Page 23 of Hero & Villain
I frowned and glanced at him. Why would Jezebel Whiskey keep me away from her co-workers for three days? It couldn’t be random, however senseless Dagger found her. It didn’t matter. Figuring out Jezebel’s motives wouldn’t help me with seduction. I should draw him out, feed his ego, get him talking about himself.
Feeling incredibly awkward, I brushed my fingers over his bare forearm. I’d touched him not too long ago, and the shock had been pleasurable. This time, I flinched away from him as if he’d assaulted me. I curled my fingers and uncurled them, staring at them like they could explain my body’s reaction, the wash of emotions that left me wanting to cry. No. Feelings weren’t allowed to do whatever they wanted, particularly when I was on a diabolical mission.
“Everything okay, Pinkie?”
I shot him a glare. “Of course. Peachy, not pinkie. How long will this take?” If I burst into tears, I’d have to kill us both.
“You have somewhere to go?”
I crossed my arms while my heart pounded. I should touch him again, smile and flirt, but the thought of reaching out and connecting with him made my skin crawl and my eyes burn. Why would it do this now when earlier it was just fine? Maybe Jezebel did something to me that would ensure I didn’t break his heart until after the race. Come to think of it, that really was incredibly heartless of her not to care about whether her coworker got heartbroken. I definitely wasn’t the only one putting on an act. What were her intentions, and how could I possibly seduce James Russell Jefferson Dirk Prescott if I couldn’t even touch him?
Chapter Nine
VILLAIN
The first station was on a large butte overlooking a valley cut deep into the red rock. We parked at the bottom and had to climb up a cliff to get to the raised pole and tiny platform. I stood at the cliff base, studying the rough rock and then looking at my hands like they knew how to get to the top. They had absolutely no idea. Give me a bow, a dagger, preferably glass, and sure, but rocks? Dirt? Um, no.
He said, “Are you afraid to get your hands dirty? I can’t get you a job, Nitro’s cousin or not, if you can’t pitch in wherever you’re needed.”
I scowled at Dirk Dagger. Jerk Badger was more like it since he liked stupid rhymes so much. “I don’t spend a lot of time climbing cliffs. If I die, you’ll feel even more guilty than you already do.”
He gave me a smile that made his eyes light up. Yes, my dying was such a happy thought. Such a jerk, so why was my heart tingling?
He said, “It’s not a sheer face. If you hang onto the brush and pull yourself up, you’ll be fine. I’ll be right behind you in case you slip, which you won’t, because it’s a gentle incline.”
I looked up and maybe it wasn’t sheer, but there was nothing gentle about the jagged rocks. “I’m still recovering.” That was true, but I felt much better than you’d expect after only three days plus the time on the bus. Whatever Jezebel had given me was potent.
“The longer you take to get to the top, the longer our day will be. We’ve got six we’ve got to check on. Do you need a boost?” His brown eyes twinkled and he flexed his muscles.
Um. Wow. And the way he was looking at me above those sculpted arms was just… I took a step away from him, tripped on a rock and stumbled into the wall. I caught myself on the lip of a jutting rock and felt like an idiot. I was also going to die. I’d worked hard to overcome my fear of heights, but I didn’t walk around the edge of cliffs, much less climb them. It didn’t matter. I was climbing this one.
I forced myself forward and kept looking up, searching for hand holds while my feet fumbled for purchase. Jerk caught my foot and guided it into position three times before I made it to the top. Once I pulled myself over the lip, I rolled away from the edge and then lay spread-eagled, staring up at the bright blue sky while my heart raced too fast. What was I even doing? I stared into that sky and just tried to breathe normally. There was a paint color that unnatural shade of blue. Ultramarine. Boston skies were never that color, squeezed straight from the tube.
“That was terrible,” Jerk said, his head blocking out the sky.
“I hate you so much.” Oh yes, excellent seduction technique.
He grinned and held out a hand. “You should start with mild annoyance, build up to dislike and end with hate. The day has just begun and you are going to feel a lot more towards sunset. I didn’t have you climb up here so you could relax, I actually need two people. Come on, Pinkie.”
I hit his palm with mine and then gasped as he yanked me upright until I fell against him. He was so strong and his mouthlooked so soft as his warmth soaked into me, making me feel alive. I could touch him. Earlier must have been a fluke. Of course I was in control of my own body. I should take advantage of this closeness, I should lean closer, to touch him exactly how he’d… I shuddered and pulled away from him while my body went cold.
I stalked towards the metal pole rising out of the rock unable to look at him or the abyss at the bottom of the cliff. It was only twenty feet, so I probably wouldn’t die if I fell, but it was still too high. Why couldn’t I touch him with intention to seduce? Maybe it was just the day, the heights, being knocked out for three days by the crazy cowgirl.
“Brace it right here,” he said, gripping the bar with his gloved hands, arms on either side of me but not touching. I wanted him to touch me. I wanted to lean back into his chest and stop thinking about how I was supposed to seduce him. I stiffened up and gripped the bar, but the hot metal burned and I flinched away, backing against his chest. His arm was around me, palm against my belly and all of him capable of brute strength and power, but his hand was so gentle holding me secure. Heights and fear didn’t exist when I was in his arms.
I stopped breathing, just soaking in his warmth and strength until he dropped his hands and moved around the bar.
“Here.” He pulled a pair of pink gloves out of his belt and tossed them to me. I caught one, but had to retrieve the other one from the ground while he pulled a wrench out of the toolbelt slung around his lean waist. His pink t-shirt didn’t go with the manly toolbelt.
“What’s with the pink?” I asked, pulling on the perfectly fitting gloves and gripping the bar as he started twisting the joint just above my hands. Toni would say something suggestive that a desert brawler would find intriguing while I asked about hiscolor issues. Why was I so bad at this? I’d seduced Clint so easily, but this was all nightmare fodder.
“I could ask you the same question.” He frowned, focusing on his work so the cords in his neck pulled. A drop of sweat traveled from his temple down to his cheekbone. His high cheekbones were so sharp under that perfectly tanned skin. The drop of sweat beaded until he absently wiped it away with the back of his glove. Right. He’d asked me a question.
“Everyone knows that girls like pink,” I said, not noticing the color of his lips. I should slap myself before I really started drooling. I focused on his safe gloved hands and didn’t think about the feel of that hand on my stomach, except that I couldn’t help it, and my stomach flipped at the memory while my heart did that tingling thing. It was such a stupid small thing, but I couldn’t seem to forget about it. Also that drop of sweat. Maybe I still had sunstroke.
He said, “That’s your explanation. I like girls, and girl’s like pink, ergo, I’m more likely to attract girls if I wear the color they like.”
I shot him a look and realized that he was watching me, not his hands. The intention in his eyes made my thoughts tangle, or maybe it was the sun. Probably the sun. I smiled brightly at him. “So much logic. So little sense.”
