Rock My World

“We know you were expecting Naughty Nick,” she continued. “But unfortunately, he couldn’t be with us this morning.”

“Just as well,” Adam said. “I’m not into threesomes myself.” Aaargh. Where had that come from? This was not the time for sexual wordplay. “Seriously, folks, Nick was injured last night in a traffic accident on the way home from the Pepsi Center concert. The last report we had he’d just come out of surgery and was doing well. We wish him a speedy recovery.”

“That’s right, Nick. Get well soon.” Erica’s eyes lit with mischief. “Meanwhile, I’m going to do my best to make do with the Hawk here.”

“Make do? Woman, that is harsh. I’m wounded.” Was she really disappointed to be spending the next three days with him instead of Nick?

She laughed and sat cross-legged in the bed, her knee brushing his. “I don’t know. Are you really an early-morning kind of guy?”

You’d think in a king-size bed they could avoid contact. He moved over a little. “Every man is an early morning kind of guy. Didn’t you know that?” There he went with the double entendres again. Was it his years in rock radio, or merely the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about sex around her?

“And I thought Nick was going to be a handful.”

And just what did she think her hands were going to be full of? He dropped his voice to a seductive rumble. “Don’t think you’re up to spending three days in bed with me?”

The look she sent him made his temperature climb. “The question ought to be, is the Hawk ready to spend three days in bed with me?”

No. Yes. Would he really last three days? Considering the heat they’d generated in less than ten minutes he was liable to self-combust long before their seventy-five hour deadline was met.

He adjusted the microphone on his headset. “That sounded like a challenge to me, folks. Did it to you? Come on down to the Furniture Gallery and place your bets.”

“I think you mean make your donations.”

“You use your terminology, I’ll stick to mine.”

“However you put it, the bottom line is we’re here raising money for the Salvation Army’s new homeless shelter,” she said. “Stop by and add your cash or check to our collection bin. And while you’re at it, add your get-well wishes to the giant card we’ve posted for Nick.”

“For those of you still lazing around in your beds, here’s a little rock and roll to get you going.”

As the music started, Erica ripped off her headset and leaned back against the pillows. “How’d I do?” she asked.

“You sound like a pro.” And she looked almost too tempting, half-reclining in the bed, her hair spread out on the pillow behind her. He swallowed hard and looked away, attempting to focus on the few Furniture Gallery employees who’d started to gather. “I still can’t believe Carl agreed to this. How can anybody spend three days in a bed?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe under the right circumstances. With the right person.”

There was a definite seductive purr in her voice. Was he the right person she wouldn’t mind in her bed?

“We get to take breaks,” she said. “I mean, you can get up and walk around.”

“Right. To go to the john. I guess I ought to be grateful for that.”

She stretched her arms over her head, a movement that brought her breasts into sharper focus against the flannel. “Well, I’m going to find a way to have a good time with this. I mean, how many people get paid to basically have fun in bed?”

There his mind went again, reading more into her words than she probably meant. He could certainly think of a few ways to have fun with her in bed…. He tried looking away again, but his gaze insisted on wandering back to her. She was unbuttoning her top now. “What are you doing?” he asked, alarmed.

“It’s a lot warmer in here than I thought.” She stripped off the shirt and tossed it aside, revealing a red tank top underneath.

Only when his vision blurred did he realize he’d stopped breathing. He turned his back to her. “Can we get some coffee over here? And some ice water.” If all else failed, he could dump the water in his lap.

“That was Maroon 5 with ‘This Love,’” she said, right on cue. “If you’re on your way into work this morning, stop by and say hi. The Hawk and I are broadcasting from Mattress Max’s Furniture Gallery at East Six and Wadsworth.”

“If you bring us a donation this morning, we’ve got free T-shirts and CDs to give away.” Adam checked his clipboard and saw that it was time for a plug for Mattress Max. “And while you’re here, try out Max’s own line of Therapedic bedding—the most comfortable mattress you’ll find anywhere.”

“This one certainly is comfortable.” Erica bounced up and down and grinned at him.

He couldn’t help but notice that the mattress wasn’t the only thing bouncing, and almost forgot his lines. The engineer hissed in his earphones, reminding him to avoid the broadcasting sin of dead air. He forced himself to focus on the clipboard. “Max is running a special right now. Buy a mattress during the K-Rock bed-in and he’ll throw in a frame and two Therapedic pillows absolutely free.”

“The pillows are definitely very comfy.” She smiled at him and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. He’d have to talk to someone about getting a fan or something.

