Say No To Joe? by Lori Foster Read Free Book Online

needed her, as much as she needed him.
    She reached for the other towel.

Chapter Three
    L ess than a minute later, Joe knew he’d made a serious tactical error, but it was too late now to retrench. Luna bent close to him as she gently blotted the towel over his shoulders and across his upper chest, along the length of his arms. He stared down at the top of her head while inhaling the flowery fragrance of her hair and the earthier scent of her body. He could feel her warmth and the soft touch of her breath.
    Unbelievably, his knees felt weak, so Joe widened his stance and braced one outstretched arm against the tile wall. If he let her get to him like this, the towel would soon prove inadequate covering. And she’d already made her feelings on his nudity plain. She didn’t like it.
    Or maybe she liked it too much. Either way, he didn’t want to push her too far too fast. She might just balk and walk out on him.
    Hesitating, Luna asked, “You okay?”
    No. “Yeah.”
    Lightly, she rubbed the towel lower, over his abdomen.
    He’d misjudged his own control by a long shot, he realized, as the old John Henry reared up to say hello.
    Of course, Luna noticed. Even covered by white terrycloth, a bobbing erection was a tad hard to miss. She made a face. “You really should control that, you know.”
    â€œCan’t.” Then Joe thought to add, “Especially if you’re going to talk about it.”
    â€œMy lips are sealed.”
    â€œDon’t talk about your lips either.”
    She wasn’t offended. In fact, she laughed.
    Joe could barely keep himself upright, and Luna was amused. “My back,” he said, and lust put such an edge into the two words that he sounded horribly pained rather than turned on. He was used to being playful with women, teasing while keeping ultimate control. With Luna, he felt like a berserk marauder. He couldn’t even spell control, much less utilize it.
    She moved behind him . . . and hesitated yet again. Joe held his breath until he heard her say, “I’m wondering . . . Who is Lou?”
    Annoyance over the damned tattoo made him antsy. “No one.” He wasn’t up to relating a long, ridiculous tale at the moment.
    The towel brushed over his back, down the length of his spine. She’d dried his front with a brisk, detached purpose, but with his back, she wasn’t really giving it her all, was sort of lingering over the task. “I saw the tattoo when I first got here. It says you love him.”
    Joe choked on a furious wave of indignation. “Not a him . Good God, woman, don’t start rumors like that.”
    â€œI’m not the one wearing that sentiment permanently emblazoned on my rear.”
    Damn it, he’d have to explain after all. Usually, he didn’t care enough to bother. But no way did he want Luna to get the wrong impression. “Don’t you dare laugh.”
    She made no promises. She bent to dry his legs, and Joe thought he might strangle for a whole different reason. Strike this one from the fantasy books; it was too difficult to enjoy. “Louise was another marriage-minded woman I used to date.”
    â€œWas?”
    Talking helped a little. It gave him something else to focus on other than her touch and scent and warmth. “I think I may have cured her of those ridiculous notions. Now, do you want to hear this or not?”
    â€œI’m listening.”
    Joe closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the story rather than the position of Luna behind him and all the places she touched. Was she dragging this out on purpose just to torment him? It wouldn’t surprise him. Her three-month rejection of him, despite their shared interest, proved she had a real mean streak. He could actually feel her breath on the back of his injured knee.
    â€œJoe?”
    Seeing no way around it, Joe rushed through his story. “I quit seeing Louise because she got too clingy, even