"Definitely."

Then she could hear packaging tearing and she was forced to turn around in exasperation. "What are you opening now? This stuff was expensive."

"But you need some things opened for demos, right? More customers will buy if they can taste, touch, and try the product. These lotions are perfect for that." He held up a little jar he'd pulled out of the box. "This stuff is supposed to heat your skin and tingle."

If he tried to pull up her shirt and touch her nipple with that crap, she was going to scream. He was starting to unnerve her. Maybe he was so elevated intellectually that he could isolate his brain from his penis, but she wasn't on quite such a higher plane. He was making her horny.

Since he had no intention of having sex with her and she had no intention of having sex with her little brother's best friend, at the end of the night he was going to leave her hot and aroused, with no one but rubber ducky for company.

And no matter how naughty and inventive the Pleasure Party ducky was, nothing beat a real man covering you.

"And your samplers can be for personal use as well then."

Lucas reached out for her and she yelled, "Don't!"

But he was only turning her wrist over and rubbing the cream into the soft skin at the bottom of her palm. "Don't what?"

"Uh… don't get it on my skirt, please." She was aware that sounded lame, but her brain had stopped working. Never in her entire life had she suspected her wrist could be sexy.

But the way Lucas was stroking it with the pad of his thumb, in little floating circles, was oddly, incredibly sensual.

"Is it getting hot? Tingling?"

"Yes. Very hot. Everything is hot and tingling," she whispered.

All over every part of her she was hot and tingling and starting to think something was wrong with her, and damn, damn, was he going to kiss her again?

His body moved closer to hers.

The doorbell rang, Ashley jumped back two feet. "Oh, shit, someone's here!"

But she was secretly relieved, even if her show wasn't completely set up yet.

Another split second and she might have been doing some serious cradle robbing.

Lucas watched Ashley bolt down the stairs like her skirt was on fire.

He knew the feeling. His pants felt capable of melting steel-twenty-five hundred degrees Fahrenheit was all that was needed, and he was certain he had achieved it.

Oh, man, he sure hoped he knew what the hell he was doing here. He didn't want to ruin his relationship with Ashley, but he couldn't stand by any longer and pretend he didn't care about her in a way that wasn't even remotely brotherly.

If he tried to tell her his feelings and she rejected him, well, hopefully it wouldn't affect their friendship. But this way-this waiting, this wanting, this ache-he couldn't live like this. He had to know if there was any chance, however remote, that Ashley might be attracted to him in return.

So far, she looked a little confused. But she wasn't balking at his overtures either.

And if he wasn't mistaken, she had enjoyed that kiss.

The feeling was mutual. Tasting her tongue had about seared his clothes right off his body.

Ashley came back up the stairs, her heels clicking on the hardwood floors. Her friend Kindra was with her, wearing shorts and a tank top, her auburn hair back in a ponytail.

"Oh, hey, Lucas."

"Hi, Kindra. How's it going?"

"Good." Kindra set her purse down on the floor. "Except I'm so ready for my wedding to be over. Just done and over. My advice to everyone and anyone is to skip the wedding and elope." She glanced at the tables of products. "But I also figure if Mack and I can survive planning this wedding from hell without killing each other, then we can make it through anything."

"Well, I hope it all goes well for you." Lucas put the lid back on the peach powder and returned the jar to its box. He was tempted to take it home with him, but it didn't make sense to remove it from the source of its true enticement-Ashley.

Ashley got him hot, not the powder.

"Are you staying for the party, Lucas?" Kindra asked.

"No!" Ashley said, horror in her voice. Then she tucked her blond curls behind her ear and cleared her throat. "Men can't be at these parties. It's company policy."

"That's logical," Kindra said. "Otherwise it could have the potential to dissolve into an orgy."

Lucas tried to picture it, but couldn't. "Your friends must be more exciting than mine."

Kindra laughed.

"Lucas was helping me set up, but now he's leaving. Right, Lucas?" Ashley gave him a bright smile, a warning in her eyes.

He stared back. "Right. I'll get out of your hair. But I'm coming back after the party to do some shopping. There are| a few things I'd like to try-hands-on."

Ashley's jaw dropped. Then she glanced at Kindra, who wasn't even really listening to them. She was fingering a black silk blindfold.

"Lucas has this need to know how everything works. Bikes, microwaves, edible underwear-" Ashley broke off, her hand on her chest. Her cheeks were stained pink.

She was blushing. And babbling. Lucas figured that was a good sign. If she wasn't interested in him at all, she would have just told him to knock it off and taken the lotion away from him.

Instead, she looked confused.

"I'll see you later then. I'll give you a call to make sure everyone has left." He started for the stairs.

"Okay."

Lucas shot a long lingering look at that purple tickle-whip as he walked by it. He could really, really see the appeal in that. Brushing that feather over Ashley's breasts… he glanced back at her over his shoulder.

He definitely had the need to see how that worked.

Ashley broke out in a sweat.

Holy smokes, Lucas had just checked out the tickle-whip. She was sure of it. He had stared at it, then at her. Like he was picturing using it.

On her.

Oh, my.

She didn't move until the front door downstairs slammed shut, then she collapsed on her bright blue sofa. There was sweat on her inner thighs. Sweat on her goddamn inner thighs. Maybe her air-conditioning was broken.

"Is it hot in here, Kindra?"

"No." Kindra shook the box of edible underwear then put it back down. "Unless you count the sexual tension between you and Lucas. That was hot enough to melt chocolate."

Ashley fanned herself. "There is no sexual tension between Lucas and me! He's my little brother's best friend. My little brother, who is a genius, by the way. And Lucas is his genius friend. Who is only twenty-five years old. Way too young for me, way too smart for me, even if I were interested, which I'm not."

She was protesting too much. She knew it and winced.

Kindra raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you poor thing. Suffering from sexual tension and delusions."

Was she? She certainly felt delusional. Like she had dreamed that erotic kiss they had shared.

"Just a little friendly advice… why don't you just go for it? You like Lucas, don't you?"

"As a person, yes, of course I do. We grew up together. He's a very sweet, honest guy. I love him like a brother." Which made her current feelings sick and incestuous.

"Maybe there's more to those feelings than that. You're not the kind to just sleep with a guy for the heck of it, and Lucas doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do that either. So I maybe there's something really there and you should explore it." Kindra picked up a vibrator and waved it around. "I don't think Lucas is really all that interested in sex toys. I think he's interested in you. That's why he's coming back here tonight."

Oh, damn, he was coming back, wasn't he. She honestly wasn't sure how she felt about that. "You know, the problem with your friends getting married is that they suddenly think they know everything about relationships. Just because you and Mack are happy nesting in your house with your poodle doesn't mean the rest of us are looking for that."