A Dash of Desire (Spiced Life #2) (2 page)

“This is a pretty expensive car. Do you have some sort of roadside assistance plan?”

Riley had to unclench her jaw to answer. “I forgot to mail in the paperwork. Not that it matters since there’s no cell signal out this way.”

“Where were you headed?”

“To stay with my aunt in Christiana.” Defeat sounded heavy in her tone.

“All right.” Shoving away from the car, Tristan started on the task of refilling her trunk. “Do you need any of this tonight?”

“Not really. Just my suitcase and purse, I guess,” she answered automatically before thinking better of it and asking, “Why?”

He tossed a glance over his shoulder. “This isn’t going to get done tonight. You’re cold. It’s late. I’m taking you to your aunt.” He was unreadable. Unmoving. With a resigned sigh, Riley pitched in to help move things along. Dead in a ditch was sounding better by the minute anyhow.

In spite of being wet, Tristan was enjoying himself more than he had in a long time. Riley had a mouth that would make any trucker proud and a temper to match. She also ate him alive with her eyes. No one ever, ever behaved that way with him any longer. It was…tempting. Refreshing. The way her breasts showed through her t-shirt floated across his mind. Nothing good could come of this, but what sort of man would he be if he left Riley to her fate? Not the sort he would care for. No matter what he told himself about his reasons, Tristan still couldn’t speak as he watched her bend over and snag the final basket. She’d been out here a while. There wasn’t a single curve of her body hidden from him. Her clothes had long passed the point of molding to her skin. It was going to take her forever to get out of them. He was willing to help her out with that, as well. Nope. No. He wasn’t. It didn’t do anyone any good to let his thoughts go there.

Clenching his back teeth, Tristan bit back a moan as she slammed the trunk closed, displacing the air and sending the scent of fresh strawberries wafting over him. He’d noticed that about her first. She smelled delicious. Good enough to eat, in fact. Tristan barely suppressed the urge to cover his face. Horrified didn’t even begin to cover his feelings over his wayward thoughts.

“Where’s your suitcase? I’ll carry it.” Wow. Was that his voice? He was almost certain his lust was tinging every word. When Riley hesitated, raking his body with her sexy, emerald green eyes, he knew she’d heard it as well. At this point, all he could do was hope that the hunger didn’t show in his expression.

“In the back seat, but you don’t have to get it. I may not be able to change a tire, but I can still carry a bag.” The aggravation in Riley’s voice and the visible swish of her hips as she headed in that direction almost made Tristan chuckle. Dang. Life made her mad. His sister-in-law would love her. The thought of his wife’s sister, Faith, brought him up short. He’d only recently made his amends with her. How would she react to meeting a new woman, one who could replace the sister who’d died too young? Why was he even thinking about such a thing?

Back at his side with bag in hand, Riley eyed him for a moment. “Are you ready?” All the emotion was gone from her voice, making him wonder what she’d seen in his expression. Regret, most likely. It didn’t seem to matter that Harmony had been gone a long time. In his heart, she was still his wife. He’d let her go, but in some ways, he hadn’t.

Since Riley had made such a big deal out of carrying her own stuff, he let her hang onto it. On the other hand, he staunchly refused to allow her to open the door for herself. She might be capable, but he was a gentleman. His grandmother had taught him right. There may or may not have been a short scuffle over the door’s handle. Tristan was bigger. He won.

“Where am I headed?” Tristan asked the moment he was behind the wheel. Riley had ditched his jacket and was twisting her hair into a knot on top of her head. No doubt, the hair thing was an attempt to keep more water from running into her eyes, and the jacket was in hopes of drying faster. Unfortunately, he was dying. If she thought it was too dark to make out the outline of her gorgeous breasts, she was sadly mistaken.

“Four-forty Cherry Lane. I’ll give you directions as we go.”

Well. That did it. Her answer gave him everything he needed to avoid staring at her body. “Don’t worry over it,” he said, flipping on his blinker and pulling onto the road. “I know the place.”

“Should I be thankful or creeped out?”

“Neither. I live two streets over, which—honestly—isn’t all that close, but still.”

