Текст книги "Playing With Fire"

Автор книги: Alison Bliss

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

Chapter Nine

Just as we were lining up to fill our plates, a beat-up red Pontiac pulled into the driveway, parking on the concrete slab in front of the main house. The wrinkled old woman behind the wheel had fluffy white hair that made her round head resemble the end of a Q-tip.

But as she wrenched herself from the sedan, I mentally corrected myself. Actually, more like a cotton ball. There was nothing stick-like about the elderly woman’s body. The white cotton sundress clung to her thick waist and the short sleeves showed all the slack, loose skin on the underside of her flabby arms.

No one, except for Floss, made any attempt to greet her. In fact, everyone was suddenly occupied or quiet and facing the opposite direction with stiff spines and breath-held lungs. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I thought I’d better follow suit and busy myself, as well.

I wasn’t paying attention when I reached for a foam plate and accidentally bumped fingers with Cowboy. As our eyes met, I pulled my hand back quickly. “I’m sorry. Go ahead.”

“No, ma’am,” he said, offering me the plate in his hand. “Ladies first.” Then he stood there, staring at me in silence as he waited for me to take it.

I accepted the plate and nodded a thank you, then moved over to the food table, where I added a small piece of brisket and topped it with some red-eye gravy that I’d helped Floss make earlier.

When I turned, Cowboy was back at my side, standing so close that his arm bumped mine. “I didn’t mean to touch you,” he said in a low voice.

“That’s okay. I’ll just move over a little.”

“No,” he said, frowning. “That’s not what I meant.” He set his empty plate down on the table and turned to face me as I reached for a yeast roll. “I’m talking about last weekend. I didn’t mean to kiss you.”

Flustered, I jumped as if he’d shot me, missed the rolls, and ended up raking the back of my fingers across the barbecued ribs instead. Damn it. Awkwardly, I balanced my plate in one hand while holding up two sticky fingers coated in a sweet-smelling dark red glop.

“That night, I didn’t come to your house with any intention of putting my hands on you. Or my mouth. It just…sort of happened.”

A shiver ran through me as the blood hummed in my veins. The memory of his hard body pressed against mine played over in my mind, tampering with my sanity. My teeth bit into my bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth as he had done that night, and I swore I could almost still taste him.

“I don’t think this is an appropriate time to talk about that…um, incident.” I glanced around for a napkin.

“How about later, then? I could always swing by your place and—”

“No! I mean…I can’t. I’ll be busy later.”

“Doing what?” he asked, his brow lifted with curiosity.

“I don’t know…just stuff.” Like trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me.

“If you’re upset because I avoided you all week, I was only trying to wrap my head around what’s going on between us. We should talk about it. About us.”

I continued my perusal of a napkin, while ignoring the fluttering in my chest. “There’s really nothing to talk about, Cowboy. It happened and it’s over. Let’s just forget the whole thing.”

“What if I don’t want to forget it?”

“People don’t always get what they want,” I told him, just as I spotted the pile of paper napkins someone had placed at the end of the table on the other side of Cowboy. I nodded to them, silently asking him to hand me one.

He looked at the napkins and back to my fingers. Grasping my hand, he gave me a sexy little grin and said, “I always get what I want.” Then he slid my fingers into his warm mouth. I tried to pull back, but he held me firm while sucking and licking the barbecue sauce off. Heat traveled from my cheeks into places lower in my body.

The suction of his mouth coupled with the erotic tongue action he performed on my fingers nearly had my knees buckling in bliss. Good Lord, the effect this man had on me. I whimpered softly.

When he was done, he kissed my knuckles lightly, gave me a quick wink, and said, “Enjoyed that, did ya? Next time we’ll try whipped cream…and a different body part.”

I quivered from head to toe, but didn’t have time to speak.

The old woman who’d arrived moments before stepped up beside him and slapped him in the back of the head. “Behave yourself, you horn-dog. There’ll be no hanky-panky at the dinner table, ya hear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cowboy said, rubbing where she whacked him.

“Now, stop playing around, loverboy, and introduce me to my newest granddaughter.”

Smiling, I looked around, but didn’t see anyone near us. When I glanced back at her, I realized she was talking about me. I shook my head insistently and set my plate down on the edge of the picnic table. “Oh, no. You’re mistaken. I’m not Cowboy’s girlfriend.”

“Horsefeathers! I saw how you two were fiddlefarting around over here and canoodling over the string beans while the rest of us starve to death.”

