home?”
Shane?
No. “Yes!” she yelped in complete panic, trying to bite back the word even as her body volunteered it. Her eyes slid over the blankets, noting the shape of her body beneath the covers, knees parted wide, arm disappearing beneath the cozy bedspread at a suspicious angle. Then her gaze moved to the door.
Oh, God.
“I was hoping to see the brochure. Can I come in?”
“Uh…” Merry finally forced her body to let go of its frozen panic and move . She pulled the vibrator out of herself with a wince of shock, snapped her legs closed and sat straight. “Uh, sure. Just give me a second.” Why had she spoken? Why hadn’t she just kept her mouth shut and let him leave?
Stupid blind panic. Merry shoved the vibrator under the covers and leaped out of bed to race to the bathroom where she’d left her clothes. “Idiot,” she cursed herself at another misstep. She should have just said no. No, I’m not dressed, I’ll see you tomorrow. Except not being dressed had been way too close to the truth: I’m not dressed and I’m frigging myself three feet away from you. Sorry!
She frantically pulled on her jeans and the yellow Doctor Who T-shirt she’d been wearing earlier, then raced back to the living room to yank the covers tight across the bed.
She took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face and unlocked the door. “Hey!” she chirped as she opened it just enough to wedge herself between him and the room. “What’s going on?”
“Hey.” His answering smile tipped down a little at the edges. “Are you okay?”
“Sure! Yes. Absolutely. Why?”
“You just… Were you working out?”
“Yes, I was working out!” It was the perfect answer for the sweat prickling her hairline and her rapid breathing. But then his eyes traveled down her body to the jeans and bare feet. “Anyway!” She waved a hand.
“Well…I was thinking about you.”
Merry flashed back to her fantasy so quickly that she felt dizzy. Was he about to grab her? Ravish her? Push her against the wall and slip off her shirt? Would she let him? “Me?” she finally breathed.
“All this work you’re doing for Providence. I’ll admit, it seemed silly at first. I can’t say I understand it or even approve. But now that I’m working out there with you, I’m curious. May I…?”
He gestured toward the door, and Merry automatically opened it, cursing her natural Texas friendliness for digging her even deeper. She watched his gaze focus on the unfolded bed.
“Early night?”
Guilty embarrassment leached from wherever it was the body stored it—spleen? Appendix?—and suffused every cell in her body. “I like to work in bed.” She ignored the fact that her pile of work stuff was still on the kitchen table and grabbed the end of the fold-out bed to flip it back into a couch.
Shane reached out to help, but she gave a mighty heave and it folded with a wretched groan of springs…followed immediately by an ominous rubbery thunk when she tipped the bed up for its last fold.
Oh, shit. Oh, no. She glanced into the shadowy hollow of the couch and saw her pink vibrator lying there on the hardwood like a giant finger of accusation pointing at her. You were jerking off to naked thoughts of an innocent friend. You secretly violated your nice neighbor!
A noise of horror squeaked through her throat, and she shoved the mattress down with so much force that the couch slid two inches. Even though the mattress obediently folded up, it wouldn’t quite close all the way. She remembered the blankets she’d piled on and gave another desperate shove.
“I think it’s stuck,” Shane volunteered as she put all her weight on it. “Here, let’s pull it out again and—”
“No!” Why the hell had she picked out a fluorescent pink toy? Why hadn’t she gone with a nice tasteful…beige? Or translucent! A vibrator that could blend into its wild surroundings no matter where she was!
“It’s fine,” she grunted, bouncing her weight
Shane?
No. “Yes!” she yelped in complete panic, trying to bite back the word even as her body volunteered it. Her eyes slid over the blankets, noting the shape of her body beneath the covers, knees parted wide, arm disappearing beneath the cozy bedspread at a suspicious angle. Then her gaze moved to the door.
Oh, God.
“I was hoping to see the brochure. Can I come in?”
“Uh…” Merry finally forced her body to let go of its frozen panic and move . She pulled the vibrator out of herself with a wince of shock, snapped her legs closed and sat straight. “Uh, sure. Just give me a second.” Why had she spoken? Why hadn’t she just kept her mouth shut and let him leave?
Stupid blind panic. Merry shoved the vibrator under the covers and leaped out of bed to race to the bathroom where she’d left her clothes. “Idiot,” she cursed herself at another misstep. She should have just said no. No, I’m not dressed, I’ll see you tomorrow. Except not being dressed had been way too close to the truth: I’m not dressed and I’m frigging myself three feet away from you. Sorry!
She frantically pulled on her jeans and the yellow Doctor Who T-shirt she’d been wearing earlier, then raced back to the living room to yank the covers tight across the bed.
She took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face and unlocked the door. “Hey!” she chirped as she opened it just enough to wedge herself between him and the room. “What’s going on?”
“Hey.” His answering smile tipped down a little at the edges. “Are you okay?”
“Sure! Yes. Absolutely. Why?”
“You just… Were you working out?”
“Yes, I was working out!” It was the perfect answer for the sweat prickling her hairline and her rapid breathing. But then his eyes traveled down her body to the jeans and bare feet. “Anyway!” She waved a hand.
“Well…I was thinking about you.”
Merry flashed back to her fantasy so quickly that she felt dizzy. Was he about to grab her? Ravish her? Push her against the wall and slip off her shirt? Would she let him? “Me?” she finally breathed.
“All this work you’re doing for Providence. I’ll admit, it seemed silly at first. I can’t say I understand it or even approve. But now that I’m working out there with you, I’m curious. May I…?”
He gestured toward the door, and Merry automatically opened it, cursing her natural Texas friendliness for digging her even deeper. She watched his gaze focus on the unfolded bed.
“Early night?”
Guilty embarrassment leached from wherever it was the body stored it—spleen? Appendix?—and suffused every cell in her body. “I like to work in bed.” She ignored the fact that her pile of work stuff was still on the kitchen table and grabbed the end of the fold-out bed to flip it back into a couch.
Shane reached out to help, but she gave a mighty heave and it folded with a wretched groan of springs…followed immediately by an ominous rubbery thunk when she tipped the bed up for its last fold.
Oh, shit. Oh, no. She glanced into the shadowy hollow of the couch and saw her pink vibrator lying there on the hardwood like a giant finger of accusation pointing at her. You were jerking off to naked thoughts of an innocent friend. You secretly violated your nice neighbor!
A noise of horror squeaked through her throat, and she shoved the mattress down with so much force that the couch slid two inches. Even though the mattress obediently folded up, it wouldn’t quite close all the way. She remembered the blankets she’d piled on and gave another desperate shove.
“I think it’s stuck,” Shane volunteered as she put all her weight on it. “Here, let’s pull it out again and—”
“No!” Why the hell had she picked out a fluorescent pink toy? Why hadn’t she gone with a nice tasteful…beige? Or translucent! A vibrator that could blend into its wild surroundings no matter where she was!
“It’s fine,” she grunted, bouncing her weight
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