Erin McCarthy - Bad Boys Online

Candy smiled at him and shrugged out of her jacket, struggling with the sleeves. She ended up wiggling back and forth tugging on the jacket, trying to keep her blouse sleeve in place, until Jared took hold of both sleeves and stripped her of the jacket before she could even take a breath.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. And I don't like to… eat alone either."

Have mercy. Having spent the last two years wondering why she couldn't get the least bit aroused, Candy now had her answer. She had been waiting for Jared. And all he needed to do was breathe and she found herself with damp panties.

"Question four." Her voice shattered on a mouselike squeak and Candy cleared her throat. "Where do you most like your partner to touch you?"

Candy leaned forward and looked closer at the screen. Was that really what it said or had her personal thoughts done a wishful Freudian voice-over?

Jared said, "What the hell kind of question is that?"

One on the couples' guide to harmony, apparently. Candy had read the question right.

"Harold can't possibly expect us to answer that. And we've never even touched each other, so it's completely invalid."

"Unless we just answer where we'd like, ah, someone to touch us." Candy shocked herself right out of the chair. She bounced up and paced around the backside of her chair, hiding behind Jared.

Of all the tacky, inappropriate, over-the-top things to say. He was going to give her a quarter to go buy a clue. He wasn't interested, and throwing herself at him was just embarrassing them both.

She knew it. It was coming. Where was a whale's mouth to dive into when you needed one?

Jared swiveled around to face her and said, "Well, that's easy enough for a man to answer. I think we all want to be touched in the same place. And I'm not talking about our feet."

She was sure he wasn't.

Before she could think of a response that didn't make her sound like a priss or a total slut, but a nice "I'm interested" in-between, Jared spoke again.

His hand was slung over the back of the chair, and his shirt strained across his muscular chest. "So, if someone was going to touch me, that's where I would want it to be."

Candy forced herself to stop pacing. "Why don't you type that in on the assessment then?"

Jared let out a laugh. It was the first time she had ever heard him amused enough to laugh. It was a deep rich sound that washed over her and sent her goosepimply.

"I'll do that." He grabbed the laptop and typed with both hands, fast and efficiently. "What should I put for your answer? Where would you want to be touched, Candy?"

Everywhere. Times three.

"Weeell." She drawled the word out, hoping time would give her courage. She knew what she wanted, it was just a matter of saying it out loud.

Squeezing her fists shut tight, Candy tossed back her hair and went for broke. "My breasts."

Jared wasn't looking at her, but she saw his fingers pause over the keyboard. His voice was low, persuasive. "Would you say specifically your nipples, or all of your breasts, Candy? And touched with hands, or with a tongue? I want to be as accurate as possible you know, for the counseling."

Candy gripped the back of the chair to prevent falling down in a dead faint. Lord, the man was sexy even on the back of his head. "Both. Everything."

The fingers resumed. "Got it."

Then Jared scrolled down the screen. "Let's see about question five."

Candy had never been a drinker, but she felt the sudden need for a splash of bourbon. Or a barrel of bourbon. She had started this, aided by Harold's ridiculous intimacy quest, and she needed to see it through. Her crotch demanded it.

"I'm ready."

"What is the difference between sex, love, and romance?" Jared snorted. "Oh, this one's easy."

"Really?" Leaning against her chair Candy said, "So what's your answer?"

Jared didn't even look up at her as he typed. "Sex you do, love you feel, and romance you say."

Well he just had it all figured out. Candy protested, "That's not true. You can do love, too, by showing someone you love them with a gift or a thoughtful gesture. You can say you love someone. You can show romance with a candlelit dinner and you can feel romantic. Sex you most certainly can feel, and talking and romance are all involved in sex as well. They're all interconnected but very different."

As anyone could see.

Jared glanced at her with a pained expression. "You're right. I was wrong."

His answer startled a laugh out of her. "What?"

"Isn't that what you want me to say? We could argue, but I figure this just saves us time."

"No, I don't want you to just agree with me. I want to hear your opinion. I want to discuss it, have an exchange of ideas, and possibly learn something new from your knowledge."

He looked doubtful. "No woman has ever wanted to hear what I have to say. Not really."

Candy looked down at him, taking in his gorgeous dark eyes and black hair. The way his cheekbones were so strong and sensual, narrowing down into a proud chin and thin lips. She had a sudden insight. Women probably treated Jared the way men treated her.

Like an object. Like an arm ornament.

The rush of understanding made her blurt out, "I want to hear what you have to say. Whether I agree or not."

His eyes swept over her, and she stood still, defiant, daring him to shut her down. Let him frown at her now and she wouldn't mind so much.

He didn't frown. He paused, pursed his lips together, then shook his head slightly. Finally he said, "I'll keep that in mind."

It was enough for her.

He added, "But we're sticking with my original answer because yours is too hard to type in."

Candy laughed and leaned forward. She was edging closer to him, hoping to innocently glance at the screen over his shoulder. Which would force her to brush against him, of course.

"Oh, look, there's a bonus section between questions five and six. It's a tip on keeping the romance alive." Jared shook his head. "Jesus, what the hell was Harold thinking? Didn't he even look at this thing?"

"I doubt it." Candy put her hands on the back of his chair to steady herself and bent over his shoulder. If she turned to the right, their lips would be a smidgen apart. But for now, she looked straight at the screen.

"What's the tip?"

Jared turned. His breath hit her cheek. "Looking for some advice?"

She shrugged and the movement caused her breasts to brush against his back and shoulder. "You never know. It could be something good."

"It says you should massage your partner. Starting at the feet and working your way up, with special emphasis on erogenous zones."

Candy thought about Jared's hand massaging up her legs, zeroing in on her inner thighs, and settling in for a long, hot haul.

"They also suggest the use of edible massage oils, with flavors like chocolate and raspberry."

Oh, Lord. The idea of him licking chocolate sauce off her nipple contributed to her increasingly damp panties problem. If she spent much more time with Jared she was going to have to start carrying a spare pair.

Candy turned. Jared was watching her. His lips were close enough to touch. To lick. To kiss.

She whispered, "It sounds sticky."

The smell of coffee rushed over her as he breathed, a little harder and faster than was normal. Candy pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and tugged.

He said, "It sounds delicious."

"If you're hungry."

"Oh, I'm hungry, Candy. It's lunchtime, you know." Jared's eyes dropped to her lips.

He was going to kiss her, he was going to kiss her, he was going to… turn back to the computer.

Dang it. Where was a jar of chocolate massage oil when she needed it?

She was going to have to start carrying that around in her purse along with the spare panties.