Friendly Persuasion

by Dawn Atkins

  She felt crazy, too, and wild for him. She lifted her hips to meet him as he slammed into her, over and over. It felt so right to have him there, craving her, unable to resist her. The pressure began to build in her—and in him, she could tell. Higher, harder, faster.

  This was the first time they’d been synchronized like this—two primal animals going for what they needed together in the dark. With a last fierce thrust, Ross’s orgasm erupted and hers burst forth with it.

  She cried out Ross’s name. He hesitated for just a second and she felt the mistake of using his name. So much for Dr. Michaels and his dysfunctional patient, Ms. Collier.

  When the spasms ended, Ross left her body and rolled onto his back, his head on her pillow. Side by side, they stared up at the ceiling, breathing hard.

  “I guess sex is not a spectator sport for me,” he said. “You turn me on too much, Kara.”

  Kara. He’d called her Kara. Kara and Ross were lying in her bed after making love and the terrible truth was that she was glad. She tried to think up some witty remark, but she couldn’t. She was too upset, too confused. “What are we going to do, Ross?”

  “I don’t know. Let me think.” Ross wanted to think? Another bad sign.

  They kept staring at the ceiling, their chests rising and falling in a gradually steadier way, while Ross thought and Kara worried.

  Finally Ross rolled onto his elbow and faced her. “I think I’ve got it,” he said.

  “You have?” She turned onto her side, mirroring him.

  “You’re afraid you’re getting too attached, right?”

  “Right.”

  “That you’ll start thinking of me in a permanent way, want to get into a relationship, maybe think about getting married, having kids, all that junk?”

  All that junk. So Ross. She nodded hesitantly.

  “But that’s ridiculous, Kara. You’re forgetting who you’re dealing with here. I’m not one of the Fortune 500 guys you want. I’m Peter Pan, remember? I’ll never grow up. If you think about that, how can you possibly get serious about me?”

  Good point. He was definitely not her choice for the right man to marry. “I guess that makes sense.”

  “Plus, we’re opposites.”

  “Yeah, but opposites attract, remember?” she said, playing devil’s advocate.

  “Sexually sometimes, but to make a relationship work you have to be the same kind of people.”

  “Except you can give a little. Compromise is important.”

  “My mother was compromise incarnate. She sacrificed her life for us kids and my dad and she was miserable every minute.”

  “But your mother stayed with your father, didn’t she? Even after your sisters left for college?”

  “True. Hey, whose side are you on? I’m supposed to be proving to you that I’m safe to play with.”

  “I know, but I have to be sure,” she said, staring into those gold-green eyes of his, fighting how wonderful it felt to be inches apart on her pillows like any pair of new lovers exchanging intimate secrets and promises of forever.

  “So, yeah, Mom and Dad stayed together, but only out of habit. Like hamsters in a wheel, not realizing there’s a big wide world out there if they’d just step off.” His eyes coaxed her to agree with him. “The lesson is that you can’t give up who you are for someone else. It doesn’t work.”

  “That’s what you really think?” she said, her heart strangely heavy.

  “Oh, yeah. But don’t look so sad. You’re not me, Kara. You’ll find the kind of guy you want. When it’s time. And you’ll pick a good one, not the losers you’ve been settling for. That’s the point of what we’re doing. Getting your head straight about sorting through men to find the right one. When it’s time and not just for sex.”

  “That’s true,” she said, swallowing a lump of disappointment. “And who exactly is this guy I want—the one who isn’t a loser…in your opinion?”

  “I don’t know. Someone stable and responsible. Ambitious, but not a jerk. Someone who’ll go to movies on Saturday nights and brunches on Sunday mornings. A guy who wants kids and a minivan, who’ll take you to Hawaii with his bonus money.”

  “You make it sound dull.”

  “It’s not to you, though, is it?”

  “Actually, no.”

  “Then it doesn’t matter what I think. This is about you and your future Mr. Right. And I’m Mr. Wrong. So how could you fall for me?”

