Free Only Skin Deep by Cathleen Galitz

idea.”
    Ignoring that counsel, she kicked off her high heels and lay back against the pillows, hoping to strike a seductive pose. Catching her reflection in the mirror above her dresser, she thought she looked pretty darn good, too, even though she felt somewhat ridiculous.
    â€œI think it’s a great idea.”
    â€œYou’ve had too much to drink, Lauren. A gentleman doesn’t take advantage of a lady under those circumstances.”
    Travis’s rumbling voice echoed off the walls and reverberated inside Lauren’s bones. Taking his gallantry as a personal rebuff, she recalled whispered conversations implying that he wasn’t always so chivalrous.
    Apparently he just didn’t want her.
    Lauren wondered what circumstances might provoke him to abandon such unexpected principles. The thought challenged a womanly sense of defiance buried deep inside her. A coy smile toyed with the edges of her mouth.
    â€œWho says I want you to be gentleman tonight? Rumor has it you’re not always so gallant.”
    A muscle along his jawline jumped, and his gray eyes darkened to the color of gathering storm clouds. His voice was deep in his throat.
    â€œThen I doubt you’ve been talking to any real ladies.”
    â€œMaybe not,” Lauren agreed easily enough. She reached down to unbuckle her belt. “And maybe what you’ve heard about what kind of a lady I am has been exaggerated as well.”
    Travis’s laughter boomed in the small room, wounding her. Clearly he wasn’t buying her femme fatale act. She sat up on the edge of the bed and confronted him with the boring facts of her life.
    â€œOkay, maybe I’m no swinging single, but let me tell you being a lady isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
    A note of wistfulness crept into her voice as she continued.
    â€œBeing on best behavior all the time has done little but leave me lonely. Don’t you want to be the one to unmask a terminally good girl and set her free at last?”
    The look of amusement on Travis’s handsome face vanished. Desire took its place, but restraint made its presence known as well.
    â€œAre you sure that’s what you want?” he asked flatly.
    Lauren’s throat went tight and her heart seemed to be pounding to get out.
    â€œPositive.”
    One hundred percent.
    She’d never been more certain of anything in her life. She was tired of living life from the outside looking in. Tired of tamping down her own desires just because some pesky little voice in her head refused to let her take a risk. Lauren knew it was hopeless to think anything permanent would come out of this act of rebellion, of pure self-indulgence.
    But that didn’t make her want Travis any less.
    â€œHave it your way then. Just don’t go expecting more than I can give you afterward.”
    Though his words were far from romantic, the sound of his zipper sliding down was the most erotic thing Lauren had ever heard. She held her breath. Nothing could have torn her gaze away from the sight of Travis stripping for her. Sandy hair dusted a well-muscled chest, trailed down a washboard stomach and disappeared beneath the waistband of a pair of jeans hanging precariously low on a pair of masculine hips. He tossed his shirt upon on the floor and was tugging his boots off before it occurred to him to ask one very crucial question.
    â€œYou are on birth control, aren’t you?”
    Cursing herself for her lack of foresight, Lauren focused her gaze on his bare chest and mutely shook her head. Any fantasies she might have had about him being the one who wanted children in his previous marriage dissolved on the spot.
    Travis swore under his breath.
    Lauren supposed he had a right to be angry. As adamant as he was about preserving his bachelor status, he certainly didn’t need a baby complicating his life. Hers either, for that matter—at least until she met a settling-down kind of man who wanted