She took a deep breath, smoothed her hands over her dress, and walked to the front door. He took her breath away.
Brent Terrell leaned against her doorframe, blue eyes sparkling, and his mouth curved into the smile that curled her toes. He was much too good-looking. Tonight, he’d dressed in black slacks and a shirt that matched his eyes, and the faint hint of his fresh air scent and cologne wafted through her screen door.
“Are you going to let me in, or stare at me all night?”
“Sorry, come in.” She stepped back as he walked in, filling the space in her small living room.
“You ready to go?”
“Yes. Am I dressed all right? I don’t know where we’re headed.”
She shouldn’t have asked. His gaze slid slowly over her from head to feet, sending a wave of heat moving through her body. Her face went hot.
“Simply delicious. How about we stay here and I have you for dinner.”
Just the thought had her heartbeat kicking into overdrive and her knees weak. “Let’s pretend you didn’t just say that, and go where you planned to take me.”
“The lady’s wish is my command.” His hand went to the small of her back as he followed her out and stopped to shut and lock her door.
He had Drake’s truck. He walked to the side and helped her in. “I don’t have any of my cars with me, sorry. The truck will have to do.”
“Most everyone has a truck, no problem. How many cars do you have?”
“I love cars. We all do. I mean my brothers and me. I keep a truck in Montana, but at my place in Florida I have a sports car and a Caddy, plus a renovated Thunderbird.”
“Must be a man thing.”
He laughed. “I’m sure it is.”
She liked his laugh. It was deep and hearty. In fact, she liked everything about him. Did she dare talk to him about step four in her plan?
“Drake tells me there’s a small diner about ten miles from here along the riverside that serves excellent fish.”
“He must have been talking about The Log Cabin restaurant."
“That’s it. Unless you’d rather go somewhere else?”
“No, it’s fine. They have good food.” Except the place is much too cozy, and I'm in danger of losing my heart. That wasn’t part of the plan. She’d have to shore up her defenses if she wanted to come out of this whole.
Brent pulled into the almost-full parking lot. “A lot of cars means it must be a favorite hangout.” He got out and came around to open her door. Reaching up, he put his hands around her waist and swung her to the ground. For a moment, he held her there, a slight space separating them. The air sizzled around them.
“Pansy eyes. I’ll always think of you when I see that flower.” He smiled, tucked her arm around his, and they started toward the entrance.
The night had barely begun, and she didn’t want it to end. No man had ever affected her insides the way Brent did. She was flustered and hot like an overeager teenager. For goodness’ sakes, you’re thirty-one, cool it.
They were shown to a corner table with a window facing the river on one side. The waiter handed them menus.
“Would you like to order a drink?” Brent raised a questioning brow at her.
“I’ll take a glass of zinfandel.”
Brent ordered a bourbon and water. “Did I tell you how lovely you look tonight? Although I must admit, I was hoping you’d wear your hair down.”
“You really have an obsession with my hair.” Angie shook her head and placed her napkin in her lap. When she glanced across at Brent, she found him smiling at her.
“It bugs you. No one has ever told you how beautiful it is and you are, because for some reason you hid behind a totally different facade. Why?”
“Did I agree to answer your questions along with my dinner?”
The waiter placed the wine and bourbon on the table. “I’ll be right back for your order.”
Brent didn’t let the interruption deter him. “No, but why are you afraid to answer them?”
“I’m not afraid. It’s none of your business.” She was being rude. He had her flustered. She should have suspected he’d wonder as the others had about the reasons behind her changes. Well, she’d shock him with her answer.
“The ladies at the beauty shop asked the same questions.”
“And what did you tell them?” he asked. His eyes watched her intently.
She looked down to avoid giving herself away, but then couldn’t resist glancing up at the last minute to see his reaction. “They guessed right, that I’m looking for a husband. Do you want to be a candidate?”
His expression had her laughing out loud. “Don’t look so frightened. What I didn’t tell them is I only want one temporarily.”
“Really? Why do you need a temporary husband?”
“I want a child, and it’s more fun that way than going to a sperm bank.”
This time he spewed out his bourbon and started coughing. His face flushed.
“Are you all right? I didn’t mean to shock you.”
“Who are you? You’ve taken over the body of the shy schoolteacher I met a few years ago.”
“Two years and nine months.”
“What?”
This time it was her turn to go beet red.
“Are you ready to order?”
Saved by the waiter. Angie quickly picked up her menu. She chose the first item she saw, the fried catfish.
“A specialty of the house. Would you like the regular salad or Caesar?”
She took her time ordering the salad and potato, and then sat back and tried to regroup while Brent gave his order. What in the world possessed her to say exactly how long it had been since they’d seen each other? She hadn’t even realized she’d been counting. It just spilled out of her mouth. Boy, she was out of practice with dating.
After the waiter left, Brent leaned back in his seat and studied her. “You are full of surprises and mystery. I love mysteries. Part of my work involves finding answers.”
“What do you do? I’ve never heard exactly.”
“I own a business that provides protection for people when needed. Or I locate people and other similar assignments.”
