Текст книги "Playing With Fire"

Автор книги: Alison Bliss

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

Cowboy pulled back, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me square in the eyes. “Anna, why did you start the fire?”

Stunned, I blinked at him and shook my head adamantly. “I…I didn’t.”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion and his mouth pulled taut into a flat, thin line. He didn’t believe me. Not only that, but there I was clinging to a man I now wanted to strangle.

Angrily, I tried to shift away from him, but he held me firmly in place, nodding to the site where the fire had been. “Then tell me what happened,” he demanded, his tone bordering on frustration and fury.

“How would I know? I was with you, remember? I just left you back there. Why would you even suggest I had anything to do with—”

“There’s a bottle of lighter fluid on the ground not ten feet away from where you were standing. It only takes seconds to start a fire using that. Besides, you were practically standing in the fire when I found you. I had to radio it in and then double time it up here to get you out of the smoke before you killed yourself. What the hell were you doing, anyway?”

“I was just…”

“Just what?” When I didn’t respond to his question, he raised his voice. “Answer the damn question.”

“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t start the fire. That’s all you need to know.”

“Bullshit, Anna! This is the third fire in three days you just happened to be near when it started. I don’t want to believe you had something to do with it, but what the hell else am I supposed to think?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Hey, Captain,” a young fireman said, approaching us and addressing Cowboy. “No injuries to report and the flames are out. But we found the source of the fire. You might want to come talk to him. He’s on the side of the building over here and refuses to leave.”

Cowboy and I gave each other a puzzled look and then stepped out of the vehicle to head in the direction the fireman came from. We caught sight of a man with a scruffy gray beard and ratty clothes leaning against a nearby fence. “Damn you, Dan!” Cowboy yelled, making me jump. “I told you to stop setting shit on fire.”

The homely-looking man lifted his head and gave us a rotten-toothed grin. “Fuck you.”

“Watch your mouth. There’s a lady present.”

The old man grunted. “Well, fuck her, too.”

Cowboy must’ve heard my small intake of breath because he rolled his eyes and whispered, “Just ignore him. He’s nothing but a grouchy, filthy-mouthed old man. He doesn’t like anyone telling him what to do.” Cowboy glanced back at the man. “Do you, Dan?”

Dan held up a middle finger on his grimy hand and said in a gruff, rancid voice, “Up yours, shit-for-brains.”

“He’s trying to provoke me,” Cowboy explained. “Whenever he wants a hot meal, Dan here does something illegal…like setting fires.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “H-he did this on purpose? But he could’ve killed someone.”

“Yeah, including himself.”

The old man guffawed. “Quit talking about me like I’m not standing right here. I know my rights. You gonna have me arrested or what?”

Cowboy nodded. “The sheriff will be here any minute. You’ll probably be stuck in a cell until Monday morning, and then you can go home to your wife.”

“Heeeeeell, no.” He shuddered. “Have you seen that woman?”

“Yeah, but you haven’t,” Cowboy told him. “You’re only imagining what she looks like.” I squinted at him, not understanding what he was talking about. “Dan’s legally blind,” he explained. “Has been for years.”

“Oh. I see.”

Dan stared stupidly at me. “Well, just rub it in, why don’t ya? You damn kids nowadays don’t think twice about making fun of someone with a handicap. In the good ol’ days, children respected their elders.”

As the sheriff pulled in, Cowboy said, “Your ride’s here, old man.”

Dan pushed off the fence and picked up an aluminum cane I hadn’t noticed leaning against his right leg. Then he started toward the sound of the cruiser, swinging the cane back and forth as it clattered on the pavement, while mumbling under his breath.

I looked up at Cowboy, still confused. “H-he’s not a vagrant?”

“No, but he’s still a bum. Every time he pisses off his wife, she refuses to cook for him and kicks him out. Then he pulls this crap.”

“So, he’s the town drunk, then?”

“Dan?” Cowboy chuckled at the thought. “Nah. He doesn’t touch the stuff. Besides, this place is too small for a town drunk. Instead, we all just take turns.”

Before I could respond, the fireman named Reynolds approached. “All clear, Captain? Or do you still want us to have the sheriff take her in for questioning?” he asked, grinning in amusement.

Lightning flashed in Cowboy’s eyes and he gave Reynolds a go-to-hell look, which prompted the young fireman to quickly turn and head for the hills.

I crossed my arms, glaring at him in disbelief. “You were going to have me arrested?”

