I know hes off-limits, Pandora said with a bad-tempered shrug. I didnt say I was crazy enough to think one flirty little kiss-especially one that didnt include tongue-means Im in for some hot and wild bad-boy sex.
I know hes off-limits, Pandora said with a bad-tempered shrug. I didnt say I was crazy enough to think one flirty little kiss-especially one that didnt include tongue-means Im in for some hot and wild bad-boy sex.
Hes not off-limits. Hes just trouble. But if all youre thinking about is getting naked and doing the horizontal tango, then maybe you should. Just as long as youre clear from the start that its just sex. Nothing more.
Caleb Black. Naked. Oh, man, shed bet he was deliciously built. Those wide shoulders would have the kind of muscles she could cling to as he moved in her, his long torso and slender hips arched over her straining body. She knew he had a sweet little hiney, but itd look even better bare than it had covered in denim. Shed bet it was firm, so hard shed barely make a dent if her fingers gripped it. Heat washed over Pandora so fast she had to take a sip of her wine before she combusted.
That is all youre thinking about, isnt it? Kathy prodded.
Well, now Im thinking about Caleb naked and cant remember your question, Pandora said with a pout.
Youre only looking for sex, right? Not a relationship? Not a wild time that might turn into something special once he realizes how great you are?
No, she protested vehemently. This was a stupid conversation. All shed wanted was to share her little bit of sexy news and suddenly she was defending a fling with a guy who probably kissed every woman he met. That didnt mean he had any interest in actually getting naked and slippery. Im not going to do anything stupid. Id have to be crazy to fall for a guy like Caleb Black. Im not his type and that kiss was probably the last contact well ever have.
Kathy leaned back in the booth and gave her a long, searching look. After a few seconds, Pandora squirmed. She didnt like people looking that close, or that deep.
Okay, Ive changed my mind. I think you should go for it.
Go for what? It wasnt like an invitation to a relationship. It was more like a hit-and-run.
Maybe. But maybe not. Im just saying if he hits again, you should take him up on a little ride. Ill bet hes the kind of guy wholl make you see stars.
Stars. Pandora wasnt a virginal prude. She liked sex. Especially if it was good sex. She read the how-to articles in womens magazines and erotic books, she knew her body and wasnt shy about giving directions when necessary.
But, typically, the guys shed been with werent big on directions.
Which was probably why shed never seen stars. With Sean, shed seen a flicker or two but never full-oh-my-God stars.
So? Kathy prodded.
So what?
So, are you going to shoot for the stars? Or are you going to take the route of avoidance?
Avoidance. All the way.
After all, the last time shed given in to a sexy fling, shed paid. Big-time. And Sean hadnt been anywhere near as hot, gorgeous or tempting as Caleb. Getting involved with him was crazy.
The last thing she needed was to get herself all upside down over a guy. Even a just-sex-and-nothing-more kind of guy. A more confident woman might be able to handle a sweet fling with someone like that, but her? She wasnt that kind of woman.
For once, though, she wanted to be. She wanted to have a purely sexual fling based on nothing more than physical satisfaction and excitement. She wanted to be exciting and dynamic. Fun and maybe a little wild. No expectations of anything long-term or emotional.
And maybe, just maybe, to relax knowing that because she didnt expect anything, her inability to read him couldnt be termed a failure.
Hes not going to ask me out, she said again.
So why dont you ask him out?
Why didnt she jump up on the table and strip naked while singing Katy Perrys Hot N Cold? I cant do that, she excused.
Kathy just gave her The Look.
Pandora pressed a hand to her stomach, feeling as if she was about to jump off a very high cliff.
It was scary.
But it was also exciting as hell.
Im not promising anything. But-and its a teensy-tiny but-butif I do, and if he says yes, then our next kiss will involve tongues, she vowed.
CALEB LEANED HIS LEATHER-CLAD shoulder against the black iron lamppost and stared across the street at the warm welcome of Moonspun Dreams.
Hed promised Hunter hed give it two weeks. So in between watching the store, hed spent the past four days nosing around. Hed hit what passed for the party scene in Black Oak. Bounced through a few bars, made himself known to the major partiers and netted a couple easy introductions to the towns lower-level drug dealers. The first step was to get the lay of the land, to gauge how challenging the bust would be and to establish his identity.
The ecstasy was definitely available and at discounts usually only seen in Black Friday sales ads. Marketing 101, make the product cheap and plentiful until youd hooked enough suckers, then bleed them dry. As he would on any DEA job, hed scored a little from each dealer, sending it all to Hunter for analysis. But experience and instinct told him it was all coming from the same source. A source nobody could-or would-pinpoint.
