could chalk up his lack of focus to the pain. Hell, he hadn’t even threatened a single one of his students with a slow and painful death tonight. He was definitely off his game.
“Don’t worry,” he answered. “I’ll take care of Grant’s problem right now.”
He ended the call and tossed the phone back on the seat. Flexing his fingers on the steering wheel, Dekker made an illegal U-turn. Drivers honked their car horns as he cut them off. It looked like his little Lexie was going to have to wait for him this time.
He had some business to take care of first.
* * *
Bags from various department stores and boutiques covered Alexis’ pale yellow comforter. Shopping with Callie was like Chinese water torture and bamboo shoots under your fingernails combined. Honestly, how many different styles of jeans could there freaking be? Let alone the sheer number of brands?
To make matters worse, everything that appealed to Alexis, Callie had laughed at and put firmly back on the rack. The terms “schoolmarm,” “frump,” and “virgin librarian” had been used multiple times. So in a moment of sheer frustration, Alexis had told Callie to pick whatever she wanted. Hence, the six bags of clothes.
“Remind me again. Why do I have to wear this?” Alexis asked. The lavender tissue paper crinkled as she unfolded it, revealing a red and black lace thong and matching bra.
“You’ve got to radiate confidence and sex appeal.”
“But he’s never going to see this,” Alexis said, dangling the thong and matching bra from her fingers.
As Callie pulled clothes out of the bags, laying the pieces side by side on the bed, she replied, “Ah, but you will know it is there.”
This was so not Alexis’ style. Cotton “grandma” panties and a good support bra worked fine for her. And where was the rest of the underwear? With the string up the back, she would definitely know it was there.
“With that satin and lace against your skin, you can’t help but move differently,” Callie said, running her hands up and down her body sensually.
She’d move differently, all right. Alexis could only imagine what Callie had on under her short, short skirt—if she was wearing anything at all. Callie was never at a loss for dates. Granted, lately most of the guys she brought home were from the theater, but she rarely brought the same one home twice.
“Any woman who has the guts to wear those,” Callie said, pointing to the lingerie, “has the guts to go to a street fight with a dangerous stranger.”
Unsure, Alexis stared at the lingerie.
“Just trust me on that,” Callie said, nudging Alexis into the bathroom. “Put them on.”
Once the door was securely shut, Alexis slipped on the bra and panties. Turning from side to side, she studied herself in the mirror. Wow. The thong was definitely going to take some getting used to, but the way the bra pushed her breasts up, she looked like she gained a full cup size.
Would Dekker notice? How would she stack up against the other women he dated? A sobering image of his dead ex-girlfriend flashed through her mind. That was what happened to the beautiful women in his life.
“Here,” Callie said, shoving a pair of jeans and a black top through the door. “Try these on.”
It took a lot of wiggling to get the jeans on. And buttoning them? Let’s just say there was some standing on tippy-toes, holding her breath. Low-slung, they didn’t cover the strap of her thong. And the square neckline on her sleeveless, silk black top showed just a hint of her bra strap. So much for Dekker not knowing that the red and black lingerie were there.
Feeling self-conscious, Alexis stepped out of the bathroom and smoothed her hands down her jeans. “I don’t know. This all looks too tight.”
“That’s the point,” Callie stated, nodding in approval.
The doorbell chimed. Panicked, Alexis glanced at the clock. It was only 7:30 p.m. Dekker was early? That so didn’t seem like his type. He
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