Lindsay brought her lips to the microphone. “Ladies, I have one more letter to read to you before I go, and it deals directly with a question many of us have considered before.

“Dear Lindsay, I have a great boyfriend. I honestly can’t complain. He’s thoughtful and kind, my friends and family love him, and compared to boyfriends of the past, he’s a godsend, except in the bedroom. I would like to experiment more and incorporate rougher sex. I’ve given him major hints, but he doesn’t get the message. The sex isn’t bad, it’s just vanilla. You said in the past that sexual compatibility is an important part of a relationship. Right now we’re incompatible. Should I throw in the towel? Signed, Jasmine in Delaware.

“As always, this is a tough one. How important is sex in a relationship? It’s an important component, but only you can answer the question for your own unique coupling. For some of you it might not be important at all, and you can live without it, but for this particular woman and yours truly, a more robust sexual relationship is a necessity.”

Lindsay paused for effect and then placed her mouth close to the microphone again.

“Jasmine, here’s my advice. Yes, sexual compatibility is important, but so is communication. Men often don’t get hints. Ask any of them, and they’ll tell you they prefer the direct approach. Before you throw in the towel, how about you tell your man your fantasy? He very well may have the same desires, and you could explore this new direction together. Pull together information about what you’d like to do, print it out, and read it—with him. Yes, you heard me correctly. Use the material as an introduction to explicitly express your desires. That, honey, could be part of the foreplay. Your vanilla boyfriend might not be so vanilla. I suggest you try this before giving up, especially since he sounds like a keeper in every other way. Don’t throw in the towel just yet, and keep me posted.

“Until next time, girlfriends. This is Lindsay the Sexy Diva, reminding you that a healthy relationship begins with you. Be the best you can be, in and out of the bedroom. Goodnight.”

Lindsay removed her headphones and with a few mouse clicks added the sound file to cloud storage where her editor would retrieve it. He’d add the theme music and clean up the audio to get it closer to radio quality.

She left the booth and headed back to her office. Sinking into the leather chair, her eyes scoured the desk and the photos spread out on its surface. They were amazing, and she’d been in a good mood ever since she saw them. She’d also been horny because she couldn’t get the explosive kiss with Malik out of her mind. Even now, her entire body flushed with heat at the memory.

Resting her chin on her hand, she simply looked at him. His wicked smile. His sexy, full lips. His soft beard that had brushed her skin. All within a brawny, brown package. She really, really wanted him. Bad. With him she experienced a pull, an attraction, unlike with anyone else. But did he want her? Of course he did. That kiss hadn’t been one-sided, and there was no mistaking his arousal, first wedged against her bottom and then wedged against her stomach when they kissed.

But the kiss had been over a week ago, and she hadn’t heard from him. Since then she’d tried to reach her sister without luck. Nina was overseas somewhere without Internet service, which wasn’t unusual. Sometimes they went weeks without communicating. She’d sent an email with the details about Malik’s sculpture for when Nina came back online.

The phone rang, and Lindsay saw Hal’s name flash on the screen.

She answered right away. “Hey, Hal!” She propped her feet on the windowsill. “Talk to me.”

“They loved the photos.”

Lindsay pumped her fist. She never doubted Bear Publishing would, but it was nice to get confirmation. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Hal chuckled. “I have to say, you guys have great chemistry. I didn’t think that kiss would end.”

Neither did she. She didn’t want it to end, anyway. She couldn’t forget the way his broad fingers had grabbed her bottom, as if he’d completely forgotten there were other people in the room. She shuddered at the memory.

“Malik can get a little carried away,” she said coyly.

“I can tell.” Hal laughed again. “Well, I think you’ll be interested to know they want more.”

Lindsay’s ears perked up. “Want more? What do you mean?”

“The publisher wants more of the two of you.”

Heaviness invaded the pit of her stomach. That did not sound good.

“They think it would be great to have him attend some of the promotional gigs you have planned. Nothing major. An event here and there, especially the radio interview we have coming up. I have to say, I agree. Having him with you not only lends credibility to your platform, but that man is a looker. Can you imagine other women seeing him and thinking that with your advice, they could have a man like that for themselves?” Hal growled.

Lindsay dropped her feet to the floor. Working with Malik was supposed to be a one-off. “I don’t know… He’s a private person, and he doesn’t like the limelight. I explained all of that to you, about him being an introvert. He didn’t want to do the photo shoot in the first place, so I really don’t think I can convince him to join me at other events.”

“Convince him. Think about all the other opportunities that could come from this book deal and the promotion around it. Syndication. An advice column. Maybe your own radio show. The opportunities are endless! Doing what they want could take you out of a niche market and introduce you to a wider audience. Your advice is good advice for all women, not just one demographic.”

Lindsay gnawed her bottom lip as she considered her publicist’s words. She definitely saw the potential for a wider reach, and a wider reach meant exactly what he said, plus more money in the form of licensing and possible partnerships.

She was not a sociologist, psychologist, or anthropologist, which meant she struggled for legitimacy in a field filled with not only great talkers, but people with credentials she didn’t have. Her knowledge about relationships came from experience. From being a woman who had a lot of sex, dated a lot of men, and whose observations made her notice and pick up on behaviors other people didn’t.

“I understand, but I don’t want to put Malik in an uncomfortable position.” She couldn’t imagine him agreeing to do any more events with her. She certainly hadn’t intended to do any more with him.

“Make it work, sweetheart. Use some of that Lindsay charm I know you have. I’ll be out of pocket for the rest of the week. The wife and I are going up to the mountains for couple time. Ha! Got that from you. Couple time. My wife loves it, and so I love it. Happy wife equals happy life. Reach out to me next Monday and let me know how the conversation with your fiancé went. Get him on board! Let him know how important this would be for the future of the two of you.”

“Okay,” Lindsay said with much less enthusiasm than when she’d originally answered the phone.

“Don’t let me down. I know you can do this. Think about the money, and get that man out of his shell, all right?”

She breathed a silent sigh. “All right.”

“Talk to you next week!”

After the call, Lindsay deflated like a balloon, slinking down in the chair. She couldn’t afford to pay Malik for any more appearances. Between the five hundred dollars she’d already given him and the money she’d spent on the ring from the pawn shop to pretend they were engaged, she was out a hefty sum.

What was she going to do?

She didn’t see any way out of this predicament. Unless…

An idea formulated in her mind, one that might actually work, if she could convince Malik.

Jumping to her feet, Lindsay stuffed the photos into an envelope and shoved it into her purse. The only thing she could do was try.

Time for a trip out to his property.