Was she deliberately flirting with him? Maybe she thought that was what was expected of her. Later, when they were off the air, he’d explain to her that she didn’t have to act that way with him. He wasn’t Naughty Nick. They would just do the show the way he always did, ask for donations and forget about all the flirting and sexy talk.

If only he could convince his body to do the same.

AT 9:00 THE MORNING show ended and Erica and Adam were off the air. Now their job was to talk to the people who stopped by to donate, take turns answering the phones for people who wanted to make pledges, and do the occasional live call-in throughout the day.

In between times they were free to take a break to eat or freshen up in the bathroom, though they weren’t supposed to get too far from the bed.

Erica watched as Adam signed autographs for a trio of smiling women. She didn’t really blame them for smiling. Dressed in rumpled pajamas, his hair tousled, he looked like a man who’d just rolled out of bed. And one who hadn’t spent his time there working or sleeping.

Flirting with him had come naturally. But then she’d decided to try turning up the heat a notch. Why not? There was no way he could pretend she was just another co-worker when they were so close together—both in nightclothes and in a bed. Why not take advantage of that to let him know how she really felt? And if she was lucky, one thing might lead to another and they’d never be “just friends” again.

She was busy reviewing the schedule on the clipboard when Carl stopped by. “How’s it going?” he asked.

“Good. How did I sound?”

“Great. You got everything you need here?”

Adam turned away from his admirers and joined them. “We could use a fan,” he said. “It’s too warm in here.”

Carl looked at Erica. “She said she was cold earlier.”

She coughed, recalling the excuse she’d made up for wearing the flannel. She wished now she’d packed sexier clothes. She’d had to settle for the tank top but it had served the purpose and gotten Adam’s attention. “I’m fine now,” she said.

“You did good,” he said again. “Keep it up. I like the sexy stuff. The listeners love it, too.”

Adam frowned. “About the sexy stuff,” he said. “Nick’s not here, so we don’t have to do that.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Carl said. “I said keep it up. Besides, you two sounded like you were having fun.”

Adam shifted from one foot to the other, avoiding looking at Erica. “Sure. I just don’t want people to get the wrong idea.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry about me. And hey, maybe my reputation could use a little spicing up.”

“Great. Now some big bruiser of a boyfriend will come looking for me with a baseball bat.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t have a boyfriend—big bruiser or not.”

“Then see, no problem,” Carl said. “Have fun with it. But not too much fun.”

She made a face at him. “Aren’t you the spoilsport.”

“There’s security cameras all over the place.” He pointed to opaque plastic domes in the ceiling. There was one directly over the bed. “They’ll record everything you do.”

“Everything?” So much for her plans to seduce Adam.

He winked. “Everything.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Adam said. “But it wasn’t necessary. Erica and I are professionals.”

“Yeah, well last time I looked you were a man and a woman, too.”

Adam’s frown was a real scowl now. “I won’t get out of line.”

Carl shrugged. “I didn’t say anything, did I?”

Had they forgotten she was here? What if she wanted to get out of line? “How’s Nick?” she asked, anxious to change the subject.

“Okay. I saw him after he came out of surgery. They had him on a morphine pump and he was feeling no pain. He’s got a pin in his leg and a cast up to his thigh, and his shoulder’s all bandaged up.” He wiped his face with an oversize green bandanna. “He’s lucky he wasn’t killed.”

“Poor guy.” She shuddered. “Funny how a few minutes can change everything, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Adam was looking at her. Was he thinking about how this changed things between them, too?

“Now get back in bed.” Carl shooed them toward the bed. “We want some photos for the Web site.”

She settled back against the pillows beside Adam, smiling for the camera, all her senses focused on the man beside her. They were almost touching, but not quite, the satin sheets bunched up between them.

“No, no, no. Act like you like each other.” Carl stood beside the cameraman, motioning for them to move closer together. “This is supposed to be sexy. Attention-getting. You’re having a good time, remember? It’s for a good cause.”

She glanced at Adam, who wore a pained expression. “Carl, I—” he began.

She couldn’t decide if he was shy or simply had an overdeveloped sense of propriety. She absolutely refused to consider that he might not want to get closer to her. She couldn’t be that far off in reading the signals he was sending out when no one else was around.

Fine, then. She’d be happy to help things along a little. She pulled the sheets from around them and slid closer, her hip snugged up against his, his arm brushing the side of her breast. “How’s this?” she asked, and threw both arms around him.

“Great! Great! Adam, put your arm around her. That’s it. Now big smiles!”

The flash blinded them, but it did nothing to dim her awareness of Adam’s arm around her or the warmth of his body against hers. He’d gotten over his reluctance quickly enough, his fingers kneading her waist, his body angling toward hers slightly. Only a half-turn and they’d be facing each other, looking into each other’s eyes, their lips almost touching….

