"Goodbye, control," Maggie muttered, her hands trembling
with a mix of excitement and nerves. "Hello, fantasy."
She stepped into the car show refreshment tent and
paused, her fingers playing with the clasp on her purse.
Fans blasted, but she still feared she might break into a
sweat. And wouldn't that be attractive?
She forced her fingers to still. Sexy women, the ones
who left men desperate to touch, possessed confidence, not
anxiety. If she kept playing with that clasp, her bag might
fall open and expose the box of
ribbed–for–her–pleasure protection Olivia
had given her in the car. Turning red with embarrassment
wouldn't help her confidence.
Why shouldn't she feel confident? She was a
careeroriented author and professor. And she knew she looked
good tonight. She had big breasts and a trim
waist—both of which were on display thanks to the
backless green shirt Olivia had chosen. Wearing it meant
Maggie had been forced to leave her bra at home.
She glanced down at the full D–cups pressing at
the front of her shirt as if screaming to the room look at
me! Had anyone noticed? Had one of these men caught sight of
her and said, "Wow! I bet she would look great topless and
bent over the hood of my car"? She scanned the tent and
spotted a couple of men staring at her, their eyes never
drifting above her chest.
"The shirt. It's working," Maggie murmured to her best
friend.
Olivia stood half a step behind her, blocking the exit
as if she feared Maggie might bolt at any moment. "Of course
it is. Now all you have to do is walk to the bar and order a
drink."
Maggie nodded, squared her shoulders and wobbled to the
bar, silently cursing Olivia for insisting she wear the
four–inch heels. Her feet ached for her sensible,
everyday flats. But she needed the height advantage. Without
the stilettos, all five foot three inches of her would be
lost in the sea of towering males.
And there were definitely Men here. Capital M. At the
tables, on the folding chairs, leaning against the makeshift
bar—muscular, don't–mess–with–me
Men. The type of guys she'd always admired from a distance,
as if they were part of a display with a little sign that
read Look, But Don't Touch.
Tonight she wanted to touch.
Some wore uniforms, but most were dressed in civilian
clothes. Still, their military–issue haircuts gave
them away. They might be wearing jeans and T–shirts,
but they were soldiers. Not that this was surprising. It
made sense that a car show near a military academy would be
overrun with soldiers and cadets. Most men liked cars. The
guys in this tent probably spent 50 percent of their free
time rebuilding their engines.
Not Maggie. She'd never even changed a flat tire. Not once.
Her nerves kicked into gear again. Her fingers drummed
against her thighs as she picked her way through the crowd.
She fought to quiet them and focus. She was on a mission.
And it had nothing to do with car parts and everything to do
with hard–bodied males.
When they reached the temporary wooden counter, Maggie
signaled the bartender. "Vodka tonic, please."
Olivia raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything before
adding a glass of white wine to the order.
Their drinks arrived and Maggie took a long sip from
hers. She couldn't remember the last time she'd ordered hard
liquor. She rarely drank the stuff, always afraid she might
have inherited her father's love of booze, and when she did
have a drink, she generally preferred a glass or two of
wine, or a beer on a hot summer afternoon. One sip of vodka
and she was feeling warm and a little tipsy, which was
surprisingly pleasant. It even dulled her desire to drive
back down to Manhattan and hurl something at her ex. A few
more of these and she might have the guts to follow through
with Olivia's crazy plan.
"Liv, you do realize most of these guys are soldiers.
Probably half either teach at or attend West Point." Maggie
noticed she'd downed half her drink. "What if I end up
having to deal with one of them while researching my book?"
"Relax, you won't." Olivia shook her head. "Anyway, I
thought the men you were interviewing were based in Tennessee."
"They are, but the generals are in town."
Olivia reached over and patted her hand. "I promise I'll
make sure he's not a general."
"But I could never date a soldier."
"It's only for one night," Olivia reminded her. "Why
should you care what he does for a living if you're not
planning on seeing him beyond tonight? Maybe you'll get
lucky and find a mechanic. This is a car show."
Maggie drained the rest of her drink. "What if I pick a
guy and he turns me down?" Her nerves—and the
vodka—sent her stomach into somersaults. "What if I
make a complete fool of myself? It's not like I have a lot
of experience with men."
"Look at me." Olivia leaned closer. "You can do this.
Now. Tonight. If you don't, then duty, responsibility, your
need to be the best at your job—it will smother you."
Maggie held on to the bar with one hand as Olivia's
words sank in. Her sense of duty had started smothering her
years ago when her father began drinking. This was her
chance to escape. If she didn't act now, she might lose the
part of herself that craved orgasms. The part of herself
that wished she'd told her fiance she wanted wild sex on his
desk and so much more.
"You're right," Maggie said softly.
Olivia smiled and signaled the bartender for a second
round. "Now, look around. See anything you like?"
Feeling the vodka pulsing through her, Maggie boldly
scanned the refreshment tent. What was she looking for?
Muscles. The kind that came from the hard work required to
transform a man into a soldier or from lifting engine parts.
But four out of five guys in here looked like they could
bench–press her one–handed. And thanks to her
breasts, she wasn't one of those
hundred–pounds–soaking–wet women.
She took a second look and mentally eliminated about
half of them. Too young. She wanted a man who knew things
about sex. She wanted an orgasm that left her breathless,
boneless and begging for more.
Her gaze landed on a green polo, tight but not too
tight. And those biceps? They shouted touch me. Her eyes
drifted over his shoulders to his face, framed by straight
brown hair. She'd always liked brown hair. Staring at his
profile—he was deep in conversation with an equally
handsome but not quite as sexy man across the
table—she could see his mouth curving upward in a half
smile. Those lips. He had the type of mouth that begged a
woman to say kiss me lower down, please.
Maggie clutched her drink and drew her gaze away from
his face. Twelve months of unfulfilling sex had driven her
mad if she was thinking about his lips kissing her there
before she'd even said a word to the guy. She blinked and
took in the rest of him. She could see the endless length of
his legs stretched out beneath the table.
Her body tingled as she drank in the sight of him. With
a long, sculpted body like that he must know how to do
things, deliciously sinful, wild things that previously only
existed in her fantasies. He turned and looked right at her,
and then smiled. She tightened her grip on her nearly empty
drink. Those eyes. That mouth. She'd bet her inheritance
that man knew ten ways to give a woman the best orgasm of
her life. If he looked at her like that much longer, she
might come right here. Her thighs tightened at the thought.
This man would say yes. He wouldn't turn her down. Not after
that look.
Maggie blinked and turned to the bartender. "Cancel the
vodka tonic. Just water, please."
The liquor had made her bold, maybe even a little
reckless, but if she wished to remember every detail about
tonight, she needed water. "Do you remember George Clooney
when he was young? When he was on ER?"
"Oh, yeah." Olivia took her wine from the bartender. "He
was on the show when we first started watching it in high
school."
"Green polo, blue jeans at eight o'clock."
Olivia raised an eyebrow. "He's not your usual type."
"He has George Clooney's eyes. Bedroom eyes." Maggie
reached for her water and drained half the glass. "Tonight,
he's my type."