Read SweetlyBad for Free Online Page A

gotten
up, asking Auntie Erica for a glass of water, a bedtime story or a foot rub. A foot
rub for crying out loud. Erica had done it simply to shut them up.
    She sank into Tina’s microsuede sofa, kicking her feet up on
the coffee table. A Sex and the City marathon was in full swing on the
satellite. Perfect. Finally a little relaxation time.
    Lights flashed behind her. Erica quietly groaned.
    Tina bounced in minutes later, wearing a chef’s hat and
giggling like a teenager. “You have to see what I got.”
    Erica pasted on a smile while her sister dug around in a
shoulder bag.
    Tina proudly displayed a package of parchment paper. “The
host gave this stuff away free. It’s supposed to improve baking and make
cleanup easier.”
    Erica feigned ignorance. “Ah, cool.”
    “I can’t wait to make chocolate chip cookies on it.” Tina
patted the cardboard box. “The kids are going to flip.” She paused at the edge
nearest the kitchen, turning back as if she’d only just recalled Erica was
there. “How were they?”
    “A little hyper. I had some trouble getting them to bed.”
    Tina nodded knowingly. “It’s Brad’s fault. He’s been letting
them stay up to watch this one show.”
    “I’m beat.” Erica let a yawn rip, standing and stretching as
she did. “I need to head out so I can get some sleep.”
    “You’re beat?” Tina made a show of checking the wall clock.
“It’s like…not even twelve. You need to get out more, girl.” She waggled her
eyebrows. “You’re so uptight these days. You really do need to get laid.”
    Uptight? Out of the past month she’d given up three Fridays
and two Saturdays so Tina could have some fun. Erica wasn’t uptight, she was exhausted .
    And bored.
    “Brad knows a chubby chaser,” Tina said. “I could set you
up.”
    A chubby chaser ? Tina was a size twelve. Erica was a
size sixteen. They weren’t that different. Why did Tina insist on
fixating on Erica’s weight as the reason for her supposed unhappiness?
    Erica ground her teeth rather than hiss what she really
wanted to say. Calmly she replied, “I’ll handle my love life myself. Thanks.”
    Maybe it was time to get back on the wagon, she mused
on the walk to the car. Maybe Tina was right. Erica’s sex life had been
nonexistent since she dumped Jared. She suspected her ex had something to do
with that. The two dates she’d made since had canceled on her at the last
minute. Jared had gloated over her failure to attract anyone—curiously the very
next day.
    Her thoughts floated to the garage, where a certain hot
blond even now slept on her cot. Or maybe Drew was spray-painting obscenities
on the wall because she’d said he sucked at kissing.
    He really did suck at it. Maybe he was an expert at oral.
The guy had to have something going for him other than wealth to amass a
contact list that long.
    An idea formed in her wicked little mind. Would it be
considered taking advantage of him if she offered to pay him for sex? Erica
pursed her lips to keep from grinning. She rather enjoyed the thought of taking
advantage of the hot, arrogant, newly poor yuppie.
    This could work.
    But just in case these were the feverish ramblings of a
tired mind, she’d sleep on it and see how she felt in the morning.
    * * * * *
    Drew stared up at the stained ceiling tiles in the storage
room behind Erica’s office. The cot was the most uncomfortable thing he’d ever
slept on. But that wasn’t what kept him awake. It wasn’t that his mother had
marked him as a rogue witch and canceled his credit—though that did contribute to his insomnia. The primary issue keeping Drew from slumber was the
knowledge that his life was a lie.
    More than one woman had accused him of being shit in bed
when he called for assistance. Sure, several had failed to orgasm over the
years but he’d chalked it up to their problem. What if that wasn’t the case?
    Erica had complained about his kiss. That could have been
her method of getting back at him