stranger by megan hart - chapter sampler
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DID YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK WITHOUT A COVER?If you did, you should be aware it is stolen propertyas it was
reported unsold and destroyed by a retailer.Neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment
for this book.
First Published 2009First Australian Paperback Edition 2013ISBN 978 174356510 0
STRANGER 2009 by Megan HartPhilippine Copyright 2009Australian Copyright 2009
New Zealand Copyright 2009
Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilisation of this work in wholeor in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now knownor hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or inany information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission ofthe publisher, Harlequin Enterprises, Locked Bag 7002, Chatswood D.C. N.S.W.,
Australia 2067.
This book is sold subject to the condition that shall not, by way of trade orotherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the priorconsent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it
is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposedon the subsequent purchaser.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in anyform. This edition is published in arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A..
This is a work of ction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either theproduct of the authors imagination or are used ctitiously, and any resemblanceto actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales isentirely coincidental.
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Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.. All rights reserved.
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I was looking for a stranger.The Fishtank wasnt my usual hangout, though Id been
inside it once or twice. Recently redecorated, it sought tocompete with a bunch of brand-new bars and restaurants that
had opened in downtown Harrisburg, but though the tropi-
cal theme and aquariums were pretty and the drinks cheap
enough, the Fishtank was too far away from restaurant row
to really compete. What it did have that the other, newer barsdidnt, was the attached hotel. The Fishtank, where you hook
em, was sort of a joke with the young and single crowd of
central Pennsylvania. Or at least with me, and I was young.
And blessedly, purposefully, single.
Scanning the crowd, I wove my way through the closely
set tables toward the bar. The Fishtank was filled, literally,with people I didnt know. One would be the perfect stranger,
emphasis on perfect.
So far, I hadnt seen him, but there was still time. I took a
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above the tops of my stockings. My panties, of even wispier
lace, rubbed me as I shifted.
Tregs Pale Ale, I told the bartender, who passed me a
bottle with a nod.Compared to many of the women in the Fishtank, I was
dressed conservatively. My black skirt was cut fashionably
just above the knee, my blouse silky and formfitting, but in
the sea of low-riding jeans and navel-baring T-shirts, spa-
ghetti straps and hooker heels, I stood out. Just the way Iwanted.
I sipped my beer and looked around. Who would it be?
Who would take me upstairs tonight? How long would I
have to wait?
Apparently, not long. The seat next to mine had been
empty when I sat, but now a man took it. Unfortunately, itwas the wrong man. A stranger, yes, but not the one I was
waiting for. The guy had blond hair and a gap between his
two front teeth. Cute, but definitely not what I wanted. Also
unfortunately, he didnt seem to take a hint.
No, thanks, I said when he offered to buy me a drink.Im waiting for my boyfriend.
Youre not waiting for your boyfriend. He said this with
unshakable confidence. Youre just saying that. Let me buy
you a drink.
I have one already. I gave him points for persistence, but
I wasnt here to go home with a frat boy who thought notjokes were the height of humor.
Okay, Ill leave you alone. Pause. NOT!
He laughed, slapping a thigh. Cmon. Let me buy you a
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Frat Boy and I turned, and both our jaws dropped. Im
pretty sure we each had different reasons. His was probably
surprise at being wrong. Mine was in delight.
The man standing next to me had the dark hair and blue
eyes Id been looking for. The earring. The jeans, deliciously
worn in all the right places and the white T-shirt with a
leather jacket over it. I was seated on a high bar stool and he
still towered over me. I guessed him to be at least four inches
over six feet, if not more.Very, very nice.
My stranger flicked his hand like he was brushing away
Frat Boy. Gwan, now. Go.
Frat Boy, to give him credit, didnt try to make excuses.
He just grinned and got off the stool. Sorry, man. You cantblame me for trying, can you?
My stranger turned to look at me, and his blue-eyed gaze
roamed over my every inch before he answered. No. He
sounded considering. I dont guess I can.
My stranger took the vacated seat. He held out the hand
not gripping the glass of dark beer. Hi. Im Sam. Dont say
Sam I am,or Ill toss you back to that doofus.
Sam. The name suited him. Before he gave it I mightve
imagined him as anyone, but once he did I could think of
him as nobody else.
Grace. I shook his proffered hand. Nice to meet you.What are you drinking, Grace?
I lifted my bottle. Tregs Pale Ale.
How is that?
