by Cindi Myers
“We’re having the time of our lives,” Erica said. “Lolling around in bed all day, waited on hand and foot. What’s not to love?”
“Yeah, but I want to know what goes on after the lights go out,” Nick said. “What kind of fun are you having, then?”
“I’ll never tell,” Erica teased. “But I will say that the Therapedic 9000 is certainly a comfortable mattress. I feel great no matter what position I’m in.”
“But what position is your favorite?” Nick asked. “Maybe that would be a good poll to take with your listeners. What position is your favorite?”
“I like to sleep on my back, personally,” Adam said, trying to bring the conversation into safer territory.
“Who said anything about sleeping? Erica, did I mention sleeping?”
She laughed. “No, Nick, you did not.”
“Speaking of sleep, we’d better let Nick get some rest,” Adam said. “I’m sure he needs it, after the ordeal he’s been through.”
“All I’ve been doing is resting. I’m ready for a little entertainment. So come on, tell me all about the wild goings-on at Mattress Max’s Furniture Gallery after the lights go out.”
“Not nearly as wild as your imagination, Nick.” Adam signaled Mason to cue up the next song. “This one’s just for you, buddy. Hope you’re back on your feet real soon. Here’s Crash Test Dummies with ‘Afternoons and Coffee Spoons.’”
He pulled off his headphones and leaned back against the pillows. “Nick was in his usual fine form this morning.”
Erica laughed. “The man’s amazing. There he was complaining about how bad he felt and everything and the minute he was on air, he was really ‘on.’ His voice even changed.”
“He’s been in radio over fifteen years. He could probably do a show half asleep. And knowing Nick, he has.”
“What about you? How long have you been doing this?”
“Almost ten years.” Not counting an unfortunate three-year break he didn’t like to think about.
“And how long has Bonnie been with the station?” she asked.
“Five years? I think she was with a small-market station somewhere in Texas before she came here.”
“I don’t think she likes me very much.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe she blew up like that over one missed line.”
“Bonnie can be, um, single-minded when it comes to her job. Forget about the line. She goes out of her way to find slights.”
“Maybe she should switch to decaf.”
“Yeah. What’s up next?”
“A representative from the Salvation Army is coming to talk about their plans for the shelter, we’ve got concert tickets to give away, more music, news and sports—the usual.”
“Listen to you. This is all old hat already.”
“I don’t think broadcasting from a bed could ever be classified as ‘old hat.’”
“It’s not the usual way to begin a career, that’s for sure.”
“But it was a great way for me to get noticed. I’m still glad I’m doing it with you, though, and not Nick.” Her smile turned seductive. “I’m sure I wouldn’t be having nearly as much fun with him.”
He tried to come up with some smart-mouthed answer, but the desire in her eyes sent all the blood rushing south of his brain and all he could do was pretend to consult his clipboard and take deep breaths. So much for his rep as Mr. Cool.
The woman was seriously messing with his head. One more night. He only had to get through one more night of this gig.
And then what? He’d still see her at the station and it wasn’t as if he’d be any less attracted to her once they were both fully dressed.
The idea of mixing it up with a co-worker still made him uneasy, but maybe Erica was right. Maybe if they weren’t actually working on the air together, they could pull off a relationship. She was terrific. Not a ticking bomb like Bonnie. Maybe it was time he let someone in his life again.
BY FOUR O’CLOCK that afternoon, the unrelenting rain had driven all but the dumb or desperate off the streets and into their homes and businesses. The sky outside the showroom window was as dark as night. The parking lot lights made watery circles on the asphalt, and the few people Erica could see from her seat at the end of the bed were hunched against the sheeting rain.
“Anyone know where we can get a good deal on an ark?” she asked no one in particular.
“The weather is the least of my worries right now.” Carl emerged from a side room he’d commandeered as a temporary office and stood in the doorway, scowling.
His grim expression soon silenced all conversation and everyone turned to him, waiting. “I just got a call from corporate. Somebody’s sister-in-law or wife or second-cousin or something objected to some of Nick’s comments this morning during the call-in, and complained to one of the head honchos.”
“What comment offended her?” Erica asked.
The lines on Carl’s forehead deepened. “Something about what the two of you were up to after the store was closed. She said the show was promoting promiscuity.”
“Promiscuity isn’t something you have to promote,” Adam said. “It’s one of those things that sells itself.”
Carl ignored him. “From what I gather, the powers-that-be weren’t too upset about it. Then somebody came across a photo of Erica someone posted on a city Web site.”
“A photo of me?” She raised up on her knees. “What was wrong with the photograph?”
“Apparently someone at corporate thinks the outfit you’re wearing is too suggestive.”
She looked down at the see-through harem pants and cropped top. Of course this getup was suggestive. That was the whole point.
“So she’ll put on some different clothes and we’ll keep Nick off the air until this is done,” Adam said.
Carl shook his head. “They say to pull the whole thing. We’ve got thirteen thousand dollars for the shelter, Max has his publicity. It’s time to call it quits.”