Flustered, I tried to explain. “We weren’t…ah, I mean, I wasn’t…”

The old woman scoffed and pointed her finger straight into my face. Somehow it seemed deadlier than a loaded shotgun. “Young lady, you mean to tell me you let any Romeo with a wandering eye play coochie-coo with you?”

Great. What was I supposed to say to that? Speechless, I looked to Cowboy for help.

Thankfully, the lady turned her attention on him as well. “You trying to pull a fast one on me, boy?”

Cowboy chuckled, then put his hand on the old woman’s shoulder. “Aw, settle down, Momma Belle. This is Anna. My girlfriend.” My eyes widened, but Cowboy just kept on grinning. “She’s just a big tease.”

Why, that little… My eyes narrowed. “No, I’m not!”

Momma Belle cast a glance my way. Crap.

I didn’t see any other way around it but to play along. If I told her Cowboy and I weren’t dating, she would think I was a hussy. Then again, wasn’t that the kind of woman he normally dated?

I mentally sighed. Oh, jeez. “Momma Belle, of course I’m his girlfriend. I don’t play…um, coochie-coo with any man without the promise of a commitment. I guess I thought you’d see right through such a silly notion.” My eyes cut to Cowboy to make sure he got the message loud and clear, then glanced back to Momma Belle. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said, extending my hand.

But the old lady frowned at me. “Girl, do I need to break a switch off one of these oak trees and strap your legs good? You almost gave me a heart attack. Fossils my age don’t have strong tickers, you know?”

Oh God. The woman had heart problems? “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Can I get you anything? Maybe some water or something.”

“Bless your heart, child, but I’m okay. Just need to sit down and rest my achy joints. When my dadgum arthritis starts acting up like it is, there’s only one remedy that works.” Momma Belle directed one gnarled finger toward her car. “If you’d be so kind, it’s in a medicine bottle inside my purse on the floorboard.”

I nodded and patted her on the hand. “Of course, I’ll get it for you.”

I started toward her car, but didn’t get halfway there when Cowboy caught up to me and yanked me to a dead stop in between two vehicles. “Tell her you couldn’t find it.”

“What?”

“Don’t take Momma Belle her purse. In fact, toss it in the bushes and tell her she must’ve left it at home.”

I gawked at him. “Why would I do that to that poor, sweet woman?”

“Poor, sweet woman?” Cowboy made a strangled sound of disgust with his throat. “That woman has the fangs of a rattler. If you let her, she’s going to sink them right into that pretty little neck of yours.”

Obviously, he was overreacting, so I rolled my eyes at him and continued to the car. I opened the passenger door on the red Pontiac and leaned in to lift the heavy black tote from the floorboard. As I straightened and turned, I bumped right into Cowboy, who was blocking my path.

He held his ground and frowned at me. “I’m serious, Anna. Don’t take her that bag.”

“Why are you being like this about a little old lady who needs her medicine? I know you can be arrogant and self-centered at times, but I never realized you were such an ass.”

His eyes narrowed as he snatched Momma Belle’s purse from my hands and rifled through it with a mad flourish. Clearly, he was searching for something in particular, but having a hard time finding it with all the junk stuffed inside. This lady was worse than Mary Poppins.

“What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just go through her personal belongings like that. It’s an invasion of her privacy.”

“Here, hold this,” Cowboy said as he passed something to me.

My eyes widened as I stared stupidly at the small metal object in my hand. “I-is this a gun?”

“No, it’s a bingo dauber that happens to resemble a small caliber weapon.” Cowboy stopped rooting through the bag and glared at me. “Of course it’s a goddamn gun.” He shook his head and continued his search.

Okay, so maybe it was a dumb question. “Why is your grandma carrying a gun?” I asked him.

“That insane woman is not my grandma. If she were, I’d shoot myself with her…bingo dauber.”

I gaped at him, appalled by his lack of sympathy and his cold-hearted behavior toward an elderly woman with health problems. “Jesus, what is wrong with you? You’re being so…callous and insensitive.”

“Oh, that’s rich. Especially coming from the woman who won’t go on a date with me all because she’s heard a few bullshit rumors.” Before I could respond to that, he found what he was looking for. “Aha!” He held up a small mason jar of clear liquid. “This is what Momma Belle calls her ‘medicine.’”

I sighed with irritation. “Moonshine?”

Cowboy shook his head at me. “You know, for someone who is supposed to be so smart, you sure ask a lot of stupid-ass questions.”

