Undercover Lovers (20 page)

But he’d been hard for her.
She must be doing something right. He’d called her cute. If she
could just stop babbling to fill the silence, maybe he’d still want
to do her. Hot guys probably didn’t have a lot of patience for
slightly drunken/drugged, chatty, horny girls.

She needed to turn him on.
Quickly. Talking fish did it with Ted. She was reasonably sure that
wouldn’t work here. How did girls flirt? She’d gone from one
long-term relationship to another with very few regular dating
breaks between. Acting witty and sexy didn't come easily to her but
she could learn.

She hoped.

As if he could sense her
nerves, he started asking her about herself. Nothing too deep, just
getting to know you questions. She returned his conversational
volleys, pleased they had some books and TV shows in
common.

The ex-cop-turned-stripper
and the call center rep. Imagine that.

“
I don’t have big career
aspirations,” she said, sucking on the last of her second iced tea.
“I’m happy to be able to pay the bills and have time for my
hobbies.”

“
Oh yeah? Like
what?”

“
Well, I like to swim. I
have a gym membership and I take all the classes. Cardio dance,
aerobics, spinning.”

“
I could use some of your
training.” His sexy mouth quirked. “You must be
really…flexible.”

“
Yeah, I am.” It took a
second for her to realize he was coming on to her. “Plus I travel
all over the world. My parents live in Omaha and we usually take
trips together once or twice a year. I’ve been to thirty-two
countries and counting. You should see my scrapbooks.”

“
That would be really nice.
You should invite me over.”

“
To my place?” About to say
no, she remembered her roommate had gone out of town. “Sure, why
not? How about tonight?”

Once again that shifty
expression slid over his face.
What the
hell?
Maybe she needed to skip the
pleasantries and get down to business.

“
Ever been to that club
before?” Shane asked, just as she opened her mouth yet again and
inserted her chunky wedge heel.

“
Do you like
blowjobs?”

His eyebrows practically
disappeared under the dark fringe at his hairline. He edged forward
and licked his perfectly kissable mouth. “Did you just ask me if I
like blowjobs?” he asked in a low voice. “I swear that’s what it
sounded like.”

“
Yes.” She folded her hands
in front of her and met his gaze head-on. “I haven’t given nearly
enough of them but I’d like to practice.”

Instead of rubbing her thigh
or maybe playing footsie—though with his steel-toed boots she
wasn’t sure that could work—he rested his head against the back of
his seat and laughed. Just laughed. “You’re hilarious.”

“
I’m not being funny. I’m
serious. I’d like to give you a blowjob.”
Preferably before this weak-assed buzz wears off…

Unfortunately the waitress
picked that moment to arrive with two platters of appetizers. She
set down their nachos with extra jalapeños and plate of mozzarella
sticks before asking if they needed anything else. Both shook their
heads.

When he still didn't
respond, Emma shrugged and reached for a mozz stick. No reason to
waste good food. She dipped it in marinara sauce and took a big
bite, drawing the cheese out from between her lips. “Ouch. Hot,
hot!”

She grabbed her empty iced
tea and realized she’d forgotten to ask the server for more.
Desperate, she tipped the glass back to try to get a little liquid
and got her wish of flashing him tight nipple when ice cubes
tumbled down her shirt.

 
He snatched the sheaf
of extra napkins and leaned toward her, hurriedly patting her chest
as she sucked on the one measly ice chip she’d managed to get in
her mouth. Their gazes collided when his knuckles brushed one of
those taut tips she’d been so eager to show off.

“
Sorry,” he muttered,
recoiling as if she’d bent down and bit him.

Apparently talk of blowjobs
and hard nipples didn't turn him on. Check. So what was left? She
sifted through her mental file of bass fishing tips then shelved
them as a last resort.

“
No problem.” She knew she
was blushing but kept right on eating her molten mozzarella stick
while he shoved a loaded nacho in his mouth.

After they’d demolished most
of the food, he propped a forearm on the table and signaled for the
waitress. He ordered a beer then proceeded to drink approximately
two sips before he incinerated her sturdy panties with his piercing
gaze.

“
How often do you go to the
club?”

Man, he had a thing for
Strippendales. Emma fished out an ice cube and rubbed it over her
burnt lip. Sore lip, raw tongue…maybe this wasn’t the right night
to pursue wild sex. Not that it looked like she'd be getting any.
“What’s the big deal?”

“
No deal.” He shrugged.
“Just wondering if maybe you get off on the mystique more than the
man.”

“
Mystique of what? That you
take off your clothes for money?” She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, big
mystique. Next week I’ll start chasing rock stars and hanging out
in the back of tour buses.”

“
Don’t think you’ll be very
popular without that blowjob practice.”

Jerk.
She reached for her purse and withdrew her wallet. “Another
dream crushed.”

“
I’ll pay.”

“
No, I’ve got it.” She gave
him a quick smile. “I can live without the mystique of a guy paying
for my meal too.”

“
I said I’ve got it. I
insulted you, though that wasn’t my intention. Let me make it up to
you by grabbing the bill,” he said quietly, his expressive eyes
entirely too alluring. She couldn’t think clearly when he looked at
her like that.

Wasn’t that what she wanted?
To be hot and boneless and driven crazy with desire? Yes indeedy,
she did. Maybe she should let him make up for his rude and fickle
behavior in a much more meaningful way than by paying for some
appetizers.

“
I’ll make you a deal,
Shane.” She licked her lips and wished she’d glossed them after
leaving the club. “Easy peasy one, too. I let you pay the bill. You
let me—”

“
No.” Breathing hard, he
placed his hand over hers on the table, his palm large, rough and
oh so warm. “No blowjobs.”