“That’s great. You look hot. We’ll get a million hits on the Web site with these.”

“I think a million’s a little optimistic,” Adam said, his arm still wrapped around her. “It’s not the Paris Hilton video.”

“Now there’s an idea.” Carl’s eyes took on a wicked gleam. “Video. I’ll have to talk with the Web designer about that.”

“Hey, Adam, come over here and check this schedule, will you?” their production assistant, Mason, called.

Did she imagine his reluctance to pull away from her? She hugged a pillow to her chest and watched him climb out of bed and cross the floor to speak with Mason. Obviously Adam had enjoyed the cuddling as much as she had. If she could only figure out a way for them to enjoy it when no one was looking…no one but all those security cameras.

She glanced up at the smoked plastic dome. Was there someone sitting at a console somewhere, monitoring them right now? She stuck out her tongue just in case. That’s what they got for spoiling her fun. Wonder if she could cover them with a sheet…?

“What are you looking at?”

She started as he joined her in the bed once more. “I’m thinking how boring it must be for whoever monitors those cameras,” she said.

“This is probably more exciting than staring at screens full of furniture all day, which is what they usually do.”

She laughed. “So far it’s been fun.”

His eyes caught hers and lingered. “Yeah. It has been fun.”

There was no time for further conversation, as Adam was called on to do a public service announcement for the Salvation Army and Erica did a quick interview with the entertainment columnist for the Post. The rest of the day was a blur of talking with fans, posing for photos, signing autographs and making regular on-air appeals for more donations. Before she knew it, they were well into the afternoon.

“Time to do a call-in, folks.” Mason held out their headsets and motioned for them to get ready.

“How are you two doing out there?” Audra’s voice came through loud and clear. “No napping on the job, now.”

“Nobody told me that,” Erica said. “I was hoping to catch up on my beauty sleep.”

“She doesn’t need it, folks, trust me,” Adam said.

She gave him her most killer smile. Maybe she’d been wrong about him not seeing her as an available woman. He didn’t seem to be having that problem now.

“We’ve raised over two thousand dollars in our first eight hours,” Adam said. “Let’s double that by nine when we say good-night.”

After-work traffic brought a rush of donations and visitors. For a few minutes, Erica even had a line of people waiting for her autograph. Talk about a rush. “I could get used to this celebrity business,” she told Adam when the crowd had dwindled.

“You’re a natural at it.”

A little after nine the production crew packed up for the day. Someone delivered a take-out pizza and checked that they had everything they needed and then everyone left. Finally they were alone. After the hubbub of the day, the quiet was a little unsettling.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not messing up the sheets with pizza sauce.” Adam moved into a nearby leather recliner.

“Right.” She pulled up an armchair next to him and helped herself to a slice of pizza. “I’m starved. That burger I wolfed down at lunch is long gone.”

“Tomorrow we lobby for more snacks.” He wiped his fingers with a fistful of napkins. “After all, we’ve got to keep our strength up.”

“Yes, it’s such strenuous work.” Maybe not physically, but she had to admit, being “on” for so many hours was exhausting.

“The first day went pretty well, I thought,” Adam said. “Tomorrow shouldn’t be as hectic.”

“It went great.” But there was still the first night to get through. What would happen then? She had a lot of fantasies about what she’d like to happen, but the security cameras had ruined all that. So how would she and Adam handle spending the night in the same bed?

“I wonder how Nick’s feeling about now?” Adam asked.

“Probably not so good.” She had a sudden image of Nick in a hospital gown and quickly shoved it aside. Some things she did not want to see. “I’m sorry he was hurt, but I’m glad I’m doing this promo with you instead of him.”

“Oh, Nick’s all right. Most of his rep is just part of his act.” He glanced at her. “I’m sure he would have been a perfect gentleman.”

And will you be a perfect gentleman? She hoped not. She was beginning to worry that he wasn’t attracted to her at all. She wasn’t a bombshell like Bonnie, but she’d never had reason to worry about her looks much before. Who would have guessed her dream job would be so hard on her ego?

Suddenly she had to get away from him, if only for a few minutes. She yawned. “I’m wiped.”

“Yeah.” He set the pizza box aside. “It’s getting late and we’ve got another early morning tomorrow.”

“At least we don’t have a long commute.” She stood and began gathering up their paper plates and cups.

“I’ll do that.” He took the trash from her, his hand grazing hers, sending a rush of heat through her. “You can have the bathroom first to get ready to turn in.”

