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Full Exposure
by Cathryn Fox

Copyright © 2016 by Cathryn Fox. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
 

Chapter One

“So tonight’s the night you’re finally going to lose your virginity?” Violet asked from the other end of the phone.

Danielle paced inside her small apartment, her knees a little wobbly, wearing the new heels she’d bought earlier that day. Although her unsteadiness had nothing to do with the shoes themselves, but more to do with Jack, and the text he’d sent to say he was on his way.

“Yeah, he should be here any minute,” she replied to her best friend, sounding far more breathless than she would have liked.

“I have to say, I’m kind of jealous.” There was a hint of melancholy in Violet’s voice that Danielle had never heard before.

“Jealous? Why?”

“From everything you’ve been telling me, he sounds like a keeper.”

“Violet, you know what this is all about,” she warned. This was just sex, lessons to help her get up to speed so she knew what she was talking about when she started teaching sex therapy to a bunch of incoming freshmen. The job would help her pay down her bills. Hopefully, she’d soon have enough equity to get a loan to purchase the house she wanted to convert into a family counseling practice. That’s all this was. A means to an end. She knew, personally, that getting close only led to heartache. “Besides, when have you ever started thinking about guys as keepers? You love being single. Love having a different guy every weekend.”

“I guess,” she said with a sigh. “But I don’t know. Maybe someday I’d like to find my very own Prince Charming.”

Danielle was a realist. A life in foster care had taught her not to dream. She didn’t believe in fairy tales, but if there was one man who came close to filling the shoes of Prince Charming, it was Jack. Rugged yet sweet, tough yet tender. Yeah, he played the role well, but that’s all it was for him, right? A role.

Stop wishing for more, girl!

“He has a brother,” Danielle supplied. “Two, in fact.”

“Oh yeah? Do tell.”

“Sam and Luke. From what he says, they seem pretty tight. Who knows? Maybe he’ll bring one of them by when he looks at the house with us tomorrow.”

“You think?” Violet asked, a new inflection in her voice.

“Sure.”

“So you and Jack, then,” she said, turning the conversation back on Danielle. “You think there could be more?”

Her heart wavered, but she quickly shut it down, zipped it up, and buttoned it tight. “No. He’s just helping me out for now. Life will go back to normal when he leaves.”

“Normal? You think you can go back to being asexual after him?”

She walked over to her sofa, picked up her Home Sweet Home pillow, and fluffed it. “No, I’m not saying that. I just mean we’ll each go our own way.” Her heart squeezed at that thought. As much as she tried to fight it, Jack was becoming so much more than simply a teacher to her. Just hearing his name, or thinking about him—which she found herself doing more and more often—had her pulse fluttering and her stomach taking flight.

“Okay, good, because having sex has been good for you.”

Technically they hadn’t really had sex yet, but they’d come close. Very close. Hot, tie-her-to-the-bed kind of close. Her body warming with memories, she put the pillow back and stepped away to admire it. “What makes you say that?”

“You’re happier, even if you are walking a little crooked.”

“Hey,” she protested with a laugh, her throat drying as her mind raced back to the way Jack had touched her. God, she was in so much trouble. “I am not.”

“No, not yet. But I bet you will be tomorrow. Seriously though, Danielle, this experience has been good for you.”

She examined her emotions and walked to the hall mirror to observe the new flush in her cheeks. It was true, she was happier. Definitely an interesting point of discussion for her class. “Endorphins,” she explained, the academic part of her understanding the physiological effects on her body. But the woman in her, well, she knew what was really going on.

“Whatever. All I know is if he leaves, I’m going to set you up with a guy I met last week at work. He’d be perfect for you.”

Danielle’s hand fell from her face. How the hell could she ever be with another man after Jack? The roar of an engine outside gained her attention. She hurried to her window and pulled her curtain back. Her heart did that familiar pitter-patter thing it always did when her gaze fell on him. He climbed out of a vintage Corvette, one she’d seen outside his dad’s shop the day she’d asked him to sleep with her.

“He’s here. I have to go.” She gave a little wave to him when he glanced up to see her.

“Okay, enjoy your meal at Lucien’s, and your dessert back home,” she teased.

Danielle slid her finger over the phone to power it down, then dropped it into her purse. She smoothed her hand down her little black dress, one she’d splurged on after work. The restaurant was elegant and upscale, which meant she needed to dress nice, but more importantly, she wanted to look good for Jack. Wanted to see the desire in his eyes when he saw her. And why’s that, Danielle? Do you want him to see you as more than a pupil?

Cripes, she needed to shut down that kind of thinking. He had a career to get back to and she shouldn’t wish for things she couldn’t have.

She buzzed him in and wrung her fingers together as she waited at her door. Nervousness, excitement, and a barrage of other emotions hit her as his shoes sounded on the stairs. Her heart beat faster as the pounding grew louder with his approach. When he reached the third floor, she saw him. Taking in his attire, a breath of air fluttered past her lips, and her parched throat dried even more at the handsome vision before her. She knew that once she went all the way with him, it was going to push her feelings over the edge.

As if they weren’t hanging on by a fingernail now.

Dressed in a navy suit that showcased his athletic form to perfection, he stepped up to her. She’d never seen this dressed-up version of Jack before. There were so many sides to this man, and she had to admit, she liked them all.

He smiled as his gaze leisurely traveled down her body, warming her from the inside out. “You look amazing,” he said.

“So do you.” She ran her hands down his tie, smoothing it and touching him as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Even though she wore heels, he still towered over her. She went up on her toes and drew in the soapy clean scent of his skin. Her fingers marched upward to stroke his freshly shaven face. They lingered there for a moment, a light brush that spread heat through her veins and blackened his already dark eyes. “Soft,” she whispered.

A smile played on his mouth. “That’s the only part of me that’s soft.” He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. God, I could get lost in his kisses. She touched the lapels on his suit, holding him to her and absorbing the warmth of his body. After a good, thorough kiss, he pulled back and ran his tongue over his bottom lip, like he was still tasting her. He briefly pinched his eyes shut and exhaled a sharp breath.

“Jesus, Danielle. I could barely function today,” he said, looking a little less composed as he glanced past her shoulder to the hall that led to the bedroom.

“Oh, why is that?” she asked innocently, even though she already knew the answer. Her day had been hell, too. She’d been unable to focus on anything except what it would feel like to lay herself wide open to him, to have him own her body.

To have him make love to her.

He touched her shoulder and ran the back of his knuckles down her arm. “Because all I’ve been able to think about is stripping you naked, climbing between your legs, and burying myself deep inside you. I’m dying to hear my name on your lips when you come for me again.”

A shiver moved through her, and she felt warmth flood her pelvis. “Jack.” She whispered his name, giving him a hint of things to come.

His mouth hovered over hers. “Yeah, just like that,” he said.