Monroe, Marla - Hot and Bothered (Siren Publishing Classic) (16 page)

“Yeah, been busy at work. I’m trying really hard to make sure everything is perfect.” Karen followed Savanna into the kitchen.

“How about some wine?” she asked.

“Sounds great.” Karen took down glasses while Savanna pulled a bottle of wine out of the fridge.

She poured some in each glass, and they took the wine into the living room. Savanna kicked off her shoes and curled up on the sofa. Karen sat on the opposite end in the same position. This was their normal routine before Karen had moved in with Ben. She had missed it but was happy for her friend. Now they were back to the way things used to be. Only now she had a man friend, and Karen was without.

“How has the spa been lately?” Karen asked.

“Business as usual. Once we got past the busted pipe, everything went back to how it was. Oh, Rhonda is getting married. She announced it Tuesday. I’m a little worried she might quit. Her fiancé had been making noises about her staying home.”

“Oh, that would suck. Next to Irene, she's one of the ones you depend on.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to find good help in the service industry. With the sensitive nature of what we do, I can’t just hire anyone. I have to trust they will keep what they know and hear to themselves. My customers expect discretion.”

“Yeah, I would hate for it to get out that I go Brazilian with my waxing.” Karen took a sip of her wine and then set the glass on the coffee table.

“Savanna, do you think I have any kind of chance at getting Ben back? I miss him so much.” There were tears in her eyes now.

“Aw, Karen, honey. I don’t know, but I think you should try. You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I’ve been fooling myself. I thought being married would mean I was getting old. What am I going to do if he won’t give me a chance?”

“Don’t think like that right now. Think positive and call him. Better yet, go see him.” Savanna handed Karen a tissue from the end table.

“I screwed up. It scared me, though, to think about settling down. I should have tried harder to talk with him about it. Instead, I panicked and acted stupid.” Karen dabbed at her eyes.

“It’s like that song says. Don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” Karen said.

“Well, don’t count it a lost cause till you’ve tried to get him back, okay?”

“I guess not,” she said.

“Why don’t you come out with us Saturday night? It will take your mind off things.”

“Thanks, but I think I might try going by and talking to him instead. No reason to put it off. I mean, the longer I wait, the harder it’s going to be.” Karen picked up her wine and took another sip.

“You’re probably right,” she said.

“So, tell me more about hunky.” Karen grinned at her.

“Hmm, well, he’s sexy as hell. I’ve already told you everything there is to tell. Oh, he seems to be a fan of getting kinky, though.” Savanna sipped her wine.

“Oh, do tell. You will have to tell me all about it afterward. I’m a big lover of kink.”

“Don’t I know it? You embarrassed the crap out of me talking about you and Ben.”

“Aw, come on. You were eating up every word.” Karen’s smile faded, and Savanna knew she was thinking about Ben again.

“I’m beginning to worry, though.”

This got Karen’s attention. “What about?”

“He’s getting really personal. Wanting to know about my family and stuff like that.”

“What’s wrong with that? I mean you’ve been dating for awhile now. It’s just natural to talk about things like that.” Karen appeared perplexed.

“I just don’t want to get that serious.”

“Why not? He sounds like the perfect man. Sexy, good in bed, cleans and cooks. What more could you possibly want?” Karen asked.

“A steady job,” she responded.

“What do you mean?”

“He seems to only work when he wants to. You know how I am. I believe in working and having stability. He doesn’t have any stability.”

“So you’re what, using him as a boy toy?”

“Um, yeah. I guess so,” Savanna said.

“Does he know how you feel about his not having a steady job?” she asked.

“I haven’t discussed it with him. I mean why bring it up when we are doing fine like we are.”

“Only you’re not. He’s getting serious, and you don’t want to because you don’t like his work ethic.”

“That sounds so cold the way you put it. I like him as a person and a lover. I just don’t think he’s relationship material in the long run,” Savanna said.

“Honey, you need to talk with him about it. It’s not fair to string him along if you’re not interested in anything long term.” Karen drained the last of her wine and set the glass on the coffee table.

“I think we’ve had this conversation before, only you were telling me this instead of the other way around.” Karen reached over and squeezed Savanna’s hand.

“I know.”

“Talk to him. Don’t put it off. You’ll end up like me. Believe me, you don’t want to be in my shoes. It sucks. I better go. We both need to get some sleep, and neither one of us has eaten yet.” Karen stood up.

“Hey, you can eat here. I have leftover spaghetti. There’s plenty.” Savanna followed her friend to the door.

“Naw, I better get home. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Good luck with Ben. You better call me in the morning. I’ll call you if you don’t.”

“I’ll call. I won’t make it early, though. I have a feeling you and Dustin will be late getting to sleep tomorrow.” She grinned, and Savanna shut the door behind her.

