Page 19 of Sex Coach

Of course, he hadn't recognized my voice. What was I thinking? Just because that husky drawl of his was memorable didn't mean my flat, slightly midwestern accented one was. "It's Michelle Nestor. We spoke...um..." When did we speak? My brain had short-circuited, just hearing his voice .

"I know who you are, Michelle," he said, his voice softer now, warmer .

Yeah, sure you do, I thought wryly. But I didn't voice the words. Instead, I asked, "How are you ?"

Falling back on social niceties was such a relief at times, filling in that void as I struggled to work my way to the reason I'd called to begin with .

"I'm doing rather well, even better now than I was two minutes ago. And you ?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Good. I'm good." And babbling...don't forget you're babbling , a gentle voice inside my head chided. Stay on topic! "So, I imagine you have a good idea of why I'm calling ."

"Please tell me it's because you missed hearing my voice as much as I've missed yours ."

My heart lurched at first, then began to race. Five seconds later, blood suffused my face as I realized he was teasing – or flirting, as it should really be interpreted. That's what the man did. He was a pro at it. "You're a smooth one, aren't you?" I said, swallowing around the knot in my throat. Without giving him a chance to respond, I went on. "You talked to Gina, I think...maybe yesterday ?"

It couldn't have been today. Gina rarely rolled her ass out of bed before one in the afternoon and the managing editors were infamous for being gone from the offices by two unless it was press day. Since it wasn't...well, it wasn't likely Gina had called them at the crack of dawn, so she'd likely talked to her editor yesterday and Aunt Blair had taken care of talking to the editorial team before calling me. That was why she'd called me at the unheard hour of eight .

"You guessed it. Have you talked to her ?"

"No. Gina and I don't talk much. We exist on different planes, you could say." And I envied Gina's plane. She was cocky and confident and if a man like Jake flirted with her, she'd flirt right back. She'd know how to handle him and all that simmering sexuality, and if she felt moved to make him an offer or offer him a job or however this was all handled, she wouldn't have trouble doing it. "We've bumped into each other at parties and at the offices for Coterie on occasion, but not much more than that ."

"Hmmm." It was a speculative sound that he made, drawing it out like he was pondering my answer. "You know, she told me something about you...warning me, maybe ."

My heart lurched again. He seemed to have that effect on me. "Warning you? She said something to you about me? What ?"

"Don't sound so worried, sugar." He chuckled. "It's not like it was anything bad. She told me that you were a nice girl, like maybe she was afraid I'd corrupt you. Are you ?"

A nice girl. My face still felt hot, so hot it was like I might spontaneously combust. Nice girl Michelle. That was me. "Am I what?" I hedged, hating how faint my voice sounded .

"A nice girl." He paused. "And is there a reason she should be afraid? Are you corruptible ?"

I wish I were. I bit my lower lip to keep those words from spilling out, knowing it wouldn't make me sound sexy at all – just desperate. "You know," I said, forcing a light note into my voice. "I'm almost positive this has nothing to do with why I called ."

"But you haven't answered my question ."

"I guess you'll have to figure it out on your own. Now...can we get back to business?" There. Nice and firm .

"Since you asked so nicely. Why can I do you for, Michelle ?"

I hesitated, wondering if I'd heard the words I thought he said or if it was wishful thinking, but the silence hung there between us, a tangible thing. Finally, awkwardness turning my voice thick, I said, "My editor called me. I'm sure you're aware the big shots at Coterie were pleased with the article. They want more of you ."

"And you?" he teased. "Do you want more ?"

Hell, yes..."I want to do the job I'm assigned," I said calmly. "And it I've been told you want to speak with me. I guess you've decided you want to tease nice girls this February ."

"Only certain ones," he admitted. "When were you wanting to arrange our next meeting ?"

"I..." Pursing my lips, I looked around my office – my nice, safe, secure office. "I was thinking a telephone interview would work just fine. That way, you can feel confident about your privacy remaining secure ."

"I'm not too worried about that. After all, I've been assured that you're a nice girl ."

He was smiling. I could hear it in his voice. "I'm tempted to tell you to shove that comment where the sun doesn't shine," I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them .

"Oh...Michelle. Now that doesn't sound very nice." Jake laughed, the sound deep and rich even through the phone. "But...okay, okay. I'll quit teasing. However...no. No telephone interviews. I was thinking we could have dinner ."

"And have me face away from you the whole time?" I sniffed. "I don't think so. That was a bit too awkward for my taste ."

"No. Dinner. As in we sit at a table and talk ."

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