The Thrill of the Chase (9 page)

He stood to his feet and glanced at Julie who was hanging back and digging a single key from her pocket.

So, they were in her car.

She was totally ignoring him, so he just hung back and followed the two women to the parking lot. A couple of guys looked like they wanted to move in on them, but both women were oblivious and he stood to his full height and shot them a look that told them they didn
'
t want to fuck with these girls on this night.

The late evening air was cool around them. He waited until Julie walked up to a blue compact, and he moved toward her with a casualness that took her by surprise.

"
I
'
ll get the door.
"
He held his hand out for her key, and she reluctantly handed it to him.

The second it was in his hand, his manner changed. He took her by the arm, and escorted her to the passenger side. He unlocked it, opened it, and all but shoved her into the seat.
"
I
'
m driving.
"
His words were firm and decisive.

Julie saw Monica climb in the backseat without a quibble, and she decided it wasn
'
t worth a fight. If he wanted to drive to his house, that was fine. She
'
d just drive home after that.

But evidently, that wasn
'
t to be.

Gibson had been to their apartment before with Ryan, and he drove straight to it now.

Julie bristled.
"
What
--"

"
You
'
re not driving tonight. Don
'
t even think about it. I
'
ll bring your car back to you tomorrow.
"

"
I
'
ve got a ton of stuff to do in the morning. Errands to run. This isn
'
t necessary
--"

"
Shut up, Julie. You
'
ve been drinking and I
'
m not in the fucking mood to hear your shit.
"

Julie sat back, shut her mouth, and seethed. She
'
d only had two drinks over a four-hour period. She
'
d also had three glasses of water. She was in no way drunk. But he looked seriously pissed off and she was too tired to take him on.

Tomorrow. When he brought the car back tomorrow, she
'
d tell him what she thought about his attitude and behavior.

****

At ten o
'
clock in the morning, Julie
'
s doorbell pealed. She had showered, dressed and put her make-up on. She was ready to give him a piece of her mind that she hadn
'
t been able to the night before.

She opened the door, and Gibson stood leaning against the jam, wearing faded jeans, boots, and a tight, red t-shirt that molded his pecs and had her eyes skittering away just as quickly as they landed on him. Masculinity radiated from him and she wasn
'
t immune to it.

He stood watching her, twirling his keys in his hands.

His keys. Not hers.

She ignored the sexual tension that sprang up between them whenever they were in the same room, and got straight to the point.
"
Where
'
s my key?
"

"
Your car
'
s at the dealership. They
'
ll start working on it Monday morning.
"

"
What?
"
She was so shocked, she didn
'
t fully understand what he was saying.

"
It
'
s being worked on.
"
His words were short, succinct.

"
I don
'
t understand.
"
Confusion held her in its grip.

"
Have you noticed the
check engine light
that
'
s been blinking?
"
His eyes were hooded, not letting her see what was really going on inside his head.

"
Yes, but it
'
s been on for weeks and nothing bad has happened.
"
When she said that, she could tell it upset him further. His face grimaced as if in pain.

"
It
'
s an accident waiting to happen.
"
His voice deepened and got hard.
"
You want to break down on the side of the road, babe, and be at the mercy of whatever scumbag stops by?
"

"
No, but I have my phone. I can call for a tow if I have to.
"
She tried to keep her voice light, but this was seriously not his concern. And she didn
'
t have the money for repairs.

"
Who
'
s going to watch your sweet little ass in the meantime? While you
'
re on the side of the road, waiting? A rapist? Maybe a murderer?
"
Anger laced his voice.

"
I don
'
t have the money right now to get it fixed.
"
She pushed the words out, embarrassed by something she couldn
'
t really help.

"
Not a problem. I
'
ll cover it.
"
He said it like it was a done deal.

"
No, you won
'
t.
"
She tried not to be belligerent, but she couldn
'
t help being argumentative.

"
Why not? You need it fixed, I have the money to fix it for you.
"

"
It
'
s not that simple. Why would you want to do that for me?
"
She was sincerely appalled to be in his debt.

