Don't Tempt Me

by Lori Foster

  Still watching her, he said, “So we’re avoiding intimacy?”

  Lexie opened her mouth, closed it, then laughed. “You keep beating me at my own game.”

  “Flirting?”

  “I was,” she admitted. “Are you?” Something about Sullivan made it difficult to tell.

  “I haven’t quite decided yet.” With his hand returned to the small of her back, he got her walking again.

  Now, wait a minute! She stopped, but he didn’t, so she had to hustle to catch up. She wanted to finish this discussion before they got inside with the other two.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” If he thought she’d hang around, waiting and hopeful, he could think again.

  “You like games,” he stated, as if he knew her. “Me, not so much.”

  Lexie caught his arm to slow him down. “You were playing along with me,” she reminded him, and then wondered if he’d admit it.

  “I was.” They reached the door.

  “Well, then?”

  He shocked her by cupping one hand to her face. “I think you’re dangerous.”

  Dangerous? Her heart tripped as she stared up at him. “To a big, strong guy like you?”

  “To a serious guy like me.” His thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. “But hey. I did ask you about getting together next week. You never answered.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes, we should get together.”

  The small smile turned into a grin of satisfaction. “Let’s exchange numbers, then, and we’ll work it out.”

  * * *

  Lexie’s matchmaking efforts were like getting run over by a bus. If Honor could get her alone, she’d give her a cease-and-desist order. But so far, Lexie had stuck close to Sullivan.

  At first, when she found herself alone with Jason, Honor had made the quick excuse of needing to change clothes. She had dye on her fingertips, and she knew she smelled like perm solution thanks to one of her older clients.

  But while out of the room, she’d also brushed her hair and cleaned her teeth and freshened up the best she could without a shower. Then she’d lingered, but so had Lexie and Sullivan.

  Finally she’d had no option but to reemerge.

  In her absence, Jason had looked around her kitchen, pantry and living room. She’d found him examining the leaky sink, and when he came out from under the cabinet, the leak was gone.

  Honor had stammered her gratitude.

  Taking pity on her, Jason had mostly talked about the house. In fact, other than a few too many, too-long glances, she’d enjoyed chatting with him.

  She was lucky that the furnace and air, the electrical and the plumping were all in decent working order. He’d checked the warped back door and told her what needed to be done so that it would open and close properly. He’d even offered to do the work.

  She’d politely declined.

  And finally Lexie and Sullivan had rejoined them. Together they chatted about the renovation of the neighborhood, local venues of interest and the endless rain.

  There was a slight lull when Jason told her, “You look tired.”

  Conversation died around them and Honor quickly swallowed her drink of cola, then choked.

  Patiently Jason patted her on the back—and seriously that did not help. Honor didn’t know what it was about the man, but he touched her and all the oxygen sucked out of the room, leaving her breathless.

  “I’m okay,” she wheezed, setting aside her drink. “Went down the wrong pipe.”

  “You do look tuckered out, Honor.” Lexie gave her the critical once-over. “Have you been getting any sleep at all?”

  Not much. “Of course.”

  “I don’t see how,” Jason said. “Not with the strange hours you keep.”

  That caught Sullivan’s interest. “Strange hours?”

  Before this got out of hand, Honor pointed at Lexie and said a firm, undeniable “No.”

  Full of mock innocence, Lexie blinked at her and played dumb. “What?”

  “Not a word, Lex. I mean it.”

  Silently agreeing, Lexie pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key.

  “A mystery.” Sullivan smiled. “I don’t know about you, Jason, but now I’m twice as curious about what she’s been up to.” He pushed back his chair at the little dinette table and stood. “Too bad I need to head out or I’d try my skills at interrogation.”

  Lexie unzipped her lips real quick, blast her. “You could interrogate me.” Coy, she murmured, “I’m known to cave easily.”

  “Something else for me to think about.” He nodded to Honor. “Remember what I told you. If you need anything—”

  “I’m right next door,” Jason finished for him.

  At that, Sullivan almost laughed but instead turned it into a cough. “Right.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” As Lexie followed Sullivan, she used both hands to make a squeezing gesture in the air near his rear, then looked over her shoulder at Honor and Jason to mouth, Oh my God!

  Jason laughed. “How does she know I won’t tell him?”

  “She’s nuts and probably wouldn’t care.” Honor stared after them, even when the front door opened and closed.

  “Honor.”

  That deep, dark voice drew her gaze back to Jason’s. He looked both concerned and determined.

  Idly turning his Coke can, he asked, “Will you tell me what’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?” She knew exactly what he meant. In a too-high, evasive voice, she claimed, “Nothing’s going on.” Her follow-up, negligent laugh sounded more like a nervous admission.

  Jason’s gaze sharpened as if he could read her thoughts. “You are such a mystery.”

  “No, I’m not.” Mysteries sounded intriguing and exciting. Sadly Honor knew she was neither.

  Even though his mouth stayed firm, his dark eyes teased her. “You know, sometimes I think you just like being contrary.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  This time, he gave in to the laughter.

  Great. Now she had him laughing at her.

