The Virgin Sex Queen (4 page)

“Great. Super.
Am I going to be in for any unexpected surprises?”

“Nah.”
Grinning, he crossed the room again to sling his arm around her
shoulders. “We cleared out the condoms from the bathroom cabinet
and the porn magazines from the toilet this morning.”

“Ew, and ew,
and did I mention ew?”

“I think you
may have.” He gave her a squeeze that almost took her breath away.
“I’m glad you came, Soph. I missed you.”

“Yeah, me too.”
Tilting her head back, she grinned up at him. “Do you still make a
mean mince pie?”

“You bet.”

“Part of the
reason I came.”

“Don’t I know
it.”

He left her to
unpack.

Crossing to the
window, she peered outside. The garden was neat and tidy, a
testament to the fact that Sam loved gardening. After nursing
cranky patients and working with sometimes equally cranky doctors,
he probably enjoyed tending to things that simply responded to TLC
and grew without complaint. His glasses still gave him the air of
an absentminded professor and yeah, he could be very absentminded,
but when it came to his job or anything important he had a mind as
sharp as a whip.

How such a big
bear of a man became a nurse, she’d never know. Shaking her head,
Sophie drew back into the bedroom. Sam Willow was big, muscular and
sported a surfy-kind of look about him, what with his tan and
shoulder length, sun streaked sandy hair, but he was gentle and
caring, his eyes warm, his laugh clear, and he didn’t lack for
dates. No lucky woman had caught him yet, though not for want of
trying.

Any woman would
be lucky to catch Sam Willow.

But pity the
poor female who latched onto Alan Cooper, that’d be just asking for
trouble.

Opening the
suitcase, Sophie shook her head. From all appearances so far, Alan
hadn’t changed much. He’d teased her when they were both young and
he was still a tease. The man truly hadn’t grown up. But she’d
handled him in the kitchen and she’d handle him again.

She just bet there’d be plenty of women willing to handle
Alan. As much as her nerves felt a bit ruffled by his teasing, she
had to admit that he cut a fine figure of a man. Boyishly
handsome
, tall,
and though built more
towards lean he had definite muscle. No doubt he did a bit of body
building. Probably to have a chance to ogle the gym bunnies in
their tank tops and tight gym shorts.

The gym was out
of her league. Sophie preferred a long, leisurely stroll around the
streets, literally stopping to smell the roses and enjoy the view.
The street Sam lived in was pretty and she looked forward to going
for a walk in the late afternoon and checking it out.

Unpacking her
clothes, she stored them neatly in the wardrobe and drawers. The
toilet bag she placed on the corner of the dressing table, the box
of books in the corner of the room. A quick trip to the toilet, a
hand wash in the bathroom and a check of her face to ensure she
still looked tidy, and Sophie was done.

Exiting the
bathroom, she almost tripped over a skinny ginger cat that looked
balefully up at her and refused to shift.

“Hello. You
must be Sam Junior.” Bending down, she offered her hand for the
cat’s inspection.

“SJ for short,”
Alan said from behind her.

Glancing
around, she saw him leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom.
Arms folded across his chest, a half buttoned shirt hiding the
muscles beneath, which was a damned shame. The man had a body to
salivate over. He was a total arse at times, a tease most of the
time, but give him credit, he had a great body.

Ignoring the
little leap of her pulse, Sophie returned her attention to SJ,
smiling as the cat gave her a little lick then bumped his head
against her hand. Gently she scratched behind his ears and he burst
into loud purrs. “I heard that Sam had adopted him.”

“More like SJ
adopted Sam.” Straightening, Alan proceeded to slowly button his
shirt. “Met him in the driveway one morning and followed him right
into the house, whinging the whole time. Sam, being Sam, gave him
the tuna fish from the ‘fridge and SJ has been here ever
since.”

“Maybe he
belongs to someone?”

“Nah. Sam
advertised him but no one came forward.” Alan grinned. “Off to the
vet, vaccinated, sterilised, and SJ’s manly wandering days are
over. Now he’s a couch potato.”

“What a true
man.”

“Oh Soph.” When
his tone had her looking back up at him again, Alan shook his head
sorrowfully. “You obviously haven’t been around real men.”

