Free Man Shy by Catherine Mulvany Page A

gave an involuntary shiver of excitement at the look in his eyes. “ No. I ’ m not really your type, Brody. We have nothing in common. ”
    “ What are you talking about? I love hot-fudge sundaes and you love hot-fudge sundaes. I love puppies and sunsets and long walks on the beach. And you —”
    “ Love kittens and sunrises and curling up in a chair with a good book. I rest my case. ”
    “ Hell, woman, give me a chance. We spent the night together, and you survived that. This time I ’ m only asking you out to dinner. ”
    “ Last time you only asked me out to dinner. ”
    Brody laughed. “ So I did, but I plead extenuating circumstances. Please, Mallory. It ’ ll be my way of thanking you for all you did last night. ”
    The look of entreaty on his handsome face was hard to resist.
    She bit down on her lower lip. “ No, I don ’ t think so. ” Jeez, why did he have to smile like that? Her pulse pounded in her ears like heavy surf. She felt a little dizzy and a lot shaky. But she could hold out as long as he didn ’ t touch her.
    He touched her, a double whammy, one hand on her arm, the other cupping her chin. Electroshock therapy couldn ’ t deliver any more voltage than the gentle pressure of his fingertips. “ Please, Mallory? ”
    Hard to resist? Ha! Make that darned near impossible to resist.
    “ Mallory? ” A whisper of sound that shuddered down her spine. She shivered in anticipation.
    He leaned closer, brushing her lips with his. “ Please? ” he asked, his mouth so close to hers, she felt the words as well as heard them.
    Oh, boy. She closed her eyes to shut out the sweet intensity of his expression, but it didn ’ t help.
    He kissed her eyelids and she went limp in reaction. His hand on her arm was all that kept her upright. “ Please, Mallory. Say yes. ”
    She took a deep breath, fully intending to tell him no. “ Yes, ” she said instead, and he hugged her tight.
    “ Good girl. ”
    No, dumb girl. Stupid girl. Idiot girl. “ What time did you say? ” Her voice emerged as a choked whisper.
    “ Seven. ”
    She opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her. “ I ’ ll be ready. ”
    “ And I ’ ll be there. ”
    Yeah, sure he would. By seven-thirty or a quarter to eight. She was learning.
    Brody dropped Mallory at her house at a little after three. She planned to catch up on some laundry, run over to Aerobics Plus for an hour or so to work some of the kinks out of her muscles, then coddle herself with a bubble bath.
    Her sister screwed up the schedule.
    “ Where have you been? ” Lindsey launched her attack before Mallory was through the door.
    “ Out. ” She glanced pointedly at the empty soda can on the end table, the rumpled TV Guide , the blaring television. “ You certainly know how to make yourself at home. ”
    The sarcasm was wasted on Lindsey. She frowned. “ You didn ’ t come home last night. I waited up for you until after midnight. This morning I started calling at five, then punched redial again every fifteen minutes until Evan dropped me off about ten. What have you been doing all this time? ”
    “ Long version or short version? ”
    “ How about the PG version? ”
    “ With me, every version ’ s a PG version. ”
    “ That Brody Hunter ’ s X-rated if I ever saw X-rated. ”
    “ He just looks X-rated. He ’ s really very sweet. ”
    Lindsey shot her a skeptical look.
    “ Okay, don ’ t believe me, then. Here ’ s the short version, editing out all the sex orgies and most of the violence. ”
    Lindsey rolled her eyes.
    “ First, I interrupted a burglary and consequently spent hours wading through a sea of red tape down at police headquarters. Then —”
    “ Mother said you ’ d called. ”
    “ Right, so then Brody took me to Denny ’ s — we ’ d missed dinner and both of us were starving — and that ’ s where I discovered what I thought was a dead body in the Dumpster. ”
    “ Wait! Why were you pawing through a Dumpster at Denny ’