Billi Jean (7 page)

“I’ll come by and help you out, how’s that?” Russ asked, hoping he didn’t sound too pushy, like he was hitting on her or otherwise flirting. Didn’t matter if she thought so, though, because he wasn’t allowing her to put another of these useless locks on her door. “Better yet, why not have a security system installed? This”—he took the cheap lock and turned it over in his hand—“would stop someone for about five, ten minutes tops, right, Dave?” He could break it in less than ten seconds, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Less, if they’re determined. Locks like this are to make you feel better, not stop anyone,” Dave assured her, sending him a sharp glance. The man was no fool. At fifty, he was still as sharp as a tack and no doubt had Russell pegged.

Susan gave him a blue-eyed stare. It seemed Little Miss Sunshine had, too. “Let me get this straight…” Hand on hip, she squinted up at him. “That lock won’t stop anyone from entering my home, and I wasted a few hours, a lot of cursing, and a whole lot of frustration on it? Why sell it, then?”

Russell watched her give her little lecture, amazed at her all over again. She was worked up, that was for sure. Would she be that passionate in bed?

Dave shrugged. “People like them all the same.”

“Yeah, but they’re crap. These things are worthless. Any criminal worth his spit could have this open in no time. Or go through a window. Or jimmy the back garage door…” Russell said, not willing to let her try for a cheap lock again. Shit, she needed a real security system, not some bolt lock. He stopped when Susan’s eyes widened. Maybe that was too much?

“There isn’t much crime in Troy, miss,” Dave said.

“Well, that’s lovely.” Susan looked down at her watch and gasped. “Oh! Gotta run! Thank you, Mr Dale. Major. Later.”

Russell shot Dave a grin, tipped his hat and followed Susan in time to shove the door open for her. He took her arm as soon as they hit daylight. She didn’t slow down, but shot him a quick frown.

“You really need to stop this arm tugging thing. I have an appointment, and now I’m late.”

An appointment. What did that mean? “I can put that lock in for you, or I can call a company that puts in a much better system. Might be better than a bolt that won’t stop a teenager. My friends have a security system that won’t let a fly in unannounced.”

A feminine brow lifted at that. “Maybe, but, for now, I have to run.”

“How about lunch? I could show you the specs for the security system…”

“I’m busy for lunch. Driving to an interview, but thank you.”

Interview?
She was going to work. Of course she was. Most did. Everyone did. She would. He should be. He had colts to worry over, some mares needed to be bred soon, his studs were anxious, the cattle needed tending, calves needed to be checked, fences needed to be maintained, but not much of that made any sense when all he wanted was this petite woman facing him with a teasing look on her pretty face.

“No lunch break?”

She blinked. “They’re taking me out to lunch. Some Italian place.” She met his gaze steadily, and no doubt she saw his mind working at ten times less than its usual speed. It was her smile, he decided. It was so warm, so sweet. And honest. Not forced, but a natural expression. He’d dropped her arm, but could still feel her heat in his palm. Even through the layers of clothing she wore, he felt it.

All right. At least she wasn’t giving him that look women had when men came on too strong. He’d watched men crash and burn, so he knew what it looked like. Only she wasn’t looking too open to negotiation for this, either. He crossed his arms and sighed, put out with her. He’d wait at her door if he had to.

“Well, then, I suppose I might be able to come by after I go pick up a colt, and set that lock up then? At least, until you let me talk you into that security system and contact my buddies to install it.” She would be getting a security system one way or another. Troy might be safe, but no place was safe if you were frightened. And she was frightened. Hours working on that lock? He would have liked to have seen her hot and frustrated…she’d look sexy, he had no doubt.

She chewed her bottom lip, obviously debating how to turn that down cold. Before she could, he met her look with a determined one of his own. She wasn’t as unaffected by him as she tried to appear—he’d spotted the soft pink flush darkening her cheeks. His cock lengthened and swelled. At this rate, he’d need a freezing shower after this and another before he went to her house.

“How about four? That’ll give you time, right? See you then.” He forced a casual wave and turned to walk back inside the hardware store. Why his stomach was in his toes he had no idea. But it was. His heart was racing, too. He was thanking whatever God looked after poor fools when he heard her laughing softly behind him. At least she wasn’t telling him no.

