Lucky 13 (Deadlines & Diamonds) (10 page)

His exhale burst between his lips.
“Hold up,
mujer bonita
.”
Inhale. Exhale. Eyes squeezed closed. Opened. “I am
not
complaining. Not by a long shot.” A single finger traced from her temple, down her cheek and neck and over her collar bone. “I want you. So. Damned. Bad. But this isn’t the place. We’re not in high school
anymore,
and I don’t have a condom in my wallet.
Not even one that would turn to confetti if we tried to put it on.
”

She managed to keep the
Who cares!
to herself and smiled. “Please tell me you have some in your nightstand.”

His expression went thoughtful. His frown didn’t seem promising. He
looked
her
right
in the eye as he put an arm around her back, holding her to him, and leaned forward to press the garage door opener.

***

Knock him over with a feather! If he’d had any idea tonight would be the night Shayne would allow him to love her, he would have committed armed robbery, stealing a Trojan truck with the intension of using every damned one.

He restarted the engine and had just taken his foot off the brake when
Shayne’s delicate h
and landed high on his thigh. H
e jumped.
She caressed.
He groaned. She squeezed. He hardened.
Shit!

Those fingers st
r
oked up and in.
Almost as if it had a mind of his mind of its own
,
his hand clamped down over hers. He picked it up and placed it in her lap.

“You are not allowed to touch me until we get to Walgreens.”

The grin she gave him said he was in big trouble. “I’m not, huh?”

Her hand once again moved toward his lap
, her eyes gleaming with erotic menace.

“I mean
it
, Shayne.” He put the SUV in reverse and backed out of the garage. He turned in the seat to watch as the truck went down the long driveway and into the deserted street. As he shifted into
drive, he laid down the law.
“Unless you’re going to strut that sexy ass of yours into the store and purchase my raincoats, you are not allowed to touch me.”

She made a production of buckling her seatbelt, folding her arms, and tucking her fingers under her armpits. She probably didn’t realize her arms plumped her breasts. Yeah, not helping.

He suddenly wished for blinders, the kind they put on horses to keep their a
ttention focused on their goal, ‘cause all he could see in his periphery were the perfect swells of her creamy chest.

Damned good thing the trip to the drug store consisted of three right turns in the course of five minutes.

Her private smile offered promises he couldn’t wait to uncover. He raced inside, catching his shoulder on the automatic door that wanted to take its own damn time.
Trying to play it cool, which was pretty freakin’ hard to do sportin’ a Louisville in his pants, Ricky wandered the aisles.

The truth was he had no idea where to find condoms. Hell, he drove past this corner multiple times a day, but wasn’t sure he’d been inside for more than lottery tickets.

After wandering up the third aisle, taking in the scenery of bubble gum, lollipops and magazines, he emerged at the back corner of the store.

An elderly lady, wearing a blue Walgreens vest, lavender pants and a smile approached him. “Can I help you find something, young man?”

His desire shriveled
, overcome by the horror of looking
into the wrinkled face of
this gentle old woman and asking for her help.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

Ricky never considered himself a lady’s man, the way some of the other guys were, but he had in fact purchased condoms before.

As he stared into the innocent, eager stare of—he checked out her name tag—Marge and lied like the fool he was
. “My, ah, wife sent me here
for
,” h
e leaned
in close to whisper, “
tampons.”

Marge patted his forearm, shaking her head when she realized she’d touched his tats. “You aren’t the only man to stop in here asking for those.
We make the
task a little more discreet
than
Wal-Mart
or Target.
Come on, I’ll show you.”

He pursed his lips and swallowed his laugh. The situation just kept getting better! Marge’s wide hips swayed with her steps. Two aisles over, she turned left, walking halfway down.

“Here ya go.” She did her best Vanna White impression. “Do you know which kind she uses? Or how heavy her flow is?”

Oh man!
This was
so
not happening.

“No.”

“Can you call her? ‘Cause getting this wrong is definitely not a good thing.”

“I can’t call her. She’s on a trip.”

Gray eyebrows furrowed. “Then why are you buying her tampons?”

Dammit!
“Because she’ll be home tomorrow morning and doesn’t have any
more.”

Marge frowned. “Are you sure you
even
need tampons?”

