So Into You Read Free Page A

bit,
since even though he'd been dating Joan, Phil's attentions hadn't changed in
frequency. In some ways she felt guilty that she used Phil to run errands or
get coffee. But she couldn't see how such little things could have disrupted a solid
dating relationship. If, in fact, it had been solid to begin
with.
    So she offered her conscience that
small sop and gave herself a mental bitch-slap for being girly enough to think
Phil's sweet charm was cute. Followed by another double-bitch-slap when she
realized it made her feel all tingly, like she was back in high school.
    He certainly wasn't hard on the
eyes. His clothes fit his body admirably, whether casual Friday attire or not.
He could fill out a suit better than most men, and she'd already fielded a few
questions from her co-workers about sharing her devoted minion. All in good
fun, of course. He wasn't her minion or anything else, just a nice guy who
liked to make women smile.
    Nobody knew that beneath the
professional veneer, Casey had no wish for a man, sweet, charming, good-looking
or otherwise.
    She grabbed the closest container
from her neatly organized fridge and slipped out of her work clothes as the
meal was heating. Afterward, there were some projects she wanted to review and
that would kill most of her evening.
    It wasn't unpleasant or dull
drudgery—there was a glass of her favorite wine beside her couch and she was
encased in the comfort of her soft robe. The mellow sounds of her new Lady
Antebellum CD hummed from her sound system. Most of the time she didn't bother
turning on her television, but now and again she'd indulge in a movie or get
caught up with some of those guilty pleasure shows she'd set the DVR to record.
    Tonight, though, was for some
uninterrupted focus work, and it was with a satisfied sigh that she closed the
last folder and saved the file after a couple of productive hours with her
laptop.
    She stretched, realizing it was
getting late. The possibility of a shower loomed, but a bath would be even more
enticing. Then there was the question of did she really want to wait until it
filled?
    Draining her wine, she turned off
the lights in the living room and walked into her bedroom. It was dark, lit
only by the glow of the night-light plugged in by her door.
    Gentle rays of silver dusted the
curves of her body as she unfastened her robe and stood next to the full-length
mirror on the wall trying to decide what to do.
    Her own reflection caught her eye
and she turned, knowing what she would see, but intrigued by the muted traces of
light dancing on her skin. She had ample curves; a woman's body with the dips
and valleys that whispered of sensual interludes and the pleasures of a man's
touch caressing them.
    She licked the taste of wine from
her lips, wondering at the sudden shiver of need that tightened her nipples
into hard buds.
    A vision of Phil Cooper darted
through her mind, following on the heels of her sudden sexual awareness. If he was there right now…
    But he wasn't.
    She was—as she had been for going on
four years now—alone.
    Moving to the nightstand, she took a
worn photo album from the drawer. It was filled with photos taken the year
after she graduated from college.
    Casey smiled as she touched the
photos, not needing light to know what was there. She felt a familiar crease in
the paper and stopped. Beneath her fingertips was the reason she was still
alone.
    If she turned on the light, she knew
what she would see. Dark hair, rugged, a short beard surrounded by a day's
worth of stubble, and rippling muscles beneath his open shirt. The term beefcake fit him to a T, but she'd always been drawn to his eyes. Sure, the smoking hot
body was a benefit she'd appreciated many times. But it was the way he looked
at her that had captured her, body and soul.
    His cool blue eyes pierced her heart,
stirring the fire within her and making her wet, aching inside. Just thinking
of him made a shudder of desire roil low in her belly and between her