Breaking the Bad Boy (4 page)

His voice was deep and sexy, and enticing. Her eyes went to the full drink in front of her and came up again from it and leveled on his. This was a dangerous man, she thought. He was taunting her, playing with her as if she were at the end of a fishing line. He was dangerous because she was intrigued. “That’s when you are more in control of yourself and you can contain the animal need long enough to take pleasure in the act itself.” Joss looked back at her drink and bit her lip, trying not to smile.

“Are we still talking about the tea?”

“What else could we possibly be talking about, Duchess?”

“I just wondered why you were already making disclaimers,” she said, and he laughed heartily.

“You’re the one who finished the tea… prematurely.” She did smile then. “So, you slept with her boyfriend,” he said still grinning at her.

“Really? You’re back to that? Well, there wasn’t much sleeping, per se,” she said. “He lied to me, he told me he was single, and he was artful and persuasive and I slept with him. I was grounded six times in the three months we… let’s call it dated, for lack of a better word I could use in polite company. Half the senior class, the female half, sent me death threats because supposedly Leanne was there first. I think they probably still carry a grudge, Leanne was very popular; I, on the other hand, was not. Are you satisfied?” She asked and he chuckled.

“Were you?” She couldn’t believe she was telling him about this. She considered his question and remembered that first night they slept together. Leather jacket wearing, tattooed, and pierced; blue eyed Billy Tomlinson was irresistible. He had a mattress fitted into the bed of his pickup, which should have been a big hint as to what he expected from her. It didn’t take a rocket scientist, she knew exactly what he expected, because it’s what they all expected, or at least hoped for. The only difference was that Billy actually got it.

She gave Billy her virginity one of those nights, and she was eternally grateful that he knew what he was doing. He was gentle and knowing, and had a sense of responsibility for her needs. The overt hatred from her schoolmates was a fair price to pay for her subsequent long summer nights under the stars with him. She learned so much about herself from Billy, and she was indebted to him for his conscientious tutelage.
Don’t be shy, sugar, we’ll both get more out of this if we tell each other what we like,
he had said to her that first night, and she wasn’t shy
.

His hands, she remembered, were long fingered and deft, and he had her body shuddering long before he found his own fulfillment, every time. Later she realized that was a rare thing for an adult, never mind a high school senior. Joss looked at Buck’s hands and imagined them being equally generous and capable.

She looked up from his hands at his face and smiled. “Completely.”

His hazel eyes went dark and he swallowed audibly. “Damn,” he said hoarsely and the food arrived. “You were just reminiscing. Tell me everything.”

“I think not, one heart attack is quite enough for today,” she said.

“Damn, Duchess, you’re a pleasant surprise,” he said with a playful smile and reached for his fork.

Joss’ phone made a noise. She and Buck looked at each other.

“Feel free,” he said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the display. She didn’t recognize the number, but read the text.

*I really hope your dad is okay, Joss. I’m eager to reschedule so that it’s you giving me the tour and none other. Being the gov has to have some perks. I did swing by the museum tonight in case there were some people who were expecting to see me.
Sandy
cleared it with Jeremy, so don’t worry, it went flawlessly. This way they get their money’s worth and I might get a vote or two. Call me, for anything, at any time, even if it’s just to shoot the breeze, or if you need a shoulder to cry on. I’d very much like to be there for you, Joss. And when you get back, dinner’s on me. We could go out or we could put our feet up at the governor’s mansion with gourmet popcorn and Netflix. Keep in touch. This is my private number. Peter.*

Joss considered the text while biting her lower lip. This was the longest text she had ever gotten, and there was a lot of sub text in the text. Buck watched her like a hawk as she carefully texted Peter back.

*You have my vote, too. You’re very kind, Peter, my dad is holding his own. I’ll call when I get back to reschedule your tour, as cell service is questionable at best up here. And thanks.* She put her phone back in her pocket and looked up at Buck.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t very polite,” she said looking at him guiltily. “It was work related.”

“You looked like it was a hard text to answer, was it your boyfriend?” He asked. She thought about Peter for a second and sighed.

“No,” she said.

“But you want him to be?” Buck said watching her closely.

She was surprised at the question. “No, but I think he just fired a warning shot over my bow,” she could feel the heat move up her throat and to her face. “I wanted to respond tactfully.”

“He asked you to step it up in a text?” He chuckled. “I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy, myself.”

“I’m sure you are,” she said looking him over. “But I did just unexpectedly leave town, canceling something we had planned tonight.”

“In that dress? Poor bastard. I hope you just shot him down, Duchess,” he said and she looked up and saw his eye color change. Hazel eyes did that, but she’d never seen it so glaringly before. His eyes went from golden brown to green in a heartbeat. As though the green flecks got bigger and moved the other colors out of the way. Was he jealous?

She hadn’t shot Peter down, but she hadn’t encouraged him, either, and she wondered why. They had met a few times, and he had always been charming and funny, and nearly as tall as long shanks sitting across from her, but she hadn’t considered him as a potential lover. In truth, she hadn’t considered many men as potential lovers; she hadn’t felt the heat in a long time.

