The Virgin Sex Queen (8 page)

“I’m always
plotting.”

“I just bet.”
Elsie glanced sideways at her. “Where do you do your research?”

Sophie smiled
her slow smile again, the smile that she knew seemed to hold a lot
of secrets, a lot of knowledge - personal knowledge - and she
lowered her lashes just a little to cover her eyes.

She’d practiced
this look a lot. In fact, Ghost had helped her practice it until
she’d perfected that knowing glimmer in her eyes and that slow,
sexy smile. It was her trademark expression for questions such as
this one, and as usual, it worked.

“Oh my God.”
Elsie fanned her face. “Really?”

Sophie just
continued to smile.

“Wow. Care to
elaborate?”

“I keep that
for my stories.” Changing the subject, Sophie gestured to Elsie’s
hand. “Wedding ring. Husband and kids?”

“Frank and I
have two children. Banes of my life, all of them.” Elsie’s eyes
twinkled.

“But I’m
guessing you wouldn’t part with them?”

“You’d be
guessing right.” Elsie regarded Sophie curiously. “How about
you?”

“Not right
now.” Sophie replied nonchantly.

“I bet you’ve
had a few boyfriends.” Elsie winked. “Experience, right?”

“Life is full
of them.” Eager to change the topic again, Sophie glanced around
the shop. “So where am I going to be situated for the signing
tomorrow?”

Talk turned to
the book signing and what the procedure was going to be, though
Sophie privately thought she’d just be glad if someone turned up.
Book signings were nerve-wracking. She’d never forgotten the first
one, early in her career when she was trying to make a name for
herself. While it had been fun, she’d been a new author and not
many people had stopped by her table. It had made for a lonely and
slightly humiliated feeling, almost as though she were a little
girl trying to play with the grown-ups.

Well, until
Ghost had seen her, then he’d moved his table right up next to hers
and everyone who came to him for a book signing - and there had
actually been a line-up - he’d introduced to her. Not long after,
several girlfriends and wives had come up to her table with books
newly purchased for her to sign.

Normally she’d
have felt like she was taking charity but Ghost had been so
friendly, so understanding, that she’d felt like he’d taken her
under his wing like a mother bird, and in fact he’d done just that,
teaching her how to conduct herself in public, building her
confidence.

In private
there wasn’t a whole lot he could do, but for her public face, her
game face as he called it, he’d coached her well. Now she could
smile and look secretive and knowledgeable, even get a naughty
twinkle in her eye when needed, without blushing.

Well, until
Alan had walked back into her life. Somehow he still had the power
to make her blush unexpectedly, until she’d gotten her own back on
him last night. Just the memory had her grinning.

“Thinking of
one of your books?” Elsie asked.

Sophie blinked.
“Pardon?”

“That look on
your face was positively wicked. Thinking of a particular
character?”

Sophie’s smile
broadened. “A particular character is right.”

“I can’t wait
to read about him.” Elsie moved a little closer. “Any hints?”

“Sorry, I don’t
give hints.” Sophie winked. “I prefer the big bang.”

“Don’t we all!
Elsie giggled. “Frank certainly delivered on that after reading
Heavy Handed
.”

“Glad to be of
service.” Sophie picked up a novel lying on the counter. Playing
with the edge of the bookmark, she studied the cover. “So what else
do you read apart from romances?”

“Oh, I love
cookbooks. My kitchen is full of cookbooks. Frank reckons he’s put
on weight since we married from my cooking. I’m taking that as a
compliment.”

“Lucky you.”
Sophie smiled.

“You can’t
cook?”

“No, that you
have a man to compliment you.”

“Pshaw.” Elsie
shook her head. “I bet you’re used to getting a lot of compliments
from your boyfriends. Hot compliments.”

Keep the
game face on
. “Sometimes it’s nice to get compliments for other
things.”

“True.” Elsie
nodded thoughtfully. “Can’t be all sex, can it?”

“If life ran on
that alone, we’d all starve. We need good cooks, too.”

“Maybe we
should keep naked, hunky chefs chained to our kitchens?”

“Sure,” Sophie
drawled. “Can always use a table or kitchen bench.”

“Are we talking
for food or sex?”

