Game On: a book in the Cotton Creek Saga (Heartbreakers & Heroes 9)

by Ciana Stone

  But, since they were both supposed to be play-acting, he could have a little fun with this situation when they were around others. A thought entered his mind and had him wondering. Could he play his role so well that she just might want to cross the line from professional to personal?

  If Dillon had one failing it was that he was competitive. About darn near everything. He never backed down from a challenge, and now he just might have a new one. Sure, it was one of his own making, but that didn't matter.

  It was a challenge. And one he was going to win.

  Chapter Five

  "Damn, girl. I mean, damn, how many times in life do you have a view like this?" Lula grinned and raised her glass. Josie raised hers in a toast.

  They were sitting on the back deck of what was once Lula's rental house. Lincoln bought it for her and at present, he, Mathias, Riggs and Dillon Walker were busy adding on to the dock. "There seem to be quite a few hot men in this town," Josie commented. "And I thought you said Reese was coming?"

  "She is, but it'll be later. Which is kind of fortunate because I wanted to ask you about the assignment. I honestly don't know how you're bearing up. Girl, Dillon's got that I'll take you there vibe hovering around him like an aura. So, are things heating up?"

  Josie considered lying but that wasn't in her nature, particularly with a friend and especially since she so badly needed to talk to someone she could trust. "I swear I think he's trying to make me so nuts I'll make a real move on him."

  "You want to elaborate?"

  "Look, it's been a month and I haven't seen or heard anything that leads me to believe there's anyone here who poses a threat to him. But his father and uncle aren't about to pull the detail. One of the protection detail is a guy posing as a maintenance worker at the football facility, and believe me, he isn't bitching. It's pretty much a cush job. Likewise, with the guy who follows Dillon to and from work and rents the house across the street. As far as Dillon knows, Carl works in Rock Ridge at the feed plant."

  "So, he doesn't interact with the other two at all?"

  "Nope. Just me. And I swear to all that's holy, it's like he turns it on wide open every time we're out somewhere. Sometimes even when he walks in on a training session or when the team is in a drill. Those damn teenagers think we're doing it like monkeys in the trees at every opportunity."

  "Monkeys in the trees?"

  "You know what I mean."

  "And?"

  Josie looked at her. "He's wearing me down, Lula. IA woman can only take so much until she needs some release. You know what I mean?"

  "Oh, yes indeed. So, what are you going to do about it?"

  "Get into the game. If he wants a challenge, then a challenge it'll be. He can dish it out, that's for sure, but I'm not that green. I've decided that I am going to sleep with Dillon Walker and if you repeat that, you know I'll have to shoot you."

  "You'd sleep with someone you're supposed to be protecting?"

  "Not while I'm on the job. But this gig won't last forever and when it's done..." She looked at Dillon, shirtless and sweaty. "When it's done, I'm gonna rock his world."

  Lula laughed. "I don't doubt that for a second. So, aside from sex, how about the rest of it?"

  "The rest is great. He knows football and I mean knows it. I've never known anyone aside from my Dad who loves the game as much. And he's damn good at strategy. I think my Dad would be impressed.

  "Sounds like you are."

  "I am. I think his talents are wasted here, to be honest. Dillon could go toe-to-toe with any NFL coach and I don't say that lightly. I talk to my Dad every week and tell him some of the things Dillon says and he's impressed."

  "That's pretty major coming from your father."

  "Yep."

  "And it makes Dillon all the more appealing, doesn't it?"

  Josie looked out at the subject in question again. "Unfortunately. But it doesn't change anything. As long as he's under my protection, the hands-off policy stays in place."

  "Unless you're in public."

  "Yeah. Damn, do you have any idea how truly screwed up that is?"

  "Why? Because it makes you want to go out to dinner every night?"

  That question slapped Josie square in the face. How had she not noticed before? Had she been so wrapped up in controlling her own feelings and being over-zealous about having eyes in the back of her head when they were out, that she was blind to what was right in front of her?

