Chapter Three

At her desk, Chloe yawned and stretched her arms overhead. A spreadsheet with yesterday’s figures filled her computer screen. Instead of her usual interest in the accounts, restlessness kept her focus flickering to the clock on the bottom right of the screen.

Ten fifteen became ten sixteen with an unperceivable blip. The sixteen would soon become seventeen. Numbers were reliable, even if her best friend wasn’t. Jill should’ve peeked her head into Chloe’s office by now. Her bestie would surely apologize for bailing on her at Midnight Luna’s for drinks and then give her a TMI dump regarding her latest sexual exploit with Kyle. Jill’s hot new boy toy was quickly reaching his expiration date.

A surprising jolt of jealousy caused Chloe’s mouth to pinch. She folded her arms tight across her chest. Just once, she wished to be the one offering a tale of a naughty sexual adventure. But she wasn’t spontaneous. Or adventurous. Or fun.

A lot of time went into vetting anyone she dated before things advanced to a physical level.

She didn’t do one-night stands. Never lost control. Never broke her stringent rules for dating. No kissing, petting, or fooling around until she learned the guy’s complete background and values. And absolutely no sex before the relationship reached the three-month marker.

Jill’s dating life arced in the opposite direction. Her wild friend wouldn’t go on a second date with someone if she hadn’t sampled the goods first. Sex on the first date was her norm. Unless the guy turned out to be a total jerk. But Jill didn’t accept dates from losers. Her beautiful bestie’s model-perfect appearance attracted men of means. Men with self-confidence. Men who never spared Chloe a second glance. Jill’s uninhibited nature and fearless approach to life offered Chloe a nosebleed view of true freedom.

A child of strict religious parents, Chloe’s repression and denial of her sexuality ran deep. If something came easy, it wasn’t earned. Only hard work and following the rules would ever bring Chloe to her happily-ever-after. Having fun and abandoning her code of conduct would lead to ruin. But sometimes she wondered if a little bit of ruin wouldn’t be educational.

Yes, she wanted romance and love. Someone to count on. A husband, children, and a house with the white picket fence, but the idea of letting go and giving in to her baser desires held an odd appeal today. The result of a stream of naughty dreams featuring Mr. Tall, Dark, and Gorgeous. She awoke hot, sweaty, and aroused three times during the night. Her mind clouded with images of his big warm hands doing wonderful things to her body.

Those colorful irises, his satiny voice, and the heat of his touch wreaked havoc on her standard eight hours of sleep. She’d dreamed of doing things with him that hadn’t crossed her mind during the raciest sex with her long-term boyfriends. Constantine was sensual arousal on a stick. Because anything delicious and exotic always came on a stick. Deep-fried Twinkies were a perfect example of decadence on a stick. Yep, the man was a six-foot walking, talking, and utterly sinful, deep-fried Twinkie. Good Lord, she wanted to find out how he tasted.

A tap on the hollow wood of her open door pulled her from her daydream.

“Good morning,” said Jill, holding a to-go coffee from the shop in the lobby like a trophy. “I’m sorry about last night. I bring a peace offering.”

The aroma of her favorite double chocolate and spice, emotional rescue macchiato wafted into her sinuses. The heavenly scent melted her annoyance and Jill’s wide toothy grin chased Chloe’s tension away.

“Gimme. Gimme,” she said, reaching toward the bribe like a desperate toddler. “I need caffeine, but you’re not totally off the hook for last night.”

“How about a detailed account of Kyle arriving at my door in only a trench coat and a thong the shape of an elephant’s trunk?”

“Oh, no.” Chloe couldn’t help but laugh. “He didn’t.”

“Oh, yes. He did.” Jill sauntered into the small room and leaned against Chloe’s Formica desk. “And the man would give any circus beast a run for the big top’s spotlight.” Her hands spread a foot apart.

“Get out,” said Chloe.

“I kid you not. The man is amazing.”

“I’m sensing genuine admiration. Could Kyle be the one man who converts you from playing the field? Are you two going steady?”

Her friend’s gaze rolled across the ceiling and her silence said more than any words of protest could.

“You like him.” Chloe’s mouth gaped. Was that a blush of color rising in Jill’s cheeks?

“With a penis like that, how can I not be impressed?” Her girlfriend’s words were meant to camouflage the emotions she’d let slip. But the truth was out. Jill was smitten.

Chloe tilted her head and studied her friend. “Wait, haven’t you gone out with Kyle a few times before last night?”

“Yeah,” Jill said, standing and backing toward the door. “So?”

“How can last night be the first time you’ve seen him naked?”

Jill’s blue gaze darted everywhere but at Chloe. “They’re short staffed on the sales floor. I have to run.”

“You really, really like this guy,” Chloe said to the empty space Jill had vacated.

Her friend’s long, wispy hair swung back through the door frame. Big blue eyes alit with mischief and a coy grin tweaked her plump lips. “He might just be man enough to keep me interested,” she said. Then she was gone.

In a sing-song tease, Chloe sang, “Jill has a boyfriend.”

“Shh.” Sounded from the hall, an air of uncertainty cutting the reprimand short. The click of her heels slowed.

Had the Earth’s magnetic poles reversed?

Could her card-carrying player girlfriend be entering a relationship? In the four years since they’d become friends, Jill’s sex partners never lasted more than a week.

Chloe checked the wall calendar. Jill had met Kyle twelve days ago, while they were out at the San Francisco Museum of Art. Perusing the women throughout history exhibit, Kyle had admired the same artist as Jill while strolling through the main hall. After spending the next twenty minutes together, he slid her his business card with a private number inked on the back.

In retrospect, Chloe realized that her friend had been rather tight lipped on their encounters. Was Jill breaking her rules and developing feelings for the hunky museum nerd?

With over a week already on their dating timeline, the old Jill would’ve jumped Kyle’s extra-large bone the first night. Instead, her friend had waited over a week for carnal knowledge of the sandy-haired man with glasses.

Chloe set her coffee on the desk and turned back to the door. “She didn’t offer any other details after mentioning the thong.” Her words whispered into the empty room. “No explicit information on positions, duration, or the number of rounds they went. Heck, she hadn’t even stated her standard one to five stars of satisfaction.”

Her friend was hardcore into Kyle. Jill was falling in love.

Chloe stood and paced the eight-by-eight space. With Jill off the market, had the powers-that-be decided to balance the scales by having Chloe take her place?

The idea of a one-night stand with the man haunting her dreams suddenly seemed like a plausible option. She wasn’t interested in waiting around for three months of getting to know him before seeing him naked. His sex appeal radiated with such intensity, he wouldn’t want her for more than a fling. She didn’t have the skill or experience to hold an experienced man’s interest.

Constantine had worn a white shirt and dark pants like the waitstaff. If he worked at Midnight Luna often enough to be there “every day”, then dozens of women must proposition him. He probably had a different woman every night. Sex whenever he wanted.

Chloe couldn’t compete with the smorgasbord of beautiful, trendy, and outgoing women who patronized the hippest new restaurant in the city. But could she become one of his conquests?

Could she do it? Bury her rigid moral compass and give her body over to a single night of passion? One night of lust, no regrets?

She dialed Jill and arranged a lunch date for later in the week. If she truly wanted to open her legs and keep her heart closed, then she needed the advice of an expert. Her best friend’s platinum player’s card made her the perfect person to consult.

Another whisper of memory from the night before sent a chill across her neck. Constantine. She had to experience one night with him. He was the only man to ever tempt her to her breaking point.