Flash and Fire (11 page)

“Not as long as you draw breath.” Amanda got into the driver’s seat and pulled the door shut.

Whatever Pierce was going to say in reply was lost to her as she turned on the ignition and purposely revved the engine. Throwing the car into reverse, she quickly backed out of her space.

Pierce had to jump back in order to avoid being run over.

Amanda had been careful to watch him through her rearview mirror. Her depth perception was magnificent. Only giving the illusion of being careless, she had maneuvered the car close enough to almost press his clothing—and to see that his face had paled.

Good, that’ll put the fear of God into the son of a bitch.

Her foot pressing down on the accelerator, Amanda left the parking lot as quickly as the limit of the law allowed her to.

Chapter Eleven

“”Christopher, what’s come over you?”

Amanda regarded her son with a reproving eye as she drove out of the parking lot. She knew it wasn’t his fault, but she felt an odd sort of betrayal at the child’s sudden shift in behavior. He was her son, not Alexander’s. She was the one who provided for him, who played with him, who read to him at night no matter how tired she was. How could he just take to Alexander like that?

What was he, the Pied Piper of Hamlin, to charm Christopher like that?

“You act like a little wild animal in the store and then that bast—man,” she amended, glancing at the boy quickly to see if he had picked up on the word, “has you eating out of his hand.”

Christopher looked at her in wide-eyed innocence for a moment, then turned his face toward the window. “Nice man, Mama.”

“Shows what you know,” she muttered, her annoyance abating. People far brighter than Christopher had been taken in by that southern-boy charm that Pierce wielded so expertly.

She glanced at Christopher again. If the car seat tether hadn’t been holding him in place, she was certain, he would have been hanging out the open window, trying to catch a glimpse of Pierce.

Just what was it about that man?

Amanda looked in the rearview mirror. In the distance, she saw a blue sports car following her. At least it appeared to be following her.

She was sure it was following her after it mimicked her path, turn for turn, for the next two miles as she made her way home from the store.

Pierce.

God damn it, what had brought on this siege? He’d been at the station for six months. After she had rejected his initial attempt to ask her out, he had left her completely alone. What had renewed his interest, or whatever it was that he was displaying? What was she, the challenge of the month for him?

Amanda chewed on that thought as she drove the rest of the way to her house, her anger unfurling like a huge red flag. Her mounting indignation was soon large enough to blanket and smother that tiny portion of her that was just the slightest bit intrigued.

No matter how quickly she drove, squeaking through one yellow light that turned red at the intersection, Pierce managed to keep up and followed her all the way home. And when she pulled into her driveway several minutes later, he drove his car right up next to hers. He was out of his car first.

Amanda glared at him.

“What’s the matter, lost your way? I mean, more than usual?”

He liked the way lightning flashed in her eyes when she was angry. She was going to be one hell of a bed partner, he mused, all fire and smoke in his hands. He could almost feel her now.

Anticipation had him smiling as he rounded the hood of her car. Pierce opened her door for her before she had the chance.

“No, I know my way around very well.” The way he looked at her left no doubt about his meaning. “But you looked like you had a lot of groceries to handle.”

She gave him what she hoped was a particularly scathing look. It did no good. He was still there, still looking at her with eyes that shimmered a liquid blue, like a clear lagoon. But lagoons hid reefs beneath their waters, and she wasn’t about to run the risk of being dashed up against one of them.

“That’s not all I have to handle.” She meant the remark to be off-putting. It obviously wasn’t.

As her legs swung out, Amanda saw the lazy way his eyes traveled up the length of her limbs, saw the look of hot approval.

Yes, he was trouble, she thought even as a shiver ran up her spine.

She ignored the hand he offered. “I don’t need your help, Alexander.” Turning her back on him, she circumvented the front of the car and went to the passenger’s side. Christopher raised his arms to her urgently. “I have a housekeeper, remember?”

“Yes, but she has her hands filled with Christopher, remember?”

She heard the mocking note in his voice. He would remember her saying that.