She smiled despite herself.
“I wanted to ask if you’d let me give you a stripping
lesson.”

He reached up to run a
fingertip around his collar. “What?”

Emma leaned forward until
their faces were close.
Very
close. “I want to teach you how to strip
properly,” she said in her most seductive whisper. “What do you
say, Stripper Shane?”

Dear God, how had he ended
up here?

Shane sat on the couch in
his small studio with his knees pressed together, his gaze bouncing
back and forth between his entertainment and the ceiling. Though he
tried, he couldn’t feign disinterest in the scene unfolding in
front of him. On the contrary, his granite-hard cock could provide
Maureen with plenty to hold on to if she really wanted to swing
around and flash some ass.

Anytime now he'd go up like
a torch. The stifling heat of the apartment didn’t help but his
sudden internal fever had been caused mainly by the hot as hell
woman shimmying and shaking a few feet away. That she wore blah
clothes and clunky shoes only added a certain charm.

“
Shane,” she said
breathlessly. “Are you paying attention? Your eyes aren’t
focused.”

“
I’m halfway
cross-eyed.”

She laughed and pushed a
hand through her tangled curls. “Only halfway?”

“
I’m immune to provocation.”
His eyebrow winged up as she glanced deliberately at his lap.
“Trust me, any other guy would be unconscious by now.”

“
You’re just being nice.”
She adjusted her top, allowing him to see her peaked nipples. Fuck,
was she even making
herself
aroused? He couldn’t blame her. Christ, he hoped
her pussy was wet. It wouldn’t be fair if he suffered
alone.

Not that all this suffering
would lead anywhere. Even if she’d said things that made him wonder
if he’d found the right woman, failure was not an option. She had
to be Maureen Shawcross and he’d have to jerk off in the shower the
minute she went home to Connor. Or her harem of escort
boys.

A private club he’d clearly
never be asked to join.

Unless she intended to ask
him for a private audition once she’d finished her routine. If so,
he couldn’t refuse, and not because his balls were as sore as if
they’d been massaged with burning coals. He had to see this job
through to the bitter end—

Liar. You just want in her
sexy, lush body. Whatever it takes. Whatever the cost.

“
You think you’re
cross-eyed? I want to run out that door and never come back. But I
promised you a lesson.”

“
Run out the door?
Why?”

With a rueful smile, she
held up her hands. Both palms were damp. “Strippers aren’t supposed
to be nervous.”

Oddly endeared, Shane
extended his socked foot to stroke the inside of her ankle. Even
that much bare flesh made him long to see the rest. “I almost threw
up before my sets.”

“
Really? You weren’t that
awkward. Well, a little. Like you didn’t care that you
sucked.”

He laughed at her sudden
frown, almost as if she’d just realized what she said. “I think you
owe me more skin for that one.”

Without flinching, she
gripped a handful of her skirt and pulled it higher, revealing a
trim calf and a hint of knee. “Better?”

To distract himself from
wrestling her to the floor, Shane reached over and turned up the
volume on the stereo beside the couch. He’d never more appreciated
the tight quarters of his apartment than he did tonight. He
seriously didn’t think he could stand up and walk across the room
right now. Not with this hard-on.

“
Not nearly enough.” Once
he’d found an appropriate stripping song, he lifted his brows and
sat back. “Show me what you’ve got.”

She flushed but she didn’t
balk. How could she? The stripping lesson had been her idea. As had
been the blowjob he wanted desperately right about now.

“
I love this song.” She
rotated her hips and tugged up more of her skirt. He tensed as she
revealed more of her toned thighs—and what thighs they were—then
she stopped and pursed her lips.

What now?

Changing directions, she
dropped her skirt and instead grasped the hem of her shirt, tugging
up just enough to show off a bit of her soft belly. He nearly
groaned. While he stared, she revealed the round swells of her
breasts hidden by the least provocative bra he'd ever seen. He
almost lost it right there.

“
Jesus,” he muttered, unable
to check his language. He needed her to keep going. Keep moving
those hips, keep showing him her breasts. Innocent white cotton had
never turned him on more.

She stopped again,
expression conflicted. He was about to hold out a hand to her when
she wrenched off her top, tossing the silky fabric aside. Her skirt
came next. Before he could blink, she cast aside her panties,
leaving her pussy bare and on display.

Pretty. So damn pretty, with
a scant ruffle of brown curls guarding the heat between her legs.
He wanted to taste her. Lap up the juice he hoped clung to her dark
pink lips.

But he didn’t. Heart
hammering, Shane dragged his gaze up to hers and saw the longing
radiating in her eyes. “You didn’t mention anything about a naked
striptease.”

She offered him a tentative
smile. “I’d rather show you all of me than my
underwear.”

He tried not to laugh. He
really did. But she made him so borderline giddy he couldn't help
it. “You’re not like any other woman I’ve ever met.”

Even so, she wasn’t
available. Even if she tipped her hips up in the sultriest
imitation of slow fucking he’d ever seen, he had to maintain his
distance.

Stop it. Can’t happen.
Reboot.

“
Does that mean you’re
rethinking that blowjob?”

Her smile turned sly as she
toyed with the little rose between the cups of her bra. He’d never
seen one quite that industrial-looking before but the cleavage it
contained made up for any design shortcomings. The rest of her body
blew his mind too. God, what he wouldn't give to have her wrapped
around him all night long.

So much for trying to talk
himself out of having sex with her. Shit, he didn’t have to go that
far. He’d happily settle for those plump, slick lips sliding up and
down his rigid length until he came inside that gorgeous
mouth.

Would she let him do that?
Probably not, considering she’d said she hadn’t given a lot of BJs.
But this little striptease confirmed she had a naughty side he’d
guess she didn’t unleash too often.