Free Monster by Laura Belle Peters Page A

on the ass.
     
    "Good," she said. "I mean it. If you get all... if either of us starts to get attached, I'm breaking it off."
     
    "Sure thing, but why so serious about it?" I asked, getting out of the shower and grabbing one of her towels for myself and one for her.
     
    "I'm busy," she said. "I have Urso and my business, and that's more than enough, I don't have enough hours in the day already."
     
    "Suits me fine," I said. "I told you, I'm not the type to settle down."
     
    "Perfect," she said, poking me in the chest. "Stick to it."
     
    I wasn't sure what she wanted me to say to prove that I wasn't interested in getting tied down to anyone. It wasn't my style at all. Just the thought made me want to get in my truck and drive a thousand miles away.
     
    By myself.
     
    If she wanted no-strings-attached fun, she picked the right guy.
     
    Even if it were Annie? A traitorous part of me asked myself. Even if it were Annie who wanted to tie you down? Could you really say no to waking up beside those bright eyes every morning?
     
    I tried to think about something else.
     

-Annie-
     
    "So, I thought about it," I said the next day, leaning against the fence at the dog park, "And I realized that your idea might have had some merit."
     
    "Yeah?" Carol said. "Clear out the cobwebs?"
     
    I hoped I wasn't blushing.
     
    "Something like that," I said. "My neighbor came over and we spent some time together. Nothing serious. No commitment. Just what I needed."
     
    "Girl, you got laid, but you didn't get the message," she said, elbowing me in the side. "You got the sex part down, but come on. You need friends. You need a boyfriend. You need a church. You need something else going on in your life."
     
    I rolled my eyes.
     
    "I have you and Heather and Urso," I said. "I have a friend with benefits now. I've started going out doing SAR training with some other handlers. I'm building a friggin' community, okay?"
     
    "Okay," she said, sounding completely doubtful. "I'm sure."
     
    We paused to watch as Ollie made a flying leap over Urso, bunching up and springing in a show of his grace and fitness and joy to be alive.
     
    "Was it good?" she asked. "He know how to use his dick?"
     
    "Carol!" I said.
     
    "I'm older than you, but I'm not dead, girl," she said. "How about it? Man know how to give you what you needed?"
     
    "And how," I said. "He has a porn star cock and he's in great shape. Took his time, had fun with it. Made sure I enjoyed myself too."
     
    "Good," she said. "Maybe I'll stop by and get to know him myself."
     
    I felt a pang at the idea.
     
    Somehow, despite everything I'd been saying... I didn't like the thought of Quinn with someone else. I wanted him to be with me, and me alone.
     
    "Yeah, yeah," I grumbled. "Get a magic wand like everyone else."
     
    "Magic wand?" she asked.
     
    "Oh. Um," I said.
     
    It had never occurred to me that Carol might not have heard of the Hitachi toy.
     
    "Spit it out," she said. "We've been friends for a year, and neither of us are prudes. You're not gonna appall me."
     
    "It's a hundred-dollar vibrator," I said. "It's amazing. It plugs into the wall and has a motor like a blender. I tossed out all my other toys a few months after I got it. You can buy attachments."
     
    Her laugh was loud and shameless, and almost made me blush.
     
    "I might have to buy that," she admitted. "Sounds like a pretty damn good idea to me. No one likes a wussy vibe."
     
    "Damn straight," I said.
     
    "Have you been to our new local naughty store?" she asked. "Opened by a woman, you know. Not totally sketchy like the place by the post office."
     
    I knew the place she was talking about. It had no windows and way too much neon. I'd thought about stopping in once or twice, but it was pretty much the opposite of welcoming. I was pretty sure it had glory holes or peep shows or something else trashy and vaguely unsanitary.
     
    I wondered if Quinn had ever been to a place like that.
     
    "No," I said.