Fearless

“I’ll mix another batch of martinis,” Caryn declared, hobbling into the kitchen on her heels, her still-wet toes in the air.

Sara was already digging through her duffel bag–styled purse for one of her ever-present notepads and a pen.

Holy crap, what’d she done?

It was one thing to entertain the fantasy. To wish in her head for great sex with a guy she was crushing on. It was another to invoke a gettin’ it session. If they just talked about it, she could dismiss it all as chitchat. She could say it was just talk, not something she really wanted. In other words, she could wimp out. But if they brainstormed a plan, they were going to make her go through with whatever they came up with.

Gia chewed on her thumbnail, a little worried about what she’d started.

Because she had no doubt she’d be dealing with the results. Usually fueled by vodka and chocolate, the women had come to believe by using their Girlz Guide they could do anything they set their minds to.

Like the time Sara, brokenhearted over his cheating, had wanted revenge on her boyfriend. The women had made a video from all of the Skype sessions he’d had with Sara, pasting his words together into a confession of his sins, and posted it on YouTube. It’d gone viral in two days.

Or when Jessa had wished for the perfect wedding but hadn’t want her wealthy husband-to-be paying for it. The four of them might not have had a lot of money or major connections, but when she walked down that aisle, they’d made sure she had the fairy-tale princess wedding she’d always wanted.

Gia wondered if it was too late to run.

“Ready?” Jessa asked, her face glowing clean and her auburn-streaked blond hair loose again. She stopped in the kitchen to help Caryn with the tray of martinis; then both settled around the coffee table. The three women lifted their glasses, toasted the gettin’ it game, then gave Gia a “let’s go” look.

Gia bit her lip.

She wanted this.

Didn’t she?

A wild sexual fantasy might not change the world. But it’d sure as hell change her love life from average to awesome. And maybe make her feel as if she was a fully qualified member of the Girlz, instead of the tagalong buddy.

“Okay, questions. I’ll start,” Caryn said, to nobody’s surprise. “First off, what’s the fantasy? Remember, the more details, the better.”

“Again, feel free to draw pictures,” Sara suggested with a grin, holding out her pen and paper.

Gia pulled a face. Then, pretending the idea of sharing her sexual fantasy wasn’t weird—even with her best friends—she leaned her head back on the chair, closed her eyes and let her imagination soar.

When inhibitions she didn’t even realize she had tried to drag her back down to earth, she mentally kicked them aside and blurted out the words before nerves won.

“I want a weekend of totally uninhibited, totally fabulous sex. The kind you have with a guy you don’t ever plan to see again. The selfish kind, where you’re doing all the things you like and not worrying about swallowing just to keep him happy.”

She didn’t have to open her eyes to know the snort of laughter came from Caryn, whose biggest pet peeve was guys with lousy aim and a penchant for women on their knees.

“Question two,” Sara said over the sound of her pen scratching across the paper as she transcribed Gia’s fantasy in her handy-dandy notebook. “Who’s the guy?”

Gia hesitated. It wasn’t as if there were anything to be embarrassed about. But she and Caryn both worked at the same company, although Gia was in tech and Caryn worked in publicity. Where, as it happened, Luke was currently spending most of his time as the systems liaison.

Which meant Caryn would probably have a lot more insider info on him than Gia had gathered in her Facebook and watercooler stalking.

A shiver danced down her back.

This could really happen. And that was scary.

Luke was the perfect guy to help turn her fantasies into reality. She just wasn’t sure she was the perfect girl. Still… There was something naughty, something freeing about the idea of anonymous, wild, once-in-a-lifetime sex.

And if she wanted it to happen, she had to put it out there. She had to put herself out there.

“C’mon, Gia,” Caryn prompted impatiently. “Who is it that flips your switch? What’s his name?”

Gia took a deep breath, then confessed, “Luke Monroe.”

“Oh, baby,” Caryn moaned, her eyes wide with admiration.

“Is he hot?” Sara asked.

“He’s hot enough to melt chocolate,” Gia said, imagining just that, then wishing she could lick it off his naked body afterward. “He’s gorgeous, has a body to die for, and he’s got that sophisticated sexy vibe going. Like he takes his sex cues from books and indie films instead of watching porn with the guys from the gym.”

“If the rumor mill is to be believed, and I hope it is, he’s got stamina that’d put a horse to shame,” Caryn said, licking the edge of her martini glass and wriggling her brows. “I’ve heard he’s got a few other things in common with a stallion, too.”

“Well,” Jessa said, fanning her fingers in front of her face. “I was going to ask what made him the perfect guy for your fantasy. But I think you just answered that.”

“Okay, then here’s another question.” Sara set her pen down long enough to take a drink, then picked it back up to aim it at Gia. “He’s hot, you’re horny. What the hell’s keeping you from hitting on him?”

Gia’s mind easily reeled off a dozen reasons. She couldn’t voice any of them, though. Not even to her best friends.

She didn’t have any more self-confidence issues than the next woman. Sure, she’d rather her stomach were flatter, and she’d yet to find a pair of jeans that flattered her ass. But she was smart and cute, had a fun personality and had a lot going for her.

She was pretty damned great.

But pretty damned great wasn’t pretty damned wild.

Every one of the other women in this room had a wild side. They had each had at least one sexual encounter like the ones in those erotica books.

According to gossip, Luke Monroe’s sex life was wilder than all three of her friends’. Combined. He wouldn’t go for boring.

“Gia?” Jessa prompted from her perch on the huge lime-green pillow chair. “Why haven’t you gone for it?”

“Tri-Solutions’ familiarity policy, probably,” Caryn guessed. “They have rules against intercompany dating. They figure it causes too much drama in the workplace.”

Gia nodded, adding, “Sure, almost everyone ignores it. But even if management doesn’t crack down, gossip does major damage. You know how that goes.”

Nobody could deny it. They all knew women who’d been fired or been made so miserable over work affairs that they’d quit.

“What about the rumor that Luke’s being courted by that financial company as a permanent system consultant? The new position starts in two weeks. If he takes that job, he’s moving to the East Coast.”

Gia grimaced. That reason, more than anything else, was probably the core of why she’d finally confessed her fantasy. Her crush was about to slip right out of her reach.

“Great, you answered my question before I could ask, again,” Jessa said with a frown, as though they were cheating her. Then her face brightened. “But, really, it’s not the company policy that’s the issue—it’s timing. Once he leaves town, he takes the chances of your fantasy coming true with him. So you need to make this happen in the next two weeks.”

“Which brings us to the final question,” Sara said, setting aside her glass and leaning forward in preparation for getting to the down and dirty. “What’s it going to take to make this happen for you? What do you need to go for it?”

A miracle?