Cowboy closed his eyes and let out a hard breath. When he opened them, the anger I’d seen in them was gone and only softness and sincerity remained. “No, I was just going to have him…talk to you, I guess. I thought maybe if it was somebody besides me asking the questions, you would—”

“What? Tell the truth? Because you still think I’m lying to you, right?” As he opened his mouth to speak, I knew an apology loomed on the tip of his tongue. But it was one I didn’t want to hear. His fury may have dissipated, but mine had just kicked into high gear. I shook my head and pulled the jacket from around my shoulders, shoving it into his chest. “Here. I guess it’s safe to say that I can go now.”

He took the jacket and reached for my hand. “Anna, wait…”

“Just leave me alone,” I said, walking quickly away from him.

Chapter Five

“Got my book?”

I’d seen Cowboy come through the library doors, but had refused to allow myself to acknowledge him until he spoke first. Even then, I only reached beneath the desk and handed him the book with the red spine.

“Guess you’re still mad,” he said.

I continued ignoring him.

He braced his hands on the counter. “Are you going to at least let me apologize for last night?”

“No.” I grabbed a couple of returned books I’d already scanned back into the system, rose and headed for the far aisles, away from prying eyes and bent ears.

He followed behind me, not giving up. “I talked to Bobbie Jo.”

“Good for you.”

“She vouched for you, so I’m letting it go…this time. I closed the report on the dumpster fire and chalked it up to an accident. She trusts you.” His tone sounded almost angry about it.

I kept walking, but glanced over my shoulder at him, noting his questioning eyes and the way he held his mouth in a flat, grim line. Suspicion and mistrust lit up his perfect face like a flashing neon sign. “Yet you still don’t.”

He didn’t even bother denying it. “Do you blame me? You avoid my questions every chance you get, and you won’t stay in one place long enough for me to have a decent conversation with you.” When I walked faster hoping to get out of everyone’s earshot before he spoke another word, he said, “Damn it, Anna. Why are you always running from me?”

“I’m not. I’m—”

“Afraid I’m going to ask you out?” he asked, as if he were finishing my sentence.

My heart skipped a beat, but I pretended to be unfazed. I stepped inside an alcove and placed one of the books on the shelf where it belonged. “Don’t be absurd,” I said, lowering my voice.

“So it’s okay for me to ask you out, then?”

“What? No, I…I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth.” I marched down the aisle with him hot on my trail. “You’re not asking me out.”

“Why not? Since I closed the report, there’s nothing stopping me from doing so.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

He groaned. “What the hell is your problem with me?”

I stopped and turned to face him, lifting my brows. “You really have to ask that?” Then I moved further down the aisle.

“I’m trying to apologize for last night,” he said from behind me. “If you would just stand still long enough…” He grasped my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Look, I’m sorry. I was wrong, okay?”

“Fine. Apology accepted.” I spun away from him and scanned the shelves. When I found the spot I was looking for, I slid the book back into its rightful place. I pivoted and walked toward him, then passed right by him on my way back to the circulation desk.

“That’s it?” Cowboy asked.

I paused and looked back, shrugging nonchalantly. “What more is there?”

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

My stomach fluttered and I smiled, but didn’t hesitate with my answer. “No, thank you.”

He sighed. “Why? Because of last night?”

“No, not because of that,” I said, straightening a book on a nearby shelf.

“Just dinner. I’m not asking for anything more.”

Yeah, sure…yet.

To say I didn’t trust men was the understatement of the year. And Cowboy was definitely all man. Good-looking. Charming. The kind of guy who made hearts bleed in every female within a hundred-mile radius. Even with his lack of commitment and my plans to leave town, it would still never work between us. So why waste either of our time?

“I’m sorry, Cowboy, but my answer is still no.”

His face twisted in genuine confusion, as if he’d never been told “no” before. He hesitated and then said, “It’s because you think I’m butt-ugly, isn’t it?”

I bit my lip to keep from giggling at him. He couldn’t be “butt-ugly” if he tried. “No, that’s not it, either. You just…need to stop asking me out.”

“Why? What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then what? Am I too damn pretty for you? Come on, there’s got to be something.”

I sighed at his arrogance. “Listen, Cowboy, what you did for me last night was sweet and I appreciate it. But we both know you carrying me away from that fire wasn’t some clichéd romantic gesture.”

He nodded in agreement. “More like a caretaker helping an invalid get from point A to point B. So?”

“That is exactly my point. You’re blunt, reckless, arrogant, and…frankly, a little conceited, which is something I’m not.”

“Just spit it out already. I’m a big boy. I can take it.”

I hesitated to tell him the God’s honest truth, but I had to say something to get him to leave me alone. “I don’t do short-term love affairs,” I blurted out.

