worry, Miles. I’m good at gettingmoney when I need to. Everything will be fine.” This time she said good-bye before hanging up. She shut the phone and sank slowly onto the curb.
Bootstraps or no, her anxiety must have shown, for Jack approached, stopping a few feet away. “Anything I can do?”
She revved herself up enough to say, “It’s my problem, not yours, and you had no business listening, and if you were a decent human being, you’d let my private conversations be just that—private.”
“I mean it. If there’s something I can do to help—”
“Stop it! You don’t owe me anything.”
“It’s got nothing to do with owing you,” he said. “If you need help—”
“I don’t,” she gritted. “It’s my problem and I’ll deal with it.”
He blew out a long breath. “Right.” He lowered himself beside her. “Now, about tonight.”
So, Titania was involved. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Violet’s little game made sense now. What a delicious revenge, to have Jack help foil her archenemy. He had no problem appreciating the humor in that.
Except that Rose was involved as well. Violet should be thrashed for endangering her, and his blood boiled at the thought of Rose anywhere near Titania. Jesus. Rose would be safer sleeping with Dufray, whom she found so attractive. Sweet, she’d called him.
Wait. Why in hell was he jealous of Dufray, when he had no intention of succumbing to Rose’s charms himself? He needed to explain himself to her, though. She’d taken everything wrong, but when she’d licked her fangs, he’d gone totally blank.
Rose had lovely fangs, tiny and sharp, gleaming white on either side of her sweet pink tongue. Moist, delicious lips, glorious breasts, and in the women’s showers, she’d beenright to undress behind the curtain. He wouldn’t have been able to prevent himself from scanning her luscious curves.
No.
He forced his mind away from the sex bomb beside him and let his gaze roam across the bookstore parking lot, past the burger joint on the other side of the road to the sun setting behind a stand of pines. At least Rose hadn’t jumped up and stomped away the moment he approached her. She sat hunched over a little—a crying shame for such a tall, vibrant woman—looking utterly dejected. He longed to put an arm around her, pull her close, and tell her everything would be all right. Wished he could borrow Gil’s soothing voice, so she would believe him, so she would feel safe and confide in him.
How the hell was he supposed to protect a woman who couldn’t stand him?
“It’ll be dark soon,” he said. “I promised Linda Dell I wouldn’t go near her place, so I couldn’t risk it in daylight. Too many neighbors might have caught a glimpse of me, and even if I had a tranquilizer gun they would have noticed the dogs were out cold, so I—”
“What dogs?”
“The woman next door has two yappy dachshunds. I’m surprised Linda’s husband hasn’t killed them by now.”
“You’d shoot tranquilizer darts into two helpless little dogs?”
“They’re not helpless. They’re fierce little devils. The tranq doesn’t do any long-term damage, and there’s no other way to shut them up. Also, there’s no cover in front of the house and damned little at the rear.” He grimaced into the sunset. “Linda won’t sleep at night unless she thinks she’s disappeared without a trace.”
“So why did she pick this bookstore? Why not Wal-Mart or some other place where she’d be lost in the crowd?”
Jack shrugged. “Everybody has their own weird logic. Ineed to go to her house and take a look. She probably chickened out, but since we’ve come this far, I have to make sure. Give me the keys to the van and I’ll take care of it.”
“No,” Rose said. “I don’t trust you any more than you trust me.”
“I do trust you,” Jack said. “What I said back there at the truck stop…It was completely unwarranted. I should be
Bootstraps or no, her anxiety must have shown, for Jack approached, stopping a few feet away. “Anything I can do?”
She revved herself up enough to say, “It’s my problem, not yours, and you had no business listening, and if you were a decent human being, you’d let my private conversations be just that—private.”
“I mean it. If there’s something I can do to help—”
“Stop it! You don’t owe me anything.”
“It’s got nothing to do with owing you,” he said. “If you need help—”
“I don’t,” she gritted. “It’s my problem and I’ll deal with it.”
He blew out a long breath. “Right.” He lowered himself beside her. “Now, about tonight.”
So, Titania was involved. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Violet’s little game made sense now. What a delicious revenge, to have Jack help foil her archenemy. He had no problem appreciating the humor in that.
Except that Rose was involved as well. Violet should be thrashed for endangering her, and his blood boiled at the thought of Rose anywhere near Titania. Jesus. Rose would be safer sleeping with Dufray, whom she found so attractive. Sweet, she’d called him.
Wait. Why in hell was he jealous of Dufray, when he had no intention of succumbing to Rose’s charms himself? He needed to explain himself to her, though. She’d taken everything wrong, but when she’d licked her fangs, he’d gone totally blank.
Rose had lovely fangs, tiny and sharp, gleaming white on either side of her sweet pink tongue. Moist, delicious lips, glorious breasts, and in the women’s showers, she’d beenright to undress behind the curtain. He wouldn’t have been able to prevent himself from scanning her luscious curves.
No.
He forced his mind away from the sex bomb beside him and let his gaze roam across the bookstore parking lot, past the burger joint on the other side of the road to the sun setting behind a stand of pines. At least Rose hadn’t jumped up and stomped away the moment he approached her. She sat hunched over a little—a crying shame for such a tall, vibrant woman—looking utterly dejected. He longed to put an arm around her, pull her close, and tell her everything would be all right. Wished he could borrow Gil’s soothing voice, so she would believe him, so she would feel safe and confide in him.
How the hell was he supposed to protect a woman who couldn’t stand him?
“It’ll be dark soon,” he said. “I promised Linda Dell I wouldn’t go near her place, so I couldn’t risk it in daylight. Too many neighbors might have caught a glimpse of me, and even if I had a tranquilizer gun they would have noticed the dogs were out cold, so I—”
“What dogs?”
“The woman next door has two yappy dachshunds. I’m surprised Linda’s husband hasn’t killed them by now.”
“You’d shoot tranquilizer darts into two helpless little dogs?”
“They’re not helpless. They’re fierce little devils. The tranq doesn’t do any long-term damage, and there’s no other way to shut them up. Also, there’s no cover in front of the house and damned little at the rear.” He grimaced into the sunset. “Linda won’t sleep at night unless she thinks she’s disappeared without a trace.”
“So why did she pick this bookstore? Why not Wal-Mart or some other place where she’d be lost in the crowd?”
Jack shrugged. “Everybody has their own weird logic. Ineed to go to her house and take a look. She probably chickened out, but since we’ve come this far, I have to make sure. Give me the keys to the van and I’ll take care of it.”
“No,” Rose said. “I don’t trust you any more than you trust me.”
“I do trust you,” Jack said. “What I said back there at the truck stop…It was completely unwarranted. I should be
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