Jamie Denton - Under Fire

She made a sound deceptively reminiscent of an unladylike snort. As if I’d know the difference.

“Earth to Jana.”

Once Mr. Wonderful disappeared from her view, she turned to face Lauren. “What did you say?”

“I asked how is it you’ve never had an orgasm?”

“Is it really so hard to believe?” Jana set her empty glass on the damp napkin. “One—maybe even both—of you must have had sex without achieving an orgasm at least once.”

Chloe laughed in that cynical way of hers, a cynicism born of being drawn to the wrong men and having her heart trampled one time too many. “If the guy’s a selfish jerk or just plain lousy in bed, sure. But come on, Jana. Never?”

“What about when you’re alone?” Lauren asked her.

“Alone!” She hadn’t meant to sound so shocked. Really, she hadn’t.

Chloe’s mouth fell open and she exchanged a look with Lauren before turning her attention back to Jana. “You mean you don’t even…?” Her voice faded, as if she couldn’t bear to say the word.

Jana’s gaze bounced between her two friends, not knowing what to say. Obviously her silence was enough of an answer for Chloe.

“I guess if you don’t know what you’re missing,” Chloe added with a shrug, “then what’s the point?”

Lauren thought about that for a minute before nodding in agreement. “You might have something there.”

Jana considered signaling the waitress for another drink, but decided against it. Who knew what would come out of her mouth if she downed a second Screaming Orgasm?

“What you need is a man,” Chloe proclaimed suddenly.

“She needs a good man.” Lauren punctuated the clarification with soft laughter. “A really good man.”

Jana straightened and pushed a loose strand of hair from her cheek. “A man is the last thing I need,” she said, giving them both a stern look and hoping they’d take the hint.

She hadn’t exactly sworn off men, but after the somewhat unpleasant end to her last relationship, she was in no great hurry to leap back inside the dating circle. Not that free-spirited Lauren or use-’em-and-abuse-’em Chloe would understand, but Jana had decided to take advantage of the emotional downtime to focus solely on her career in public administration.

Her decision had paid off, too, since she’d finally landed a promotion to supervising investigator for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Fire Investigation Division. Unfortunately, that meant her next assignment, scheduled to begin Monday morning, would be under close scrutiny. And just her rotten luck, she’d drawn the absolute worst possible case.

The reminder of the upcoming assignment had her signaling the waitress for another round. She usually enjoyed her job investigating industrial accidents and recommending changes that would keep employees safe from harm. Occasionally, she was called as a trial expert, and while she loved a challenge, she much preferred her work in the field. Still, she’d rather testify as an expert witness in a thousand court trials than be the unlucky OSHA investigator to draw a case involving a fatality, such as the one she’d been handed that afternoon by her supervisor. Not only did she have to face the sadness and heartbreak of a fallen firefighter, but every single OSHA investigator understood that that special brotherhood had a unique bond that was as unbendable as iron. She’d bet the crew of Station 43 would be no different, either. Gathering information surrounding the incident would be difficult under the best of circumstances. With a fatality involved, she’d have an easier time trying to walk uphill in a mud slide.

“Not a man in the relationship sense,” Lauren said, drawing Jana’s attention. “In the you-need-to-experience-sexual-satisfaction sense.”

“Forget it.” When Jana was ready, she’d find her own dates. She’d been subjected to Lauren’s blind dates since high school, and she’d had enough to last her a lifetime and beyond. When it came to men, she and Lauren operated on vastly differently levels. “I think I’d rather be celibate.”

“Since she doesn’t have a man in her life, how do you propose she accomplish this feat?” Chloe asked.

As if on cue, Mr. Wonderful sauntered into Jana’s line of vision. He stopped at the jukebox, braced his hands on the glass and bent his head to read the selections.

Like a magnet, he drew her attention and held her prisoner.

Hello, gorgeous. Care to help me solve a little problem?

“We’ll find her one,” Lauren announced.

That got her attention. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Wait a minute, sweetie. We’re not proposing you go on the hunt for a relationship, just find a guy that knows how to…make a woman happy.”

“Not we,” Chloe corrected Lauren. “You.”

Jana didn’t care who came up with the idea, it was still nuts. “A one-night stand?”

“Sure.” Lauren shrugged carelessly. “Why not?”

Jana could think of a few reasons. First, it wasn’t her style. Second, it could be dangerous. Third…Her gaze slipped back to the gorgeous specimen still at the jukebox. “I don’t know.”

She wasn’t really considering Lauren’s crackpot plan, was she?

Of course not. Despite the stubborn streak that sometimes got them into trouble, Linney women simply did not entertain one-night stands. They were trained in the values of appropriate ladylike behavior practically from the cradle. No wonder she’d never had an orgasm. She and her sisters had probably been sent subliminal messages while in the womb.

She allowed her gaze to slip over to him again. He remained in front of the jukebox, reading the music choices. Something must have stirred his interest because he slipped a bill into the slot then made a selection. She smiled when the first strains from one of her favorite Alan Jackson songs filtered through the speaker system. What would it be like to make love to a man who appreciated the same soulful music she did? Would he be gentle? Caring? Would he put her needs before his own?

Jana snagged the Screaming Orgasm before the waitress set it in front of her, then took a long drink. What was she thinking? Not only was the thought of a one-night stand completely foreign to her, she couldn’t remember ever fantasizing about a total stranger…until him. In fact, now that she thought about it, she’d never fantasized about any man.

“What’s to know?” Chloe slipped the waitress a twenty, then waited until she’d disappeared before continuing. “You find someone you think is attractive, you get his attention, you flirt then you seduce him right out of his B.V.D.s.”

Jana zeroed in on Mr. Tall, Dark and Hunky again. What good would it do? There was probably something physically wrong with her anyway. Some sexual glitch that prevented her from experiencing the ultimate fulfillment. Or maybe, as her friends had suggested, she’d just been sleeping with the wrong men.

Oh yeah, that was it, she thought sarcastically as she downed more of her Screaming Orgasm. Although she didn’t necessarily believe in all that glass-slipper propaganda, she wasn’t exactly a card-carrying member of the men-are-pigs-society, either.

She’d had her share of relationships. Did it really make a difference that she could count them all on one hand, starting with the out-of-character fling she’d had with the local bad boy the summer before she left for college? The best thing she could say about her first sexual experience was that it had been over quickly. She’d been saved the humiliation of having to face Brad Hilliard again when she, Lauren and Chloe had left for Arizona State University two days later.

She’d even had a serious relationship in college. Although she rated Everett Copeland a two on the knowing-how-to-please-his-woman scale, she probably would have married him if he hadn’t transferred to Florida State his senior year.