At the moment, however, she looked real cranky.
“I was helping like you asked.”
“You were being a dick,” she said while looking down at the giant watch on her wrist. “And you were enjoying every damn second of being a—oh, my God! I’ve gotta go.”
She ran to the corner and hailed a cab, but before she stepped inside, she ran back over to him.
“One other thing.”
“Yeah?”
She slid her hand under his jacket and twisted his nipple until his eyes watered.
“Touch my tits again without permission and I’ll rip this off.” She glanced at her watch again. “Ach! Now I really do have to go.”
Jessie turned and ran back toward the waiting cab. Sure, Smitty could have let her go, but to be honest, he’d never been so damn entertained by a woman before. “So how do I get permission?”
She spun around, jumping back when she realized he stood right behind her. “Stop sneaking up on me! And you don’t get permission.”
“Why not? You said I was pretty.”
“Look, Smitty, while I appreciate your doglike persistence, you need to know that nothing you do or say will change my mind about this. You’re part of my past and these days I’m all about my future. I don’t have time or room in my life for you and your casual chats. Understand?”
“Sure.”
“Good.”
“’Cause I always love a challenge.”
He’d caught her with that when she was halfway in the cab. With one foot in and the other still braced against the curb, she stared at him. “What challenge?”
“You’re challenging me to get you back into my life.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Your exact words were ‘I challenge you, Bobby Ray Smith, to get me back into your life.’”
“I never said that.”
“That’s what I heard.” The beauty of wolf hearing. You only heard what you wanted to, made up what was never said but should have been, and the rest meant little or nothing.
“Is there something wrong with you? Mentally?”
“Darlin’, you met my family. You’ve gotta be more specific than that.”
“That’s it. I’m leaving. I can’t have this conversation with you. I can’t—”
He saw it immediately. The way her entire body tensed, her eyes focusing across the busy city street, locking on something in the distance. She went from exasperated to on point in less than five seconds.
“What’s wrong, Jessie?” He followed her line of sight but didn’t see anything that stuck out to him.
“Nothing,” she said, her eyes still staring across the street. “I need to go.” She went up on her toes and absently kissed him on his cheek. He’d bet cash she wouldn’t even remember she did it.
She stepped into her cab and closed the door. She didn’t look back at him, didn’t acknowledge him in any way. That wasn’t like her. Even if it was to give him the finger, she’d do or say something before driving off.
Smitty turned and stared at the spot Jessie’d been staring at. But he still saw nothing that made him feel tense or worried.
So what the hell had worried his little Jessie Ann?
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Copyright © 2008 by Susan Johnson
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At Her Service Page 29