Jared: Red, Hot & Blue, Book 4

by Cat Johnson

  After shoving cash and her room key into her pocket, Mandy was good to go. She walked across the hotel’s parking lot toward the bar, cursing the deep, sharp gravel ruining the heels of her shoes with every step.

  Mandy anticipated this bar would probably play a major role when it came time for taping. Drunks in a bar made for great television. She heard the jukebox pumping out a lively country tune before she even opened the door.

  Once inside, she knew she was right about the bar being perfect for the show. It simply oozed small-town atmosphere. Right down to the fact the entire place quieted and every patron inside turned to look at her when she opened the door and stepped inside. She nearly laughed at the locals’ stereotypical reaction to her.

  Jared and none other than the deputy sat at a table just off the dance floor. Jared stood when she entered. A country gentleman. She smiled at that idea and made her way to them.

  “Hey there, darlin’. Wow, you look great. I gotta say, I didn’t think you actually owned a pair of jeans.” Jared glanced down at her approvingly.

  “Of course I do. I’m not always dressed in stuffy business suits.”

  He was looking pretty great himself even though he was now wearing a shirt. She had liked the view that afternoon without it so much better.

  “Good to know.” He grinned at her. “Mandy, this here is my friend, Bobby Barton. Bobby, this is Miss Mandy Morris from Los Angeles.”

  She was sure that Jared had already filled his friend in about exactly who and what she was, but that was fine. She made no pretense about why she was in town.

  Mandy extended her hand. “We’ve already met, sort of. Nice to see you again, Deputy.”

  He shook her hand with a stern nod. “Bobby is fine. I’m off duty tonight, Ms. Morris.”

  She shook her head. “Nuh-uh. It’s Mandy. No business suits, no formal talk. Tonight is for fun only.”

  Jared grinned wider, resting his hand lightly at the small of her back. “That’s good to hear too. What can I get you to drink?”

  Supposing the bartender would be incapable of mixing up a good Cosmopolitan and that them pouring a decent wine was even more questionable, Mandy settled on something safe. “A light beer, please?”

  “You got it, darlin’.” Jared grinned and headed for the bar.

  Mandy had been looking forward to picking the deputy’s brain for a minute or two before the horseman returned. Unfortunately, Jared somehow procured the beer, and two more for himself and Bobby, faster than it took her to get seated and break the ice with the stone-faced lawman. To be fair, she’d bought the jeans to fit a bit tightly. It made settling into one of the three chairs tightly crowded around the tiny cocktail table a tough squeeze.

  When she was seated, if less than comfortably, and Jared had returned all three of them crowded cozily around the table so small her knee kept bumping into Jared’s leg. He didn’t move out of the way, and neither did she. The second time it happened within about a minute, Mandy glanced his way. She found him grinning at her. Jared Gordon was definitely into games.

  Fine. Two could play at this. She hadn’t bumped knees with a guy in awhile. She hadn’t bumped anything else with a guy in a while either, come to think of it. She was long overdue for that. For now, this would do.

  Mandy adjusted her position beneath the table. Crossing her legs she aligned herself so she could slowly and tantalizingly run her toe up and down Jared’s calf.

  His raised brow and wide smile that he tried to hide behind his beer as he took a long draw from the bottle told Mandy her little flirtation was affecting him. Damn, it was starting to get to her too as her insides began to warm.

  Reminding herself she was here to get her release signed and not get laid, Mandy started making small talk that would hopefully lead to a discussion about her show. Maybe their little game beneath the table would loosen Jared up enough he’d reconsider. “This is a great place. No wonder you come here.”

  Sipping on the longneck bottle—she had refused the glass so she’d blend in with the locals—Mandy felt the cold foam slip down her throat. With every swallow she thought more about what it would be like to take this thing with Jared to another level.

  Jared laughed. “It’s also the only place. That’s why we come here.”