  “I guess.” It was irritating that her jokester of a pal had suddenly gotten wise. “Well, what do you want? In a woman, I mean. And don’t tell me you’ll never settle down. Give me a hypothetical.”

  “I haven’t really thought about it. Someone who won’t sweat the small stuff, I guess. Someone who wants to experience life every day. Someone who’ll hike the Grand Canyon on the spur of the moment, you know?”

  “Yeah.” Someone the opposite of Kara. A hike down the Canyon sounded like a lot of blisters and misery, and what Ross considered “small stuff” were all the little details that added up to life in her mind. “Sounds like you want your twin.”

  He chuckled. “You said hypothetical. The woman I just described probably doesn’t exist. Most women are like you. They want security—or at least someone whose ride has a back seat.”

  He gave her an apologetic smile. Pure Ross charm. She knew suddenly why women loved him. Even when he disappointed you, you felt special. He let you in on his failings but asked you if you still wanted to play.

  And she did. Definitely. Her body itched to scoot closer and press against him in the warm dark. Her hands ached to slide over his hard muscles and other hard places.

  Ross reached out to push her hair gently from her cheek. “So? Did it work? Have I scared any thought of us in the big R out of your mind?”

  “Big R? You mean relationship?”

  He nodded.

  “You make it sound pretty impossible, all right.”

  “I don’t want to quit being with you yet,” he said earnestly. “There’s so much more to explore. Look what you just learned about self-pleasure.” He ran his hand possessively along the curve of her hip. “This is good for you.”

  “Good for me?” she asked wryly.

  “Well, me, too, of course.” His wicked grin split his face, his teeth white in the dim room. “This is the hottest sex I’ve ever had,” he said, low and hoarse.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. You don’t realize how amazing you are. I feel sorry for the next guy you take to bed. He won’t know what hit him.” He frowned briefly, as if the idea of the “next guy” bothered him. Good. Maybe Ross was more involved than he thought he was. She clutched that idea, dangerous as it was, close to her heart.

  “So, are we on?” he asked, pulling her close, throwing a leg across her thigh in a very intimate gesture. This would be the beginning of slow, personal sex, the kind you had in the big R. Bad idea. Where was the ground rule for this situation? If we need a new rule, we make one. Of course.

  “On one condition,” she said, sitting up. “We make more ground rules.”

  “More rules?”

  “If we want to keep doing this, we have to be more careful.”

  “Okay, what rules?”

  “We set a limit.”

  “A limit?”

  “Yes. Only so many more dates.” She had her heart to protect. “Like say four more.” That didn’t sound like enough.

  “Four more? What about all the fantasies we have left? I have lots of new ideas.”

  “Four more should be plenty,” she said sternly, dying to hear what he had in mind.

  “How about if we make a list? You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine and we’ll see how many weeks we need. Maybe we could even double up and go for two nights a week.”

  “Stop,” she said, loving every word coming out of his mouth. “We’re setting a limit, not expanding the action.”

  “Okay, but I still think a list is a great idea. You know how you love lists.
A sex checklist.”

  “Ross…”

  “Okay, okay. We set a limit, but only after we’ve done our major fantasies. Don’t you have fantasies you still want to try?”

  “Not really.” Her heart began to pound.

  “Yes, you do. Come on. You already mentioned doing it in a taxi. We’ll put that on the list. What else?”

  “I don’t know.” She flailed about for something. “I guess I like that idea of covering each other in chocolate and, you know…”

  “Licking each other clean?” he finished eagerly.

  “But maybe that’s too clichéd?”

  He took her hand and placed it on his penis, hard as stone. “Does this feel like I think it’s too clichéd?”

  “I guess not,” she said on a sharp intake of breath.

  He curled her fingers around his shaft and moved her hand slowly up and down. “Imagine we’ve got chocolate…nice and warm right here, and say I put some all over here.” He cupped her breast.

  “Oh, please…I…don’t…”

  “Any Hershey’s in the house?”

  “There’s whipped cream in the fridge.” Then she caught herself, released his penis and rolled away from his fingers. “We’re finished for tonight. No overtime, no extra innings. That’s another new rule. One fantasy a week.”