My eyes narrowed. “Okay, that’s it! I’ve had enough of you and your demeaning insults.” I yanked the purse from him and then snagged the jar from his hand, shoving it back inside the large bag. “If that old lady wants to drink moonshine, then that’s her business, not yours.”

“That insane woman has no business drinking—”

“That’s enough,” I said, huffing at him. “Since I don’t see you over there wrestling the beer out of Hank’s hand, I can only assume you’re saying that because she’s a woman…you…you…chauvinistic pig!”

“Oh, don’t give me that women’s lib crap. You know that’s not what I meant.”

Crap? Really?

“You know what? There’s something seriously wrong with you.” I blew out an irritated breath as I shifted the heavy bag onto my shoulder. “I can’t speak for other women, but I, for one, am not amused by your ludicrous behavior, no matter how ridiculously charming you may be.”

His lips settled into a wide grin.

I crossed my arms, not sure what to make of his expression. “Why are you smiling?”

He raised one brow. “Charming, huh?”

“Oh, good Lord. That’s all you got out of this entire conversation?”

“So how ridiculously charming do you think I am?” he asked as he moved closer, his proximity suffocating me.

Oh, great. I hadn’t meant to encourage him. “I…I don’t.” I shook my head vigorously as heat spread throughout my cheeks. “That wasn’t what I meant. I was just trying to explain how ridiculous you’re acting.”

Cowboy chuckled softly and touched my cheek. “Did you know that your ears and neck turn red when you blush? You keep looking so sweet and adorable, I might have to kiss you again.”

A tingle ran through me straight down to my nether regions, but I held my composure and placed my hands on my hips to show my exasperation. “You’ll do no such thing.” The wicked little smirk he wore had me worried, though.

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, stepping forward until his body brushed lightly against mine. “You sure about that?”

“Y-yes,” I said, trying to sound convincing. “Because not only are there other people around…” I glanced around, realizing that the vehicles blocked their view of us. Damn it. “But because you’re a gentleman.”

He lifted a hand and curled it around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him as his mouth opened and his breath touched my lips. In that second, my heart raced and my mind drew a blank.

Then I remembered what I was saying. “And I…I’m asking you…to keep your hands to…yourself.” There. I said it.

“Darlin’,” he drawled with a sly grin. “There’s only one problem with that theory of yours.”

“What’s that?” I breathed out, desperately trying to maintain my composure.

“I never claimed to be a gentleman.” Then he covered my mouth with his.

The moment his warm lips fastened over mine, my hands flew to his chest. I meant to push him away, I really did, but just couldn’t bring myself to actually do it.

His tongue flicked out, running teasingly across my bottom lip, then slowly worked its way into my mouth. The moment his tongue touched mine, an electrical current ran straight down my center, and my knees buckled. I sagged against him like a limp ragdoll, boneless and lacking all mental capabilities.

Never breaking contact with my mouth, Cowboy’s strong fingers slid over my ass, gripped it and lifted me back up, and steadied me against his strong frame. He nibbled at my bottom lip, sucked it into his mouth a little ways, then released it with a sharp nip that sent my nerves skittering throughout my body.

Although I didn’t want him to stop, I needed him to. I couldn’t breathe. My mind swam ferociously through a riptide of emotions that threatened to pull me under. Like I was choking on his overpowering testosterone and drowning in his masculinity. Overwhelmed by his very male essence, a shiver ran through me.

As our kiss came to a frustratingly slow end, I made the unfortunate mistake of sighing into his mouth, obliging him with the sound of my satisfaction. I felt him smirk against my lips.

Once we separated, he turned and walked back toward the house, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder. Probably making sure my legs hadn’t given out again.

And he was grinning. The smug bastard.

There were always two sides to every face: the one people wanted you to see and the one they kept hidden. But I already knew what was lurking in Cowboy’s shadows. He was a player. Always had been. Even his own buddies had called him out on that well-known fact in the barn.

Which meant that no matter what I’d overheard him say, I couldn’t trust that Cowboy wanted to change. Nor could I bear the thought of him scratching an itch with me, and then moving on to some other unsuspecting girl. It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.

But explaining that to my surging hormones was a feat in itself.

After spending a moment gathering my wits, I returned to the picnic table where Momma Belle sat. Cowboy lazed in a nearby lawn chair, looking quite proud of himself, his long legs stretched out in front of him with one booted ankle kicked over the other. As I handed Momma Belle her purse, he eyed my shaky hands and smiled, obviously pleased that he’d had an effect on me.

