Free Tonight and Forever by Brenda Jackson Page B

down his spine. How could he have been so wrong about her? Not in a million years would he have thought there was a conniving bone in her body. Had this evening been nothing but a setup?
    A part of his mind sent him an entirely different message. His expression suddenly turned thoughtful as his gaze moved over Lorren’s features. She glanced nervously around the room, refusing to look at him. Justin backtracked his thoughts to earlier that evening. Memories tugged at him—their swim and how much fun they’d had, the expression on her face when he’d told her about his family, how she’d listened and the smile she’d worn. A part of him simply refused to believe this entire evening had meant absolutely nothing to her but a ploy to put him on a leash. Still, the piece of paper in his hand proved otherwise.
    What were these requirements Lorren wanted? And did she really expect him to go along with them? He doubted it, which meant she knew he wouldn’t. Was that what she was counting on? There was only one way to find out. He glanced down and briefly read the typewritten, legal-looking document. A few minutes later he glanced up at her, shaking his head. “Is this a joke?”
    To Lorren’s surprise, Justin sounded amused, not angered. “No.”
    “Your first requirement is unlimited use of my Vette?”
    Lorren raised her chin. “That’s right. Hopefully, I won’t need to use it often, but I want to know if I ever needed to, there wouldn’t be a problem. I detest a man who thinks more of a piece of tin than he does the woman in his life.”
    She saw a flash of disbelief cross Justin’s face. “My Vette is not a piece of tin, Lorren. Can you handle a Vette?”
    Lorren lifted a dark brow. “Justin, we’re talking about a car, not a spaceship. What’s there to handle? If you’ve driven one automobile, you’ve driven them all. I could never understand why some men think car manufacturers make certain vehicles just for them. There’s not a car on the road that a woman can’t handle.”
    Justin shook his head. He didn’t have the time to disagree with her. He looked back down at the paper. Moments later his head shot up. “Your second requirement is that your name be added to my checking account?” he asked incredulously.
    Lorren smiled. “Yeah. I thought that was a great idea. You wouldn’t believe just how stingy some men are. Any man I become involved with will have to make sure I never run out of money. I’m sure being a doctor pays well, so you won’t have a thing to worry about. Any money you make will be our money.”
    When Justin spoke his tone was dry. “No kidding? And what about the money you make?”
    Lorren chuckled. “Any money I make will be my money, of course.”
    “Of course. How foolish of me to think otherwise.”
    “What do you think of my final requirement? Of course it’s nothing you can do right away, but as long as you’ll agree to it, that will be fine.” Lorren took a deep breath. This one was a doozy.
    “Let me make sure I understand this correctly,” Justin said moments later, his voice low and dangerously controlled. “You want a child…out of wedlock?”
    “Yes. As I’ve told you before, I’ve no intentions of remarrying, but I do want to have a child before I’m thirty. I’ll have full custody; all you have to do is provide me with generous child support payments.”
    Justin looked at her intently. “You aren’t serious about these requirements, are you?”
    “Yes. I’m dead serious.”
    “And you won’t agree to an affair until I’ve agreed to them?”
    “That’s the bottom line, Justin.”
    Lorren smiled sweetly. She could just imagine the thoughts tumbling through his mind. Her requirements were ludicrous. He would never agree to any of them. No man would. According to the magazine article, not too many men willingly turn over their prized autos to a woman. Very few of them parted easily with their hard-earned dollars, and what man wanted to pay