Her friends laughed, and she felt herself blush. Was it her fault she’d developed early, earning too much teasing from boys her age and those much older? No wonder she was shy. She knew why she didn’t like to call attention to herself, but she didn’t quite know how to get over it. If she had even half of Sydney’s confidence, she’d march over to Gage and wrap herself around him like a piece of duct tape.
Duct tape. She mentally grimaced. No wonder she was still single. She should have used a word like candy, Saran Wrap, hell, even sticky tape was more romantic than—
“Oh my God, Hailey. He’s looking right at us!”
Faith and the girls shrieked and dove for cover when a flashlight suddenly passed over the window. Hailey, however, had been too caught up in her fantasy to react in time.
She finally managed to fly off the chair to the floor without crushing Beth, and prayed the glare of light on glass protected her identity.
“Shit! He knows I live here.” Faith panted, then she cursed again. “He’s putting his pants back on. Hell, I think he’s leaving his apartment!”
A mad rush for the door left Hailey and Sydney standing together blinking at one another. They turned and watched as Gage left his place with the door open, only to return a moment later with a newspaper.
“I didn’t know Faith had that much speed in her,” Hailey said stupidly.
“I know. And Beth and Amy were hard on her tail.”
They stared at each other. Then Hailey grinned, prodding Sydney to smile. The sheer absurdity of the moment hit them, and bales of laughter erupted.
“You should have seen your face!” Sydney cried.
“Mine? What about yours!” Her eyes teared, and she clutched her stomach. “As if he could see through the glass at night. And do you think a man who looks like that would really care about a couple of harmless peepers like us, anyway?”
Sydney laughed. “This definitely calls for some wine.” She checked Faith’s cabinets and frowned. “She’s out. How about you round us up some booze while I call the others back? The least we can do since Gage isn’t putting on a show is watch some reruns of Sex and the City.”
“Or anything with Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman in it.” Hailey chuckled and grabbed her keys. “I’ll be back in a jiffy. And tell Beth she owes me one for not landing on her face when I flew off the chair.”
Still laughing under her breath, she left Faith’s at a much more sedate pace. If anything, tonight’s incident taught her she needed to get a social life, one that included a man. Sighing, she wished, for just a moment, that she could have Gage all to herself.
“Hell, what would I do with him?” She rolled her eyes and tightened her hand on her keys. She’d had sex, even knew the finer points to good sex. But she’d never had killer, to-die-for sex. And with a man like Gage, it couldn’t be any other kind.
Sex with Gage? Yeah, right, her conscience reasserted, bringing her back to reality.
A sudden memory from work made her frown, and she stared down at the keys in her hand unseeingly. Earlier this morning she’d accidentally overheard two of her male coworkers and been mortified to find herself the object of their discussion.
“Come on, Hal. You know she’s the best-looking woman in here.”
“Shit, yes. I’m married, I’m not blind.”
Eddie Flynn had chuckled. “Those tits are killer. Her legs, her ass. Yeah, she’s definitely the one I’d do. But only if I could put a bag over her face.”
Hal had sounded surprised. “But why? She’s pretty enough.”
“Sure, but have you ever looked into her eyes? That’s one frigid bitch. And talking to Jennison is enough to make your dick shrivel up and never come out again.” They shared a chuckle. “So I figure if I don’t have to look at her face or hear her voice, I could do her until I couldn’t breathe any more. She’s that hot underneath that don’t-touch-me glare.”
Hailey had left the nearby coffee room quietly, her head down as she tried to calm her flaming face. Those bastards. After five years with the company, she still had to put up with such immature reactions from the people she worked with. Her first days at work had been hell, but after several months had passed and she hadn’t wrecked any marriages or slept with any coworkers, most of her peers had left her alone. She’d even made friends with Amy and Beth.
But, just like that, a few condescending snickers from the new guys in sales, and she felt all of thirteen again. A young girl on the verge of womanhood, unfortunately toppling into maturity with a body built for sex. Men wanted her, and women mostly disliked her, threatened by her appeal. Hailey snorted. If only they realized she was all show and no action.
The few men she’d dated over the years had complained of her tension whenever sex was involved. And her one serious boyfriend, the lover she’d broken up with a year ago, had left her for another woman, claiming Hailey had too many issues regarding their intimacy together. Apparently, that made it okay to boink his next-door neighbor.
Just thinking about Jerry the Worm made her see red. She’d really thought he might be The One. After so much time doubting herself, she’d found a man to love her for herself, or so she’d thought at the time. She ought to face facts. She didn’t have what it took to hold onto a man, and especially not a man other women would drool over.
An image of Gage made her frown, depression weighing her down. He was great to look at, and a hell of a man to dream about. If only dreams could come true. What the hell would she say if she ever met him face to face?
Hi, I’ve seen you naked. You’re gorgeous, perfect, and the man I masturbate to nightly. But I’m too nervous about my own body to share it with you. Thanks for playing?
Sighing, Hailey had just lifted the handle to the car door when a large hand covered hers, scaring her speechless. Turning her in his arms, her dream man asked in a deep, husky voice as smooth as molasses, “Where are you off to so soon, honey? You’re going to miss the best part of the show.”
Chapter Two
Hailey leapt back, crashing against her car, and stared at Gage with wide eyes.
“What?” she squeaked.
“Baby, even those honey-brown eyes aren’t enough to make me go away quietly.
You and your friends have been watching me. I know it and you know it.” His voice grew louder, attracting the attention of a nearby resident.
Aware she didn’t want this to go any further than it already had, Hailey wondered what to say or do to make Gage go away.
“I’m sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else.”
He narrowed a gorgeous, steel-gray gaze that made her womb clench and frowned.
“Honey, I don’t think you understand. Apartment 306? Faith Sumner ring a bell?” Crap, he did know about Faith and where she lived. “Now we can discuss this here, with an audience.” He nodded to several people laughing as they crossed the parking lot. “Or we can go somewhere private and discuss the matter…without getting the police involved.
Frankly, I’m tired of being stared at.”
Crossing his arms, Gage looked completely menacing, and mouthwateringly real.
Without the distance separating his apartment from the Friday night shows, Hailey’s normally nonexistent sexuality kicked into overdrive. Good lord, but this man was even making her mouth water.
She eyed his irritation, figured what she knew about him after several months of observation, and knew she’d never get another chance to be this close to the object of her fascination.