Entice (16 page)

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her iPod and the car jack and moved to plug it in.

Josh looked over at her. “And what do you think you’re doing, Georgia?”

“We need some music,” Shelly told him, finally getting it hooked up.

“We had music,” he pointed out as his huge dog decided to take that opportunity to move forward and rest his head against Josh’s seat.

He’s eyeing me
, Shelly thought with a shudder. He definitely wanted to eat her, and she knew it.

“What?” she asked the dog as though he would actually answer her.

“He just wants to know what you’re about to force us to listen to.”

Rolling her eyes, Shelly smiled at him with a mischievous grin, and he shook his head.

“I don’t like that look.”

“What look?” she asked innocently.

“
That
one. The one that says you’re about to subject me to something I’m not going to like.”

Shelly laughed, making sure she had the volume up good and loud, and then hit play. As the music blared through the speakers, she took great delight in Josh’s pained expression as he whipped his head around to face her.

“No.”

“Yes!” Shelly told him over the loud beat of the music.

“No way, Georgia!” he told her, trying to grab the iPod.

She pulled it out of reach and hit pause. The music stopped.

“You need to concentrate on the road,” she told him seriously.

Rolling his eyes, he asked, “How am I supposed to concentrate with that noise playing?”

Shelly laughed again. “I told you
no
about
that
,” she reminded him, pointing to the beast, who took that moment to cock his head to the side and raise an eyebrow.

“Oh, don’t act sweet and innocent with me,” she said to the hairball.

“Are you talking to my dog? You do know he can’t understand you, right?”

Shelly harrumphed. “Well, it was worth a shot.” She paused, grinning. “Now, shhh. I’m enjoying—”

“I’m not listening to Shania Twain, Georgia.”

Shelly leaned her head back against the seat, singing to him with a sexy smile. “But, Josh, I feel like a woman!”

***

Josh shook his head at the woman beside him, singing the ode to all females very loudly. He couldn’t believe that he was actually sitting here, listening to this song, and smiling.

Shelly had rolled up her jeans to mid-calf and slipped off her shoes, resting her sock-covered feet on the dashboard. She was tapping her foot and smiling as she sung about wearing men’s shirts and short skirts.

Looking over at her, he thought,
this is honestly the first time those lyrics have ever been appealing
.

She had a grin on her face that was lit with pure joy, and every time she hit that ridiculous chorus, she sung the lyrics at the top of her lungs.

The woman is insane
, and he liked her—a lot.

All she needed now was a cowgirl hat, a pair of boots, and some Daisy Dukes, and she would have been one of his sexiest fantasies come to life.

She continued singing about the best things of being a woman.

Josh found himself smiling and—
holy shit
—tapping his hand on the steering wheel.

When she got to the main line of the song, he saw her look him over and lick her lips.

“Damn, Josh—you make
me
feel like a woman,” she sang to him with lowered lids.

Oh shit!

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to grab her, pull her over his lap, and kiss that sassy smile right of her smirking lips—but he was on a damn highway and needed to concentrate.

“When we stop, I want you to play that song again.”

The song ended, and he was relieved when it changed to The Who singing the anthem to Woodstock and stoned teenagers.
“Babba O’Riley”—classic
.

“I thought you didn’t like that song,” Shelly pointed out.

He looked her over, letting out a deep breath. “Suddenly, I’ve had a change of heart.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, it is. I want it to be playing while I have my hands all over you.”

Shelly laughed and asked, “So you can make me feel like a woman?”

“Hmm,” he answered, watching the road.

He didn’t even hear what she had said, and before he knew it, she was right up beside him, sliding her hand smoothly along his thigh. He whipped his head around, and their eyes met.

“Careful, I need to concentrate.”

“So concentrate. I just need to touch you for a minute,” she told him while continuing to stroke his thigh.

Josh let out a ragged groan, moving his arm away from the window to grip the steering wheel tight with both hands.