  “You sure?”

  “Absolutely.” If she used control now, she might still have it later—when things got worse, which they just might.

  Whatever made her think she could play with this kind of fire and not get burned?

  9

  TWO WEEKS LATER, Ross slid into a chair across from Tina for the noon spades game. “Where’s Kara?” he asked. His heart got an odd knot in it when he hadn’t seen her for a while.

  “She had a lunch meeting with the marketing guy at Emerson Faucets and Stoppers. Baylor Jones.” Tina shuffled the cards.

  Why hadn’t Kara told him about this? Ross felt that twinge in his bones, as though he was about to lose something he wanted desperately to keep. Stop it. You don’t own her.

  He studied his hand, not really seeing the cards. “So, what’s this Baylor Jones like?” he asked, trying to sound casual. He remembered him as kind of a slick guy. Definitely a squash player.

  Tina froze in the act of picking up a card and looked at him with suspicion. “What’s he like?”

  “I mean, will he go along with Kara’s campaign ideas?”

  “Oh, that’s what you mean.” She grinned—she was on to him, dammit. “You’re so dedicated all of a sudden. Sure you’re not going for Lancer’s job?”

  “Forget it. Just prepare to sacrifice your life savings to my superior strategy.”

  They played the first game in silence. Ross lost, distracted by the thought of Kara aiming her gorgeous eyes at that marketing geek in a dimly lit restaurant, while he tried to impress her with his knowledge of wine. Forget it, pal. Kara can’t be bought off by flashy, materialistic bullsh—

  “Focus here, friend,” Tina said, slapping the deck into his hand. His deal. He felt her eyes on him as he shuffled.

  “I hear the sex lessons are going well,” Tina said.

  He nearly shot the cards across the table. “What did Kara tell you?”

  “Relax, chief. Not much. Just that she’s learning and that you’re good.”

  “That’s exactly right. I am good. Tell your friends.” The old cocky Ross routine didn’t feel right just now, and he wished he hadn’t said that.

  “I’m a little worried about her,” Tina said, unusually thoughtful. “She gives out these daydreamy sighs and practically walks into walls. Slow it down a little, would you?”

  “Slow it down? Did she say she wanted that?”

  “I mean the shuffling,” Tina said, laughter in her voice. “You’re practically throwing cards.”

  “Okay. Sorry.” He gathered up the far-flung cards. The week between adventures had become an eternity for him. The minute he had convinced her that the game was safe for her, it started feeling touch-and-go for him. Maybe it was that stupid new rule. Time limit, my ass.

  They’d been getting together on Thursday nights at his place to talk about things—and for him to create a sex checklist, over her objections. Describing the exotic-dancer-and-kid-from-a-small-town fantasy had gotten them so hot that Kara had just run out the door without saying goodbye, leaving him with a distinctly unsatisfying session with Mr. Hand.

  His next assignment was to be a cop arresting her for indecent exposure. Maybe he’d get some handcuffs. Soft ones… His mind drifted.

  “Hello in there, Ross,” Tina said, calling him back from his plans.

  “Yeah. I’m here.”

  “Are you sure you two know what you’re doing?”

  “God, yes. Every time I turn around Kara’s making a new ground rule. This is just about sex. We’re very clear about that.” Except even as he’d lain there in Kara’s bed and convinced her how different they were, how impossible they’d be together, he’d felt this perverse urge to give it a try. Nothing like being told something wouldn’t work to flush out his stubborn streak.

  “As long as you’re sure, and you’re in as much trouble as she is.” She smirked at him.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing. Enough with the chitchat. I’m going to kick your ass here.”

  “Not with the king of diamonds and the seven, eight and ten of spades, you’re not,” he said, throwing down the jack of spades.

  “You looked at my cards!”

  “You were hanging them in my face,” he countered. “What’s up with you anyway? You’ve lost your edge.” Tina seemed as distracted as he was.

