Hook Up by Miranda Baker

shop. “All of those cannot replace sex.”
    “I’d say that depends on your definition of sex.” She arched her back and lifted the heavy weight of her hair from her neck, stopping the gesture just before her breasts popped out of the top of her leather demi-bustier. “I don’t have any complaints.”
    His dark eyes followed her motion with appreciation. “So how long has it been?”
    She put her hands on her hips. “None of your business.”
    “Are we talking months or years? Forgive me for being so nosy, but this is fascinating. Seriously? No men?”
    “No men,” she repeated.
    He cocked his head to the side. “That doesn’t stop me from being attracted to you.”
    “Too bad,” she scoffed. “Just because you get a hard-on for a girl doesn’t mean she wants to sleep with you.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t feel the buzz between us?”
    Like a raging, swirling cloud of killer bees. She shook her head. “Nope.” She hoped he wouldn’t notice she was pressed up against the counter for support.
    “Really?” he asked, closing the distance between them with one step. “So the fact that I can see your heart beating under your skin means nothing?” He trailed warm fingers across her chest and gently tapped the spot over her heart. His gaze held her motionless. “Your pupils are dilated. You’re holding your breath.”
    Her mouth fell open and breath whistled into her lungs. He dipped closer and she swayed, keenly aware of the heat scenting the air between them.
    One devilish eyebrow disappeared beneath the lock of sun-kissed hair on his forehead. “You’ll have to forgive my confusion. Usually when I get those signals, it’s a green light. You’re sure you aren’t attracted to me at all?” His voice held hope and the dark edge of desire.
    “Positive.”
    “Prove it.” His smile was a dare. “Kiss me.”
    She shook her head. No way. She wasn’t falling for that.
    “Just once. A simple little kiss. If it doesn’t turn you on, then you can go back to your girlfriends and your vibrators. I’ll never bother you again. But if it does turn you on…”
    She felt his determination advance toward her like an invisible army. He wasn’t going to let this go without a fight, and the hysterical impulse to leap behind the counter and brandish the stool at him like a lion tamer crossed her mind. Could she survive one simple kiss? One night with him had ripped her wide open and hot-wired her emotions to the world around her. For her, there was nothing simple about kissing him, but he didn’t know that. Maybe if she played it right, all those emotions pouring out of him, the ones that were using her as a punching bag, would disappear. Would he leave her alone if she could convince him she wasn’t attracted to him?
    Crystal lifted her chin defiantly. “One kiss,” she said, throwing everything she had into her shield. “And then you go.”
    Ryan pulled her body flush against his own, one arm a hard curve around her waist, the other a band across her back. He fit her like a puzzle piece, edges matching, curves lined up. There was no gap between them.
    Crystal’s head began to buzz. She swallowed convulsively.
    His arms gentled into a seductive caress and his lips settled over hers, whisper-soft as they sought a response. She had expected an onslaught of lust, not tenderness. Oh, shit, she couldn’t handle sweetness, not when his lips reminded her of what it was like to be skin-on-skin on a hot summer night with no walls, no barriers and nothing to hide.
    His mouth opened, coaxed her lips apart, and his tongue touched hers, retreated.
    She held her arms behind her and dug her long nails viciously into her palms, hoping the pain would keep her focused on her shield. Instead, it added to her awareness of the sharp ache between her thighs. She shifted her feet, lifted one stiletto heel and brought it down squarely on her instep.
    As she shifted, his hands caught hers, drew them up to his shoulders