Stripped Naked (Naked Cowboys) (5 page)

“I’ll take that.” Amy easily relieved her of what she was carrying. “Reenie and I will finish. Go on. Go home. Sleep off those margaritas. And don’t forget tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Jinx frowned.

“The auction? Helping Dillon pick out a horse?”

Jinx nibbled her lower lip. “Listen, Amy, I don’t think—”

“Right. Don’t think. You’ll have a good time. When was the last time you went to a horse or cattle auction?” When Jinx didn’t answer, she gloated, “Aha. See there? You need to get back in the ambience of the Hill Country. Get your mojo going again.”

Jinx stared at her. “My mojo?”

“Mm hmm. We’ll pick you up at eleven. The auction starts at noon and we can all go out for a late lunch afterwards. Don’t give me any lip because we’ll be there to fetch you and hunt you down if you’re not home.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” At the moment she just wanted to get away and cool down her overheated body.

She said her goodnights to everyone, politely nodding at Dillon, and headed toward her car. Wondering how she’d gotten herself dragged into this auction thing, she fastened her seat belt and turned the ignition key. And turned it. And turned it. But no matter how many times she tried it, the starter just made an irritating grinding noise while the engine itself remained silent.

Shit!

She rested her forehead on the steering wheel. How could this happen to her?

She was about to try it once more when someone rapped on the driver’s side window. She looked out to see Matt staring in at her, motioning for her to open the door.

Reluctantly, she depressed the handle and pushed the door open.

“Pop the latch on the hood and let me take a look inside,” he told her.

“Listen, I’m sure if I just give it a minute—”

But he was already standing at the front of her car, waiting. She blew out a breath and leaned back while she waited for him to work some kind of magic.

“Try it now,” he hollered.

She turned the key, but again all she got was that irritating grinding sound. The macho contingent gathered to use their collective wisdom, pointing at some things, touching others. Finally, Matt closed the hood and shook his head.

“It’s either the starter or the alternator. Buck says he can have one of the hands take a look at it in the morning.”

She bolted upright, banging her knee on the steering column. “Did you say
in the morning?
”

“’Fraid so. Come on.” He walked over to her open door and held out his hand. “One of us will run you home.”

“I take excellent care of my car,” she insisted. “I try to avoid situations just like this one.”

“Shit happens.” Matt gestured for her to get out. “You know it. No biggie. Reenie and I will give you a ride.”

“But…” But what? “I hate breaking up the party.”

Now Dillon was standing beside her, holding out his hand. “I’m leaving now anyway. Come on. I’ll take you home. No problem.”

Without thinking, she put her hand in his and was shocked by the electricity that crackled along her arm and into her body. She yanked her hand back.

“I don’t…that is…I can’t…”

“Jinx?” Amy joined the growing crowd outside her vehicle. “Like Matt said, stuff like this happens all the time. Fortunately there’s no shortage of taxi services right here. Come on. Let Dillon drive you home.” She grinned. “I promise he won’t jump your bones.”

“Jesus, Amy,” Matt swore.

Jinx saw Dillon take a step back. “Yeah, Jesus, Amy,” she echoed.

Dillon stood with his hand still held out to her. “Forget them. They’re just yanking your chain. It’s my pleasure to see you get home okay. And I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Somehow, before she could unscramble her brain, Jinx found herself in Dillon’s truck, buckled in as he backed out of the parking space. They sat in a thick silence until they were well out onto the highway into town. Jinx was like a statue, hands folded tightly in her lap, eyes staring straight ahead through the windshield.

Dillon’s laugh broke the silence. “No bones jumping, I promise,” he teased.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Could they have been any more obvious?”

He shrugged. “I thought I was the obvious one. I wanted a chance to spend some alone time with you.”

She turned to look at him. “Why? I got the feeling I annoyed you.”

“Maybe at first. I may not have been here long but enough to know a naked body in a ditch around here brings out all the loonies. Trying to keep order and preserve the scene was driving me nuts.”

“And I came along demanding my rights as a reporter.” She swallowed a smile. “Sorry. Old habits die hard.”

He was silent for a moment. “I believe in cultivating the goodwill of the press. But I’ve spent my life in big cities where most of the media is cutthroat and just looking for blood. Literally and figuratively.”

She nodded. “I can understand that. I spent ten years in New York and we had to shove elbows to get a story most of the time.”

“So.” He cleared his throat and Jinx sensed a discomfort with what he was planning to say. “Apology accepted? New beginning?”

Wow. The last thing she’d expected. She imagined apologies didn’t come easily to him.

Dillon did his best to focus on the road and his driving, but Jinx’s voice as she gave him directions had the sensation of velvet skimming his skin. Desire was a low simmer beneath the surface and he had to clench his jaw to force it back. He could swear a magnetic force field had suddenly snapped into place around them, ramping up this unexpected sexual reaction. It was taking every ounce of his discipline to contain the feelings doing a riotous dance through his body.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had strong sexual reactions to other women. He wasn’t a monk, for God’s sake. And certainly he and Naomi had burned up the sheets.

Naomi.

Just the thought of her made the inside of his mouth taste like cold ashes. That last night was burned into his mind as if etched into it with acid. What a fool he’d been, falling for her the way he did. Letting her use him and then knock him to the side of the road.

Don’t think about it and ruin a perfectly good evening.

Right. Better he should think about how he wanted to strip every bit of clothing from Jinx Malone’s body and fuck her senseless.

He swallowed a groan. Offering to drive her home had seemed like the right thing to do, but sitting so close to her, the light scent she wore drifting across his nostrils, was turning out to be the worst kind of torture.

