Down and Dirty

by Christine Bell

  earlier that weekend, and she wasn’t about to let it happen twice. She was nobody’s chicken.

  “Bet your ass I will. Let’s hear it.”

  “If the Pats win, I’ll join your dating site. If they lose,” his voice dropped, and his eyes went dark, “you go on a date with me.”

  Either the room went silent or the blood suddenly buzzing in her ears had rendered her deaf, because for a few seconds, she couldn’t hear shit. She could feel the weight of everyone’s eyes on her, though. She shifted in her seat, and opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. What the hell was going on here? One minute he was acting like he was cool with them keeping everything on the down low and moving on like it never happened, the next he was asking her out in front of everyone.

  “A date? What kind of date?” Galen asked, but they were saved from answering when Lacey elbowed him in the stomach.

  “Shh, mind your own business. This is getting interesting.”

  Cat ignored them, wholly focused on Shane now. “How do I know you’ll go out with anyone? Just joining the site isn’t really a big deal. Anyone can do that part.”

  He shrugged. “You can do for me what Rafe is letting Lacey do for him. Help me choose. Be my wingman, so to speak.”

  “Seriously?”

  Shane didn’t answer. Instead he kept his intense gaze trained on her. Clearly, he was dead serious. Everyone knew she was reckless, and backing away from a challenge went against the grain. The longer she stalled, the more awkward this was going to get.

  And the more obvious that something deeper was at play here.

  “Fine. Whatever.” She shrugged and swiped at some imaginary crumbs on her sweater. “On the off chance that the Pats blow this game, I guess I can stay awake through a meal with you. But you have to promise to go on at least five dates if you lose. If you’re not going to give it a real chance, it’s not worth it.”

  “Done.”

  With the bet set, everyone turned attention back to the game, although she could sense Galen’s sidelong glances flicking between her and Shane. No time to worry about it now, though. The Giants were marching steadily down the field, and Cat watched the action with bated breath, noting that everyone else seemed just as invested. Even Galen was up and pacing, and Lacey had taken to covering her eyes during key plays. Cat turned her attention back to the TV set just in time to see Eli flat on his back. Again.

  It was looking good for her and the Pats. Soon, she’d get to help find Shane a girlfriend. Hell, he could be happy and settled by spring.

  Exactly what she’d wanted, right?

  So why did the prospect of winning the bet suddenly feel a little like losing?

  …

  Shane sat back and watched the rest of the game, entirely unconcerned about the outcome.

  Of concern, though, were the dark, searching looks Galen was giving him. The opportunity had opened up and he’d taken it, but he’d also given his buddy a bead on his feelings for Cat, and he needed to prepare himself for the confrontation. If he knew his friend the way he thought he did, once Galen realized that he was as serious as a terrorist threat about his sister, he’d be okay with it. Cat’s carousel of a love life had been tough for her big brother to watch, and as long as he knew Shane wasn’t just trying to hop on for a quick ride, he’d give his blessing.

  If only convincing Cat would be that easy.

  She was a tough one. Although right now, she was looking anything but tough. She was a wreck. The Giants were at fourth and goal, and if they made it into the end zone, the game would go into overtime, giving them a chance to win.

  A minute later, the room erupted into boos and cheers simultaneously when Eli threw an incomplete pass, locking up the win for the Patriots and for Cat. He tried not to let her whooping and whistling bruise his ego.

  “All right, there we go. That’s what I’m talking about. Ladies and gents, introduce yourself to the newest member of MeetMyMate.com.” She waved a flourishing hand toward Shane. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure we clean him up before we put up his video. This is going to be fun.”

  He sure thought so, which was odd, because if someone had asked him an hour ago if he’d rather swim with sharks or join an online dating site, Jaws would have won, hands down. Now that he’d gotten a second taste of Cat, nothing was going to stop him from getting more.

  The women were chattering about his hair and what kinds of things he should say in his introduction video when he noticed Galen standing in the kitchen doorway, giving him the hairy eyeball. He jerked his head to the side, a clear invitation to join him on the down low.

  “I’m going to get a sandwich,” he announced, but neither of them paid him any mind.

