The Virgin Sex Queen (7 page)

Suddenly Alan
wanted to unbutton that dressing gown. Yeah, he wanted to see a lot
more of her soft skin, see just how much those pillowy boobs filled
out her nightgown.

Was she wearing
a bra?

“If you were
naked, I’d know,” he said huskily.

“What?” Her
eyes widened.

Suddenly
realising what he’d said, Alan refocussed. “Naked. Over my
lap.”

But the moment
was lost. The darkness of her eyes vanished as she jerked her head
back. Clearing her throat, she made to dunk the last of the biccie
into the tea.

Shame it was in
crumbled bits on the counter.

Unfazed, she
suggested coolly, “Maybe you need lessons.”

Cool. The chick
was cool while he felt like a fire was ignited in his pants. Holy
shit, when had that happened? When had a simple teasing become
something more? If he moved away from the kitchen bench now, she’d
see a boner to impress even a hardened erotic novelist.

Actually, he
did have an impressive boner, he couldn’t help but be pleased by
that in the far reaches of his mind. He couldn’t help it, he was
just being him.

But damned if
he was going to let her see that he was sporting an impressive
boner, not when it looked like she was ready to eat cucumber
sandwiches with the Queen, she was so calm and poised.

Had it all been
a put-on? Maybe she was playing him. Shit, she’d probably done the
whole spanking scene and more. How much more? What else had she
done?

There was one
thing that was now glaringly obvious. He had to get his hands on
some of her books and see just what the Sex Queen had been up
to.

Every thought
snapped through his brain within seconds. When she coolly sipped
her tea - coolly! - and smiled at him - coolly, Goddamn it! - Alan
managed to wink calmly back at her. “Thanks for the fantasy,
Soph.”

“Oh, my
pleasure,” she said. “Making up fantasies is what I do for a
living. Anyway, it’s been a long day.” Slipping off the high stool,
she came around the kitchen counter and rinsed out the now empty
cup in the sink.

The impressive
boner kept Alan pressed against the bench feigning a relaxed
stance. Kind of hard to do, but he managed it. Hard being the word
in more ways than one.

As she moved,
he turned his head to watch her. With her back to him, he was free
to study her. The nightgown was summery, the sleeves short, but it
came down past her knees. It hid her figure, but it couldn’t hide
the sway of her hips nor the generous derrière that moved with
every step she took. And the sexy kitten heels.

That derrière would be soft. Very soft.
Really
soft beneath his hand. Alan
silently drew in a deep breath.

Seemingly
unaware of his silence, Sophie dried the cup and put it away,
flipping the tea towel nonchantly over the rail before passing
him.

Suddenly,
unexpectedly, her hand connected firmly with his backside, the
muffled thwack against his slacks loud in the silent kitchen. He
jumped, shocked, only able to stare open-mouthed at her as she
strode to the doorway, where she turned and gave him a saucy smile
and wink before disappearing.

His backside
smarted a little. Jesus, that hadn’t been a light smack, he rather
thought she’d hit him with a bit more enthusiasm than required.

But what did it
require? Still leaning on the bench, braced on both hands, Alan
stared at the doorway, his thoughts tumbling through his head at
breakneck speed. But most obvious was glaring, undeniable fact.

Shy Sophie
Willow had left the building and Sex Queen Sophie was now in
residence.

And he wasn’t
entirely sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

~*~

To say her
dreams hadn’t been restful was putting it mildly. In fact, they’d
been a jumble of dark eyes, a wicked smile and a very firm hand.
Just the memory was enough to make her blush and her heart
stutter.

It also made
her cowardly stay in bed when she heard Alan get up early. Sam
wasn’t yet back from his nightshift and there was no way Sophie was
going to face Alan, not with her dreams still making her panties
damp. No way.

Call her a
coward, she didn’t care.

SJ jumped up
onto her bed and stuck his face into hers, his wet nose bumping her
chin. Alan called his name softly and Sophie forced herself to
breath steadily, deeply, her heart almost stopping when she heard
the creak of her bedroom door being pushed open a little wider.

“Come here,
SJ,” Alan whispered. “You’ll wake her up.”

SJ ignored him
and flopped down behind her.

