Kelsey sat next to Theresa on the sofa. "He'll be here as soon as he can. He was at Billie G's. What was he doing at Billie G's? He never goes there. Or almost never."
Theresa glanced at Ruth and was surprised when two spots of red colored her plump cheeks. She looked embarrassed, and Theresa couldn't think why.
Ruth stood and finished straightening up the living room. "Your daddy deserves a little fun," she said to Kelsey. "You've said so yourself that he doesn't get out enough. Guess he thought since you were here for the night, he'd go play some pool . . . or something over at the honky-tonk."
"He didn't sound too happy about being interrupted," Kelsey said. Then she shrugged. "Oh well, he'll get over it. Dad's cool."
Theresa clasped her keys even tighter. "I wish my car hadn't broken down. Now we've disturbed your father. How did you explain me being here? He didn't know about the party, did he?"
"Oh, he knew about the party," Kelsey said. "He just didn't know the reason."
"And now he does," Theresa said. She couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom hovering over her. When Austin showed up to take her home, it was going to get ugly. She felt it in her bones.
****
Austin slammed the truck door and stormed through the back door of his mother's house. He deliberately slowed his step and counted to ten. He didn't want to alarm his mother and daughter. They were innocent bystanders in all of this. They couldn't know they were harboring a conniving woman bent on throwing herself at him.
He stopped in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. Theresa was laughing at something Kelsey had said. Her laughter faded when she spotted him standing there. Kelsey turned and smiled. Ruth heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, you've come," his mother said. "Poor Miss Rogers is stranded. Her car won't start and I can't drive her home. Maybe you can look at her car and see if you can fix it."
Austin watched Theresa's green eyes widen in panic. The thought crossed his mind that she had deliberately done something to the car. He didn't want to believe that.
"No!" Kelsey said.
"That's not really necessary," Theresa said at the same time. She shot a strange look at Kelsey, then stood up. "If you could drive me home, I'll have Sam Garza come out tomorrow to see what's wrong with the car. I don't want to impose on you any further."
After one look at Kelsey, who was nodding in agreement, Austin stepped closer to Theresa. "It's no trouble. Give me your keys."
"Dad, can't you just take Miss Rogers home?"
He didn't answer. Extending his hand, he waited for Theresa to give him the keys. He could feel the tension in her body. She was biting that lush bottom lip, her breath coming in short gasps. Was she was afraid he'd find out what she'd done? What had she expected?
Finally, Theresa dropped the keys into his open palm.
"I'll be right back. I need a flashlight," he said to his mother.
"I'll run get one." Ruth hurried to the kitchen.
"But, Dad--"
"You stay here. You've got some explaining to do, young lady."
"Me? What did I do?" Kelsey asked.
"We'll talk about it later."
Theresa hitched her purse over her shoulder. "I'll come with you."
Her eyes didn't waver when Austin stared at her. She was more brazen than he thought. "That won't be necessary. It's cold out. I won't be long."
Grabbing the flashlight from his mother, Austin stalked out of the room into the chilly night, the keys biting into the flesh of his palm.
Jerking the car door opened, he climbed in and jabbed the key into the ignition. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Damn, must the battery. He'd check to make sure.
Under the hood, he quickly found the cause of all this mess and cursed under his breath. Had Theresa thought him so naive that he wouldn't notice she had disconnected one of the battery cables? Slamming the hood down, Austin made his way back to the house. Easy enough to fix with a wrench. But he wasn't going to do this the easy way.
"Did you find anything?" Kelsey asked anxiously.
He shook his head and fastened his eyes on Theresa's face. She had a few things to learn about him, and he planned on teaching her not to toy with him ever again. He gave the keys back to her. "I'll take you home."
She nodded. Her hands trembled as she dropped the keys in her purse. "Kelsey," she said, "do you want to come along for the ride?"
"No thanks. I've got . . . uh, homework to do." She hugged Theresa quickly, then ran out of the room.
Austin stared at Theresa as she thanked Ruth for the party. What the hell had that been about? Inviting Kelsey along? Was she trying to throw him off track? He had her number now, and she was going to pay the piper.
"I need to get my cake and presents from the back of the car," Theresa said, watching him nervously.
"Sure thing. Goodnight, Ma." Austin kissed his mother on the cheek, then waited at the door for Theresa. He watched her thank Ruth again. She seemed to hesitate as she turned toward him. She took a deep breath, lifted her chin, hitched her purse on her shoulder and marched past him into the night.
Austin didn't say a word on the ride to Theresa's house. He was too angry to speak. He thought back to all the times she had used Kelsey to get to him. All the times she had managed to get him alone. If Theresa was such a devious bitch, then his dilemma was solved. He'd have sex with her, get her out of his system and move on. His life could return to normal. He wondered briefly why that didn't give him more satisfaction.
Pulling into the narrow driveway in front of Theresa's house, he killed the motor. His anger intermingled with disappointment. For some reason, he hadn't really wanted to believe Theresa was using Kelsey to get to him.
Theresa shifted in the seat, gathered her bag of gifts and the cake and opened the door. "Thanks for bringing me home. I'll have Sam take a look at my car tomorrow. He'll either fix it or tow it to the garage. "She turned away and climbed out of the truck.
Austin watched her walk to her door, her arms full to overflowing. When she dropped the bag of presents, he was out of the pickup and beside her in a flash.
"What are you doing?" she asked, bending to retrieve the scattered packages.
"What do you think I'm doing?" He helped her gather the gifts and took her keys. Opening the door, he pushed her inside. On the desk near the couch, a small lamp shed its soft light over the room. Tossing the keys on a table, he grabbed her hard against him. She dropped the packages and held herself stiffly in his embrace.
