Pure Temptation & Old Enough to Know Better. Vicki Lewis Thompson

turned to Mac. “Of course, if she ever threw me out for good, I’d drink the place dry.”

      “Sure.”

      “I’ve been meaning to tell you something, Mac.”

      “What’s that?”

      Dozer fished for his wallet and pulled out some money. “All kidding aside about Babs and Jenny, I can see why you didn’t end up with them. They’re both nice and all, and Jenny’s built real sweet.” He jiggled his cupped hands out in front of his chest. “Real sweet.”

      Mac didn’t want to think about women’s breasts, either. “And your point is?”

      “You’re a smart guy. You need somebody with brains. Babs and Jenny could never have kept up with you. You’d have been bored in a month or two.”

      “So I figured.”

      “Well, good. So, is this new girl smart?”

      “Yeah, she’s smart.”

      Dozer nodded. “Did you score yet?”

      Mac winced. The type of evening he had planned for Tess didn’t even begin to fit the definition of “scoring.” He tried to imagine Dozer’s response if he knew they were talking about his sister.

      “Guess not,” Dozer said, undisturbed by Mac’s reaction. “Otherwise you would’ve grinned when I asked that.” He laid his money on the counter and slapped Mac on the back. “Well, good luck with her, buddy. You deserve to find yourself a real nice lady. Maybe this is the one.”

      “Maybe.” Not. As Dozer headed home to Cindy, Mac sipped his beer, determined to think of something else besides Tess lying alone in her bed. He even carried on a conversation with Dutch about the Arizona Cardinals’ chances this year. When the beer glass was empty he added another bill to what Dozer had left and walked out into the warm night thinking how great it was to be a free man. He drove home with the windows down, a song on the radio…and Tess on his mind.

      * * *

      THE EVAPORATIVE COOLER had reduced the heat in Tess’s little bungalow by the time she walked inside that night, but the place was still plenty warm. She closed the front door and with a sense of deep regret, listened to Mac’s truck drive away. If only he still carried condoms in his wallet, then he could have stayed.

      To make matters worse, he hadn’t even kissed her goodbye. She understood why—nosy neighbors might have seen them and passed the word. She could spend all the time she wanted in Mac’s company without arousing any suspicions, but one public minute in his arms would start every tongue in town wagging.

      This particular business they had between them had to be kept private. She could still hardly believe he’d offered to take care of her problem himself. He was running a big risk that could potentially ruin his relationship with her brothers. And because she appreciated that so much, she intended to protect him as best she could. So she kept their goodbyes on the porch deliberately nonchalant.

      But once she was inside the door and he was truly gone, she ran her hands over her breasts and closed her eyes, lost in remembering. Then she lifted her arms over her head and turned slowly in a circle, executing a subtle dance of celebration. By touching her and arousing her the way he had, Mac had given her a completely new sense of her body.

      In the carefree days before puberty, she’d run and played with Mac and her brothers with no thought to the fact that she was a girl and they were boys. Then the changes had begun, and for the most part, she’d thought of them as a nuisance. As she developed, her body seemed to get in her way more than it helped her enjoy life. But now…now she understood what all those changes had been for. For this. Laughing in delight, she flung her arms out and whirled until she grew dizzy.

      Feeling slightly drunk with the wonder of it all, she wandered into her bedroom, shedding her clothes as she went. She kicked off her sandals and padded barefoot into the bathroom, where she turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature until it mimicked the warmth of a lover’s caress. She craved bodily sensation in a way she could never have admitted to anyone, least of all Mac.

      She stepped under the spray, letting it beat down on her. Then she flung back her head and lifted her breasts to the coursing water. Her nipples tightened and she touched them gently, reawakening the memory of Mac’s loving.

      Then she slid both hands down her water-slicked body to the juncture of her thighs, where she throbbed for him still. Her erotic books had been very clear—she didn’t need Mac or any man to give her the kind of release she’d found tonight. She could take charge of her own pleasure.

      And maybe someday she’d follow that advice, she thought, skimming her hands back up over her rib cage to cup her breasts once again. But tonight she wanted to savor the remembered sensation of his hands caressing her, coaxing her to enjoy the wonders of her body. Perhaps she was being silly, but it seemed to her that to work the miracle herself at this moment would dilute that precious memory.

      She turned off the shower and toweled dry, paying careful attention to the task. Her body was no longer exclusively her domain, and the thought made her shiver with delight. She smoothed lotion over every inch of skin she could reach, taking her time, anointing herself as if she expected Mac to return.

      He probably would not. He was, as she knew from years of experience, a man of his word. Once he’d decided that her initiation should proceed a certain way, he would follow through on that decision, ignoring his own needs, and even her arguments to the contrary. She wouldn’t see him again until three days from now, at eight o’clock on the dot.

      And perhaps he was right about this, she thought as she rubbed the scented lotion over her body. Perhaps there should be some ceremony and ritual to what they were about to do. She had three days to prepare. Three days to find tempting lingerie and turn her room into a lover’s bower. Setting down the lotion, she returned to her bedroom and surveyed the situation. Most of it would have to change.

      Grabbing a yellow legal pad and a pen from her desk drawer, she sprawled naked on her bed and began making a list.