  Except that when he looked at her, there was nothing mocking in his gaze, and he was so devastatingly focused on her that she forgot to be annoyed.

  As they stared at each other, the humor faded away to a slight, sexy smile. “Come on, Honor. Where do you go in the middle of the night, and what difference does it make if Lexie tells anyone?”

  No way would she go into detail with him, but this time she couldn’t think of an excuse to dodge out.

  Trying not to sound rude, she said, “It’s just...it’s complicated.”

  Jason sat back in his seat and looked at her, his expression hooded, his inky lashes at half-mast.

  When she finally escaped his gaze, her attention went all over his body instead. His flat, firm abdomen was pretty darn sexy, especially with that downy line of dark hair trailing from his navel down into his loose-waisted shorts.

  He was the most casual, comfortable man she’d ever met.

  She tried to get her gaze northward, but only got as far as his pecs. How nice would it feel to rest her cheek against that lightly furred chest?

  “Honor?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Keep looking at me like that and I’m going to get ideas.”

  Her gaze shot to his.

  Lifting a brow, he corrected, “More ideas, I should have said.”

  Wondering if he meant that to be teasing, Honor stared at him. Could he be as fascinated with her as she was with him? She licked her lips. “More ideas?”

  “I’ve had a few already.”

  So had she. Too many ideas. Impossible ideas. “Oh.” Smooth, Honor. Real smooth.

  Keeping her gaze captive in his, he sat forward again, one strong forearm resting on the table, his other hand reaching out...

  She held perfectly still.

  He tucked her hair back. “You honestly do look exhausted. What’s going on?”

  He sat so close s
he could smell the scent of his big, semibare body.

  His brows twitched. “Are you holding your breath?”

  Oh, shoot. She released it in a long sigh. “I’m sorry.” Regret put a stranglehold on her. It would be so nice to flirt as Lexie did, to be cavalier about an involvement. But she didn’t know how. “You shouldn’t do things like that to me.”

  He turned his head, and his voice went all sexy deep. “Things like what?”

  Like touching her, but she wouldn’t state the obvious. He knew what she meant. “It rattles me.”

  “Can’t have that.”

  She started to relax.

  “Can’t swear it won’t happen again, either.”

  So her awkwardness hadn’t scared him off? It did most guys—not that she’d known any guys like him. If only she weren’t so damn backward.

  If only she didn’t have so many obligations.

  Getting serious, his tone gentle, he said, “Relax, Honor. If you’re not interested, I’ll back off.”

  Oh, she was interested all right. “It’s not that,” she dared to admit.

  Satisfaction glittered in his dark eyes. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “The thing is—” A loud roar started in her backyard, cutting off the explanation she didn’t know how to make. “What in the world?”

  Leaving her chair so fast it nearly toppled, Honor dashed to the side door. Of course it didn’t open, so she put her hands together on the thankfully clean pane and looked through the window. She couldn’t quite see anything—but the noise was deafening.

  From behind her, now crowded very close, Jason peered out over her head.

  Good Lord, the man was hot. Literally. Heat radiated off his body and seemed to seep into her, making her knees weak and her nerve endings tingle. And his scent...heavenly. She’d never realized men smelled so good. Or maybe they all didn’t. Maybe it was just him.

  Or maybe everything about him appealed to her.

  She bit her lip and concentrated on not leaning back into him.

  What would it be like to have him actually hold her? Touch her, kiss her? Lexie would tell her to go for it, but she wasn’t Lexie, so instead she stood there, stiff and still, in awful indecision.

  “That’s the Bush Hog,” he murmured, and his breath brushed her ear, making her shiver.

  Get it together, she ordered herself. Giving a blatant show of her inexperience would only make her feel more like a doofus. She cleared her throat and asked, “Bush Hog?”

  “Yeah.” One of his large hands came up to rest on her shoulder. “Colt must be home. Remember he told you he’d finish up when he could? The rain put him behind, but it’s finally dry enough.”

  Colt was cutting her jungle of a backyard?

  Incredulous, Honor forgot her hormones, turned—and found herself staring up close and personal at Jason’s gloriously naked chest. Tanned, sleek skin, stretched taut over naturally attained muscles.

  It took all her concentration not to lean in and nuzzle her nose against his chest hair.

  Jason didn’t back up, but he did lift her chin. And just that, a light touch with his rough fingertips caused a sweet ache to pool low in her belly.

  “My brother is going through a really hard time, which means Colt is going through an even worse time. He’s at loose ends, missing his friends from back home, especially the girl he’d been seeing. He has a part-time job, but he needs something more to focus on. I’d appreciate it if you let him help you with things.”

  What he said was so far from what she’d been thinking that it took a moment to register.

  They stood close together, his hand still holding her chin, his warm breath on her face, his heated scent filling her head. The urge to kiss him made it difficult to think—especially when his attention dropped to her mouth.

  His thumb moved over her bottom lip. “You’re making me nuts, Honor.”

  The rough words were so low she barely heard them. “I don’t see—”

  Abruptly he released her and stepped back. “It’ll help Colt if you let him stay busy. I try, but I just don’t have that much for him to do.”

