Courting Trouble (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 3) (11 page)

"You already have." She nibbled on his neck. He shuddered. As if it were all too much for him, he lifted her chin. He looked directly into her eyes.

"I want you," she whispered, afraid he'd refuse her.

"I want you, too, but you picked one hell of a time and place to let me know. There's no room."

"If there's a will, there's a way." Diedra assured him. "And, believe you me, we'll find a way."

"Are you sure you can't hold out for a bed?"

Chapter 10

"A hotel room would be a lot more sensible."

"You've got a point." Diedra ignored his sensible suggestion, though. "If I'm on top, I can't straddle you. There's no room. Wait. I could face you, then put my knees on the steering wheel. That should work."

"Sounds like our only option." She gave him a what-are-you-waiting-for look, but he wasn't sure what she wanted him to do.

"You need to recline the seat." Diedra leaned over him, ready to swing her legs into position. Her arms rested on each side of his hips.

He yanked the seat back lever. The seat snapped back with a jolt and Diedra landed on top of him.

But something was wrong. "Why are you wriggling like that?"

"My leg is stuck in the steering wheel!"

Alec tried to help, but thought he might lose control as she shimmied around on him, trying to free herself. A ripping sound filled the air, even over the din of the pouring rain.

"Oh, hell," she wailed.

"What's wrong?"

"My shoe's stuck in the roof. I think it's torn."

Cold water trickled onto his legs. He leaned around Diedra to look up and see what had happened. Her bent knees rested on top of the steering wheel, arching her back, and her feet were stuck up in the air. How on earth had she gotten into that position? "Can you get your foot out?"

Diedra nodded.

"Then just leave the shoe there."

After much shifting and juggling and bumping, she found a way to maneuver her legs astride him. He had no idea how she managed it in such a small space. He sucked in his breath. She was gorgeous. Only the numbness of his toes kept him from hyperventilating.

Who cared that his right arm was now trapped beneath the console, that the radio was on and kept changing stations and that his feet were pressing on both the accelerator and the brake simultaneously in an attempt to find a little traction?

There was only one little problem. "Diedra? Could you get up a minute? I need to take off my pants."

"Hell. I'm a contortionist already. Can we just unzip them?"

* * *

After their breathing calmed, Diedra snuggled deeply into Alec's arms, feeling as though she'd finally gotten something right at least once in her life.

Despite the tear in the roof, despite the too-small car, despite any and all setbacks, their lovemaking had been incredible. Stifling a large yawn, she stroked Alec's firm chest with her fingertips, almost unable to believe she was here with him.

What if it was all a dream? No, it was real. The rain outside, the steamy windows, Alec's relaxed breath puffing into her hair. The reality of their lovemaking had been way more mind altering than she'd ever imagined.

Very deliberately she put away all the second thoughts she had about the broken heart she knew was on the way when Alec dumped her. She'd known that going in. This was a fling, a onetime experience, and there was no way she'd take away from it by allowing herself to have regrets.

Wriggling deeper into his arms, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep, with a happy smile on her face.

* * *

When his legs began to tingle from Diedra's weight, Alec returned to full wakefulness. The rain had stopped. Diedra lay collapsed over him and he watched her with satisfied fascination. Her breath came in gentle sleep-swept sighs. She probably hadn't slept all night and the day had been stressful.

"Diedra?" She looked so sweet, he hated to wake her. But his legs were numb and they had to get back to Dallas.

"Hmm?"

"Time to wake up. We need to get back on the road."

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing glints of topaz surrounded by long, dark lashes. She yawned, blinked a few times, and then her eyes widened, as if she were suddenly conscious of her immodesty. "Oh."

She had nothing to be embarrassed about. Every inch of her smooth skin resembled brushed gold. He grazed his fingertips down her back, reveling in the feel of her.

If anyone should feel awkward, it was him. He hadn't been able to take the time he would have liked when making love with her. "That was incredible."

She gave him a winsome smile. "Yeah. It was." She shifted her weight and then gradually rolled back onto her seat.

As he refastened his slacks, he straightened his legs as much as the confines of the car allowed. He flexed his stiff right arm. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Diedra reaching for her clothes. He wished he had something warm and dry to offer her but they hadn't brought any luggage.

"I think I'll take a walk to loosen up a little while you get dressed."

She smiled gratefully at him but didn't say a word as a blush rose on her face. He wanted to reassure her somehow, but figured the time wasn't right.

He swung open the door. His left leg was a little tricky until he walked around for a bit. After visiting the men's room, he strolled over to the water fountain to take a drink, wanting to give her as much time as possible.