“Yes.” He reached out and grabbed the biggest box
on the shelf
. If Shayne didn’t want them, he’d donate them to a women’s shelter. “Now that I’m looking at the boxes, these are her favorite.”

He let his eyes wander up and down the aisle, looking for the family planning section that always coincided with the girlie products. Nothing. Great!

“I can check you out if you’re ready.”

“Actually I need to get a few more items.”

She smiled. “Okay, I’ll be up front once you’ve found everything.”

“Perfect.” He managed to keep his groan of mortification to himself.

She turned and waddled away. His relief was short-lived. Although he’d lost his elderly shadow, he still had no idea where the hell the condoms were. He looked to the ceiling for a s
ign, not missing the irony. He’d gotten a sign al
l
right. God frowned on premarital sex and this was His way of punishing Ricky.

He rounded the corner of another aisle, tampons in hand, and literally bumped into a pimple-faced kid. His tall and gangly didn’t stand a chance against Ricky’s bulk and
he toppled into the display of…
condoms!

Boxes flew everywhere as Mr. Should-be-keepin’-it-in-his-pants fell right on his bony ass. The little shit cursed up a storm. With a sweep of his arm, he sent Lifestyles Ultra Sensitives skidding across the linoleum.

Ricky extended a hand, actually surprised when the punk accepted his help.

He shuffled his feet
.
“Should we clean this up?”

Ricky grabbed a couple of boxes from the remaining display and shook his head. “
I don’t plan on it
.”

Mr. Tall-Blonde-and-Dorky bent down to pick up a box and Ricky put his hand on his shoulder. “Word of unwanted advice, kid, life’s a whole less complicated if you don’t go there.”

He snorted. “And you’re gonna tell me you kept it in a knot until you were happily married?”

“Nope. I’m tellin’ you to learn from my mistakes.” Ricky didn’t stick around to see whether
or not his advice mattered. No skin off his nose. He had more important things to worry about. Like how the hell to get out of the store without coming face-to-face with his good buddy, the oh, so very helpful Marge.

Standing behind the register, smiling from ear to ear, she waved as he approached. “Did you find everything?”

“Yes,” he said, not meeting her eyes.

He heard a beep, then her soft chuckle. “Are you sure you really need the
se
tampons?”

“Yes.”

“They’re almost thirteen dollars, you know?”

No, he didn’t know. “Yes, I know. Yes, I need them. Please just ring them up. I have to get home to my wife.”

“You
r
wife’s on a trip.”

“Seriously, Marge, you’re a little more helpful than I needed tonight. Thank you.” He swiped his debit card and
hurried out of the store
, vowing he would never, ever step foot inside again.

10

Shayne started to worry about Ricky.
She fiddled with the radio, changing the station for no other reason than to give herself something to do. It didn’t take
that
long to buy a single box of condoms.
She should have gone with him.

Except, yeah, no, that would have been completely humiliating. The better option in that case would have been a t-shirt with
we’re going to have sex later
in bold, neon letters across it.

She’d actually opened her door when Ricky came
out of the store
. All the color had drained from his face. In his fist a white bag dangled helplessly banging against his thigh. Oh man, he did not look happy.

He whipped the door open. She closed hers. He climbed in, all but t
hrowing the bag at her. He jammed
the transmission into reverse, tires squealing
their departure.

“You didn’t steal these, did you?”

“No.”

She opened the bag and frowned. “Why’d you buy tampons?
Ya know,
I’m both gratified and a little weirded out that this is the brand I use.”

They stopped at the one red light between the store and home and he leaned forward, resting his head against the steering wheel. “That was the single worst experience of my entire life.”

More than once she’d giggled at an inappropriate time. Judging by his scowl this was yet another one.

“What happened?”

He started the story. Shayne was pretty sure she would have liked Marge and decided in the upcoming days she’d stop in to meet her. Incognito, of course.

As the story went on, Shayne’s inappropriate giggle turned into an uncontrolled hoot. She actually snorted. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

“He actually fell down, taking the display with him?”

He shook his head. For the first time since he’d gotten into the car, his lips curved upward. Slightly. Then, as the light turned green, he
busted up. He wiped at his
eyes with the back of his hand.

“Seriously, Shayne, when we’re married
for real,
I promise not to lose track of you like that.” His
deep laughter
continued to swirl around her, mingling with the confusion his statement brought out in her.

