Pursuit

by Chance, Lynda

  “There are more causes of atrophy than menopause, you know. Lack of estrogen for one. Have you ever heard of the saying ‘use it or lose it’?” Heidi seemed intent on goading her, but Lauren continued to study the chart on her screen. “I’m serious, if you don’t do it, your estrogen levels will drop.”

  “That’s pure bullshit,” Lauren laughed, knowing that she’d be able to get back to work sooner if she’d take the time to humor Heidi for awhile.

  Heidi tapped the back of Lauren’s chair and then crossed her arms over her chest. “Seriously, you need to do something. You hardly ever go out with us, and I know you haven’t dated anyone since surfer boy.”

  The laughter died from Lauren’s lips. “Yeah, that was a mistake.”

  “It’s always a mistake to date a surfer. Nothing good can come of it. But since you come from the Midwest, you couldn’t have known. But now you’ve learned the lesson. You’ll always come second behind the most important thing in their lives. Waves.”

  Lauren nodded her head in pained agreement and Heidi continued, “It’s not like they can keep a job, because they’ll quit at the drop of a hat instead of missing a strong south wind.”

  Lauren wasn’t so quick to judge them all as one and keeping half her concentration on her work and the other half on the conversation, she said, “I’m sure there are men who surf who also manage to hold down a job. Just because you and I got burned by a couple of bums, doesn’t mean they’re all bad.”

  “Oh, trust me. They’re all bad. You just hit on the key difference. Men who surf are just that; men who surf once in a while. Surfers are the ones who chase waves and don’t give a shit about anything else, not really. Scott and Robert were surfers, capisce?”

  “Yep. I see the difference.”

  Heidi studied her intently and turned the subject back to where it had been going before she got derailed. “So how long has it really been since a man has touched you?”

  Even though Lauren knew that her friend was asking how long it had been since she’d had sex, she took the question at face value and immediately thought of the man at the coffee shop yesterday. He’d touched her. She knew he had because she’d felt it all the way to her toes. Her skin still tingled from where his fingers had locked around her arm. It was a pity he’d been such a douche and was only interested in one thing, because she couldn’t deny that the thought had definitely been in her mind as well.

  But unfortunately, she wasn’t a slut.

  Damn. Why wasn’t she a slut?

  Surely she could have learned to be one for him. That touch. That voice. That tall, hard body incased in boots and blue jeans. Holy hell, if there was any guy who warranted her becoming a slut, it was him. But she’d let him go, and now she had no way of getting in contact with him again, even if she wanted to.

  Heidi waved her hand in front of Lauren’s face and snapped her fingers. “Hey. Are you holding out on me? Not telling me something? You’ve been sleeping with somebody?”

  “No.” Lauren grimaced and shook her head.

  “So what was the look for?”

  “Nothing.” Lauren finally gave up and pressed a button to save her work and then swiveled in her chair to fully face her friend. “I met a seriously hot guy yesterday.”

  Heidi put her hand to her chest and dramatically acted as if she were about to fall to the floor. Then she sat down on Lauren’s desk and crossed her legs. “Spit it out.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. He was hot. We were at the coffee shop, we checked each other out, he followed me to the back of the store and proceeded to try to get me to meet him later for sex.”

  “No fucking way!”

  “Oh yeah, he did.” Lauren underlined.

  “You have all the damn luck! So what was wrong with him?” Heidi questioned.

  Lauren’s mouth flattened in lines of a sulk. “You mean, besides the fact that he was an asshole who only wanted to screw me?”

  “Well, yeah, besides that. You going to blame him for thinking you’re hot?”

  “Well, no,” Lauren was forced to admit.

  “Well, what then?”

  Lauren stared at her friend. “Have you ever known me to just sleep with somebody for what … the relief of it?”

  “Yeah, the relief of it, and no, I haven’t known you to. But I’m telling you.” Heidi narrowed her eyes. “Vaginal atrophy.”