Clearly caught off guard by my admission, he blinked rapidly before a smile tugged at the sides of his mouth. “You mean sex?”

I closed my eyes and sighed, embarrassment flooding my cheeks. “Yes, of course I’m talking about sex.”

“So what about long-term love affairs?” The inflection in his tone made his voice deeper, sexier.

I cracked one eye open and saw him grinning at me with a hand propped leisurely on the shelf beside me and the other at his waist, his thumb snagged in the loophole of his jeans. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“Darlin’, I’m not making fun of you. I’m only suggesting something a little longer than what you were expecting.” Then he shrugged his brows.

His cockiness pushed my buttons. “Okay, enough. Obviously you’re used to flirty women throwing their wishful hearts at your feet and their willing bodies into your bed without you barely lifting a finger. But I’m…well, I’m not interested.”

Wearing a sexy little grin, he stepped forward, forcing me to inch away from him until my back hit the bookshelf behind me. “Oh, really?” He actually sounded surprised. Arrogant jerk.

“Yes, really. I guess you find that hard to believe?”

“Sweetheart, as jumpy as you are around me, I don’t see you doing either.” His hands framed my face and his thumbs tipped my chin up. My breath hitched as his lips neared mine. “But the adorable way you’re blushing and stammering all over yourself… Well, darlin’, I’d say you have more interest than you’re letting on.” His emerald eyes twinkled with intimate knowledge of women’s desires and a blatant invitation for me to test him on it.

An easy victim of wishful thinking, I licked my lips nervously and felt his breath warm them. A pulse developed between my legs as sexual undercurrents flowed rapidly through my veins. But lucky for me, it also heightened my sense of reality. Because a man like him wouldn’t go for someone like me. Not unless he was getting something in return. Cowboy always wanted something he couldn’t have. It was just the way he was.

That argument alone persuaded me to put an end to the standoff. It was self-sabotaging, I knew, but my heart and my mind threatened to form a conspiracy against me by sending me off to dangerous, Cowboy-infested waters. And that wasn’t a depth I was willing to go.

I shied away farther, my back digging into the bookshelf, as I tried to put more distance between us. “I’m not a trophy, nor do I aspire to become a notch on someone’s belt. I’m not the kind of girl who rolls out of a man’s bed after one meaningless night of sleeping together.”

He laughed softly. “I don’t know about meaningless, sweetheart, but the sleeping part is not usually the way I do things.”

I rolled my eyes. “You just don’t get it, do you? I’m not looking for a fling.”

“That’s too bad,” he said, settling his hands on the bookcase behind me, effectively caging me in. His masculine frame towered over me, forcing me to look up to see his eyes. “Because it’d be hot as hell watching you come unwound.”

He brought one hand around and removed the glasses from my face, then reached up with the other and let my red hair fall out of my clip.

Again? Seriously?

It was nerve-wracking the way his gaze roamed aimlessly over my face and body. As if he were imagining me naked in his arms, writhing beneath him while he thrust into me. And that thought alone horrified me as much as it delighted me. God, help me.

I didn’t stamp my foot, but I wanted to. “Are you done, yet?”

“Nope. Not even close. I want to know the real reason why you won’t go out with me.”

“Okay, fine.” I crossed my arms to show my exasperation, but mostly to hide my body’s response to his proximity. “You’re someone who appreciates bluntness, right? You like to call a spade a spade?”

“Mmm-hmm.” He was still smiling.

“The reason I won’t go out with you is simple.” I heaved out a breath and pushed the loose hair behind my ear, knowing I was about to wipe that smug smile off his stupid perfect face. “You’re a king on a throne, and your sordid reputation with women is well-known throughout the land.”

“What?” His brows lowered over his eyes and his smile dissipated. “That’s your reason for not—”

“I’m not finished,” I stated firmly, tapping my foot on the tiled floor. “Like I told you the other night, we’re not a good match. Way too different, in fact. I’m predictable and dull and, without a doubt, you’d become easily bored with me.”

His eyes softened. “You’re not—”

“Not finished,” I chastised, placing my hands on my hips. “I’m perpetually behind everyone else in most things, including fashion, and I’m a compulsive neat freak. I’m also logical and conservative.”

“You probably recycle,” he said with a smirk.

“Actually, I do. But then again, so do you.” When he looked at me funny, I continued. “You recycle women. Use them up and toss them aside, leaving them for someone else while you wait for a new one to come along and replenish your stash.”