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I havent finished the one I have, I said, but with the
smile I hadnt given Frat Boy.
Sam leaned in. Cmon, Grace. Itll put hair on your chest.
Uh-huh. Do I look like I want hair on my chest?Sam blatantly eyed the front of my blouse. Without see-
ing the chest in question, Im afraid I cant say.
I laughed. Riiiight. Try again.
Sam gestured to the bartender and asked for two more
bottles of the pale ale. For when youre done with that one.I didnt take the second bottle. I cant, really. Im on call.
Are you a doctor? Sam tipped back the last of his beer
from his glass and pulled a bottle toward him.
No.
He paused, waiting for me to say more, but I didnt. He
drank, swallowed. He gave the sort of manly grunt and lip-smack guys make when they drink beer from bottles and are
trying to impress women. I watched him without speaking
and sipped from my own bottle, wondering how he meant
to do this. I really hoped hed make it convincing enough for
me to go upstairs with him.So. Youre not here to drink, then? Sam eyed me, then
turned on his stool so our knees touched.
I smiled at the touch of challenge in his tone. Not
really. No.
So He paused, as if thinking. He was very good. So
what youre saying is, lets say a guy, oh, bought you a drink.Okay.
Before he knew you werent here to drink.
I smiled again, holding back a laugh. Sure. Lets say that.
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I pushed the bottle hed bought me toward him. I guess
that would depend.
Sams slow grin was a heat-seeking missile sent straight
between my thighs. On what?On if he was cute or not.
Slowly he turned to show off his profile, then to the other
side until he finally looked at me head-on. Hows this?
I looked him over. His hair, the color of expensive black
licorice and spiked on the crown, feathered a bit over hisears and against the back of his neck. His jeans had rubbed
to white in interesting places. He wore black, scuffed boots
I hadnt noticed before. I looked back up to his face and the
quirking mouth, the nose saved from being too sharp only by
the way the rest of his features came together. He had brows
like dark wings, arched high over the center of his eyes andtapering to nothing at the outside corners.
Yes. I leaned closer. Youre cute enough.
Sam rapped the top of the bar with his knuckles and wa-
hooed.The noise turned heads, but he didnt notice. Or he
pretended not to. Damn. My mama was right. I am purty.He wasnt, really. Attractive, but not pretty. Still, I couldnt
help laughing. He wasnt what Id been expecting, but
wasnt that the point of meeting a stranger?
He didnt waste any time.
Youre very pretty, Sam, beer finished in record time,
leaned to murmur in the vicinity of my ear.His lips tickled the sensitive skin of my neck just below
my lobe. Already primed by the fantasy, my body reacted
at once. My nipples pushed against the lace of my bra and
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little like soap. A whole lot like yum. I wanted to lick him.
Thanks.
We each sat back on our stools. Smiling. I crossed my legs
and watched his gaze follow the hem of my skirt as it rose to
give him a glimpse of bare thigh. His eyes widened in sat-
isfactory appreciation. His tongue slid along his bottom lip,
leaving it glistening.
He looked into my eyes. I dont suppose youre the type
of girl to go upstairs with a guy she just met, even if he iscute as all hell?
Actually, I told him, matching his low, breathy tone, I
think I might be.
Sam paid the bill and left a tip big enough to make the bar-
tender grin. Then he took my hand to help me down from thestool, holding me steady when my foot came down wrong as
though hed known all along Id stumble. Even in four-inch
heels I had to tilt my head way back to look into his face.
Thank you, I said.
What can I say? Sam replied. Im a gentleman.
He stood head and shoulders over most of the crowd, which
had grown considerably since I came in, and he led me with-
out faltering through the maze of tables and bodies toward
the door to the lobby.
Nobody could have known wed just met. That we were
strangers. I was going upstairs to a strangers room. Nobodycould know that, but I did, and my heart thumped hard and
harder the closer we got to the elevator.
The walls inside reflected us both, our faces blurred by the
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it. When I looked up again to meet his gaze in the mirror,
Sams smile had shifted.
I saw him put his hand on the back of my neck before I felt
his touch. The mirror had created that distance, that second
of delay. Like watching a movie or TV, but somehow that
small disconnect made this seem all the more real.
At the door to his room Sam took his hand away from
the back of my neck to dig in his pockets for the key card.
He tried both front pockets and came up with nothing but afew coins. He fumbled. His nervousness charmed me even
as it prompted my own. He found the key inside his wallet,
tucked into a back pocket.
