by Lexi Ryan
“I’m going to kill my sister!” She strangled the steering wheel only because Tricia’s neck wasn’t handy.
Mason laughed. “What’d she do this time? Steal all your sweats and replace them with silky lingerie?”
“Good guess. Try again.”
“Hmm...She scheduled you for a boob job without your knowledge?”
“You’re getting warmer.”
“I can’t handle the anticipation.”
Outside her window, Sex Goddess, Inc. headquarters loomed over her. Taunting. Today should have been easy, but her sister had turned it into a nightmare. “Apparently, during one of their Girls’ Nights, Trish took it upon herself to share her concerns about my sex life—” or lack thereof “—with Halie McCormack, and Halie just used our meeting as an opportunity to recruit me into her program.”
Silence.
“Mason? Did you hear me?”
“Sex Goddess, Inc. Halie McCormack? As in, the one who you needed for your most important project of the year?”
“Bingo.” Reese growled and squeezed the steering wheel. “I’m mortified.”
“No kidding.” Masey paused a beat. “So, are you gonna do it?”
Reese snorted. “Have you seen any pigs fly past your window today?”
***
Ben had Reese Regan on the brain. Which would be acceptable, considering she was his best friend, but the Reese in his mind was naked, moaning, and clawing at his back as he slid inside her.
“Hey, Ben, you gonna play?” Luke called from the pool table at the PitStop. His friend, also the bar’s owner, plopped the last balls into the rack.
“Of course.” Ben lined up his shot and made a weak-ass break.
Luke raised an eyebrow.
How could Ben not be distracted with Reese on his mind? They’d met at his house for a workout this morning, like they always did, and she’d smelled so damn sweet, all lavender shampoo and flowery lotion. Who the hell smelled that good for a workout? “Damn it.”
“I’d say,” Luke agreed, surveying the table.
A plan. Anything was possible with a plan. Ben just needed to remind himself why entertaining these fantasies was a disaster waiting to happen.
The three ball spun into the corner pocket and clunked home. “Solids,” Luke called.
That was easy enough. First, there was—
“Where’s Reese tonight anyway?” Luke sunk another two balls. “I thought she was joining us.”
“She said she’d be late. She had a meeting with that Sex Goddess, Inc. lady.”
Luke overshot, sending the cue ball in after the seven. He blinked at Ben. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. But not what you think. Sex Goddess, Inc. is sponsoring something for the station.” Ben positioned the cue ball and aimed for a stripe on the opposite side of the table. Clunk. He still had it. He lined up another shot and thought carefully.
Reason One: Six years after he’d first decided to keep things platonic, nothing had changed. Sex would mean something entirely different to Reese than it would to him. He sank another ball. She’d be thinking of wedding dresses and picket fences while he’d be thinking of hot bodies, sweat-slicked skin. All she’d want was commitment and all he’d want was to feel himself buried inside her.
“I’m going gray here,” Luke complained.
“Cool your heels,” Ben studied the table, considering his strategy.
Reason Two: Reese was his best friend, and he had years of good behavior under his belt. He wasn’t going to ruin what they had just because she smelled like heaven on a stick and had an ass that made him want to weep.
He lined up another shot and watched, satisfied, as it rolled home.
He was cleaning the table when the bell jangled at the front of the bar.
The air filled with hoots of “Hawk! Hawk!”
“Hawk! Back here,” Luke called.
Six foot five, two-twenty, Mark Hawk—tall, dark, and shallow—winked at a girl at the bar, pinched the ass of another, and gave a couple high-fives as he sauntered toward them.
Mark attracted all eyes. Women wanted to be with him, men wanted to be him. Ben wanted to punch him in the face and put him on the fast track to Getoveryourselfville.
“How are Chicago’s favorite losers?” Mark asked when he made it to them.
“Good,” Ben said. “How’s Chicago’s favorite asshole?”
Mark grinned. “Over sexed, over fed, and over paid. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He glanced around. “What are we drinking tonight?”
Mark Hawk, ladies and gentlemen. Highest paid morning drive-time radio host in the Midwest, and still the cheapest son-of-a-bitch around.
