Monroe, Marla - Hot and Bothered (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Monroe, Marla

  “Let me tell you about a customer I had the other day. She’s from out of town and comes to visit her daughter once a month. This time, she wanted to try a bikini wax. I wasn’t sure she really knew what it entailed, so I explained it to her. She seemed a little embarrassed, but she said she understood, so I had Sandy get her ready.”

  Savanna continued the story, and soon they were both laughing about the woman screaming through the entire episode.

  “You would have thought we were torturing her.”

  “Yeah, I want to remind you of that the next time you get your wax done. You complain about it for days afterward.”

  They settled up with the waitress and headed to the club. Since they had each come in their own car, they decided to drop Karen’s off at her apartment. It was close by and they could go together in Savanna’s car. She figured that way if Karen wanted to drink a little more than was safe to drive, she’d be covered. Savanna would only have one drink tonight.

  The club wasn’t as busy as some of them tended to be. Savanna was grateful. It meant there would be less fuss with getting a table and less crowded on the dance floor. Right off, they got pulled out there. Karen seemed to be having a good time. Savanna danced but felt odd doing it. She felt like she wasn’t supposed to since she was seeing Dustin. She told herself they weren’t an item and didn’t have an exclusive relationship. They were just fuck buddies. Right?

  Karen danced most of the night, which meant she didn’t drink much at all. Savanna was glad. It would only give her a hangover the next day, plus she tended to get overly friendly when she drank too much. That had seemed to be the beginning of her and Ben’s trouble. Of course, the biggest part had been Karen’s refusal to settle down and marry Ben. She said she wasn’t ready to be tied down, but Savanna wondered if it wasn’t that she was scared. Scared of getting older and scared that she couldn’t have fun once she got married.

  Savanna spent a good portion of the night watching over Karen’s drink. You didn’t dare leave your drink unattended. Not in today’s world. Rape was an ever increasing problem among the club goers. It was fine with Savanna because she didn’t really want to dance too much. She kidded herself that she didn’t feel like dancing, but deep down, she knew it was because of Dustin. What was she going to do about them?

  * * * *

  Dustin sat back in his seat on the plane and relaxed for the first time in days. Business had kept him busy for the last four days, but it hadn’t been enough to take his mind off of Savanna. When he was supposed to be focusing on a presentation or a conversation, he was thinking about her—thinking about her smooth skin and pert breasts, remembering how it felt to sink into her hot body. Now that he was on his way back home, he could think all he wanted.

  The prospectus that Martin Sherman had screwed up was correct on one thing—the business he was looking at investing in needed a lot of work. What he’d been wrong about was how much debt the company was in. He could take it over and make it work, but it would be a big investment. Still, it might be worth it in the long run. It would get his foot in the door of a major wholesaler on the west coast. Something he wanted to do.

  His mind turned to Marty Sherman and the screwup. He claimed his assistant had messed up the numbers. If that were so, he needed to get rid of her. That sort of error could have cost him a lot of money if he hadn’t already done some of his own digging. He didn’t always do that. This was the first time they had given him a bad prospectus. He would give them one more chance.

  He put business behind him and focused on what he had planned for Savanna. He wondered what she had been doing while he was gone. He had planned to call her every day he was gone, but it had been too late by the time he reached the hotel each night. He should have made time to call her during the day sometime. Then it dawned on him he didn’t have her work number and didn’t even know the name of the day spa she managed. He would have to remedy that when he saw her again.

  He wondered if whatever had been the problem with her friend was okay now. He hoped so. It had really bothered Savanna. He also hoped the couple would accompany them to dinner and out dancing, as well. They had seemed like a nice pair. There had been undercurrents the last time he had seen them. Maybe that was what had been bothering Savanna’s friend. Couples had fights.

