Page 21 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

Chase grinned at the bigger man standing next to him. “Where have you been all night?”

Eric Henderson was Grant’s brother and ran the day-to-day operations of the bar for his dad, Buck. Chase and Eric had become pretty good friends, despite the way Gracie McAllister, the object of Eric’s interest, tended to flirt with Chase outrageously. Especially when Eric was in the vicinity.

“Had stuff to do.” Eric turned his dark, I-want-to-intimidate-you stare on Chase and said, “Katie is the kind of girl you marry and have kids with.”

Chase didn’t argue. He knew what kind of girl Katie was. It didn’t stop him from wanting her, and it definitely didn’t change the fact that she wanted him too.

“Yeah, but even girls like Katie need to sow some oats before they settle down with their Prince Charming, right?” he said.

Eric’s frown would have sent a weaker man scurrying for safety, but Chase knew Eric. He liked people to be scared of him. It was his way of controlling his world, but under all that snap and snarl, Eric was a marshmallow. At least with certain people.

But Chase must not have been on the marshmallow list tonight, because Eric just nudged him and growled, “Just make sure you don’t hurt that girl or the people of this town might make you disappear.”

Chase looked around, caught several unfriendly looks, and tried to resist the urge to gulp. Visions of torture and crazy men with guns were not on his list of fantasies. Nor was being the cause of any pain in Katie’s soft, blue eyes.

“Trust me, hurting Katie is the last thing I’d want to do,” he said.

Chapter Five

KATIE WAS FLOATINGon air as she hauled all of her bags into the house and set them on her bed. She adored Becca already, and most of the people at Buck’s had loved her new look. She’d even caught several of the guys watching her with interest, which might have thrilled her more a few days ago, but now that she had this thing going with Chase ...

Well, she didn’t know exactly what it was yet, but there was something there. It was like lightning every time they were in the same room; sparks flew all over the place. And the way he kissed her, she felt her toes curl and steam come out of her ears like a cartoon character. Well, maybe not the most romantic description, but no one had ever made her feel that way before.

She pulled everything out of the bags, humming as she checked tags for washing instructions, and then the little black bag with the hot pink tissue caught her eye. Reaching out for the thin paper sack, she lifted the tissue and peeked inside. She stuck her hand in and pulled out a jar, then read the label.

Plumeria Bath Salts. Okay, not too scandalous. She twisted off the top and took a whiff; the smell was subtle and lovely. She put those aside with a smile, planning on trying them out very soon.

There were a couple vials of liquid and she pulled them out, reading the sides. Strawberry and chocolate edible massage oils. Heat traveled up her neck to her cheeks as she read the instructions, but they weren’t as bad as she was expecting. She put them next to the bath salts and looked at the next little plastic container.

“Little Helper Gel,” she read out loud, eyeballing the tiny bottle suspiciously. “‘Add one to two pumps of Little Helper to the clitoris for added pleasure during manual stimulation or sex.’”

That one she practically threw across the bed, trying not to fan her cheeks. She was terrified of what else was left inside. Reaching in, she pulled out a package containing a little remote with a long cord attached to ... her eyes flew up to the description. “‘The Terminator Two Waterproof Vibrator. Back and better than the original.’”

Dropping the package on the bed, she gave up trying not to feel horrified and shook her head. She was going to give Becca a piece of her mind. Grabbing her phone, Katie texted,Why did you give me that bag?!

Several minutes went by before her phone beeped.Cause you looked like you could use some stress relief ;-)

She snorted.I do not need a vibrator.

Beep.Okay, you don’t have to use it. It’s part of my new promotion. Spend $100, get a goody bag. :-) You should try the bath salts, though. They rock.

Katie laughed; she couldn’t help it. She liked Becca. She was outrageous, honest, and not afraid to say what she thought.

Thank you. I’ll try them. Good night.

The phone beeped again, but she didn’t bother checking it. Pulling off her clothes and slipping into her robe, she decided to take Becca’s suggestion and run a bath with the special salts. She was too wired to sleep and she’d been dying to read the new romance she’d picked up at Hall’s Market.

She was in the kitchen pouring a glass of water when a knock sounded at the front door.

What in the world?She walked over and peeked out the peephole.

Jerking the door open, she said, “Seriously, have you ever heard of a telephone?”

CHASE’S EYES MOVEDover Katie in her thin bathrobe and guessed she was naked underneath. The deep V of the robe gaped to show off the sweet valley between her breasts, and the bottom hit just high enough to draw attention to the shapely legs beneath. Swallowing hard, his Johnson went from semi to rocket in seconds, and the thought of getting his hands on that silky skin just about undid him.

He tried to think of anything besides the fact that her nipples were hard under the light fabric and held out a bag with a bottle in it. “I just remembered I never got you any alcohol when I picked up your groceries. Thought maybe we could have a drink together.”

“I was about to take a bath,” she said, eyeing the bag longingly.

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