What A Girl Wants

Jane shifted in her seat, unable to formulate a response before the caller continued.

“And I’m watching you, you bitch. I know where you live—”

Jax cut off the call. “Okay, that was Bryan, escapee from the psycho ward. I think we’ve heard from enough nutcases for one show.”

Jane sat silent, blinking dumbly, unable to believe what she’d just heard. She was grateful when Jax continued.

“You know, I read The Sex Factor last night, and I think, frankly, that you’ve never had good sex.”

“Why do you say that?” Jane said evenly, careful to keep her voice light, unshaken, though the tone of the last call had left her trembling.

“Any woman who’s been properly laid would never give the advice you give.”

Jane forced aside her fear, for the sake of surviving the interview. “Hmm, interesting theory. Actually, I have experienced great sex, so I know just how distracting it can be. Women and men both tend to substitute it for other more complicated, but ultimately more important, aspects of a relationship.”

“What’s more important than sex?”

Jane smiled. “It’s precisely that type of question, posed by men, that prompted me to write the book.”

“I think I owe it to my loyal listeners to do something to counteract all the damage you’ve done to their sex lives…”

Not again.

“I’ll give you one last chance—sleep with me, and I’ll show you what you’ve been missing out on all these years.” Jax wiggled his eyebrows at her, and Jane tried not to gag.

“I appreciate your generosity, but I’ll have to pass.”

“Come on, baby. We could do it real quick, right here in the studio during a commercial break. I’m not that gross, am I?”

This was Jax’s standard shtick, an offer he made to just about every woman who appeared on the show.

“I wouldn’t be much of an authority on relationships if I didn’t follow my own advice.”

“Babe, I guarantee if you found a guy you were really hot for, you wouldn’t have a chance of following that advice of yours. In fact, I challenge you to go out and find your dream guy, and if you’re able to withhold sex from him like you say in your book, come back and tell me, and I’ll eat my lunch from a pair of my producer Bob’s dirty, stained underwear.”

Eew.

Jane made a face and shrugged. “I don’t want to know how you’re familiar with the state of your producer’s underwear, but you’ve got a deal.”

“You sure I’m not your dream guy?”

“Sorry, Jax.”

He exhaled noisily into the microphone. “You don’t sound like you’re gonna budge, so I’m ready to bring in the lesbian porn stars. Thanks for coming on the show, Jane.”

After he cut to a commercial segment, Jax removed his sunglasses, came out from behind the table and shook Jane’s hand.

“Hey, you were a good sport. Hope I didn’t embarrass you too badly.”

“Not at all. This was fun. Sort of.” They both smiled then.

She’d always heard Jax was secretly a nice guy off the air, but she’d never quite believed it.

He sobered and said, “Listen, that last caller sounded pretty freaky. Do you have any kind of personal security arrangement?”

“You mean like a bodyguard? No.”

“As much negative attention as I know you’re getting, you ought to consider it. Trust me, I’ve been in your shoes.” He flashed a look of concern.

Jane shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to travel everywhere with some brawny knucklehead looking over her shoulder, someone who probably wouldn’t be very motivated to protect her anyway, given how most guys felt about her book.

“I appreciate your concern,” she said, “but—”

“Listen, I don’t normally do this, but that last caller gave me the willies. I know a top-notch security specialist who handles security for high-profile people in Dallas. You should give him a call.”

Before Jane could refuse, he tucked a business card in her hand, and she slipped it into her pocket to be polite. Maybe Jax Reed really was a nice guy.

“You’re back on in ten!” a producer called into the studio.

“Take care,” Jax said, and Jane waved to him and walked out into the hallway.

She passed the lesbian porn stars in a daze. How had her quiet, boring life gotten turned upside down so quickly? She wasn’t the type of person who needed to hire a personal security specialist.

Jane was not going to let horny men ruin her life. She refused to become a paranoid shut-in, and she wasn’t going to put bars on her windows and travel around looking over her shoulder constantly.