* * * *

Saturday morning, Savanna got up early for her on a weekend. She normally took the weekends off but decided to go in for a change and have a spa treatment herself. It hadn’t been that long since the last one, but she wanted to look and feel her best. She could check on things while she was there. The spa staff was just opening up when Savanna arrived. Irene didn’t look surprised at all.

“Figured you would show up today. Want your usual?”

Savanna laughed. “You know me too well. Yep. I want to be fresh and feel special for my night out.”

“I’ll take care of you after I get Mrs. Crowder started on her mud facial. I can work back and forth between you.”

“Thanks, Irene. You’re the best,” Savanna said.

“Just remember that at Christmastime.” Irene disappeared into one of the rooms to prepare for her first customer of the day.

She sat down in one of the chairs behind the desk where Rhonda was setting up the schedule.

“Have you two set a date yet?” She was referring to their getting married.

“Not yet. We’re waiting to find out when his mom can come down for the wedding. She lives in
Minnesota
.”

“Well, let me know as soon as you decide. I want to be sure I have the work schedule set up for when you’re going to be gone.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you as soon as I know. I know it won’t be before Christmas,” Rhonda said.

“Oh. That is a ways off. The way you were gushing the other day, I was worried it would be in the next couple of months.” Savanna was relieved she still had time to plan.

“Hey, Savanna, I’m ready for you. Mrs. Crowder isn’t here yet, so let’s get you started.”

Savanna enjoyed her treatments that morning. By the time she was finished, she felt like a new woman. Now for a new outfit—something a little risqué. Dustin insinuated he might get a little kinky, so she wanted to dress the part and get him all turned on. She knew from experience that it would make it that much better if they teased all night. She planned to do her share of it, too.

She settled on a little red dress that barely covered her ass. She would wear her red matching underwear and garters. If that didn’t get him all hot, nothing would. Since the dress didn’t adequately cover her for the cool weather, she would wear her leather coat. Too bad she couldn’t answer the door in it and keep him guessing on what she had under it. She grinned. Well, maybe she could. There was no reason they couldn’t leave as soon as he arrived. She liked that idea, a lot.

Since they weren’t going out to eat beforehand, she decided on an early dinner. She settled on a quiche and fruit plate at the deli down the street from the spa. It would be filling but light enough not to make her feel stuffed. She would have to watch how much she drank, though. She didn’t want to get too drunk to enjoy later. She definitely wanted to remember every little detail.

Savanna was dressed and waiting in her coat a good twenty minutes before time for Dustin to arrive. Yes, she was excited.
Face it, girl, I’m getting attached to him. I need to back off some, or I’m going to get into trouble.
Right then, though, she didn’t much care. She couldn’t wait to see his expression when she took off the coat.

Ten minutes before time for him to arrive, someone knocked on the door. Savanna hoped it wouldn’t be her landlord, or anyone else, for that matter. She checked the peephole and grinned. It was Dustin. She threw open the door and met his smile with one of her own.

“Hey. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“Whoa. I brought you something.” Dustin pulled a small box about five inches by five inches out of his jacket pocket.

Her face fell. Not a gift. There wasn’t room in her plans for gifts from her boy toy. She tried to keep the worry off her face and took a step back into the apartment. He didn’t seem to notice her lack of enthusiasm. He handed her the gift. She forced a smile and held it up to her ear. She shook it, but it didn’t make a noise. She hesitated but knew she had to open it.

“Go on, open it,” Dustin said. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. He was proud of himself, she realized.

The box was wrapped in blue paper a little lopsided, so he had to have wrapped it himself. That made her feel a little better. It meant whatever it was hadn’t come from an expensive store. She licked her lips and proceeded to slide her finger under the tape to lift it off.

“Come on. Don’t try and save the paper. I didn’t do such a good job of wrapping it, as you can tell. Tear it open.”

“I’m opening it. Hold your horses.”

She finally got the paper off. Nothing was left but to pull off the top to see what was inside. She drew in a deep breath and prayed. Then she slipped off the top and looked inside and breathed a sigh of relief. She laughed and pulled out a pair of lined handcuffs. Dustin grinned, obviously pleased with himself.

“So, you game to try them out later?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows.

“Hmm, I’m game if you are.” Savanna twirled it on her finger.

“Okay, time to go.” Dustin opened the door.

“Wait, let me put these in the bedroom.” She ran and dropped them in the middle of the bed and grinned to herself. Yep, they were going to have fun tonight.

She locked the door behind them and followed Dustin to the truck. He opened the door for her and helped her into the car. She had to be careful not to flash him with the leather coat. Boy, was he going to be surprised.

They drove to the club holding hands. She had to slap his hand a couple of times when he tried to pull up the coat to peek.

“Stop that. You’ll see when we get there.”

“I don’t want to wait. You got to open up your present before we left. Why can’t I just take a little peek?” he asked, frowning.