  Since the end of her second week on the job, Dillon had started making excuses about not having dinner at home. He was in the mood for pizza or steak or barbecue or whatever, and either didn't want to have to cook or liked it better from some place in town. And every time they went out, they ended up making out in a parking lot or on the dancefloor at the Honky Tonk.

  The only conclusion she could surmise from that data was that he wanted her, but wasn't about to admit it, so going out served two purposes. It allowed him to satisfy at least some part of the urge he had for her and it piled pressure on her. Josie made up her mind then and there that as soon as they were home, she was going to have a frank discussion with him about their situation.

  It was time to put their cards on the table.

  *****

  Dillon saw her watching as he and the other guys headed to the deck for a cold beer. The dock was close to being completed. All Lincoln had left to do was finish the hand rail and mount some cleats for docking a boat.

  "It really looks good," Lula commented. "Thank you for coming over to help, guys. Dinner's on us by the way. How do you feel about ribs at the Honky Tonk?"

  "I could eat ribs," Mathias commented.

  "I'd love to, but I have a date and need to split." Riggs replied.

  Lula stood and offered her hand to Riggs. "It's a real pleasure to meet you, Riggs and we owe you."

  "Happy to help and the pleasure is mine." He picked up his discarded shirt and shrugged it on. "Y'all have a good weekend." He then looked at Dillon. "See ya, brother."

  "Yep. Keep it between the ditches."

  "Always. See ya, Josie Harper."

  "Bye, Riggs."

  "I'll walk you out," Mathias replied. "Oh, Reese texted and said she got hung up with Wiley. How about we meet you at the Honky Tonk?"

  "Sure. Seven?" Lula asked.

  "Works for me. Later Linc."

  "Thanks, bro."

  "You bet."

  Josie stood and tossed Dillon his shirt. "Why don't we head on home and get cleaned up?"

  "Sounds good."

  "See you at seven?" Lula asked.

  "Sure," Dillon agreed and looked at Josie. "You ready?"

  "I am. See you later, Lula."

  Neither one of them said a word the entire way home. Josie considered opening a discussion with him about their situation and the roles they were playing but decided it would be best to do that at a time when they were not planning on being around other people. When they walked into the house, Josie headed for the stairs, paused at the bottom and looked at Dillon. "It was really nice of you to volunteer to help. I know Lula and Lincoln appreciate it."

  "They seem like nice people, and it was good to see Mathias again. He used to come home with Riggs now and then and I haven't seen him in a while."

  "Well, it was nice. I'm going to get cleaned up."

  "Okay."

  Josie hurried upstairs, went straight to the bathroom, stripped down and got into the shower. Normally, when they went out, she dressed in jeans and a top, nothing really sexy, just comfortable. Since she wasn't trying to seduce Dillon but was trying to play the part of his girlfriend, she figured she'd pull it off better with a subdued look. After all, women tend to stop glamming it up after they land their man.

  Tonight, she was going to change it up. She took her time in the shower, spent extra time on her hair and makeup and then started going through her clothes. "Well, hello old friend." She pulled out a hangar bearing a black skirt. Simple but clingy and short. Top it with an equally clinging top a
nd a pair of boots and tada, casual seduction. At least she hoped because tonight she was going to make the people at the Honky Tonk believe beyond all doubt that she and Dillon Walker were indeed, getting it on.

  Josie dressed, turned in front of the mirror mounted to the closet door, then nodded and grabbed a leather jacket to complete her outfit. When she walked down stairs, she saw Dillon sitting on the couch.

  He looked up and his eyes widened. "I—um, you ready?"

  "I am."

  "Then let's go."

  "Okay." She smiled as he stood and gestured for her to precede him. She did, and he walked her to the passenger door of his SUV.

  She turned in a bit toward him and smiled. "Thanks."

