Page 33 of Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn 4)
I’m sorry, Lucy. I know you need more time before you see us as a team, but time is something we may not have without this step.
He kissed her temple. “I won’t say anything to anyone.”
She searched his face. “You promise?”
His gut twisted. “Yes.” Then he kissed her with all the feeling raging within him. She kissed him back just as passionately, as if the fire they lit could somehow burn away whatever wall was still between them.
They tore at each other: both angry and scared and just hungry enough for each other that it was an animalistic mating. They were two people trying to prove something to themselves while also giving in to a lust that could not be denied.
When they collapsed into each other’s arms, sweaty and spent, David felt better.
And worse.
Chapter Sixteen
Two weeks later, in the office of her home, Lucy ended an invigorating phone call with Technically Anonymous Pleasure and closed her laptop. She was feeling good about the sales her website was generating as well as how responsive the founders of the company were to her suggestions. Word of mouth was spreading fast. All they had to do now was keep the momentum going.
A highly rated radio program had contacted TAP and asked to interview Lucy. They hadn’t asked for her by name, but they’d wanted to speak to the woman who was writing the popular blog attached to the company. Lucy came up with an alternative. Her blog was growing in popularity, mostly because of the contributions from other users, so Lucy suggested the company hire a well-known sex therapist to take calls during the radio program. She said it would engage customers more. She sent the woman a generous basket of product and was pleased when she endorsed several on air. The show had been a huge success and titillating enough to be mentioned on every news station.
A few days after that, a national news show had sensationalized the story into a global threat against marriage, warning that if this type of technology were allowed to continue unchecked, everyone would soon have their own sexbot.
Completely ridiculous, but the most searched-for item on the company site the next day had been . . . sexbots. Lucy had joked that if they created one, she would not be the one to test-drive it.
I don’t really want to try out any of these toys anymore.
She hadn’t shared that last part with them. They’d been too busy watching the news about their company unfold to notice that she hadn’t posted a new review of an item to her blog since she’d returned home.
David had said he liked sex toys. When they’d been in Fort Mavis, he’d even said he couldn’t wait to come back and try some of them out. Somehow, and Lucy was at a loss for how, that had changed. Her business had become something neither of them talked about.
Lucy wanted to ask him why, but things were going so well between them that she didn’t. She felt guilty about how she’d spoken to him the night she’d received the nasty text. He had been generous, kind, and open about his feelings for her. And how do I repay that? By threatening to throw him out the first night he sleeps over.
I’m a real piece of work.
She stood up and walked over to the box that contained all the toys she hadn’t yet tried. How am I going to review the rest of these if I don’t try them out?
She laughed sadly into her hand. Talk about job stress I’ll never discuss with my friends. How is work? Oh, too many projects piling up.
Turning away from the box, Lucy walked to her window and scanned the area for David. He was in the round pen with the mare he was determined to reform. Tony had written the horse off. Wyatt had even warned his family to stay away from her, but David wasn’t giving up that easily.
David couldn’t turn his back on any creature in need, be it human or four-legged.
Is that why he’s here with me? What happens when I do finally pay him back? When he thinks I don’t need him anymore?
Don’t leave me, David. Please don’t leave me.
Two weeks with David in her bed, at her side, giving her reasons to smile each day, had changed some of Lucy’s thinking. In the beginning, she’d been grateful to have one more day with him. She’d savored the meals they shared, the nights of passion, and the dates he took her on. All while fighting back small panic attacks because he’d end a phone call abruptly when she entered a room or went into town without telling her where he was going. But the more time they spent together, the less she gave in to those feelings. David wasn’t hiding anything, except perhaps the name of the next restaurant he wanted to surprise her with. He was the good man he portrayed himself to be. A better person than I am.
David finished up with the horse, and Lucy turned away from the window.
I’m the only problem in our relationship.
Me and my fears.
I need to stop letting them control me.
Lucy walked back to the box and picked up the largest toy inside. It was the velvet base with the exchangeable mechanical dildo on top. She placed it on her desk, laid out the variety of attachable pieces in front of it, and sat down. She rested her chin on one hand and looked at it sternly.
You don’t scare me, you know.
You’re just a bunch of wires and silicone molds.
She glanced at the directions, then attached one of the dildos to the top. It had a tickler on its end that reminded Lucy of a mop of hair.
Not even sexy. More like something from outer space.
She absently ran her finger over the complicated arrangements of buttons on the front. And seriously, how much does something like you need to do?
As she brushed too hard against one of the buttons, the dildo started to spin. “Shit.” She tried to turn it off, but the button she’d pressed had sent the base into a vibration mode so powerful, the thing was hopping on her desk. She made a grab for it, pressed another button, and the dildo flew forward, slapping her across the face. She swore and lost her grip, and it hopped itself off her desk and crashed to the floor.
She scrambled onto her knees, trying to grab the damn thing. It eluded her first attempt, but she finally caught it. Despite how it wiggled for its freedom, she righted it and located the “Off” button. Swearing, she sat back on her heels and wiped a hand across her now sweaty brow. It was only then that she noticed David standing at the door.
There are moments in life that test a man. The sight of Lucy chasing a hopping machine with a dick waving from the top of it like a flag was probably the funniest thing David had ever seen. The expression on her face warned him not to laugh. He told himself she was probably embarrassed, and he shouldn’t have opened the door without knocking.
Then, because he was only human, he grinned and asked, “Tough day at work?”
She looked torn between laughing and crying. “Only a masochist would make something like this.”
David closed the door behind him and came to squat in front of her. A thought occurred to him that wiped the smile off his face. “Don’t ever try anything you don’t want to. No matter what anyone says.”
Lucy pushed the machine to one side. “They don’t make me try them. I thought it would be a good idea to know as much as I can about what I’m selling, and some are still in development, so my feedback helps.”
Feeling better, David bit back a smile. “What did you learn about this one?” She was still dressed, so he figured it couldn’t have been that much.
She glared down at the velvet-covered base. “They should label the buttons better.” She touched one of her cheeks. “And don’t put your face too close to it.” He coughed back a laugh, and her eyes narrowed. “It’s not funny. I was trying to turn it off, and it slapped me.”
There was no holding back the laughter then. David laughed until his eyes teared up.
Lucy took a moment but then joined in. She was soon laughing as hard as he was. Gasping to catch her breath, she said, “It literally slapped me across the face. Thank God I picked the small dildo.”
David roared and then stood, offering Lucy a hand
to help her up. “What a way to lose an eye. Try explaining that to our kids.”
Lucy gave him a funny look for a second, then fell naturally against his chest and continued to laugh. “Why the hell would they give it spring action? And what do those other buttons do?”
The questions piqued David’s interest. “Someone had to design that thing based on what people like. It’s in the production phase, right?”
“It’s already for sale on the company website.”
“Is it selling?”