  “Shut up.”

  “You shut up. You need to get laid, Lauren.”

  “I don’t have his name or number or anything, even if I was as … non-discerning as you are.” She gave her friend a look and Heidi only smugly smiled and nodded her head as if she fully agreed.

  Lauren laughed, “Yeah, I tried to put that nicely.”

  “Well done, but next time, don’t screw up so badly. If a dude’s as hot as you’re describing, you have to at least get his number, you know!”

  “All right. I hear you loud and clear. Maybe you can start giving me lessons on snagging a guy for … good times,” Lauren joked, tongue-in-cheek. “But it will have to wait a few weeks, I have to get this project finished or I’ll have no life and I’ll be continually stressed about it,” she hinted, trying to get back to work.

  “Blah, blah, blah.” Heidi lifted a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “I know you’re not serious about lessons so I’m not going to get too excited.” Heidi looked put out and then changed the subject. “You know that new guy from Florida is hot for your tail, right?”

  “Hot for my tail? Seriously, you’ll never get married if you don’t tone it down.” Lauren studied her friend. “Nico? The guy in sales?” She made a face and shook her head. The guy gave her the creeps. “He already asked me out and I turned him down.”

  “I want him if you don’t,” Heidi said.

  “Be my guest.”

  “And I damn well will get married,” Heidi argued. “Just because I act like a slut in front of my friends doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to do it in front of potential fathers-of-my-future-children.”

  Not missing a beat, Lauren said, “That’s good because guys have a built-in slut radar or something, you know that, right?”

  “Yeah, I know. But they don’t all have a radar—” She stopped as if waiting for Lauren to ask.

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll bite. Which ones have a radar and which ones don’t?”

  Heidi glanced down at her french manicure and wiggled her ass on the desk as if she were settling in for the long haul, ready to impart knowledge of an almost biblical proportion. “Well, in my experience, your average beta-type male doesn’t have one. Your typical alpha-male, of course, does.”

  “And you know this, how?”

  “God, you’re really just as sweet and innocent as you come off to be, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not innocent, Heidi. That ship sailed a long time ago.”

  Heidi shook her head in disbelief. “Could have fooled me, but whatever. Do you want to know or not?”

  “Sure. For kicks, I guess. Share your wisdom, oh, slutty one.”

  Heidi cut her eyes at Lauren. “Watch it.”

  Lauren blew out a breath and looked at the clock on the wall. “I’m sorry. Share your wisdom, Miss Voice-Of-Experience.”

  “That’s better. Okay. Beta males don’t have a clue. If you go by the three-date rule, they’ll just think you’re a decent girl. Alphas, on the other hand, know all about the three-date rule and they’ll be instantly suspicious if you sleep with them on the third date.”

  “Three date rule?”

  “Oh, come on, Lauren. Seriously?”

  Was this three-date rule something Lauren had missed in college? Something the sorority girls passed down that she’d never heard about because she wasn’t affiliated with them? “I’m serious. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you telling me there’s an unspoken rule that women can have sex on the third date and still retain their dignity?”

  “Yes. And everybody knows that a sign of a slut is if a woma
n has sex before the third date.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Lauren said.

  “How could you have missed it?” Heidi fired back.

  Lauren shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. By being in a long-term relationship for most of my college years and never having had a friend quite like you until I came to work here.” Lauren smiled at her friend to soften the blow.

  “Well, it’s a good thing you have me now! I won’t let you go astray. So here’s the thing. Like I said, an alpha knows all about the rule, so if you’re dating an alpha, you have to wait longer than three dates. Probably like five or six.”

  Lauren was getting extremely bored with this conversation and needed to get back to work but she played along. “Good to know. What else?”

  “Basically, your alpha-male is so experienced and has slept with so many women that he’s a suspicious animal. You have to clean up all signs of prior men in your life and you have to pray that you never run into one of your ‘flings’ while you’re out with him. Because if you do, he’ll peg the guy right off as someone you’ve slept with.”

