Under Pressure (7 page)

“Do you think it’s possible to put the gun down
during this conversation?” Spark asked.

Jewels
thought over his request and finally lowered the weapon, placing it against the railing. “Someone explain this to me, please!”

Em gave Spark
a flirtatious smile and shrugged. “Yes, the cowboy’s name was Spark, but this isn’t him. This cowboy’s hot, but nope, not him. He looks single. Are you single?”

Jewels
growled. “Em, cut it out.” They were in enough hot water as it was.

Spark chuckled and his expression softened—slightly. “Yes, I’m single.” He pushed back his hat and nailed
Jewels with annoyance. She squirmed and hoped her cheeks weren’t as red as she imagined they were.

“So if the drama is over, can I go back to bed now?”
Em whined.

“Yes.
Go back to bed. You and I will talk later.” Jewels waved her off. She’d definitely give her sister a good talking to later, although Em had no clue of what Jewels had done last night. If she had to face the tyrant in cowboy boots, she’d rather do it alone. After all, she’d planned payback all by herself.

Em disappeared into the house and
Jewels turned to face the cowboy standing ten feet from her. The sharpness in his jaw spoke volumes of his impatience.

She wouldn’t weaken, even if she’d made a mistake.

She scrambled for something to say. “Did the wax strips come off okay?”

“
Along with patches of hair…and skin.”

“It was the one-tug
-is-all-you-need kind.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He shuffled one boot across the rocks.

“I know you probably don’t want to hear my apology—”

“No
, there’s not much you could say that I’d want to hear,” he said.

She crossed her arms over her chest. Of course
, he wasn’t going to make this easy for her. She couldn’t blame him. He’d paid the price for some jerk’s bad behavior. “Look, I was only taking up for my sister. It was a simple mistaken identity. It could happen to anyone.”

“There’s a thing called communication. We ask a question and, in most cases, we get an answer in
return. You could have saved us both a lot of time—and a lot of stress.” He dropped his gaze over her. His eyes pierced her flesh, and she squirmed.

“You’re right. I can
’t argue that. But seriously, if I would have asked if you were the man who screwed my sister, then gave her a fake number, would you have answered honestly?”

He
sighed. “In theory, if I was the man you’re referring to, which I’m not, but if I was, no I guess I wouldn’t be honest. But I don’t get into playing games like some men and women do— that’s what separates me from all of the assholes in the world.”

She
related and really thought they were getting somewhere. “Then some asshole used your name to get to third base with Em.”

“A
nd that’d be my friend, Clay Silver. He’s an ass alright, but not as much of one as you might think. He did lie about his name, but he didn’t about the number. He slipped-up and gave your sister his old number. We all are forgetful at times, right?”

No, she guessed they weren’t getting anywhere.

She brought her chin up. “Are you defending him? I mean, who gives an old number? Had he forgotten his name too? What a lame excuse.”

“
It’s possible your sister has the same memory loss issues since she gave him a different name too. I heard you call her Em, but my friend knows her as Jewels. And that’s you.”

Her stomach rolled. She
couldn’t wait to have that talk with Em. “Apparently, my sister left some finer details out of the story.”

“Apparently.” A grin played at the corner of his mouth.
He shrugged. “I can’t vouch for why he stood her up. You’d have to take that up with him. Now, weren’t you working on an apology?”

“You said you didn’t want to hear one from me
, or anything for that matter.”

“I’ve changed my mind. The sun’s coming up and it’s only going to get hotter for this cowboy standing in the wide open.”

Coming to grips with her pride, she rolled her eyes. “
I’m sorry about the misunderstanding.”

~°°°~

Spark digested her apology. There were two things working against him this morning as he stood at the bottom of the steps to the porch.

One, he should be fired up that
he was mistaken for another cowboy and was punished with a modern day torture device innocently named wax strips. Why would anyone use that shit on their body?

Second,
Jewels Stone was the prettiest, sexiest woman he’d laid eyes on, and unfortunately, she looked much better in the light of day. She wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup and her hair looked like she’d met up with a cyclone, yet he couldn’t drag his gaze off her.

What irked him the most? S
he wore the tiniest, skimpiest shirt and shorts that sent his imagination down a wrong path. If only he could stomp up the steps…she’d be at the perfect level to bury his tongue in her—

Damn!

His cock twitched and wrestled with the confines of his boxers.

She knew he was turned on. He
could see the awareness in her chocolate eyes and her nipples hardened. The pearly buds pressed the fabric, teasing him.

The
length of her slender legs drove him through the Sahara desert of his mind and he thirsted for a tall drink of Jewels. He grazed the delectable part of her firm thighs where the hem of her frilly pale blue shorts stopped, reminding him of pretty wrapping he couldn’t wait to remove to find the gift inside.

Truth was, h
e’d like her legs better if they were draped around his bare waist.

Hell, every part of her
was mouthwatering.

He slipped his hat off and swiped his hand across his damp brow.

Yeah, a man could dream.

At least
he’d gotten his apology, which was late in coming.

“How do your legs feel?” she asked.

“Like I got into a fight with a rooster and lost.”

“Come inside. I’ve got
something that’ll help you.” Jewels went to the screen door, opened it, motioning for him to follow.

Dirty thoughts skipped through his mind. Damn, a woman didn’t make an offer like that
unless she was thinking dirty too.

Boss’s
daughter. Off limits.