Deliberately ignoring Pierce, she started to unfasten Christopher from his seat and discovered that the boy had already taken care of one of the harnesses by him
self. It was completely off his shoulder and lay in his lap.

Christopher laughed as if he could read his mother’s mind and was very pleased with himself.

“Regular little Houdini, isn’t he?” Pierce remarked. “He gets that from his mother, I see.”

Amanda fisted her hands at her waist. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

His eyes laughed at her. “You were trying to lose me when you drove out of the parking lot.”

“Only because it’s against the law to run you over.”

He laughed again. It occurred to Pierce that women didn’t usually make him laugh.

The front door opened behind them. Carla emerged from the house, sneezing. Amanda almost breathed a sigh of relief. Reinforcements.

Maybe if she continued to ignore him, Alexander would finally give up and leave. It was certainly worth a try. She turned toward Carla.

“How’s your sinus attack doing?”

Christopher’s high-pitched squeal announced his displeasure at being neglected, and Amanda lifted him out of the car seat. She set him down on the ground.

“Better,” Carla answered.

It certainly didn’t sound any better, Amanda thought. Carla sniffled into a handkerchief, then shoved it into the deep pocket of her robe. Her eyes grew wide as she looked from Amanda to Pierce. First doubt, then an almost disbelieving recognition passed over her face.

Carla blushed. If it was him, he was even better-looking
in person. A lot more rugged.

She pointed at Pierce as if the very act verified his existence and identity. “Hey, you’re—“

“An uninvited pest,” Amanda ended the sentence for her. She thrust a bag of groceries at the younger woman.

But Carla apparently wanted to hang around for the view. Rather than taking the bag into the house, she held the grocery sack against her chest, staring in wonder at Pierce.

Amanda stopped short of throwing up her hands. Instead, she turned to face the source of her irritation. She didn’t know exactly what his game was, or why she had been chosen to play. But she didn’t play games and she wasn’t about to start now.

“Look, Alexander, I know your type.”

Pierce leaned over and took another bag out of the trunk. “Do you now?”

Amanda snatched the bag away from him. She’d had enough. “Yes, I do. And I’m not interested. I was mar
ried to someone like you for three long, miserable years.”

He made a mental note to look at her bio profile again. Maybe there were things he’d missed the first time through. And things he could follow up on. He liked being thorough and leaving little to chance.

“Three years?”

“Yes.” She took another bag before he was able to and balanced it on her hip. But when she turned to walk away, Pierce laid a hand on her arm, forcing Amanda to look at him.

“And he let you go?”

“Let” wouldn’t have been the word she would have used, but she wasn’t about to launch into any explanations. “Yes.”

He shook his head slowly, and she found herself momentarily mesmerized by the look in his eyes.

“Then it wasn’t anyone like me, because if I had had you, Mandy, I wouldn’t have let you go.”

He wasn’t sure where the words had come from. Maybe he was flying on automatic pilot. Women liked hearing that they were unique, even though they were all the same.

Or maybe he’d said them because, in a way, Amanda was unique.

Her heart skipped two beats even as she called herself a fool. Damn, but he was good. She was beginning to understand why Sheila in accounting had closeted herself with Pierce last week.

Sheila might have, but she wasn’t about to, Amanda reminded herself. Not now, not ever. She prided herself on the fact that she could finally see past broad shoulders, a sensual smile, and, in his case, a great tight end. And what she saw was a void.

“Maybe you wouldn’t have had a choice in the matter,” she retorted.

She didn’t know what had made her tell Alexander that she had been married, let alone for how long. He had no business knowing anything about her private life. It was just that, private.

She turned toward Carla, who was still standing there, transfixed.

“Let’s go, Carla,” she prodded. Carla blinked and seemed to come to life. She began to move to the front door like a woman in a trance.

“Christopher.” Amanda looked around for her son and saw that the boy had his hand in Pierce’s. Despite the fact that she had called him, he made no move to come to her. She knew that she could try to push him along, but that wouldn’t have given her any satisfaction at the moment.