“You don’t even need to touch me to make me feel like a woman. I’m finding if I just sit and think about you—or even better, if I sit here and look at you—I have absolutely no problem feeling like a woman.” She paused in her verbal torture and slid that hot little hand over his leg toward the inseam of his jeans, stopping mid-thigh. He sucked in a deep breath.

“I can’t wait to get you naked, Josh. Hot, naked, and mine. Hmm, I can’t wait,” she whispered.

Josh took a chance and looked sideways at her. She was so close that he could see her pupils had dilated, and he knew she was as aroused as he was. His cock was so hard that he was surprised it hadn’t busted through his jeans. She hadn’t even touched him
there
, and he was ready to go off like a rocket.

“Move your hand, Shelly,” he managed, trying to keep his attention on the road despite her torture.

He watched her eyes spark with mischief, and then she started to move her hand up his leg toward his throbbing hardness.

“Not there,” he told her through clenched teeth. “Move your hand away from me, or we’re going to have an accident.”

He watched her grin and felt her squeeze his thigh while she leaned up to put her mouth next to his ear.

“Find a motel.”

Josh felt every muscle in his body clench, but he looked down at her and shook his head.

She pouted, squeezing his thigh again. “Why not?”

Josh licked his lips and explained, “If we stop, we won’t ever leave.” He paused. “Have mercy, Georgia. Take your hand off of me before I explode and move back to your side of the truck before I go insane.”

Josh groaned as she kissed his cheek and quickly brushed her palm against his erection. Then, she moved back to her side of the truck.

He looked over to where she was sitting, staring at him with hot eyes and a strained smile.

“I hate that you’re right,” she told him.

He looked at her and replied softly, “Believe me, so do I.”

***

Shelly was so frustrated!

She was so hot and bothered that she was almost tempted to undo her jeans and stick her hands inside to take care of her own ache. But, as she looked at the beautifully tense and stiff man navigating the truck’s steering wheel, she knew that waiting would be its own reward.

She couldn’t believe how turned on he had gotten her, yet he hadn’t done anything but drive and say a few words.

The man was potent and so hot that he set her on fire by just looking at her.
Forget that. He set me on fire by just breathing
.

His dog was now lying down across the back seat, and Shelly took a chance, looking over at him. He raised his head, and his mouth fell open. She could have sworn he was smiling at her. She felt her heart squeeze a little, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Stop flirting with my dog.”

Shelly’s eyes moved to Josh, who had glanced at her for a moment.

“I’m not flirting with your dog. I don’t even like him.”

She could have sworn the dog understood because he whined, and she immediately felt guilty.

Josh took that moment to look in his rearview mirror. “Don’t worry. She said that about me, too.”

Rolling her eyes, she slumped down in the seat. “Do you want me to drive for a little bit?”

“My truck?”

“No, your Lamborghini. Of course the truck.”

Josh shook his head. “Ahh, no, it’s fine. I’m going to pull over for lunch in a few minutes, and then we’ll go the rest of the way.”

Shelly nodded and watched out the window, noticing a twenty-four hour motel. She glanced at Josh longingly.

He shook his head. “No.”

Sighing, Shelly capitulated. “Fine. Food it is.”

She was no less frustrated when he laughed and pulled off the highway to get them some food.

***

Six long hours later, Josh was navigating his way through downtown Savannah, admiring how beautiful it was.

It was just going on 6:30 p.m., and there was a light breeze in the air. They’d made good time even with several pit stops along the way. As they rolled down the main street, Josh couldn’t help the smile that was stretching across his face.

Shelly had told him that she wanted to take him down through the Savannah Squares. At first, he didn’t have any idea what she had been talking about, but as they turned onto Charlton Street, it became very obvious.

Every couple of streets, he noticed a park was located in the center of them. The first one they passed was Pulaski Square, and then they drove by Madison Square. As they were approaching the third park, Lafayette Square, Shelly pointed and told him to pull over.

