by Lori Foster
Now they’d been on the road for a little over two hours, two and a half for her, and he showed no signs of stopping.
She was deeply regretting her beverage choices.
How difficult would it have been for him to unlock the office? And why, after their initial confrontation yesterday, had he gone out of his way to share with her this morning?
As they were passing yet another exit, he pointed out—with a twinkle in his dark eyes—that they were right on schedule, making great time...unless she needed a pit stop?
The man was diabolical.
Well, if he thought she’d cry uncle, he’d be sadly mistaken. Pressing her lips together, she vowed that he’d give out before she would.
He turned on some music. “Feel free to nap.”
Impossible. She crossed her legs and glanced at Howler. The big dog slumped sideways, his head drooped against the window where he’d started out watching the passing scenery but had since fallen asleep and begun snoring. All hope that the dog might need a pit stop died.
“Don’t worry about Howler,” Brodie said, as if he’d read her mind. “He sleeps more than he does anything else. Usually only f-o-o-d can rouse him.”
The dog cracked open an eye, making her smile despite her need for a bathroom break. “I think he can spell.”
“He catches on quick,” Brodie agreed.
After a long sigh that sounded amazingly like disappointment, Howler’s eye sank shut again and his snores returned.
Mary had a hundred questions about him, but she didn’t want to chance stirring Brodie’s curiosity again.
Her past was strictly off-limits.
The music, a mellow country tune, drifted in the air. She was more of a rock-and-roll woman, but she appreciated the sight of Brodie moving ever so slightly with the music, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel.
If a boulder could be relaxed, she’d say he was just that. Yet, while his expression seemed peaceful, his shoulders stretched his dark T-shirt and his biceps bunched and flexed with each small adjustment.
How exactly did a man go about getting a body like that?
“Do you work out?”
Mouth kicking up in amusement, he glanced at her. That dark-eyed gaze flashed over her before he returned his attention to the road. “You realize that’s a pickup line, right?”
Oh Lord, his eyes were...well, amazing. And hot. If it wasn’t for the unfamiliar lick of heat that intense look caused, she might’ve been embarrassed. Instead, her reaction threw her off.
Oh, she had her fair share of male attention, but usually it left her indifferent.
Not so with Brodie Crews.
Her MO was to steer clear of interested, or interesting, men, but really, what harm would it cause to look? She’d see him during this ride, then not again for a while. For that reason, she’d looked her fill—without being obvious.
His profile fascinated her, the way those thick, dark lashes shadowed his eyes, the high bridge of his strong nose and the curve to his mouth. His dark, thick hair held a slight wave, and no matter how many times he tunneled his fingers through it, it fell forward over his brow. The growth of whiskers on his jaw made her curious to know how it would feel to her fingertips.
And her lips.
“I’m just wondering,” she said, trying to play it off as idle chitchat. “You’re muscular for a man who makes his living driving a car.”
“I also work on cars.” He slid her an intimate smile. “As you know.”
The reminder of her first sight of him sent another flush over her skin. Coolly, she replied, “Is that what you were doing? I got an entirely different impression.”
“Because of the way Gina groped me?”
He said it without an iota of shame, making her jaw loosen and her mouth fall open.
Obviously, she was out of her league.
Brodie chuckled. “If I hadn’t been struggling to stay upright, I’d have shaken her off sooner, but Gina can always sense weakness. She thought she’d sneak in there while my defenses were down.”
“Your defenses?”
“I’m not at my best after a night of drinking.”
“Then why did you do it?” Personally, she’d never seen the draw. She sometimes had wine on very special occasions, which were few and far between. Drink, drugs... They caused a loss of control, leaving you not only vulnerable, but oblivious to all that really mattered.
“I’ve turned her down more times than I can count.” Brodie’s mouth went sideways, then he scratched the top of his head. “She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.”
“Is she in love with you?”
“Ha! No, not even a little.” Laughing, he shook his head. “Gina likes me okay, but that’s it. Mostly she wants bragging rights to say she’s banged Jack and me both.”
It took all Mary had not to drop her jaw again.
“The lady has a healthy sex drive. Unfortunately she also has a mean competitive streak.”
“A...” Mary cleared the frog from her throat. “A mean competitive streak?”
“Yeah, you might not have noticed, but our business is in a small town. Small as in minuscule. Everyone knows Jack and me, and vice versa. My mom worked in the cafeteria at school, and Dad was known for his stunt driving.” He rolled one shoulder. “Guess it’d be a coup to tag us both.”
In a scandalized whisper, Mary asked, “At the same time?”
He looked stricken. “You know, I never thought to ask. If that is her preference, I doubt she gets her way very often. I know a lot of the guys she’s been with and I can’t think of any who’d go for that.”
“And now she wants you and Jack?”
He shrugged. “The lady’s doomed to failure, at least where I’m concerned.” His grin flashed. “Years ago, she and Jack spent a few hours together, and that puts her at the top of my no-go list. But over the last year, she’s decided I’m next...or something. Maybe I’m just the only game in town now.”