For a crazy
second Sophie thought Alan would come into the room after him, but
he simply whispered, “Fine. Whatever,” and walked away.

Lying there
with SJ purring loudly, Sophie listened as Alan puttered around the
kitchen. The sounds and smells of breakfast toast and tea drifted
on the air, but she resisted it and stayed in hiding. Like a
coward. She didn’t care.

Finally she
heard the distant sound of the door shutting followed by the slight
squeal of the garage door lifting. Sam really needed to get that
fixed. Or Alan.

Only once she
was sure that he’d really gone did she crawl out of bed and make
her way to the kitchen. Pushing the messy plait back over her
shoulder, she picked up the piece of note paper sitting on the
bench and read it.

Sam - I’ll
pick up the beer and soft drinks after work before the BBQ. Same
with the food. Hell, I’ll just do the entire shop, okay? Don’t
worry your pretty little head about it. Alan.

Grinning,
Sophie put the paper back down on the counter. Just as quickly, her
amusement faded. Crap. BBQ and meeting people. Not something she
was good at, and this was also going to mean that most of them were
going to have a pre-conceived idea of her.

But maybe it
wouldn’t be too bad. Sam had said they were friends. She hadn’t had
any close friends when she’d lived here, so they were in all
likelihood Sam’s old friends. Whatever, she just had to smile and
put on her second face. Play her part.

Speaking of
parts…she checked the clock. She had to be at Elsie’s bookshop in a
couple of hours. Time for a shower and breakfast before she
left.

Elsie’s
bookshop was in the main street tucked between a florist and a
souvenir shop. Managing to get a car park close by, Sophie turned
off the engine just as her mobile rang. Wondering if it had been
worth finding it under the car seat earlier, she glanced at the
screen and smiled. Yeah, it had been worth it.

Flipping it
open, she placed it to her ear. “Hey, Ghost. How you goin’?”

“I’m just
dandy,” Ghost replied. “Have blood running down the walls.”

“Awesome. Body
parts?”

“Shit load of
them.”

“Everywhere?”

“Piled
high.”

“So it’s going
great.”

“Yeah.” Ghost’s
voice faded before gaining strength again. “You ready?”

“Always.”

“Right.”

Sophie
grinned.

“You just
remember to stand your ground. Be the sex goddess.”

“Sex goddess,”
Sophie repeated dryly. “Hardly.”

“Goddesses come
in all shapes and sizes.
Be
the goddess.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Fine. Then
just shock the shit out of them.”

Sophie burst
out laughing.

“I’m serious,”
Ghost said.

“I know.” Still
chuckling, she got out of the car. “How’re the kids?”

“Max hacked up
a hairball on my bed.”

“Nice.”

“Millie
shredded my new book.”

“Harsh
critic.”

“You’re telling
me. I just got it in the post.” Ghost sighed. “Mauve drank all the
milk out of the cereal bowl before I knew it.”

“No
manners.”

“Mort shed hair
on my new black slacks.”

“He’s just
giving it his seal of approval.”

“Abraham ate my
fern.”

“He appreciates
plants.”

“I get the
feeling you’re on their side.”

“And you’d be
right.” Moving around to the boot of the car, Sophie used her key
to unlock it. “I better get moving, Ghost, I’m already a little
later than I told Elsie I’d be. I don’t want to make a bad
impression.”

“Geez, you’re
all of what - two minutes late?”

“Twenty.”

“Ooohh, you bad
girl. Oh, you’re soooo bad. Spank me, mama!”

“Just get back
to disembowelling your characters, okay?”

“Sure. And you
get back to shagging yours.” There was silence for several seconds
before Ghost added, “That didn’t come out quite right.”

“I
noticed.”

“Right, I’ll
go. Good luck, Soph. Tell me how it all goes.”

“I’ll phone
you, I promise.”

“Great. Bye,
Soph.”

“Bye, Ghost.”
Sophie turned off the phone and flicked it shut, stuffing it into
her handbag before eyeing the box of books.

Time for the
new Sophie to meet at least one old face. Time to see if Elsie
expected someone a lot different to the girl she once knew.
Game
face
.

