But not girls like Heidi. She had a beautiful face and a killer body, and last time I'd seen her, she wasn't shy about showing it off. She clearly loved stripping naked. So why hide all those curves now? And that creamy skin, with those cute little freckles sprinkled around just enough to make me want to count them all with my tongue.
I found Heidi loitering at the bottom of the stairs, her head tipped back, seeming to admire the carpentry or something.
"Hey," I said. "Remember me?"
She startled, her wide blue eyes swerving toward me. "Oh, it's you. Damian, right? You're Ollie's friend."
"Yeah, but I don't think we were ever properly introduced." I held out my hand. "Damian Petrescu, proud Rom and descendant of the Ludar line."
She shook my hand, though she looked skeptical of me. "Right. I remember now. You're the guy who loves to put on gypsy airs. I'm Heidi Mackenzie."
Airs? Hey, I might've enjoyed playing up the gypsy stuff, but it was no act. Not entirely.
Heidi raked her gaze over my entire body, and her tongue sneaked out to moisten her bottom lip. "Why are you dressed like Dracula's low-rent cousin?"
"Women love the way I dress." I smirked. "You do, that's for sure. I can tell by the way your pupils dilated when you saw me and the way you licked your lips."
"My lips are dry, and it's kind of dark in here. It makes everybody's pupils get bigger."
"Have dinner with me."
She blinked slowly, her brows hiking up. "Excuse me?"
"You heard what I said. Have dinner with me. I give awesome dating."
One side of her mouth tried to smile while the other side wanted to frown. "Yeah, I'm sure you think you're awesome at everything to do with women. But I'm not interested."
I leaned against the bottom post on the staircase, cocking my hip. "I bet you'll change your mind after a date with me. What have you got to lose? I'll buy you a nice meal, we'll have some laughs, and then you can decide how badly you want to get me naked."
"Oh please. Does that kind of talk really work for you?"
"Usually." I slanted toward her and lowered my voice. "I can give you the best time of your life, and I'll even talk dirty if you beg me for it." I grinned. "Actually, you won't have to beg. I love whispering filthy things into a woman's ear."
"I'm not into that." She crossed her arms over her chest, elevating her tits. "I'm not interested in dating or sex at all."
"Come on, you must be joking. Aren't you the girl who loves to be naked and loves to suck every ounce of marrow out of life?"
"I'm not a silly, wild girl anymore. I've changed, for the better."
Right. In the space of a few months, she morphed from a party girl into a serious, cargo-pants-wearing woman. Sure, she'd humiliated herself with Ollie last time they saw each other. But that was no reason to shun hot sex and wild times.
"Don't you miss having a good time?" I asked. "I guarantee I can make you feel good."
"I'm not having sex with you."
"We can start with a date, then."
She shook her head, trying to frown but not quite accomplishing it. "You really are persistent, aren't you? Maybe I'm not being clear enough. I'm done with men, at least for a while."
"Have you defected to the other side?"
"What?" She shook her head again, almost smiling. "Oh, I get it. I'm not a lesbian. I'm taking a break from dating, that's all."
"Hmm." I inched closer to her. "We can start with getting it on, and upgrade to dinner once you're over this no-dating thing."
"Do you have concrete for brains?" She made exaggerated lip movements to match her exaggerated enunciation when she said, "I am celibate. No sex. No dating. No men, except for platonic friends. Get it?"
"I can read lips, you know. You could've just mouthed all that, and I would've understood."
"You're so pigheaded, I figured you needed extra emphasis."
Heidi Mackenzie was off dating. Off men. But I wanted her on me. Something about her frumpy clothes made me want to rip them off even more than if she'd been wearing a skimpy outfit. And her celibacy vow only increased my lust for her.
Seducing her into breaking her vow could be lots of fun.
"How about a kiss?" I asked.
"No, Damian. We can be friends---platonic, which means no sex, no kissing, no fondling---but that's it."
I sighed with all the melodrama in my Rom soul. "Have it your way."
"Thank you."
"We'll be friends, until you drag me into the woods and ravage me."
Heidi smiled just enough to create dimples. Her eyes twinkled too. "You're going to be a handful, aren't you?"
"Oh yeah. I always am."
I kissed her hand and walked away.
Life at the Au Naturel Naturist Resort was about to get wild.
Damian and Heidi will return in Natural Satisfaction.
About the Author
Anna Durand is a bestselling, multi-award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her books have earned bestseller status on every major retailer and wonderful reviews from readers around the world. But that's the boring spiel. Here are some really cool things you want to know about Anna!
Born on Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Anna grew up moving here, there, and everywhere thanks to her dad's job as an instructor pilot. She's lived in Texas (twice), Mississippi, California (twice), Michigan (twice), and Alaska---and now Ohio.
As for her writing, Anna has always made up stories in her head, but she didn't write them down until her teen years. Those first awful books went into the trash can a few years later, though she learned a lot from those stories. Eventually, she would pen her first romance novel, the paranormal romance Willpower, and she's never looked back since.
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