Read Online Certified Male by Kristin Hardy - Free Book Online Page A

in Perry’s voice.
    â€œIt’s not that,” Del said simply. “I feel like I let myself down by not trying. And I let everybody else down, too.”
    There was a silence and then a long sigh. “Okay, fine. You really want me to forward your application to the news desk, I’ll do it. But I’m making no guarantees.”
    â€œI’ll make my own.”
    Â 
    A T THE SOUND OF THE CLOSING bathroom door, Gwen’s eyes opened and she breathed a silent sigh of relief. He was out of the room. She might have had a momentary brain lapse the night before, but now she could get up, get dressed and get on with it. Time was a-wasting and Jerry was out on the loose with four and a half million in stamps. She didn’t have time to lie around. She moved to the edge of the bed, wincing at the slight soreness between her legs.
    And winced again at the thought of the night before.
    From the day she’d started having sex—at a respectablenineteen—she’d vowed no one-night stands. None of those cheap, tawdry scenes of waking up the morning after with a total stranger. And now, fueled by too many cosmos and too much Nina, she’d popped her one-night-stand cherry. It was just the sort of fiasco Joss would get involved in, coming to town for a serious purpose and getting distracted by sexy eyes and clever hands.
    Gwen paused and a slow smile stretched unbidden across her face. And what clever hands they were, not to mention the rest of the machinery that went with them. She wasn’t a novice when it came to having sex, but her interludes tended to be moderate, dignified. Not for her, wild monkey sex where the positions changed by the minute and the lovers clawed and gasped.
    At least, not until now.
    Yawning, she rose and began to sort her clothes out of the tangle on the floor. Then again, sex—however amazing—was her last priority right now. One night? Okay, she’d been restless lately. She could give herself one night. It was over, though. Today was for Jerry-hunting and she couldn’t lose focus. The stamps were the only things that mattered.
    Gwen slipped into her black lace underwear and hunted around for her bra. The ideal thing to do would be dress and beat a hot retreat—if only she weren’t dying to use the bathroom. How would Nina play it? At ease and in control, of course. Say good morning, go in and powder her nose and be on her way with a swagger. Not self-conscious, not in a million years. Nina ran the show.
    At the sound of the bathroom door opening behind her, Gwen clutched her clothing to herself in reflex action. Relax, she told herself, willing her arms to loosen up. Nina was totally comfortable being naked and would act that way.
    â€œGood morning,” she said and gave him a bold look.
    Del stared. “Um…”
    Gwen’s confident smile wavered. “What?” She touched her nose.
    â€œYour eye, it’s a little…”
    She whirled to inspect herself in the mirror over the bar. Everything was fine around her nose, but the white of one eye had a brilliant turquoise circle on it. One of the damned colored contacts that Joss had insisted she wear had moved while she’d slept. “Oh, for god’s sake,” Gwen muttered and went into the bathroom without a word.
    It was just as well, she figured as she pulled out the contacts and dressed. Forget about awkward segues, now she’d just be ready to roll. Hand on the doorknob, she took a deep breath and walked out into the room.
    Del had pulled on his jeans but hadn’t bothered to fasten the top button. His waistband hung tantalizingly open below the rock-hard ripples of his belly. She remembered the way the muscles had felt under her hand, with their light dusting of springy hair.
    Before she could speak, he walked over and pressed a kiss on her. “Good morning. Sorry for getting distracted before.”
    It didn’t matter that they’d spent