  Bobby didn’t even smile. It seemed Bobby was going to be the tougher nut to crack, more so even than Jared. That was all right. She was up for a challenge. She was just getting her beer muscles…and toes. Adjusting her angle, she moved the game of footsie to Jared’s thigh.

  “Well, I’ve been to more small towns and their bars in the last two weeks than I ever imagined I’d see in a lifetime. Having a basis for comparison, I can assure you this is one of the better ones.”

  “Tell me where you’ve been, darlin’. What’ve you been doin’ since I saw you last?” Jared’s hand landed on her knee and squeezed and she had to work to smother a moan.

  Why was she wishing he’d slide his hand up a little farther? The seam of her jeans was already pressing against a suddenly incredibly sensitive spot. If Jared even touched her there she’d come right at the table beneath the steely-eyed perusal of the local law enforcement. There was probably some sort of law against public orgasms in Pigeon Hollow. She nearly giggled at that and realized she was well on her way to getting tipsy. Mandy remembered she’d forgotten to eat dinner.

  With a knowing grin that said he knew exactly what his touch has done to her, Jared relaxed back in his chair and stretched out one booted leg. She glanced at the long, lean, denim-clad leg and swallowed.

  He wanted stories? She had stories. And what better way to take her mind off of how that leg would feel if she dared to put her hand on it? Mandy swallowed the desire in her throat and launched into the first of what would turn into many tales of her recent travels.

  Before she knew it, the waitress had dropped off another round. The second beer went down as easily and quickly as the first while she was regaling them with stories of all the characters she’d met over the last few weeks of roaming the South in her rental car.

  Still laughing from one of her descriptions, Jared put down his bottle and stood. “If you’ll ’scuse me.”

  She nodded as he disappeared into dark a corner in the back of the bar, leaving her alone with Bobby.

  The deputy leaned forward once Jared was gone. “What are you still doing in my town, Miss Mandy?”

  Leaning forward herself, she answered him. “Honestly? I’m here to convince your town that my offer to tape my show here is the best thing that ever happened to them.”

  “You many think that, but I’m not so sure.”

  “Forgive me, but if you don’t see how I can benefit every person here, then you’re as shortsighted as your friend. I’ve talked to a few of the business owners, Deputy. All of them were enthusiastic about the idea. They’d all sign on in a heartbeat. All of them except the one I need. The Gordons still say no. Jared Gordon to be exact.”

  “There’s something I don’t understand.” Bobby considered her closely. “If you’re so set on Pigeon Hollow, why not just do your show and leave the Gordons out of it?”

  Mandy shook her head. “Without a signed consent form, I’ll have to blur Jared out of any shots he gets his damn hunky, hot body into.” Oh, shit. Had she said that out loud? Maybe Bobby didn’t notice.

  Bobby choked on the swallow of beer he’d just taken. Apparently he’d noticed. Might as well keep talking now that she had his complete attention.

  “What Jared doesn’t understand is what I can do for this town. I stopped by today to get my nails done at Delilah’s Salon.”

  “Delia’s,” Bobby corrected.

  Feeling looser than she had in a year or more, Mandy waved one hand in the air. “Whatever. Anyway, it was totally dead. I was the only person in there. Now, I bring in a crew of over a dozen here for two months, think what an economic boost that’ll give to the small businesses. Every one of that crew is going to need food, drink, lodging
, salon services, gasoline, supplies...”

  Bobby nodded. “Yeah, and what happens once you leave and take all those people with you? Where are we then?”

  Shaking her head, Mandy took another slug of her light beer, which wasn’t feeling so light as it went right to her head. “After the show hits the air, travelers who used to whiz past on the expressway may decide to stop in the quaint little town they saw on television. They’ll stop for a break and a bite at Mac’s diner before continuing on. There will be so many tourists the Hideaway won’t be able to accommodate them all. Maybe a bed and breakfast or two will open up and then the visitors will stay for the weekend. Don’t the people of Pigeon Hollow deserve that chance? And who the hell is Jared Gordon to take it away from them?”

