Careless (11 page)

“She said she just wasn’t feelin’ it.” He
shrugged. “What’re ya gonna do, right?”

“Did that make you angry?”

“I’m not gonna lie, I was really into her.
Sure, I was hopin’ for more, but ya can’t force it. If the girl’s not into ya,
time to move on to the next one, right?”

Mike was an expert at reading people, and
he knew this guy wasn’t the one he was looking for. “Listen, thanks for comin’
in today,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’ll call you if I have any more
questions for you.”

“Sure, no problem. Hey, do me a favor? Tell
Tori I said hi. Let her know things are lookin’ real good for Blue Thunder this
year, if she wants to come out to the track and check it out.”

Mike clenched his jaw. “Yeah, I’ll be sure
to tell her that.”
Just as soon as she falls asleep in my arms.

Tori was grilling steaks on the barbeque
when she heard the front door slam.

“What the hell are you doin’ here?” Mike
asked, glaring at her.

“Uh, I live here.”

“Don’t be a smart ass. I told my old man
not to leave you alone. Why the hell did you come back here by yourself?”

“I don’t need a babysitter, Lieutenant.”

“Are you crazy?” He set his hands on his
hips and scowled at her. “You’re out here by yourself, the front door is
unlocked. Do you have a goddamn death wish, or what?”

Tori grew up in a house where the doors
were never locked, neighbors were always welcome, and friends were constantly
dropping by with a bottle of moonshine or a hot apple pie. She couldn’t get
used to the idea of looking over her shoulder every time she turned around.
“I’m not gonna let this asshole take over my life.”

Mike grabbed her arm and turned her around
to face him. “Listen to me, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. If I have
to stick to you like glue every minute of every day to keep you safe, that’s
what I’m gonna do. I don’t care if you like it or not.”

His breathing was labored and she could
tell she’d scared the hell out of him by discounting his demands. She pressed
her palm against his chest and she could feel his heart racing. “Hey, I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“If I’d walked in here and found you laid
out on the floor…” He drew a deep breath as he thrust his hands into her hair.
“You have no idea what that would’ve done to me.”

In the face of his fear, her heart thawed
just a little more. How could it not when he seemed so concerned about her
well-being? “Fine, we’ll play it your way… for now.”

“Baby, I’m serious. You don’t know what was
goin’ through my head when I found the front door unlocked.” His hand gripped
the back of her neck as he tilted her face up to his. “I’ve worked some crazy
cases in my career, hostage situations, a manhunt for a serial killer,
kidnappings, but nothin’, and I mean nothin’, set my heart to racin’ like you
did just now.” 

God help her, she was falling deeper in the
abyss with every sweet word he spoke. Soon, there’d be no way for her to climb
out. “I said I’m sorry, can we just leave it at that?”

Instead of responding, he captured her
mouth in a possessive kiss that outlasted her reservations. When he finally
withdrew, she pressed her fingertips to her swollen lips and tried to make
light of the fact she’d never felt so unbalanced. “You kiss all your friends
that way, Coop?”

“Don’t,” he warned, pulling her hand away
from her mouth. “Don’t try to be funny. I’m not in the mood.”

“Fine.” She turned back to the meat on the
grill, disappointed to see it was well past the medium-rare stage she usually
preferred. Not that his kiss hadn’t made it worth the sacrifice. “Since you ruined
our dinner, can you at least open the wine?”

For the first time since he walked in the
door, he rewarded her with a sexy grin, and she couldn’t help but respond in
kind. She wasn’t supposed to like him, but she found the more time they spent
together, the harder it was to remember why she’d disliked him for so long.
Right… he’d referred to her as a
mistake.
She just had to keep reminding
herself of that every time she saw that flash of white teeth peek out from
amidst that irresistibly dark stubble painting his square jaw.   

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? You
remember what happened the last time we had a few too many, don’t you?”

Tongue in cheek, she said, “If I wanted to
seduce you, I wouldn’t waste time with a merlot. I’d be pullin’ out the Jack
Daniels and linin’ up the shot glasses.”

He threw his head back and laughed as he
patted her behind. “The night’s still young, sweetheart.”

Mike couldn’t remember the last time he’d
actually had fun getting to know someone. She was a riot, charming him with
stories about what it was like growing up with big brothers who were determined
to ensure she remain a virgin until she was thirty. 

“So, what does your family think of your
success?” He leaned back in his chair and brought his wineglass to his lips.
The sun had long since set, but he wasn’t ready to call it a night.

“They don’t treat me any differently. My
parents made sure I knew from the get-go that a good singin’ voice was a
blessin’ I ought to be grateful for. Hell, I know I didn’t have anything to do
with it.”

“No, but you’ve worked hard and made the
most of it. Some people waste talent like yours, ’cause they’re lazy and
unmotivated.”

She laughed. “Believe me, bein’ lazy was
never an option in my family. Daddy had us up at five every mornin’ rain or
shine to help him with the chores before school.”

He grinned as he imagined his sexy little
country crooner slopping hogs or mucking stalls. “What about in the summer
time, what’d y’all do for fun?”

“Oh, that’s when me and my girlfriends
would get a little crazy. Bush parties, tailgaitin’, you name it and we got
into it.”

Mike had no trouble believing she’d gotten
into more than her fair share of trouble growing up. Tori wasn’t afraid to step
outside of her comfort zone and test the boundaries. That fearless attitude was
bound to get you into trouble sooner or later. A lesson he’d learned the hard
way. “Tell me the worst thing you ever did when you were a teenager.” He
refilled her wineglass, surprised to note they’d already polished off two
bottles in the hours since they’d started dinner.