Theresa looked up at him, her eyes wide. "But I thought--"
"You've done enough thinking," he said. "Isn't this what you planned all along? To get me alone?"
She tried to pull away. "No, of course not."
"You're not a very good liar," he said, keeping her close.
"I'm not lying. It's not what you think."
"It never is, is it?" Anger warred with desire. His hands tightened around her arms. By God, he'd give her what she wanted. What
he
wanted. His mouth crushed down on hers. No holds barred.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Surprise held Theresa rigid in Austin's arms for a moment. She knew he was angry with her. She knew he thought badly of her. Probably even held her in contempt. Even so, she yielded to the pressure and heat of his mouth on hers. Her treacherous body yearned to feel the touch of his hands gliding over her skin, caressing her, searching out her secrets.
Wrapping her arms around his strong neck, Theresa gave in to the pleasures of the kiss. Austin was right. She didn't want to think anymore. She just wanted to feel, to lose herself in the passion burning between them. She leaned against him, reveling in the instantaneous combustion. He gathered her even closer and rubbed his arousal tauntingly against her stomach.
A moan deep in her throat sounded far away to her ears. All of her senses focused on the delightful sensations coursing through her body. Austin's tongue pushed inside her mouth, tangling with her own, making hard quick forages all around, in and out, advancing and retreating.
Austin kissed Theresa with savage intensity. She felt so good in his arms, tasted so sweet, he almost forgot his fury. He angled his head, forcing her to open wider to him. After her initial resistance, she had melted into the embrace and kissed him back. All thoughts of what had gone before vanished as the flames of desire wracked his aching body.
Trembling with need, his body was hard as steel, the woman in his arms soft and acquiescent. He buried his hands in her silken hair, cupping the back of her head at the nape, his thumb rubbing the tender skin behind her ear. He broke contact with her mouth and trailed kisses down her neck, tilting her head back for better access.
She smelled fresh and clean and he inhaled deeply of her scent. His body shuddered with hunger and yearning. He retraced the path his lips had blazed and took the tempting mouth again, delving deep.
With one hand holding Theresa fast, Austin eased his other under her sweater, raising the fabric upward until he found the satin and lace of her bra. With feather light touches, he ran his fingers across the soft mounds, skimming the lacy edge, teasing the nipples until they thrust pertly against the smooth material.
He swallowed the moan of pleasure erupting from deep within Theresa's throat. Her questing hands were pulling his shirttails from the waistband of his jeans. His breath caught in anticipation of her fingers making contact with his skin. When she accidently rubbed against his zipper, he damned near exploded right then and there.
Austin grabbed her hand before he embarrassed himself. "Not so fast, sweetheart," he whispered against her lips. "Let's get more comfortable. Where's your bedroom?"
It took a minute for Theresa to surface from the cloud of passion engulfing her senses. She had difficulty understanding what Austin was saying. His hands were caressing her breasts, rubbing back and forth across the swollen peaks. Theresa ached to feel his hands on her bare skin. To feel his naked body on top of her own. She had never wanted to make love as badly as she did at this moment.
Many times, she had imagined lying beneath Austin, his muscular body hovering over her. His mouth and hands working their magic. Both of them lost in the furor of their passion. She had thought and dreamed about the moment Austin would take her and make her his. Initiate her into the secrets of love.
But this was all happening too fast. Too much discord lay between them. Nothing was resolved. He thought she was a scheming, conniving person. She quickly jerked out of the embrace. "I thought you were angry with me for tonight," she said, searching his face. His eyes narrowed and his mouth looked grim.
Austin clenched his fists to keep from pulling her back into his arms.
Damn her
. She
had
orchestrated the whole incident. She had as good as confessed to sabotaging her car on purpose.
"I
am
angry with you," he said, running his fingers through his hair, striving for control. His body pulsed with yearning; his groin felt heavy and full. Maybe she just wanted to get everything out in the open. "Look, I don't like how you're using Kelsey to get to me. But if you want me that badly, here I am, sweetheart. You know I want you. We're both adults. I warned you what would happen if you succeeded in your scheming to get me alone."
"And I've told you, I have not been using Kelsey.
I'm
not the one who's doing all the scheming."
"Don't lie anymore, Theresa. You've won. You've gone to a lot of trouble tonight. Your plan worked. We're alone. Nothing's stopping us now."
Austin pulled her back into his embrace. He lowered his mouth and nipped at the enticing bottom lip. Theresa wiggled to get free. He pushed her against the wall. "Stop fighting. You got your wish. Now relax and let's enjoy each other."
"You're making a big mistake.
I don't
want this
." Theresa pushed with all her might. Austin didn't budge.
"You want it," he said, pressing his body intimately against hers.
"You've got it all wrong." She struggled to twist out of his arms, turning her head away.
"I've never forced a lady," he said, capturing both of her hands in a vice-like grip and hauling them above her head. "But, then again, you aren't a real lady, are you?" He grabbed her chin, tilted her head and kissed her again with brutal intensity.
Up until now, Theresa hadn't been frightened. But as Austin pressed his hard body into hers and with her back against the wall, her hands imprisoned, frissons of alarm darted along every nerve ending. She had to do something quickly.
Wrenching her mouth free, she stomped on his foot with all the strength she could muster and at the same instant, made herself go limp. She slipped from his grasp and slid toward the floor.
"Ouch!" Austin let her go as she scrambled to her feet and dashed to the couch, keeping the sturdy piece of furniture between them.