So far this visit was a bust. He hadnt found out much for Hunter. He hadnt cleared his father. Of course, hed done his damnedest to avoid seeing his father at all after that first surprise visit, but that was neither here nor there.
And all he could think about was that one small kiss from the intriguingly reticent Pandora.
Unlike his usual M.O. in breaking a drug ring, this time he had no cover. Around here, everyone and their granny knew who he was. Many had pinched his cheeks at the same time theyd bemoaned his probable criminal career. That all worked in his favor, his lousy rep ensuring that nobody questioned his activities.
Still, that was then. Hed have liked to come home and be appreciated for who he really was now. An upright citizen whod made a life outside of crime.
Except, he realized with a tired sigh, that he really didnt have any life outside of crime. Which was why hed quit. To relax, to get a hobby and to figure out what he wanted from life.
Which brought his thoughts back, yet again, to Pandora. He couldnt figure out why the woman fascinated him, but she did. She was quiet, when he usually went for the flamboyant. She seemed sweet, which he was pretty sure he was allergic to. And she was friendly with his father, which meant she had questionable taste.
As he pondered, and yes, stared at Moonspuns window hoping to catch a glimpse of the sexy Ms. Easton, something on the corner across the street caught his eye. Two guys in black hoodies, both hunched over as if they were trying to blend in with the brick siding of Pandoras building. Caleb shook his head in disgust. He didnt need years of DEA experience to recognize a drug deal going down. Hell, the little old lady walking her Pomeranian was shooting the two guys the same disgusted look. When one of the guys made a hulking gesture toward her, obviously trying to intimidate, she flipped him the bird and kept mincing along in her fluffy pink knitted hat. Caleb could see the goon growl from across the street. He made as if to go after her, when his buddy grabbed his arm, saying something and showing him a bag of what Caleb assumed were the drugs in question.
Hulk flexed a little, then followed the Baggie into the alley. Caleb considered trailing them. He had no jurisdiction. Hell, he was on a pseudovacation with his resignation sitting on his bosss desk. It was the pseudo part of that equation that made him hesitate, not the vacation or the resignation.
But, really, how far did fake authority go? Favors for buddies and an unexplained need to vindicate his father didnt give him the jurisdiction to bust a deal going down.
Then again, when had he ever worried about rules?
Before he could step off the curb, though, Hulk slunk out of the alley. His hoodie pulled low so his face was shadowed, he loped down the street.
No point following the doper. Caleb wanted the guy hooked into whoever was running the game. He waited for him to come out.
But the alley opening stayed empty.
Five minutes later, Caleb was mentally cussing and ready to hit something. There were only two businesses accessible through that alley. Moonspun Dreams and his dads bike shop.
Dammit.
Before he could decide how he wanted to handle it, a car pulled up next to him. Calebs sigh was infinitesimal as he cut his gaze to the sheriffs cruiser. His eyes were the only thing he moved, though.
Because he knew damn well the lack of reaction would piss Jeff off.
I heard you were back in town, Jeff Kendall, the bane of Calebs high school years, said as he unfolded himself from his car, leaning his forearms on the open door and offering an assessing look.
Looks like you heard right.
Cmon, Black. Just because we didnt get along before doesnt mean you should be holding a grudge, Kendall said with his good-ole-boy smile. The one hed perfected in grade school, usually used in tandem with tattling to the teacher about the bad Black kids.
It still made Caleb want to punch him.
Hunter had broached the possibility of bringing in local law enforcement, but Caleb had nixed the idea. If the locals knew about the drugs and hadnt shut them down, they might be dirty. And thatd been before he knew who hed be dealing with. When hed heard that this guy was in charge of the law in town, Caleb had sneered. No wonder they had problems.
Look, Im just offering a welcome home, okay. I hear youve seen your share of trouble after leaving town. Im not here to add to it. But if you dont mind a friendly warning, keep it clean while youre enjoying Christmas with your dad.
Caleb didnt even blink. After all, that was his cover. Prodigal loser back for the holidays, nothing to his name except a bad attitude and a crappy reputation. And, of course, a whole lot of family baggage.
All in all, it was pretty damn close to the truth.
His silent stare seemed to bug Kendall, though. The guy shifted from foot to foot, then frowned.
Are you standing here for a reason? the sheriff prodded.
Just biding my time.
Kendall glanced around, his gaze lighting on Moonspun Dreams, then flashing back to Caleb. Looking for a little help in the sack, are you?