He parked the truck and watched her get out, stretching her hands above her head. She looked around with a soft smile as the wind whipped through her blonde hair. He found himself mesmerized, not by her sexiness that usually took aim at him like a fully loaded weapon, but by the simple beauty of her as she stood on the outskirts of the park with the wind blowing around her.

Josh opened the truck door and stepped down, letting Mutley out. He grabbed a leash, hooking it to his dog’s collar, and came around to stand beside this woman, who seemed to have morphed into a stranger.

She had transformed into a different version of herself, and he had to admit that he liked this version.

“These parks are amazing,” Josh commented, stopping beside her.

Shelly turned and smiled up at him. The sudden tightening in his chest from her radiant look shocked him.

“I know. This is one part of my hometown that I absolutely adore.”

She looked down at Mutley, who had taken a seat beside him on his haunches, and raised a brow. “The mutt has to come?”

Josh chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, yeah, he’s been cooped up as well, and this is a park. Kind of his thing.” He ended with a wink.

 “Fine,” she sighed. Then, she shocked him by holding out her hand.

Josh reached over and took it, feeling her warm palm slip into his.

She squeezed his fingers, and they made their way down the path leading into the lush green park.

***

Shelly felt relaxed as she walked with Josh and the beast through her favorite Square.

As of 2012 twenty-two squares were littered throughout Savannah.

As a young girl, her father had often taken her to Lafayette Square where they had walked around for hours, sometimes taking a break to eat ice cream. On each occasion, he had brought her right here to this fountain where they had thrown pennies in, making wishes together.

Shelly stopped by the large water feature and looked over to Josh, who was looking around the park as the sun started to set.

The lights in the fountain and on the path where they were now standing started to blink on, and suddenly, the moment turned extremely romantic. This was not something Shelly had anticipated.

She turned to see Josh looking at her with a gentle and warm expression. She’d never seen that look on him before.

“Who
are
you?” he asked as he stepped closer, letting the leash go slack as his dog lay down on the ground.

Shelly immediately started to fidget with her hands, feeling nervous, which was
very
unlike her.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

He stopped when he was just a breath away from her, reaching out to run a finger down her cheek.

“Back in Chicago, you’re this sex goddess, who is so incredibly hot, but intimidating as hell—”

“I didn’t intimidate you,” she pointed out.

“Oh, yes, you did. Remember my nickname for you? Man-Eater Monroe—the kind of woman who would eat you up in one bite. I wasn’t going to touch you because I knew you’d burn me or rip me apart.”

Shelly licked her lips, becoming hypnotized by this man and his words.

All of a sudden, Shelly didn’t give two hoots what he did or did not do for a living. She wanted Joshua Daniels. The biggest shock, however, was that she wanted to keep him. For how long, she wasn’t sure, but she knew she wasn’t ready to let him go.

“And here in Savannah?” Shelly asked, wanting to know what he was getting at.

“Here,” he said, taking that final step to close the distance. “Here, you’re different. You’re relaxed and casual, still incredibly sexy, but in a much more approachable way. This Shelly—
Georgia Shelly—
she’s the girl next door wrapped up in subtle sex.
Man-Eater Monroe’
s the ball-busting doctor, who oozes blatant, sizzling, hot sex.” He paused, leaning down to whisper across her lips. “So, who are you, Shelly?”

Shelly blinked at him and locked her eyes with his. “Both.”

She felt his lips move against her own into a smile before he nipped her bottom lip.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he answered.

Then, he gave her the sweetest, hottest kiss she had ever received.

***

Josh wasn’t sure when or how it had happened, but as he stood in front of possibly the most romantic place he’d ever been in his life, he felt his heart start to beat faster as he gave himself permission to care.

This complex woman, now standing glued to his front with her lips molded to his, was creeping inside of him.

Nowhere in sight was the Shelly he’d first met back at Exquisite. The woman he’d exploded with in the parking lot—not to mention, the hot-as-hell doctor who had given him a thorough once over in her office—was nowhere to be found. Instead, in her place was this sweet, wholesome woman, who was kissing him like they were on a high school date.