  Mandy stopped mid-rant when she noticed Bobby’s gaze settle on something just above her shoulder. With a sinking feeling she instinctively knew what he was staring at. She turned slowly in her chair. “Jared. How long have you been standing there?”

  “Long enough.” There was an angry set to his jaw. The same jaw she’d briefly fantasized about nibbling on. That wasn’t going to happen now.

  He went from focusing his hazel eyes on her to a point somewhere up in the corner of the ceiling. It wasn’t a good sign that he wouldn’t even look at her.

  Standing, she shook her head. “I didn’t say anything just now that I wouldn’t have said to your face, Jared. You want to know what I think is really bothering you? You know every damn word is true.”

  Mandy slammed her beer bottle down on the table. After nodding to Bobby, she spared one last glance at Jared and then was out the door.

  Chapter Five

  Jared sat again and grabbed his beer, refusing to even look as the bar door swung shut behind Mandy.

  Bobby, however, watched her dramatic exit with an amused expression on his face. “She’s hot for you.”

  “Are you fucking crazy?” Jared had nearly choked on his beer at that suggestion. “She’s only here to get her damn show made. She just made that more than obvious.”

  Here Jared had been thinking Mandy was flirting with him because she liked him. How stupid could he be? Letting out a bitter laugh, he wondered exactly how far she’d been willing to take her little come-on to get him to agree to the show. He didn’t want to consider the answer to that question. He’d really liked her, proving he was a stupid man.

  Bobby shook his head. “Nope. Well, yeah, she wants this show made, but she could pick another town if she really wanted to. You heard the stories she told us. There’s a ton of places more interesting than Pigeon Hollow. I think she’s so attached to this town because of you.”

  “No, you’re wrong. She is single-minded and conniving and the only reason she sashayed her butt in here in those tight jeans tonight is so I’d agree to her show.” Jared was willing to bet she would have wiggled right out of those jeans too, all for her show.

  “Why conniving? She never kept it a secret she wants this show done here. And she was right. She didn’t say anything that bad about you to me just now. I don’t know why you’re so pissed.”

  Jared couldn’t admit he was pissed because he’d believed she was here for him, not the damn show. That’s what it had been all about. Her staring at his chest today while he was unloading the hay. The flirting, pretending she wasn’t coming to the bar. Even her getting him hard with that damn foot of hers under the table. It was all about the show. Always had been, always would be. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

  Jared slammed his beer bottle down onto the table and stood. “I’m going over there to the Hideaway and giving her a piece of my mind.”

  “You really want to do that?” Bobby raised a brow.

  “Hell yeah, I do. Why?” There would be no way he’d sleep a wink tonight until he told her exactly what he felt about her and her lying city ways, and Jared Gordon did not lose sleep over any woman.

  Bobby shrugged. “Just making sure you know what you’re doing. You got a condom in your pocket?”

  More than one actually. That had been wishful thinking on his part when he’d left the house tonight, back when he thought Mandy was a decent person. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  Jared sighed. “Yes, I do. What are you my father?”

  “No, I’m not. Thank God.” Bobby shook his head.

  Jared frowned deeply at his friend’s strange behavior. “Watch my beer, will ya? I’ll be right back.”

  Bobby laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

  Was that sarcasm? He’d have to deal with Bobby later. Right now, he had other fish to fry.

  Jared held on tightly to his anger until he’d made it across the parking lot. He found her rental car parked in front of the end unit. It was the only room with the lights on. It was probably the only room with an occupant.

  Confident he had the correct door, he knocked loudly before he had a chance to think and change his mind. When she opened the door wearing nothing but a short slip of silk, he stopped thinking all together.

  He supposed he stepped into the room, although he didn’t really remember doing so. Somehow, the door was closed behind him and Mandy was standing so close, she was practically pressed against him.

  Grasping for the reason he was here, he finally came up with it. “You pissed me off tonight, darlin’.”

  “You’ve pissed me off every day since I met you, Jared Gordon.”