  He nodded and stepped back, waited for her to climb in then closed the door. Josie was a bit disappointed in his reaction and the fact that he had nothing to say on the drive. She took the time to remind him of something she'd said every week since she took the assignment.

  "You remember what to do if I call you QB, right?"

  He smirked. "Why'd you choose that?"

  "Because you were—Quarterback, I mean. So it fit and no one would think to question it. The important part is, do you remember what to do?"

  "How could I forget, you drill me on it every damn week. If you call me QB, I am supposed to look for any opportunity to get out of wherever we are and to remember that my best weapon is my arm so if I can find something to throw at anyone who threatens me, I should do it."

  "Excellent." She smiled. "Thank you."

  He didn't say another word and she got the idea that he was now feeling a bit peevish. Once they reached the Honky Tonk and were out of the car, his behavior changed.

  His hand went to the small of her back as they walked to the door and she couldn't help but notice that the position was low, nearly on her ass, a clear signal to others she was his. At least while they were here.

  Once they were back at his place, however, it was going to be her turn and she fully intended to send her own clear signal. Namely, that if he wanted to play the game of who caves first, she'd do everything she could to make sure it was him.

  Chapter Six

  Dillon raised his hand in greeting to the tableful of men who called out to him. "Who are they?" Josie asked.

  "Booster Club."

  "Booster club? Are you serious? They all go out on Saturday night without their wives? Wow, I bet that makes for a happy home."

  "It just might. You haven't met those fellas."

  "Ooh," she gave the men another glance. "Well, do you need to go speak to them?"

  "Considering the time and energy they put into fund raising for the program, I suppose I should."

  "I thought your family was the heavy hitter when it came to contributions."

  "We are, but these guys have raised a lot of money and they live football."

  "Well, then go over and say hi. I'll be fine right here. Lula and Linc will be taking a break from the dancing soon."

  "Are you sure you don't mind?"

  "No. Go on."

  What she didn't say and would not have for a hundred-pound box of ten-dollar-bills, was that she could use a little break from the effect Dillon had on her. So far, this evening had been fun. They'd laughed and talked with Lula and Lincoln, danced and flirted and teased and if she could have put her duty out of mind, it would have felt like a date.

  It didn't go unnoticed that Dillon was quite the popular man. He was friendly to everyone who stopped to say hello and had a nice word to say about many of the players whose parents wanted to thank him for his guidance and example with their child.

  Another thing was abundantly clear. If Dillon Walker didn't have a woman to spend time with, it was because he didn't choose to have one. Every time they danced, he had at least two women wanting to cut in. Josie was secretly pleased that each time he declined. She liked dancing with him. A lot.

  But that's another thing she'd never admit.

  As she watched, her body went into alert a split second before the cause registered in her mind. Two men stood at the bar, both holding beers, but neither drinking, and both scoping out the bar. Josie watched and noticed them looking at Dillon then talking to one another.

  One of them saw her watching and the look he gave her told her without doubt that he was a threat. The question was, did he perceive her as one? The only way to find out was for her to make a move and see what happened.

  She got up and started toward the restroom room, pretending to be watching the dancers. She saw both men following. Damn. One wouldn't be a problem. Two might. But she would rather have to deal with them than have them do anything to Dillon, so she continued.

  There was a line at the restroom room, so she took a place at the end and leaned back against the wall. As expected, the two men worked their way through the crowd, body bullied the lady in front of her out of the way and took up positions on either side of Josie.

  "You look like you need some fresh air," the one to her right said and pulled back his leather jacket to display a gun in the waistband of his pants.

  "You know, I did notice a bad smell."

  The man tried to take her arm but she slapped it away. "Unless you want to start a shit storm you won't try that again."

  "Outside. My partner here is going to keep an eye on your boy while we have a chat."

  "Fine." Josie headed for the door, all the way across the bar. She saw Lula and Lincoln coming off the dance floor and when her gaze connected with Lula's she was pretty sure Lula got the message that something was off because Lula put a hand on Lincoln's arm and leaned in to speak to him.

