Guilty Pleasures: A Collection by Janelle Denison Read Free Book Online Page B

gorgeous good looks, a devastatingly charming grin and sometimes flirtatious personality, but he was level-headed, insightful, always dependable, and she absolutely loved being with him. He was also the standard in which she’d judged all the men she’d dated over the years, which was most likely why they’d all fallen short.
    Leaning back in her chair, Alyssa closed her eyes and Shane’s sexy image was already there in her mind—from his roguishly long brown hair, to those rich, seductive brown eyes of his, to that lean, athletically toned body that made him all male. Her pulse quickened and she immediately snapped her eyes back open before her sensual thoughts could drift into more forbidden territory where Shane was concerned.
    She pressed a hand to her rapidly beating heart, wishing that other men had the same breath-taking affect on her as Shane did. She’d been attracted to him for years, wanted him with a secret lust and soul-deep yearning that seemed to only grow stronger as the years passed—and she’d done her best to keep her desire for him to herself. Ultimately she was afraid of giving into those romantic feelings for her
best friend
and taking the risk of things not working out between them and ruining their strong, lifelong friendship.
    Shane was the only stable person in her life, the one she turned to whenever she needed someone to talk to or lean on. He was her rock, the one she trusted implicitly, and she’d be completely devastated if anything ever came between them. Like an intimate relationship she screwed up because of her own personal hang-ups. He was too important to her to ever take that chance, but that rationale didn’t stop her from fantasizing about what could have been.
    A soft ping sounded from her computer, and she glanced at the screen to find that a new Instant Message had appeared for her.
    TheOne4You : Hi.
    She didn’t recognize the user name and was fairly certain that the other person had contacted her by mistake. Then again, she used her Instant Messaging for business to keep in quick contact with clients, and she supposed it was possible someone had changed their user name. She typed out a response to find out.
    IshopForYou : Hi, yourself. Who is this?
    TheOne4You : Someone you’ve known for a while now.
    She frowned, curious as to why the person was being so secretive, and how he’d been able to contact her.
    IshopForYou : How did you get my IM address?
    TheOne4You : A mutual friend of ours. And before you ask who, I swore I wouldn’t tell the name of the person who gave me your user ID. It’s a good friend of yours, and I can assure you they wouldn’t have given it to me if I wasn’t a nice, trust-worthy kind of guy.
    She smiled, undeniably intrigued.
    IshopForYou : Do I know you?
    TheOne4You : Yes.
    IshopForYou : So, we’ve met before?
    TheOne4You : Yes. But I’m not quite ready to reveal who I am. For now, let’s just say that I’m your secret admirer.
    Alyssa had never had a secret admirer before, and she found the prospect of being courted by a mysterious man very sexy and exciting. She read his user name again, TheOne4You , and felt giddy deep inside.
    TheOne4You : I want you to know that I’m very attracted to you and have been for some time now. I thought we could get to know one another through Instant Messaging before we meet in person . . . if that’s alright with you.
    She grinned, her fingers automatically flying over the keyboard with a reply.
    IshopForYou : Sort of like a blind date over the internet?
    TheOne4You : Yes. But I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable in any way.
    She appreciated his concern and sincerity, which said a lot for his personality and gave her a bit of assurance that he wasn’t some deranged on-line stalker. His posts so far had been amicable, and he’d given her no reason to feel threatened in any way. With her new resolution in place, she decided she was going to enjoy a bit of flirtatious fun with her