Free Love in Bloom (an erotic short story) by Delilah Devlin Page B

she could string reasonably educated sentences together. But then she’d reverted to a stammering geek at the first sight of his manly frame.
    Some dreams were best left behind in high school.
    “I respectfully decline, Mr. Fremont.”
    “Why?”
    “Has no one ever turned you down?”
    His brows lowered, and he shook his head. “No.”
    “Then let me teach you one of life’s little lessons. Sometimes, you can’t have what you want.”
    A deep exhalation caused his shoulders to droop. His hand dropped away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to assault you.”
    “Since I didn’t exactly conduct myself like a lady either, I forgive you.”
    He cleared his throat, and one hand went to the knot at his hips to hold the towel in place.
    She breathed a little easier.
    “Who are you?”
    Mandy rolled her eyes. “The delivery girl for Passionate Posies.”
    “Your name.”
    “You always this stubborn?”
    One corner of his mouth kicked up. “I’ve never exposed myself to someone whose name I don’t even know.”
    “Well, let me be the first. I have to go.” Since he still cut off the exit with his bulky frame, she gave him a pointed stare. “Nice seeing you again.” Then her cheeks flushed with heat when she thought a second about what she’d just said.
    One side of his mouth slid upward. “Wish the ‘seeing’ had been mutual.”
    Impatient now because his expression was filling with amusement the hotter her cheeks got, she pushed against his chest. “I have other deliveries. You’ll get me fired,” she lied.
    “Sure,” he said, standing to the side to let her leave. “And I better get back before someone calls the police.”
    “Or takes a picture. I’m sure this isn’t the one you want posted in the business section.”
    He quirked an eyebrow. “You’ve seen my pictures there?”
    “I’m a business woman myself. Of course, I read that section.”
    “I’ll be seeing you again.”
    She shrugged. “Bound to run into each other sometime.”
    When she left him, she couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. She’d survived. And she’d intrigued him. She knew it from the glint of challenge in his gaze.
    No one had ever turned him down before.
    *
    Dustin turned over the card he’d found stuck in the bouquet and tapped the glass to get the cabbie’s attention. “Hey, would you hang a right at the next street? I have a quick stop I want to make.”
    Flowers. He needed something to give his secretary. She might have a coronary that he’d thought to bring her something for Valentine’s Day. But she’d worked for him for eight years; the time had come to think of something besides blueprints.
    And why not check out the florist shop responsible for yesterday’s delivery? The identity of the flustered woman who’d fallen across his threshold was still driving him crazy. He knew her. Maybe he’d even dated her. Something about all that blonde hair, china blue eyes and complete lack of sophistication sparked a memory.
    Once he’d figured it out, the mystery solved, he could move on.
    Maybe after he’d satisfied more than his curiosity. Since she’d first fallen against him, nearly tugging his towel off in the process and raised those wide baby blues, he’d been ensnared.
    Part of him was bored with his usual go-to list. Not that there were many. He hadn’t had a lot of time to meet anyone new in months. And the ones he did know hadn’t made it past the third date before they started leaving behind things in his apartment. And since none of them were what he was looking for, he quietly deleted their numbers from his speed dial and got busier with work to make sure he was never available for their calls.
    A coward’s way out, but he didn’t like dashing hopes. He hated a woman’s tears because they made him feel guilty. And he didn’t have anything to feel guilty about. He never led them on. The women he dated tended to think too highly of themselves, like clinging to his arm at a