Page 68 of Ace My Heart

I felt the puff go out of me. I’d been expecting something really cringe, like tampons, or dildos or something. I’d been all geared up to shout at him and refuse.

“Oh, Dudz. That’s pretty cool actually. Why didn’t you tell me about it earlier this week?” I asked, mildly curious.

Joel looked sheepish. “Well, I wasn’t sure what your reaction was going to be, so I decided to wait until it was certain to bring it up – I figured I’d find a way to talk you around to it.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You figured you’d be able to talk me round, huh?” I asked, a warning in my voice. Joel smiled down at me, moving closer and putting an arm around my back, pulling me against him.

“Yes, well, I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be,” hemurmured. I gulped. This wasnothappening to me. I pushed him away before my resolve wavered.

“Okay, here’s the deal. You stop trying to seduce me and I’ll do the sponsorship with Dudz,” I bargained in my most matter-of-fact tone. Joel took a step back and assessed me.

“You drive a hard bargain, Stink. Okay, I’ll do my best. But it’s just so much fun to see the look on your face!”

I rolled my eyes at him and hopped into the car. “So, what do I have to do for this sponsorship?” I asked. Joel turned the key and the engine roared into life.

“They want to do a photo shoot for online, magazine and billboard advertising, and a TV commercial. And there’ll be some in-store appearances when the range comes out.”

I shrugged, nodding. I could handle that. I mean, if I could writhe around in lingerie for Woody Magazine, I could have my photo taken in cotton underwear.

We lapsed into silence on the drive back to Joel’s house. Silence was bad – my brain went into overdrive. Why was I suddenly having all these … feelings … for Joel?

It had to have been the dreams. If I hadn’t had those stupid sex dreams about him, I wouldn’t be feeling all hot and bothered when he got too close.

“Joel,” I began quietly.

“Hmm?” He didn’t take his eyes off the road.

“What would have happened before, on the beach, if your phone hadn’t rung?” I asked in a tiny voice. Joel’s breaths were suddenly noisier than usual. He pulled into his garage, cut the engine, and turned to me. I couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Stink, don’t you just wish you knew?” he teased, before getting out of the car. “Come on, we’ve got a greasy lunch to work off.”

I got out of the car, feeling more unsatisfied than I had before I’d asked.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Panties & Amazons

“Ireally don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to forgive you for this, Joel,” I muttered as I walked towards him, wearing a satin robe over pink lacy lingerie. My dark hair fell in sexy, glossy waves down my back, and I was plastered with more makeup than I’d worn in my lifetime.

A couple of days ago I’d sat down with a female journalist for the interview portion of my Woody feature. I could barely remember how I’d responded to her questions. I just hoped that I’d made the one point that mattered to me – that adventurous sex was great, when everyone involved was fully aware of, and consented to, what was taking place.

The interview was a cakewalk compared to what I was about to do.

“You’ll forgive me, Stink,” he said, eyes sparkling. “You can’t stay mad at me, it’s impossible!”

I frowned. “Why do you have to be here, anyway?”

“I can go if you want me to,” he offered, turning back towards the house.

I panicked. “No!”

His smile was a thousand watts bright.

“Joel, you got me into this, you have to stay and make sure they don’t make me do something really ridiculous.”

“Okay, Stinky, I’m not going anywhere.” He collapsed into a chair, resting one ankle on the other knee.

“We’re ready,” the photographer said. I looked around Joel’s tennis court, the location we’d agreed on for the shoot.

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