Lori Wilde - Lethal Exposure

“Yes?” Her friends leaned forward, hanging on to her every word.

“Maybe it’s time I shook things up a little. Took a walk on the wild side. I’ve never been very good at separating love from sex and I think maybe it’s time I learned. I’m twenty-nine and after the number Roger did on me…” She let her words trail off.

“Seriously?” Elle asked.

Julie glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was within earshot, then leaned closer to her friends and lowered her voice. “It’s been six months since Roger and I’m feeling—”

“Horny?” Vanessa supplied.

“Sexually frustrated.” Julie preferred her own word choice. She wasn’t as frank and earthy as her friend. “You guys, I think that’s why I failed my certifying exam. I’ve been having erotic dreams lately and I’ve been so distracted by them I can hardly concentrate on my work.”

Vanessa looked at Elle and nodded. “She’s horny. That’s my official medical diagnosis. Nothing wrong with being horny. It happens. Part of the human condition. Nothing to feel awkward about.”

“I don’t feel awkward.”

Vanessa waved a hand. “How come your face is turning as red as this booth?”

“Okay, all right.” Julie took a deep breath. “I’m horny. I need a man. And not just any man. I need a man who’s good in bed, but one who is not looking for a relationship. I need a no-strings-attached affair and I need it now.”

“Where is this coming from?” Elle asked. “This philosophy is so not you. Not that I think it’s a bad idea, mind you. Just that it’s not like you.”

Julie pulled Roger’s letter out of her pocket, unfolded it and passed it to her friend.

Elle read it and then handed Roger’s letter to Vanessa. “What a weasel.”

“Oh, no, he didn’t,” Vanessa said after reading it. “The jerk.”

“I’m tired of being a starry-eyed romantic,” Julie said. “I’m sick of being naive when it comes to men.”

“And you think a fling with a totally inappropriate guy will fix that?” Vanessa raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I know it will.”

“What’s going to keep you from falling in love with him?” Elle asked.

“His total inappropriateness.”

Vanessa dragged another slice of pizza onto her plate. “Being totally inappropriate didn’t stop you from falling for Roger.”

Julie took a sip of her beer. It had gone warm. She grimaced. “That’s because I didn’t know he was inappropriate until I found out about his wife.”

“And his daughter who’s only a few years younger than you,” Elle pointed out. “Don’t forget.”

Julie jammed on a false smile. “Thank you so much for reminding me.”

“So you’ve set your sights on Sebastian Black as your totally inappropriate rebound guy?” Vanessa asked.

Had she? Until this moment, she hadn’t realized exactly what she’d been thinking, but yeah, maybe she had.

“It sounds like this Sebastian character is used to speeding in the fast lane and let’s face it, sweetie, you’re a slow-lane kinda girl,” Vanessa added.

“He did more than turn my head. Sebastian had me so confused I mistook him for a patient.” Julie explained about the Hollywood bigwig patient with priapism and Sebastian’s appearance on the wrong floor at exactly the wrong time, leading to one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.

The fact that Julie was even considering a temporary fling should have been a huge red flag. For her entire life she’d been the girl who collected housewares and linens for her hope chest and cut out pictures from brides’ magazines to paste into her wedding-plan book. Her favorite game had been Mystery Date. She was the girl who plastered posters of boy bands on her wall and kept a pink diary filled with teenage angst about her many crushes.

It hardly seemed fair that her friends had found true love while she was the one who was still single and searching. Not that she resented them their happiness. She just wanted her share, too.

Maybe Vanessa was right. There was no way she was cut out for a bumpy ride in the fast lane. She should probably call up Sebastian and tell him she couldn’t meet him for lunch tomorrow.

Where’s the harm in lunch? She was being nudged by the part of herself that hungered for excitement and the thrill of something new.

“Jules?” Elle said. “You okay?”

“Huh?” She blinked, realized her friend had said something to her and she hadn’t even heard it.

“I don’t want to see you get hurt again.” Elle put a hand on Julie’s arm. “Remember how long it took you to get over Roger?”

Way too long. That was why she needed someone new, someone fresh, someone fun, someone like Sebastian.

She met Elle’s gaze. “I do appreciate your concern. I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Vanessa grinned. “Make sure to pick up some condoms. Ribbed, for your pleasure.”

Julie’s mouth went dry. Maybe she wasn’t up for this after all.

“Please, make sure not to romanticize him. He’s just a guy,” Elle said.

“Like Dante was just a guy?” Julie asked, referring to Elle’s new husband, Dr. Dante Nash, who’d been undercover for the FBI when he’d busted Elle’s ex-husband, Mark Lawson.

“That’s different,” Elle said hastily. “I had to learn how to be romantic. You’re trying to learn not to be so romantic. You’re the one with unrealistic ideas about love.”

True enough. Julie sucked in her breath as she thought about Sebastian. Just remembering his dark, curly hair had her fingers tingling to run through those thick locks. The core of her sex tightened. Her body wanted him, no question about that.

But was she brave enough to step on the accelerator and change lanes? Did she have what it took for a wild, adventuresome fling? Could she really forsake her romantic nature, learn how to have sex for sex’s sake and leave love out of the equation?

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