“You mean I’ll
actually get to meet them sometime?”

“It’s also
obvious that you wouldn’t recognise one when you saw him.” He held
out his arms and stretched leisurely.

The action
tightened his shirt across his chest and she was surprised that the
buttons didn’t pop at the swell of his pectoral muscles. “You mean
SJ? Oh, I totally recognise him as a real man.”

“Tsk. How can a
real man be a sterilised couch potato?”

“You tell me.
You’re the expert.” She started to push upright.

Almost
immediately Alan was in front of her, his hand coming under her
elbow in silent support. When she straightened completely he didn’t
shift back and she found herself standing close to him. Too close.
The heat from his body seemed to curl languidly into her, seeping
through her pores.

“Soph.”

Titling her
head back, she looked up into his face. Right into his damned
twinkling eyes.

“I’m all man. I’m no couch potato - okay, well, a little -
but I’m
all
man.”
He winked. “If you know what I mean.”

Taking a deep
breath, which was probably a mistake because his aftershave got
sucked right into her lungs and almost clouded her senses
completely, Sophie took a couple of seconds to form a reply. By
that time, Alan’s lips were twitching and his eyes were dancing
devilishly. “You haven’t changed a bit, Alan.”

“You don’t
think so?” He moved forward a little more, almost crowding her, but
she refused to budge on inch. “I’m taller. More muscly. Have a
position of authority.”

“You’re still
an arse. Always were, always will be.”

“Position of
authority
.” Voice dropping, his gaze
drifted down to her lips. “You like authoritative men,
remember?”

“How would you
know?”

“
Punishing Laura
”. Alan leered a little. “The punisher, lucky bastard, was a
soldier.”

She fought hard
to maintain coolness. “Is that what you like?”

“Soldiers? Only
female ones, though I have a friend who’s a soldier.” Alan tapped
his chin thoughtfully. “But he’s not my type. And he’s married. So
off the market.”

That wasn’t what she meant and he knew it. Teeth flashing in
a wide smile, he suddenly chucked her under the chin. “Oh, you mean
am
I
into
punishment?”

“I really don’t
care, actually.” Ignoring the way her heart was tripping just a
little, she stepped back.

Good grief,
maybe she should go to a cardiologist and get that checked out.

“We could write
a book together and see.”

“Pardon?”

A gleam in his
eyes that didn’t bode well, Alan bent forward. Sophie refused to
retreat again, so when he kept bending closer she was more than
aware of the heat of his body, his clean, male scent beneath the
faint aftershave, his very nearness as his face came closer and
closer.

She couldn’t help but gaze at his lips, full yet undeniably
male, and wildly she half wondered if he was going to kiss her, he
was so damned
close
. But then he shifted ever so slightly and his cheek brushed
against hers, the freshly shaven skin smooth. Her knees went all
wobbly as he breathed into her ear, all moist, hot
breath.

“We could call it
‘Punishing
Sophie’
and the punisher could be a cop.
And we could base it on real life.”

Jesus. Her
knees almost gave way completely at the mental image that little
sentence gave her. The picture that unbidden shot through her mind
with heated clarity was of a cop all right, Alan in his uniform,
and the heroine who was facing punishment at his hands - his very
capable, hot hands - was her.

“Yeah,” Alan
breathed into her ear, his lips brushing the sensitive skin and
making her shiver. “I’d really like to research that with you,
Soph.”

“I didn’t know
you were into kink,” she said a little shakily.

“You have no
idea what I’m into.”

This unsettling
and rather titillating comment had Sophie floundering for a
response, especially as the silence between them lengthened and
seemed to grow heavier. She was more than aware of his body bent
over her, his nearness, the fact that her breasts were just grazing
his shirt, and his mouth - oh God, had he just brushed his lips
across the skin just below her ear?

Slowly Alan
straightened, his gaze locking onto her wide eyes as he took a step
back. She was still staring at him when he grinned and ruffled her
hair. “Speechless, Soph? Don’t worry, that’s what happens to all
the women I seduce.” Turning on his heel he returned to his room,
swinging back around to catch the door and wink. “Because I’m all
man.” The door swung shut, cutting him from view.

