by Jinx Jamison
Bought but never worn.
"If you're going to do this, you might as well go all out. Be someone different for the next three weeks. Find out who you really are. You might surprise yourself."
Sarah swallowed over the lump in her throat and took the shoes Pam held out like an offering. "I hope so. Because who I am right now isn't working so well."
"Hey, hey none of that." Pam elbowed her and fixed her with a stern look. "You're amazing. Everyone can see that except for you and your asshole of an ex-boyfriend."
Sarah blinked rapidly, suddenly overcome with emotion. "You're a good friend Pam. Thanks for understanding. And for not making fun of this crazy plan."
And for not asking what happened with Ian.
After the breakup Candace had hounded her for weeks. Pam had finally been the one to tell her to knock it off. Either her friend was a psychic or she must have looked pretty wounded back then. Either way, Pam had never asked about her last fight with Ian. Hearing her boyfriend sneer at her inability to satisfy him sexually, after she'd discovered his infidelity, wasn't something Sarah ever wanted to relive. She'd erase the whole incident from her brain if it was possible.
Pam shrugged. "You've been pretending to be fine for a while now but I know Ian screwed with your head somehow. I just want you to be happy and confident. If this sex place can do that for you, then I'm all for the idea. Just don't forget our plan."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. Call or send you a message everyday so you know I haven’t been abducted."
Pam huffed and plopped down on the side of the bed. "You better or I'll call your hunk of a boss and ask him to work his lawyer magic and get the place closed down."
Sarah flinched. "Don't you dare! I'd never be able to look him in the face again." She didn't want to imagine Quinn's reaction if he ever found out about this. She'd die instantly from the embarrassment.
"Whatever. That man has a thing for you no matter what you say. I only met him once and even I could tell he couldn't keep his eyes off you."
"Well maybe the Madame X School will give me the courage to ask him out. Maybe I'll come back in three weeks as a whole new woman." Sarah forced a smile she didn't quite feel. "I am determined to think positively."
Pam crossed her arms skeptically. "Just as long as you come back in one piece. Or I’ll be forced to resort to desperate measures."
Sarah picked up the packet of information she'd received in the mail a week ago. The envelope was as thick as a phone book with information, disclosures and frequently asked question sheets. She glanced through it briefly before deciding to read the rest on the plane. She'd already had her doctor's office send her latest medical records and she'd read the school's safe-sex policy multiple times. Everything else could wait. Otherwise she would talk herself out of going.
And she was going.
Do you like contemporary erotic romance with sassy heroines? Keep reading for a special extended excerpt of Minx Malone's Kindle bestselling novella Teasing Trent.
Excerpt from Teasing Trent
CHAPTER 1
“Just keep your hands to yourself and you’ll be fine.”
Trent Townsend climbed the steps to the second floor landing of an older townhouse and knocked a fine layer of snow off his boots. Virginia winters were usually mild, but this year Mother Nature apparently had PMS. It had been snowing for the past three days and more was on the way. He was inordinately happy to be out of his house even if he knew the evening would be one step short of erotic torture.
"Anything is better than being stuck in the house watching reality TV." Cabin fever was like a disease. He couldn’t eat any more cereal or watch one more rerun of Jerry Springer without losing his mind. He patted his pocket, feeling the rustle of the tiny wrapped package. This was also his first chance to give Mara her 25th birthday present since he’d been too busy last weekend.
Too busy coming up with reasons he should stay away from her.
Seeing Mara always made him hard enough to poke a hole through his pants, and he’d promised his best friend Matt that he’d take care of his sister, not drool all over her.
They’d become entirely too close over the past year. Something that had to stop when Matt’s tour of duty ended next month.
“You just have to get through dinner. Keep your hands to yourself and it’ll be fine.”
The door in front of Trent flung open. Mara Simmons stood on the other side regarding him warily. Warm, amber eyes with long, inky lashes narrowed as she leaned against the doorframe. Her thick dark hair was twisted back from her face and left to fall loose and curly on the sides. She looked like a warrior princess ready to do battle. He groaned as his body immediately responded with a salute of its own.
“Are you still wearing your pajamas?” He cursed under his breath as he took in the sight of Mara in a curve-hugging tank top and the tiniest pair of cotton shorts he'd ever seen.
"These are my exercise clothes. I'm doing yoga." She put one hand on her hip. The top stretched across her chest in just the right way, emphasizing her petite figure. "I saw you as I was passing the window. I wasn't expecting you to come so early."
He grimaced at her choice of words. He was about to come where he stood. Her shorts were practically indecent. There were miles, just miles of smooth, creamy skin on display. His nails dug into his palm.
She even smelled good.
She’s Matt’s little sister. Keep your hands to yourself.
