Free Shades of Temptation by Virna Depaul Page B

seconds, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to
stop himself from doing exactly that. Maybe she sensed it, because she moved to
swing her legs off him. He automatically held on so she couldn’t.
    “Jase,” she said softly. “Thank you for my massage. But I think
you should leave now. Please.” She smiled up at him, and he saw it then. All her
desire. Her regret. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. But she’d
never let herself have him. Not without putting up a damn good fight.
    With a sigh, he released her. Quickly, she got to her feet and
tugged the hems of her sweats down. She glanced at the clock on her wall. “Not
too late,” she said brightly. “Who knows, maybe the brunette is waiting up for
you.” She walked to the door and swung it open.
    Slowly, he followed. He didn’t bother responding to her blatant
attempt to push him away. “Tragic circumstances aside, this was fun. Working
with you. It’s been a while since we’ve talked shop together.”
    “Thanks for all your help. I appreciate it.”
    “I’m always here if you need another opinion. Or another
massage.”
    She smiled slightly. “Good night, Jase.”
    Just before she shut the door behind him, he caught the edge of
it, stopping her from closing it. He leaned closer. “Hey, Carrie?”
    “Yes?”
    “Despite what I said earlier at McGill’s, I think it’s only
fair to tell you I’ve changed my mind.”
    “Changed your mind about what?”
    “About whether it’s worth pursuing this attraction between us.
Like you said, you’ve got needs, and I’ve got a need for you that’s been
building since the first moment I saw you. So long as commitment isn’t what
you’re asking for, we can have some fun in the sack, too. If you thought a leg
massage was good, you should see what I can do when you’re spread out and naked.
I’ll show you a better time in bed than anyone on SWAT can, I promise you
that.”
    For a second she hesitated, as if she was considering his
half-assed offer. Then she smiled tightly and said, “I have plenty of fun, Jase.
You’re free to do the same. Just do it without me.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    B RAD COULDN ’ T BELIEVE his
luck. He’d never been the kind of guy to leave a bar with a girl, let alone one
as classy and beautiful as this. Tonight, not only did he have a pretty girl on
his arm, but she was going home with him. And according to her, she was willing
to do whatever he wanted when he got there.
    The possibilities were endless. There were so many things he
wanted to do to her. And with her. So many things that he wanted her to do to him…first.
    Before.
    Before he took advantage of the information he’d overheard at
McGill’s.
    Before he proved that he was better. Smarter. More creative
than even him.
    After all, it was his fault Brad
had never left a bar with a woman before. And it was his fault Brad now had the
courage to do so. Being able to blame him for both seemed not just fortuitous
but destined.
    Like there was a higher power at work, telling Brad that after
all the pain, the mockery and the rejection, his time had finally come. If only
he was willing to seize the opportunity.
    Still, in the back of his mind, a gnawing feeling of guilt ate
at him.
    He glanced at the woman beside him.
    It would be wrong to sleep with her. Wrong to use her. After
all, he didn’t love her.
    He loved Nora.
    It was Nora he really wanted to make love to.
    But she’d never seen him that way. And she never would.
    Not now.
    Not when she had him in her life. Him —who was perfect. Handsome. Popular.
    All things Brad could never be.
    That knowledge wasn’t new, but it stung as if it was.
    Pain was the last feeling he’d ever wanted to associate with
Nora, but it was there. Erasing his guilt. Prodding him on.
    If he couldn’t have Nora, he decided, then this girl would
do.
    She’d do for now.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    “W E CAN HAVE SOME FUN ,” Carrie mimicked the next day as she walked into the building that
housed SIG