“Yes! But don’t look yet.” She covered the screen with her hand. “I’ll finish the layout tonight and then I’ll show you. Okay?”
He smiled. “Sure. Are you going to be here long? I hate to leave you out here alone this late.”
Merry looked out the window to see startlingly long shadows stretching across the sagebrush.
“I’d feel better if you let me walk you out.”
Now Merry was the one flushing. “Thank you, Shane. And thanks for coming out here at all. I know you already put in a full day. It means a lot that you’re doing this for me.”
He picked up the computer stuff as she turned it off. “It’s nothing. No need to thank me.”
God, he was so cute. No matter what he said about not being a real cowboy, he had that modest chivalry she associated with movie cowboys. And that steadiness. That self-possessed silence.
She snuck a look at him as they walked toward her car, noting how much taller he was than her. Four or five inches, maybe. She’d never been with a guy as tall as Shane was, but, then again, she’d never been with most types of guys. Two men did not make a control group.
Regardless, she was intrigued by him. His height and strength, the scarred hands and blunt fingers. What would it feel like to be held by him, to be taken? What would it feel like to be up against a wall with this man’s body pressed against her? With those rough, strong hands sliding up her shirt? Would he—?
When he glanced at her, Merry almost melted in sheer embarrassment. They were friends. Maybe just acquaintances. If he knew she was having those kinds of thoughts about him, he’d likely recoil in horror and find a way to never be alone with her again.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Sure!” she chirped. “I’m excited.” Excited. Right. “I mean…I can’t wait to finish the brochure layout tonight!”
“Well, I can’t wait to see it.”
“Great!”
She was excited about the brochure. But she was also excited about something very different. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Hopefully the layout wouldn’t be her best work of the night.
CHAPTER FIVE
“OH, GOD, YES!” she gasped, holding the vibrator up in triumph.
She’d decided she needed it thirty minutes ago. Those thoughts of Shane hadn’t gone away on the drive home. They hadn’t even gone away when she’d tried to work on the brochure. She’d finally decided she needed to indulge her rediscovered lust and go for it while she was still in the mood.
So she’d texted Grace to be sure she was gone for the night. Then Merry had taken a quick shower. Poured a glass of wine. Gulped the wine down and poured herself another. The last step had been finding the vibrator. Three boxes later, and she had that little sucker in her hand.
“Thank God.” She sighed before heading to the kitchen to dig for batteries. And finally, she was ready.
Amazingly she felt almost nervous. Had it really been that long since she’d touched herself? So long that she felt fucking nervous?
Well, now she was determined.
Merry unfolded her sofa bed, piled on the covers and slid beneath crisp sheets.
Shane was right next door. She’d heard his shower earlier, so Merry imagined him there, naked and wet. God, he must be beautiful. Long and lean and hard. Hard everywhere. She’d love to touch him. Run her hands down his slick back. Dig her nail into his naked, taut ass. Press herself into him and stretch like a cat in heat while he—
Merry started and shook her head. No, even if the man were naked and in her shower right now, she could never just climb in there and start manhandling him. Not even in a fantasy. Because what she’d really do is screw up the courage to slip into the shower naked, and then she’d stand there awkwardly while he soaped himself. She’d probably crack a joke. Then make an excuse about how crowded it was and just slip away.
“Stop it,” she muttered to herself, then slid deeper under the covers and shifted the fantasy around.
He’d been in the shower, yes. All soapy and wet and hard for her. But now he was out and drying off, and when he heard her knock, he slipped on a pair of jeans and answered the door in nothing but half-buttoned Levi’s.
“I was just thinking about you,” he said, giving her that dark, unreadable look he did so well.
Merry’s heart sped just as it would have if her fantasy were real. She slipped her hands over her breasts and down her body, feeling nerves shiver to life as she imagined Shane pulling her into his apartment and pressing her to the wall. He put his mouth to her neck and whispered how much he’d been wanting her, how often he’d thought of her. His impatient hands slid beneath her clothes, inspiring nervous gasps that he took as agreement. His skin felt so good that she let herself fall into it. She let him touch her, kiss her, but when he started to push her shirt up and off her body, Merry hesitated.
“Shane, wait. I hardly know you. How can—”