Envy Mass Market

“I wondered why you were wearing your glasses.”

“I took my contacts out.” Nodding toward the empty side of his bed, she asked, “May I?”

“Be my guest.”

She rounded the end of the bed and crawled onto it, then folded her legs beneath her and sat back on her heels, facing him. “You’re already reading a bedtime story.”

He closed the book lying in his lap and set it on the nightstand. “I’d rather hear yours.” She turned the book toward him so he could see the title stamped in gold into the green cloth cover. “Grass Widow,” he read, smiling.

“A novel by my favorite author.”

“What, him?”

“There’s no call for false modesty.”

“But you’ve got high standards, Ms. Matherly. You’re a hard sell. What do you like about this novel?”

His use of her maiden name didn’t escape her, but she didn’t interrupt their game by acknowledging it. She opened the book. “Well, in particular, I like the scene where Deck Cayton, the handsome, sexy, roguish, but engaging hero, uses a card game to obtain information from the bimbo.”

“Frenchy.”

“Whatever. It’s a provocative and involving scene.”

“The fans certainly thought so. Critics, too.”

She pursed her lips and frowned. “However—”

“Uh-oh. Here it comes.”

“The scene has raised a few points.”

“Typical editor,” he said under his breath. “For every compliment there’s a criticism.”

“Look, Mr. Evans, if you don’t value my points—”

“No, no. I do value them, those raised points of yours.” His eyes dropped to her breasts. “I’ll take them like a man.” He placed one hand behind his head and gave her a smug grin. “That was a metaphor.”

“I got it,” she said dryly. “Shall I proceed?”

“Please. Give me a for-instance.”

“Uh…” She dragged her eyes away from the furry hollow of his armpit. “For instance, the language is very descriptive.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be?”

“Yes, but in this passage it’s—”

“Explicit?”

“To the extreme.”

“Why’s that bad?”

“I didn’t say it was bad. My problem is with its accuracy.”

“Accuracy.”

“Right. I’m not sure that the, uh, mating positions you’ve described are anatomically possible. For human beings, I mean.”