“We’ve got a pitcher over there.” Luke waved to the four-top by the pool table. “Help yourself.” Luke typically let them drink for free at his bar, but tonight Mark’s assumption dug under Ben’s skin.
“Is it just us guys tonight?” Mark asked, pouring himself a beer.
“Reese is at Sex Goddess, Inc.,” Luke said with a meaningful wriggle of his brow. “She’ll join us later.”
Mark gaped, so Ben tossed him a bone. “For the masquerade ball.” Which you’d know if you ever listened to anyone but yourself. When Mark still blinked in confusion, Ben took pity on him, “Sex Goddess, Inc. might sponsor WJRK’s Charity Masquerade Ball.”
“Reese Regan? At Sex Goddess, Inc.?” Grinning, Mark shoved his fingers in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Good girl turns bad. Why do I like the sound of that so much?”
Ben gritted his teeth. “Because you’re a shallow fuck.”
Mark chuckled and raised his glass to Ben before taking a long drink.
The testosterone around the pool table shifted focus as a tiny blonde wandered over from the bar. She wore tight jeans and a tank that claimed she was TEAM EDWARD-AND-JACOB SANDWICH.
Mark took her in—big blond hair, tight clothes, strappy heels.
“Are you the Hawk?” The blonde gave Mark a shameless once-over.
“Who wants to know?” Mark asked.
The blonde giggled and flipped her hair. “I do.”
Raking his gaze over her, Mark made an appreciative sound at the back of his throat. The blonde stuck her chest out a little more in response. “Sweet thing, you’d make a weaker man drop to his knees.”
“Maybe you’re not as strong as you think.” Braver now, the blonde crooked her finger through Mark’s belt loop and tugged him toward her. “Let me buy you a drink?”
The smile on Mark’s face grew his gaze shifted to someone else. He took a step back, plucking the blonde’s hands off his clothes.
Ben swiveled his attention to see Reese. Wavy locks of dark hair had escaped the clip at the back of her neck. Her skirt suit hid every curve Ben had been trying to forget, and when she found their group she immediately locked eyes with Mark, staring at him like a star-struck fangirl.
Mark winked at Reese over the blonde’s head. “Can’t do it,” he said to the blonde. “The sweetest, most beautiful girl in the city just walked in the door.”
Reese’s cheeks grew red and that insecure half-smile tugged at her mouth. Mark abandoned the blonde and extended his hand for Reese, who sunk her teeth into her bottom lip.
Ben turned away, lava churning in his gut. He couldn’t watch this shit. Reese desperately smitten by Mark. Mark leading her on every chance he got.
Mark wrapped his arms around Reese’s shoulders. “Seeing you always makes me smile.”
“Said the spider to the fly,” Ben grumbled.
“You gonna take that shot or not?” Luke asked, sizing up the table.
Ben sighed. “Eight ball, corner pocket.” No need to brainstorm more reasons to keep his Reese-related thoughts in-check, not while Reese stood so close making eyes at Reason Three.
“How’s the beer treating you?” Reese dropped her purse on their table and came around to stand by Ben. Her hip brushed his and she grinned at him. Ben tensed, side-stepping to put some s
pace between their bodies.
As he narrowed his eyes to line up the shot, Reese closed the distance between them again, oblivious. Ben drew back his stick. As he took the shot, she whispered, “If Mark keeps eyeing me like that, he’s going to trick me into thinking a girl like me could actually stand a chance.”
The black ball rolled toward the corner pocket then ricocheted. Ben winced.
Reason Three: Only a masochist would go after a girl who wanted his brother.
Other Works by Lexi Ryan
Decadence Creek Series (erotic contemporary romance)
Just One Night (a novelette)
Just the Way You Are (a short novella)
Stiletto Girls Novels (erotic paranormal romance)
Stilettos, Inc.
Flirting with Fate
Accidentally Sexy Series (hot contemporary romance)
Accidental Sex Goddess (coming January 2013)
Hot Contemporary Romance Stand-Alones
Text Appeal