  “So this is what you do?”

  “I’m not that slutty, Lauren. I don’t have a trail of past lovers behind me. Besides, my plan is to find a nice beta-boy who won’t know the difference and will worship the ground I walk on.”

  “But really, you’re saying that alphas are just out to sleep with a shit-ton of women but betas are your marriage material?” That was actually good information to know and Lauren was going to file it away.

  “Pretty much. I’m not saying that alphas don’t want to get married. Someday. That’s the key word. They want nothing more than to bang a long list of women, probably into their mid-thirties, and then at some point when their own mortality is staring them in the face, they’ll pull a double standard and try to find a good girl to marry. And the bastards can always tell an inexperienced girl from an experienced one. Trust me on this. It’s why you should have fun with alphas, but only set your heart on a beta.”

  “But aren’t betas supposed to be boring?”

  “Oh, my, no. Not necessarily. A lot of them are super good-looking, but they’re just shy. You find one of those who will treat you right, and it’s marriage time.”

  “So how do you tell the difference between a beta and an alpha?”

  “The alpha is the one who acts like he’s God’s gift to women.” When her friend said that, Lauren got a shivery feeling in her stomach as Heidi blathered on. “The beta may look as if he is, but he won’t act like it. The alpha is the one who expects sex right off the bat because that’s what he’s used to. An alpha knows what he wants and goes after it, balls to the walls.”

  “Like the guy yesterday,” Lauren mumbled under her breath.

  “Yeah, probably so. If he flat out tried to get you to go home with him the first time he met you, the dude is an alpha. Stay away from him. Don’t have sex with him, because nothing will come of it and you’ll only get hurt.”

  “But I thought you told me that I should be having sex with someone? And that alphas are good for having a good time with. Why not someone like him? I mean, if all I’m after is sex.” Which was still up for debate, but Lauren wanted to know Heidi’s reasoning.

  Heidi tsk-tsked. “Because I know you, Lauren. You wouldn’t have sex just for the fun of it. I can advise you to do it, and you can lie to me and tell me you’re going to, but trust me, I know it ain’t going to happen.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  Heidi gave her a sly look. “Oh, honey. I’m always right about stuff like this.”

  ****

  On Thursday, mid-morning, Lauren sat her stuff down at her favorite table and lowered herself into the chair, blowing on her coffee. She looked across the room and her eyes clashed violently with the man who sat facing her. Him. His eyes held hers and refused to release her, and a thousand butterflies went crazy in her stomach, trying to get free. Her hand began to visibly tremble, and she sat the cup down before she spilt her coffee.

  The dude wasted not a second, and got up and came across the room. He pulled out the chair opposite her, sank down with his legs spread wide, crossed his arms and put them on the table in front of him, and leaned in toward her.

  He stared solidly into her eyes without saying anything, and Lauren began to hyperventilate. When he remained silent, she felt her eyes widen and she finally found her voice. “What are you doing?”

  His eyes dropped to her lips before finding her gaze again. “Not taking ‘no’ for an answer.” A cocky, mirthless smirk twisted his lips and the force of his commanding presence sizzled dangerously from across the table.

  Chapter Two

  Lauren could feel his sexual magnetism, even with the space that separated them. It was so incredibly strong, and undoubtedly one of the reasons why he was so self-confident. A thought hit her: Alpha.

  Her stomach made an odd kind of flip and she was aghast to feel a hot, liquid heat in her midsection, even as silent alarm filled her.

  Her mouth opened of its own volition. “I’m not sleeping with you.” Her eyes widened and her fingers gripped the table. Oh, my God. Had she just said that?

  A hint of laughter came from his throat and he raised his brows, his eyes raking over her as if she were the kind of dessert he’d been waiting his whole life for. “All right.”

  Still dismayed that she’d voiced her thought out loud, his casual agreement combined with the rapacious glitter coming from his eyes caused immediate suspicion. “You’re okay with that?”