Trent sucked in another deep breath. He needed more than a weak mantra reminding him who would kick his ass if he screwed this up. What he needed was a bucket of ice down his pants and a blindfold.
“Why are you just standing out here talking to yourself anyway?” Mara shook her head and grabbed him by the arm. She pulled him across the threshold and closed the door behind him.
“Just thinking out loud. I do that sometimes.” Trent felt oddly defensive. Having a raging boner could do that to a guy.
“What, think?” She chuckled as he glowered at her.
“Ha ha, smart ass. I’ll remember that the next time you need my help with something.”
He turned to watch her flip the deadbolt, his eyes taking in her long legs and bare feet. She wore bright purple polish and had a little silver ring on the second to last toe of her right foot. A wave of heat almost forced him to his knees. The girl even had sexy feet. Good thing she wasn’t in the habit of going barefoot.
He turned away and busied himself with removing his jacket. He needed to focus on something else or he’d never get through the night.
Damn Matt for putting him in this position. It was just like him to join the military and play the hero overseas. His college buddy was that type of guy and someone Trent felt proud to know. Matt had come through for him more times than he could count, and the only thing he’d ever asked in return was for Trent to keep an eye on his twin sister Mara during his deployment. He wished he’d known in the beginning how hard it would be to keep that promise.
And how hard it would be to keep my frickin’ hands to myself.
“So, how fast can you get ready to go?” Trent folded his coat over the arm of the couch. He looked around her place curiously. She changed things often, bringing home stray furniture found at a thrift store or adding weird knickknacks picked up on eBay.
Her place reflected her eclectic spirit. Bright, wildly patterned furniture clashed with the mint green wall behind the couch. He’d helped her paint the crazy color just a few months ago. She’d said she was going for “energetic.” He thought it looked like the inside of a funhouse.
“Well, I was thinking maybe we could just stay in.” Mara flopped down on the couch and curled up with her legs tucked under her. In that position, her top stretched tight across her breasts. He could see tiny indentations where her nipples pressed against the fabric.
Damn.
“I know you had a big happy hour night-on-the-town thing planned but … I don’t know. I just don’t feel like goin
g out. Do you mind?”
Trent blinked a few times and then dragged his gaze away. He glanced around desperately. There was a yoga video playing on her TV and the lamp on the side table next to the couch cast a soft amber glow across the room. A warm smell emanated from the kitchen, making his mouth water.
“You cooked?”
She sat up and threw one of the fluffy green pillows on the couch at him. “Yes, I cooked. You don’t have to sound so surprised. I made some lasagna and rented a few dvd's. I figured we could do dinner and a movie here.”
She was watching him expectantly, so Trent nodded. A smile spread across her face and his heart turned over a little. He looked away and tucked his hands in his pockets. If something as simple as staying in put that look on her face, he’d gladly do it.
Trent sat on the edge of a dainty wing chair. Somewhere in the kitchen there was a soft ding and Mara hopped up.
“It's time for me to put the lasagna in the oven. It doesn't take that long to bake. Do you want a beer while we wait?”
His gaze followed the sway of her hips as she rushed to the kitchen.
“Trent? Hello, earth to Trent.” Mara stood in the doorway to the kitchen, waving her hands back and forth like an air traffic controller.
He looked up, heat flooding his cheeks as he met her gaze. “Huh?”
“A beer. You want one?” She said the words slowly. Great, now she thought he was an idiot.
He gulped and nodded furiously. “Sure. A beer. Right.”
She narrowed her eyes at him before turning into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Trent’s strained smile fell.
It was Matt’s first year in the service and he worried about Mara being alone so much, especially on their birthday. Their parents weren’t keen on traveling from Florida again so soon after the holidays and Mara couldn’t get the vacation time to fly down to them. Trent no longer had a girlfriend so it hadn’t been any imposition to spend a little time with Mara. He’d arranged a perfectly safe birthday dinner in a public restaurant. They’d eat, dance a little and head home, end of story.
The plan did not include a cozy dinner for two, followed by a movie on the couch with only a remote control as chaperone.
And it definitely didn't include licking her from the top of her head to her pretty little purple-painted toes.
Shit.
CHAPTER 2
“So I hope you don't mind if I finish my exercise routine. The food will be ready in about an hour.” Mara returned from the kitchen and set the beer down on the side table next to Trent. He was perched on the edge of a wing chair looking uncomfortable as hell. His dark blond hair was spiked up at the top like he'd been running his hands through it.
“Uh, sure. No problem.” He took a sip of his beer and rubbed his hands together. He was looking everywhere but at her.
She picked up the remote control and navigated the DVD to the place she wanted to start. Not that she really needed the video. She'd practiced how to tease him all week and fantasized about it for years.