  When he stepped through the doorway, Galen was leaning against the counter, arms akimbo. “So what’s the deal, man? Got something you want to tell me?”

  Shane weighed his options and decided to shoot from the hip. “Yeah, I guess I do. I’m into Cat. Have been for years, but never felt like the time was right or that she was ready to hear it. I want to be closer to friends and family, but I’m not going to lie. Part of the reason I decided to come back was to see if she was ready.”

  The tension in Galen’s jaw dissipated and he nodded slowly. “Okay. So what’s the plan?”

  “She definitely has some feelings for me. I think she’s going to need a little convincing to see things my way, but only because she’s Cat.” Shane crossed his arms over his chest. “Is this all going to be a problem for you?”

  Galen rubbed at his chin and then shook his head. “Not when you put it like that, I guess. But why didn’t you tell me before?”

  “You mean like when you asked me to take care of her while you went to college, and open a can of whoop-ass on any guy who touched her? Or do you mean during those long heart-to-hearts we used to have at sleepovers right before we did our nails and had a pillow fight? Come on, buddy. We’ve gone out drinking, took a couple trips, kayaked, played racquetball, hell, even sparred together, but we don’t do a whole lot of deep-feeling swaps. Do you remember how you told me that you and Lacey were together?”

  Galen shrugged a beefy shoulder. “Not exactly.”

  “You called me up and said, ‘Hey, me and Lacey are getting married but we haven’t nailed down the date yet.’ Before that, I hadn’t heard shit about you two. I didn’t say anything about Cat because there was nothing to tell. Now there is.”

  His friend snorted and grinned. “I guess. Okay, so what now? Why the dating site? Now she’s going to be focused on hooking you up with other chicks. Seems ass-backward.”

  “I’ll get to spend a lot of alone time with her. Not to mention, she’s going to be shining me up some, putting my best foot forward, so to speak. Maybe she’ll find she doesn’t much like the idea of having to send me out into the world of adoring females.”

  Galen cracked out a laugh and pushed off the counter. “Good luck with that, man. You’re going to need it. If she’s got her mind made up, it’ll take hell freezing over to change it.” He clapped Shane on the shoulder as he passed on his way back to the living room. “On the real, though? There’s no one I’d rather see her with. You’re my brother already, but it’d be nice to make it legit.”

  Shane stayed in the kitchen a minute longer, sawing off a hunk of sandwich he didn’t want and slapping it on a paper plate. Galen’s blessing had lifted that last bit of weight off his chest, leaving him free to do whatever he had to do to get Cat to wake the fuck up and see what was right in front of her. His friend had been dead-on in one respect, though. The thing with a bullheaded woman like Cat was to make her think it was her idea. Best way to do that? Stick with the plan, and let her do the chasing.

  He scooped up his plate and a bottled water and was about to join the group when Cat came barreling in, coat in hand.

  “If you’re going to drive me then let’s go.” She tapped an exasperated toe on the tile floor.

  “What are you talking about?”

&n
bsp; “Lacey and I went shopping earlier and came straight back here, so I don’t have my car. Galen was going to take me home, but he said he’s had too much to drink and that you were taking me.”

  “Ah, okay. Let me just say my goodbyes and stick this in a to-go bag.”

  The toe percussion slowed to a waltz tempo and her annoyed expression faltered. “Did he not even ask you?”

  “He didn’t mention it, no, but it’s not a problem. I go right by your place.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I thought you put him up to it.”

  “Nope. I would have liked to give it a shot between us, but you clearly have your mind made up, so why waste my time? Come on, I’ll drop you home and we can talk about when we should get together to do this dating site thing. I’m hot to get started.”

  He was hot all right. Probably from his pants being on fire after that laundry list of lies he’d just fed her. He refused to feel guilty, though. He was going to wring every last drop out of their time together and hope that deep down she wanted him enough to find she hated the idea of him with someone else.

  She seemed to accept what he said at face value and waited by the door while he said his good-byes. A few minutes later, they were in his rental truck and pulling out of the driveway.

  “It’s supposed to snow day after tomorrow,” she said, tracing the icy condensation on the passenger window with a gloved fingertip.

