You Dropped a Blonde on Me by Dakota Cassidy

three “Ds” to winning any battle successfully. You didn’t need an opinion or a quick retort to do that. “Want to share how you know so much about me and my pending divorce?”
    Campbell smiled, deeply grooved dimples popping up on either side of his mouth. “It’s like you said, the women here talk. That I happen to be in their space when they do is merely coincidence. And in case you’re wondering, they all think your almost ex is a—”
    “Penis-less wonder.” Maxine chuckled, breaking the tension beginning to creep between them. “Well, thanks for sticking up for me. I promise in the future I’ll work on being a big girl and sticking up for myself.”
    “I’d say you owe me that cup of coffee for beating that jackass about the head and shoulders with my sharp tongue and pithy wit.”
    Her tongue darted over her parched lips in nervousness. “Thank you isn’t enough?”
    Campbell let her hand go, but his smile didn’t leave his face. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he said, “Nah. I gave your almost ex a verbal lickin’. That’s worth at least a cup of coffee.”
    If she said anything right now, Maxine knew she would stammer—knew it. Yet she opted to open her mouth anyway. “I—well, I’m—busy. I mean—I can’t—because I’m busy and—”
    The space between them diminished before she knew what was happening—his face, handsome and hovering, quite suddenly directly in front of hers, cutting off her babble. The graze of Campbell’s lips on hers, shocking and wonderful all at once, left her startled and overheated. They were firm but soft, and so hot she found herself wanting more, leaning into him, forgetting Jake and feeling only the gut-deep reaction his mouth evoked.
    The moan that almost slipped from her mouth into his was stifled when Campbell began to back away, still smiling. “I didn’t invite you for a night of floggers and ball gags, Max, just a cup of coffee. I’ll call you,” he said with a deep chuckle, turning and heading back down the road before she could say no.
    Maxine looked down at Jake, her heart crashing so loud, she heard it in her ears. “Whaddya think a ball gag is, Jake?”
    Jake growled up at her.
    “Yeah, I feel the same way,” she agreed with his assessment of the situation, shrugging her shoulders. “Some things you’re just better off not knowing, eh, pal?” Duplicating the sharp tug Campbell had given him, she tried to pull Jake back down the hill.
    Instead of following merrily behind her like she was the Pied Piper of all things big, four-legged, and drooling, Jake flopped down on the pavement, put his nose between his paws, and groaned.
    Wrapping the leash around her wrist, Maxine gave a gentle yank. “Aw, c’mon, Jake! It’s hot. I’m tired. I’m hungry. So hungry I swear I’ll eat your dog biscuits if you don’t cooperate. Now move it, buddy!”
    Jake sighed.
    She put her hands behind her back, placing the leash between them and pulled with a grunt as sweat trickled between her breasts. “Jake, you beast. Get up!”
    A whistle came from the distance, sharp and clear, and then someone called out, “Jake! Get a move on, boy!”
    She sighed. Campbell.
    Jake was on his feet in a half second flat, moving toward Max at breakneck speed. She squinted into the fading sunlight to see Campbell’s broad back becoming a distant dot just before she was dragged back down the hill.
    What did a girl have to do to get a little respect?
    Be Campbell Barker . . . You know. Your booooyfriend who kisses like a dream?
    Oh, shut it, would you?

     
    Lenore Erickson eyed the caller ID on her phone and blew out a breath of angry air. She thrummed her fingers on the base of the phone, wondering where her receptionist, Delores, was. A glance at the clock on the wall told her. Lunch. Delores never missed lunch.
    She ran a hand through her hair, shaking off the stray dark strands with disgust when they pulled from her scalp.
    And the phone