Lust and Other Drugs Read Free Page A

ignore her muse or to try to dictate what could
function as inspiration and what could not. She’d tried to push all
inappropriate visions of Chase out of her head, but she quickly realized it
wouldn’t be that easy. Her muse had promptly bitch-slapped her and refused to
do any more work until she capitulated and imagined him in all the poses she
needed for the books.
    “Business, eh? And here I thought you were looking for
pleasure,” he drawled.
    Anne was sure her temperature spiked another hundred
degrees. She was definitely looking for pleasure. From his hands, his mouth,
his— “That’s the same washboard you had in high school. Nothing special about
it. It’s not like I couldn’t use Google Images and find a million more where
that came from.”
    Watch the references, dumbass.
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Chase began slowly, as if contemplating
his reply. “If you could do that, why didn’t you? In the spirit of inspiration,
of course.”
    “You’ve always been too cocky for your own good.”
    “That’s what she said.” He smirked.
    Anne rolled her eyes and refused to be impressed. “Flesh is
always better in the real than in pixel. But if you don’t want me to use you, I
won’t.”
    He raised a brow. “Use me?”
    “You know what I mean,” Anne said tiredly. He was definitely
putting her through the paces. Not the paces she wanted to be put through, but
an ordeal nonetheless. She was heartily sorry for calling him a pussy.
    “See what happens when you impugn my manhood? I start acting
like a frat boy.” He shrugged helplessly, as if it were completely out of his
hands.
    “Oh no, you can’t blame your gutter mind on me.”
    “Sure I can. You’re the one who gave me a dirty story to
read when we were twelve.”
    “You were the one who’d already figured out how to get free
Skinemax instead of the Disney Channel in your room.”
    He waited for a moment. “Yeah, I got nothing. You win.”
    “I always win.”
    “Only because we’re here.” He pulled into the driveway and
turned the truck off.
    “Keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep,” Anne
said as she got out of the truck to see Gin Ettinger waiting on the porch.
    Gin was her best girl friend—and had a raging bean-on for
Chase. She had since freshman year of college. Four years she’d been pining for
him to notice her, and nothing. Chase was nice to her, accepted her as part of
his group of friends, but that was it. He didn’t even banter with her like he
did with Anne. He flirted a bit, but that was just Chase. Although he did call
her Tank, for the Tanqueray brand of gin.
    “Hey, Tank. What’s up?”
    Gin smiled prettily for him and got to her feet.
    Anne was sure if Gin didn’t register on Chase’s list as
fuckable, he couldn’t have any serious interest in Anne either. She sighed
aloud. Gin was gorgeous. She had blonde hair that was like spun gold, clear
blue eyes and full lips that drove most men nuts. Not to mention her petite
figure. Gin was dainty and feminine, something that Anne was not and didn’t
aspire to be.
    Anne hadn’t mentioned her recent discovery to Gin, and she
felt horrible about it, but not horrible enough to remedy the situation.
Partially because Anne wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She had to get her
own head straight before she sent Gin for a whirl. Unless she’d already found
the site herself.
    “I see you’ve been working hard. Anne’s just a slave driver,
isn’t she?” Gin grinned.
    “She’s a battle-axe.” He nodded. “The harridan even made me
carry her down the stairs.”
    “You won’t get any sympathy from a woman you call Tank.”
Anne laughed.
    “Oh, I think he will,” Gin disagreed.
    “See, that’s why you never get the upper hand. You show all
your cards,” Anne teased.
    “I’m just honest. What’s wrong with that?”
    What was wrong, indeed? She almost sighed again. “Nothing.
Except that he gets the drop on you every time.”
    “It’s a