  “Yeah, I heard that. Glad I bought my parents that snowblower last year. I’ll be able to clear it out quick. Being stuck inside makes me feel caged.”

  “Me, too. That’s the worst. Especially on vacation days. I’ve got some things planned that I have to cross off my list, but I may have to fit in a skiing day, too, if it’s looking good out there.”

  “Still working off that list, huh?”

  The question hung heavy between them, and he wondered if she remembered the night she’d told him about her bucket list as vividly as he did.

  It was a Saturday in September. The Indian summer had gifted them with a balmy night, and everyone was hanging by the bonfire in the backyard of Bobby Boyd’s lake house.

  Everyone except for Cat.

  One minute she was there, the next she was gone. He’d searched the yard for her, then the house, but no luck. He had just started getting worried when he saw Lacey peering toward the lake while chewing her bottom lip.

  “Spill it, munchkin,” he demanded.

  She looked up in his general direction but wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Spill what?”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking down toward the lake. “Is she with a guy or alone?” He wasn’t sure which answer he wanted to hear at that moment. Both sucked.

  Lacey swallowed hard and leaned in to whisper. “Alone. But she told me not to tell you where she was. It’s just, she’s been gone a while and I’m getting nervous.”

  Nervousness was an almost perpetual state for Lacey, so that in itself wasn’t cause for concern, but a young woman in the lake at night was. She could swim out too far and get a cramp, or some asshole could take her solitude as an invitation. “I’m going to check on her. And don’t worry. I won’t tell her you said anything.”

  When he’d finally made his way to the spit of beach down the path, it was to find her standing ankle-deep in the water, wearing only her bra and underwear. He’d nearly swallowed his tongue.

  “Figures. Lacey Drawers couldn’t keep her trap shut, huh?” She didn’t sound mad. More teasing than anything. “I told her if she was so worried, she should come with me, but that didn’t work. She said we could skinny-dip next time we go to our lake cottage, but really, when are we ever left alone long enough to do that?” She turned to face him, full on in the buttery moonlight, and the breath stuck in his chest. “Still, the water looks almost black, and my imagination started running away with me.”

  He finally peeled the tongue from the roof of his mouth to speak. “You shouldn’t be here by yourself, Mary Catherine. It’s dangerous.”

  “Well, it would seem I’m not by myself after all, wouldn’t it now, Decker?” She gave him the smile that never ceased to make his gut ache and started forward into the water.

  He stepped in after her without hesitation, warm water lapping at his ankles and filling his sneakers.

  “Don’t.”

  “I’ve got to.” She shrugged her bare, white shoulders. “It’s on my bucket list.”

  “What bucket list?” He asked, tearing his gaze from her satin-covered breasts. “That’s for old people.”

  “It’s for people who have things they want to make sure to experience before they die, and I’ve got a long one.”

  She hadn’t stopped moving and was ten feet out now, up to her hips. He bit back a curse. “And let me guess, annoying the shit out of your brother’s best friend is number one?”

  Even then, she’d seen it. Known that annoyance was the least of the things he felt for her, at least that night. Her slow smile sent hormones screeching through his veins like a crazed banshee.

  A low cough from the passenger’s seat jarred him back to the present. He snuck a look to his right to see Cat toying with the belt of her coat. “Uh, yeah. Still working my way through the bucket list, albeit with some adjustments. I crossed out ‘marry Justin Timberlake’ and changed it to ‘Ryan Gosling.’ And erased ‘move to Turkey and buy a monkey’ altogether. You know, stuff like that.”

  Her voice was strained, so he opted to go along and play it light.

  “Good call. I think he’s married now anyway, and I hear monkeys are a pain in the ass. I hate to take up too much of your vacation, though, if you had plans. Are you sure you’ll have time to do this dating site thing for me?”

  “No, no. I want to!” Her rushed reassurance might have bruised his ego if it didn’t seem so over the top. “And most of my plans are later in the week. Tomorrow and the next day are unwinding days. I just finished designing a collection and need to decompress before I start the next one. You free late tomorrow afternoon? I can come by your parents’ house.”

  His lips quirked at the words she didn’t say, but he heard loud and clear. You know, your parents’ house. Where your parents are and we won’t have to be alone.