I liked his laugh when he pulled it out and fit it into the
door. The lock blinked red, and he muttered a curse I deci-phered by tone, not by word. He tried again, his hands so
big they engulfed the slim plastic card. I couldnt stop star-
ing at his hands.
Fuck, Sam said clearly, and handed me the card. I cant
get the door open.
I reached for the card. Our hands touched. Then some-
how his hand had encircled my wrist and my back pressed
against the still-closed door. Sam pressed against my front.
His mouth found mine already open for him. His hand dis-
covered my leg already cocked to fit his grasp just behind my
knee. He fit between my legs like the key ought to have fitin the lock, without hesitation, opening my door. His fingers
slid higher beneath my skirt above the edge of my stockings
and found bare skin.
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hall he kissed me for the first time, and there was nothing
slow or easy about it. Nothing soft or hesitant.
Sam stroked my tongue with his. His belt buckle pushed
my belly through my silky shirt. Lower, his cock nudged me,too, through the barrier of his jeans. He let go of my wrist.
Unlock the door. He stopped the kiss just long enough
to speak into my mouth.
His hand hit the door handle as I rammed the key, without
looking, into the lock. Behind me the door flew open withthe pressure of our bodies, but neither of us stumbled. Sam
was holding me too tightly for that.
He moved me, mouth still glued to mine, two steps into
the room and kicked the door shut behind us. The slam of it
echoed between my legs. Sam, breathing hard, pulled away
to look into my eyes.This is what you want?
I found the voice to rasp, Yes.
He nodded, just once, and took my mouth again. His kiss
might have bruised me, had he not pulled back just enough
to keep it from hurting. Without the door holding me up, Ihad to rely on Sams arms around me. One slid behind my
shoulders. The other left the secret treasure of my thigh to go
around my lower back. He pulled me along with him even as
he step-by-stepped me back toward the bed. It hit the back
of my legs. He broke the kiss again.
Hold on a second. Sam reached around me to tug downthe comforter, tossing it unceremoniously into a pile on the
floor.
He grinned at me. His cheeks looked a bit flushed, his
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We made it to the bed in a tangle of limbs and laughter.
Sam was as long lying down as he was standing, but on the
bed I could move up to kiss him without having to tilt my
head so far. I found his throat, the jut of his Adams apple.His skin tasted of salt. I rubbed the first poking bristles of
his beard with my lips.
My skirt had ridden up, helped by Sams hands. He pushed
the material higher. One large hand cupped my thigh. The
edge of his fingers brushed my panties, and my breath caught.I looked up to see him looking down with an expression
of mingled amusement and something else I couldnt quite
decipher. I took my mouth from his skin and sat up a little,
pushing back but not pulling away.
What?
His hand on my thigh shifted higher while his other wentto prop his head. Stretched out that way, his clothes askew
and our limbs tangled, he looked enviably comfortable in his
own skin. Men often did. Sometimes they had to put it on,
that confidence, the way they put on cologne. Sams seemed
more innate, an awareness of himself as much a part of himas the color of his eyes or those long, long legs.
He shook his head. Nothing.
It cant be nothing, I said. Youre looking at me funny.
Am I? He sat up a little but didnt take his hand from my
thigh. He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Was
it like this?I burst into laugher. Not quite.
Ah, good. Sam nodded and leaned to catch my mouth
in another kiss, speaking without taking his lips from mine.
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times slipping down closer to my knee and moving up again,
but though his fingers occasionally brushed the lace of my
panties, he never actually touched me there. He didnt lie
on top of me, either, squooshing, but kept his weight to theside. Nothing was going quite as Id expectedbut wasnt
that what I wanted? To be surprised?
He kissed me fast. He kissed me slow. He nibbled and
nuzzled and licked, and all the while his hand stayed in its
maddening position so close to where I wanted it, but neverquite making it there.
Sam, I whispered finally, hoarsely, unable to take it any
longer.
He paused in kissing me to look into my eyes. Yes,
Grace?
Youre killing me.He smiled. Am I?
I nodded and slid a hand between us to tug on his belt
buckle. You are.
His hand inched higher. Can I make it up to you?
I unhooked the buckle. I think so. Maybe.He turned his hand as he moved it. When he touched me,
finally, the heel of his palm pressed flat to my cunt, and my
mouth parted in a gasp I didnt bother to try to keep silent.
