Shameless. Tori Carrington

a mild sexual interest in her movements, now she felt their gazes as surely as if they’d reached out and touched her.

      But it wasn’t until she surrendered her mind to her dreams at night that she got to play out a more intimate connection to one or the other, often both at the same time.

      Until now.

      Nina swallowed hard and turned the envelope over, noting that it had only been sealed at the end of the V. So simple to open.

      Then why did she feel as if she were Pandora and that the contents of the envelope would forever change her life?

      She absently worked her fingernail under the flap, the slight tearing of the seal filling the quiet store. She peeked inside to find a simple, white sheet of paper.

      Simple. Now that was a word that didn’t seem to fit the situation.

      Then again, maybe it was custom-made for the state of affairs. Perhaps she was making far too much out of this entire thing. She might even venture a thought that she was doing exactly what the guys had originally accused her of, the entire reason for their discussion at all: the fact that she confused sex with love.

      Is that what she was doing? Reading more into a simple matter that involved nothing more than the meeting of two needy bodies?

      Nina dropped her head onto the sofa back. “Oh, for God’s sake, Nina, just read the damn thing and get it over with.”

      For all she knew the letter would be a truce of sorts. A retraction of the offer and regrets that it had ever been extended to begin with. An attempt at a return to normalcy when everything had been far from it over the past few days.

      She reached in and tugged the paper out, carefully opening it. It had been typed rather than printed. She smiled at the formality. Done to keep her from knowing which of them was speaking? She chanced a yes.

      She licked her lips and smoothed the single sheet out and read:

      Nina,

      You are invited to a one-night-only, not-to-be-missed event. At midnight tomorrow, leave your apartment door unlocked and your inhibitions behind and put on the enclosed blindfold…and nothing else….

      Nina shivered all over. She picked up the envelope again and looked inside. In the shallow depths lay a single silk ribbon that didn’t seem wide enough to shield her eyes. She shook it out, realizing that it was folded and that it was, indeed, wide enough.

      The slinky material warmed beneath her touch as she raised it to her eyes and then fastened it around her head. The front had been cut as a mask, making allowances for her nose so that she wouldn’t be able to peek out the bottom.

      For all intents and purposes she was blind.

      Anticipation spilled over her like warm honey as she sat for long minutes. Her own breathing sounded loud to her own ears. She was keenly aware of the thrum of her heartbeat. Made out the sound of a car passing outside.

      She gasped and quickly took off the mask.

      Could she really do this? Turn herself over to whichever one of them planned to enter her apartment? Put on a blindfold and trust that whoever arrived would bring her pleasure and no pain?

      Her throat tightened as she picked up the letter again.

      Lights off, heat on, be prepared for the most erotic night of your life….

      6

      THE MINUTES of the day ticked by with agonizing slowness. Nina stared at the clock, willing the hands to move, for the day to be over so that she could rush headlong into the mysteries of the night.

      “Is the second batch of bear claws ready?” Heidi asked as she came into the kitchen.

      Nina blinked, forgetting for a moment where she was. Half an hour had passed, and she still hadn’t made the glaze for the fresh batch of treats.

      “No,” she said, turning instead to a plate of frosted heart-shaped cookies baked in honor of Valentine’s Day. “But these are ready.”

      Heidi sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on with the three of you today. I swear, if it weren’t for Brad, John, Julie and I, this place would probably close down.”

      Nina rushed around the table. “How do you mean?”

      Heidi blinked. “Just look at you. You’re acting like you’re suffering from advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. And I hear the same thing is going on with both Kevin and Gauge.”

      Nina’s tongue seemed suddenly too big for her mouth. “Both of them?”

      “Are you going to make me repeat everything I say?” She shook her head. “Forget it. You probably aren’t listening to me, anyway.”

      She left the room and the door swung back and forth slightly before finally coming to a rest.

      Of course, Heidi was right. She wasn’t listening. Had stopped listening the instant the girl had said that both Kevin and Gauge were as distracted as she was.

      Could it be…? Was it possible that…?

      She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and forced herself to walk to the other side of the table. Wasn’t it bad enough that she’d barely slept since last night? And that when she had finally drifted off, her dreams had been so vivid that she’d have sworn they were real?

      God, just look at her. She was a wreck. She’d forgotten to set her alarm and had been late this morning, forgoing her usual shower as she hurried to get dressed to unlock the store, today being her day to open. She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wore only minimal makeup, determined to throw herself into work to help the time fly by.

      Instead it seemed at a standstill.

      She sighed heavily and tried to focus on making the glaze for the bear claws.

      IF THE DAY had passed by with agonizing slowness, then the moments leading directly up to midnight were pure torture. Nina knelt in the middle of her bed, the blindfold tied tightly, the material of her nightgown rasping against her breasts with every deep breath she drew in.