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sack.

“Yesssss.”

“And this?” She sucked on the tip, swirling her tongue around the ridge.

His eyes were nearly closed, his face contorted with pleasure-pain. “God, yes.”

Taking her cues from his movements and noises, she explored his sex thoroughly with her

mouth, then pulled away long enough to remove a condom from her purse.

“My treat this time,” she said to his raised-eyebrow expression.

She tore open the package with her teeth, then carefully rolled on the condom.

Feeling wicked and totally wanton, she straddled his erection and slowly lowered her body

onto his while he palmed her breasts. The fullness of him inside her at this angle was complete.

A muscle worked in Perry’s jaw, but as if he understood how deeply he had penetrated her,

he allowed her to control the movement. At first she could only contract around him, then her strokes were short and slow. But when she became accustomed to his size, she found a rhythm

that gave them both optimum pleasure.

He reached down to gently massage her clit with his thumb, and she leaned her head back

to enjoy the erotic ride.

She came first, but her writhing and bucking carried him over the edge with her.

He held on to her waist, his body bowing in his guttural release to the point that he lifted

her off the bed with him.

When their spasms had slowed, Jane fell forward onto the soft mat of dark hair on his

chest, listening to the soothing, strong beat of his heart as she drifted off to sleep.

No, she wasn’t falling in love with this man. It was only sex…no strings…

Chapter 15

“Are you going to quit your job?” Perry asked.

Jane shrugged. They were lounging over a luxurious room service breakfast in her bed. “I

guess so. It wouldn’t make much sense for me to work.”

“It would if you love your job,” he said quietly. “Do you?”

His seriousness caught her off guard. She shifted awkwardly in the towel she was wearing.

“I enjoy it, although some days it seems frivolous. I make people look good so they can go on camera to talk about things like how to decorate a pet’s bedroom.”

He smiled and shrugged. “It’s entertainment. It makes people happy. We have to have that

in the world, don’t we?”

She nodded. “But now that I have the means, I’d like to do something to truly make a

difference in the world.” Jane winced. “Does that sound cheesy?”

“Not at all. It sounds very admirable.”

Her gaze locked with his and all the moisture left her mouth. How could being astride this

man naked be more comfortable than a simple conversation about her job?

Just another reminder that she needed to keep things…carnal.

Her cell phone rang. She leaned over to fish it from her purse and glanced at the screen. It

was Eve.

“I should get this,” she said to Perry.

“I’ll take a shower,” he offered, then headed toward her bathroom.

Jane pushed the incoming call button. “Good morning,” she said cheerfully.

“It’s already noon here,” Eve said. “You must be having a great time. I’ve been calling and

calling.”

Panic blipped in her chest. “Is something wrong?”

“Only that my best friend is acting like someone I don’t know, going off to Vegas, doing

God knows what.”

“It’s your fault,” Jane said, popping a grape into her mouth.

“How?”

“The show you did with Bette Valentine on unleashing your inner wild child. I guess it

spoke to me.”

Eve choked out a laugh. “Jane, you don’t have an inner wild child.” Then she sobered. “Do

you?”

Perry came padding back into the bedroom, cock swinging. “You’re out of towels,”

he said, snatching the one she had wrapped around her.

“Is that a man’s voice?” Eve asked.

“Yes,” Jane said, enjoying the view of him leaving the room and stepping into the glass

shower stall.

“You met a guy?”

She was distracted by the sight of Perry leaning his head back under the shower head and

soaping his long, powerful body. Her own body was tender and sore but, incredibly, she wanted him again.

“Jane, are you there?”

“Yeah, sorry. Actually, it’s someone I already knew.”

“Who?”

“My neighbor.”

“Your neighbor, the jerk? You went to Vegas with him?”

The water ran off his shoulders like a waterfall cascading off a rock cliff.

Jane wet her lips. “Uh, no. He kind of followed me. It’s a long story.”