Riley pulled down the visor, causing the mirror behind it to light up. “Aha!” She was easily pleased. In spite of the fact she’d soon be looking at him differently, a grin still tugged a Tristan’s lips. He could see her trying to set herself to rights out the corner of his eye. It was strange, but Tristan felt at ease because she obviously was. Riley wasn’t wringing her hands, acting as if he’d pull off the road and kill her at any moment. She trusted he would take her to her aunt’s. He didn’t know why it mattered, but it did. With a sigh, she flipped the visor back up.

“I give up. So we’re neighbors…sort of?”

Tristan snorted. “Being as how you have California plates, I’m going to go with no.”

“Oooh, smartassery will get you everywhere.”

“Everywhere, huh? I do like the sound of that.” Tristan snapped his teeth together. Wait. Had he just said that? Going by her low chuckle, he had indeed. Wow. He really needed to get Riley safely to her destination. She did something to his brain. “Tell me about yourself, Ms. Henderson,” Tristan said, attempting to steer the conversation to safer waters.

“What would you like to know?”

He thought for a minute. “What do you do for a living? Do you often pick up strangers on the side of the highway?”
Are you busy for the rest of the night?
he silently added.

“No fair! You picked me up. I merely got in the car with a stranger. Which sounds bad, I know, but you should be the one worried.”

Tristan really wanted to know, but wouldn’t ask. “Why?” Yep. He heard it happen. It seemed Riley Henderson was too much for him to resist.

“Because I’m me,” she said, answering exactly nothing. “As to your other question. I’m a social media strategist-slash-publicist. People hire me to come up with the best way to promote their product or company on social media sites. I also accompany clients to media events to ensure they have the best public representation of whatever they’re trying to promote.”

“Sounds interesting.” Really. It did. He’d never met anyone who did what she described.

“Not really. Well. Sometimes. Mostly, it’s sitting at my computer all day and chatting with people online, hoping to build interest in my clients.”

“Met anyone famous?” he asked, as he turned onto Cherry Lane.

“One or two people,” Riley answered absently. “Hey, I have sort of an odd favor to ask. Can you drop me off at the end of the driveway?” Her question almost caused him to blow out a relieved sigh. “My aunt doesn’t know I’m coming, and the last thing I need is her seeing a stranger dropping me off. I’ll never live down accepting a ride from someone I don’t know. As it is, I have a lot to answer for.” Since they were already at the end of the drive, he didn’t have time to question that final bit of information.

Instead, he nodded. “I understand. It was nice meeting you.” The light came on as she pushed open the door.

“Maybe we’ll see each other again someday. Thanks for the ride.”

She jumped out before he could stop her. “Take the umbrella,” he called at her back. The sound of her laughter followed her up the driveway. Tristan realized he’d been staring at the spot where she’d been long after Riley disappeared into the darkness. The way his cheeks ached said way too much about how much he’d enjoyed the encounter.

Chapter 2

“I’ve invited Brother Daniels to pray with you today.”

Riley clenched her back teeth, biting down her bitterness so hard she tasted blood. She wasn’t stupid. What Aunt Billy meant was she’d invited a preacher to pray
for
Riley, not with, but for. It was one distinction she hadn’t missed. Homeless. She was homeless. It was a fact Riley couldn’t escape and Billy had taken her in. Doing her best to keep the anger from showing in her tone, Riley took a deep breath and forced her lips to shape a smile before responding.

“What time is he coming?”
So I can make sure I’m not here
, she silently added.

A knock landed on Billy’s old farm-style door making it rattle even though it hadn’t been loud. The crocheted lace curtains hid the visitor from sight, showing only a vague outline of a large figure. Billy’s face lit, shaving years off her features. Her hand flew to the unnaturally black bun at her crown. She patted down every stray hair before tugging at her hospital scrubs. A ball of resentment and anger settled in Riley’s gut. She knew. Without her aunt saying a word, she knew who stood on the other side. There was only one person who caused Billy to worry over her appearance.

“Well. There he is now. Right on time.”