“Christopher.” She smiled at him. “I have chocolate in the house for you.”

Christopher immediately bounded into the house just ahead of her.

“My favorite’s bittersweet,” Pierce said.

Just like you are. Or are you just sweet, with bitter edges that can be nibbled off?

Amanda stopped in the doorway and looked over her shoulder, giving him a quizzical look. “What are you talking about?”

“Chocolate. My favorite type of chocolate is bittersweet.”

If he thought he was going to talk his way into her house, he was dead wrong. She had better things to do than feed him and his ego. “Nice to know,” Amanda answered coldly.

She crossed the threshold. He was two steps behind her.

Using the point of her elbow, she slammed the door behind her, leaving Pierce standing on the front step. As it cut him off, the last thing in the world she expected was to hear him laugh again.

She heard the sound as she walked away. Damn, but she hated to be his source of entertainment.

Chapter Twelve

Amanda had just managed to walk into the kitchen and set the two grocery bags she was carrying down on the gray-tiled counter when the doorbell rang.

No, it can’t be him. Not even Alexander would be that pushy.

Carla shuffled into the room right behind her carrying the last two bags. She heaved a heavy sigh as she placed them next to the others.

The doorbell rang again. Amanda glanced at Carla. “Are you expecting anyone?”

Carla shook her head and then sneezed into her handkerchief. “Only Death.”

Never let it be said that Carla didn’t have a flair for the dramatic
, Amanda thought. She could turn a hangnail into a rapidly progressing case of gangrene.

Amanda patted the woman’s shoulder. “I’ll take care of the groceries after I get the door; you take Christopher into the family room.” She saw the pained look on Carla’s face and a wave of sympathy washed over her. “Why don’t you call your mother while you’re watching him play? Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

Carla’s countenance improved measurably. With renewed vigor and purpose, she hustled Christopher toward the family room.

Now maybe she’d have a little peace. Amanda glanced toward the front door.

The doorbell rang a third time just as she reached for the doorknob. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

She opened the door. Pierce was standing there, filling up the entire doorway. Amanda couldn’t believe the audacity of the man.

His mouth lifted in a half smile. “Not alone, I hope. It would be such a waste.”

With a great deal of difficulty, she resisted the urge to slam the door in his face. Her patience was badly frayed.

“Why have you singled me out like this?”

Because you’re preying on my mind like an endless melody and I don’t like it
.

Pierce shook his head slowly. “Mandy. Mandy, where are your manners?” His chiding tone irritated her. She gritted her teeth. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

He leaned his hand on the door just in case she was tempted to swing it shut.

“No.” She tested the door subtly and discovered that it wouldn’t budge. “And I wish you’d stop calling me Mandy.”

“Why?”

Amanda raised her chin. Defiantly, she leaned against the door. She wondered if she was going to have to call the police to get rid of him. No, she decided, she was going to do this on her own. She didn’t need someone running interference for her with Alexander. She could take care of someone like him herself.

“Because I don’t like it.”

She spat out the words, but he remained unconvinced. “Oh, you like it, Amanda, I can see it in your eyes.” Without making a single movement, he seemed to be standing closer to her, breathing in her space. “You don’t lie very well. Not to me.”

So now he was a seer as well as an irritant
. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“I never do that. I don’t have to.” He saw her eyes glint. He gently pushed the door open wider. “It’s hot standing out here on your doorstep. I’d surely appreciate a cold glass of water.”

It was hot all right. And the way he was looking at her
was making it several degrees hotter. Still, she kept her hand on the door, denying him entrance into the house. “Didn’t the wicked queen use that excuse on Snow White to get into her cottage?’

It wasn’t her cottage he was interested in getting into. He wanted to discover the taste of her mouth. To learn if she was as sultry as she looked. If her skin was soft all over, like her face. And if she cried out when she peaked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never read fairy tales.” And there had never been anyone to read them to him.