Howm I doing so far? he asked, his head bent so his
mouth brushed my cheek.
Good. Verygood. Speaking took the effort of con-centration I found difficult with his hand on me. So far hed
done no more than press against me. Hadnt even rubbed. But
primed by the long, slow minutes of kissing and the hours
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my throat. Sam sucked, gently, then took the skin between his
teeth. The bite didnt hurt, but it did send sensation ripping
through me. I arched beneath him. My hands found the back
of his head, the smooth silk of his hair, and I wound my fin-gers in it. Pressing him to me, keeping his mouth there while
he sucked my skin. I would bruise. I couldnt, just then, care.
I like the way you say my name, he murmured. His
tongue slid along the place where hed left his mark. Say
it again.Sam. I breathed it.
I heard the smile in his voice when he spoke again. I am.
Then we were laughing again, until he took his hand from
between my legs and used it to tug open the buttons on my
blouse, one at a time. Then I stopped laughing, too breath-
less to do more than sigh. He eased open my shirt. He pushedhimself up on one elbow and folded back the material to
show my bra. His fingers traced the lacy edges over the tops
of my breasts.
My nipples had gone tight, hard, aching. When Sams
thumb passed over one, I sucked in a breath. I watched hisface as he looked down at me. When he bent to kiss my ex-
posed skin, I bit my lower lip. My body moved beneath him.
Sam sat up. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and
pulled his shirt off over his head, leaving his hair standing
up all over the place. His body was as long and lean as his
legs. He knelt beside me, one hand rubbing his chest almostabsently. His other hand toyed with the open belt buckle,
then the button beneath. He undid it, but left the zipper alone.
I watched him, enjoying the show. Are you going to take
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Sam laughed. Yes.
I slid one stocking-clad foot up over his thigh and rubbed
the front of his jeans. Are you shy?
Sams hips pushed forward at the touch of my foot, and hismouth parted. His hand paused in its rubbing, fingers going
flat over his heart. Maybe. A little.
Holy hell, that was hot. I didnt believe him, really. He
hadnt acted shy anytime tonight. Want me to go first?
Sams grin melted me. Okay.I got off the bed to make it easier for myself. Without my
shoes on, I was face-to-chest with himnot a bad view at
all. Sams bare chest was smooth and muscled, with a hint of
six-pack abs but nothing overdefined. I took a couple steps
back. My shirt hung open, courtesy of his unbuttoning. I took
my time sliding the fabric from one arm, then the other. Itossed the shirt onto the chair. Sams eyes didnt even follow
it. They stayed on me.
Id chosen my skirt for the ease of getting it off, but though
it would have taken me but a second to unhook and unzip it, I
took much longer than that. Never taking my eyes from his, Islipped open the button at my hip. A second later I unzipped,
inch by slow inch. Then I slid the fabric over my hips and let
the skirt fall to the floor in a puddle at my feet. I stepped out
of it and hooked it out of the way with my foot. I stood be-
fore Sam in my white lace bra and matching panties, in the
wispy garter belt and nude, seamed stockings.The look on his face had made every second worth it.
I would never win any beauty contests. Too many bulges in
places I wanted to be flat, too little curve in places I wanted
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His pupils had gone large and dark, nearly swallowing the
green-blue. His lips glistened from where hed swiped his
tongue. Wow.
The compliment was all the nicer because it sounded sosincere. Thank you.
He didnt move. One hand still pressed over his heart, the
other hooked into the front of his jeans. He looked at me, his
mouth pulling up on one side. My turn, huh?
Your turn, Sam.God, Sam said. I love the way that sounds.
Sam, I whispered, stepping toward him. Sam, Sam,
Sam.
Id heard of kinkier fetishes, but he said he liked it, and
hell, I liked it, too. There was something sweet and sexy
about the name. About him. The way each time the wordpurred from my tongue his smile twitched broader.
I reached for the front of his jeans. The metal button and
zipper were cool compared to the heat coming through the
denim. My heart skipped a little when my fingers traced the
outline of his erection. He groaned. I wanted to get on myknees at that sound, but I didnt.
I looked up at him, instead. Way, way up. I tugged open
the button. Click-clicked down the zipper. Always watching
his face, not his crotch. Sam hadnt moved his hand from his
chest, though his fingers tightened a bit on his skin. The pulse
leaped in his throat, and a muscle in his cheek twitched. Hissmile had thinned. He reached to push the hair off my face.