“I don’t know if I should tell you. Is
there a statute of limitations on joy ridin’ in a stolen car?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “You
did not!”

“We sure did.” She laughed. “I was about
sixteen, and my brother had just gotten a new Silverado. I loved that truck,
but he wouldn’t let me drive it.” She pouted as she crossed her arms over her
chest. “Said he didn’t trust me not to wrap it around a tree. Hell, I’d been
driving tractors since I was twelve, and he was worried about me drivin’ a
little ol’ pick-up truck. Can you believe that?”

Mike smirked. It sounds like a stunt he or
his brother might have pulled back in the day. “So, what’d your brother do when
he found out?”

“He was madder than hell. Gave me the
silent treatment for a week.” She took a deep swallow of her wine. “He just did
it ’cause he knows how much I hate the silent treatment.”

“Is that why you wouldn’t talk to me? You
thought you were punishin’ me?”

Tori looked at him and laughed. “Seriously?
Uh no, I kept my mouth shut ’cause I didn’t trust myself. If I started in on
you, the whole damn world would’ve known our business.”

“Would that have been so bad?” At the time
he may have thought so, but knowing what he knew now, he’d consider it a
privilege to be romantically linked to this lady.

“Hell, given how close I am with your
family, and extended family, it would’ve been a disaster.” She laughed. “Could
you just imagine your mama if she found out?”

Mike’s mother, Ashley,
loved
Tori.
“She’d have been plannin’ a weddin’ for sure.”

She pushed her chair back from the table
and stood up. “Yeah, I guess we dodged that bullet, huh?”

No, Mike felt the bullet hit him square in
the chest. “I was wrong about you,” he said quietly, trying to gauge her
reaction.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you were just this carefree
little diva who lived for the next party.”

She smiled. “I pretty much am.”

“No, you’re not. That’s just what you want
people to believe.” He reached for her hand. “There’s a hell of a lot more to
you than that. You’re passionate about your music, you love your family, and you
anonymously donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to a literacy group every
year.”

She scowled as she withdrew her hand. “How
the hell did you know about that?”

“It’s my job to know everything, Tori. Why
literacy?”

Her blue eyes clouded over. “My granddad
was the strongest man I’d ever known, but he was too proud to admit he needed
help readin’ and writin’. He went to his grave not bein’ able to read a word. I
know he was embarrassed about it. If I can prevent even one person from feelin’
the way he did, it’ll have been money well spent.”

Mike knew he was in deep trouble. He just wanted
to pull her into his lap, bury his face in her silky hair, and tell her she was
the most incredible woman he’d ever known. He wanted to spend every night just
like this, talking, laughing, falling more in love with her.

“I guess I should get to bed. I’ve got
another big day tomorrow.” She closed the lid on her deluxe grill and replaced
the cover. “I hope you don’t mind bein’ on your own for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Why? You expectin’ rehearsals to run
late?”

“No, I’ve got to attend a charity
fundraiser for the literacy foundation tomorrow.”

“You need a date?” He tried to sound
nonchalant, but he knew he wasn’t fooling her.

“Thanks, but I’ve already invited someone.”

The news she was dating someone else hit
him hard. “You know it’s not a good idea to be datin’ until we find this guy
who’s been stalkin’ you.” Even once they found him, Mike thought the notion of
her dating someone else was just about the worst idea he’d ever heard.

“It’s okay, your dad checked this guy out
personally and he gave me the green light.”

Mike would have to have a little chat with
his old man tomorrow about minding his own damned business where Tori was
concerned.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but
would you mind makin’ yourself scarce tomorrow night?”

“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me?” All of the
alcohol Mike had consumed in the past several hours suddenly went to his head.
“You’re not seriously thinkin’ about bringin’ this guy back here, are you?”

“Why the hell not? It’s my house. I can do
what I want.”

“I thought you said you’d never brought
anyone back here before?”

“I haven’t, but there’s gotta be a first
time.”

Mike knew he was the first, and he wanted
to be the last.

She sighed. “We’ve been seein’ each on and
off for the past few months. He’s from out of town…” She looked uneasy when she
said, “This may be the last time we hook up before I go out on the road.”

Mike jumped out of the iron chair so fast
he upended it. “Oh, hell, no! You’re not gonna sleep with that asshole tomorrow
night, if that’s what you’re thinkin’.”

“Like you could stop me.” She moved to the
door, but he beat her to it, blocking the only entrance to the house.

“Don’t do this. Please.” Mike had never
pleaded with a woman before in his life, but if he had to get down on his knees
to make her think twice about sleeping with some other guy, he would.

“You don’t get to set the rules,
Lieutenant. This is my playground. I get to decide who I invite over.”

His hands bracketed her hips and he pulled
her toward him. “Don’t even try pretendin’ you don’t feel something for me.”

“You really think I’m stupid enough to give
you another chance after the way you treated me last time?”

He raked his hand through his hair, feeling
helpless, desperate, like the clock was ticking and he was running out of time
to plead his case. “I already said I was sorry about that. I tried to make you
understand—”

She pressed her fingertips against his lips
as she shook her head. “Fool me once, shame on you,” she whispered. “Fool me twice,
shame on
me
.”

Tori had already left the house by the time
Mike went looking for her the following morning. That woman was a loose cannon.
She couldn’t follow the simplest instructions.

“What’s with you?” Josh asked when his son
marched into the studio, barely sparing him a glance.

Mike scowled at Tori, who was dominating center
stage as she performed the upbeat party anthem from her latest album. “I don’t
know how the hell I let you talk me into this.”