Page 10 of Cowboy of Convenience
Grady grunted in acknowledgment, but that was the extent of his response. He opened her car door, waiting for her to get in and buckle up before closing her in. He patted on the roof of her SUV before going back to his car and backing up. She did the same, passing him to take the lead as they headed back into town.
By the time she was pulling up to the tiny bungalow she rented from her next-door neighbor Dianna, the warmth of her dirty thoughts was finally starting to cool and her plan to put Grady back in his little policeman shaped box so she could set him on a high shelf was back to sounding brilliant. She didn’t come to Moss Creek to find a man. Quite the opposite actually. She’d tried using men. Over and over. It did her no good, so there was no place for one in whatever plan she concocted next.
But Grady wasn't making it easy.
Evelyn parked in front of the teeny tiny garage her SUV didn't even come close to fitting in and climbed out, ready to leave Grady with a handshake and a final goodbye. Or maybe she'd get lucky and he would just cruise past, making at least the last bit of her night easy to deal with.
She watched as he pulled in behind her, refusing to acknowledge the twinge of excitement in her belly when he put his car in park and climbed out. Her breath caught in her lungs as he came closer, each step punctuated by the sharp beat of her heart. She was barely breathing by the time he stopped in front of her, his height forcing her to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. "Thank you again for helping me out tonight." She wiggled her fingers, working up the motivation to shove her hand between them to offer the friendliest sort of gesture she could think of.
But Grady came closer, his big body thwarting her already somewhat shaky intentions as he leaned into her ear. "I think we might have a little problem." His words were low and deep in her ear. The warmth of his breath skating over her skin raised goosebumps all the way down to her toes, making them curl inside her shoes.
She'd never been seduced before. Normally she was the seductress. The one propositioning men, inviting them back to her place for a quick, and frequently unfulfilling, evening. An evening that always ended before the sun came up.
She could easily see how a woman could be seduced by a man like Grady. He’d barely even touched her, and if he asked to come inside she'd be hard-pressed to turn him down.
But she would have to figure out a way to do exactly that.
Evelyn swallowed hard. "What’s the problem?"
Grady inched in a little more, one hand coming to rest against the small of her back, staying a little higher than she would have expected given he seemed to be gunning for an invitation into her house.
And possibly her bed.
"What is it?" Her voice was breathy and weak, giving away how affected she was by his nearness. His touch.
It was yet another thing that never happened to her. Men had never been anything more than a tool. A useless one at that. But she didn’t want to use Grady, and it was currently serving as the cherry at the top of her problem sundae.
"It seems like your friend might not have left town after all." Grady caught her hand, lifting it to loop one arm around his neck. "His car’s parked right across the street. He's leaning against it watching us."
Evelyn’s whole body tensed. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“I wish I was.” Grady pulled her a little closer as the sound of expensive Italian leather slapping against asphalt sent her stomach turning. His hand smoothed up and down her spine in slow sweeps. “Just relax.”
Easy for him to say. He didn’t know just how bad of a thing Sasha showing up here was. And hopefully he’d never find out. She didn’t want Grady to know just how sordid her past was. How dysfunctional of a life she led before coming to Moss Creek.
It was a ridiculous desire but was one, nonetheless.
“Well, well, well.” Sasha’s whiny voice made her cringe almost as much as the puff of cigarette smoke he blew out as he stood beside them. “Looks like you’re my new neighbor.”
CHAPTER FOUR
GRADY
THIS NIGHT WAS either going really wrong or really fucking right.
Maybe a little of both considering the way Evelyn was staring at Sasha, eyes full of panic and fear. Whoever this guy was, she was nowhere near happy to see him.
And while his intentions when he claimed her weren’t strictly noble, she seemed relieved by the outcome. He didn’t hate it either since it landed her so close.
And it didn’t look like that would be ending anytime soon.
"You two always loiter in front of your house like this?" Sasha leveled them with a repulsed gaze. "I’d threaten to file a report with the local PD, but I'm guessing that won’t get me very far in a place like this, will it?"
The prick was working hard at picking a fight. Writing checks Grady was confident this underfed, over inflated prick wouldn't be able to cash.
It didn't matter. He was happy to play this game because somehow he’d managed to end up with Evelyn close to him yet again, her sweet scent pressing into his uniform. She moved in a little closer, clinging to him like her life depended on it, holding on as if he could save her from whatever this was.
Lucky for her, he probably could. And he would do it happily. He needed something good in his life right now and he’d always had a thing for saving damsels in distress.
