Pleasure Bound

Despite Ty’s teasing tone, Marie sensed an undercurrent she couldn’t quite place.

“Do you disapprove?” she asked.

Three

Marie respected Ty and didn’t want him to think badly of her, but what was done was done.

Ty’s gaze locked on hers. “Of course not.” He touched her cheek. The gentle brush of his fingertips sent ripples of awareness through her. “I would never disapprove of you … or anything you do.”

Her pulse pounded in her ears and her breathing seemed slow and far away. All that existed for her at that moment were his warm brown eyes gazing into her soul. And his tender touch on her cheek.

Then he drew his hand away and everything returned to normal.

She drew in a deep breath.

Oh God, why did she have to feel this intense attraction for Ty? Another Mr. Nice Guy. If she got involved with him, it would only end like all her other relationships. Then this wonderful friendship they shared would also end, and she so didn’t want that to happen.

Falling prey to her attraction to him would be exactly the wrong thing to do. Bad for her, and bad for him.

It might have been impetuous leaping into a relationship with Zeke … even worse allowing it to continue beyond a weekend fling … but she was glad she had. He was opening her up to a whole new world of sensuality and she wanted to embrace that exhilarating newness.

Since Mr. Nice Guys hadn’t worked for her, maybe a bad boy like Zeke was exactly what she needed.

* * *

At lunch, Marie decided to get outside to enjoy the warm sunny day. She walked to the park near her office and sat on a bench by the river to eat her sandwich.

A cyclist rode by and she glanced across the glittering water. The bright sunshine, the clear blue sky, the leaves rustling in the trees, all reminded her of being at the cottage this past weekend. With Ze

ke.

Images of Zeke filled her mind. His devilish smile. The tattoo that trailed down his spine. The way his dark hair, a little too long on top, tended to trail over one eye, and how he often tossed it aside with a flick of his hand.

A child’s laughter drew her attention back to the park and she smiled as she watched a toddler glide down a slide into his mother’s arms at the nearby play structure. She wished she could sit here all day, but a quick glance at her watch told her it was time to return to the office.

She sat down at her desk and dropped her purse in her drawer, then glanced at her e-mail inbox. In the list of unread messages, she noticed one from dragon.zeke. Her heart fluttered as she clicked on the e-mail to open it.

Okay if I stop by tonight? We can do pizza.

She smiled. Zeke hadn’t said anything about wanting to see her again when he’d left yesterday evening and a part of her had feared he’d just walked out of her life.

She noticed by the green dot beside his name that he was online now. She opened a chat window.

me: Pizza tonight would be great. What time?

She waited a moment, then the message “Dragon.Zeke is typing…” appeared in the chat box.

Dragon.Zeke: What time do you get home from work?

me: About 6.

Dragon.Zeke: Let’s play it by ear.

me: Okay. See you tonight.

For the rest of the afternoon, she felt lighter than air. She’d be seeing Zeke again tonight!

Finally, five o’clock rolled around and she grabbed her purse and headed for the bus. She boarded the crowded bus and got off at her stop. About ten minutes later, she hurried into the lobby of her apartment building, then unlocked her mailbox and pulled out several letters. Mostly bills.