"
You got anybody else that will do it for you?
"
He knew she didn
'
t. Her car was so bad, it wasn
'
t even funny. If she had anybody that could give her the money, it would already have been repaired.

"
N-no.
"
Her voice was hesitant.

"
Right. I
'
m getting your car fixed. You can
'
t drive that piece of shit around town. Something bad
'
ll happen to you.
"
His voice dropped.
"
I don
'
t want to think about something bad happening to you. Not something I can easily fix.
"

Julie stood still, stunned. A trickle of warmth slowly slid down her spine. Her knees began shaking like they always did when he was near. Slowly, her mind began to work.
"
Thanks. I
'
ll p-pay you back as soon as I c-can.
"

"
We
'
ll see.
"

"
You don
'
t believe me?
"

"
That
'
s not what I meant. You say you
'
ll pay me back and I said
we
'
ll see
. Leave it at that. You have errands to run this morning? You want to borrow my car or you want me to take you?
"

Again, Julie stood floored while she gathered her wits. She couldn
'
t believe he was here at her apartment, couldn
'
t believe he was having her car fixed, and she couldn
'
t believe he was offering his time and or his vehicle to her.

What did this mean?

Nothing, Julie.

Maybe he
'
s just a decent guy. You thought he was a decent guy before last night. Maybe last night was an anomaly and her original impression was the correct one.

Her answer was slow in coming.
"
I don
'
t want to put you out even more. I feel bad enough already because of what you
'
re doing for me. I can put my errands off. I don
'
t want you to have to take me, and I don
'
t want to leave you without a car.
"

"
Babe, I have two vehicles. I
'
ll keep my truck, and we
'
ll run home and pick up the car. I never drive it anyway. Okay?
"

Julie studied him, standing in her doorway.
"
Are you sure?
"

"
Yeah, I
'
m sure. I
'
ve got insurance on it. Nothing bad can happen.
"

She gave him a small, hesitant smile.
"
Okay, thanks. I
'
ll get my bag.
"

****

Thirty minutes later, she sat quietly beside him in his truck while he drove it through the gated neighborhood where he lived. She looked around in quiet awe. The place was magnificent. It was located on the south side of town, about halfway between Houston and Galveston.

They had crossed the water that designated they were now in Galveston County.

They were in an upscale area that boasted new roads, palm trees, and restaurants on the waterfront.

His neighborhood was new and polished looking. He opened the garage doors with a push of the button on his dash, and one of three bays lifted.

He pulled in.

The garage was connected to the house via a covered walkway, and after they left the truck, she stood in his driveway and waited for his lead. She wanted to see his house, but she wasn
'
t going to ask. She was still mentally reeling from his rough treatment of the night before and she wasn
'
t going to say anything,
do anything
, that in any way, shape or form resembled chasing him.
He
'
d have to beg her first
. She did have some pride left.

He pushed a button on a keypad and another garage bay opened.

She silently watched as he went inside and backed the car carefully out.

She gasped when she saw it.

Oh hell, no.
No freaking way.

She wasn
'
t driving that car.

She couldn
'
t.

She wouldn
'
t.

Could she?

She watched in awe as he climbed out of a beautiful, cherry red, brand new Corvette. He walked back to her and tossed the keys. She automatically reached out and caught them.

"
I can
'
t drive that,
"
she immediately argued.

"
Sure you can. It
'
s an automatic.
"
He purposely mistook her words.

"
No, I mean, it
'
s a
'
Vette.
"
She pointed out the obvious.

"
Yeah,
"
he agreed.

"
It
'
s brand new,
"
she continued to argue.

"
Nah. It
'
s old,
"
he refuted her statement.

"
Bull. It looks new.
"

"
It
'
s not new, babe. I bought it with my signing bonus six years ago,
"
he explained.

"
Signing bonus? What
--
what d-do you do?
"
her voice trembled.

"
I
'
m a stockbroker,
"
his voice was even.