He turned for one more look to take with him through the long day, and instantly wished he hadn’t.
Holy hell.
She shimmied that tight little knee-high skirt up to get in her truck, and she was wearing thigh-high stockings. His entire body tightened. He spotted lace against a creamy line of pale, toned skin. His gut clenched. Susan was trying to kill him, wasn’t she? She was a fantasy come to life. He’d never seen a woman so sexy in his life. He was a straightforward guy, used to simple things. But she was giving him all kinds of ideas.

Once inside her truck, she looked up and caught him staring. Her lips curled in a knowing little smile.
Damn.
And he had to make it through another few hours?

Impossible.

If he’d thought the past few hours worrying over seeing Susan had been difficult, not seeing her truck in her driveway nearly killed him. After Dave’s, he’d got his colt, had even dropped off a new mare, and had then driven back to the ranch to help clean stalls since Andy, their hired hand, was out for a few weeks with a bum wrist. Russell had rushed through the chores as if he were on a mission. Now, after taking a long, hot, sweaty two-hour run and showering for another hour because he’d needed to jack off for that long, he was primed to see Susan.

He pulled in and considered what to do. Nothing came to mind, but, before he could even shut the truck off, Susan turned into the driveway. He opened his truck door and got down as she parked next to him, smile already in place.
Damn.
Now, why did his heart jump around at the sight of her? Was she happy to see him or smiling because, like some dope, he was here waiting for her?

“Sorry I’m late! God, the traffic was horrible! I never realised it would be so busy. Who goes to Spokane anyway? Geez. Have you been waiting a long time?” She was breathless, and he didn’t hear half of what she said past
sorry
and
Spokane
. She was just so pretty it made it difficult for him to think.

“You went to Spokane? For an interview?”
Alone?
he wanted to add, but didn’t press his luck.

She gave him a little frown and he realised with a shock that he’d snapped at her. Shit, he was treating her like some new recruit.

“Yep! Uh, the job sounds great. The guys were all okay, but I’m not certain about the commute. I do consulting, but still they’d want me there sometimes, so…not sure.”

She headed for her garage door, and he had to step quickly to beat her to opening it for her. She walked pretty fast for such a tiny thing. Breathing deeply to try to slow his erratic heartbeat, he caught the scent of her. Sweet like some flower, not overpowering, but barely there and mixed with the warm scent of woman. She reminded him of a fresh breeze on a sunny day. She smelt so good he wanted to tackle her against the garage wall, and rip that skirt up to cup her little bottom above those stockings. And didn’t that make him feel like a real big jerk?

“That’s not so far, is it? Not if it’s once in a while.” He didn’t like the idea of her driving so far, but he couldn’t say that.

He held the door for her and she headed in, saying, “Thank you. Well, it’s still far even for once a month or so…” She was chattering away, juggling a backpack and two bags, clearly unaware of how badly he wanted to kiss her. He tried to take the bags, but she set them down on a little counter near a big outdoor refrigerator.

“Once a month? What kind of work?”

He tried to focus, but he was distracted by her scent and the stockings. He’d never seen a woman in stockings. Outside of a magazine or movie, he amended. Not in the flesh. Certainly not less than a foot from him.

“I’m a structural engineer, drafting mostly. Nothing special, but there’s not much around in the way of jobs.” She disappeared practically inside the refrigerator with her bags of food, then popped her head back out.

Damn. That was very cool. She was smart
and
beautiful. “And you can do this from home?”

“Yep, Internet and all. Most of it is computer programmed anyway, and, well, since I am a girl…” She turned, then, and handed him a long-necked beer, smiling up at him again. “Beer? And it’s mainly a guy’s business, so working at home works great.”

Yeah, he’d have to agree with that. She was a girl and he’d rather she wasn’t surrounded by a bunch of construction workers, either. “Yeah, that sounds great. Working at home. Nice.”

Smiling, she leaned against the little shelf behind her and held her beer out. “Can you open?”

Open? He grinned and knocked the top off with the counter, handing it to her. She took the bottle with a little quirk of her lips, as if she’d known he was completely capable of taking the cap off. Now, why did that make him hotter for her?