Confusion because she both liked and loathed the idea of being his wife. Loathed it, because she really,
really
liked it.

Ricky still chuckled, totally oblivious to her inner turmoil, when the garage
door
began its ascent. He eased the car into the brightly lit space and pressed the button for the door to go back down. He unbuckled his seatbelt, turned off the car, and put his hands back on the steering wheel. He stared out the windshield.

He sucked in a breath, blew it out through rounded lips. He closed his eyes, turning toward her when they opened. The vulnerability there both warmed and broke her heart. His hands dropped to his thighs. He rubbed his palms against the denim.

“
I really don’t want to screw this up, Shayne, so I gotta ask, n
ow that you’re not caught up in the moment, d
o you still want to come inside?”

“Yes.”

His body relaxed.

“And no.”

He tensed, his forearms flexing with the tighte
ning of his fists
.
“Good hell! I can’t keep up with you.”

She put her hand on his arm and willed him to look at her. He didn’t. She wanted to have this conversation with him, but it didn’t seem doing so in the warming car, while waiting for the garage light to time out, was the correct answer. She opened her door and stepped out. If he didn’t follow her, she supposed she’d
make herself at home and wait for him to come in
side
.

When she opened the door to his house, the one on his car popped open. She didn’t turn around, simply walked inside.
The door closed with a soft slam. Shayne didn’t turn around. She half expected him to come up behind her. Actually, more than expected, hoped. Her thoughts and emotions twisted and spun, confusing her even more.

S
he headed through
the
tall arch. She walked over to
the
overstuffed leather couch and sat down on the chocolate sofa. Ricky cleared his throat and she looked over to find him leaning against the entryway.

“Can we talk?” She patted the couch next to
where she sat
.

He paused, keeping space between them.
A buffer. Protection. She tapped her hand against the cushion again.

“Please.”

She saw more than heard his sigh, witnessed his resolve crumble under her plea.
He took a step forward
. His body language screamed
protest. That he would put what she’d asked above what he wanted
made her feelings for him that much harder to deny. And yet, she couldn’t admit them to herself much less him.

He advanced slowly, more like a man approaching t
he gallows than the carefree guy
he’d been all day. He sat at the other end of the couch, leaving a full cushion between them.

Screw that!
She scooted over and he frowned. She put her hand on his thigh and he scowled. She swore she could feel the heat of his death stare
burning a hole through
her hand.

He didn’t look up. His jaw jumped twice. “Whatever game you’re playing, I’m not interested.”

She leaned in and kissed the strong angle of his jaw, his whiskers abrasive against her lips. “I need to take this slow, Ricky.” She put her hand against his cheek, using gentle pressure to turn his face. His eyes closed. Her heart broke a little. He certainly wasn’t going to make this easy.

She kissed him again. On the mouth this time. “Thank you for today.”

His eyes popped open and the fury in them made her sit back. “You were going to sleep with me because you’re
thankful
? Nice. Really
damned
nice.”

“Don’t you dare pull the wounded hero act!” She crossed her arms over her chest, balling her hands into fists. “I’m freaking out over here and you’re so worried I’m going to dump you, you’re missing the damn boat.”

He jerked like she’d slapped him. He didn’t apologize, but didn’t rebuke her either.

Silence stretched for a few minutes. The longest, most excruciating minutes of her life.

He turned, finally looking
at her
again. His eyes scoured her face as though he were memorizing every inch. She held her breath, unsure of what he might be reading within the freckles and lines.

“Let’s just call a spade a spade, okay?”

She managed a nod.

His hand on her cheek
calm
ed her. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. The press of his mouth against hers surprised her. He pulled away, his thumb tracing over her lips. His finger took over, trailing
down her shoulder and arm to clasp her hand. He placed it over his heart. The rapid cadence made her think of a rabbit being pursued by a fox.

But wasn’t she supposed to be the frightened rabbit?

He inhaled, closed his eyes, exhaled. This man, with all of his muscle, was preparing to lay himself wide. Although she’d recognized it, she still wasn’t ready to hear his words.

His eyes opened and Shayne lost herself in the gorgeous sparkle of onyx. “I am crazy about you, Shayne. I have to be to go through what I did tonight just to be with you. I’m not killing time with you until I get bored or something better comes along. I’m looking for a future. With you. And Matt. I’m falling,
amor
, and I don’t even care that I don’t have a parachute.” He sighed. “If you’re not looking for long term, that’s okay.” He snorted. “I’m such a freakin’ liar. That would so not be okay with me, but I’m trying to be chivalrous.”