  The stewardess announced they were making their final approach to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. The flight had passed quickly. He couldn’t wait to get home. Dustin carried his luggage inside and sat it in his bedroom. He loosened his tie and grabbed his phone. He dialed Savanna’s number and listened to it ring and ring. When her answering machine picked up, he hesitated about leaving a message. Maybe he should try calling her again after he unpacked. He looked at his watch. It was only eight o’clock. She might have gone out to eat and just hadn’t made it home yet.

  He sighed and returned to his bedroom and the luggage that needed unpacking. He made two separate piles, one to go to the laundry and one he would wash. He couldn’t help wondering where she was, though. He realized that he was treating them like a couple. He considered them to be one and, as that, exclusive. However, they hadn’t talked about it, and she might not see it that way. The idea that she might see someone else bothered him. Had she gone out over the weekend while he was gone?

  Dustin didn’t like that idea at all and decided right then and there he would have a talk with her about their relationship. He wanted to be sure she knew he considered them a couple. He would never dictate to her what she could and couldn’t do, but she needed to know how he felt about her—about them. Sure, it had only been a few weeks, but he admitted to himself that he was serious about her.

  * * * *

  Savanna had only been home for about fifteen seconds when the phone rang. She almost let it go over to the answering machine. She was exhausted from dealing with a broken water pipe in one of the treatment rooms. Even after they had it fixed, she'd spent much of the evening mopping up water and washing and drying towels. At the last minute, she decided to answer the phone in case it was Karen. She hadn’t spoken to her all day.

  “Hello?” She was out of breath after rushing to catch the phone.

  “Savanna?” Dustin’s voice reached her ear.

  “Hey, yeah. Sorry, I just walked in the door.”

  “Do I need to let you go?”

  “No, that’s okay. Are you back in town?”

  “Yep, got in about eight. I tried calling earlier, but you must have been out.”

  “I just got home from the spa. We had a busted water pipe. I spent the last four hours mopping and cleaning up.”

  “Damn, that’s tough. I expect you’re exhausted,” he said.

  “Pretty much. How was your trip?”

  “Good. I’m glad to be home, though. Think you would feel up to lunch tomorrow? Or maybe Wednesday is a better day with the mess you’ve had to deal with today.”

  “Um, yeah. Wednesday would be better. What time? I’ll meet you somewhere.”

  “How about eleven thirty?” he asked.

  “Sounds good. Where do you want to meet?”

  They discussed where to eat. Then he asked her what she had been doing while he had been gone. Savanna hesitated over telling him about going out but in the long run figured she didn’t have any reason to feel bad about it.

  “Karen and I went out Saturday night. She needed a night out. She’s been going through some problems and needed to take her mind off them.”

  “Did you have a good time?”

  He sounded a bit strained when he asked. Savanna wondered if he was mad at her. He shouldn’t be. They didn’t have an exclusive relationship. They hadn’t even talked about one. Still, she felt guilty, and that pissed her off.

  “Yes, we did. Karen danced most of the night. I danced some but mostly kept a hold of our table.”

  “So Karen is doing okay then?” His voice still sounded a bit off to her.

  “Yes, she’s better, but things are still up in the air with her r
ight now.”

  “I was hoping that we could go out Saturday night. Do you think she and Ben would be interested in going along?” Dustin asked.

  Savanna hesitated about telling him that Karen and Ben weren’t together anymore. It really wasn’t his business. Still, he would know if Karen came along with them without Ben. Savanna planned on inviting Karen.

  “She and Ben aren’t seeing each other anymore.”

  “Hey, I’m sorry. I thought they were pretty happy together.”

  “Yeah, well, things happen. I still want to invite her.”

  “Of course. It will do her good to get out, and it’s safer with someone else along.”

  “Thanks. Look, I don’t mean to cut you off, but I’m nasty and wet and would like to jump in the shower.”

  “Hey, I’m really sorry. You’re bound to be miserable. I’ll talk to you Wednesday about Saturday night.”