She reached into the tote and pulled out the container of moonshine, then glanced up at Cowboy. “Lovely young lady you got here, whistle britches. Yes, indeed.” She opened the jar, took a large swig, then sat back as she peered directly at my breasts. “Just ripe for the pickin’, as my Earl would always say.”

Cowboy grinned, but said nothing.

“Is Earl your husband?” I asked, sitting down beside her and hoping to take the focus off my boobs. Jesus.

“Oh, yes, deary. He was. Up until the big C hooked its claws into him and sank him six feet into the ground. I’m tellin’ ya, folks can’t always afford no high-falutin’ doctor these days.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“No need to be sorry, girl. My Earl kept himself in good spirits and didn’t go down without a fight.”

“Yes, I hear having a positive outlook can be quite healing.”

“No, dear. Spirits.” Momma Belle tapped her nubby finger on the mason jar she was holding. “He took to making moonshine before he died. Said the white lightning was the only thing that helped keep the pain at bay.”

“Oh.” I smiled sympathetically. “Well, I’m sure you miss him a great deal.”

“Sure do. My Earl was a hoot, even if he did sag in places I didn’t want to look.” She cackled at that and gigged me hard in the ribs with her wrinkled elbow before leaning closer. “He had two bald eggs down below and a thingamajig that wasn’t much bigger than our billy goat’s, but that horny toad was always trying to get in my britches.”

My eyes widened, along with Cowboy’s grin. The woman was clearly having one of those senior moments. “He…uh, sounds like a nice man,” I told her uncomfortably.

“Hey, Anna, I saved your plate over here and your food’s getting cold,” Emily said, winking at me.

“Oh. Right. I’m coming.”

Momma Belle gave me a cold-eyed stare. “Listen here, girl. We don’t waste perfectly good food around these parts. Especially when you’re nothing but skin and bones. Those arms of yours are like twigs, I tell ya. In fact, when I first laid eyes on you, I nearly poked you with a stick just to see if you were still alive. Now you go get that plate and eat every last bite, ya hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Darn females nowadays,” she mumbled to herself. “They just don’t know nothing.”

I practically skipped to Emily, hoping Momma Belle wouldn’t follow. “Thanks,” I whispered, accepting my plate from her.

“No problem. Come on, you can sit over here at our table. Just do yourself a favor and steer clear of Momma Belle from now on. The woman’s bat-shit crazy.”

“Tell me about it. She thinks I’m Cowboy’s girlfriend.”

Emily chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Cowboy has lots of girlfriends.”

Yeah, so I’d heard.

I followed Emily to a nearby table where Jake, Judd, Ox, and Bobbie Jo sat with their plates of food. I sat beside Judd, hoping his hulking figure would hide me from Momma Belle, and possibly Cowboy.

Judd lugged his meaty arm over my shoulders. “So, Anna, if you need anyone to show you around, I—”

“You’re taken, jackass.” Cowboy plopped down on the other side of me and scowled at Judd. “Or did you forget about Gina already?”

“Whoa,” Judd told him, holding up his hands in surrender. “Chill out, buddy. All I was going to say is that I have a single buddy who would be happy to show Anna around.”

“I’m sure the last thing the new girl in town needs is some bastard trying to get his hands up her skirt.” Cowboy smirked, then raised a cocky eyebrow to me. “Isn’t that right, darlin’?”

My eyes narrowed at the challenge in his voice and I couldn’t resist the urge to respond. “Thanks for the offer, Judd. Sure, why not? I’d love to meet one of your single friends.”

Cowboy’s jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth, but he said nothing in return.

“So who’s Gina, anyway?” I asked Judd sweetly, ignoring the warmth of Cowboy’s hard thigh against mine.

Across from me, Emily smiled. “Gina is my friend from Chicago. She and Judd have been carrying on a long-distance relationship since last summer. Same as Ox. He hit it off with my friend Dale.”

I glanced to Ox who was grinning at that. “You finally came out to everyone?” I asked, smiling with approval. “I’m so glad to hear that.”

Cowboy’s head snapped to me. “Wait a minute. You couldn’t have known Ox was gay when you met him at camp. None of us knew. He was still hanging out in the closet back then.”

I shrugged. “I had my suspicions. I’m usually pretty observant when it comes to people.”

“Speaking of suspicions,” Ox said, changing the subject. “Jake, I heard the FBI seized a couple of moonshine stills they found in the woods.”