I hooked my fingers in the denim at his hips and pushed.
It didnt snag. Hed worn a belt for more than just fashion,
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ankles and waited while he lifted one foot, then the other, to
pull them off. I stood then, swiftly, running my hands along
his endlessly long legs as I did.
I couldnt look at his crotch.
I didnt know why I had suddenly become shy. I wasnt a
stranger to bulging boxers. Something in his face stopped me.
There is always a moment when the final barrier has to
come down.
Sam?He nodded. He stopped holding his heart and reached for
me, instead. He bent, I stretched, and we met somehow in
the middle with our mouths.
This time he covered me completely when he laid me on
the bed, but I didnt feel crushed. I feltembraced. Enfolded.There was so much of Sam he surrounded me.
I shouldve panicked, maybe. Felt trapped. But too busy
with his mouth and his hands helping me off with my under-
wear, too busy reaching to free him from the cotton boxers,
I didnt have time. I couldnt think of anything but the silky
heat of his cock in my hands when at last I found it.
Sam made a small, helpless noise when I touched him
there. I slid my hand along his erection. Sams prick, like the
rest of him, was long. His fingers closed over mine. There
was no room to stroke him, not with him on top of me that
way.He buried his face in my neck. The rise and fall of his
breath pushed our bodies together. The seconds ticked out
between us, only a few. He moved down my body to kiss my
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I let the pleasure sweep over me, but at the odd motion of
his head I had to look down. What are you doing?
Writing my name, he said without apology, and demon-
strated with his tongue on my skin. S-A-M-S-TIt tickled, and I squirmed. He grinned up at me briefly
before dipping his head lower. His breath gusted over my
trimmed pubic curls, and I tensed. I always did at that mo-
ment, waiting for the first touch of tongue on sensitive flesh.
Sam, perhaps reading the tension of my muscles as dis-taste, moved back up my body. He looked up past my face,
stretched and hooked open the nightstand drawer with a fin-
ger. The movement brought his chest within licking distance,
and I didnt pass up my opportunity. He shivered. He pulled
back to me and held open his hand.
You pick, he said.I looked over the selection of condoms in his hand, think-
ing how sweet it was not to need to wonder if there was going
to be an issue about using protection. Wow. Ribbed for my
pleasure, extra-lubricatedglow in the dark? I laughed at
the last one.He did, too, and tossed it to the floor. He held up one of
the ribbed condoms. This one, then?
Looks good to me.
He handed me the package, warm from his palm. Sam
rolled onto his back, arms behind his head on the pillow. No
more shyness, not for either of us. No point in it now.His body was put together like someone had taken extra
care to make sure everything fit just right. Legs and thighs
and belly, hips and ribs and neck, shoulders, arms and hands.
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couldnt quite get a handle on Sams smile. It wasnt a smirk,
or smug. It was almost a little bemused.
Naked, I knelt next to his thigh. I stroked his erection, and
he pushed his hips upward when I did. He untucked a handfrom beneath his head and slipped it between my legs. His
thumb pressed my clit, and it was my turn to shiver.
I stroked. He rubbed. In a minute we were both panting.
He moved a finger along my folds. I knew he felt how wet I
was. How ready. He slid a finger inside me and my grip onhim faltered as I gasped.
Grace, Sam whispered, voice gone guttural and low. I
hope youre ready, because I cant wait much longer.
Neither could I. Im ready. I paused, then added, Sam.
I had no trouble figuring out what his smile meant that
time. I shifted on his hand so he could slide free. I put thecondom on him, and a moment after that, myself. His hands
gripped my hips. I leaned forward, my hands on his shoul-
ders.
We looked into each others eyes.
He moved me, at first, with slow, steady strokes. We foundour rhythm almost at once. My clit rubbed him with every
thrust, the pressure tantalizing but not quite enough. Sam
solved that problem in another minute when he put his thumb
against me again.
I didnt care what came from my mouth just then. A string
of words that made no sense, maybe. Something halfway be-tween a prayer and a curse. But one thing I do know I said
was his name.
Orgasms are like waves, no two alike. They ebb, flow, rise
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ing off just when I needed it to, but in the next moment hed
started doing this little jiggling motion that sent me up and
up again. The second climax followed the first without time
for me to catch my breath, but when it was over, that was
it. Warmth rippled through me and languor crept along my
limbs. I put my hand over Sams to keep him from moving it.
