M. Leighton

“I hit the red END button on the phone. The word itself mocks me. Have I really destroyed any chance to be with Olivia? Do I really care if I have?The answers are: I don’t know and yes. In that order.”

“But this, this lying… I’ve always hated liars and being lied to more than anything else. To me, it’s always been the only truly unforgivable sin.Can Cash be the first exception? Or has this forever wounded whatever is between us?”

“But when she finally says something, I know which part struck her the hardest.It’s the part that makes me look like the bastard most people have always thought me to be.”

“Her mouth drops open in disbelief. “Your dad tried to blackmail the mob? Has he never seen The Godfather?”

“I feel like I’m going to an execution.Of my heart and my trust maybe.And that’s pretty much right.”

“Before I can respond, Nash continues. “Or was I there, too?” He brushes his lips over mine. “Did you think of my lips when he kissed you?” Light as a feather, he runs his hand down the outside of my thigh and back up again, squeezing my hip. “Did you wish it was me touching you? Like I did the night I came to your room?”I start to lean back and speak, but his lips take mine, quickly coaxing them apart. Sensation drowns out thought as I feel him breathe into my mouth. “Do you still want me? Because if you do, I’m all yours.”

“The best thing I can do is keep that girl’s mind—and her mouth—busy.This ought to be fun.”

“I know she’d get some crazy idea in her head that I’m bad for her. And that’s just not true. In fact, the longer I know her, the more time I spend with her, the more I believe I’m exactly what she needs in her life. She just doesn’t know it yet. But she will.”

“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done this weekend.”“Oh believe me, it was my pleasure.”

“He looks into my eyes for several intense seconds, watching me like I’m all he sees. And he’s all I see. For this moment, it seems we are completely alone in the world, each wholly consumed by the other. Nothing else exists.”

“Smart and hot. Dammit.”

“With shaking fingers, I turn the key and crank the ignition. When I rev the engine, I figure there’s no way it’s running with more RPMs than my libido is at this very moment. If Cash doesn’t cool it, I’ll be sitting in a puddle within the hour.”

“Cash winks at me from in front of the stove and pure lust twitches in my lower belly. There’s no denying this man is hot. Effing hot. Probably hotter than the stove he’s cooking on.”

“Well, you’re just gonna have to cool your jets. My dad will be up soon and I may not have mentioned that he’s a crack shot with a pistol.”“In that case, how about breakfast instead?”I giggle. “Wise choice, braveheart.”“Don’t tease. How much good would I be to you if I let your dad blow my dick off?”

“I’m lying on Cash’s chest, tracing his tattoo.“What does this mean?” I whisper.“It’s the Chinese symbol for awesome,” he teases lightly.I giggle. “If it’s not, which I imagine it isn’t, then it should be.”“Are you paying me a compliment? I just want to be sure, so I don’t miss it.”I slap his ribs. “You make it sound like I’m mean and horrible because I don’t throw myself at your feet.”“You don’t have to throw yourself at my feet. Although if you want to, I’m sure I can think of something for you to do while you’re down there.”I look up at him and he’s waggling his eyebrows again.“I’m sure you could.” Shaking my head, I settle back onto his chest and resume tracing the ink shapes. “Seriously, what do they mean?”Cash is quiet for so long I begin to think he’s not going to answer me. But then he finally speaks.“It’s a collage of things that remind me of my family.”

“You worry too much. Can’t you just trust me?”“I don’t know,” I answer him honestly.He nods in acceptance. “You’ll learn to. I promise.”And then he kisses me. It’s a slow, deep kiss that carries meaning and emotion, neither of which I know how to interpret.I pull away to speak, but he puts his finger over my lips. “Shhh, just let me love you, okay? Don’t think. Just feel.”

“Look, you came all the way out here to help me. The least I can do is give you a place to stay. But my dad will be there, so…”“So we have to be quiet,” he whispers, waggling his eyebrows comically.I just smile. I neither confirm nor deny that there will be more sex. But there will be. If he tries very hard at all, there definitely will be.”

“My best discovery of the night? Olivia is hiding a dirty girl beneath that shy, quietly sexy exterior.And I’m going to set her free.”

“But not tonight. Tonight is all about Olivia—beautiful, sexy, courageous, passionate Olivia. Tonight, I want her to see what I see.“Look at yourself,” I say. I pull her long hair over one shoulder and place a kiss in the bend of her neck. She tilts her head to give me better access. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the room.”“So sexy.”“Any man would die to have this for even one night.”

“She quirks one eyebrow and smiles. I see the daring girl rise to the surface. She’s feeling like she can take on the world, conquer anything including an ex-boyfriend.She’s ready to jump. And I’m ready to catch her.”

“Thank you for this. You’re a very talented agent of deassholization.”“Oh, this isn’t my method of choice. Trust me. But if it makes you happy then I’m okay with it.”She looks away shyly, but her eyes come back to mine, unable to resist the magnetism that’s between us. “Well, it makes me very happy.”