Buck up, Dillon. You can behave.

He’d had reservations about accepting the invitation to dinner at the Montgomerys’. Socializing wasn’t at the top of his list at the moment. And having Jinx included was a surprise. His stupid body had gotten the same flush of lust he’d felt the day before. Trying to hide it for an entire evening had been a real exercise in self-control. He wasn’t sure how he’d deal with the whole auction thing tomorrow except to keep as much physical distance between them as possible.

And how the fuck had he let himself be talked into it? Matt Stark had just steamrollered over him.

Now, to complicate matters, he’d offered to drive Jinx home and her presence and scent filled the cab of the truck.

“You’re very quiet over there.” Her voice broke into his mental conversation with himself.

“Sorry. It’s just been a long day. A long couple of days, as a matter of fact.”

To say the least.

“You know this naked body will be like a nine-days wonder,” she pointed out to him. “Rowan County isn’t noted for that kind of excitement, so it will be the main topic of discussion.”

“Yeah, I figured that.” He slid a glance at her. “I’m still feeling my way here, you know. I don’t want to piss anyone off, so you think we can come to an agreement? I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop and you give me a little space to investigate this?”

From the corner of his eye he saw her turn toward him. “I’d say that’s a good deal. Listen, Dillon.” She put her hand on his arm and he nearly combusted just from her touch. “Maybe we got off on the wrong foot a little. Part of that’s on me.” Her laugh was a soft bubble of sound. “I guess I still have too much New York for this place. Anyway, I promise to do better.”

“Me too.”

Silence dropped over them again. Dillon struggled to find something to talk to her about but he found himself strangely tongue tied. When they hit the outskirts of town, he realized he at least had to ask for directions.

“Where to now?” he asked.

“Straight through town then left at the little shopping center.” Jinx guided him through downtown to the northwest residential area and onto her street. There was an old-fashioned streetlight at each corner and a couple of the houses still showed a light in a window, but for the most part the row of older homes was dark. “It’s the house at the end of this block. The one with the big porch in front.”

Dillon turned into the driveway and put the truck in park, taking in the sight of the large, well-tended house and what he could see of the front yard. A porch fixture cast a limited amount of light, just enough to see the front door and a small portion of the porch. To Dillon it looked—settled. Permanent. Much as his parents’ home did. He had trouble matching it up with Miss New York sitting next to him.

The snick of the seat belt as she released the catch nudged him into reality.

“Thanks for the ride.” Jinx opened the door to climb down.

Dillon turned off the ignition and nearly broke his neck getting out of the cab. She was already in the driveway by the time he got around to the other side of the truck.

“Sorry. My mother would smack me for not opening the door for you.”

She lifted a shoulder. “No biggie. I can do this myself.”

“At least let me walk you to the door.” He closed his fingers around her elbow and the same bolt of desire speared through him straight to his cock.

Well, shit. What the hell’s happening here?

Just like two days ago and just like earlier tonight, he didn’t seem to be able to get anywhere near Jinx Malone let alone touch her without wanting to rip off her clothes and plunge himself inside her very sexy body. As he guided her up the steps to the porch, he wondered if she was having the same reaction.

When they stopped at the front door, Jinx slipped the narrow strap of her purse from her shoulder to fetch her keys. At the same time, she turned toward him and his hands automatically lifted to rest on her shoulders. She looked up at him, a quizzical expression on her face, and it seemed the most natural thing for him to lean down and brush his lips against hers. She quivered beneath his touch, her breath hitching.

Before he could change his mind or give her a chance to change hers, he deepened the kiss, tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue until she opened and let him in. God, she tasted like everything sweet he’d ever had in his life. He licked every inner surface, wanting to swallow her whole. He tightened his grip on her, not wanting to give her the chance to pull away, but she surprised him by clutching at his arms. He slid his fingers up through the silk of her hair, cupping her head and tilting it one way then another to give the kiss a better angle. And when she opened her mouth, her own small tongue thrust forward to dance erotically with his.

He broke the kiss only when his breath ran out. Lifting his head, he stared at Jinx through lust-fogged eyes. She had a startled expression on her face and her gaze was locked with his. The pulse at the hollow of her throat beat furiously and he was sure the heat radiating from her body singed his skin.

“What…what was that?” Her voice was shaky.

“I don’t know, but I think I’m gonna do it again.”

This time he took her mouth with unrestrained hunger, plundering it with his tongue, sealing his lips to hers as if he’d never let her go. All rational thought left his mind as he pressed her close to him. It took a moment for him to realize that her hands were pushing at his chest and she was trying to twist away from him. Shaking the fog from his brain, he backed away a step.

“Sorry.” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

But she was already opening the door and grabbing his hand to drag him inside.

“One of us is crazy,” she said in a husky voice. “I’m hoping it’s me. And that I’ll wake up in the morning and be able to pretend I didn’t make a fool of myself.”

“That’s for tomorrow.” His heart raced as he realized she didn’t mean to send him away after all. He tried to think of what to say, but all the blood in his head seemed to have headed south to his groin. Unwilling to give her a chance to have second thoughts, he swept her up in his arms and headed for the stairs. He halted at the top. “Which way?”

She pointed to a room at the end of the hallway. He nudged the door open with his foot, carried her inside and set her down beside the bed. Weaving his fingers through the strands of her hair again, he touched his mouth to hers and licked the outline. He wanted nothing more than to tear her clothes off and throw her on the bed.

Slow, asshole. Don’t give her a reason to change her mind. This is a woman to savor and worship, so don’t fuck it up.