“Both.”

They laughed
and Sophie stayed for a few minutes more before leaving, making
excuses that she had a hundred things to do.

Once out in the
car, she leaned her head back against the headrest and gazed out
the front windshield. Sometimes it was hard to keep the game face
on but she had to keep it on tomorrow, depending how things went.
One could never tell.

She jumped when
something knocked sharply on her window, and turning, she caught a
glimpse of a blue shirt.

Geez, the cops
again? What had she done wrong this time? Was she parked in a ‘no
parking’ zone or something? Sophie cast a quick glance around as
she wound the window down but no, she was parked correctly.

Just as she
looked upwards, the cop squatted down beside her door and she found
herself looking into Alan’s amused face.

“Cripes,” she
said, “don’t you have a job to do?”

“I’m doing
it.”

“Really? What,
am I the bad guy you’re chasing?”

“You’re bad, we
all know that now.”

But he
wasn’t chasing her
. Somehow that fleeting thought made her feel
a little down. Man, she really needed to get something to eat, the
lack of substance was making her brain go weird.

“Saw you coming
out of Elsie’s shop.” Alan glanced from her to the shop and back
again. “Getting ready for the book signing tomorrow?”

“How do you
know about that?”

“It’s my job to
know what’s going on in my city, ma’am.”

Sophie rolled
her eyes.

“I beat it out
of Sam with my baton the other night.”

“Baton? Alan,
you disappoint me.” Sophie slipped easily into sultry mode. “No
spanking?”

“With Sam?” He
shook his head. “He’s not my type.”

“Too tall?”

“Too male.”

“I see.”

“Really?” He
looked at her with interest. “What is my type?”

“Any woman
who’ll spread her legs.”

“Oh Soph.” He
actually looked pained. “So wrong.”

“Tall, slim
blondes.”

“Wrong
again.”

“Small
redheads?”

“Getting
close.”

“Old
ladies?”

“Define
‘old’.”

Sophie barely
restrained her laugh. “Any woman who doesn’t creak when she bends
over?”

“Hmm.” Alan
rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What if she only creaks a
little?”

“Hey, it’s your
definition. You tell me.”

“Really?” His
eyes gleamed. “You really want to know?”

“Hmm.” Sophie
mimicked his chin rub. “Let’s see, do I really want to know this
much about your sex life? Let me think…how about no?”

“You don’t know
what you’re missing. I could be giving you free material to use in
your next book. Guaranteed to make you millions.”

“You are so
generous.”

“I’m also a
total chick magnet and an amazing shagger.”

“Do tell.”

“Sure. Now, I
first-”

Reaching out,
Sophie slapped her hand over his mouth. “Stop right there.”

“Mmff mmm fff?”
There was a little puff of dampness on her palm, a soft whisper of
his lips against her skin.

Who’d ever have
thought male lips could be so soft? Sure, she’d written about them,
but to actually feel it…

Maintaining her
façade, she removed her hand and arched a brow at him.

“I said, are
you sure?” Alan repeated.

“Certain.”

“I could even
demonstrate.”

“Voyeurism
isn’t my thing.”

“Who said
anything about watching?”

Sophie actually
blinked. One, because she didn’t think she’d actually heard right,
and two, because Alan’s already dark eyes had gotten just a little
darker.

For several
long seconds they looked at each other. Or rather, she stared and
he just gazed right back, those dark eyes starting to smoulder. The
silence seemed to thicken with unspoken thoughts, unspoken
insinuations, and Sophie was too scared to break the silence, too
scared to break what was, to her, an amazing experience on its
own.

“Alan!” The
deep rumble broke the silence, making Sophie start and glance in
the rear-view mirror to see The Incredible Hulk sitting in the
driver’s seat of the cop car parked behind her. “We have to
go.”

When her gaze
dropped back to Alan, he smiled at her in the familiar teasing way
he had and said, “Gotta go, Soph. You be good.” Straightening up,
he walked back to the cop car.

She couldn’t
help but watch him in the side mirror, switching her gaze to the
rear-view mirror as he rounded the back of her car. The cop’s
uniform gave him an air of authority, no doubt about it. What girl
didn’t like a man in uniform? But there was something else about
him, too. The man
in
the uniform. And boy, did the uniform
do him justice? Hell yes. Just as the low-slung jeans had done him
justice yesterday, showing his body in all its glory. Or nearly all
its glory.

