Page 14 of Seizing Mack
“Because you’re a woman. You’re supposed to know that kind of stuff. It’s like instinct or something. Didn’t anyone teach you?”
She squirmed again. Maybe if her mother had lived long enough to see her through puberty, they might have had a chance to talk about those kinds of things. As it was, Mack had bumbled through a lot of self-discovery along the way. Proper feminine ‘scaping techniques sure as hell weren’t covered in basic training.
“I must have been absent that day,” she mumbled.
“So... God, I can’t believe I’m asking this ... is everything, uh, okay down there?”
“As good as it’s going to get.”
Jay closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Mack saw his lips silently counting to ten before speaking. “You need professional help. You know that, don’t you?”
“Why? Because I can’t fold myself in half and look at my lady parts?”
“Most people use a mirror,” he mumbled before exhaling heavily. “Is there someone who can help you?”
Mack was horrified. “I’d rather paint my body in honey and lay on a mound of fire ants.”
“There’s a visual.”
“Are you telling me you would be okay will letting someone do that to you?”
He smirked. “How do you think I finally got Marcus to third base?”
Marcus was Jay’s partner, an extremely talented hair and make-up artist with the modeling agency. The two had been seeing each other exclusively for several months and things were getting serious. Any day now Mack was expecting Jay to announce he was moving in with Marcus. She had already decided that if and when that happened, she would suggest that Marcus be the one to move into their house. There was more than enough room, and Mack didn’t know what she would do without Jay to keep her sane and grounded.
Feeling even more depressed, Mack sighed and melted into Jay’s embrace. He gave the best hugs.
“You’ll find someone, baby girl,” he said softly as he rubbed his hand up and down her back.
“Yeah,” she snorted in disbelief.
“What about that hot new detective?”
She sat up, knowing immediately who he was referring to. “How do you know about him?”
“Honey, this isCovendale. A sexy, brooding alpha male rolls into town, people are going to notice. Tell me, what’s he like?”
“How should I know?”
“Don’t even try to pull that shit with me. I saw Carl giving him the tour, and no one gets in or out ofSeizewithout you knowing about it. You met him, didn’t you?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” he eyed her suspiciously. “What does that mean?”
She shrugged. “It means I talked to him for all of two minutes before Delilah showed up and started eye fucking him. I sent him off with Carl for his own safety.”
“And sacrificed yourself in the process,” Jay finished on a frustrated exhale.
She shrugged. “Delilah ismyproblem, not his. Besides, he’s a potential client.”
“He’s ahotpotential client. Maybe you and he...”
“Pffft. I don’t think so. This —” she waved a hand over her face and body “— is not what guys dream about, you know?” It had been her experience that romantically speaking, most guys preferred women like Delilah: gorgeous, feminine, and easy. Easy on the eyes, easy on the intellect, easy on the effort. Intelligent, independent Marines made good girlfriends, not goodgirlfriends.
“Bullshit,” Jay countered, reading her mind in that eerie way he had. “You need to adjust your attitude, get yourself out of the friend zone. It’s like Purgatory — nowhere anyone wants to be. You need to stop having boy friends and get yourself a boyfriend, girlfriend.”
“I’ve had boyfriends,” she said defensively.
