Curvaceous by Marilyn Lee Page A

are your plans for tonight?"
    "I don't actually have any, but—"
    "Great. I'll pick you up at six. Dress casually."
    "Hey. Wait a minute."
    "You sound frantic, Bree. Are you afraid I'm about to hang up on you?"
    There was that damned amusement again. "Were you?"
    "Yes, so make whatever you have to say quick. You're not the only one who has things to do today."
    "What? Look...If you think you can..." I paused and took a deep, calming breath. "I haven't said I'm going out with you."
    "But you will."
    His looks probably accounted for the confidence I heard in his voice. "I—"
    "I'll be there at six. Get ready because here it comes."
    "What?"
    "I'm hanging up now. Bye."
    He hung up.
    I discarded the idea of calling him back. I put down the phone. It was foolish to go out with Jake when I'd all but decided to renew my relationship with Darren—assuming he was still interested. That was a big assumption since I had not heard from him in four months.
    For reasons of his own, the sexy Jake wanted to see me again. I closed my eyes, remembering the feel of his body against mine and the smell of his subtle cologne. His lips had felt nice against my cheek. What would they feel like against my mouth...moving over my parted lips? I swallowed slowly, feeling a rush of heat warming my cheeks. Maybe this time I'd let him kiss my lips. I opened my eyes. That assumed I was going out with him. Who was I kidding? I was going out with him and in all likelihood, when he attempted to kiss me I was going to kiss him back. I wasn't prepared to go any further than kissing on a second date. Still a kiss shared with the right partner could be so much more than a kiss.
    * * *
    J ake
    I felt restless after talking to Bree. I knew if I had any sense, I'd call her back, cancel the date she didn't seem to want anyway, and never look in her direction again. Hadn't she practically admitted she was in cahoots with Lea? Why the hell should I allow Lea to use Bree to continue to push my buttons? What kind of woman was Bree that she'd allow Lea to use her to get to me? What the hell had I ever done to Bree?
    Despite the dictates of commonsense, I spent far too much time wondering if Bree kissed on the second date. Actually, I hoped she did a lot more than kiss. The sooner I got her into bed, the sooner I could move on. She was clearly bad news to me. I was damned determined to see her again rather she wanted to see me again or not. 
    After admitting I wouldn't get anything accomplished that day, I went to the gym to work out. I returned home to shower and dress for my date with Bree. Bree. What the hell kind of name was that anyway? How stupid was I to see her again knowing she was out to get me?
    I needed to talk to someone to help clear my head. If I called Chuck, as soon as he learned Bree wasn't a knockout, he'd look at me like I'd lost my mind and ask me why I was even interested. If I called Jess, I might be making things worse between her and Malik. Besides, she'd just give me a third degree questioning I wasn't in the mood for. If I called Mom, she'd start making wedding plans. 
    Shaking my head, I opened my condo door and froze. Lea sat in a chair opposite the front door. Have I told you how absolutely gorgeous she is? She has the face of an angel and a petite, slender body made for sin. She has mounds of beautiful red-gold hair that cascades over her slender shoulders and sexy green eyes that hint she wants some lucky man to fuck her all night long.
    I closed the door and stood staring at her. She smiled and slowly parted her legs, giving me an enticing view of her bare, shaved pussy. 
    I swallowed hard—and willed myself not to rise to the bait. "How did you get in?" To my annoyance, the question sounded more needy than demanding.
    She spread her legs wider and held up a set of keys. "Eddy keeps your spare keys in his nightstand drawer. As you know, he's out of town."
    I forced myself to meet her gaze. "That doesn't explain what you're doing