Free Definitely Naughty by Jo Leigh Page B

Aubrey in the first place felt superfluous now. A gimmick that had about run its course. For him, at least. He wasn’t going to change anything, not when the clock was still ticking, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t look forward to later.
    He threw his damp towel into the hamper just as his stomach grumbled loud enough to wake the neighbors. It had been hours since lunch and he was starving.
    Instead of finding Aubrey curled up in bed, she was standing by his dresser wearing red panties and boots, her corset pressed up against her chest, but not tied.
    “Oh,” he said, disappointed but trying to hide it. He’d had the feeling something was off. He shouldn’t have kept her from work.
    When she turned, she smiled. Kind of. At best, she seemed distracted. “I need to go back to the store. I haven’t done any work today, and my meeting with Yvonne is coming up fast. I’ve go to hit the drawing table.”
    Her decision to leave shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. In truth, he hadn’t asked her to spend the night or have dinner with him, so there was no reason for him to be bothered. But it felt awkward being naked now. He crossed the room and she scooted to the right when he opened his top drawer to grab a pair of boxers.
    “Don’t get dressed on my account,” she said. “It’s snowing out, and I’m probably going to work for hours. You should sleep.”
    “I don’t mind.”
    She cupped his cheek with her free hand. “You need rest. It’s been a long day, and you have to talk to the mean district attorney first thing in the morning.”
    Turning his head, he kissed her palm. “I don’t want you to leave.”
    “I know. But I don’t think I’ll have a true minute’s rest until I nail down the design.”
    “You know how much I like the sleepover one. And the subway thing. They’re both genius.”
    “Thanks,” she said, lowering her hand and her gaze. “I can’t get past the feeling that there’s something better. I know there’s no time, but I have to keep trying. Just for a couple more days until the meeting.” Looking up at him again, she said, “I shouldn’t have come to see you when you were working. It was fun, and great, but it was foolish when I’m this tight on a deadline.”
    “So I didn’t inspire you at all?”
    The warm smile, one of his favorites, lightened her whole face. “Of course you did. You always do. Unfortunately, I’m on my own for the execution part. Trust me, I wouldn’t be good company tonight. But I got to tell off a detective, saw where you worked, had lunch with you and then there was all the canoodling. That’s a great day, right?”
    “You’re absolutely correct. Which doesn’t mean I can’t want more.”
    Her eyes got serious for a few seconds as she scanned him from forehead to chin. Then she kissed his cheek right before she turned around. “Do me up, please? Just lightly, though, enough to keep it legal. I need to untie it when I get to the store.”
    He had to. No choice there, but it seemed a damn shame to lace her up only to send her away. “I don’t like you going out at night wearing so little. Anything could happen.”
    “Then do me a favor, call a taxi? You can walk me down, and if you don’t like the looks of the cabbie, we’ll send him on his way and call another.”
    His sigh sounded exactly as disgruntled as he felt. “Fine. I suppose you don’t have time for me to make you coffee before you leave?” He skipped every other stay on the corset, leaving the lacing long so she’d have no trouble.
    She turned to him again. “No, thanks, I’ve got coffee at the store. You really are too good to me.”
    She wasn’t joking. He could tell. “Are you all right?”
    “Yeah, why?”
    “You’re awfully serious, considering you owned Tony Ricci, the most obnoxious detective in the 18 th Precinct.”
    “I did, didn’t I?” she said, smiling, and there she was again…for at least a moment. The window design must really be getting to