I put his call on hold and moved to the console, placing the headphones on my head. The last chords of the music died away and I slid the faders into position, slowly and smoothly.
My voice sounded calm and soothing through the headphones, announcing what we had heard, and what was coming up next. A few words about the weather, and a short statement about the sponsor of the next hour of music, the local theater company, and their next production. “I’m Jo Hutchinson and it’s my pleasure to be with you for the next few hours.”
My pleasure indeed. Mic off, music up, phone call off hold. I gripped the edge of the console, pressed my pubic bone against it, hard, and my orgasm roared through me.
I dropped into the chair, out of breath.
“Jo? You okay?”
“Sure. I feel like I’ve run a mile.”
“Me, too. The way you said pleasure—that did it for me. You were speaking to me then. I felt it.” He laughed. “God, you make me feel like a randy teenager. I’d already jerked off at work thinking about you today.”
“You did? Where?”
“At my desk. I told my assistant I wasn’t to be disturbed and … well, you can imagine the rest.”
I could, but I also wished he’d waited for me, waited until I was off the air and I had heard him come.
“Are you disappointed?”
“At what?”
“That I do this without you?”
I shrugged before realizing he couldn’t see my gesture. “I don’t see that it’s anything to do with what you and I have. I guess I’m flattered that you fantasize about me.”
“We have such a small part of each other,” he said. “I don’t want to jeopardize what we have, until you decide you want more from me.”
“You know my answer to that.”
He sighed. I heard clothing rustle, and the sound of his zipper going up. “So how was the party tonight?”
“You knew about it?”
“I received an invitation, yes.”
I sat up a little straighter. “Were you there? Was that why you called so late?”
“You know I keep a low profile.”
“I can always look at the guest list,” I said, although I knew I wouldn’t. I wanted to keep the mystery. “I like the idea of you watching me across the room. How did you feel when you saw me flirt with other guys?”
He laughed. “If I had been there, I would have loved to have watched you. And seeing you flirt with other men—I would have felt hopeful. Excited. Because I would know I would receive the greatest and last pleasure, to be the one you would tell everything to.”
“So if I don’t seduce this guy tomorrow, will you be disappointed?”
“No. You can never disappoint me.”
6
I DREAMED SOMETHING RANG AND RANG, PEALING in my ear. I grabbed out and reached the phone.
A giggling squeal assaulted my ears. I blinked at the numbers of my digital clock. Three in the morning. I’d been asleep less than an hour.
“What?”
This time I recognized the voice.
“Kimberly? You okay?”
Another fit of giggling.
I finally figured out what the two syllables were she kept repeating. “You woke me up to tell me he has a foreskin?”
“Shit, sorry. I thought you’d be awake.” More giggling. “It’s weird.”
“He’s Irish. It’s probably normal there.”
“I didn’t know what to do with it.”
“Where are you?”
“My place. In the bathroom. He’s asleep.”
“Oh, good. He might find it depressing that you’re on the phone to a girlfriend giggling about his dick.”
“I wouldn’t say a word in front of him. It’s bad manners.”
“So is waking me up.”
“I’m sorry. I had to tell someone about it.”
I yawned. “I’m pretty sure there are AM call-in shows for this sort of situation. You sure you’re okay? Not overwhelmed by foreskinned leprechaun sex?”
“He’s cute. Nice. Sexy. We had a good time.”
“Great. Why don’t you go to sleep, too? Good night.”
“Are you grouchy for any other reason than being woken up?”
“No, I’m fine. ‘Bye.” I disconnected the call and rolled over, dislodging Brady, who had swollen to twice his normal size and heated up to an alarming temperature, as cats will. I allowed myself a moment of self-pity. Kimberly had a guy in her bed and I had an overheated lump of fur in mine and a vibrator somewhere on the floor. I scrabbled around for it in a halfhearted sort of way, put off by the thought of the dust bunnies it might have accumulated. Sleep seemed a more wholesome alternative.
“I thought we’d have a picnic.” Willis grinned with approval at me—I thought it was approval, but it might have been self-satisfaction. On the other hand my outfit of cowboy boots and a black-and-white polka-dot, knee-length skirt looked pretty good to me. “That okay with you?”
“That sounds great.” It was one of those unseasonably warm days in the Rockies where half the town appears in shorts, grabbing a few rays before the temperature plummets with the setting sun.
He wore jeans and a battered leather jacket and looked slightly more human than in his expensive suits and ties, or at least slightly more like a guy I’d date. He ushered me out to his car, a sort of jeeplike thing, and I bit back the first comment that rose to my lips about its mileage. This was not the sort of vehicle acquired for its light carbon footprint.
“Like it?” he said, mistaking my interest.
“Sorry, I don’t know much about cars.”
To my relief, he didn’t take this as an invitation to educate me, but opened the car door and once we were seated, made a fuss of selecting music, adjusting the temperature and so on. Then he drove through the town and west into the foothills.
He didn’t say much and I wondered if he was shy, or maybe thinking he’d made a mistake.
“Are you seeing someone?” he asked.
“No. Are you?”
“No. You acted weird about coming out with me, so I thought …”
“I was in a fairly serious relationship for quite a long time. I haven’t got the hang of dating. How about you?” I’d given up telling him he wasn’t my type. He couldn’t or wouldn’t believe it.
“Divorced. I’m not ready for a serious relationship just yet. I like sexy, adventurous women like you.”
“What do you mean by adventurous? I used to date a rock-climbing fanatic. I went climbing with him a couple of times but I was scared to death.”
He shot me a glance. “You look athletic. Sure of yourself.”
“I ride a bike, but doesn’t everyone?” I looked at the road we were on, winding through pine trees. “This might be a good road to ride. Do you like sports?”
I’d asked for it. A lecture followed on the local football team. He stopped. “I guess you’re not into