She nodded, face solemn now. “So… how much longer?”
He ran his thumb over her knuckles, scraped from her latest plumbing misadventure. “Eager to get rid of me, Lilah?”
She squeezed his fingers. “Maybe I just want to make sure you get that piece of me that you want.”
All of them, he thought, revising her earlier statement. I want all of your pieces.
Several days later a situation came up about a hundred miles north. A pack of three dogs were making pests of themselves on a small ranch owned by an older couple who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, take over the responsibility of placing the animals. If Lilah didn’t go get the dogs, they’d be euthanized.
She was just getting into her Jeep when her passenger door opened. Twinkles leapt into the back and then Brady folded his long body into the front seat next to her. He put on his seat belt and lowered his sunglasses over his eyes before he turned and looked at her.
She stared at him while Twinkles leaned forward and licked her ear in greeting. “What’s up?”
Brady shrugged. “I thought about offering to fly you, but I didn’t have any wine to ply you with.”
“Why?”
“Because you fly better when you’re wasted.”
She rolled her eyes. “I mean, why are you here? In my Jeep?”
“Now see,” he said all long-limbed grace and testosterone. “That hurts. Maybe I just want to hang out with you.”
She stared at him. “Dell kicked you out of Belle Haven today.” She laughed. “He did, didn’t he, Dr… Death?”
Brady swore and slouched in the seat, six feet of dark, brooding ’tude. “He said that they had some big rancher head honcho coming by today and that he and Adam couldn’t afford to have him catch wind of the Dr. Death thing.”
Lilah grinned. “Well, lucky for you, I’m not nearly so selective.” She hit the gas and they took off. Brady was quiet but there was no denying he was nice company and even nicer to look at. Halfway there, she had to stop for fuel. Brady pumped the gas while she headed into the convenience store, coming out arms loaded. “Got us some goodies.”
He took the bags from her and the driver’s spot.
“You’re a control freak,” she said.
“I like to drive.”
“Control. Freak.”
He didn’t bother denying that. He searched through the bag and gave a very male sound of satisfaction as he pulled out a loaded hot dog.
Lilah tossed Twinkles a doggie bone and pulled out the nachos for herself. “I know the way to your good side,” she said to Brady.
“I’ll show you a better way later.”
She smiled. The truth was, he could show her anything he wanted. “Uh-huh. Promises, promises.”
“What does that mean?”
“That I’m thinking you’re all talk and no go.”
He slid her a look.
She nodded.
“You’re going to be taking that back.”
She smiled, like that had been her goal all along, and images of taking her right here and now in the Jeep flooded his mind.
“Take the next exit,” Lilah said. “Echo Canyon.”
He shook his head. “Granite Flat is faster.”
She didn’t protest, but she did give him a long look.
“Problem?” he asked.
“No. I don’t have a problem with your control issues at all.”
He rolled his eyes.
“In fact,” she said, “in certain areas, your control issues are kind of hot.”
Again his gaze swiveled her way. “Certain areas?”
“In bed, for instance.” She sucked some melted cheese off her finger.
Slowly.
“Lilah,” he said, voice a little lower now.
“Yes?” She sucked on another finger.
“Stop.”
She kept sucking. “Stop what?”
Without warning, and gaze still on the road, Brady reached out with quick, accurate precision and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “What did I tell you about payback?”
“That I love it?”
He laughed softly, and sucked her last cheesy finger into his hot, wet mouth.
When her eyes drifted shut with a soft moan, he nipped her finger with his teeth, making her gasp. “And when I say later, I mean it.” Smiling, he let go of her and turned his concentration back to the road.
They drove in silence for a while as Twinkles napped-and snored. Brady enjoyed the relative quiet. Lilah was wearing softly faded jeans that whenever she leaned forward to adjust the radio, sank low in the back, giving him peek-a-boo glimpses of smooth skin and the very hint of incredibly sweet twin dimples.
He wanted to dip his tongue in those dimples.
As for that ass, he wanted to cup it in his hands and-
“You’re on the shoulder of the road, Brady.”
Fuck. He swerved back. “Well, if you’d stop distracting me… ”
“Distracting you?” She pulled one of her legs up and beneath her, twisting to smile at him. Her shirt gaped a little, revealing a curve of breast and another hint of baby blue silk. The lingerie from the Pharmacy. “How can I be distracting you? I’m just sitting here,” she asked, the picture of innocence.
“I’ll pull over,” he warned her.
Damned if she didn’t look intrigued, making him both groan and laugh at the same time.
“No,” she finally said. “I don’t think you will.” She ran a hand up his thigh, found him through his jeans and outlined him with a finger.
He nearly jerked them off the road again. Luckily the narrow two-lane highway was utterly deserted. He pulled over so fast they both were rudely yanked back by their seat belts.
Twinkles scrambled for purchase on the backseat.
“Wha-” was all she got out before he’d unhooked her seat belt and hauled her over the console and into his lap.
He had his mouth on hers and his hands in her pants in one heartbeat, and in the next he had her whimpering for more. He kept that up for long minutes until she was rocking her hips and panting.
“Oh God.” She arched to him. “Please…” She was breathless, head back, eyes closed. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “Come for me,” he whispered in her ear, stroking her in the way he knew made her crazy, making her gasp and cry out his name.
And she did. She burst and shuddered in his arms and while she made her way back to planet Earth, he held her close against his chest, face buried in her hair. She would probably call it cuddling.
He called it regaining his sanity.
Holding her was his sanity.
Before she’d stirred a muscle, her cell phone rang from somewhere in her purse on the floor. She lifted her head and stared at Brady, hair all wild, face flushed, mouth open. “My ears are ringing.”
“It’s your cell.”
She looked so adorably, gorgeously befuddled. “Oh. I knew that.” Feeling around for it, she finally got it open. “Hello? Yes, ma’am, we’ll get there before dark.” Craning her neck, she looked out the window.
It was already dusk. Her eyes caught on his obvious erection straining the denim, then met his, and in them was an apology but also amusement.
He pushed her back to her side of the Jeep and put it into gear before pulling back onto the road.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I owe you.”
He liked the sound of that, but it didn’t help his condition any. He shouldn’t have touched her, but he couldn’t help it-she was the hottest, sexiest thing he’d ever seen, and watching her come was his new favorite drug of choice.
“Don’t you think we should fix this before we get there?” She reached out to touch, stroking him through the denim, making him groan. “Later,” he said.
“You’ve got a lot of laters.”
“Don’t worry, I always collect my debts.”
They got to the ranch fifteen minutes later, right at sunset. Years before, the owners had given up the actual ranching to their kids, and then their kids’ kids. Mr. Leo Johnson was a big guy, but it was clear that his wife, Ellen, was completely in charge. She took one look at Brady and raised a penciled-in brow. “Dr. Death! Honey,” she said to her husband, “look, it’s Dr. Death! Nice article.”