  “Great. Glad you’re back in town. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Savanna hung up, but she kept the phone in her hand as she thought back over their conversation. She wasn’t wrong. He had sounded a little upset after she had told him she and Karen had gone out. If he had a problem with it, they were already in trouble. She wasn’t going to desert her friend when she needed her.

  She put the phone down and walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower before stripping out of her soggy clothes. Savanna stepped into the shower, enjoying the hot water flowing over her. Then she started to think about the last time she and Dustin had shared the shower. What would it be like to shower together all the time? I don’t need to be thinking like that. We aren’t a couple. Yeah, but it sounded like Dustin wanted them to be. What was she going to do about that?

  Chapter Eight

  Wednesday always turned out to be a light day at the spa. She enjoyed it. She could focus on the mundane aspects of the business without a lot of hubbub going on around her. It was boring stuff but necessary. Usually she did the heaviest part of the bookkeeping in the morning then let some of her staff go in the afternoon. She didn’t mind helping whoever was left to see to any walk-in customers. Today, Irene was working the afternoon shift. She had no trouble handling the few customers who wandered in. Savanna focused on finishing the paperwork so she could enjoy lunch with Dustin.

  She was looking forward to seeing him again. That should have bothered her, but she refused to let it today. They would have a nice lunch. What would they talk about? She wasn’t sure. There were so many things she didn’t know about him. Stupid. You don’t need to know all about him. That’s asking for trouble, Savanna. Let sleeping dogs lie. She sighed. Keeping it about the sex was getting harder and harder.

  Her cell phone rang, interrupting her thoughts about Dustin. Probably a good thing, too, she thought. She answered the phone before it could go into messaging mode.

  “Hey, Savanna.” It was Karen on the phone.

  “Hey! How are you?”

  “I’m okay. Work has been extra busy lately. We’re still working on that big project. I wish I knew what company it was for. It would make it easier to know what they were looking for information-wise.”

  “Martin still keeping it to himself?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know what he is thinking, but I don’t trust him.”

  Savanna didn’t either and was worried about her friend. Something was going on, that was for sure.

  “Watch your back, Karen. You know he is up to something. You got a copy of everything at home, right?” Savanna asked.

  “Yep. And I’m keeping a record of everything, too,” Karen said.

  “Listen, Dustin and I are going out Saturday night. Why don’t you come with us? He asked about you.”

  “I don’t know. I was planning on just relaxing and doing girl stuff. Doing my nails, shaving, all that sort of thing.”

  “Come to the spa instead. Get everything done and go out with us.” Savanna wanted her friend to go. Maybe she would meet someone to take her mind off everything.

  “I’ll think about it. Hey, got to go. I put a casserole in the oven, and it’s ready. I’ll talk to you later in the week.”

  “Okay. Call me if you need me.” Savanna hung up.

  What could Martin be up to? It worried her. Karen, bless her heart, was having so much trouble right now. She hoped she would go out with them. It would be good for her. Savanna looked at her watch and realized if she didn’t hurry she would be late for lunch with Dustin.

  “Hey, Irene. I’m going to lunch. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  “Take your time. We aren’t doing much right now anyway. Mostly people buying things. Which reminds me. We need to order more of the pumice rock. It’s sold out already.”

  Savanna made a note, and grabbing her purse, she ran out the door. She hoped she wouldn’t be too late. She had no idea how Dustin was with late people. Hell, it didn’t matter, she told herself. She parked outside the restaurant and made it inside only five minutes later. Savanna found him sitting at a table near the back. He didn’t look at his watch or appear upset. Why she was relieved, she didn’t know. Like she’d told herself earlier, it didn’t matter. He could get over it if he was.

  “Hey, sorry I’m a little late.” She took a seat across from him.

  “No problem, I know you’re busy.”

  Right, remember, he doesn’t work a steady job. He can afford to wait.

  “Have you ordered yet?” she asked.

  “No, I was waiting on you. The ham and cheese looks good to me,” he said.

