More, Please by Kate Aster Page A

myself.
    “So are you,” I respond. “Party tonight?”
    She smiles at me, as though we share a
special secret, and I’m assuming there are probably only a handful of other
guys who know her alter ego as a sex toy salesperson.
    “A good one,” she answers, glancing
around the room. “I made a ton of sales.” She reaches for one of the rollers on
the ground. “Can I help?”
    “You’re all dressed up.”
    She dips her roller into the pan.
“Believe me when I tell you that there is nothing in my wardrobe worth saving.”
    I glance her up and down in her outfit
and feel quite differently. Sure, it doesn’t look like it came off a mannequin in
some exclusive boutique store, but she wears it well.
    “Besides, I’ll be careful,” she adds.
    “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Damned if my
cock doesn’t twitch at the thought of her in bed.
    “Shouldn’t you?” she counters, easing
alongside of me and putting her roller to the wall. “I’m too fired up right now
to sleep, anyway. These women were particularly chatty tonight.”
    I shrug, giving in, but hoping she
doesn’t get anything on that blouse. I have a strange sentimentality for it. “So
what constitutes a good crowd at one of these parties of yours?” I ask.
    “Pretty broad range. But they need
expendable income. So they are usually a little older than I am.”
    “Married or single?” I find I’m curiously
fascinated by this.
    “Usually married.”
    “And looking for a way to liven things up
in the bedroom?”
    She shakes her head. “Actually, not
really. I think most of them are just looking for a reason to get together with
their friends, have a few drinks and a few laughs. I’d bet at least half of the
things I sell to them go unused. They just wanted to have a reason to vent.”
    She stoops over to get more paint and I
can’t help noticing how the black material on her skirt frames some really
remarkable curves.
    “Think about it,” she continues. “I
provide an atmosphere where women actually get to talk to each other about men and
sex in a completely unique way. You can’t even imagine the stories I hear.” She
laughs suddenly. “Believe me, I walk out of those parties wondering what the
hell I’ve been missing.”
    A laugh escapes me and I glance her way
to see a blush creeping up her neck. Obviously, she hadn’t intended to let that
thought slip out. “Things a little slow in that arena?”
    Raising her eyebrows, she looks at me,
cocking her head slightly and looking delectable enough to eat. “Logan, I live
in freaking Newton’s Creek. Of course things are a little slow in that arena.”
    I frown slightly, suddenly worried she
might head back to Bergin’s. My protective side flares up. “Well, promise
you’ll be a little more careful about picking up men in bars. There’s no way
you should have followed me up to my room.”
    She sputters, incredulous. “Are you serious?”
    “Dead serious. I could have been an axe
murderer.”
    Her laughter somehow makes half the blood
in my brain drift toward my groin.
    “That’s exactly what Kim said.”
    “Yeah, well, Kim’s right,” I advise her.
“As I was on the receiving end of it, I wasn’t going to complain that night,
believe me. But now that I know you better, if you’re going to try that on a
man again, promise you’ll talk to me first.”
    She turns her face toward mine and her
eyelids are heavy, seductive. “I promise you’ll be the first to know.”
    Oh, shit. That’s not how I meant it. “So
I can talk you out of it,” I clarify.
    Biting her bottom lip, she turns her face
toward the wall again. “I made that much of an ass of myself, did I?”
    “What do you mean?”
    She shakes her head. “Nothing.” She puts
her roller back in the pan. “I better get to sleep.”
    I grasp her hand as she starts to step
away. “Wait. I have a feeling I said something wrong, and I’d really like to
know what.”
    “You said nothing wrong. You were being
honest. I