"Hey, man," called a young man sporting a tattoo of a snake wrapped around an apple on his upper arm.

"How you doing?" asked Alec, noting the eighteen-wheeler the man had emerged from.

"I think there's something wrong with your car."

Alec turned to look back at it, but everything looked normal. The windows were still fogged. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least they hadn't had any spectators. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah. I noticed it during the rain. Man, did the sky break open. Saw you stop and pull up the roof." The young man grinned.

"As you can see, we got a little wet."

"During all the rain, something strange was happening with your car, man. That antenna of yours, for the longest time, kept going up and down and up and down. Maybe the water caused it to short out?"

The antenna? During the rain? Hadn't that been when he and Diedra had been—

Alec grinned. "Thanks for the tip. We'll watch the radio. It's a rental and I'll pass it onto them."

The friendly trucker returned to his semi, with only a trace of a wicked grin on his face.

Alec walked around a bit more while Diedra visited the ladies room.

Had she been right? He'd never been around her without all sorts of things going haywire. Could anyone really be a jinx?

When she left the restroom, he followed her back to the car. As he climbed in, he noted she was looking damp but less self-conscious now that she was fully dressed.

She reached her hand over to his and said, "Thanks, Alec."

"Thank you." He leaned forward and gave her a swift kiss.

Diedra sighed contentedly. She adored his kisses. Within minutes, they pulled back onto the highway. Alec switched to another radio station and a few seconds later it erupted in static. "I wish you'd turn off your jinx for a while."

"I already have enough self-blame. I don't need you to join in. Trust me, if I could turn it off I would." She pushed a button on the radio and another station came in clear. "While I admit machinery often goes haywire around me, radio stations do go out of range when you're traveling in a car."

"I'm sorry, Diedra. I'm just trying to figure things out."

"Once you have things figured out, Counsel, you just let me know." She felt very defensive. How could she not? This was something she had to deal with every waking moment. Did he think she wouldn't choose normal if she could?

Her headache came crashing back. She was tired, wet and miserable. She shouldn't take it out on him. After all, she had chosen to make love with him, whatever the consequences. Had she really been hoping for more?

Although Alec was a wonderful man, she couldn't expect him to accept her like he'd accept any other woman. It wasn't fair to hold him to standards no man she'd ever known had been able to meet. No, she wouldn't allow herself to hope.

She shivered with cold. Now it was time to accept the inevitable. "I'm sorry I'm so cranky. Maybe if you turn on the heater, we'll dry off faster."

He gave her a charming smile. Damn.

Chapter 11

When Heather arrived at Healthy Herbs that morning, she thought it would be a piece of cake. Running a small shop should be easy compared with corralling one hundred and thirty preteen campers.

That was before the onslaught.

The first customer arrived almost as soon as the store opened. The friendly young mother, with a toddler in tow, carried a newspaper. The headline read
Top Ten Herbs for Improving Your Love Life
.

"Can you tell me where to find these herbs?" The woman pointed at the article.

Heather quickly scanned it, but she didn't recognize the herbs listed, although she had at least
heard
of ginseng root. "I'm sure we have them, but the only vegetation I recognize is the three p's: poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. I'll help you look, though. Everything is labeled, so we should be able to find what you're looking for."

By the time she found the herbs and returned to the counter, three more customers had come into the store, each carrying the newspaper article. More and more customers arrived throughout the morning.

Still, Heather was able to cope—until the cash register tape ran out and a customer said the arginine supplements were all gone and wanted to know whether more could be found in the back.

By then, ten customers were browsing the store and she had no clue how to change the register tape. Maybe Bert would know. She picked up the phone and dialed his flower shop. When he answered, she said, "S.O.S. Help!"

"What's wrong?"

"The cash register tape ran out and the store is overrun with customers. Today's paper had an article about herbs."

"I saw that article. Should have realized it would mean you'd be busier than usual. My floral designer, Carrie, is working today, so I'll leave her in charge here and come over to help."

"Thanks so much." Heather slumped with relief as she hung up the phone. It rang again almost instantly. "Healthy Herbs," she answered.

"Hi, Heather," said Diedra. "Just calling to check to make sure everything is going okay for you."

Her cousin had perfect timing—perfectly awful. No need to worry her though. Heather crossed her fingers because she was about to deliver a whopper. "Everything's just fine."

"Oh, good. I was worrying about you."

"It's going well. I have everything under control here." Except for the run on herbs and vitamins. "By the way, are there more arginine supplements or something that can substitute for it? We've run out."