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“What’s up?”
“It appears I might need some extra security tomorrow. Please tell me you’ll be free.”
8
Giving in to temptation can only lead to trouble.
—Jane Langston, from her work-in-progress, Sex and Sensibility
LUKE STOOD next to an aisle of books with titles like Reclaim the Romance and The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Sex. He eyed their spines, marveling at the amazing number of titles all about essentially the same subject. The popularity of self-help books only confirmed to him that a lot of people were looking for a way to buy themselves happiness for twenty-four dollars and ninety-nine cents. People had been having relationships and sex and everything else for countless generations, and now all of a sudden everybody needed a book to tell them how to get it on?
Jane was sitting a few feet away at a table stacked with copies of The Sex Factor, chatting with readers who lingered around the table. Luke could hardly take his eyes off of her to scan the store for potential threats. She nearly glowed with the sort of relaxed beauty that came from being well-pleasured. And it made him stand a little taller to realize he’d done that. He was the source of her glow.
He’d avoided pointing out to her, ever since their lovemaking the day before, that she’d been thoroughly proven wrong. That could wait until she was ready to admit it on her own. Besides, he wasn’t sure he much cared anymore about who was right or wrong between them.
No, he knew already that what he cared about was Jane. He wanted to protect her, and he wanted to be more to her than a lover. He’d thought about it all night.
After he’d shown her how to set the security system, she’d seemed okay with his going home. And he hadn’t wanted to push his luck by suggesting they have dinner together. Instead, he’d eaten carry-out alone in his apartment, images of making love to Jane playing over and over in his head.
He knew better than to think that it was possible to have such amazing sex with just anyone. The current that had passed between them suggested a connection much deeper, a connection they’d be fools not to explore. But he’d have to wait for Jane to realize that herself. He certainly wasn’t averse to providing her with little hints here and there, in bed, out of bed, wherever the opportunity arose.
Only his feelings for Jane kept him from feeling like the ultimate jackass for sleeping with one of his clients. The unprofessional aspect of it nagged at him, but he knew it was worth it if it gave them the chance to explore the possibilities of their relationship.
Luke’s gaze traveled around the gigantic bookstore. It was evening, and the store was dotted with business professionals still in their work clothes, families having just come from soccer practice, the usual bookstore types, and a disproportionate number of twenty-and thirty-something women. They were the ones gravitating toward Jane’s table.
He hadn’t spotted anyone yet who looked like a threat. An occasional man wandered up, curious, but as soon as he figured out what the book was, he hightailed it away as fast as possible. Most people were more than willing to be rude, obnoxious, even threatening in a letter or on the phone, but face-to-face—that was a different matter.
Luke listened in on Jane’s conversations, but nothing really caught his interest until he heard a woman ask her how she could extricate herself from an intense love affair with a guy she’d been having great sex with.
He couldn’t wait to hear Jane’s response. His view of her, in profile, suggested she was mighty uncomfortable having to answer it in front of him.
“Why do you want out of the relationship?”
“Well, it’s not so much that I want out,” the woman said, noticing Luke then and lowering her voice. “I just read your book, and it’s made me realize how obsessed I’ve been with, well…sex. With this guy.”
“I see. So you want to backtrack a bit in the relationship, or break it off completely?”
The woman shrugged. “There’s no way I could be with him without wanting to have sex, so I guess I’ll just have to end the relationship completely.”
Jane nodded, frowning.
Go ahead, babe, answer that one.
“Do you love him?”
“I think so. Maybe. I guess that’s the problem—I’m afraid that maybe we’ve been substituting sex for deep emotional intimacy, and I don’t want to go any further with that kind of shallow relationship. I have no idea if I love him or just love having sex with him.”
“Have you expressed these concerns to him?”
“I’ve tried, but we just end up in bed.”
“If you really love him, and if he really loves you, then the two of you should be able to agree to stop having sex long enough to sort out the intimacy issues in your relationship. If he can’t deal with that, then he’s not the guy for you.”
