Passion & Pumpkins (6 page)

Evie squelched the long-dormant lust-circuits that sparked to life and made a bee-line for the fireplace.

“I’M BEING PUNISHED,” COLIN muttered as he pulled on jeans in front of a seriously pissed off Deirdre Small. She was busily covering up those bombshell curves she had been so busily baring for him just a little while ago.

Sorry, old buddy,
he thought to his poor, neglected cock.

“I knew this wasn’t going to happen.”

“Come on, Deirdre, this will only take a few minutes. Then I’ll be back and we can – ”

“I’m not in the mood anymore.”

Fully dressed, she glared at him with icy baby blues.

“Last week it was that meeting for the Harvest Festival, and the week before it was the high school pep rally, and the week before that it was that stupid Town Hall meeting that went over by like, six hours. It’s always something, Colin!”

“I’m the mayor, Deirdre, remember? You were at the swearing-in?”

“Well, I didn’t realize that meant you were never going to fuck me again! You work twenty-four hours a day and now you’re leaving me to go help some stranded tourist?”

“I couldn’t just leave her out there. What do you want me to do?”

“Get your priorities straight, Mr. Mayor.”

Fluffing her blond curls, she disappeared into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Colin sighed and reached for his boots. Deirdre had always been something of a drama queen, but she was eager and available and more interested in his body than in any long-term relationship. Unfortunately, in recent weeks, the sex – when his schedule actually opened up enough to permit such a thing – had become a little boring. Colin couldn’t quite pinpoint the problem. She was hot, uninhibited, and always let him take charge. Lately, it just left him a little…uninspired.

He pulled on a sweater and grabbed a clean sweatshirt from a drawer before reaching for his keys and heading back downstairs. Maybe once he took care of his clueless half-drowned guest, Deirdre would be back in the mood to help him burn off some of the stress he’d built up in the six weeks since he’d become mayor of Bright’s Ferry. Colin sighed, knowing she’d be out the door by the time his truck cleared the driveway. Irritation sizzled through him and he decided to place the blame squarely on the crazy woman downstairs.

“I thought you might want – ”

Colin stepped into the living room and stopped short, awareness prickling along every nerve ending.
Talk about inspiration.

His guest was standing in front of the fireplace, eyes closed, mouth dropped open in pleasure as she absorbed the heat. Her hair was drying to long ribbons of rich brown, and she’d removed the soaked hoodie to reveal a white tank top that lovingly hugged a curvy, compact little body and sweet breasts that would fit his hands to perfection. Colin drank in every line, feeling a little like a voyeur, and then frowned as his eyes landed on the bandages that covered one shoulder and spread down her side.

The frown deepened at the sight of the gun in the shoulder holster, lying on the coffee table.

“I hope you have a permit for that.”

She looked up as he spoke, her clear gray eyes wide, framed by thick lashes. Her face was devoid of makeup, and she nervously licked a lush lower lip.

“I’m a cop. That is, I was a cop.”

God, she’s pretty.
He hadn’t noticed before, but now she was warm and dry, with firelight licking along those sweet curves. The hard punch of lust surprised him, settling low in his abdomen. He struggled to focus on more important things.

“What happened?” He gestured at her bandages.

“It’s nothing.” She reached for her soaked hoodie, grimacing in distaste.

“Here.” Colin stepped forward with the sweatshirt, and for a moment it looked like she was going to turn it down. “Come on, I’m just trying to be helpful.”

“I don’t need help.”

His skepticism must have shown on his face because she had the grace to blush and snatch the sweatshirt from his hands. For a moment, Colin watched her try to pull it over her head, jostling her bad side as little as possible, and trying to smother the little gasps of pain when she moved the wrong way. Rolling his eyes, he stepped forward and carefully untangled her from the fabric. She stiffened immediately. Colin worked on keeping his hands to himself, though his fingers tingled at the accidental brush of soft skin at her waist where her tank rode up. He stepped back.

“Thanks,” she murmured grudgingly, “I’m Evie.”

The sweatshirt bagged on her, covering her to her thighs and slipping off one shoulder as she reached out a hand. Something hot moved through Colin at the sight of her wrapped in his clothes, but he shook it off and enveloped her hand in his, noting the firm grip and graceful fingers.

“Colin Daniels. Welcome to Bright’s Ferry.”