Tonight she would finally seduce Trent.
They’d gotten closer than ever since Matt’s deployment. She knew her brother was behind Trent’s sudden interest in keeping her company but she didn’t mind at all. She was a big girl, despite what her brother seemed to think. It was ironic; her overprotective twin was actually pushing the object of her interest right in her path. If she had her way, she’d get a lot more for her birthday than a Hallmark card.
"Namaste. Let's breathe deeply and reach for the sky."
Following the instructions of the melodic voice on the DVD, Mara stretched her hands over her head, knowing her tank top would rise and reveal several inches of belly.
"Now swan dive; touch the ground."
Mara bent slowly and touched her fingertips to the polished hardwood. She peeked at Trent from the corner of her eye. He held his beer with a death grip. His sky blue eyes stood out in stark relief against the blush on his cheeks.
"Reach for the sky again. Sun Salutations."
Mara turned so her profile faced Trent. This way he got the full effect when she bent over. She was a little curvier than what was in fashion, but more than one of her ex-boyfriends had commented that her back view could bring a man to his knees.
She bent slowly, keeping her legs straight, her bottom pert as she touched the floor. A strangled sound came from behind her. "You okay Trent?"
He cleared his throat a few times. "Wow. You're, uh … really flexible."
She arched her back a little as she reached toward the ceiling again. "Yeah, well, I do yoga regularly and I also jog a few times a week."
He made a soft sound that could have been anything from "Working out is great" to "Come take my clothes off."
"Downward Facing Dog. Spread those fingers. Sink your heels to the floor."
Mara smiled a little as she transitioned into Downward Facing Dog pose. It was one of her favorite positions anyway but it had the added bonus of letting her wiggle her bottom in Trent's face.
"Would you mind spotting me?" She smiled up at him brightly. Hopefully he wouldn’t know enough about yoga to realize that people didn't use spotters.
"Sure, what do you need me to do?" He hopped up and stood next to her. She looked up in time to catch him looking at her bottom again.
"I've been having some back pain so I think I just need you to steady me as I come back up."
He moved a little closer and tentatively touched her waist. "Here?"
She stood up straight and then pulled him behind her. "Right behind me actually. We're about to do more Sun Salutations and I need a little help when I bend."
Sure enough, the instructor's soothing voice told them to reach for the sky again. Mara stretched her hands up, feeling Trent's fingers clench uncertainly against her skin as she moved. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Are you ready?"
He shook his head slowly, as if in a daze. "Not really but go ahead. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."
"Now swan dive; touch the ground."
Mara bent over slowly, angling her back so she pressed against Trent from hip to thigh.
"Oh crap … " Trent muttered.
*****
Trent gulped. He had no doubt Mara now realized exactly how much he wanted her. The evidence of that was currently trying to poke its way through her yoga shorts. He'd never thought of exercise as sensual before but he wasn't sure if he would survive this yoga session.
He looked at where her bottom snuggled up against his groin. Her ass was full and heart-shaped, more than enough to fill his hands just the way he liked. His fingers flexed at her waist and she made a soft sound.
"Are you okay? Do you need any help getting up?" He hoped he hadn't gripped her too hard in the midst of his fantasizing. He was supposed to help her with her stretches, not imagine her stretched out on top of him.
"I'm fine. I just have a leg cramp." She sat down on the floor abruptly.
"Well at least that's something I have some experience with. I used to get them when I played football. Let me see." Trent kneeled beside her and helped her stretch her leg out. "Lie back and let me massage it out."
As soon as she stretched out on her back, Trent realized this was an incredibly stupid idea. He was supposed to look at her on her back while he massaged her thigh without being visibly turned on?
Right.
Well, if he did this carefully maybe she wouldn’t know. He could hold her leg and stretch it out without her getting a glimpse of the Olympic-sized pole vault in his pants.
Mara startled slightly when Trent lifted her right leg and placed it on his shoulder. She looked up, and their gazes caught and held. For a long moment, Trent wondered if they were imagining the same thing : Him holding her leg up with both stark naked.
"I'm just going to apply a little pressure and you can press back against me." He leaned forward, forcing her thigh to press into her chest. "That's it. That's not too much pressure, is it? How d
oes that feel?"
How does that feel? You like that baby?
"Shit." Trent closed his eyes as the erotic images played out in his mind. He opened them to see Mara watching him. She raised a hand and ran it gently over his hair.
A loud ding came from the kitchen and Mara jumped. Trent released her leg and moved back, appalled at what he'd almost done. Another second and he'd have hooked a finger in the waistband of those little shorts and tugged them to the side. Another second after that, he'd have been massaging her from the inside out right in the middle of her living room.