“Thanks.
So
talented. So.” She took a sip and tilted her head. “Lock. What are these security systems you were talking about?”

Taking his own sip, he glanced down at the bottle and squinted at the label. Saranac? Oktoberfest. It was good, too. He had a buddy, or used to have a buddy back at the base, who drank Saranac. He’d loved the brewery beers and had always had Saranac or some small microbrew on hand when Russell stopped by. So, Susan had good taste in beer.

“Good, huh?” she asked. No doubt she had him pinned for a meat and potatoes guy and until her? He had been. Now, though? He was contemplating whether he could find out if she was wearing a silk or lace thong. It had to be a thong. He wanted to run his hands over her, spread those firm, slender thighs and taste her. Blinking, he pulled his brain back above her waist with trouble.

“Very. From New York?”

“A microbrewery, but they’re big time now, not so small scale. I found it in town. Not so bad, huh?”

She definitely thought he drank Bud. Or Coors. “Yeah, it’s good. I like it. Now, that locking system is crap. Let me make a call, have some guys come out and they’ll hook you up with a system no one can break.”

She made a face. “Your language sucks, Major.”

He practically choked on his beer. Wiping his lips off with his wrist, he grinned. “Sorry. Navy does that to a man’s language.”

“Really?” She sipped her beer, not cutting him any slack at all. Not that it really was much of a defence. “How much does this security system cost?”

He hadn’t thought of that. She was going to baulk at spending five thousand dollars on a new system. “A couple hundred, but it’s worth it.” She gave him a long look for that, then glanced around her garage. Her clean, neat garage. “Well, maybe…”

 She bit down on her plump bottom lip and his dick jerked. Reaching out a hand, he touched her chin. She blinked up at him in surprise. He surprised himself. He’d touched her like he had the right.

“Here, let’s make a bet, what d’you say?” He wasn’t letting her off this easy. She needed this system and being all sexy with her lip wasn’t going to distract him. “You let me set this lock up for you, make sure it works, then you let me show you how quickly I can get in.”

“You?” She tilted her head, sizing him up adorably, as if she was picturing him creeping around in the dark. He didn’t bother to say anything. She’d never hear him coming. He got the job done. Now the job was her, and he was going to get this done. The sooner he did, the better he could think about something other than the pain of his dick against his suddenly too-tight jeans. She finally shook her head, the small smile on her face blooming into a grin. “You can break locks?”

“Yes, ma’am. Very well. I did all kinds of dirty deeds for Uncle Sam. This? Piece of cake, Sunshine. Now, let’s get this on.” He finished his beer and tossed the bottle into her recycling bin. “You gonna let me in?”

She laughed at that, a quick splutter that made him grin down at her. She was nervous. So was he. This was uncharted waters for him. He didn’t want to screw this up by jumping any fences he shouldn’t. He wanted to be patient, wait for the right signals from her, but that was proving to be a challenge. She was harder to read at times than anyone he’d ever met.

“Or you’ll blow the house down?” she teased, sipping her beer but walking over to the door to let him into the house. So far, so good. Then she opened the door. Without unlocking it. Her house was unlocked? “Before you ask, I couldn’t get the lock to work, and I can feel your need to say something but I suggest you really don’t.”

She could feel his need, eh? He hoped not. And what could he say to that? Nada. “Well, we’ll fix this for tonight, then I’ll have my buddies come by. They’ll set you up, give you a code and no one will be able to get in.” Except him, but he wasn’t sharing that he could break any lock ever created. He was betting he wouldn’t have to break anything to get in.

“If you can get this lock to work, then do some breaking and entering…”

There went his hard-on, painfully rubbing as it jerked to attention. Shit, jeans were not the thing for a man to wear in this condition. “Right.” His voice came out low, but what could he do?

She clicked over to the couch on her pretty little high heels and tossed her hair over her shoulder when she bent down to glance at him.

“Whew, so do you know any of the local ranchers? Maybe anyone at the Triple Bar?” She unstrapped the heels he’d imagined digging into his back and swung her long hair off her face impatiently, casting him a questioning look when he didn’t respond.