Eve made a rueful noise in her throat. “I’m worried about you, Jane. What do you know

about this guy?”

“Enough.”

“Enough? Someone has kidnapped my levelheaded friend Jane and replaced her with an

imposter! What’s this guy’s name?”

Jane laughed. “Perry Brewer. He’s an attorney.”

Perry looked up and saw her watching him, then smiled and crooked his finger.

“Sorry, Eve. Gotta go.”

“But Jane—”

“I’ll call you.” She disconnected the call, then stood and walked to the shower, her breasts

heavy with need, her nipples stiff. She slipped inside and channeled her fingers through the

sudsy dark hair on his wide chest, heaving a sigh. “What do you say we go shopping later?”

“Later,” he agreed, rounding his hands over her buttocks with a groan. “Much later.”

* * *

Perry stood in the lobby waiting for Jane, his phone pressed to his ear. “I realize my credit

card is over the limit,” he said to the representative on the phone, “but I’ve been a customer for a long time. Can’t you make an exception?”

“I’m sorry, sir. We can’t extend your credit limit until we receive a payment.”

He pulled a hand down his face. “If I could afford to make a payment, I wouldn’t need an

extension on my limit, now, would I?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

He sighed. “It’s not your fault. Thank you.” Perry closed his phone and tamped down his

irritation. He still had an emergency card or two, but if he didn’t win the Kendall case, or if the damages were smaller than his client deserved, he’d be digging himself and the firm out of debt far into the foreseeable future.

“No good deed goes unpunished,” he murmured. When Jane appeared on the other side of

the lobby, he couldn’t help but smile. Take this little Good Samaritan jaunt, for instance.

He’d traveled here to keep sweet little Jane Kurtz from doing something she’d regret, and

now he was on the offensive. They’d both agreed to a no-strings affair, but he was growing

attached to her…a doomed emotion, he knew, because he had no intention of being anyone’s

boyfriend, and had no desire to be monogamous.

Monogamous—hmm. While Jane chatted with the concierge, an idea occurred to him.

He called directory assistance and after a couple of dead ends, found a company who could

fulfill his request. Feeling much better about the direction of their torrid affair, he walked over to where she stood, fresh and lovely in a sexy yellow dress and sandals. When she saw him, her

face broke into a smile that hit him like a punch to the spleen.

“Ready to go shopping?” he asked.

She nodded happily.

“Where to? Clothing, jewelry, car lots?”

“Electronics. I’d like an MP3 player.”

He raised his eyebrows. “That’s all? I thought you were unleashing your inner wild child

this weekend.”

Jane laughed. “I might look around.”

Checking his watch, he said, “We have two hours.”

“What’s happening in two hours?”

“That, my little wild child, is a surprise.”

She looked intrigued, but didn’t ask any questions. She trusted him. She’d trusted him from

the beginning, he realized.

Even after he’d given her reason not to, with his thoughtless remarks about her looks.

That bothered him a little, only because he wasn’t sure he was worthy of her trust. He

wanted to chastise her, but how could he do that without making himself look bad?

Perry pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t thinking straight—the woman had drained

him physically with that sleeper bod of hers that wouldn’t quit…and wouldn’t let him quit.

“Are you okay?” Jane asked.

“Fine,” he said, hailing a taxi.

“You don’t have to go with me.”

“Hey, if there’s one place a man doesn’t mind to shop, it’s in an electronics store.”

She seemed pacified and blissfully unaware of the turmoil he was going through on the

short cab ride. He would be fine once they got back to Atlanta, he reasoned. Once they went

back to being neighbors.

At the electronics shop, Jane was like a kid in a candy store. At his urging, she bought an

MP3 player and a few accessories, several CDs, a digital camera, and a top of the line digital video camera.

“Why not?” he asked.

“I don’t exactly have the lottery money yet,” she said, biting her lip.

“But soon?”

“We’re all supposed to receive wires later this week.”

He smiled. “I think you’ll be okay.”