  “I think I’ll go with the grilled chicken salad. It’s really good.”

  “Ah, think I’ll stick with the ham.” He laughed.

  Savanna smiled, but before she could say anything, the waitress walked up and asked about their drink orders. After they gave them, Dustin reached across the table and took her hand. He rubbed his thumb over the back of it and smiled at her.

  “Did you have much damage from the busted pipe?” he asked.

  “A little. Had to replace a cabinet that warped, but at least it didn’t happen in one of the carpeted rooms. This room had stone floors. Made cleanup easier, too.”

  “So, how is work today? Busy?”

  “Well, business is always slow on Wednesdays, but I do the paperwork on Wednesdays, so I’m busy.”

  “Yeah, paperwork is a killer. Have you talked to Karen to find out if she can go with us?” he asked.

  “I talked to her today. She said maybe. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. She needs to get out.”

  “Everything working out for her now?”

  Savanna wasn’t sure how much to tell him. “Things are better but still not great.”

  “So tell me about your family. I don’t think I know anything.” He leaned in toward her as if he was really interested.

  Savanna wasn’t sure what to say. She really didn’t want to talk about her family with him. One, because she wasn’t really close to any of them, and two, she didn’t want to get personal with him.

  The waitress returned with their drinks and to take their order. Once they were alone again, Savanna cleared her throat and asked a question about his job.

  “Did you work this morning?”

  He frowned. “Yeah. Been busy, but not too busy to eat lunch with you.”

  Savanna smiled and ducked her head.

  They talked about movies and the books they both read. There weren’t that many, but they did share a couple of authors. He teased her about her love for paranormal romances.

  “I mean really, shape-shifter lovers? Isn’t that sort of kinky?”

  “I happen to like kinky,” she said, raising her chin.

  “Oh, you do, do you? Maybe I need to bring ropes next time.” Dustin looked amused.

  “Maybe you should.” Two could play at that game, she thought.

  He laughed and waggled his eyebrows at her. “I think we’ll have some fun next time we have some time alone.”

  The waitress returned with their orders, and
they ate in silence. Savanna wondered if he would actually get kinky with her. She was game to try most anything. The idea got her excited. She sighed. All she needed was wet panties to deal with the rest of the day. Maybe she could run home and change.

  “Hey, you have an interesting look on your face. Are you thinking naughty thoughts about us?” Dustin asked.

  “I plead the fifth on that one.” She laughed.

  Dustin leaned over. “So if I checked you, I wouldn’t find that you’re wet and ready for me?” he whispered.

  “Shh. Someone is going to hear you.” Savanna took a good drink of her water and smiled mischievously at him.

  She slipped off her shoe and ran her foot up his leg. Sure enough, he was just as turned on as she was. His cock lay along the inside of his thigh all hard and long. She smiled and slipped her shoe back on.

  “You little minx,” he said.

  “I’d better get back to the spa. I don’t want to leave Irene by herself too long.” She stood up. “I really enjoyed lunch.”

  Dustin stood up and pulled her toward him for a kiss. As his kisses went, it was tame compared to the usual ones when they were alone.

  “Have a good day. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Savanna blew a kiss and left, thinking dirty thoughts all the way back to the spa.

  * * * *

  Thursday evening, Savanna had just gotten home when someone knocked on the door. Thinking it might be Dustin, she smiled as she opened the door. Her smile dimmed a little but not a lot. Karen stood on the other side.

  “Hey, I bet you were expecting someone else with that smile,” Karen said as she walked inside.

  Savanna closed the door behind her and laughed.

  “Caught me. I’m glad you came, though. I haven’t seen you since last weekend.”

  “Yeah, been busy at work. I’m trying really hard to make sure everything is perfect.” Karen followed Savanna into the kitchen.

  “How about some wine?” she asked.

  “Sounds great.” Karen took down glasses while Savanna pulled a bottle of wine out of the fridge.