  The new space between them left her oddly bereft. Ridiculous. She barely knew the man, and what she did know confounded her. Clearly he found her incapable of managing her own home chores; he’d already said as much.

  Did he resent her as a neighbor?

  Want her as a woman?

  She frowned at him. “And they say women are difficult to understand.”

  That earned her a brief self-deprecating smile. “I’ll attempt to be clearer.”

  Oh. Anticipation set her heart racing.

  “Colt is still finding his place here.”

  Well, darn. She’d wanted him to be clearer about those tantalizing touches and long looks. Then again, the fact that he cared for his nephew only added to his appeal, so she merely nodded.

  “The busier he stays,” Jason said, “the less time he has to dwell on changes out of his control.”

  She wanted to help, she really did.

  Pretty much, she always wanted to help—which Lexie claimed to be one of her biggest weaknesses.

  Drawn to Jason, she inched closer and only realized it when his attention went back to her mouth. “The thing is,” she said, “I can’t afford to pay him.”

  “No one asked you to.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “You really need to learn what it means to be neighbors.”

  Whoa. His jeans just slid an inch lower. She gathered her wits with an effort. “If it means clearing my yard and other hard work like that, then I have to do something in return for you.”

  His eyes flared, then narrowed. “If anything comes up, I’ll let you know. But for now, you’re the one with the surplus of stuff that needs to get done.”

  “Stuff you keep claiming I can’t do on my own, but I can.” She just needed more time. Maybe more energy. And the right tools...

  Did it annoy him that she hadn’t yet gotten to the yard? Oh God, probably. He kept his own grounds pristine, and hers looked like a dump.

  Shame put her shoulders back and stiffened her spine. “I promise that I’m getting to it as quick as I can.”

  “You’ll get to it quicker if you stop being stubborn and let Colt help you.”

  It wasn’t about stubbornness. It was about carrying her own weight so others, he especially, didn’t resent her. “This is ridiculous—”

  “I agree. So let him help.”

  “Fine.”

  “Great.”

  Thinking it might be a good time to redirect the conversation, she tossed out what she thought was a bland enough question. “So, is your brother divorced or widowed?”

  Frowning, Jason turned away from her and muttered something low.

  So low that she couldn’t catch it but thought it might’ve been a curse. “What?” she asked with suspicion.

  “It’s complicated.”

  Was he throwing her own words back at her? “What exactly does that mean?”

  When he said nothing, she got the message loud and clear. He could grill her, but she was supposed to mind her own business. Sidling around him, she said, “Never mind.”

  “Damn it,” he whispered roughly as he caught her arm and turned her back to him. The seconds ticked by; tension expanded in the air.

  “Honestly,” she said, matching his tone. “It’s fine.”

  Jason dropped his hand and blew out a breath. “After sixteen years of marriage, Meg cheated on Hogan, bankrupted him and while he was divorcing her, she crashed her car into a tree and died on him.”

  The bottom fell out of her stomach. “Oh my God.”

  He looked past her shoulder, his expression pained. “Through it all, he never stopped loving her.”

  Honor gave in to temptation and touched his chest. “You’re right.” Empathy made her voice softer. “It sounds very complicated.”

  4

  LEXIE CAME IN loudly whistling, as if she thought she might int
errupt something risqué.

  Jason had to laugh when Honor gave a guilty leap away from him.

  At least it broke that choking tension—a good thing, since he’d been a nanosecond away from kissing her.

  Leaning in close, he teased, “We weren’t doing anything.”

  She blinked fast and answered just as quietly, “Of course not.”

  “I wanted to.” Even as he said it, Jason knew he shouldn’t tease her. But the ladies were cute together, their personalities, like their physical appearances, opposite yet complimentary. “And so did you.”

  Hectic color rushed into her face. She took a halting breath—and nodded. “I did.”

  Well, damn. Forget nobility; he was about to reach for her.

  “I’m coming in,” Lexie called out.

  Redirecting her attention, Honor growled, “I’m going to muzzle her.”

  Jason tamped down on his urges.

  Since his brother and nephew had moved in, it seemed a perpetual gloom overshadowed everything. All their focus had been on Hogan losing...everything.

  Well, not everything. He still had Colt and as far as Jason was concerned, that was where the focus should be: on his son. Everything else would fall into place.

  But the struggle was real for all of them. So many things had changed almost overnight. They were family, so they’d get through it, difficult as it might be. Jason had to believe that Hogan would get it together soon.

  Until that happened, their new neighbor proved a nice diversion.

  Honor wasn’t as problematic as Jason had imagined. She had a gentle way about her, both strong and fragile, that softened everything—even the obvious issues.

  She was still weighed down with responsibility, and her schedule was a real mystery, but she was also a fighter. He admired that. A lot.

  As Lexie stuck her head into the kitchen, she said, “You have some swoon-worthy neighbors, Honor. Present company included.”

  Because Honor stayed silent, Jason picked up the slack with some verbal sparring. “I could say the same about Honor’s friends.”

  “Friend,” Lexie corrected. “I’m numero uno with her.”

  “Noted.” He’d already realized that no one else had ever visited her.