Taking the box
out, she shut the lid of the boot and stepped up onto the footpath,
following it along until she turned into the bookshop. It was empty
of customers when she entered, a fact that had her breathing a sigh
of relief and wonder if she’d ever get over her shyness. Surely
other authors didn’t get the cold feet she suffered.

Sometimes she
was a real dill.

The woman
behind the counter looked up and gave a squeal of delight upon
sighting Sophie and the box. “Sophie Willow!” Scurrying around the
counter, she hurried to Sophie and grabbed the box from her arms.
“Sophie!”

“Elsie, it’s
good to see you again.” Sophie could do nothing but follow her to
the counter and watch as she dropped the box onto the smooth
surface.

Smiling widely,
she gave Sophie an unexpected hug. “It’s so good to see you!”

Not really into
hugs from people she had never regarded as close, Sophie gave her
an awkward pat on the back. Yeesh, talk about a bloke’s action.

Pulling back,
Elsie beamed at Sophie. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

Yeah, right.
She’d been thirteen when she’d left the city quite a few years
ago.

“Same hair,
same eyes.” Elsie looked Sophie over. “Same everything.”

Okay, that
could be an insult or a compliment, Sophie wasn’t sure which, so
she settled for the safe, “Thanks.” Trying to hide her discomfort,
she glanced around. “Nice place you have here. What made you decide
to get a bookshop?”

Elsie was
already digging into the box. “I read like crazy so it was only
natural I fell into the bookshop business.
Punishing Laura
.
Oh my God! That book was so hot!”

That kind of
response never failed to make Sophie feel a little giddy inside. A
happy kind of giddy.

“And
Heavy
Handed
.” Elsie fanned her face. “Oh my goodness. My husband got
his hands on it, then on me. Thank you, Sophie!”

Game face
firmly in place
. Sophie smiled. “No problems.”

Placing the
book down, Elsie pulled out some more books. “
Winters Night.
I don’t think so. Boy, you know how to burn up a winter’s night all
right, if you know what I mean.”

“I do.” Sophie
leaned against the counter, watching the delight cross Elsie’s face
as she unearthed the books and read the titles with delight.

“
Hot in the
Kitchen
.” Elsie laughed. “Hilda said she could never look at
her kitchen table the same way after she suggested trying out one
of those scenes with her boyfriend.”

“Have to spread
the love.” Sophie smiled widely. “Like honey on bread.”

“
Taming
Mandy, Hot Sin, Tempting Rory, Playroom, Soldier’s Command,
Fire
.” Elsie trailed her fingers over the covers of the books
she’d laid out on the counter. “I’ve read them all. So many of my
friends have read them.”

That truly gave
Sophie a warm feeling. To know others enjoyed what she wrote, that
they gained the same pleasure that she did…or mostly. They at least
seemed to get the physical pleasure.

Elsie’s gaze
turned to Sophie. “I have more copies for the book signing
tomorrow. There are so many people coming to it.”

“Wonderful.”
Sophie’s smile was poised, cool, but inside she was jittery. What
if no one turned up? What if only one or two? What if they caught
sight of her and laughed? Or were disappointed?

No, Soph,
don’t think like that. You promised yourself.
“I’m looking
forward to meeting them.”

“I know some of
them have questions.”

Oh great. “I’m
happy to answer what I can.”

Elsie blushed a
little, even as she giggled. “I’m sure you can answer a lot.”

Sophie smiled
slowly, suggestively. “I’m sure I can.”

Piling the
books into neat piles, Elsie said, “I thought you were bringing
seven of each?”

“I did.”

Elsie did a
quick recount then shook her head. “No, there’s only six of
each.”

“Really?”
Sophie frowned. “I could have sworn there were seven. I counted
them as I packed them.”

“Oh, it doesn’t
matter. You’re so busy, so much on your mind. I have a heap of the
books for people to buy and have you sign tomorrow, and some of the
girls are bringing their personal copies for you to sign as well. I
told them they could bring one copy, the rest they need to buy.
Business, you know.”

“Of course. And
I do apologise.” Where the hell had one of each title gone? Sophie
was sure she’d packed them, was a hundred percent certain of it, in
fact. Maybe she needed this holiday more than she’d thought.

Smiling, Elsie
started to repack the books into the box. “Are you working on a new
book right now?”