Sucking in a shuddery breath, she linked her fingers together and brushed her tongue over parched lips.
“No doubt about it. With Kale swinging the driver, one thrust would guarantee him a hole in one.”
“Excuse me? What was that you just said?”
Damn, she hadn’t said that out loud, had she? Erin reluctantly tore her gaze from Kale and twisted around to face the bride. God, the sight of Laura in her wedding gown took Erin’s breath away.
Clearing her throat, Erin slanted her head sideways and tapped her nails on the bar. She furrowed her brow and glared at her best friend in mock annoyance. “Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon by now?”
Laura grinned and ignored the question. She smoothed her fingers over the bodice of her dress. “By the look on your face, I’d say you’ll be the next one dressed in white.” She leaned forward in her seat, her eyes wide. “Perhaps you’d like to borrow mine.”
Erin scoffed, held her hands up in a halting motion, and gave a defiant shake of her head. Tendrils of hair slipped from their moorings and tumbled down her shoulders, coming to rest on her pretty blue, strapless maid-of-honor gown.
“Uh-uh. Forget it. Not me. No way am I going to tie the noose…I mean knot.” She rolled her eyes heavenward and cringed like she’d just eaten rancid sushi.
Laura chuckled easily and brushed Erin’s hair from her shoulders. Her voice softened. “He who protests the most—”
With a wave of her hand, Erin cut her off and finished the sentence. “Has the weakest argument. I know, I know. But trust me, it’s not a path I ever plan on traveling. Men are good for one thing and one thing only. Sex.”
Visions of herself walking that path, or rather, church aisle, had been squelched years ago. After coming home early from work one day to retrieve a forgotten file, she’d found her fiancé howling like a hound, going at it doggie style in her bed with his slut secretary. What really pissed her off was that the cheating, lying bastard had felt justified in his actions. He’d been quick to inform her that men had certain expectations and special needs, and not only had she failed to live up to his, he assured her that no man in his right mind would ever put up with her long hours at the research center.
So she’d been working extra shifts at the lab to build her career. Was it a crime to want to focus on her future, to strive for success? One little bump in the road and Dwayne had taken the first exit instead of supporting her when she’d needed it the most.
Since that eye-opening incident, she’d decided she didn’t want or need a man in her life. As long as she had her career, she had all she needed. No man was ever going to control how she lived her life, or determine how many hours she spent at the lab pursuing her dream.
Erin pushed a wayward curl from her forehead and pressed her lips into a fine line. “I’m into simple, casual, uncomplicated sex,” she said with conviction.
She sighed as the bitter truth dawned on her. Besides her ex-fiancé, Dwayne the Dog, she’d slept with only one other guy. In all honesty, she was all talk and no action. Obviously her strong physical reaction to Kale was her body’s not-so-subtle reminder that it was time for a little less conversation and little more action. Good Lord, now she was quoting Elvis. She was in worse shape than she realized.
“A hump and a bump, thank you chump,” Erin reinforced. She sank farther into the cushiony seat of the stool and folded her arms across her chest.
“Is that right?” A deep, sexy, masculine voice sounded from behind her. “How interesting. I’ve never quite heard it put that way before.”
Erin spun around, came face-to-face with Kale, and nearly bit off her tongue.
Kale leaned against the bar and let his gaze drift over Erin’s soft curves and sculpted angles. He studied her flawless features and took his sweet time to appreciate the exotic beauty before him.
One word came to mind. Exquisite. Billowy nutmeg curls framed her heart-shaped face and tumbled in disarray over the bare flesh of her delicate shoulders. A sexy pink flush bloomed high on her cheeks, and he fought the impulse to caress her, to see if her face felt warm to the touch.
He regarded her for a quiet, thoughtful moment, wondering if that seductive blush inching its way over the silky column of her neck would travel all the way out to the peaks of her well-rounded breasts. Breasts that had been coloring his dreams, as well as his every waking thought, since he’d shared a dozen or so cramped car rides with her over the last week as they traveled to and from the prewedding activities.
“Casual, uncomplicated sex.” Nodding in agreement, Kale echoed her sentiments and raised an inquisitive brow. “Is there any other kind?”
Erin’s pretty pink tongue darted out to moisten plump, cinnamon-painted lips.
Cinnamon. His favorite. He’d spent countless hours fantasizing about smothering those smooth lips of hers with his own to see if they tasted as sweet as they looked. His muscles bunched and pulsed in heated anticipation as fire pitched through him. Well, at least one muscle in particular.
Locking her arms more tightly over her chest, she said, “Not to me.” She gave a defiant tilt of her head, but for a fleeting second he detected conflicting emotions in her expressive brown eyes. Her breathing hitched and she broke eye contact with him. With her long black lashes fluttering nervously, she glanced around the room, looking everywhere but at his face.
Her bizarre reaction didn’t escape him. Her nervous gestures and body language spoke volumes. Erin Shay wasn’t as nonchalant about sex as she led everyone to believe.
Erin unlocked her arms
