Free The Lady Vanishes by Nicole Camden

her face away, unnerved by his mention of the scar.
    “I need to get going,” she said. She wanted out of this limo and as far away from him as possible. Why did this man make her behave so completely out of character?
    Both his face and his grasp on her wrist tightened briefly, but then he let her go. “Let me walk you to your door at least.”
    He sat up, a visible restlessness pervading every inch of his body, and his fingers were twitching again, as if performing an invisible trick. She hurriedly sat upright, putting on her coat as if it were a shield.
    “All right,” Regina said, giving in—she wanted out of the limo, away from the smell of arousal and rain and leather. She was never going to be able to get in a limo again without getting turned on.
    “Great,” he said. “I’ll be right back, Shane.”
    “All right.”
    Milton opened the door and stepped outside, holding out a hand to help her from the car.
    She handed him one of the grocery bags instead and helped herself out. The rain had indeed stopped, but the clouds looked ready to spill again at any moment.
    He shut the door to the limo and looked at her, humor making the corners crinkle. “Well, that was the most fun I’ve ever had in the limo.”
    Regina shook her head and moved around him, marching in the direction of her loft. The sooner she got indoors and away from him, the sooner she’d be able to think clearly again.
    After a few minutes, she realized he wasn’t following and turned around. He was standing where she’d left him, his eyes fixed on her rear end, and she groaned and turned around again, aware of his gaze with every step.

MILTON MADE SURE HIS COAT WAS CLOSED, concealing his current predicament, and followed behind Regina, holding her groceries in one arm. Her perfect little ass twitched at him as she marched away, and he had to hurry to catch up with her before she reached the gated staircase that led to her loft.
    “Can I take you to lunch?” he asked finally, wishing his hands were free.
    She slid him a glance that he couldn’t quite make out, but it didn’t look promising. “No, I’ve had enough insanity for one day.”
    “Insanity. That’s what you call that?” He called it magic, but to each his own. He did feel a little crazy, out of control, like he’d just survived a trick that had gone wildly awry.
    “Yes,” she said firmly, just as they arrived at the stairs leading up to her loft apartment. “That’s exactly what I call it.”
    She stopped and faced him. “Thank you for the ride home.” Her eyes widened briefly for no reason that he could tell, but after a moment she swallowed and set her jaw. “I’ll take that bag.”
    Milton glanced at the bag of groceries he carried. He’d intended to insist on taking them up to her apartment, hoping that it wouldn’t take much convincing to get her to take off her clothes. She seemed to guess what he intended, however, and was just as determined to make sure that he didn’t set one foot across her threshold.
    “All right,” he said, handing the bag over and shoving his hands in his pockets. “If I call you tonight, will you answer?”
    She paused with her foot on the first step. “I’ll answer. But you should know, Mr. Shaw, I’m not going to go out with you. Not for lunch, or dinner, or coffee.” It felt ridiculous to hear her call him Mr. Shaw. She’d kissed him. Technically, she’d made out with him.
    Agitated, Milton removed three small balls from his pocket and began juggling them with one hand. “Why not?” He made one of them seem to change color, and then another, and another, until there seemed to be a swirling rainbow of color in his hand.
    She watched the trick with wide eyes, her mouth falling open a little, and Milton knew that at least some part of her was fascinated by the idea of magic. Some part of her wanted to be fascinated, wanted to be tricked, and if she gave in to that interest, even a little, she would be his, he just knew