“Now why would you hope that?” She asked him, tilting her head to the side slightly and he sat back away from her.

“Because you’re worth more trouble than a text, don’t you agree?” He pointed to her phone.

“He’s a busy man,” she said. “But, truth be told, not really my type.”

“Not enough money?” Joss laughed.

“No, I’m guessing he’s got lots of money, that’s not really a thing for me,” she said.

“What is your type, Duchess?” He asked and she looked at him for too long.
You
. She finally gathered herself and looked hungrily at the food in front of them and changing the subject.

“What have we got?” She didn’t want to discuss her text any further.

There was one giant plate of rice to share, and they each got a plate of curry, one yellow and one red. Joss waited for Buck to start, but he deferred to her.

“If you want to change the subject, I won’t stand in your way,” he grinned at her. “I expect we’ll work our way back around to it,” he winked at her. “This one will be very spicy,” he pointed to the red curry with his fork. “This one not so much,” he pointed to the golden one.

Joss took a little rice and ladled the red curry over it. His eyebrows went up and he grinned, waiting for her to try it. He thought she had never had spicy food before, but she’d show him. She took a forkful and tasted it. It was delicious. It was also the hottest food she had ever eaten in her life, but she’d be damned if she was going to let him see her sweat. Joss was delighted with the food, but the tea drink should have tipped her off that she was in for a treat. The spicy red curry was so delicious she nearly wept.

She moaned and closed her eyes before they watered all over her plate. Buck dropped his fork on his plate making a loud clattering sound. She opened her eyes to catch him staring at her. She pointed to her plate with her fork.

“This is very good,” she said after she swallowed and took more. He hadn’t yet served himself any rice; he was too busy watching her. He snapped out of his reverie and spooned rice on his plate, and then followed it with some of each of the curries.

“It’s hotter than I remembered,” he said looking up at her in surprise. “This isn’t too hot for you?”

She met his eyes over the small table and smiled at him. This was the first full on, genuine smile he got from her and he felt like he’d been splashed in the face with water. “It’s excruciating,” she said, and they both laughed. His eyes were almost almond shaped, and under the glare of the overhead florescent lamps she saw there were different color flecks in them than just the gold and green, he had blues and browns, too. They were simply beautiful. She’d have to get a closer look in the daylight when he didn’t have his shades on.

“So Buck, are you going to tell me about yourself?”

“Nope, not much to tell,” he said.

“How long have you lived in
Montana
?”

“’Bout eight months,” he said.

“Where did you live before then?”

“Here and there,” he grinned, knowing she was getting nothing.

“What brought you to
Montana
?”

“Well, if I had known you were in
Denver
I’d have gone straight there, but I didn’t get the memo. How ‘bout you, Duchess? What’s your type?” She shook her head. “You like bad boys, I’m guessing, not affection texters.” Joss laughed at that.

“I can’t seem to get a handle on you, Buck. Why so reticent?”

“I’m not reticent, you just need to try harder,” he put his arms out to the side. “As for getting a handle on me, grab hold of anything that sticks out, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

“You are a bad boy,” she said and his smile was so huge she thought she might be blinded by it. “How did you know I was from
Denver
?” His grin wavered a little bit, but he seemed unwilling to answer.

Joss finished all she could she sat back in her seat with a gratified smile and put her hands on her belly.
 

“Oh God, that was the best food I’ve had in some time, thank you for bringing me here,” her eyes danced in front of him.

Buck watched her from behind his almost effeminate eyelashes. She pushed her plate away and he pulled it toward himself. “You are very welcome. It’s refreshing to see a woman eat hot food. May I?” Joss nodded and watched as he finished her plate, too. It seemed like an intimate thing to do after having only known him for a few hours.

“Why?” She asked.

“I’ve been dating the wrong women, I guess. Maybe I said that wrong, it was very nice to watch you enjoy your food even though it was blowing your face off. You’re flushed from it and it’s very becoming.”

“It was blowing your face off, too,” she said waiting for the sexist comment she was sure was coming.

“It was, but my face rarely flushes, it’s the wrong color,” he grinned at her.

“Where were you stationed?” She asked trying to throw him off his ubercoolness. His eyes opened wide for a split second.
Got ya
.

“I’ve never served in the military if that’s what you’re asking,” he said eyeing her.

“Were you ever a cop?”

“Why do you ask, Duchess? You got a thing for cops? I could probably scare up some handcuffs if you’re interested. Hell, that sounds like fun,” he said.

“Forget I asked,” she said. They looked at each other for a long moment.

He had taken off his hat in the hospital, and hadn’t put it back on and she didn’t notice until now that he had very dark brown hair that was graying just slightly at the temples. He wasn’t old, though; she thought he was probably early thirties, a bit older than she was. His cheekbones were high and pronounced, and he had a small scar on his left cheek just under his eye. Someone wearing a ring hit him, she was sure of it, and she thought he had probably deserved it.