Bare Essentials. Leslie Kelly

teeth itched to see how quickly he could undo them.

      Which was bad, very bad. Even worse, just seeing her fingers on her own bare breast was enough to turn his insides quivering. She was touching herself, had been touching herself when he’d walked in. She wore a nipple ring and was handling the biggest dildo he’d ever seen. If there was a man in the world strong enough to not be brought to his knees by that image, Tag wasn’t him. “Cassie, what are you doing here, dressed like…that?”

      “Haven’t you heard?” She seemed utterly unconcerned by her near nudity. He had to admit, he’d never seen a more mouthwatering, luscious body in his life. Covering it should be a crime. And if he was to believe even one quarter of the stories he’d heard about her, she apparently didn’t have a problem with uncovering it.

      “We’re putting a new store in this building,” she said.

      “We?”

      “My cousin Kate and I. Bare Essentials. It’s a bit of a secret what we’re selling.”

      “Why?”

      “It’s going to be a…ladies’ shop.”

      “Ah. You want to shock the good people of Pleasantville.”

      “Oh, yeah, we do. You caught me playing with some of the merchandise.” She hefted the dildo in her free hand. “Think the good ladies of Pleasantville will admit to needing one of these bad boys?” She ran the tip—the very large, red, bulbous tip—across her collarbone.

      His heart nearly stopped.

      Down her stomach.

      Riveted, he stood there practically panting.

      “Hmm.” She pursed her glossed lips. “That reminds me.” The dildo dipped below her belly button. “We’d better sell batteries, too, don’t you think? I’d hate to force some shy thing into the hardware store with this bad boy.”

      It wasn’t often Tag found himself speechless. Or with an uncontrollable erection while on duty. “Your strap. It’s…” He held her gaze as she stepped closer. Unable to stop himself, he reached out to slip a finger beneath her fallen strap, slowly bringing it back up. The material dragged over the breast she was covering with her hand making her other nipple tighten all the more. Her breath caught at that, he heard it, and it caused his own to do the same. Beneath his fingers he felt her warm, soft skin. Almost unaware, he’d dipped his head to hers. He didn’t have far to bend. She was a tall woman, which he’d just discovered was an incredible turn-on. Lying down, they’d be chest to chest, thigh to thigh, and everything in between would line up so damn perfectly….

      She tilted her head slightly, too, and his jaw brushed her long hair. A silky strand clung to the slight stubble on his cheek, and he stilled to keep it there.

      She moved again, lifting her head so that they were mouth to mouth, breathing each other’s air, which turned out to be the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced.

      She licked her lips, and they were so close he felt the brush of her tongue against his lips. “Mmm,” she whispered. “It’s a night for this, don’t you think? A night for a memorable kiss.”

      With a groan, he parted his lips and slid them to hers. Hot. Wet. Heaven. She opened for him and as his tongue lightly caressed, she gave in with a hungry sound that sent his every rational thought skittering out the door. Because it was quiet and relatively dark, and because he couldn’t think with her so close to him, he gave in to the hunger. Her lips parted farther and the kiss deepened into an explosive, frantic, lush mating of mouths and tongues. And for one glorious moment they connected—lost, wild, clinging—until she shifted a fraction to stare at him with eyes satisfyingly full of hunger and passion.

      He still had his fingers entwined in her camisole. Beneath them her skin felt like silk. Hot silk. The taste of her was still on his tongue—forbidden passion and the promise of head-banging, toe-curling sex. No doubt, he had to get her covered before this got out of control, but the material of her lingerie stuck to the hand she held over her breast.

      Slowly, still holding his gaze prisoner in her own, she pulled her hand free, giving him a devastatingly thorough glimpse of that silver hoop on her puckered nipple. Utterly unable to help himself, he lifted his hand and ran the pad of a finger over the mouthwatering tip. The hoop danced, her breast quivered. And every bit of saliva in his mouth dried up. In that moment he knew he was out of control, that at the slightest invitation from Cassie, they would be naked and rolling on the floor.

      Then she let the material cover her breast, and he managed to take a breath.

      “Thanks,” she whispered.

      He would have whispered something back but he was still facing that whole speechless problem. Both nipples were hard, clearly defined. The one he’d just covered now had the clear outline of a circle around it, and picturing her placing that ring on herself all over again, he groaned.

      “It’s not real,” she said softly. “It’s just a clip-on. I was just—”

      “Trying on the merchandise. I know.”

      “I have more. We have one for a guy.” She ran a finger down his chest, past his belly to the top button of his pants, which she toyed with, making his already straining erection painful. “Want to try it on? I can do it for you. You put it—”

      “Cassie.”

      She actually smiled. “Chicken?”

      “No.” He let out a careful breath and caught her wandering fingers in his. “But I am on the very edge. Tease me another second and I’ll prove it to you.”

      “Maybe next time, then.”

      “Yeah.” His knees were actually knocking. Shocked at how much he wanted her, when she wasn’t what he wanted at all, he pulled away, closer to the lantern. He needed to see things clearly, damn it, he needed the electricity back on. The dark was lending an intimacy to this little episode that he didn’t need. He opened his mouth to say his goodbyes, maybe even offer an apology for barging in on her, for giving in to temptation, but Cassie had backed away, too.

      No longer were her eyes open and warm. No longer was her body loose and relaxed. Instead she stood there staring at him as if he was the lowest form of life.

      “What?” he asked, his head still spinning from their kiss.

      She pointed at him with the dildo. “You’re on duty.”

      Hadn’t he already said so?

      “I…hadn’t really realized…you’re in uniform.”

      Confused, he glanced down at himself. “Usually, this shirt is a turn-on for women,” he said, thinking to tease because he was at a loss to understand her.

      Not that he wanted to. No, what he wanted…well, that was as dangerous as understanding her.

      “I’m not your usual woman,” she said.

      Wasn’t that the truth.

      “I’m not turned on by bad attitude and authority.”

      “Bad attitude?” He had to laugh. “I thought that was you.”

      Wrapping her arms around herself, she turned away, but not before he caught a quick glimpse of her own confusion. Her own pain. It stopped him in his tracks. But then he caught more than that. He caught a good look at the back of her, and nearly had heart failure.

      There was no back to her outfit. It dipped down in an open scoop far past her waist, so low that if she so much as shifted he was going to get quite the view. There the outfit would have resembled a pair of hot shorts, except the words “hot shorts” were too conservative. In any case, the scant material divided the most delicious-looking butt cheeks he’d ever seen.

      “You’ve done your civil duty,” she said in a voice as cold as the south pole, which was in such direct opposition to that