Free No Strings Attached by Kate Angell

licking her lips. Jen figured her mouth was dry and she needed lip balm. She sold it in several flavors. Mac could pick out the one he’d like to kiss. Jen took him for a cherry or pineapple taste tester.
    “Excuse me for just a minute,” she said to a barrel-chested male tourist from Wisconsin who’d taken thirty minutes to choose between T-shirts that read Body by Buddha and Beer is my Best Friend . Jen suggested he take both.
    She crossed to Mac. His arm draped the brunette’s shoulders and they appeared joined at the hip. The woman clung to him as if she were afraid he’d wander off.
    Jen faced him, raised one eyebrow. “Party over so soon?”
    “I had Dune’s speedboat so we left the yacht early,” he said easily. “Kami liked my shirt so much that she wanted to check out your shop. Jen, Kami,” he introduced them.
    Jen forced a smile. “Look around. My store has the largest selection of shirts on the boardwalk.”
    Kami stroked Mac’s chest. Her fingernails were painted licorice black. “Find me one,” she said.
    She couldn’t make her own decision? Jen cringed inwardly. Mac was not a man to rely on. He didn’t make great color choices.
    Kami with the long hair and sunbather body drew Mac from rack to rack, holding up shirt after shirt. She giggled like a girl and her breasts jiggled. Mac’s approval came when she held up the belly shirts. He liked a bare midriff on his woman.
    “Mine!” Kami spotted a hot pink shirt with the motto, Trace My Tan Lines with Your Tongue. Mac grinned, then nodded. She threw her arms about his neck and kissed him.
    Those still in the store turned and stared. The kiss lasted longer than what was appropriate. So long, in fact, that several parents herded their kids toward the door. Jen refused to lose business to their lip-lock.
    She crossed to Mac and hissed near his ear, “Take it outside.”
    They broke apart and Kami sighed. “I’d rather take him to bed.”
    “Later, babe,” said Mac. He passed Jen the shirt. “We got what we came for. One T-shirt. Unless there’s something else that catches her eye.”
    “Do you like body jewelry?” Jen asked Kami. “I sell a lot of belly chains.”
    “I like body candy,” Kami said. “SweeTart bras and panties are yummy, but Red Hots are my favorite. They heat a man’s tongue and leave a warm trail—”
    “No candy here,” Jen stopped her. “The belly chains are on display at the front counter. Most have ornamentations.”
    Kami tried on every single one, twenty-five to be exact. She gave Mac a belly chain fashion show, which he seemed to enjoy. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his stance wide. He stared at Kami with absolute focus, as if she was the only person in the room.
    Kami ate up his attention. She finally narrowed her choices down to two chains. She squinted at the dragonfly. “What color are the wings?” she asked Mac.
    Mac bent toward her, eyeing the ornament that dangled near her navel. The corners of his mouth creased and he seemed to hesitate.
    Jen gave him a moment to consider the color before she said, “The wings are pink quartz.”
    “I also like the tribal charm,” Kami debated.
    “Dragonflies are free,” said Jen. “Tribal charms are—“
    “Wicked.” Kami giggled.
    Definitely so. Jen was certain Kami would go tribal until Mac said, “The dragonfly looks best against your skin.”
    “You think?” Kami took a second look in the full-length mirror on the wall.
    “I like the dangle.”
    His date hugged him. “I love shopping with a man who knows what looks good on a woman.”
    It was a belly chain, Jen inwardly groaned. Not a cocktail dress, business suit, or designer sportswear.
    “We’ll take it,” Mac told Jen.
    “Lip balm?” Jen suggested for Kami’s dry lips.
    Kami checked out the fruity flavors. She looked to Mac. “Cherry, mango, or pineapple?”
    He went with pineapple.
    “A charge to Dune’s account?” Jen asked.
    Mac nodded. “He’d approve of