She said tightly, "What did you need, Ashley?"

Ashley looked startled, and smoothed down her wild blond curls. She looked back and forth between the two of them, her eyes wide. "I wanted to see if you were ready to go to lunch."

"I'm ready." Maybe a cool soft drink could douse this fire Mack had started in her stomach.

Her feet were already carrying her toward the door when Mack's hand stopped her. "We haven't finished our business."

His voice was like fingers down her spine, tickling and teasing. Kindra froze. "What else is there to discuss?"

His thumb stroked her hand. "What time I'm picking you up tomorrow."

She shouldn't have asked. Now Ashley was doing an imitation of a hooked trout.

"We can discuss that later," she said in a high, strangled voice.

He moved around her, letting go of her hand. His eyes followed hers as he headed to the door. There was a wicked grin on his face. She didn't trust that grin.

"Okay," he said with a nod.

Then he strolled out the door in a powerful masculine strut, tossing back, "Bye, Ashley. Later, Kindra."

Kindra was so over her head with him.

"What was that all about?" Ashley demanded, whispering fiercely.

"Mack asked me out." Sort of. As a precursor to twelve hours of horizontal research.

"No kidding?" Ashley fanned herself. "Whoa. You go, girl! Now you've got to tell me every single thing he said, you know."

Not a chance. "Hey, listen, Ash, can I meet you in your office in five minutes? I've got some stuff to finish up real quick."

Like deleting the e-mail from Russ so she wouldn't get caught again.

Ashley gave her a curious look, but shrugged. "Okay."

"Thanks."

The second Ashley left, Kindra sat back down in her chair and reopened her e-mail. For the last two months she had been exchanging sexy e-mails with Russ, and on Friday and Saturday nights they went into a private chat room and talked "live."

It had been harmless. Until now.

She quickly deleted the e-mail, intending to dash off a quick note back to Russ saying she was busy at work, but would meet him at their usual time and place after bowling tonight. Her finger was on the mouse, ready to create an e-mail, when she noticed a new message in her in-box.

From Mack Stone.

Her body ignited like a blowtorch in response to just seeing his name.

Shoot, she was really in trouble.

Glancing back over her shoulder to make sure no one had crept up on her, she clicked on the message with trepidation.

I'll pick you up at seven. Dinner at Mojo's. What's your address?

– M

Kindra, I ache from wanting you.

No greeting, no preamble, no electronic smiley faces. Just wham. Right between the thighs.

Kindra inserted an address in the send field. Subject: Date. Then she typed:

Russ, I'm so sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel our date tonight. I have a headache.

Mack hadn't even touched her yet and he had already ruined her for other men.

"I cannot believe you decided to come bowling when you could be on a date right now with Mack Stone." Ashley shook her head at Kindra as she pulled her hot pink bowling ball out of the ball return.

Kindra rubbed her eyes. Her friends had been grilling her for the last forty minutes about her date with Mack. And that was after a similar interrogation from Ashley earlier at lunch.

Trish, who was wearing jeans and a deep red shirt that matched her bowling shoes, set down her beer with a snort. "Seriously, Kindra, why play with bowling balls when you can be playing with Mack Stone's balls?"

"Trish!" Kindra felt herself flushing.

Ashley and Trish laughed. Even Violet, who was even quieter than Kindra, looked shocked, but amused.

If they only knew how much she wanted to play with Mack Stone and all his body parts, they would be beyond shocked. They would stop breathing.

"I didn't want to let the team down. I'm going out with Mack tomorrow night."

"We wouldn't have minded," Violet said, patting Kindra's leg as she sat down on the bench next to her.

Kindra knew her friends wouldn't have minded. And she was actually the worst bowler of the four of them, so they would hardly miss her. But she'd been glad for the excuse. She needed twenty-four hours before she could face Mack.

If she faced Mack. Part of her was still wondering if she should cancel the whole thing and go back to Russ.

She knew what she was getting with Russ. Safe, clean, uncomplicated. He didn't even know her last name or where she lived. For all she knew, Russ lived in Alaska. She would never have to encounter Russ over the water cooler or be cornered by him in her office.

Ashley stomped back from her turn, hands on her hips. "Spare. That's the third one in a row."

"I think I'm going to cancel," Kindra blurted out.

Trish dropped her bowling ball on the floor. It crashed, spun, and landed in the gutter. "Crap, Kindra! You made me throw a gutter ball!"

While Trish's ball rolled slowly down the lane, her friends rounded on her.

"You're nuts," Ashley said.

"Certifiable," Trish said.

Kindra turned to Violet. "What do you think?" Violet would probably be on her side.

Violet brushed her long dark hair out of her face. "I don't blame you, Kindra. He sounds like the kind of guy I wouldn't want to go out with. I like the gentle type."

"You like the dorky type," Trish said disparagingly.

Though Trish and her bad boy types weren't exactly Kindra's style, she had to agree that Violet went for quiet and uninteresting. Sort of like mild salsa. Why even bother? You'd be better off just biting a tomato.

"That's not true." Violet pulled on her turtleneck decorated with miniature pumpkins and shook her head.

Violet was even better at camouflage clothing than she was. Granted, it was October, and slightly cool, so perhaps a turtleneck might be warranted. But the pumpkins? Kindra couldn't figure that out. She was not into revealing clothes personally, tending to favor conservative suits at work and track pants on the weekends, but never once had she felt the urge to wear tiny pumpkins on her breasts.

"Well." Trish waved her hand. "From what Ashley says about this guy, he's hotter than hot, so if you cancel you're just plain crazy." She grinned. "Or chicken shit."

It was true. She was chicken shit. And she had sworn to herself on her twenty-sixth birthday in July that she was going to stop doing that. She was going to take charge.

That had been the reason for going out and finding Russ, since real men hadn't been working out for the last decade or so. Of course, Russ was real, he just wasn't actually physically there with her. But at any rate, the point was, she had put her foot down on being chicken shit.

And here she was doing it again.

She squeezed her eyes closed. The feel of Mack pressed against her came rushing back.

"Fine, I won't cancel."

"Alright!" Ashley gave her a high five and said, "Now what are you going to wear? Because if you wear those track pants, I will beat you."

Eliminating work clothes and the wind suits didn't leave her many options. "Jeans?" she asked, biting her lip.

Trish said, "It depends on the jeans." She tossed her thumb toward the lane. "Violet, you're up."

Ashley eyed her long and hard and said, "Don't worry. We'll fix you up. By the time we're done with you, Mack Stone will be eating out of your hand."

Her hand was not what she wanted Mack to be eating out.

Kindra mentally groaned. Help her, she was turning into a total pervert. And liking it.