Page 2 of Burn

After Mr. Cute Guy twisted around and made his way back across the room, Taylor threw her hands up in the air, knowing it was time to make some changes before she turned into one of those little old ladies with four hundred cats.

“Okay, girls, I’ve had it. That’s the last time a hot guy my age is going to call me ma’am.” She slammed her hands down on the table, her voice taking on a serious edge. “It’s time for drastic measures.”

“What do you have in mind?” Megan rubbed her palms together, her blue eyes widening with interest.

After a moment she said, “Clearly, it’s time for a new wardrobe, new hair, new makeup and a new attitude.” Taylor glanced at the women throwing themselves at Christian. “I want to look and act like one of those hot babes. Then maybe Christian will finally notice me.” She chewed on her bottom lip and scanned the room. “Now, where to start?”

“Ask him to shave you,” Sara said.

Taylor’s eyes flew open, her jaw falling slack. “What? Shave me? What the hell are you talking about?”

Sara, who wrote sexy, hot topic articles for Entice, a Chicago-based magazine for today’s strong, sexually empowered women, pulled a copy of her latest publication from her tote bag. She flipped open to one of her articles. “Here, look. I did this piece on shaving the pubic area and took a poll on which style men liked most, which just so happens to be the landing strip.”

Taylor glanced at the periodical and read the descriptions beneath each picture. Close trim, Brazilian, triangle, patch, au natural and landing strip. She pulled a face. “You want me to ask Christian to give me a landing strip?”

Sara nudged her with her elbow. “Hey, he needs to park his bicycle somewhere doesn’t he?”

“Sara—”

Sara cut her off and lifted her arms, putting her palms face out. “Taylor, you’re giving me that look again.”

Taylor cocked her head and planted her hands on her hips. “You mean the one that says I think you’re insane or the one that says I’m insane for having this conversation?”

Sara chuckled. “Both. Listen, just hear me out before you veto my idea.” When Taylor nodded in acquiescence, Sara continued, “You two are friends, right?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty close.”

“So take the magazine over to Christian’s place and have a little fun with him.”

“Having a little fun with him is what I’ve been trying to do all along, Sara.” Taylor pulled the elastic band from her hair and ran her fingers through her curls. She shook her head, letting her long hair tumble over her shoulders. “That’s my whole point, but he doesn’t look at me with lust in his eyes.”

Sara quirked a brow and Taylor could almost hear the wheels turning. “No worries, my friend. I know just how to change all that.”

“Please, enlighten me.” Unconvinced, Taylor shot Sara a dubious glance.

“Play the friendship angle. Tell him you’ve been in a long, dry spell and just ask him what he likes in a woman. Pull the magazine out and ask him which shape he prefers, then mention you’re out of shaving cream. Once you’ve taken the game that far, you might as well go all the way with it.” She leaned in and whispered, “And sweetie, you just never know what might pop up.”

Megan squealed. “I think this is a perfect plan, Taylor. It’s time to show him you can be friends with benefits, tease the shit out of him in the process, and really make him pay for not begging you to ride his banana seat sooner.”

Sara touched Taylor’s hand, her mouth curled at the corners. “If anyone can pull this off, Taylor, it’s you.”

Jesus, she could hardly believe her friends had come up with such a devious, delicious plan. Actually, she could hardly believe that she hadn’t thought of it herself.

As her mind sorted through matters, and the outlandish scheme to get Christian to see her as more than a best friend began to formulate and take shape in her mind, her stomach tightened with excitement, her thighs tingled in anticipation and her pussy practically dripped with desire. Hmmm, maybe a little teasing and a little payback for not paying any attention to her sexually was just what the doctor ordered.

Taylor flashed her friends a coy grin, grabbed the magazine from the table and pushed to her feet. “If you don’t see me this weekend, don’t worry. I might not be up for air in a while because sexy firefighter Christian Bain is about to get hit with the biggest, hottest blaze of his life, and I’m afraid it might take days for him to tamp down those kind of flames.”

2

Feeling tired, yet edgy, Christian paced around his apartment, needing something, anything, to do with his hands before he crossed the hall, grabbed his neighbor and spent the entire weekend fucking her until work beckoned them both Monday morning. He grabbed his basketball from his sofa and began spinning it on the tip of his finger, trying desperately to focus on something besides his sexual urges.

Jesus, no matter how hard he tried, no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake his goddamn arousal or get his mind off his best friend, Taylor Dayton. Nor could he stop thinking about how warm, soft, sexy and inviting she’d looked down at The Hose earlier that night.

What he and Taylor had going was a good thing. A damn good thing. And even though adding a little sex into the mix would make things perfect, lessons learned long ago had taught him that sex and friendship didn’t always mix. So he kept his hands to himself, no matter how much he wanted to put them on Taylor.

The truth was, he loved being around Taylor more than anyone knew, and the last thing he wanted to do was drive a wedge between them by telling her how much he’d like to have her in his bed.

Therefore, he continued to pace in an effort to walk off his sexual frustration.

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