Tawny Weber - Fearless

“I want a weekend of totally uninhibited, totally fabulous sex. The kind you have with a guy you don’t ever plan to see again. The selfish kind, where you’re doing all the things you like and not worrying about swallowing just to keep him happy.”

She didn’t have to open her eyes to know the snort of laughter came from Caryn, whose biggest pet peeve was guys with lousy aim and a penchant for women on their knees.

“Question two,” Sara said over the sound of her pen scratching across the paper as she transcribed Gia’s fantasy in her handy-dandy notebook. “Who’s the guy?”

Gia hesitated. It wasn’t as if there were anything to be embarrassed about. But she and Caryn both worked at the same company, although Gia was in tech and Caryn worked in publicity. Where, as it happened, Luke was currently spending most of his time as the systems liaison.

Which meant Caryn would probably have a lot more insider info on him than Gia had gathered in her Facebook and watercooler stalking.

A shiver danced down her back.

This could really happen. And that was scary.

Luke was the perfect guy to help turn her fantasies into reality. She just wasn’t sure she was the perfect girl. Still… There was something naughty, something freeing about the idea of anonymous, wild, once-in-a-lifetime sex.

And if she wanted it to happen, she had to put it out there. She had to put herself out there.

“C’mon, Gia,” Caryn prompted impatiently. “Who is it that flips your switch? What’s his name?”

Gia took a deep breath, then confessed, “Luke Monroe.”

“Oh, baby,” Caryn moaned, her eyes wide with admiration.

“Is he hot?” Sara asked.

“He’s hot enough to melt chocolate,” Gia said, imagining just that, then wishing she could lick it off his naked body afterward. “He’s gorgeous, has a body to die for, and he’s got that sophisticated sexy vibe going. Like he takes his sex cues from books and indie films instead of watching porn with the guys from the gym.”

“If the rumor mill is to be believed, and I hope it is, he’s got stamina that’d put a horse to shame,” Caryn said, licking the edge of her martini glass and wriggling her brows. “I’ve heard he’s got a few other things in common with a stallion, too.”

“Well,” Jessa said, fanning her fingers in front of her face. “I was going to ask what made him the perfect guy for your fantasy. But I think you just answered that.”

“Okay, then here’s another question.” Sara set her pen down long enough to take a drink, then picked it back up to aim it at Gia. “He’s hot, you’re horny. What the hell’s keeping you from hitting on him?”

Gia’s mind easily reeled off a dozen reasons. She couldn’t voice any of them, though. Not even to her best friends.

She didn’t have any more self-confidence issues than the next woman. Sure, she’d rather her stomach were flatter, and she’d yet to find a pair of jeans that flattered her ass. But she was smart and cute, had a fun personality and had a lot going for her.

She was pretty damned great.

But pretty damned great wasn’t pretty damned wild.

Every one of the other women in this room had a wild side. They had each had at least one sexual encounter like the ones in those erotica books.

According to gossip, Luke Monroe’s sex life was wilder than all three of her friends’. Combined. He wouldn’t go for boring.

“Gia?” Jessa prompted from her perch on the huge lime-green pillow chair. “Why haven’t you gone for it?”

“Tri-Solutions’ familiarity policy, probably,” Caryn guessed. “They have rules against intercompany dating. They figure it causes too much drama in the workplace.”

Gia nodded, adding, “Sure, almost everyone ignores it. But even if management doesn’t crack down, gossip does major damage. You know how that goes.”

Nobody could deny it. They all knew women who’d been fired or been made so miserable over work affairs that they’d quit.

“What about the rumor that Luke’s being courted by that financial company as a permanent system consultant? The new position starts in two weeks. If he takes that job, he’s moving to the East Coast.”

Gia grimaced. That reason, more than anything else, was probably the core of why she’d finally confessed her fantasy. Her crush was about to slip right out of her reach.

“Great, you answered my question before I could ask, again,” Jessa said with a frown, as though they were cheating her. Then her face brightened. “But, really, it’s not the company policy that’s the issue—it’s timing. Once he leaves town, he takes the chances of your fantasy coming true with him. So you need to make this happen in the next two weeks.”

“Which brings us to the final question,” Sara said, setting aside her glass and leaning forward in preparation for getting to the down and dirty. “What’s it going to take to make this happen for you? What do you need to go for it?”

A miracle?

Hiring a street gangster to kidnap Luke and leave him tied to her bed?

A hell of a lot more vodka.

“Las Vegas,” Caryn yelled out, clapping her hands together as if she’d just won a prize.

Gia exchanged baffled looks with the other women before arching a questioning brow. “What about Vegas?”

“Luke’s attending the CES convention in Vegas next weekend to work the Tri-Solutions booth and schmooze with potential clients.”

“You want me to go to Vegas and seduce him?” Gia asked faintly. She’d rather crawl under her couch and hide. Talk about double intimidation. Vegas was the land of strippers, showgirls and pay-by-the-hour kink. Oh, yeah, she’d really stand out there.

“It’s perfect,” Caryn insisted. “You can have your fantasy, with your fantasy guy, and not jeopardize your job. Or your ego if anything goes wrong.”

“Are you throwing in fat-free chocolate and calorie-less whipped cream?”

“I don’t have to. All you need is a makeover.”

Two sets of jaws dropped right along with her own. Gia was glad to see the other women were just as baffled as she was.

“Since when did makeover and orgasms go hand in hand?”

“How will a facial and haircut get her fantasy sex?”

“I don’t look good enough to get a guy like Luke Monroe?”

“Don’t be silly. You’re gorgeous. But those silly rules mean you can’t haul the guy into the company supply closet and ride him like a wild stallion. So you need a cover. A fake persona. You can make yourself into the woman you are in your fantasies, and he won’t have a clue the woman blowing his, um, mind is someone he works with.”

“Oh, I like this,” Sara said, all but rubbing her hands together. “It’s easier to get into the role if you’re in costume. The makeover not only protects your identity, it lets you shed your inhibitions. You can do anything you want, because you’ll be someone else.”

Anything?

Excitement flamed in Gia’s belly. Suddenly it seemed as if blurting out her secret had been a good thing.

Nerves warred with the excitement, and doubts screamed warnings in her head. But the vision of being tied to a bed and having whipped cream licked off her body by a very naked, very aroused, very worshipful Luke Monroe made those easy to ignore.

Well, that vision and the second chocolatini.

“I could do it. I really could,” she said, pressing her fingers to her lips to try and hold back her excitement. “And, really, where better than Sin City to go wild.”

Other than right here, in her mind, where she couldn’t be rejected or make an idiot of herself. Or worse, find out she wasn’t fantasy-sex material.

“There’s no way we can pull all of this off before next weekend, though. Can we?” She didn’t know if she wanted them to say no way or that it was a slam dunk.