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too in your own way.”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Colleen said, putting her hands on her hips.
    “It means he wasn’t the love of your life.”
    “Oh, and David was the love of yours?”
    “Until he started shooting his paycheck in his arm. Until he thought it was okay for me to be a punching bag.” Mallory’s throat closed and she shut her eyes. “Can I stay here or what?”
    “Do you still want to? Now that you know people are having orgasms all around you?”
    Mallory opened her eyes. “How many orgasms?”
    “Multiple!”
    The two sisters grinned at each other and burst into laughter.
    “Yes, I want to stay. But I don’t want to see you in a dominatrix outfit.”
    “Honey, you couldn’t afford it.”

Chapter Three
    Colleen led her to a room in what she called the vanilla wing. Somehow, Mallory didn’t think she was talking about the ice-cream flavor. Still, the room was tastefully decorated and if she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was an upscale hotel room. In fact, the only thing that was a little off was the bedside table with a package of flavored condoms and a new, unopened, vibrator.
    I guess the fashion side of Couture gets a little kinky too
.
    After she unpacked what little she’d managed to stuff in her duffel bag, Mallory fidgeted around the room. There were so many things she’d left behind. She couldn’t find her doctor’s bag, and that bothered her because of the prescription drugs in it. It was a locked case, but if someone—oh, say David—wanted to get in there it wouldn’t stop him for long. Plus she didn’t have her phone. She couldn’t take work calls or field David’s calls.
    He’d probably pawn her jewelry. That gorgeous emerald necklace Colleen had bought her for graduating med school was probably in a pawnbroker’s window right now. The Cartier watch that her parents got her was fair game too. Mallory clenched her teeth. Maybe she could call him to meet her at a restaurant and then while he was there waiting for her to show up, she could sneak into the apartment and out again.
    She turned on the television to settle her nerves and found another way the room differed from one in a normal hotel. The porn channels were free. She watched for a few moments and eyed the vibrator before shutting off the TV. It all seemed like too much work. After two months of hiding and feeling lower than dirt, Mallory couldn’t see herself getting lost in passion. Although she’d like to. She picked up the vibrator box and looked at it. Man, she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d let go. Laughing with Colleen this afternoon was the first time in a long while that she’d felt normal. It gave her a little hope that maybe the old Mallory would replace this new Mallory that was beaten down and afraid of her own shadow.
    The knock on her door made her bobble the vibrator.
So much for that thought
. Her nerves were shot. Maybe she’d go hunt down that bottle of blue label and take the vibrator out for a spin after all. Putting it back on the night table, she walked over to the door. After peering through the peephole, she opened the door for her sister.
    “How are you settling in?” Colleen pushed her way inside, followed by a dreamboat of a man. He was tall and powerfully built, filling out a pair of jeans and a Couture T-shirt quite nicely. His black hair was slicked back into a ponytail and he had a goatee. Mallory had alwayshated goatees until she saw Robert Downey Jr. in
Iron Man
, and then she became a fan. This guy made Iron Man look like a weakling. He had dark, kind eyes and he was looking at her appreciatively.
    “Good,” Mallory said, clenching her hands so she wouldn’t bite her nails. She was hyperaware of the condoms and vibrator just sitting there on the table. What was her sister up to now?
    “This is Max Spencer. He’s my martial arts trainer.”
    Mallory tried to think of something witty to say, but nothing came to mind.