Her heart jumped. No wonder he was curious. It came natural to him. Could her stepfather have hired him to find her and her mother? Of course she was using a fake name, but she’d just gotten rid of her disguise. Her stomach clenched and fear made goose bumps on her arms.
“Are you cold? I saw you shiver.”
She pulled her shawl around her arms. “The air conditioning blew across my neck. This will keep me warm.”
* * * *
She was lying. He saw it in her eyes and in the way her body tightened when he told her about his business. Miss Angelina McElvaine has a secret, and she’s afraid I’ll find out what it is. I doubt that’s even her name. Hmm, she gets more interesting by the minute. But not in the way he’d expected.
For now, he’d calm her fears.
He reached across the table and took her hand. It was soft and small. He clasped it firmly in his.
“Let’s forget about jobs and other things and concentrate on us.” His thumb rubbed across the inside of her palm, and his dick stirred to attention. Down, boy, this isn’t going to be a simple jump into bed and have fun. No, the lady could be dangerous in more ways than one, and he certainly wasn’t looking for a wife and child.
Damn, did she really think he’d act like a stallion, impregnate her, and forget he had a son or daughter? If she did, she had him figured all wrong. And yet the thought of her going to someone else with her request left a bad taste in his mouth and a pain in his chest.
* * * *
The touch of his hand clasping hers and his thumb raking across her skin sent a different kind of shiver down her spine. She tensed her body against the heat and desire curling inside her. After this date was over, she had to stay far from Brent. It had been stupid to consider him for a possible husband. The sperm bank made more sense. The
townspeople would get over their shock of an unwed mother. This was a new century, even if Saddle Creek tried to ignore the difference in morality. It was on television frequently that some famous woman was having a baby on her own.
The food coming was a relief. Brent pulled his hand back and they settled in to eat.
“This is good fish, and the fries are just like I like them. They're hot on the outside and soft inside.” He looked at her with that twinkle in his eyes and laughed when her face flushed.
The man was incorrigible. How could any woman keep her senses about her with him staring and making innuendoes out of every statement?
They’d almost finished eating when the band began to play. Brent glanced around.
Don’t ask me to dance. She’d never survive being held close to his body.
“They’re playing a nice slow number.” He stood and put out his hand. When she hesitated, he raised his eyebrow. “Scared?”
“Of course not.” She took his hand, and he pulled her around the tables to the dance area.
His one hand wrapped around hers, and his arm pulled her snug against his body. His scent filled her head, and being this close sent desire swirling in her blood. She wanted him, plain and simple. It had been too long since she’d had sex. Without conscious thought, her body molded to his chest and his lean hips.
“You smell sweet,” he whispered in her ear.
His breath blew across her ear, sending tingles along every nerve ending. A deep ache centered in her lower abdomen. The music wrapped them in a cocoon of need. His hard arousal evident against her stomach.
When she glanced at his face, the hard planes were etched by the faint light, his jaw rigid, and his eyes blazing with lust.
“I want you, but not marriage and not a kid. I want sex.”
His words were blunt and hard.
“You drive a hard bargain.”
“I’m honest.”
She pulled away, a mixture of hurt, need, and anger churning inside. “I’ll think about it. Take me home.”
He stopped at their table and paid the bill, then escorted her to the truck. It didn’t take them long to get to her house.
When he walked her to the door, he waited for her to unlock it. He stopped her when she started to go inside.
“Here’s something to think about.” He pulled her tight against him and lowered his head. His mouth brushed across her lips tentatively at first. Then she parted her lips, and his tongue slipped inside to caress and tease her with his taste and touch. He moved his head to the side and devoured her mouth.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, and her tongue tangled with his in a dance of desire. Her blood raced hot and her pussy clenched with hunger for him.
Abruptly he pulled back and lowered her arms. “Good night, pansy eyes. See you later.”
Stunned, she watched as he sauntered to the truck. He didn’t look back as he climbed in and started the engine. But he did wait until he saw her go inside and shut the door. She stood at the window until his taillights went out of sight.
Her body throbbed with the need to feel his touch. Maybe she could sleep and forget him. But when she lay in bed, her body was on fire for relief. Her fingers went to her sensitive breast and brushed across the swollen nipple. With her other hand, she rubbed her throbbing nub and along her wet folds. She imagined Brent lying beside her, his hands touching her, sliding inside her pussy, his teeth rasping across her aching, peaked nipple. A wave of desire built and began to flow through her insides, as she pictured his blue eyes and smiling lips and a faint hint of his scent lingered in her mind.
Afterward, she curled into a ball. Tears ran down her face. She’d given herself temporary relief. The minute she was around Brent again she didn’t doubt the desire would come back, stronger than ever.
She had to avoid him, at all costs.
Chapter Four
Brent Terrell had his own plan. He picked up the phone and called Angie. “Hi, it’s a beautiful day outside. Why don’t I come get you and we’ll go on a picnic?”