Tears gathered in her eyes for the second time tonight, but for a very different reason. Her breath caught.

“You are the most chivalrous man I know.”

“Shayne, why are you freaking out?”

“Because you say things like that and
I can picture everything you
just said. I do want long term with you, but—” She shook her head. “—I’m not there.
Not yet anyway.
My life has been
spinning out of control for the last few years. Heck, it’s been a tornado my whole life with the occasional break when the eye passes through. I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow, let alone months from now. What I do know is that it’d be a shame to waste all your hard work and not put those condoms to good use.”

He lifted her hand and kissed the palm. “There’s no pressure on my side. If tonight’s not right, we’ll wait.”

And more pebbles fell over the edge, leaving even more air under her toes. If he kept being who he was, it wouldn’t be long before she found herself falling too.

“I’m not a tease, Ricky. I want you to know that.”

“I do.”

“If you’d had a condom earlier, I wouldn’t have put the brakes on.”

“I know.” He grimaced. “And I’m seriously kicking my own ass, but you need to know that when I finally make love to you
,
I don’t want you to be freaking out or feeling obligated.
Or
gratefu
l.
It’ll be because you’re ready to open yourself completely to me.”

“I’ve never had a man I could depend on
.”

His brows frowned. “What about X?”

“
My mother took me and left my father when I was four, X was twelve. I didn’t remember I even had a brother until he showed up in my life a few months ago. Daddy Dearest was an ass. The one memory I have of him, he had his hand raised, ready to slap me for getting Play-Doh on the carpet. X stepped between us. Our dad beat the shit out of him.
My mom gathered me up and we ran. I
don’t know the specifics.
My mom’s gone. I guess I’ll never know.”

She sighed and looked down at her hands. “Apparently our father told X, he searched under every stone to find us. Since I lived in only two places and we kept our names, we know that’s not true.”

She couldn’t believe all those words had tumbled out. X had lived the nightmare of their separated childhoods and she’d not been able to open up to her brother. But Ricky, with his kind eyes, his understanding expression and quiet inner strength, she found herself
wanting
to depend on him.

“My track record with men hasn’t been that great.”

“What about Matt’s father?” His voice was quiet, his tone calm, but the sim
ple question rocked her like a nine-point earthquake.

She attempted a smile. “You can get pregnant the first time you have sex.”

“How old were you?”

“Almost seventeen.” Guilt snaked up her body. She placed her hand on her throat to keep it from strangling her. “I don’t regret having Matt. He’s the greatest thing in my life. His conception might have been a nightmare, but I don’t regret its result. I love him.”

Ricky took her hands in his and tugged her into an awkward hug, the angles of their bodies all wrong. Despite the hitch in her side, she did what she could to relax the muscles not cocked funny. She laid her head against the soft pad of his pec, resting her hand on his abdomen.

He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t we have a movie to watch?”

“You’re okay with that?”

He eased her away from him, kissed the tip of her nose. “You get the movie from the car. I’ll pop some popcorn.”

***

L
ying on the couch with Shayne in his arms, Ricky couldn’t remember the last time he’d experienced such honest-to-God contentment. They’d stretched out, him behind her. She rest
ed her head on his bicep and had
promptly fallen asleep.

He spent the time memorizing everything about her. He loved the way her tight bottom tucked perfectly into his groin. H
er sleepy undulations ground
against him in excruciating bliss. One of her feet tucked in between his calves and he shivered at the icy temperature.

Goosebumps formed on her skin. Ricky ran a hand over her arm and wrapped his body around her. If she didn’t look so sweet and comfortable, he’d have gotten up to get a blanket. She sighed in her sleep, tucked one hand under her cheek and twisted
a finger around a lock of hair.

Spreading his hand wide on her belly, he felt the hard bones of her hips, the bottom of her ribcage and the softness of her abdomen. She was slender, no argument there, but he actually liked she didn’t have the rock hard abs like some of the models he’d dated.

This woman, this amazing woman
,
was real. No plastic surgery, no fish lips or hair extensions. He inched his fingers toward her chest, wondering if her breasts had been surgically enhanced.
Either way would
totally be okay with him.