The limits were slipping.

“Sorry, but I’m a little skittish when it comes to your proposals.” He shook his head.

“Awww…find your bravery and come with me. I promise
, you won’t complain.” She stepped inside of the house. The screen door
screeched
and slammed shut.

He stood there,
weighing his options with a scale of good and evil.

He could run like hell—he should. Or
, he could risk it all and follow Jewels. He had a feeling he’d follow her into a raging fire if it meant he could kiss her one more time. He’d never known another that could turn him inside out with one glance.

Looking
over each shoulder, there was no one around. No one who could save him from his internal demon that wanted to get real dirty with a treasure rightly named Jewels.

Pushing aside the last sliver of
doubt, he stepped upon the porch and opened the door, peeking in. He walked in and gently closed the door.

He examined the foyer. The
walls were lined with family photos. On a small cherry wood table set a framed picture of a younger Joshua Stone. Sitting next to him was a beautiful red-haired woman and three young girls with similar features. The one sitting closest to Stone was Jewels. He’d know the bright cinnamon eyes and deep dimples anywhere. Jewels looked a lot like her mother.

“I’m back here.” She yelled from somewhere in
the back of the house.

He stepped
across the polished wood floor, dragging his hat from his head and holding it against his chest.

“Are you coming?”

He followed her voice down a long hallway and into the kitchen. She was holding a white box.

“I hope you don’t have any torture
objects in that thing.” He chuckled but he was as serious as a heart attack.

She smiled and he swore it could compete against the brightest rays of
the sun. “No, I promise. Now, pull your pants off,” she demanded.

“Oka—what?” He was hearing things.

“Pull your pant
s off.”

“Uhh, you asked me to do the very same last night
and it didn’t work out so well.” Not to mention they were in the middle of her kitchen, her sister was somewhere in the house and who knew who else.

“Don’t be shy, Spark. It’s not as if I haven’t seen it already.” There wasn’t a sliver of
modesty on her face. “Now, drop them. I have an ointment that’ll make your sensitive skin feel much better.”

“That’s sweet of you, but I can handle the
discomfort.”

“D
on’t let heroism get the best of you, cowboy.” One corner of her pretty lips lifted. “We need good, sturdy hands here on the land. If you’re going to be out working in the sun mending fences and stacking hay this afternoon, I want you as strong as I can get you. We wouldn’t want any part of you—” Her gaze shot to his waist then back up so fast that he wondered if he’d imagined it. “—getting infected, now would we?”

He swallowed
. He wasn’t sure if the mention of infection or her reference to his parts made more of a reaction in his body. “No, I don’t want anything catching a cold.” He undid the buckle, the metal
clanged
and echoed off the wallpapered walls, and then loosened the zipper. His jeans dropped to his booted ankles. “If it’s all the same to you, I won’t remove them entirely.” This way, if for some unexpected reason he had to run, it’d be easier to pull them up on his way out the door.

H
e wasn’t quite trusting her yet.

“Suit yourself.” She swept around the counter
, box in hand. “Have a seat here on a barstool. You’ll be at a perfect height.” He lifted his brows and she shook her head. “Tsk, tsk. Pull your mind from the gutter.” Her eyes twinkled.

“
Come on, sweetheart. Admit it, when we’re together the mind has a way of twisting down a naughty path.”

Her cheeks turned
crimson. “Not at all.” He noticed the slight tremble in her fingers.

He didn’t believe her for a second but didn’t argue. He
slid up on the stool, propping his booted heels on the metal. He watched her closely as she opened the box and fumbled through the contents. She produced a small vial and held it up, shaking it and tapping the lid against her palm.

“What is it?” As far as he knew
, she could be using a liquid form of hair removal.

“It’s a secret potion.”

He searched her face for any glimpse of humor. Nothing. “What?”

A smil
e broke out over her features. “I’m kidding. You really don’t trust me at all do you?” She looked at him through a long veil of dark lashes.

“Not even in
the slightest.”

“
Yet you’re still allowing me to help you.” Her tongue swept out and rolled across her bottom lip.

“P
ass up having you touch me? Not going to happen.” Although flirting should be breaking an unwritten rule, he couldn’t bother with guidelines, not when she stood this close.

He enjoyed seeing her flustered, not to mention the way she looked at him with an
innocence he knew was a smokescreen. He got a mere glimpse of her wild side and he could only imagine the road rash he’d walk away with if he succumbed.

“Wow, you do have charm. I never would have guessed.” She uncapped the container and dropped the lid on the granite counter. It rolled across the slippery top and dropped to the floor.
He could see she was nervous, and he was flattered.

“I have my moments.” He winked.

Feeling cold wetness against his hand, he jerked and looked down. The dog was nuzzling his nose against Spark’s knuckles. “I don’t know what you’re feeding this thing, but he’s a monster.” He rubbed the dog’s head and received a whimpered thank you.

“This is Oyster
. Pet him at your own risk. Once you start, it could turn into an all-day thing. He demands attention.”

“
Oh, I’m not worried. Hey, boy, how are you? You’re a big guy, aren’t you? You should consider protecting your house better, buddy. Your owner will end up shooting you or some other poor bastard who has made her angry.” Oyster plopped down by the chair, resting his chin on Spark’s boot.

Jewels
sighed. “It didn’t take you long to find a friend.”

“I’m likeable. Hard to believe, huh?”