“Alan Hyatt is the man you almost married?” Ethan demanded in a voice that was a cross between a growl and shouting.

His inexplicable anger traveled across the phone lines, perversely increasing her excitement. Was there something wrong with her that his darker emotions sparked sexual need in her? She wanted to tame the savage beast…with her body.

Talk about kinky.

“Yes, now you know what we share in our past.” At least Ethan’s curiosity should be satisfied. “I think that’s why my dad hired him and didn’t tell me beforehand. I’m just guessing, but I have a feeling Dad was hoping seeing Alan again would spark dormant feelings in me.”

“Did it?” Definitely a growl.

Wow. “Do you think I would have flashed you with my panties tonight if it had?” she asked softly.

“Maybe.”

“I’m not like that.”

“So, you have no feelings for him.”

“None.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“How many lovers have there been since him?”

“This is getting personal.”

“It crossed that line when I dropped my pants and showed you my raging hard-on.”

She gasped.

A dark chuckle sent tremors rippling through some very interesting places in her body.

“So, how many?”

“None.”

“Why?”

“It was easier and safer to daydream.” And she’d only wanted one man since her broken engagement. Ethan. Definitely safer to daydream about him.

But was safe all it was cracked up to be?

“What about before him?”

“What is this? Are you trying to decide if I have enough experience to be an eligible partner for the Stud?”

“No, I’m trying to get to know you better, baby. Now answer the question.”

“How come your version of getting to know me has so much to do with sex?”

“What do you mean?”

“You went through my panties drawer.”

“And your shoe rack…and your bookshelf.”

Point taken. Maybe she was the one with sex on the brain. “I was a virgin before I met Alan.”

“Isn’t that a little archaic?”

“I don’t know. It was right for me. I told you I didn’t date much.”

“So, you want to wait until you have another very committed relationship before having sex again?”

That had been her plan, but now she thought it could stand to be improved upon. After all, she was starting to doubt that a long-term very committed relationship was ever going to happen.

She took the plunge. “No. I want to have sex with you.”

“And you don’t want a commitment with me. Because I’m an agent.”

“Even if you were an insurance adjuster, I think you’d scare me, Ethan. You’re not the kind of guy who could stay with the same woman very long. Especially one like me.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

It was a throw-away remark and she refused to take it as anything else. She knew Ethan agreed with her. He’d already said he didn’t want to get into a long-term relationship, but he did want her. He’d called her in the middle of the night because he couldn’t sleep for wanting her.

Maybe she would get a chance to make those fantasies come true after all. This time, she wasn’t looking for the perfect rendition of her dream either. She wasn’t going to let the limits of their relationship hurt. Because she wasn’t going to fall in love with him. She wasn’t that stupid.

“I want you, Ethan.”

“No doubts?”

“None.” Well, mostly none. None that she was going to share with him. None that were going to get in the way of her actually living, not just thinking about it, for a change.

“Damn, baby…we both have to work tomorrow, but it might be worth coming over. We could call in sick tomorrow.”

“I can’t. Neither can you. I’ve got to get things ready for when I’m gone and you’ve got a case to work on.” She wasn’t just looking for excuses either. Things were happening so fast, she really could not afford to call in sick. She’d end up letting people down and she hated that.

“You’re a heavy task master, Sunshine.”

“I don’t mean to be.” She wished she could dismiss her responsibilities, just this once.

Because her body was throbbing with needs she’d never felt, even when she’d been at her most involved with Alan. She moved restlessly in the bed and wondered how much courage she had. She wasn’t a scaredy-cat…she really wasn’t. But she was a dreamer and it was past time she became a doer.

“We could…”

“Yeah?” One word said in that deep Texas drawl and she shuddered.

She wanted this. She hoped he would, too. “We could talk to each other…dirty…on the phone.”

“Are you propositioning me for phone sex, little Beth?” He didn’t sound amused. He sounded aroused. Hot. Like he definitely liked the idea.

And that gave her the courage to whisper, “Yes,” into the phone.

He choked out another curse. “Put the phone on speaker mode and get comfortable, baby.”

Speaker mode? The idea shocked her, but then she laughed at her own embarrassment. Who was going to hear? The kittens? She did as he said, sliding against the cool silk sheets until she was lying on her back, her breasts rising and falling with each rapid breath.

“Are you comfortable, sweetheart?”

“Yes. What about you?”

His answer was to laugh. “Oh, yeah.”

“Are you touching yourself?” she dared to ask.

“My hand is wrapped around my cock and I’m pretending it’s your fingers making me ache like this.”

“Oh…” Her hands clenched and unclenched as she wished she were the one touching his big erection. “Rub it up and down.”

He moaned. “I keep doing that and I’m not going to last long. You’d better make it even.”

“Touch myself?”

“Yes. Now, Beth.” His voice resonated with command.

He couldn’t see her, but she felt like she was doing something horribly intimate right in front of him. She’d asked for this though, and she wasn’t going to back out. She wanted this intimacy, even if it felt strange and a little scary.

Shaking from a combination of desire and nerves, she slid her hand between her thighs and lightly brushed her pubic hair. Pleasure arced through her feminine center. She moaned.

“You touching yourself, baby?” His voice sounded hoarse.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

He wanted specifics? “My hair…down there.”

“Not your lips yet?”

“No.” But she could feel her wetness on the short curls and knew she wouldn’t last long before swirling a fingertip over her clitoris.

“Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I told you not to.”

While most of her fantasies had centered around him tied to her bed at her mercy, this dominance game excited her so much she could barely breathe. “What if I want to?”

“Do you? Are you hungry to slide one little finger between your swollen folds and check to see how wet you are? That’s what I’d do right now if I was there. Then I’d taste it.”

She gasped.

He laughed. Oh, gosh…how did a man’s laugh carry such dark and sexy overtones?

“I’m not tasting myself.”

“We’ll leave that for a time when I can watch.”

She wasn’t sure about that, but she was too excited to argue. “What now?” she asked, giving him unspoken permission to be in charge. For now.

“I want you to touch your breasts so I can picture you doing it. And tell me what you are doing every single step of the way.”

Heat surged between her legs as she complied. “I’m sliding both my hands up my body…slowly,” she dared to tease and was rewarded by a masculine sound of approval. “Now, I’m cupping myself and squeezing. It feels good.”

“Are you fantasizing it’s my hands touching you?”

“Yes.” She sighed out a moan. “But your hands are bigger.”

“Yes, they are. And stronger…though I would never use that strength to hurt.”

“I know.” She kneaded her breasts, finding the stimulation twice as erotic because she knew he was thinking of her doing it.

“You have beautiful, soft breasts.” His drawl was so enticing, hearing it was almost enough to make her climax. “But I’ve only seen them through clothes. Tell me what they look like.”