I didnt know how close he was, but when I opened my
eyes, his were closed. His hands gripped my hips again. His
thrusts got harder. Sweat had broken out along his hairline.I wanted to lick it, and the sudden stab of fresh desire sur-
prised me as much as the intensity of my orgasm had.
Sam, I whispered. I watched his face contort. Sam
And he came. His face twisted and his fingers clutched,
giving me more bruises. He arched and fell back onto thepillow, and let out one last, long and heavy breath.
He opened his eyes a moment later and smiled at me. His
hand came up to twine in my hair. He tugged it, pulling me
close to kiss my mouth tenderly. His pupils were still wide
and dark, with nothing to reflect me.
We disengaged and took care of the things that needed to
be done, but I hadnt yet managed to rouse myself enough to
climb out of bed and go to the bathroom when the distinc-
tive jangle of my phone came from my purse.
Is that Smoke on the Water? Sam lifted his head to
look at me.Yes. I ignored it, too sated to think about getting up for
a phone call, even though I knew I should.
Sams broad and hearty laugh shook the bed, and I looked
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iness lodged in his eyes and his hair all rumpled. Not that
it mattered.
He yawned and of course, unable to help myself, so did I.
He kissed my bare shoulder and rolled onto his back again,hands tucked under the pillow, to stare at the ceiling.
I knew that fortune cookie was right, he said without
looking at me. It said you will meet someone new.
My last fortune cookie told me I was going to find
money, I said. So far, nothing.Sam turned his gaze to me, though his head stayed still.
Youve got time. I dont think theres a statute of limita-
tions on fortunes.
I rolled my eyes. I wish it would hurry up, though. I could
use some money.
Sams expression shifted, subtly, as we stared at eachother. My phone rang again, this time with the less awe-
some ring tone that meant I had a message. I couldnt ig-
nore that, since it was probably from my answering service.
Someone mustve died.
I have to get that, I said without moving.Okay. Sam smiled.
I leaned over to kiss him quickly, on the cheek. I felt his
gaze on me as I gathered my fallen clothes and my purse
and went to the bathroom. I punched in the number of the
answering service as I slipped into my panties and juggled
the phone while I hooked my bra. The garter belt and stock-ings I tucked into my bag, not wanting to bother with them
when I was going home.
I took care of the call and finished dressing, then patted
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Stranger 25
a different toothpaste than I did, but this peek into his pri-
vate life seemed intrusive and personal and I stopped look-
ing. I took an extra few minutes to freshen my makeup and
tie back my hair.When I came out of the bathroom, Sam had pulled his box-
ers back on. The remote lay next to him on the bed, but he
hadnt turned on the television. He sat up when I came out.
Hey, he said.
My phone beeped again with another message. Someonehad called while I was on the phone. I pulled it from my purse
but didnt flip it open. Its been great, but I have to go.
He got up, towering over me even after I put on my heels.
Ill walk you to your car.
I shook my head. No. You dont have to. Im fine.
But I really should.I looked up at him. Sam, its okay.
We smiled at each other. He walked me to the door, where
he bent to kiss me far more awkwardly than he had before.
Good night, I said on the other side of the door. Thank
you.He blinked and didnt smile. Yourewelcome?
So cute.
I reached up to pat his cheek. It was great.
Sam blinked again, those dark brows knitting. Okay.
I waved and moved toward the elevator. He closed the
door behind me, and I heard the blare of the television al-most at once.
At my car I remembered to check my voice mail. Sitting
behind the wheel, buckling my belt, I punched in my pass-
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Megan Hart26
Im calling for, umMiss Underfire. We were supposed to
meet tonight?
He sounded uncertain; I felt suddenly sick. Miss Under-
fire was the name I used with the agency, the name I usedto keep everything discreet.
But Im here at the Fishtank, andwellyoure not.
Umcall me back if you want to reschedule.
I listened to a very long pause while I waited for the call
to disconnect, but it didnt.
Anyway, Im sorry, said Jack. Something got messed
up, I guess.
A click, and he was gone, and the pseudofeminine ro-
botic voice-mail message was instructing me how to delete
the message.
I closed my phone and put it carefully into my purse. Igripped the steering wheel tight, with both hands. I waited
to scream, or laugh, or cry, but in the end I only turned the
key in the ignition and drove home.
Id wanted to sleep with a stranger, and thats exactly what
Id done.
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