For some reason, this whole conversation got her annoyed. “So if she hadn’t been with Jack, you might have—”
“Doubtful. I guess I’ve known her too long, you know? Grew up with her older brother, and she was the nagging little sis who wouldn’t leave us alone. Doesn’t seem to matter that Gina’s a knockout now. Uninhibited, fun, isn’t clingy—”
Mary snorted.
Humor crinkled the corners of his eyes again. “Should I have been more specific?” Before she could answer, he said, “I should’ve. I meant she doesn’t get emotionally attached. Physically, yeah, she’s an octopus, but in a good way, you know?”
No, she didn’t know and didn’t want to know. “Does it bother your brother that she’s coming on to you?”
“Nah. They had a hookup, not a date or anything.”
Such a cavalier attitude made her stomach roil—because she knew she wasn’t the norm. For her, sexual involvement had always meant so much more than quick release, convenience or a lost hour. Too much more.
Keeping his eyes on the road, his voice neutral, Brodie asked, “You don’t hook up?”
She started to shake her head before she realized how inappropriate their entire conversation had become. How had she let it get that bad? To cover her faux pas, she blurted, “We need to stop for a break.”
“Thank God. I was beginning to think you were a camel.” Almost immediately he glanced in his mirrors, then switched lanes until he could take an exit to a rest stop.
Suspicious, Mary narrowed her eyes. “If you had to go, too, why did you make me ask?”
“To see if you would?”
That he said it like a question made her seethe. “So it was a game?”
“Or maybe just for the hell of it.” He steered into a parking spot. “Who knows how my mind works?”
“That’s the most—”
“Did it kill you to ask? No, it didn’t,” he replied before she could. “Count it as something new that you’ve learned.”
“I’ve learned you’re a jerk!”
“Maybe,” he agreed with a small smile. “But I didn’t bite, right? So while we’re together—”
Her eyes widened.
“For business, feel free to tell me when you need something.” He paused. “Even when it’s not business, just...tell me. Okay?”
Mary was trying to think how to reply, but as he turned off the car, the dog woke with a flurry of activity.
“Hang on, bud,” Brodie said to him. “You’re first on the agenda, I promise.”
The urge to rush from the car and hurry to the building with the restrooms was difficult to suppress, but she managed to leave the car in a leisurely manner. She even waited while he attached a leash to Howler’s harness.
Right there at the curb, Howler relieved himself. Then again on a garbage can. And once more on a bush lining the path to the vending machines.
“Dude, we’re not in the pet area yet. Contain it, will you? People are looking.”
Mary didn’t mean to, but the laugh bubbled out. “You’re the one who made him wait so long.”
“You got me there.” He looked down at her, those dark eyes first teasing, but slowly warming with awareness. “You don’t have to stay with us.”
“Yes, well...” Every time he looked at her like that, it felt as if he’d physically touched her. Her breathing deepened. Her skin warmed. Her blood seemed to rush...
Abruptly, she turned away.
The rest area wasn’t crowded, but there were enough people to convince her she should hurry before she got caught in a line. “I’ll be right back.”
As she walked away, she felt his gaze tracking her, and it made her feel so funny inside, in a way she’d never really felt before.
Annoyance, she decided. He was too bold, too deliberately provoking, and he annoyed her.
That was all it could be. She wouldn’t let it be anything else.
While in the restroom, she took the time to freshen up. Her hair was still in the topknot, so she didn’t need to do anything to that, but she did touch up her makeup and chew a mint.
When she came back out, she found Brodie sitting in the picnic area at a wooden table under a tree. Howler stretched out his leash to sniff every blade of grass. He found a bug and ran a circle around it.
Mary checked the time. They were ahead of schedule and she was starting to get hungry. “Want to take a turn?” She indicated the restrooms. “I can hold his leash.”
“Thanks.” He handed it to her, then dug out a dog dish and walked off at an easy pace.
She realized she was watching his behind when Howler frantically tried to follow and pulled her halfway off the bench.
As if he’d expected it, Brodie turned. “Stay. I’ll be right back.”
When Howler sat, she felt safe in assuming Brodie’s order was for the dog.
Howler kept his attention glued on Brodie, a low, groaning whine coming from his throat.
Poor baby. Mary stroked his muscular neck. “You love him, don’t you?” She, at least, didn’t use baby talk. “He won’t be long. You’ll see.” Howler glanced at her, gave her hand a quick lick and went back to waiting.
Luckily Brodie returned in only minutes, balancing the dish, now full of water, which he set in front of Howler. The dog was too busy greeting him as if he’d just returned from war to take a drink.
When Brodie took the leash from her, she said, “I think I’ll grab something from the vending machines—unless you had other plans?” Whenever possible, she tried to defer to the driver’s preference.
“You said you always ride along with the drivers?”
“Yes. Therman insists that I be there to protect his interests.” A breeze carried her skirt against her legs, and she tipped up her face, eyes closed, to enjoy the shade and the scent of fresh air. After the long drive, it felt heavenly.
When Brodie said nothing else, she opened her eyes and found him studying her.
