Free The Back-Up Plan by Mari Carr Page A

than happy to get you off…er…out, I mean.”
    It was the first sexual innuendo he’d tossed her way in weeks. And it proved her vibrators really weren’t cutting it. Her nipples tightened, her stomach clenched and her pussy tingled. Maybe agreeing to go out with him wasn’t such a great idea.
    But how could she say no? It was his birthday. And he wanted to spend it with her. She was touched. More than she should be.
    When they hit the parking lot, he unlocked his Audi. “Ride with me. We can come pick your car up after. Or if you want to have a few drinks, I’ll drive you home and then swing by to get you for work tomorrow morning.”
    “You sure you don’t want me to drive? It’s your birthday. I can be the DD.”
    “Nope. Something tells me you’re the one who’s going to need a few drinks once you see where we’re going.”
    She groaned as she claimed the passenger seat. “If you try to drag me into a strip club, I swear I’ll—”
    “Damn. Strip club. Why didn’t I think of that?” Jason laughed. “Write that down somewhere so we don’t forget. We can do that on your birthday.”
    “That’s okay. So are you going to tell me where we’re headed?”
    “Shotsky’s.”
    “The redneck dive?” Kristen recalled Georgie telling her about the place back in January when they were debating where to go for their girls’ night out. “I’m not that much of a prude. I don’t mind bikers and pool tables and country music. I think it might be fun.”
    “Remember you said that.”
    When they arrived at the bar, Kristen knew she’d been tricked. A huge lighted sign out front declared it karaoke night.
    “Oh my God. Seriously?”
    He grinned, then turned to look at her, shaking his head as his gaze raked her from head to toe. It was then she realized he’d changed out of his suit into a pair of jeans and a soft cotton navy-blue T-shirt. “When did you change clothes?”
    He appeared surprised by her question. “Back at the office. When did you lose your powers of observation? Usually you notice if I change ties midday. Or if I’ve rearranged the stuff on the top of my desk.”
    She’d been so focused on the way her body reacted whenever he got close to her, she’d failed to notice.
    “Well, it doesn’t matter. We need to cheapen you up a bit.” Jason reached across the console in the middle of his car and pulled out her hair tie.
    “Hey.” She tried to push his hands away, but he forged on, drawing his fingers through her tresses, combing it out. Then he rubbed his hands along her scalp rapidly, fluffing it up.
    God only knew what effect he was going for, but she suspected tramp was top of the list.
    “You’re messing it up.”
    He shook his head. “No I’m not. I’m giving you that just-rolled-out-of-bed look. I love your hair when it’s down like this.”
    She bit her lip, applying pressure in hopes the small slice of pain would help her control her libido. It was too early in the night for her to feel this damn hot and needy.
    “Lose the jacket.”
    She leaned forward, struggling to take off her blazer in the small interior of the car. Once it was off, Jason unfastened her top two buttons and studied her.
    “It’s a shame you didn’t opt for a shorter skirt this morning. You’re half glam, half librarian. Neither look really works for this place, but it will have to do.”
    She grinned, amused by his description.
    They walked to the bar together and Kristen tried to ignore the fact he’d claimed her hand, holding it as they entered the building. Once they got inside, she was glad for his small gesture of possessiveness. The bar was packed to the rafters with some of the toughest characters she’d ever seen, assaulting her senses with leather and tattoos and cheap perfume.
    Jason seemed undeterred by the rough-looking people inside, even stopping several times to say hello to a few guys at the bar and calling them by name. They jostled their way through the crowd, and she was