Page 60 of Cowboy's Last Stand
“I have to pick up Marcus,” she said after a pause.
“Go ahead,” he croaked.He needed to be alone, to stand here and breathe until he returned to a more relaxed state.
She hesitated for another moment as if she couldn’t drag herself away.He felt her gaze on his back, his muscles bunched with tension, but he didn’t glance over his shoulder at her.One look would be his undoing.He pictured her parted lips and topaz eyes, hair a dark halo around her head.His fingernails dug into his palms with the effort to stand still.She finally climbed down from the sink and left.
Jason didn’t take another breath until she was outside the apartment.He listened to her nimble footsteps on the wooden staircase.Her swift, graceful motions contrasted sharply with his current state.He was molten iron, burning to the core.He couldn’t have walked anywhere.Maybe he’d found the cure to his wanderlust—regular lust.
Groaning, he rested his forearm on the towel rack.The metal felt chilled against his hot skin.He needed to climb into the shower stall and stand under the cold spray, but he couldn’t.He’d turned the damned water off.
Chapter Thirteen
Natalie pulled onher sweatshirt before she drove away.
She didn’t bother to change out of her wet shirt.She wasn’t cold.She might never be cold again after that sizzling make-out session.When she pulled into her regular parking spot at the library, she rested her head against the steering wheel with a low groan.
So much for keeping her distance.
One minute, she’d been spitting mad and soaked to the skin.Then she’d seen him without his shirt on, and her brain had short-circuited.He’d stared at her like he’d wanted to feast on her body.After a few kisses, she’d completely lost her mind.If he hadn’t paused to take a breath, she might not have come to her senses.
She still had the taste of him in her mouth.Her palms tingled from the contact with his bare chest, and desire pulsed between her legs.She’d felt his arousal pressing hard against her, proof that his manhood was in excellent working condition.She hadn’t really doubted it.There was too much heat between them, and he exuded masculine vitality.She just couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with him.
Maybe it was her own relationship anxiety projected onto him.Her life had been a series of hardships.Her husband had died young.The experience had nearly destroyed her.She had good reasons to be wary of a passionate affair with Jason.
She got out of her car and walked the four blocks to Marcus’s school.He was on time today, his jacket hanging out of his backpack.He chattered about a new class pet, a green lizard in a glass terrarium.
“I get to feed him next week,” Marcus exclaimed.
Natalie listened with one ear, distracted by the afternoon’s events.It occurred to her that she didn’t feel guilty about the interlude.She felt giddy.Kissing Jason might have been a mistake, but she couldn’t wait to do it again.She strode down the sun-dappled path with Marcus’s hand in hers, unable to suppress a smile.
When they reached her car, she opened the door for Marcus and made sure he buckled up in his booster seat.As she approached the driver’s side, she noticed a piece of paper stuck under her windshield wiper.Probably an advertisement for something she didn’t want.She grabbed the flyer with reluctance.The trash cans were too far away to bother, and she couldn’t litter in good conscience.She climbed behind the wheel, intending to toss it in the passenger seat.Then she realized it was a personal note.
She unfolded the glossy yellow paper and read the message inside.There was a picture of an old-fashioned bomb that appeared to have been cut out from a comic book, along with four mismatched letters.They’d been pasted into a jarring caption: BOOM!
“What is it, Mama?”
“Nothing,” she said, crumpling the note.“Just trash.”She shoved the ball of paper into the glove compartment and glanced around the busy parking lot.Patrons traveled to and from the library entrance.There were mothers with children and seniors carrying stacks of books.No one appeared out of the ordinary.
Natalie knew there wasn’t an explosive device attached to her car.She’d only been parked here ten minutes.Billy didn’t have the stealth or expertise to plant a real bomb.The note was right up his alley, however.It was a juvenile, low-tech attempt to intimidate her.Even so, she was disturbed by the ghoulish message.
She wondered if Billy was watching.Now she felt the chill of her wet clothes penetrating the layer of her sweatshirt.Her skin broke out in gooseflesh as she turned on the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.
When they arrived home, she changed her shirt and busied herself with a series of chores.She considered calling Wade or telling Jason about the note, but she decided against it.Billy was only trying to rattle her cage.Why give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d succeeded?She was also worried about Jason’s reaction.He’d threatened to kill Billy during their physical altercation.
She considered the possibility that Billy had ulterior motives beyond instilling fear.Maybe he was trying to instigate another fight with Jason or exact some kind of revenge on him.Billy wasn’t the type to forgive or forget.
“Can I say hi to Jason?”Marcus asked.
“Not right now,” she said.“He’s busy.”
“I want to do tai chi.”
“I’ll do it with you.”
“You?”
“Why not?I’ve been watching.”
He raced to the living room to start the DVD.They stood side by side, barefoot, and attempted the martial arts motions.It was harder than she’d thought.Marcus had improved his form, but he still had moments of wild kicks and chops.Natalie ignored him and tried to mimic the instructor.She enjoyed the challenge of it and the intense focus required.By the time the video ended, she had a fine sheen of sweat on her skin.
