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is between us. The only rule is that
you’re comfortable with whatever we do. Okay?”
    She couldn’t figure out why Carson was being
so kind and giving, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in
the mouth, not until she decided for sure what she wanted to do.
“Friday,” she reiterated. “Thank you, Carson.”
    “My pleasure,” his deep voice rumbled.
    “Good night,” she sighed, not wanting to
break the contact but knowing she had to.
    “Sweet dreams, Lily. Think of me.” She heard
the click and then he was gone. Disconnecting, she tossed the phone
on her nightstand and curled her legs up to her chest. Her body was
still tingling everywhere and she groaned. She really needed to go
and clean herself up, and she would, just as soon as her skin
wasn’t quite so sensitive.
    She wanted to think about what she should do
and what she should say on Friday, but her mind wouldn’t cooperate.
Instead, images of Carson filled her brain, each one more erotic
than the last.
    She still couldn’t process the fact she’d
actually touched herself, made herself come while she’d been on the
phone with him. And he’d done the same. She’d heard his guttural
yell above her own cries of pleasure. She wondered what he looked
like when he came. He’d be all hot and sweaty and mussed.
    Lily shivered and closed her eyes. Best not
to think about that. She’d rest for a bit longer and then she’d get
up. Hugging her arms tight around herself, she gave into the
fatigue nipping at her and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Four
     
    Late Friday afternoon, Lily stared at the
phone for what seemed like the hundredth time. The bell over the
shop door rang and she sighed with relief. She knew she had to call
Carson, but she still hadn’t figured out what to say to him.
    True to his word, he’d stayed away yesterday,
but she knew that today was his limit. If she didn’t call him, she
expected to see him outside her door when she closed the store at
six o’clock. She glanced at her watch. That gave her less than half
an hour to figure out what to do.
    It wasn’t like her to be this indecisive.
Running a small business and raising a child on her own, she’d had
to be clear-thinking and deliberate. Carson, however, left her
feeling shaken, emotionally and physically.
    She couldn’t even call her two best friends,
Annabelle and Emma, to ask their opinions. What exactly would she
say to them? I’ve had phone sex with Carson
Granger and now I want to do even more things with him, and not
just for research! Then she’d have to explain why she needed
to research sex. They didn’t even know about her secret career. It
wasn’t something she was comfortable talking about, but she had a
feeling that was going to have to change in the near future. She
couldn’t keep her son and her best friends in the dark forever.
    Just thinking about it was giving her a
headache. Forcing a smile on her face, she greeted her customer,
and fifteen minutes later the gentleman left with a bouquet of
wildflowers for his wife.
    There was no one else around, so Lily did
something that she had never done before—she closed early. She
defiantly turned the sign over on the door and then locked it. The
metal clunk sounded overly loud. It was harder than she’d thought
it would be to head back to her cash register, tally the day’s
sales and start to fill out her deposit slip for the bank. She felt
guilty for shutting her doors early, even if it was only by a few
minutes.
    A sharp rap on the door made her jump,
causing her to drag her pen across the deposit book. She swore
under her breath. Now she’d have to fill out another slip. Sighing,
she raised her head, resigned to dealing with an impatient
customer.
    Instead, pale blue eyes filled with concern
met hers. Carson. Her eyes flew to the clock on the wall and back
to him. It was ten minutes to six. Knowing she couldn’t put off the
inevitable, she strode to the door. Ignoring her sweaty palms, she
turned