" because when I started, way back about the time they invented sliced bread, I knew nothing about writing as a career. I only knew that I loved to read, and I loved to write stories.

When you buy my books, I promise you that I'll always do my best to make sure you feel your money was well-spent. I want to give you delightful tales that will make you feel good and leave you with a smile. I try to make sure that there are no typos or errors in my books though I know even big print publishers release books with typos and content errors.

When errors or typos are brought to my attention, I'll always go back and make corrections. Most digital publishers email buyers to alert them to revised editions of books they have purchased so the new version can be downloaded free of charge.

It's important to me to publish a quality book even though I know imperfect print books hit the shelves too. Therefore, if you find an error or a typo in one of my books, feel free to email me at
Joan at JoanReeves dot com
. Put
Real Live Person
in the subject box to make it past the spam filters. Write the sentence in which the typo appeared. I'll make corrections and upload a revised manuscript.

If you'd like to read more about me, or read more of my writing, please visit my blog
SlingWords.blogspot.com
and my website
JoanReeves.com
. I'll post information there about my ebooks: what's selling, what's coming up, and what I'm learning from the process.

I'd like to leave you with a witty closing, but all I can come up with is what I laughingly tell everyone is my motto. It's my
Vision Statement
. Maybe you'd like to adopt these wise words as your motto too.

"It's never too late to live happily ever after."

Joan's Ebooks

Unless otherwise indicated, all books are available now.

The Lingerie Covers

Most women love beautiful lingerie. That idea is what inspired the covers of these sassy, sexy romantic comedies. All of these books were previously published and were well-received by critics and readers. I think they're fun books and provide the perfect escape from the daily grind. Treat yourself to one today!

Just One Look

Still The One

Jane (I'm Still Single) Jones

Beauty and The Geek, March 2012

Texas One Night Stands

You may be surprised by the one night stands that kick off these stories. They're not exactly what you might expect. What you can expect is lots of sparks, sensuality, and bubbling desire. In other words, these Texas women are headed for all kinds of trouble.

Book 1: The Trouble With Love

Book 2: Romeo and Judy Anne

Book 3: Forever Starts Tonight, 2012

Book 4: Crazy On Love, 2012

The Good, The Bad, & The Girly

Every woman makes mistakes in life. Meet Stormy Clarkson and her three daughters. Stormy made three whoppers of mistakes that changed her and changed the lives of her three daughters. Love never fails though. Stormy discovers that sometimes you get another chance to live the life you want, not the one with which you're stuck, and that's a lesson she intends to pass on to her daughters.

This Novella Series begins with Stormy's story in Book 1: Old Enough To Know Better, Haley's story in Book 2: Good Girl Conspiracy, Courtney's story in Book 3: Bad Girl Complex, and Austen's story in Book 4: Girly-Girl Conquest.

Book 1: Old Enough To Know Better, September 2011

Book 2: Good Girl Conspiracy, Fall 2011

Book 3: Bad Girl Complex, Spring 2012

Book 4: Girly-Girl Conquest, Summer 2012

San Antone Two-Step

San Antonio, Texas, is the home of the Alamo, the Riverwalk, and a delightful blend of Anglo and Hispanic cultures. Two-stepping is a way of life on Saturday nights, and celebrations often feature luminarias, small paper bags filled with sand, with a lit candle placed in the middle of the sand. That tiny flame can illumine or burn out of control if one isn't careful. So can repressed desire when enkindled by love.

With love, sometimes it's two steps forward, two steps back, and, sometimes, dancing around love is like playing with fire. You risk getting burned.

Book 1: Wish on a Texas Star, Nov. 2011

Book 2: San Antone Blue, Summer 2012

Nonfiction

Book 1: Written Wisdom, A Best of SlingWords Collection, 2005-2010

Book 2: Ebook Success: Everything You Need To Know About Selling Ebooks, Fall 2011

You know what they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men going astray? Well, Stormy Clarkson decided, the best-laid plans of women old enough to know better didn't just go astray. They went into some kind of hyperspace wormhole, and, when they came out the other end, they landed on your unsuspecting head like Dorothy's house crushing the wicked witch.

What was she going to do? She was in over her head, and she knew it.

Her hands shook as she pulled the shimmering red silk dress from the hanger. She stepped into the dress and pulled it up, slipping her arms through the straps. A lot of women her age avoided showing their arms, but sagging triceps were the least of her problems tonight.

Besides, she'd made exercise her addiction of choice years ago. Not only was it a way to deal with stress but also it helped fill the empty hours of the life she'd chosen.