“Thanks.” She grabbed up her duffel and made her way through the darkened furniture displays toward the bathroom. Minus the piped-in music and crowds of shoppers, this part of the store was downright creepy. A display of lamps cast long shadows across the floor and an overstuffed chair loomed like a crouching beast. She hurried to the bathroom and hummed to herself while she washed her face and brushed her teeth, then raced back to the bed, grateful for Adam’s solid presence.

While he took his turn in the bathroom, she snuggled under the covers. The bedside lamps cast pools of golden light across the bed, making it a cozy island in the surrounding darkness. Whereas the silence had seemed unnatural in the rest of the store, their luxurious display seemed peaceful.

She settled back against the pillows and gazed into the darkness, letting the quiet wash over her. How odd to be here, in what was a somewhat impossible situation. And yet, how wonderful it all was too. At that moment, she wouldn’t have traded places with anyone.

Then she heard Adam’s footsteps approaching, the heels of his slippers slapping on the tile showroom floor. He stepped into the pool of light, looking larger than he had before, and smelling of herbal soap. Her stomach gave a nervous shimmy, but she forced a smile and patted the covers beside her. “Come on in. It’s very cozy.”

He avoided looking at her, but turned back the covers and climbed in, reaching over to switch off the lamp on his side. She turned off her lamp also, and lay back in the darkness, aware of the weight of him beside her, the bed creaking and covers shifting as he made himself comfortable.

“I hope you don’t snore,” she said, her tone teasing.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “No one’s ever complained before.”

“Oh. Have there been a lot of someones?” The darkness made her bold.

Silence stretched between them and she was afraid she’d gone too far. She turned toward him, barely making out his silhouette in the darkness. He cleared his throat. “Not that many. You?”

She shook her head, then realized he couldn’t see her. “Not many.” Six actually, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Oh. Um, just so you know, I, um…”

She held her breath, waiting for him to finish the sentence. He sounded so serious, as if he was about to confess something important—maybe his real feelings for her?

“Never mind. It’s not important. Good night.” He rolled over, his back to her.

She stared at him, tempted to grab one of the pillows and whomp him over the head with it. But a pillow wasn’t hard enough to knock any real sense into him. Besides, getting into a fight their first night wasn’t going to make the next two days any easier.

She sighed and turned her back to him. She shut her eyes tight and willed herself to breathe more slowly, faking sleep. She doubted she’d get any rest, but the exhaustion of the day got the better of her. Before she knew it, her body relaxed and she drifted off.

ADAM WAS DREAMING, one of those amazing erotic dreams from which he never wanted to wake. He was with a woman, of course, a warm, soft woman. His hands embraced her firm breasts and her bottom was cradled against his erection. She smelled like sweet flowers and her hair felt like silk against his face. He didn’t know who she was, but he didn’t particularly care. She was a dream woman, a product of his imagination.

The fact that he realized this told him he wasn’t too deeply into the dream. In fact, he could feel morning tugging at him, pulling him from sleep, but he resisted, holding on to the woman. He had to hand it to his subconscious—it had conjured up an amazing fantasy female this time. She made a little moaning sound and snuggled closer, sharpening his arousal. He caught his breath as her nipple hardened and pressed against his palm. He buried his face in her neck, his lips against her hot, smooth skin as he thrust against her. He wished she’d turn over. In a minute, he’d see if he could manage it, but the trouble with dreams was that it wasn’t always easy to move, especially when he was so close to waking.

He shifted his hand to her waist, across the curve of her hip, pressing down. Obligingly she rolled onto her back, flipping onto her side to face him. Her arms slipped around him and for the first time he registered that she was wearing clothes, the soft cotton of her pajamas brushing against him.

Eyes still shut tight, he frowned. Since when did his dream fantasies wear clothes? And pajamas at that. If anything, this woman ought to be wearing some silky negligee. Or better yet, nothing at all.

He tugged at the edge of the pajama top, determined to remedy this matter. Obviously his subconscious wanted to make fulfilling this fantasy more challenging.

She was kissing him now, tracing the line of his jaw with her tongue. He groaned, trying to hold back the wakefulness stealing over him. Just a little longer. At least until he got her undressed and he was inside her…

Noises disrupted his concentration—footsteps, the clang of metal, distant voices drawing nearer. He winced against a sudden flare of light against his closed eyelids and groaned. Not yet. Only a few minutes more…

The dream woman gave a small squeal and shoved away from him, even as he tried to hold her.

“Adam, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The words jerked him awake more effectively than a bucket of ice water. He opened his eyes, squinting against the glare of bright overhead lights, and stared into the frowning face of the station manager, Carl.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Carl asked again.

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