  His gaze held a sheen of purpose: his eyes reflected a seductive promise as he waited a second too long before answering. “Sure.”

  Liar. He was lying. She knew he was.

  But she’d put her cards on the table so now she could play along for a bit. “Okay,” she breathed out. She licked her lips and tried to think of something to say to break the loud, pulsing silence that beat between them. “So, you know my name.” She arched an eyebrow as she thought better of what she’d just said. She was probably giving him too much credit. “You do remember my name?”

  His features turned sharp and assessing, but something in them was unfathomable. “Sure do,” he answered with an air of placid ease that Lauren didn’t buy.

  She narrowed her eyes on him with a hint of disbelief. “What is it?”

  He squinted as he looked away for a moment, as if he were trying to figure something out. His fingers tapped on the table. Lauren’s nerves wouldn’t steady as she looked at his long, tanned fingers. They had masculine, blunt nails and appeared tough and callused, as if he worked with them out of doors. He turned a teasing gaze back to her. “Let’s see. Something with an ‘L’. Lisa, Linda, Leanna, something like that.”

  Lauren gave him a look that was meant to shoot daggers, but she was afraid she’d failed miserably. He grinned and as quickly as a snake striking, reached across the table and grabbed her hand, as if it was his to take. He laced his fingers through hers until the heat of his palm was searing into hers and he rasped in a heated tone, “Lauren.”

  From the touch of his hand, she felt electricity course down her entire length and pool between her legs. Her insides felt like liquid marshmallow, and the weakness that overtook her body left her with no words and barely enough oxygen.

  “Do you want to know my name?” He asked as he stared at her, his hand holding hers hostage in an unyielding grasp.

  She took a shuddering breath as his deep, dark voice slid down her spine and his callused palm against hers made thinking almost impossible. “I suppose … there’s no way out of it.”

  He gave her a questioning look as if it was decision time. “Yeah, there is. You can start screaming at the top of your lungs and I guarantee that the two cops sitting behind you will come running.”

  With the full force of his attention zeroed in on her, it took Lauren a moment before his statement sunk in. And when it did, she was discomfited and surprise dazed her. “Are you ser
ious? Are there two cops behind me?”

  “Maybe.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe not.” His fingers tightened around hers. “But you just lost your window to scream.” His thumb softly caressed the back of her hand as his eyes devoured her. “My name’s Logan Crenshaw.”

  Logan Crenshaw. A strong, masculine name. It suited him. Lauren let the name sink in and memorized it quickly as if it might have some major importance in her life. “Hi.”

  A dizzy current rushed through her as he scrutinized her with a smoldering flame. “Lauren …” His voice trailed off with a question as if he expected her to supply her last name post-haste.

  “Lauren Jacobs.” Was she certifiably insane? And then she made herself acknowledge the question that had been beating through her system since she’d glanced up and seen him a few minutes ago. “Did you know I’d be here today?”

  He wore a blank, impassive stare. “I had a hunch.”

  At his answer, Lauren quickly gauged where he might have received his ‘hunch’ and she glanced at the teenage boy behind the counter with a penetrating look. “I should turn him in.”

  “Nah. He knows I’m harmless.”

  Lauren turned back and glanced pointedly at where Logan still had her hand captured in his, and then into his eyes. “Are you?”

  He didn’t pretend to misunderstand her. “Harmless?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sure,” he answered succinctly.

  A shiver ran through her. “May I have my hand back?”

  “Absolutely.” His grasp only tightened around her, negating his answer, while he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tossed it between them. “Just as soon as you key your number into my cell.”

  A ribbon of sexual curiosity cast a spell over Lauren. “You’re holding my right hand.” She glanced down at his smart phone that wasn’t the same as hers. On a normal day, she’d have enough brainpower to figure it out. With him holding her hand? No way. “And I’m not used to your phone.”