Page 25 of Sit, Stay, Love

Itshouldn’tbeaproblemaslongashesettherules from the start. That usually worked. Sort of. He had to admit he kept running into one minor problem.

You’ve got your empty-headed bimbos. They were usually willing to play by the rules for as long as it lasted. You could get outta Dodge when it was done.

Boredom usually set in on his side so fast it was hardly worthwhile to get started.

Then you’ve got your woman with brains along with the body, all the requirements to keep a man interested, at least for a while. With that kind, it was more often sooner than later that they cluttered up a nice clean sex act with emotional baggage. Worse, someofthemwantedtomove inwiththeirbaggage.

Still, he’d become good at recognizing that disaster in the making before it was too late. In this case, he’d just have to watch that as well as Mary’s toothsome curves.

She had career ambitions, big-time. That should help make her a safe prospect, especially if he catered to those ambitions of hers, within strict limits,keepinghertoobusyfulfillingherdreamstomess up his.

“So the way you see it is that you’re getting close to arranging it so all your albatrosses — is that the plural? — fly the coop?”

“If Aunt Cynthia got married — ”

“Uh-huh. Well, she told you how to manage that.”

Oh. Yeah. Right. Playing matchmaker. It wasn’t a role Van fancied. But would it kill him?

She opened the oven door. The delectable smell of warm, crusty French bread filled the kitchen air. He smothered a groan of sheer pleasure. He knew what might kill him. Not sinking his teeth into that, dripping with butter, right this minute.

If the delectable morsel that was Mary Samuel produced this kind of heaven too …

Mary got the food onto the table without a single new threat to life or limb. “Dig in before I give it to the dogs.”

Chapter Ten

I Can’t Get No ...

A

S MARYPLUNGEDTHEomeletpanandherhandsinto hot, soapy water, Van spoke up. “I guess we have some things we should talk about.”

Talking was good. Definitely better than snarling. “And those would be ... ”

“Dogs, of course. Maybe even business books. And husbands for older aunts.”

Lovely! All three meant propinquity, and nothing was better at ripening a man for the picking, and oh how she wanted to bring in the harvest of this man. Which wasn’t likely to start when she was deep in dirty dishwater. She dug in at triple time and was fishing out the last spoon when the warmth of him moved so close behind her that she shivered.

“I think you’re trying to tell me we have something else to talk about too,” Mary said. “Something more — personal.”

“I think we do.”

Now he was closer. Very close. So close frissons of awareness skittered across the back of her neck. So close the strong bass of his voice rumbled in her belly. Hotdawg, Project Get Van into Bed was barreling along faster than she’d dared to hope.

Here was proof, if she needed it, that life wasn’t fair.She’dintendedtobetheonedoingtheseducing, if it was a good idea to take things in that direction. She’d intended to be the one in control. Right now she couldn’t do anything, not a thing, except wait for what he would do next, while every nerve ending she owned said yes, yes.

Hishandssettledlightlyonherhips.Warm.Gentle. Stirring.

It wasn’t enough. Not for him either, thank goodness.

He tugged her tightly to his chest.

Get the fire extinguisher. She just might burst into flames if he — and then he did. He nestled her back against his front. She fit against him, seamlessly, perfectly, from her cradled head to the evidence of his interest hardening against her lecherous bottom. He nuzzled the tender side of her neck, his chin rasping gently, his lips nibbling softly. His warmth melted her bones.

Entwined with everything was his magic, musky scent. She might as well die in one more yearning minute, because she could live an eternity before she found pleasure that could match this.

Asecondlater,whenhislipssettledonherearlobe, she discovered she had been wrong. Toe-curling, head-banging, mind-blowing desire raced through her. It wasn’t an orgasm. It just made every cell in her body scream for one.

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