Scarlet Boa

The door swung open and their quarry strode out and headed down the sidewalk. Lacy and Suzanne pushed away from the wall and hurried to catch up with his long strides. Lacy was sweating by the time they fell in step on either side of him.

"Could we talk to you for a minute?" Suzanne asked.

The Hunk spared her a glance, gave an irritated shake of his head, and kept walking. Lacy grabbed his arm. He stopped and glared at her hand until she released him, then slowly raised his head. When their eyes met, she didn't see the laughing, charming man from the unemployment office. This man was clearly pissed.

His jaw was tightly clenched and deep lines bunched between his brows as he scowled down at her. A bead of sweat rolled down his face and he impatiently wiped it away. "What do you want?"

Lacy took a deep breath and pushed back the urge to respond in an equally biting tone, calling upon all the Southern grace she could muster. "We want to talk to you about a job."

His eyebrows lifted as he looked her over like a farmer considering the purchase of a prize heifer. "Well, that's a real shame, sweetheart, 'cause I'm not in the market right now. But why don't you give me your number? If I find myself in need of your services, I'll be sure to give you a call—if your price is reasonable, of course. Do you two come as a package, or one at a time?"

Lacy gasped in outrage. "You think we're...?" She lifted her chin and looked him in the eye, her hands curled into fists against her hips. "We aren't hookers. We own a business and we're looking for a man with your particular...attributes." She couldn't resist the jab, though it didn't fit with the professional image she was trying to project. "You could make a lot of money in a very short time."

"Damn, lady, what do you think I am?" He shook her hand from his arm and walked away.

Gabriel Wallis, you are some kind of fool. Those two look like they'd be willing to fulfill your wildest fantasies. And it's been a damned long dry spell. Over the sound of his complaining libido, he heard the click of high heels on the concrete behind him and muffled whispers as the women talked--about him, he was sure. After traveling two blocks without any indication they were going to give up the chase, he came to an abrupt halt, causing a three-person pileup in the middle of the wide sidewalk.

He turned slowly and did his best to keep his temper under control. "Okay, how much is it going to take to make you leave me alone?" he asked as he pulled a gold money clip from his front pocket.