“No.Just…looking.”
The older woman laughed and lightly patted her arm. “This must be your first time, sweetie. Just relax and have fun. Don’t let me worry you, I’ve tried most everything in here, so if you have any questions, please let me know.”
“Um…yes.”
Grandma smiled as she watched Ace. “Well, you’re a lucky woman to have that for a playmate. Why, he’s simply delish.”
Delish?Grandma knewdelish ?
Okay, I’m in an episode of Twilight Zone with Grandma as the zookeeper. Just go with it, Rhea.
Grandma continued to study him. “You know, he reminds me of my dearly departed Herbert. Oh, hon, he was the best. He just lived for sex. Would throwhimself into it anywhere, anytime. In fact, we once got arrested for indecency on a subway while we were inNew York .”
This was way too much information.
“Have you two been arrested yet?”
“No,” Rhea answered quickly and honestly. At least she hadn’t been. With Ace…well, she wouldn’t make a bet on it.
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“Then you two ain’t doing it right.” Grandma winked at her.
Grandma was without a doubt the most frightening thing in this store.
“Oh, you’ll like those,” Grandma said to Ace, who had paused two aisles over. “Thestrawberry are the best, though my Herbert liked the lemon-flavored.”
Rhea looked to find Ace examining packages of edible panties. She inwardly cringed as he inspected them. “Don’t even think it, Ace.”
He held up one of the packages. “They have grape.” Then he looked to Grandma. “You ever try these?”
“The grape isn’t the best. They have a bit of a bitter taste to them.”
Ace put them back. “You said to try the strawberry?”
Rhea’s gaze narrowed as he picked up a package.Fine. Two people could play that. “You also have whips, right?” she asked the woman.
She nodded.
“Do you have nice, spiked ones?”
“Absolutely, sweetie.”
“No!” Ace said, putting down the panties and moving back toward Rhea. “No spiked nothing.”
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She arched a brow. “I can’t believe I’ve finally found something to make the big, bad Ace craven. What on earth could make you fear spikes?”
“A Goth girlfriend in high school who left lasting scars on my flesh. I don’t ever want to cozy up to another porcupine as long as I live.”
Rhea was amazed he’d admitted that. “You went out with a Goth chick?How unlike you.”
“Not really. I always had a thing for women in leather.” He looked meaningfully at a mannequin dressed in an extremely revealing leather corset that left its breasts bare except for two tiny leather pasties.
The expression on his face said he was picturing her in that getup.
Rhea decided to play fire with fire. Determined, she walked over to the rack of leather Speedos, which would have to be laughable on any male no matter how sexy or fabulous he was. She picked up one that was of a thong design and looked back at Ace, who grimaced.
“Trust me, baby, that would be like trying to cover two bowling balls with a slingshot.”
“Oh, that’s disgusting!”
He flashed her one of those taunting smiles. “But it makes you curious, doesn’t it?”
She hated to admit it, but he’d won this round. “No, it just makes me pity whatever woman ends up permanently shackled to you. Do womankind a favor, Ace, get neutered.”
“Oh, no, honey,” Grandma said. “No one should neuter something as fine as him. Take my word for it.
I’ve seen lots of handsome men in my day, but yours…He’s definitely worth keeping around.”
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“See, she likes me.”
Rhea bit her tongue to keep from saying Ace should train Grandma for Bender. But rule one was never to disclose an agent’s mission to an unknown no matter how harmless he or she appeared. Words could kill even faster and more effectively than a handgun.
Rhea took a deep breath and looked around. “So what appeals to you, Ace?”
He picked up a jar of chocolate body paint that even came with its own paintbrush and came to stand next to her. In that moment, there was something extremely compelling about him and the soft way he was looking at her.“Rhea al dente.”
An unexpected shiver went over her and she knew it was caused by the hot, seductive curve of his mouth. Ace Krux was a man to be reckoned with.
“If you like that, we have a sample,” Grandma said as she brushed past Ace.
She went to the shelf and opened a tester jar, then took a white, plastic spoon and ladled out a bit of chocolate into a small plastic cup.
When Rhea reached for it, she pulled the cup back. “Give me your finger.”