Her Man in Manhattan

NINE



Like every other guy on the planet Tyler could think of a million other things he would rather do than sit around waiting while a woman went shopping for clothes. That she felt the need to parade each outfit in front of him wasn’t helping any, especially when it gave him an excuse to fill his mind with image after image of her body.

Leaning forwards on a velvet-covered chair, he rested his elbows on his knees, staring at the cream carpet while he crossed his jaw and mentally prepared for the next test of his self-control.

‘This neckline might be a little too low,’ her voice announced from beyond the curtain.

While he appreciated the warning he still felt the need to take a deep breath and blow it into his cheeks before exhaling. If she started modelling lingerie he would have to take a cold shower. The sound of curtain rings drawing across a rail lifted his gaze for a furtive glimpse of what was headed his way.

A little too low, she’d said?

The damn thing was practically at her navel.

All but painted onto her body, the black floor-length sleeveless dress plunged downwards from two thick straps on her shoulders. The globes of her spectacular breasts were barely contained, leading his gaze over the valley of her cleavage to the minuscule black band beneath and the tempting strip of skin beyond that.

She placed her hands on her hips and struck a come-and-get-me pose. ‘What do you think?’

It was a bit difficult to think anything when all the blood had rushed from his brain to a point in his body that was so painfully hard he had to stifle a groan.

Silently clearing his throat, he forced a response through tight lips. ‘It’s nice.’

She arched a brow. ‘Nice?’

Tyler frowned as he raised his chin and looked into her eyes. ‘What do you want me to say?’

‘Anything other than nice, fine or not bad would make a pleasant change.’ She took a deep breath that pushed her breasts forwards and loosened Tyler’s grip on his sanity. Then she bent forwards, lowered her gaze and wriggled her shoulders from side to side. ‘I’m a bit worried I might pop out of it.’

He sat up and ran his palms over his face. ‘How much longer do we have to do this?’

Raising her hands Miranda cupped her breasts as she straightened. By the time she looked at him Tyler had his hands in his lap to hide the evidence of what she was doing to him.

‘As long as it takes to get what I want...’ A decadent smile formed on her lips as she dropped her hands to her sides. She shrugged. ‘There’s a reason this is the last appointment on the schedule today. They’ll stay open late for me if I need them to. They’re awfully good about that and I do love to shop.’ Turning, she looked over her shoulder and asked, ‘How does it look from the back?’

Like endless miles of flawlessly tanned skin he wanted to touch to discover if it was as soft as it looked. He’d start with his hands, then his mouth, would retrace the path they took with his tongue and blow gently on the wet surface to raise goose-bumps while he raised her skirt and...

‘I was worried about lines so I thought it was best not to wear anything underneath it.’

Tyler swore viciously inside his head. Gritting his teeth together hard enough to crack the enamel, he managed to bite, ‘Where exactly are you planning on wearing that?’

‘You think it’s too much for something public?’ She stepped over to the mirrors lining one wall so he was treated to a front and back view at the same time. ‘You’re probably right. Somewhere more intimate would be better. Given the right smoky atmosphere and some sultry music...’ She closed her eyes and swayed her hips. ‘Mmm...’ Her palms followed the curve of her sides from waist to hip. Then she stilled and popped open her eyes. ‘I might get this one.’

When she went back into the dressing room Tyler looked at the ceiling and silently asked what he’d done to deserve her. Didn’t he have enough to deal with already? He might have miraculously managed to temporarily put his problems to the back of his mind, but it didn’t mean they’d gone away. He supposed he should be thankful she hadn’t made another escape attempt. But while she was making him suffer for not telling her what had happened outside the school he didn’t consider it much of a silver lining.

The door to his left opened and the personal shopper who’d already rolled a rack of clothes into the changing area appeared with another one.

‘How is she getting on?’ she enquired with a smile as she wheeled it in.

‘Slowly.’

His response earned a chuckle of laughter. ‘You can’t become a fashion icon in this city without putting in long hours of preparation.’

Since he didn’t know anything about fashion Tyler would have to take her word for that.

‘Is that Janice with the next rack?’ a voice called from behind the curtain.

‘Yes, I have it here,’ Janice replied. ‘Is it safe to come in?’

‘Absolutely. If you hadn’t come back I was going to have to ask Tyler to zip me up.’

While they chatted behind the curtain he pushed to his feet and began pacing the room. After the third lap—and with no new outfit to send him over the edge—he reached into his pocket for his cell phone and called his partner.

‘I’m officially in hell,’ he said in a low voice.

‘The mayor’s little girl proving too much of a handful for you?’

‘She’s shopping.’

‘I feel your pain, brother.’

‘Could you feel it without sounding so amused?’ He walked to the other side of the room and glanced at the curtain. ‘Give me some good news about the case and I won’t hit you the next time I see you.’

While his partner brought him up to speed he made the mistake of turning his back to the changing room. It was only when he ended the call he realized it had gone quiet.

Immediately crossing the room, he threw caution to the wind and yanked back the curtain.

‘Son-of-a—’