Unwrap Me. Susan Lyons

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СКАЧАТЬ neither.” He shrugged out of the heavy coat and tossed it over the chair that, along with a small table and an oval mirror, made up the furniture in the entrance hall. In well-worn jeans and a red flannel shirt, he looked better than a guy had any right to look. His eyes, gazing at her in bewilderment, were a striking gray-green.

      “I’ll call her and ask,” Jude said.

      “Oh, I wouldn’t. She and Kris are, uh, busy.” His cheeks, flushed from coming in out of the cold, turned even pinker. How cute that a big, masculine guy like this blushed.

      So, Karen and Kris were having sex. Lucky them. For Jude, it had been almost a year. A fact she’d been reminded of when Nick’s fingers had brushed against hers, igniting a pulse of arousal. Oh, it had been a long time since she’d felt that heat.

      Only a couple of weeks ago, she’d joked with Karen about…“Oh. My. God.” Jude had made a flip comment about wanting to spend the holidays having amazing sex with a superhot guy. It had been just a silly, girly conversation. Karen couldn’t have taken her seriously.

      But what else could the card mean?

      This time the heat that rushed through Jude was embarrassment. She pressed her hands against cheeks that must have been ten times brighter than Nick’s.

      “You figured it out?” he asked.

      She sent you to do me.

      Did he know? Cautiously, she asked, “She really didn’t tell you why she sent you?”

      “To deliver the gift. That’s all.” He took a wheedling tone, and his eyes twinkled. “Come on, let me in on the secret.”

      “She’s matchmaking,” Jude said grimly. “But you can forget it. I don’t need her help to find a man.”

      “God, no.”

      He sounded so sincere she was flattered. Then his eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute, it’s me she’s matchmaking. Jeez, I hate it when that happens. Everyone’s trying to marry me off.”

      “Marry you off?” She shook her head vigorously. “No, you’ve got that wrong. Karen knows the last thing I’m looking for is a husband.”

      “Yeah? So why would she matchmake you if you’re not—” He stared at her, eyes widening and then beginning to gleam in a sexy way that—damnit—sent more pulses of arousal thrumming through her body.

      By now her cheeks must have been the color of Nick’s shirt. She darted a glance at the mirror in the hall. Yes, definitely scarlet. “You should go.”

      “Sex?” he asked softly. “She sent me here for—”

      Before he could repeat the word, she said, “I’m mortified. How could she do this to me? And to you. Like, what, you’re a superstud who’s going to service my every sexual need?” An image flashed into her mind of this gorgeous guy naked between her thighs. Her pussy gave a needy throb.

      A grin began to curve his full lips.

      “Don’t you dare even think it!” she warned him.

      He lost the smile and shook his head. “Sorry. I honestly didn’t know what she had in mind. I’ll go now.”

      She grabbed his coat and thrust it toward him, holding it so there was no way their fingers could touch. “You bet you will.”

      A flicker of something crossed his features. Something like sadness or maybe loneliness. But, no, she must have been mistaken; it was gone in a flash. He didn’t put the coat on—just headed for the door.

      Hand on the knob, he glanced over his shoulder. “I’m gonna kill Karen.” He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you want first shot.”

      A laugh spluttered out of her before she could stop it. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but his eyes sparkled and he began to chuckle, and she couldn’t hold back.

      After a few moments, she tried to pull herself together. Pressing her hands against her hot cheeks, she shook her head, still amazed at her friend’s audacity but no longer angry. Funny how a good belly laugh could mellow a girl. “Okay, I guess I don’t really believe she sent you here for sex. But what was she thinking?”

      Not that the idea of sex with Nick was a turnoff. The guy was the poster boy for “hot.” So hot her whole body felt flushed and achy. If she had been in the market for a superstud, Karen couldn’t have chosen better.

      “I dunno.” His eyes had gone soft, serious, almost vulnerable. “We just saw my folks off on a tropical cruise, and I wasn’t looking forward to going back to an empty apartment. Maybe she took pity.”

      Jude raised a skeptical eyebrow. Cute line, but she wasn’t buying. “Uh-huh. Didn’t Karen tell me you’re a firefighter?” At his nod, she went on. “You’re not exactly hard on the eyes, and you seem at least moderately intelligent. I can’t believe you have trouble finding dates.”

      “Nah.” The twinkle was back in his eyes. “But the women I meet are either kinda young and immature, or they’re seriously into marriage—and not into me when I tell them I’m not.”

      “You really don’t want to get married?”

      “Not yet. Don’t want to be tied down, and I don’t want that kind of responsibility.”

      “You’re a firefighter, yet you don’t like the idea of responsibility?”

      He shrugged.

      Nick’s job required a major degree of responsibility, so maybe it made sense that he’d want a carefree personal life. Points to him for not leading a girl on if she was looking for commitment.

      This guy was quite something. Handsome, sexy, honest. If Jude was looking for a no-strings fling, he’d be perfect.

      “I should get going.” He held out his hand. “It’s been nice meeting you.”

      She met his hand with hers. Damn, she’d forgotten what happened when they touched. More zingy heat, and the zing went straight to her pussy. Quickly she pulled free. “You, too.” Her voice caught in her throat, so the words came out sounding brusque.

      She moved to the door and opened it.

      “Bye, Jude.” As he turned to step through, she again saw that tiny shadow cross his face.

      He’d confessed he hadn’t wanted to go back to an empty apartment. And the truth was, much as she loved her comfy home, sometimes it felt empty, too.

      She watched his broad back as he walked out the door. A hot firefighter would definitely warm up the empty corners. Asking him in wouldn’t be a commitment to have sex, simply a chance to get to know each other. Then, depending on how the evening progressed…

      God, what was she thinking? She’d never in her life had sex on a first date. And this wasn’t even a date.

      He was halfway down the steps. She hadn’t closed the door behind him, and cold air rushed in, making her shiver and wrap her arms around herself.

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