  Her blue eyes blazed into his. At six feet plus a few inches more in his boots, Jared towered over Mandy, but she didn’t back down, or back up, even an inch. Jared swallowed hard when his glance hit upon the hardened nipples protruding through the painfully thin silk of whatever it was she was wearing.

  He tried to wrestle his eyes up. “Put something on so I can yell at you.”

  She snorted out a laugh. “No. You can just yell at me in what I’m wearing.”

  “Damn it. Why are you so stubborn?”

  “Ha! You should talk.”

  He fisted his hands at his sides to avoid grabbing her. Whether he wanted to shake her silly or kiss her breathless, he wasn’t sure. The desire was equally strong to do both. “I’m so angry at you I can’t think straight.”

  Yet he still wanted to fuck her until she couldn’t walk. That realization made him even angrier.

  “You’re so angry at me? That’s rich.” She glared at him with defiance. “You, Jared Gordon, are a stubborn, chauvinistic, backwoods—”

  Mandy never finished her sentence. It was as if his body moved faster than his brain, and before Jared knew it, his mouth covered hers. Once his brain caught up, there was a small nagging instinct that this was probably a really bad idea given his current mood and the fact she was a conniving, lying, single-minded…sexy-as-all-hell city girl.

  A petite fist hit him once in the chest before she reached up and grabbed his hair to pull his head closer to hers.

  Her body pressed against his from chest to thigh, and still he couldn’t seem to get close enough to her. He hadn’t been doing too well talking himself out of kissing her anyway, so he gave up.

  With two hands on her silk-covered ass, he lifted her off the ground. She wrapped gloriously bare legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. The position was a vast improvement over when they’d both been standing. Now her crotch pressed nicely against his, but he wanted to move. He wanted his hands free. He needed more of her. His hands on every inch of her skin.

  Blindly, Jared carried her across the room, misjudged the distance and smashed them both into the wooden dresser. She didn’t complain. Neither did he. He couldn’t have said anything if he’d wanted to. He was too busy thrusting his tongue into her hot wet mouth. He imagined what it would be like to plunge inside other hot wet parts of her and his knees went weak.

  With her perched on the edge of the dresser, he ground his pelvis into her. Pushing her short nightgown up to her hips, he found she wore no underwear underneath.
That discovery did in what remained of any rational thought.

  He couldn’t catch his breath as he breathed fast and hard—he guessed it was from the combination of anger and sex. He pulled back long enough to reinforce how angry he was. “I’m still mad at you.”

  She glared back, her hands still gripping the fabric of his T-shirt tightly. “Good, because I’m still mad at you.”

  He bent his head again and shoved his tongue roughly into her mouth. She met him with her own, and matched thrust for thrust while pulling his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans.

  He leaned back again and pulled the shirt over his head himself, flinging it to the floor. “If this happens, I’m warning you, I’m too angry to be gentle.”

  “Fine. I didn’t ask you for gentle.” She undid the button on his jeans and lowered the zipper. She freed his erection from his briefs with rough hands, as if to prove what she’d just said. Her hand began working him hard.

  “Fine.” He felt for the condom in his pocket. Finding it, he tore it open with his teeth, feeling more animal than man. She stopped stroking him so he could cover himself. Grabbing her hips, he slid her forward and plunged into her warm wetness.

  Jared pounded into her, hard and rough. She was rougher, drawing her nails down his back, leaving what would probably turn into scratches. Mandy bit his shoulder. He marked her neck with his mouth in retaliation.

  He didn’t know how long it lasted. It could have been just a few minutes. It could have been half an hour. Finally, he teetered on the edge and exploded within her. Eyes squeezed shut, he pushed deep into her and enjoyed the final pulses of one very satisfying release.

  Mandy’s hands grabbed his hips and held him close within her. Her breath started to come in small gasps and he felt her start to convulse around him. He held her tighter as she came, trembling in his arms, and all of his anger dissolved right then and there.