“That’s not true. I—”

“I’m still not through,” I said, raising my hand to stop him. “Face it, Cowboy, we’re nothing alike. Therefore, I think us going on a date would be futile and one hundred percent counterproductive.” When he didn’t say anything right away, I asked, “Do you understand what I mean by that?”

He tipped his hat back, and I could see the indignation blazing in his eyes. “Being a southern redneck don’t make me stupid,” he drawled, clearly offended. I started to apologize, but he spoke up first. “Just one date.”

“I’m sorry, Cowboy, but I have no interest in having dinner with you…or anything else for that matter. I don’t want to be just another anonymous name on your list or another temporary playmate in your bed. For the last time, my answer is still no.” Then I closed my mouth and bit down on my tongue before I did something stupid. Like change my mind.

We stared at each other momentarily before his jaw tightened and he said, “You done?”

I gave him a terse nod.

“Good. Then it’s my turn.” He relaxed into a seemingly more comfortable position. “First off, you should be less critical of yourself. You’re not nearly as dull as you make yourself out to be.”

“I’m not—”

“Not finished. I’ve got the floor, remember? You’ve had your turn.”

I made a sweeping motion with my arm for him to continue.

“Second, allow me to put your foolish concerns to rest.”

“Fine.”

“You telling me that you’re not my type is total bullshit, and you know it. You purposely make yourself unattractive to men with your long skirts and buttoned-up blouses. Hell, nuns wear less clothing than you do.” Cowboy chuckled at his remark. “But let me assure you of one thing, sweetheart. Out of the two of us, the only one who mentioned anything directly related to sex is you.”

My eyes narrowed at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Darlin’, just because I make a flirty pass and ask you to dinner doesn’t mean I expect to bend you over the nearest flat surface. That’s your hang-up, not mine.”

Oh God. He was right! He hadn’t actually asked me for sex…yet. Great. So now I was the sexual deviant. How the hell had that happened?

“You would’ve eventually—”

“Not done,” he said, pulling a page from my own book. “Let me tell you what else I know.” He shifted his weight, as if he planned for us to be here a while. “Something about you is off. Last night you reacted to that fire the same as you do to me—you panicked. I don’t know what it is or why, but there’s something you aren’t telling me.”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. But lucky for you, I can help with both of those things. And that is not by any means me asking you for sex.” Cowboy displayed a smug grin. “Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I’m a catch.”

I rolled my eyes. “And modest, too.”

“Anna, all I’m asking for is dinner. What we do—or don’t do—afterward is completely up to you.”

“Give me one good reason why I should.”

“Huh?”

I crossed my arms and huffed. “Go on, tell me. Why me?”

He squinted at me. “Is this a trick question?”

“No. I really want to know. Why are you so insistent when I have repeatedly refused you?”

“You intrigue me.”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t know enough about me to be intrigued.”

He sighed. “See? No matter what I say, you’re not going to believe me, anyway,” he said, waving me off.

“That’s because you’re only saying what you think I want to hear. Why don’t you try it again, but this time, throw in a little truth?”

Cowboy stood a little straighter as he glared at me. “Fine,” he snarled. “You want to know why I asked you out? It’s because…” He hesitated, then shrugged and turned away from me. “Never mind. This is stupid.”

I stepped around him and faced him. “Why? Are you afraid to give me an honest answer? Or maybe it’s because you can’t?”

He threw his hands in the air. “Because I knew you’d say no, okay?”

I blinked, not expecting him to be so forthcoming.

“That is what you wanted me to admit, right? That I’m intrigued by you because you don’t want anything to do with me.” He hooked his thumbs into the loopholes on his jeans and ground out, “Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

Yes. Unfortunately. But it didn’t change a thing.

Obviously, brushing off his advances hadn’t worked. In fact, the whole thing had backfired. Even worse, his little speech had nearly coaxed a yes from me. But self-preservation demanded I end this once and for all. That left me with no choice but to bruise that precious male ego of his, which would require something drastic, since he had an ego the size of Texas.

“Come with me,” I told him, turning to walk up the aisle.

He followed behind me silently, but I felt his eyes burning into my back, the question looming in the air, as we neared the circulation desk. I veered around the counter and pulled my purse from the bottom cabinet. I took out my wallet, searching through it until I found my library card.

I scanned it, then picked up the book Cowboy had left on the counter and did the same with it. Only then did I shove the book into his hand. “There. I’ve checked the book out for you. It’s due back in two weeks. There’s a drive-up book return drop outside under the portico.”

He glanced to the book, then back to me. “What’s the catch?”

I sighed heavily, letting out the irritated breath I had been holding in my lungs. “In return, I ask that you don’t come back into the library again.”