  “I’m preoccupied, I guess.” She looked at him speculatively. “Let me ask you something. How long would you wait to have sex with someone?”

  “That depends on who.”

  “A month? Would you wait a month?”

  “If she was worth it.” For Kara, he’d wait as long as it took.

  She looked glum, stared at her hand, then lifted her eyes. “Do you think Tom Sands is gay?”

  “Tom from the Upside? Nah. At least he’s never slipped me his phone number.”

  “Pul-eeze. You’re not well-groomed enough to be gay. I don’t really think he’s gay. It’s just…hell, I’m giving him one more week.”

  “Before you jump him?”

  “If it comes to that.”

  “No man is safe when the mighty Miss Tina sets her sights on him.”

  “Watch it, pal. You’re in no position to criticize.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “That’s a pretty long lunch Kara’s been on with Baylor Jones.”

  “It’s a working lunch,” he said, but his gut clenched.

  “Sure it is.”

  Tina was good. She knew just where to poke around to drive him nuts. Why the hell was Kara out so long with the guy? He’d love to be a cork crumb in their cabernet right now.

  It shouldn’t matter, of course. Even if Kara wanted to date the guy, he and she still had their arrangement until they got through his checklist, which he intended to extend as much as possible. This afternoon, he’d find a way to remind her how great this was going, so she’d forget all about Mr. Faucets and Stoppers.

  KARA EASED into the conference room for the Plain Jane Bakery meeting twenty minutes late, praying they hadn’t started yet, but it was her bad luck to find all eyes tracking her as she scampered to the remaining empty chair, which happened to be across the table from Ross.

  “I’m glad you could fit us into your busy schedule,” Saul Siegel said with his usual gentle sarcasm. Bob and Julie grinned, pleased to see someone else on the hot seat. Tina shot her a questioning look.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. She’d had such a pleasant lunch with Baylor that she’d lost track of time. She’d been frankly relieved to find she still found him attractive. The experience had reassured her that she was still okay having sex with Ross on the side. As long as it stayed on the sid
e.

  “Okay then. The media buy…” Saul said, evidently picking up where he’d left off when she entered.

  Ross caught her gaze. Something about his expression—possessive and demanding—shot her with sexual adrenaline. He slid a piece of paper across the table to her, letting his fingers cover hers for an instant.

  She read the note: I’m undressing you…with my tongue. She looked up and found him staring at her with naked desire.

  A hot knot tightened between her legs.

  Tina leaned over and whispered in a singsong. “You’re being ob-vious.”

  As soon as the meeting was over, Ross grabbed her hand and dragged her into the copy room, slamming the door with her body and crushing her into a kiss. “I can’t keep my hands off you,” he said. One hand pushed up her skirt and reached for her panties, already wet for him, while the other held her tightly to him, as if he owned her. “Wear that blue dress on Saturday. It’s hot.”

  Even as flames licked her insides and she wanted Ross to throw her onto the copy machine and make love to her in its green glow, her mind took charge. They were in the office, for God’s sake. Where they worked. This was wrong, wrong, wrong.

  Someone tried the door from the outside, then exclaimed when it wouldn’t open.

  Kara slid away from Ross, straightened her skirt and pretended to be checking out the copier, while Ross opened the door. “Musta stuck,” he muttered to the secretary, who gave him and Kara a puzzled look. No wonder. The tiny room fairly vibrated with sexual energy. What the hell were they doing?

  ON THURSDAY NIGHT, Kara struggled up the stairs to Ross’s apartment with the four bags of groceries she’d bought for the dinner she was fixing. There would be no hanky-panky tonight. Just two friends enjoying a meal. They’d confirm a couple of details for their Saturday-night date and that was it for sex talk.

  Except, of course, for a sensible review of the ground rules. The incident in the copy room proved they had to take it down a notch.

  She also wanted to talk to Ross about applying for Lancer’s job. More and more, she’d felt driven to help him. It seemed stupid for him to stall his career. He was more than equipped to take over. If he wouldn’t apply for the job, she might just do it for him. As a friend, of course.