Leaving Sophie
with her mouth hanging open, her nerves jangling, her skin all hot
and yes, her lady bits aquiver. Managing to get herself pulled
together as she heard Sam’s voice nearing, she scuttled back into
her room and sat on the bed, gathering her scattered wits and
calming herself. Or trying to.

Good grief.
Alan Cooper had always been a tease in school, but good lord, he’d
never been so - so - sensuously wicked.

Wickedly
sensuous. She rolled her eyes as her heart rate dropped to a more
comfortable level. Teasing. The man could tease and he was just
giving her as good as she’d given him. It was a good reminder of
just how much he could tease and she shouldn’t take him seriously.
The Alan Cooper she remembered had always chased the slim
girls.

Slim chicks. Oh
yeah, that’s right, all women were chicks. That sure made him a
strutting rooster. She wondered how much that had changed.

The thought had
her smiling a little as Sam entered the room.

“Hey,
Soph.”

“Hey, Sam.”

SJ coiled his
way lovingly around Sam’s leg, all the while casting Sophie baleful
glances.

“I have to go
to work tonight.” Leaning against the doorframe in a move
reminiscent of Alan earlier, Sam crossed his ankles and dug his
hands into the pockets of his baggy shorts. “You going to be all
right here alone?”

“Alan going to
work too?”

“Nah. He’s got
a hot date with some woman he met at the pub.”

“Classy.”

“That’s Alan,
all class.” Sam flashed a smile. “So, you going to be all
right?”

“Sure. I’ll
just hang around and relax, try to win SJ’s heart.”

“You’ll need a
tin of tuna, let me give you the tip.” He looked down at the cat
sitting at his feet. “Eats like a horse, built like a
greyhound.”

“I’m surprised
he doesn’t get fat if he’s such a couch potato.”

“You’d think
so, but SJ here seems to have a fast metabolism.” He toed the cat’s
leg gently. “Two meals a day plus snacks.”

“Spoiled.”

“Nah. You can’t
spoil him.”

Sophie raised
her eyebrows.

“You can never
spoil an ex-stray enough.” Reaching down, Sam tugged on one of SJ’s
battered ears.

Purring, the
cat angled his chin for a rub and Sam obliged.

“Geez, next
thing you know you’ll be taking him to work in a little sling on
your back.” Sophie laughed.

“I draw the
line,” Sam said.

“Only on the
sling.” Alan walked past the door on the way down the passage.
“That cat sleeps anywhere he pleases, sits on the kitchen bench and
is thoroughly unhygienic.”

“Sort of like
you,” Sam replied, “And you don’t hear me complaining.”

“Hey, I don’t
lick my balls on the sofa.”

“Says you. I
have no idea what you do when I’m not here.”

“I’m not sure
if I should sit on the sofa now,” Sophie said.

Alan’s head
popped around the corner of the doorway, one eyelid dropping in a
slow wink. “Partake of the spoils, Soph. Don’t be shy.”

“Ew.” Geez, did
the man have no shame?

Alan’s head
disappeared again. “Okay, gotta go. Jess’s waiting for me to pick
her up.”

“Have fun.” Sam
turned back to Sophie. “Same old Alan.”

“Womanising,
insulting and dirty-minded?”

“I was thinking
more of womaniser and smart-alec.”

“Hey, you have
your description, I have mine.”

“Okay.” Sam
straightened. “By the way, some of the ladies around here read your
books.”

“Really?” She
couldn’t stop the flush of pleasure that never failed to fill her.
“Hope they enjoy them.”

“Oh, they do.
In fact, they want to meet you.”

“Ah.” Sophie
chewed her bottom lip.

“Problem?”

“No.” Yes.
Mostly because she wasn’t what fans seemed to think she was, which
was…well, nothing like her characters.

“Great. We’re
having a BBQ here Saturday night, you’ll meet some of them
then.”

“BBQ?” A little
alarmed, Sophie chewed her bottom lip a bit faster. Saturday was
only two days away. “I brought some signed books for Elsie at the
bookshop, I could just meet them there.”

“Nah. Where’s
the fun in that? Besides, these are friends. Old friends from
school. You can’t treat friends like that.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t
- Sam, I’d never embarrass you in front of your friends!”