Billy had known her game, as usual, and obviously had no intention of allowing Riley time to wiggle out of a good old-fashioned soul-saving session. To keep her brain from exploding, Riley tried saying that three times fast in her head. A genuine smile touched her lips briefly at the ridiculous turn of her thoughts. It died the moment Billy answered the door. Tristan stood on the other side. For a moment, Riley struggled for something to say. Why was he here? It didn’t matter. She was saved. There was still time for her to get the hell out of dodge. There was a God in heaven.

Riley pushed to her feet. The sun shining at Tristan’s back cast a halo-like glow through his blond hair. His gorgeous eyes twinkled with a mischievous light, captivating her and beckoning her closer. Her gaze slid down his chest. A light-blue button-down dress shirt, matching his eyes to perfection, strained against his muscles. Following their lines, butterflies fluttered in her stomach. That is until the item in his hand caught her attention. It was a Bible.

“It’s so good of you to take time out of your day for this, Brother Daniels,” Billy said, simpering like a schoolgirl.

Even as Tristan responded to her aunt’s praise, his stare never left hers. “Of course. It’s my Christian duty.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me.” Yeah. She heard herself. A horrified gasp left her aunt’s lips, but Tristan’s mouth lifted in one corner. His eyes turned wicked. She wasn’t taking it back. Seriously. They had to be screwing with her. Otherwise…. Riley ran down the list of her transgressions from the night before. Fuck her life. It just wasn’t possible.

Tristan cut into her thoughts and the worry tinging his voice made her wonder how long she’d been staring into space. “Maybe we should take this outside.”

Riley jumped on the suggestion.

“Yes. Outside.” Really. It wasn’t her fault. He’d lied by omission. Riley snorted. Tristan’s eyebrows rose in question, but she ignored him as she brushed past him and out the door. She couldn’t fool herself. It wouldn’t have mattered to her if he was the pope. Obedience was for the weak. She’d know.

The second Riley pulled the back door closed behind her, she turned on Tristan. “Thank you for humoring my aunt. There’s no reason for you to stay. I’ll hang out here for a while so she thinks we had a nice long chat.”

His brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Billy said you were looking for a bit of spiritual guidance.”

An unexpected bubble of laughter rose to her lips, escaping before she could call it back. Tristan’s frowned deepened. She realized he was serious.

“Do I strike you as the type of person who’d say something like that?” At her question, he shifted nervously, as if sensing a trap. “That wasn’t some female do-I-look-fat-in-these-jeans question. I’m being serious, so you can relax.”

He didn’t. Instead, Tristan chewed on his lip and eyed some point over her shoulder, obviously torn. Damn. Those lips. It was so wrong. “Seriously, Tristan. You can go. No one is going to take you over their knee for being a bad little soldier of God.” In spite of her best efforts, a devilish smile tugged at her lips at the thought of taking Tristan over her knee. His gaze shifted to her mouth. It didn’t move. Her nipples hardened. Bad thoughts. Lots of naughty ideas raced around her mind. She was
so
going to Hell.

His gaze lifted, colliding with hers, and Riley barely stopped herself from leaning back against the door for support. No matter why he was there or what came out of his mouth, his eyes gave him away. Riley’s palms itched to touch him. She clasped her hands behind her to keep it from happening.

“I could take you...” Oh God. The husky note in his voice. She wanted him to take her. “…back to your car, and we could get that flat tire taken care of,” he finished, leaving Riley disappointed. His mouth quirked up in one corner, making her wonder if he’d known how his words would affect her. “That way you can tell Billy—with all honesty—you’ve spent time in my counsel, even if it is about car repair and not whatever she was hoping for.” When she didn’t give in right away, his voice turned inviting. “Come on. What else do you have planned to do today?”

Just like that, there was nothing she’d rather be doing than attending a lesson on car repair. “Not a single thing.” The triumphant smile lighting his face at her answer made her wish, if only for a moment, that she was a better person. She could never have someone like Tristan Daniels. Amazing people like him didn’t happen to people like her. As he urged her to get her things together so they could go, Riley released an inner sigh. Truly, there was no rest for the wicked.