Free THE CRITIC by Dyanne Davis Page B

salivate thinking of her, his early morning surprise returned. He was hard as a rock.
     
    ***
     
    Toreas was trying her best to write but she kept thinking of Jared’s bottom sitting in front of her face and she kept getting flushed.
    The hero in her book was now flat by comparison.  No matter how hard Toreas tried, she couldn’t breathe life into him.  Her words were stilted and dull.  She knew this, so she paused in her writing.
    What if I do a little research ?  She wondered if learning was a sin.  Maybe she could call her father or the pastor and ask them if the pursuit of knowledge was a bad thing? But what would she answer when they asked about the nature of the knowledge? Maybe she should just put it out on the loop and go with the most favorable answers.
    She suddenly needed a glass of water because she was wanting things she’d never wanted before, dirty things, and she couldn’t get them out of her head.
    Maybe she should just follow Liz’s advice and pursue Jared.  She didn’t want him, she couldn’t, not really, not for anything more than research.
    She read back over the last pages she had written. Yes, she needed someone like Jared to make the hero in her book come alive. “Once.  What would it hurt?”
    She wouldn’t go into anything with any expectations. She wouldn’t fall in love with him or anything like that. That would be stupid. 
    But she could go to bed with him once, just once, for research. She thought of all the advice she’d been given. It all said to write about what you know and to do meticulous research.
    Well, she was admitting it. She didn’t know much. That’s why her characters were boring, that’s why she had yet to sell her first manuscript. She had to do this for the good of her career. She was going to make the first move toward Jared Stone.
    She wouldn’t fool herself about the type of man he was.  She would remember all the times he’d humiliated writers and readers. That alone should be enough to protect her heart.
    She wanted only one thing from Jared Stone. She wanted him to make her eyes roll back in her head, to make her feel that delicious shiver again and she wanted his touch all over her when he kissed her again. 
    That’s three things , she thought and smiled.  But all of that came with the main dish.
    Toreas looked down at her baggy pants and oversized sweat shirt.  First, she might have to do something to get the man to notice her.  So far he’d only been pretending with those smoldering looks.
    She’d never taken him seriously on any of it. How could she?  Look at her.  She needed a major overhaul if she intended to use him for research.
    She felt several rapid heartbeats.  Her hands were shaking and for a fleeting nanosecond she felt faint.  What she was planning was ludicrous.  She didn’t know the first thing about seducing a man and certainly not a man like Jared.
    Oh my God!  If Daddy could hear my thoughts, he wouldn’t be talking about kicking Jared’s butt.  He would be flying here to beat the living daylights out of me. He would be even more disappointed if he knew I’d bought a massager, and not for back rubs. And Granny…
    Toreas was almost relieved that her beloved grandmother was no longer alive to witness the acts she was contemplating.  She was afraid, but it felt good.
    She felt alive, more alive than she could ever remember feeling.  And if the deed was only a third as good as what she was imagining, she would be in heaven.
    What if it was the same with Jared as it had been with her only two lovers?  What would she do then?  That’s easy, she thought. I’ll write him as a terrible lover and I’ll write my heroine as a wildcat.  That’s why it’s called fiction.
    She worried for a moment about how easily she was willing to throw away her values.  Was it really for research?  “Yes,” she answered herself, research and nothing more.  “In fact, I think I’ll make Jared the villain. And when my book