“I hope so. Or else not only will I have to keep my job, but I’ll have to get a second one.”

She was caught between being conservative and optimistic, he realized on the cab ride to

their secret destination. All her life she’d probably yearned to do something wild, but

something—her upbringing, her self-doubts, had held her in check. Letting go this weekend was undoubtedly a huge leap for her…and she still was afraid to believe she had the world at her

fingertips.

It made him want to give it to her.

To derail his baffling train of thought, Perry removed the video camera from the box to

show her how to use it. Then he turned it on her. “Wave at the camera, Jane.”

She waved, but looked self-conscious and averted her glance.

“Don’t look away,” he chided. “The camera loves you, Jane.”

His offhand words hung in the air awkwardly, and he wished he could take them back. Her

face underwent a myriad of emotions. Confusion? Apprehension? Hope?

Perry swallowed hard, cursing his slip, relieved when he realized that the cab had slowed

to a halt.

“Where are we?” Jane asked, looking out the window.

Perry paid the driver and helped her out with all her packages. “I scheduled us for a

massage.”

She smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”

“A couple’s massage. Together, in the same room, if that’s okay with you.”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“You’ll have a male masseuse, and I’ll have a female.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll be naked…and so will they.”

Chapter 16

When Perry’s words sank in, a little thrill of apprehension and anticipation ran through her.

“We’ll all be naked?”

“Only if that’s okay with you.”

She felt gauche and naive. “Will there be…?”

“No sex on the premises. Just touching. It’s a regular massage, but we’ll be able to see

each other…and watch.”

Her sex tingled.

“And,” he said, clasping her hand, “if at any time you feel uncomfortable, just let me know

and we’ll leave.”

“Okay. But I want to pay for my half.”

“It’s my treat,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument. “After all, I crashed your

plans to have a torrid affair—I wouldn’t want you to go home disappointed.”

That wasn’t likely to happen, she thought. Being with Perry had already blown her

expectations out of the water.

He held the door for her and she walked into the luxurious lobby, hoping her face wasn’t as

red as it felt. She glanced around at the other people waiting—some single women, some single men, some couples—and wondered if they were all there for a similar experience.

What a sheltered life she’d led.

“They do regular spa treatments here, too,” Perry whispered, as if he’d read her mind. “It’s

a legitimate business.”

“So you’ve been here before?”

“No. But I checked it out.”

His response pleased her because she had doubted that she could do or share anything

sexually with the playboy that he hadn’t experienced before.

They walked up to the receptionist’s desk and Perry gave his name for the appointment.

After a short wait, they were led to a private changing room with a shower and a locker to store their packages and belongings. Two immaculate white robes hung on hooks, and two sets of flip flops sat on the floor. Soft Asian music played overhead.

With her pulse thumping wildly, Jane disrobed, aware of Perry’s gaze on her as he did the

same. She stepped into the shower for a quick rinse, and he joined her, intertwining their fingers to hold her at arm’s length while warm water spilled over them. His erection jutted forward,

prodding her stomach, but as if by mutual agreement, they only kissed before emerging.

Still, her body was singing with awareness as they donned the soft robes and slipped their

feet into the flimsy grass sandals.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Are you sure?”

Feeling breathless, she brought his hand to her chest to feel her heart pounding. “I’m

excited.”

His eyes darkened with desire, then he opened the door leading to the massage room.

Inside, the lighting in the aqua-colored room was dim and mellow. Two sheet-covered platforms were situated about three feet apart. The music was slightly louder here, the air permeated with the scent of grasses and musk.

Following his lead, she removed her robe and lay face-down on one of the platforms,

draping a folded towel over her bare bottom.

“It’s nice,” she said, already feeling relaxed.

“I’m glad you like it so far,” he said, reaching out to her. “Remember, let me know if you

want to stop.”

She nodded and pressed her palm against his.

A quiet rap sounded at the door, then a beautiful, slender woman with dark hair and a

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