He smiled when she didn’t answer him right away. “I know you’re trying to think of a reason to say no, but don’t. I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”
Her laughter warmed his heart. It bubbled up through her. He pictured her pretty face and those fascinating eyes.
“Just to please me, wear your hair down. I know I am crazy about your hair. Say yes, pansy eyes, and I’ll be around to your place in an hour. Or, I can stay on the phone all day. However long it takes to convince you.” As soon as she said her reluctant yes, he hung up.
“Did she accept?”
He turned to find Drake standing in the doorway to his study. “You overheard?”
“Yeah, I was coming in to do some paperwork. I didn’t have the heart to distract you. Perfect gentleman? You’re putting it on strong there, brother.” Drake strolled across the room to his desk. “What happened last night? Did you come across as a caveman?”
“No, but I wanted to. She had me off my mark after she told me why she changed her appearance.”
“You going to tell me?”
“Maybe you’d better sit down. I almost chocked to death on my bourbon.”
Drake grinned. “This gets more and more interesting.”
“She wants to find a husband, a temporary one.”
“As in marry and then divorce soon after?”
“Right after the husband gives her a child.”
“You’re kidding?”
Brent took a deep breath and walked to the window, facing away from Drake. “No, I’m not. She apparently doesn’t see the need to keep the husband around.”
“Damn, has she lost her mind?”
“I don’t think so. I told her I just wanted sex.”
Laughing so hard he almost fell out of his chair, Drake had to gasp for breath. “I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall.”
Brent walked back over and sat in the chair beside Drake’s desk. “But what worries me is she’s lying about why she basically wore a disguise since she and her mother settled in Saddle Creek. Every once in a while I see fear in her eyes.”
“You think she’s hiding something.”
“Oh yeah, and I intend to find out her secrets.”
“Maybe you should let it be. She won’t appreciate you snooping into her personal life.”
“You’re right, but I want to be prepared in case she gets herself into trouble.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ve already done it. I have my lead man, Mick, doing a background check on Angelina McElvaine. I’m betting that’s a fake name.”
“Don’t get yourself too involved personally. You have no idea what you’ll find,” Drake warned.
“Right. I think that advice might be too late. See you later. I have a picnic to organize.”
* * * *
Angie put the phone down. Her idea to avoid Brent hadn’t worked. His sexy voice had her toes curling and her brain turning to mush. Of course she said yes. Get a backbone, girl.
If he started asking questions today, she’d demand he bring her home. She barely knew him. He had no right to invade her space and demand answers.
Before his call, she’d been wandering around the house trying to decide what to do instead of thinking about him all day. It hadn’t worked. She’d cleaned kitchen cupboards, mopped the floors, but when she glanced out the window at the bluebells blooming in her yard, she immediately pictured Brent’s eyes.
Her heart had lifted when she heard his voice, and warmth spread through her at his invitation. A whole afternoon outside with a sexy man. No woman in her right mind could have resisted.
First a shower, then she’d put on a pair of shorts, a light shirt, and she must not forget her sunscreen. He wanted her hair loose. She’d leave it down, but fasten it into a ponytail. Otherwise, the least bit of wind and the fine strands would fly everywhere. An hour, she’d better get started.
When the doorbell rang, she hurried to t
he door. As usual the first sight of him had her heart pounding. Jeans hugged his slim hips and long legs. His white shirt wasn’t buttoned until the third button. Dark brown hair showed between the opening. His sensuous mouth was made for kissing, and his laughing eyes sparkled.
“I wondered when you’d get to my face. Lady, you raised my body temperature at least ten degrees, and you expect me to behave?”
Flustered, she let him in the door. “I have to grab my purse. I’ll be right back.” She ran to her room and looked in the mirror. Her face was red, evidently a perpetual state when around Brent. Grabbing her small purse, she hurried back to her living room.
He was studying the books on her bookcase. “You like to read?”
“It’s a great way to pass time, when you can’t get out much. The last eight months or so of Mother’s life I stayed right here with her except for work.”
“A devoted daughter.”
“She was all I had, and I loved her.”
“No other family? Oh, there I go asking questions. Sorry.”
“As I said, she and I were our family. Shall we go?”
Brent took hold of her hand, and heat flowed like hot lava in her veins. His outdoorsy scent filled her head. He opened the door and locked it behind them, then took her hand again.
“We’re going to have fun today. Janice sent a feast along with me so we won’t go hungry.” He helped her into the truck and went around to the driver’s side. Turning in the seat, he smiled. “Let’s go exploring.”
Angie sat back. She’d forget all her fears and just enjoy the day. “Are you exploring with anything particular in mind?”
“I’m looking for land.”
“Like land to buy?”
“I’ve found I like being a cowboy again and being close to at least part of my family. A realtor I called suggested several areas to check on.”
Angie turned in her seat to study him. “You’re going to move to Saddle Creek, for good?”
“I might. What do you think?”
“You’ll never stay. It’s a small town. There’s nothing much to do. You’ll get bored quickly.”
Cameron, Paige - The Billionaire Maverick Bargains for a Wife [Wives for the Western Billionaires 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Page 3