“Looks like he recovered from the wood chipper pretty well. Want me to kick his ass?”“No, I don’t want you to kick his ass.”“You sure? Because I specialize in deassholization.”This time she smiles. “Deassholization?”“Yeah. Just think of me as the Orkin man of assholes—utting assholes in their place.”“Well, I appreciate the offer, but he’s not worth it.”I reach forward to tuck a stray lock of raven hair behind her ear. “If he hurt you, he’s worth it.”

“Within seconds, my eyes find Olivia. It’s like they’re drawn to her.”

“Oh sweet heaven, who let that bastard in?”

“I know what he’s doing, what he’s getting at. And I understand it. I understand guilt. But when I nod my head and smile in agreement, it’s only for his benefit. What he doesn’t know is that I will never leave him like she did. Never. I’ll never choose a cushy life of means over the people I love. Never.”

“I saw a special on the Discovery Channel.”“You were watching the Discovery Channel?”“Yes.”“Um, why?”“I lost the remote.”“You lost the remote?”

“Not to mention that he’s hotter than seven shades of hell and could probably make me forget my convictions when he kisses me.”

“She stands facing me to take off the helmet. When she does, she shakes her dark hair free. It looks like something a girl in a shampoo commercial might do. I have no doubt she doesn’t have a clue how sexy she is. But she is. Holy hell, is she ever!”

“I grit my teeth. Damn her and that lush body of hers!”

“Something about the look on her face makes me feel like a meal. And if I were, I’d be a happy meal, for sure.”

“You’re not imposing on me. I don’t mind.”“I’d really rather not bother you. Really. I’ll just see you tonight.”“Get dressed. Be ready. I’ll be there in ten.”With that, he hangs up, giving me no choice in the matter.”

“I didn’t even think of that. These guys have really scrambled my brain.”

“I’m not entirely surprised to find out it was Cash. The whole scenario fits his character more than it does Nash’s. Only a bad boy would come, uninvited, into a girl’s house and wake her up to seduce her in her own bedroom.And only a bad boy would think I wouldn’t mind. I have to smile at that.He’s got nerve. I’ll give him that.”

“I can’t stop thinking about doing this to you,” he whispers, so quietly I can barely hear him. “Tell me to stop now if you don’t want this. If you don’t want me.”

“Olivia, if you need anything give me a call. I’m never far. N.”

“I guess he was making sure I could get in okay without my keys.Oh, good God! Don’t show me the sweet, considerate side! I won’t stand a chance.”

“I love watching her, watching her uncertainty and her hesitation. And her attempts at denying what we both know she’s feeling. Teasing her is going to be so much fun. Hot, sweet, sexy, delicious fun.”

“I love the adrenaline of my bike. I always have. I try my best to let it chase away the feel of Olivia at my back, but I think nothing short of a week locked up in a bedroom with her can accomplish that. And oh what a week that would be.”

“Her cheeks flush a little. I want to kiss her. Again. And I will. Just not right now.”

“What now?”“You’ve never ridden a motorcycle before?”“Nope.”“What kind of bad-boy girlfriend are you?” I ask in mock dismay.“Evidently a terrible one.”I swing onto the bike and grab my only helmet. “Nah, you just haven’t met the right bad-boy.”

“She laughs outright. And I love the sound. Makes me think of tickling her. In bed. While she’s naked. Lying on top of me.”

“She tilts her head to the side and gives me a dirty look.Damn, she’s adorable.”

“Is this what you drive?” she asks, turning those wide eyes up to me.“Yes,” I say, but then I add with a smirk, “but you’re not surprised, are you? Isn’t this what bad-boys do? Ride motorcycles and break hearts?”Her smile is weak. “I suppose so.”She turns away and moves around to unlock the car door and pop the hood.I shouldn’t have said that.”

“And this bad-boy boyfriend?”“Bad boy?”“Yeah. The type you apparently avoid now.”Oh, right.” I laugh. It’s one single bark of bitterness. “Ummm, he fell into a wood chipper?”“Poor guy. And the one before that?”“Eaten by a shark?”“And before that?”“Kidnapped by a travelling circus?”He chuckles. “Wow. Your life’s like a cautionary tale.”“Future suitors be warned.”“I’m willing to take my chances,” he says with a wink.”

“There’s nothing average about you,” Cash says quietly.”

“I was supposed to be meeting someone, but they had to cancel. After I’d already gotten here, of course,” I explain, bitterness dripping from my voice.“Want me to kick his ass?” he asks. I look up at him and he’s grinning at me over the top of his glass.“No. You might be embarrassed when she gets the better of you.”

“Finish your beer,” he says then nods to the bartender. “Jack. Neat.”

“And those eyes. Damn those black eyes. They sparkle like drops of an ebony pond in his handsome face.”

“Can you go back inside and have a drink while you wait? I don’t like the idea of you sitting outside in your car by yourself. You are by yourself, aren’t you?”“Yes, I’m alone. But I’ll be fine. I just—”“Olivia, I really don’t like it. Can’t you just go back inside? Consider it a favor.”When he puts it like that… “Okay. I’ll go back inside. Just call me when you get here.”

“You are such a piece of shit,” I yell into the quiet cab, slapping the horn accidentally. It makes a sound like a wounded duck. “Don’t you talk back to me! You’re this close to going to car heaven at the junk yard.”