A Husband of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho #2)(57)
Author: Brenda Novak

She smiled at him yet again. She knew he had to be surprised that she’d suddenly turned on the charm. He’d been watching her with a mixture of distrust and curiosity all evening. But if she kept this up, his curiosity would soon overtake his distrust, and that might be enough to get her what she wanted. One night. Just enough time to satisfy the craving he’d created more than a year ago.

THE MYSTERIOUS SMILE Rebecca gave him whenever their eyes met proved too much for Josh. He broke down and asked her to dance, despite all his resolutions. But he was trying to hold her at a respectable distance. She was the one who kept moving closer, all soft and cuddly, her hair smelling like rain and her skin glowing in the dim light. She felt so damn good that before long his hands slid down to curl over her behind and keep her right where she was. Somehow it seemed as though she belonged this close.

“Now this is the kind of truce I like,” he murmured, feeling desire lick through his veins. He automatically recalled the taste of Rebecca’s kiss, and became obsessed with her mouth. His gaze lingered on her lips, then took in the green eyes that slanted up at him so mischievously—and all the blood in his head began to head south at a record rate. Maybe it was this phenomenon that was costing him the ability to reason, but he couldn’t figure out what, exactly, had changed between them. Why were they in each other’s arms? Alcohol certainly had nothing to do with it this time. They hadn’t been at the Honky Tonk long enough to get drunk.

Yet, here they were, clinging to each other as if they couldn’t get close enough. It took all of Josh’s self-restraint not to bend Rebecca over his arm and kiss her as if there was no one else in the world, regardless of the fact that they were in a public place.

“I never thought we could stick to a truce,” she said, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. “But I think this is going to work out just fine.”

“Beats the hell out of finding pincher bugs in my locker,” he responded. Then, just because she was molded so perfectly to his body and he couldn’t resist, he traced the curve of her ear with the tip of his tongue very subtly, so no one could see.

She shivered and melted into him and he began to think about how badly he wanted another chance to have Rebecca in his bed….

He slipped his thumb under her blouse to lightly graze the soft skin at her waist. “You feel good, Beck.”

“I could feel better,” she said, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Is that an invitation?” he asked.

“What do you think?”

“It sounded like an invitation to me.”

She nearly leveled him with a temptress’s smile. “Didn’t we start something a year ago that we never finished?”

Josh blinked at her. “You didn’t want to finish.”

“Can’t a girl change her mind?”

His first impulse was to take Rebecca by the arm and steer her out of the Honky Tonk and straight to the old Suburban he was driving until the insurance check arrived and his new Escalade SUV was ready. She might have torched his Excursion, but now she was setting other things on fire—things he liked hot. Only he hadn’t decided whether it was wise to take whatever was going on between them to the next level. He was supposed to be getting her out of his system, not allowing her to inflame his deepest desires. And there was Mary. He might have tried to break off their relationship, but she hadn’t really accepted it.

“I don’t know. The night’s young,” he said, stalling. If I have half a brain, I’ll run out of here as fast as my legs can carry me.

She tilted her head back to look up at him and he caught a faint whiff of spearmint and alcohol on her breath. Liking the scent, he bent closer, giving her a brief kiss. The tavern was dark and smoky, the music loud, creating the illusion of privacy. Still, nothing in Dundee went unnoticed. He just couldn’t make himself pull away. Every dream, every fantasy he’d ever had centered on Rebecca.

“That’s no answer,” she said.

He tightened his embrace. “What exactly do you have in mind? Your sudden departure last time wasn’t particularly enjoyable. I’d like to know a little earlier if you’re going to bail out on me.”

“That depends,” she said.

“On what?”

“On how things go.”

Nothing about Rebecca was ever easy. Even when she propositioned him, he couldn’t tie her down. But he had to admit that her unpredictable nature was part of her allure.

Of course, that same trait could bring even a strong man to his knees….

“What about Delaney?” he asked, although his conscience was screaming, “What about Mary?”

Rebecca arched her brows, her expression world-wise and slightly cynical, yet feminine in the extreme. God, there was something about this woman he craved.

“She can’t come with us,” she said.

“You’re going to leave her here?”

“She’s nine months pregnant, due in a week. She’ll be more than happy to go home early.”

“Are you going to tell her you’re leaving with me?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

Another sexy smile. “No. That’ll be our little secret.”

Her voice had turned husky. Josh felt his groin tighten as he tried to read what was going on behind her eyes. Was she setting him up? It wasn’t like Rebecca to be this nice, this…open. At least to him. If he took her home, would she make love with him tonight, then spit in his face tomorrow?

Chances were she would. But tomorrow suddenly seemed very far away.

“So?” she asked. “What do you say?”

What did he say? Getting together with Rebecca after someone as steady as Mary would be like trading the safety of the bunny hill for the steep depths of the hardest ski run on the mountain. With Rebecca, he’d go careening down the slopes, gathering speed until he was flying through uncharted territory with only a vague idea of the obstacles and pitfalls he might encounter. Life would be anything but safe or secure. But it would be exciting. And somehow he knew, for better or for worse, that this was the woman he could love for the rest of his life.

He’d never been a big fan of the bunny hill, anyway.

Taking a deep, decisive breath, he brushed a quick kiss across her forehead. “I have to do something,” he said. “Send Delaney home, and meet me outside in fifteen minutes.”

Then he called Mary, insisted her mother let him talk to her when she tried to say Mary wasn’t home, and broke the news as gently as he could. On his way out, he told his brother to get a hotel. After what happened a year ago, he wasn’t about to risk another interruption. Not tonight. Tonight Rebecca was his.