“But we can’t do that,” Erica said. “We have to finish what we’ve started. Besides, if we quit now, we won’t get the ten thousand Max promised.”
“Have you talked to Max about this?” Adam said. “What does he say?”
“I haven’t talked to him, but I know he won’t like it. I can’t say as I blame him. We advertised we’d be here for seventy-five hours.”
“If he’s upset about us quitting early, he for sure won’t make the donation,” Erica said.
“If he’s mad enough, he might pull his ads,” Adam said.
“I’ll talk him out of that.” Carl rubbed the back of his neck and nodded toward the bed. “You two get dressed. Everybody else, pack up.”
“Carl, no.” Erica jumped out of bed and ran after him. “You heard the Salvation Army captain who was here this morning. That ten thousand dollars means a lot to them.”
“My job means a lot to me.”
“Advertisers mean a lot, too,” Adam said. “Tell corporate Mattress Max threatened to sue you for backing out of an agreement. Tell them he’s one of our biggest advertisers. They wouldn’t want to lose all that money, I know.”
“It’s advertisers they’re worried about. Ones besides Mattress Max.”
“Tell them we’ll tone it down,” Erica said. “I’ll wear something less revealing. And no more off-color remarks.”
“It’s only one more night and morning,” Adam said. “If we quit early, it would only stir up more controversy and rumors. I’m sure corporate doesn’t want that.”
“All right.” He frowned at Erica. “You get some clothes on. And I don’t want even one little slipup from either one of you. We’ve got to come out of this looking good.”
“We will, I promise.” She ran back to the bed and grabbed up her duffel. So she wasn’t thrilled about returning to her flannel pjs. And their new vigilance probably meant the chances of any more hanky-panky with Adam—at least for the rest of their stay at the furniture gallery—was out of the question.
&n
bsp; But getting the money for the shelter was important, and so was proving she could do a good job. If she and Adam had to adopt a hands-off policy, so be it. At least they could spend the night talking. And when this gig was over, they could expand on what they’d started last night. The mattress at her apartment wasn’t as deluxe as this one, but by the time they were naked again, alone, she doubted Adam would have any objections.
7
THE RAIN CONTINUED to pour into the evening. Even inside the showroom, Erica could hear the steady rumble of thunder and see the occasional flash of lightning. She was almost glad for her flannel pajamas by the time the security guard locked the front door and dimmed the showroom lights. The bad weather had put a definite chill in the air. Or maybe it was their reprimand from corporate. Despite the positive spin she’d put on the news earlier, now that she’d had a few hours to think about it, the more her anger and hurt grew.
“I can’t believe they were worried about a few suggestive comments and a perfectly acceptable pair of pajamas,” she said.
“That’s the climate these days.” Adam tucked the covers across his lap. “Advertisers are skittish. It’s easy to push the envelope too far and they start pulling away.”
“It just seems so unfair—getting in such a snit about such little things.”
“They have to draw the line somewhere.” He settled back against a stack of pillows. “And be honest. Didn’t you tell me when you first heard about this stunt, you thought it was sleazy?”
She nodded. “KROK is sort of known for its sleazy stunts,” she said. “But once I was here and actually part of things, it didn’t seem sleazy at all. It’s been fun.” She reached over and touched his arm.
He looked up at the ceiling, at the smoked plastic cy-clops neither one of them could completely forget. “We have to be careful.”
“I know.” She withdrew her hand and sat cross-legged beside him. “So let’s talk.”
“Isn’t that what got us into trouble last night?”
“I didn’t hear you complaining.”
No, he hadn’t complained. He’d surrendered gladly, tired of fighting his attraction for her. Learning she wasn’t as young as he’d feared helped, but so did the fact that he felt more at ease with her than he had with anyone in years.
“I think I know why Bonnie was giving me such a hard time this morning,” she said.
“Oh? Why is that?”
“She’s jealous. She’s still got a thing for you.”
His breath rushed out of him and he sat up, coughing. “Bonnie hates my guts,” he protested.
“She doesn’t. I don’t see how she could. Why bring her current boyfriend around unless she was trying to make you jealous by parading him in front of you?”
He shook his head. “No way.”
“You don’t think she still cares about you?”
“Bonnie cares about Bonnie. That’s it. More likely she’s jealous of you being in the spotlight instead of her. It’s no secret she wants her own show.”
“Why doesn’t she have one yet?”
“Probably because Carl doesn’t trust her. You heard she cussed me out on the air, right?”
She nodded. “But he gave you a second chance after that. He gave me a second chance after I flubbed those commercials.”
“We’re not talking one little slip of the lip,” he said. “She called me a rat bastard and several other choice expletives.”
He didn’t seem terribly upset about the incident, at least not now. “What happened? I mean, what led to your fight, anyway?”
He was silent for a long moment. Erica flushed. “Hey, if you don’t want to talk about it…”
“No, that’s okay.” He glanced at her. “I just hate to admit I was such a fool.”
“What do you mean?”
“I should have seen what Bonnie was like right away. But I was new in town, and I hadn’t been in a relationship in…a while. And let’s face it—she’s gorgeous and sexy and I’m a guy, so I wasn’t exactly doing a lot of thinking when she came on to me.” He shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at a time. Does it bother you to hear this?”