The lights on
top of the cop car swirled to life, the siren cutting through the
air as the car pulled out in front of the traffic. Alan gave her a
quick wave as they shot past and then the traffic coming in behind
took them from sight.

Sitting there,
she was more than aware of her pulse beating a lot quicker than it
normally did, and it had nothing to do with nerves.

And it sure as
hell had nothing to do with Alan. She turned the key in the
ignition. That particular ‘chick magnet’ could in no way affect her
pulse. Ever.

However, she
now knew what a man’s lips felt like against her palm. Pulling the
notepad from her handbag, she started jotting.

She spent the
day revisiting a few places she’d known, as well as a couple of
other bookstores just for the sheer pleasure it gave her to see her
books on the racks. No one recognised her and she was free to
browse and eventually buy some new books. A trip to the supermarket
for a shopping expedition so she could add to the food supply at
Sam’s home, as well as to buy a few extra items she needed, and a
stop off at the beach front to sit and sip a Diet Coke while
enjoying watching the sea gulls walk up to her car to eye her in
anticipation of her tossing out some food. Even though she had
nothing to give them, they continued to sit nearby, keeping their
gazes on her car until something caught their attention further
along the beach, sending them up into the air squawking and
wheeling away to investigate what was probably a food source of
some kind.

When she
returned home in the late afternoon, she saw that Sam’s keys and
wallet were carelessly tossed on the kitchen bench, a bowl and cup
resting in the sink. He was obviously home and asleep.

After quietly
bringing inside the bags of groceries, she walked along the hallway
to his bedroom. The door was wide open and a peek in revealed a
shock of sandy hair sticking up above the covers. The doona was
thrown back, the only thing covering him a thin sheet out of which
one muscular, bare leg protruded. The big foot attached twitched as
SJ sat up from where he’d been slumped against Sam’s thigh. Clearly
not impressed at having his nap disturbed, the ginger cat eyed
Sophie narrowly.

Reaching in,
she took hold of the door handle and carefully started to close the
door.

“Don’t do
that,” a voice murmured right behind her.

Sophie jumped
violently, her mouth opening involuntarily to scream in fright.
Faster than she could think, a hand clamped over her mouth, an arm
wrapped around her waist and she was dragged backwards into the
middle of the hallway where she couldn’t grasp anything to make a
noise to alert her cousin. The arm around her waist tightened as
she struggled.

“Ssshh, Soph.
It’s me.” The words were hissed against her ear.

Now she
registered the presence behind her, his voice familiar, and
relieved, she stilled.

“You arse!” she
hissed back over her shoulder as soon as Alan’s hand shifted from
her mouth.

“Oh, not nice.”
Arm still around her waist, Alan proceeded to tow her backwards
down the hallway.

“Will you let
me go?” She stumbled, falling back against him.

Give the man
credit, he didn’t grunt or stumble in turn. Instead, he moved so
that his arm was still around her waist but now she was snugged up
against his side, and he steered her effortlessly into the kitchen
before releasing her.

“What the hell
did you scare me like that for?” Sophie demanded angrily.

“I scared you?”
Arms folded across his chest, Alan leaned back against the table
and raised one eyebrow at her.

“I thought some
creep had entered and was going to do me in!” Heart only just now
beginning to slow down, Sophie braced her hands on her hips. “What
did you do that for?”

“Sam wakes up
as soon as you close his bedroom door.” Alan shrugged. “He sleeps
better when you move around normally - not loudly, you know, you
gotta have some consideration - but just be normal and he’ll sleep
like the dead.”

“That doesn’t
explain you creeping up behind me.”

“I didn’t creep
up behind you, petal, I walked up, but you were so busy ogling your
own cousin that you didn’t hear me.” Alan paused, a twinkle
appearing in his eyes. “Which, by the way, yuck.”

“I was not
ogling him.” Crossing to the table, Sophie stood across from him as
she started unpacking the groceries. “And in return - eeewww to
your imagination. That’s disgusting.”