Jake finished chewing his food and swallowed. “Yep, three of them. We stumbled across them after someone reported seeing some weird lights in the forest at night. Next thing I know, we’re getting calls about wild hogs acting strangely.”

“Strange as in how?” Ox asked.

“They were stumbling all over the place and falling over. Apparently, they had eaten the discarded mash that the owner of the stills left behind. The damn pigs were drunk.”

That got a chuckle out of everyone.

“I’m heading up the case, but beyond the three stills we uncovered, the inebriated swine, and the weird lights, we don’t have a lot to go on.” Jake shook his head. “We still don’t know who the head bootlegger in the area is. I’m working on finding that out.”

“I don’t know if he ever sold any, but Momma Belle said that her husband, Earl, used to make moonshine before the cancer got him.”

“Cancer?” Cowboy asked, surprise registering on his face. “Earl didn’t die from cancer.”

“Oh. When she said that the big C hooked its claws into him, I just assumed—”

“Cirrhosis of the liver,” Cowboy corrected. “The old man drank himself to death. Probably to get away from Momma Belle, right, Jakey?”

Jake shook his head. “Christ, I hate when she calls me that.”

Bobbie Jo laughed and then turned her attention onto me. “Hey, Anna, we’re all heading out to The Backwoods bar tomorrow night. Do you want to come?”

“Good idea,” Judd said. “My buddy will be at the bar. You can meet him while you’re there.”

Cowboy lifted his head, and his heated gaze met mine.

I shook my head. “Oh, I don’t know. I really don’t think—”

“Come on, Anna,” Emily said. “It’s the first time I’m leaving Lily with Floss for the whole evening. I could use the moral support. Besides, it’ll be fun.”

With everyone staring at me, waiting for my answer, I couldn’t bear to tell them no. “Okay, sure. I’d love to.”

“Great,” Bobbie Jo said with a smile. “The girls can get ready at your house together and meet up with the boys at the bar. How does that sound?”

Emily and Bobbie Jo smiled at each other and were obviously up to no good, but I didn’t want to be the party-pooper. “That’s fine.”

“Good,” Bobbie Jo said, winking at Emily. “It’s settled, then.”

The girls started cleaning up, but I just sat there, still trying to figure out what the hell I had just gotten myself into. I wasn’t entirely certain, but I had a feeling I had been coerced into…well, something.

Jake rose from the picnic table. “Let’s go help Hank clean the grill and then we can get to breaking that horse.”

“We?” Cowboy asked, cocking one eyebrow.

Jake grinned. “You think you’re the only one who’s ever broken a horse, asshole?”

Cowboy laughed. “Shit. Jake, the only horse you ever broke was the one outside the grocery store that takes quarters.”

“We’ll find out in a few minutes, won’t we?”

“Guess so,” Cowboy said with a challenging nod and a glint in his eyes.

My gaze flickered to Ox and Judd, who both sat there grinning at Cowboy, as if they were subconsciously agreeing with Jake. As Jake started away, the others stood up, threw their trash away, and followed him, leaving me alone with Cowboy.

Feeling awkward, I rose and gathered my plate in my hands, but just as I started to leave, Cowboy said, “Anna…?”

I turned back to him. “Yes?”

“When I come by later, which kiss do you want to talk about, the first or the second?” The intensity in his eyes held my gaze, only making me more uncomfortable than I already was. Which apparently was something he enjoyed, since his tight-lipped mouth turned up into a full-on smirk.

But I’d had enough. “You really think you’re something, don’t you?”

“I’m more concerned about what you think.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know what I think.”

“Try me.”

I cocked my head, realizing he was serious. “Okay. I think you’re an egotistical ass, who behaves like a large child. You can’t have what you want, so you keep acting out until you get it. I also find your actions to be inconsistent with the behavior of a gentleman…not that you ever claimed to be much of one,” I said, using his words against him.

Cowboy blinked and the smile fell from his face. “No, no. Don’t hold back or anything.”

I shrugged. “You asked.”

“Well, at least admit that you enjoyed the kiss.”

It was true that I’d found the lip-locking frustratingly hot and…well, if I were being honest, downright exciting. But I shook my head in denial. “Doesn’t matter. It won’t happen again.”

Cowboy flicked a glance down my white dress and back up to the denim jacket I’d borrowed from Bobbie Jo. Then he grinned, as if he could tell my nipples were straining against the thin cotton beneath the denim. “Yeah, that’s what you thought last week, too.”