The probing intensity of his gaze made her breathless. Their eyes held for a few heartbeats before she managed to find her voice. After clearing her throat, she dragged her attention to Howler. She tried to sound casual, but knew she failed miserably. “Why do you ask?”
After a few more seconds of perceptible scrutiny, he replied with a shrug in his tone, “Just wondering what it is you usually do for meals.”
“I’m easy.” The seconds the words left her mouth, she blanched. She knew without looking that Brodie now wore a smirk. She felt it, damn him.
What was it about Brodie that rattled her so badly? She’d dealt with drivers for three years now. Some were indifferent, some too anxious, some complete professionals.
None of them had been as explicitly sexual as Brodie.
None of them had made her too warm with just a look.
Gathering her wits, she explained, “By easy, I mean that I leave it up to the driver. Some like to grab fast food, some want to stop and stretch their legs at an actual restaurant.”
“You adjust accordingly, huh? Nice. Gotta love an agreeable woman.”
Everything he said screamed of innuendo, which made everything she said the same.
Gritting her teeth and barely repressing a snarl, she stated, “The contract stipulated that your expenses are covered. You saw that, correct?”
He nodded, then produced the cooler from under the table.
Howler jerked around so fast he tripped over his own feet. Eyes wide, his tail swinging in the air, he looked hopefully toward the food source.
“Take a seat,” Brodie said to her as he withdrew cloth napkins first. “I packed enough for two.”
“You packed food?” That seemed so incredibly domestic, which was in direct contrast with his carnal manner. “For me?”
He gave her a wicked grin as he produced wrapped sandwiches. “It’s bad enough having Howler salivate over my food.”
And now teasing?
She really wished he’d settle on one mood long enough to allow her to adjust to it. “I wouldn’t have salivated.” But her stomach growled as he set out two containers and more bottled water.
Before he unwrapped the food, he opened one bottle, took a drink, then pretended to put it in the water dish.
Howler ignored it.
“First you drink,” Brodie said, his tone firm.
The dog looked at the bowl, back at Brodie—who hadn’t moved—and back at the bowl. Finally he drank it all, his broad tongue slinging water everywhere.
Brodie refilled it with the bottle, then got out another dog dish.
On alert, Howler tracked his every move.
He opened a can of dog food—and pretended to eat some, even making a few “Mmm, mmm” sounds. Howler got to his feet, body tense in anticipation, and when Brodie put the food in the dish and gave it to him, the dog ate it so fast Mary couldn’t hold in her laugh.
“I know, right?” Brodie turned on the bench to face her, his mouth twitching. “He has to think I’m giving him people food or he doesn’t want it. ’Course, that’s not healthy, so I fake it when I can.”
“You two are hilarious.”
“You find spoiled dogs funny?” He unwrapped a sandwich, then passed it to her.
“Guess I do.” She looked at the loaded croissant. “What is this?”
“Chicken salad.” He bit into his own with an expression of ecstasy that nearly stopped her heart.
Was that how he’d look during sex? Or would he appear more feral?
“My mom makes the best there is.”
With a flush of embarrassment, she wrenched her gaze off his mouth and up to those dark eyes. His lashes cast shadows over his cheekbones as he watched her.
/> He looked as if he knew exactly what she’d imagined.
Mary cleared her throat. “Your mom?”
“You thought I was hatched in a lab?” When he peeled back the lids on the other containers, she saw dill pickles and potato chips. He gestured. “Help yourself.”
“I’ve never before had a picnic with a driver.” But here, under the tree with the sun shining bright and Howler still licking his lips, it felt completely natural to accept his offer. She took a bite of the sandwich, and agreed with him. “Mmm. This is delicious.” Far, far better than anything she could have gotten from the vending machine or a fast-food drive-through.
“Told you so.” He grabbed up a few chips. “So you usually keep it all stuffy and professional with the couriers, even though you’re stuck in the car with them for hours?”
“It’s easier than you think when I can sit in the back seat and do work along the way.”
“Ah. But Howler has the back seat and there’s no room for you.” He nodded with what looked like pure satisfaction. “So I forced your hand on that.”
Mary tipped her head. “In a sense.” It was her job to understand the courier, to determine their reliability, their loyalty, but she wasn’t sure a lifetime around Brodie would help her to understand him. “Was it important to you to ‘force my hand’?”
“For the sake of my sanity, yeah.” He ate half a pickle wedge in one big bite.
There he went, confusing her again. “Your sanity?”
“Yeah, I can’t do uptight.” He gestured with the remaining bite of pickle. “Bugs the hell out of me. If you want me on retainer, you’re gonna have to loosen up.” He gave her a wolf’s grin. “Might as well start today.”
CHAPTER THREE
BRODIE WATCHED THE wariness creep into her eyes seconds before she angled her face away. He could almost hear the gears turning as she dissected what he’d said, and how she wanted to respond.
Probably searching for a professional reply.
He snorted.
Her gaze darted up at the rude sound. “Excuse me?”
“Stop weighing your words. Forget what’s appropriate and what isn’t. You have real reactions, Red.” He held out his arms. “Lay ’em on me.”