She realized she was sitting hunched over, her hands balled into fists in her lap. She forced herself to relax against the pillow, palms flat on her thighs. “Of course not. I’m glad you’re being so honest with me.”
“Anyway, we only dated a couple of months. It didn’t take me too long to wake up to the fact that she wasn’t a very nice person.”
“So you decided to break up.”
“Yeah. That’s when I made stupid mistake number two. Number one being ever getting involved with her in the first place. I gave her the news that I thought we should cool it right before I started my show that afternoon. By the time she came on to do the weather, she’d worked herself into a real lather. I was so stunned I didn’t kill her mic nearly fast enough.”
“And the FCC fined you both.”
“And the station. And Carl threatened to fire us both, though eventually he calmed down.”
“So if she’s not still carrying a torch for you, maybe she’s holding a grudge.”
“I’m sure Bonnie has a long list of grudges.”
“She’s a very unhappy person.”
“Don’t waste your time feeling sorry for her.”
“I’m not going to lose any sleep over her, I promise.” Though she didn’t anticipate a restful night. Not with Adam beside her, so close and yet forbidden.
He rearranged the pillow under his head, then settled back down. “I wonder if either one of us will get much sleep tonight.”
She shifted lower under the covers, thighs squeezed together and memories teasing her. “Last night was amazing,” she said.
“We can’t risk anything like that tonight. Not after corporate already thinks we’re on the edge of indecency.”
She giggled. “If they only knew how indecent we’ve been.”
“We ought to change the subject.”
“I don’t know. If we can’t do anything, it might be fun to talk about what we might do.”
“Fun? Or torture?”
“Maybe a little of both. But it would give us something to look forward to later.”
“Yeah.” He was silent, and she wondered if she should pursue the subject further. She didn’t want to be a tease, but there was something erotic about forced abstinence. It lent a sharp edge of desire to every accidental brush of their hands or meeting of their eyes.
“So what would you do—if we were free to do anything?” His question broke the silence.
She closed her eyes and thought for a minute. “I’d start off by kissing you. Long, wet kisses, with lots of tongue. I’d want every nerve in our mouths to be aware of each other.”
“I’d trace my tongue along that gap in your teeth,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “And kiss that soft spot under your chin, where your skin is so pale.”
She swallowed hard, but went on, managing to keep her voice steady. “I’d kiss my way down your naked chest, until I reached your nipples. I’d tease them with my tongue, to see how sensitive they are.”
He cleared his throat, and shifted under the covers. “Half a dozen times today, when I was supposed to be working, I’d catch myself staring at your breasts. At the way they curved over the top of that little bra thing under that sheer top. I’d imagine running my tongue over that curve, then dipping beneath the fabric to stroke your nipples.”
Her nipples tightened at the image he painted, and she brought her own hands up to cover them, trying to squeeze out the ache.
“Are you touching yourself?” He rose on one elbow and faced her in the dark.
She stilled her hands. “Y-yes.”
“That turns me on, thinking about it. I wish I could turn on the light and watch.”
“I wish you could, too.” What would it be like to see him, desire in his eyes, knowing he was hard, wanting her, as she brought herself to climax?
Lightning
slashed the sky, followed by a low rumble of thunder. She glanced toward the showroom window, but couldn’t make out anything in the darkness.
He lay back on the pillows with a groan. “I’d make love to your breasts with my mouth, kneading them, sucking and licking your nipples until you were moaning and writhing beneath me.”
“Yes.” She resisted the urge to reach down and find some relief. “Then…then what would you do?”
“Your turn,” he said. “What would you do to me?”
“I—I’d trail my tongue down to your navel, then farther down, to your cock. I’d wrap my fingers around the shaft, and feather little kisses around the underside, maybe licking a little, feeling you pulse in my palm.”
“This is crazy. Neither one of us is going to sleep tonight.”
“It is crazy,” she said. “But I’m not sorry I’m here with you. Even if I can’t touch you.”
“Me, neither.”
A brilliant strobe of lightning filled the showroom with white-hot light. She squealed and dove under the covers as thunder rattled the windows. The bedside lamp went out, along with the security lighting, plunging them into sooty darkness.
She pulled the covers up to her chin and strained to hear anything over the pounding of her heart. “Adam?” she asked after a moment, her voice high and uncertain.
“I’m right here.”
“Do you think it hit the building?”
“I think it might have struck the transformer. The electricity’s out.”
She swallowed hard. “Maybe now wouldn’t be the time to mention that I’m afraid of the dark.”
“There’s a little light. From the Exit signs. They must be on batteries.” He looked toward the red glow near the front door.
“Not enough.”
“It’ll be okay. Give me your hand.” He reached across the covers and touched her wrist.
She clasped his hand. He had long fingers, with short nails and smooth palms. His skin was warm, his touch firm and reassuring.
“I promise I’m not going to freak or anything,” she said. “I just get a little uncomfortable when I can’t see anything.”
