Free As Bad As Can Be by Kristin Hardy

and flicked a glance at him.
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    B ACK OUT ON THE STREET , they drifted along together, each reluctant, perhaps, to split up. She’d enjoyed the time far more than she’d expected to, Mallory realized. Granted, she’d been attracted to him, but she hadn’t expected to actually like him. It made her a little uneasy. He wasn’t going to get over with her, though. He was the enemy and she needed to stick with her plan. She knew he was attracted to her, she’d seen it in his eyes. All that remained was to close on the deal.
    â€œNewport’s a mix all right,” she said, gesturing at the line of storefronts on the cobbled street where T-shirt and souvenir shops vied for attention with upscale clothing and housewares stores. It was, she mused, an interesting juxtaposition.
    â€œSomething for everybody, I suppose.”
    â€œWell see, that’s all I’m trying to do with Bad Reputation, provide something for everybody. You give people family and tradition. We give people a place to get wild and sexy. You don’t have anything against sex, do you?”
    Amusement quirked the corner of his mouth. “Not in principle.”
    â€œDon’t tell me you abstain? Now that truly would be a tragedy.” She caught sight of the next store in the row and her eyes lit up. “This reminds me,” she improvised, “I’ve been thinking about giving the Bad Girls a uniform.” And she pulled him through the door before he realized where he was.
    The store looked like the inside of a Victorian lady’s boudoir, all voluptuous femininity underlaid with sex. Lace teddies hung next to filmy negligees, slippery satin bras begged for the touch of a male hand.
    â€œDon’t even think about putting your bartenders in lingerie.”
    Mallory laughed at him. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t. I was just yanking your chain. I need to look at a couple of things while we’re here, though.”
    â€œShopping,” Shay muttered. “What is it with women and shopping?”
    â€œBuying lingerie’s more of a gift for the man than the woman,” she pointed out, picking up a transparent babydoll and draping it across herself. She caught the flare of heat in his eyes before he turned away scowling, his hands jammed in his pockets.
    â€œI thought we were going to go look at the books for your bar.”
    â€œWe are. I just need to get something and we’re right here. It’ll only take a minute.” She picked up abackless wine-colored lace bodysuit that was more open space than fabric. “So, Shay, are you a lace man or a silk man?”
    â€œTry on your stuff and let’s get out of here.”
    The clerk approached. “Are you looking for anything special?”
    Mallory hooked a long, black chiffon negligee that was slit up to the hip and cut down to the waist. “I think I’m all set, thanks. Where can I try this on?” The saleswoman led her toward the dressing rooms at the back of the store, then turned to take care of a pair of women who’d just stepped in the door.
    â€œI’ll just wait for you outside,” Shay said.
    â€œOh come on, stick around. The salesclerk’s busy. What if I need a different size? This is going to take a lot more time if I have to get dressed just to go out and get a little skimpy bit of nothing like this.”
    Black lace, Shay thought, following her to the little foyer tucked away in the back with the dressing rooms. Why did she have to choose black lace? If she’d stuck with the plain white cotton undershirts at the front of the store, he would have been fine. Instead she was waving around little filmy scraps of midnight designed to make a man’s mind into mush.
    He listened to the clank of hangers behind the floor to ceiling door and couldn’t help imagining her getting undressed, stripping off each garment until she was naked and pulling on one of those skimpy