  Josie made a point to look back at the man's partner, who was now standing at the bar, not far from where Dillon was sitting with the Booster Club. She then looked at Lula who nodded.

  Once they were outside, Josie stopped beside a car to face the man. "I'm guessing you have something to say?"

  "I'm just going to state the obvious. We can get to the golden boy any time we want, so you need to tell your boss that it's really not in his best interest to keep bucking the powers that be."

  "You can't seriously think you're walking away from this."

  He laughed. "Right, because a woman with no weapon, is going to stop me."

  "Well how about that. You're smarter than you look."

  His face twisted in anger and she saw her opportunity. Before he could reach for his gun, she used the car as a launching pad, put her hands on it and mule kicked the man with both feet in his gut. He wheezed and as he doubled over she landed, raised one knee and caught him under the chin.

  A crowd was already forming from people entering the bar, but her awareness of them was secondary to her opponent. This time the blow she delivered lifted him up and send him careening backward. Josie was on top of him by the time he hit the ground. In a second, she had his gun in her hand, pointed at his head. "You're going to want to stay very still. I tend to get twitchy with firearms."

  Without taking her eyes off him she stood and moved off to one side, keeping the gun on him. "Could someone please call the police?"

  "Josie?"

  Dillon's voice came from the direction of the bar's entrance. "Over here."

  "What the hell?" He looked at the gun in her hand and the man on the ground. "Did you know Lula just body slammed a guy in the bar?"

  "I'm not surprised. Did anyone call the police?"

  "Hannah, the owner is doing that now. What's going on?"

  "Can we talk about that later?"

  "Sure."

  "Thanks."

  "So what do we do now?"

  "Wait for the police."

  "Okay."

  It wasn't long before sirens announced the imminent arrival of the police. The moment two officers appeared, one pulled his service weapon. "Ma'am I'm going to ask you to relinquish your weapon."

  Josie held up her hands, with her thumb through the trigger of the gun so that it hung loosely. An officer hurried over, took the weapon a
nd pulled Josie's arms behind her and snapped on restraints. She saw the other officer getting the man off the ground to cuff him as two additional officers hurried to the entrance of the bar.

  "Hey, she hasn't done anything." Dillon protested.

  "It's okay," she assured him and then looked over her shoulder at the officer. "Can he please ride with us to the station?"

  "That's highly irregular, ma'am."

  "This is a rather irregular situation, officer."

  "Please," Dillon added. "You can cuff me if you want."

  "That won't be necessary Coach." The officer took hold of Josie's arm. "Come with me."

  Josie didn't protest. In fact, she was glad she was being taken in. That kept her cover intact. It would take nothing more than a phone call to secure her release. The man she'd disarmed, however, would probably find himself being transferred to a federal facility. Making threats against the family of a United States Senator, carried consequences.

  The message he'd given her was of far more concern than his arrest. Richard Walker had done more than ruffle feathers in the current administration. He'd made enemies and anyone bold enough to make this kind of threat was probably egotistical enough to assume that Richard would back down.

  Clearly, their opponent had no idea who they were up against. Richard Walker would never back down and she'd give her life to see that he lived to secure the Republican nomination. If there was one thing she'd stake her life on it was that he would give everything he had to get the country on the right track again and unite America.

  And that, in her book, was something worth risking your life for.

  Chapter Seven

  It was well after midnight before Josie and Dillon made it home. "I don't know about you, but I could use a drink and I mean a stiff one." Dillon said and headed for the liquor cabinet.

  "I wouldn't say no, if you have cinnamon whiskey."

  "Oh, lady, now you're talking my language." Dillon poured them both a drink as Josie peeled off her boots and curled up on one end of the couch.

  He brought the drinks, handed her one and then claimed a seat on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table. "To not spending the night in jail." He held his glass out toward her.