Pleasure Prolonged by Cathryn Fox Read Free Book Online Page A

intention of playing with one now.
    Forgoing pleasantries, Erin muttered, “Excuse me,” through clenched teeth as she tried to neatly sidestep her.
    Deanne blocked her path, brushed her bleached blond hair from her face, and pasted on a plastic smile that was as fake as the conniving woman herself.
    “Did you have a nice weekend?” Deanne asked, dark lashes blinking over fiery green eyes as her gaze raked over Erin’s body, as though assessing the competition. “You sure seemed to have a nice time at the wedding.”
    Cripes, if looks could kill, Erin’s loved ones would be pulling out their funeral attire. The woman really had it out for her since Erin had landed the coveted position. And now that she’d also landed the very sexy, very slurpalicious, and much coveted partner, Kale Alexander, she’d managed to stoke the embers of jealousy brewing below Deanne’s cool, superficial surface.
    “I had a terrific weekend,” Erin said breezily, sailing past her. She gritted her teeth and picked up the pace. This was not the time to get into a pissing contest with Deanne. After changing her clothes for the hundredth time that morning, which had absolutely nothing to do with working closely with Kale, she had repeatedly assured herself, she was running a bit behind.
    Shadowing Erin, Deanne hurried her steps to keep up. The sudden throbbing in Erin’s head began beating a steady rhythm with Deanne’s spiked heals.
    “I know how important this position is to your career, Erin,” Deanne said in a clipped tone, ignoring the fact that Erin had no desire to pursue a conversation.
    Ice dripped from Deanne’s voice and seeped under Erin’s skin. Brrr…Erin hugged herself to stave off a shiver. Had the temperature around her just dropped a few degrees?
    “And I wouldn’t want you to do something foolish to mess it up,” Deanne continued.
    Yeah, right. Everything in her calculating voice clearly indicated that she prayed Erin had a category five screw-up. She suddenly wondered if that huge load of crap spilling from Deanne’s lips left a bad taste in her mouth.
    Okay, so maybe she did have an extra minute or so for a pissing contest. And yeah, maybe all the clothes she had tried on earlier that morning had something to do with Kale. So what!
    Drawing a fueling breath, Erin stopped mid-stride, twisted around, and questioned in a deceptively mild tone, “Something foolish?”
    Deanne came up short and nearly crashed into her. The fake, high-pitched chuckle coming from Deanne’s throat was more irritating than the sound of her neighbor’s tweaked-out import peeling out of the parking lot at the most ungodly hours. It curdled Erin’s blood and raised her pressure from simmer to inferno. As Erin conjured the ways she could put a stop to her neighbor’s antics, her gaze drifted to Barbie’s ample cleavage. She wondered what would happen if she let the air out of those imported inflatables. Would it shut Deanne down too?
    Erin slung her briefcase strap over her shoulder and stuck her hands in her coat pockets in an effort to resist the urge to inflict bodily pain on the other woman. She schooled her features into polite interest. “And what exactly is it that you think I would do that was foolish?”
    Even though Deanne pouted her full lips and batted her long, thick lashes innocently, she still couldn’t mask the look of disdain. Erin knew the woman had an agenda of her own. She made a mental note to be careful.
    “Why Kale, of course,” Deanne said matter-of-factly. “You two seemed pretty cozy at the wedding reception.”
    Erin wet her lips as the scandalous image of her doing Kale rushed through her mind.
    Deanne’s eyes gleamed dangerously. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that the director frowns on such behavior. Stepping out of line at the center, or breaking protocol, could cost you your job.”
    Well, well, a Barbie with a brain. What an unusual, if not dangerous, combination.
    Deanne cocked her