  Good. Making her nervous was very, very good.

  “Sure, sounds perfect. Don’t eat. You know my mom loves to feed people.”

  She adjusted her seat and seemed to settle in more comfortably. “Score. I love a free, mom-cooked meal.”

  The hum of the heater was the only noise for the rest of the five-minute drive, but the silence was more companionable. He imagined she was pleased with how things were shaping up and was busy mentally dressing him for tomorrow’s photo shoot. Which was sort of ironic, since he was pretty fucking satisfied with the way things were going, too, and mentally undressing her.

  The short leather coat she wore belted at the waist accentuated the fact that she was stacked both in the front and in the back, and he allowed himself to imagine that she wore nothing but the coat and those boots for him. That if he leaned over and tugged that leather bow, she would be unwrapped. An early birthday present. The sides of her coat would fall open—along with those creamy white thighs—and he’d have an unobstructed view of the sweet, round tits that he’d gotten to touch but not see. He’d—

  “Slow down, my turn’s next, remember?” she said, giving his arm a tap and jarring him back to reality. “Jeez, you’ve been away so long you don’t remember where I live?”

  “Sorry, I was daydreaming.” And that little fantasy was costing him. He shifted in his seat in an effort to ease the pressure his jeans were exerting on the mother of all boners. One thing was for sure, there was no way he was getting a wink of sleep tonight unless he jerked off. Man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

  When they pulled up to Cat’s tiny ranch a minute later, she turned to him. “Thanks a lot for the ride…and also for the whole Heimlich thing. It could’ve been really bad. I’m really glad you were the
re.”

  He didn’t meet her gaze, sure the truth was plain on his face. That had scared the shit out of him. “Yeah, me, too. Come on, let’s get you inside,” he said, swinging open his door.

  “Oh, Shane, you don’t need to walk me up,” she called after him when he stepped out of the car.

  “It’s late and dark and the ground’s covered in ice. You didn’t even leave your light on. Just come on.”

  She got out, and he rounded the car to her side, slamming the door behind her. It got him close enough to smell the citrus in her hair, which had his already-primed body tightening even further.

  They walked side-by-side up the narrow walkway, arms brushing with each step. When they got to her porch he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Try to get some sleep. You look tired.”

  “Want me full of energy so I can pimp you right tomorrow, huh?” she said with a tight smile.

  He nodded. “Something like that.”

  She started up the stairs and he turned to go, but a muffled oath had him whipping back around just in time to see her scrabbling for the railing. Too late. Her feet flew out from under her, and she went down like a bag of rocks. He managed to catch her from behind around the waist and stop her from hitting her chin on the concrete, but barely.

  She hissed in a breath then exhaled a “Motherfucker!”

  His heart thudded in his chest, and he lifted her gently to her feet, taking the brunt of her weight. “Did you break anything?”

  She peered down in the moonlight with a mournful nod. “My Seven jeans.”

  Blood welled up under a jagged tear just above the knee, and he wanted to shake her. “Who cares about the jeans. Does anything hurt?”

  “My wallet’s going to hurt when I have to replace those jeans,” she quipped weakly. She was playing the tough guy, but there was no mistaking the wince on her pale face when she pulled away from his grasp and tried to stand on her own.

  “Shit, I’m so sorry, Cat. Lot of good I did, walking you up and then letting you fall down the stairs.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. I was bound and determined to go down, I guess. I’m just glad you caught me and saved my teeth. That could’ve been really ugly.”

  He held her arm, leading her the rest of the way up. “Do you have any rock salt to melt the ice? Wouldn’t want you falling down the steps again in the morning.”

  “I don’t think so.” She held out her hands and frowned at her torn gloves. “Guess it’s a good thing I had these on, too.”

  “Yeah, it’s your lucky day, and it’s about to get even better. I’m coming inside, and you’re getting at least half-naked so I can see that knee.”

  She paused, hand on the doorknob, to glare at him. “Why do you need to see it? I’m a grown woman and more than capable of taking care of it myself.”

  “You’re going to let me look at that knee, or I’m going to bend you over mine.”

  The thought came with a mental snapshot that momentarily derailed his altruism, but he managed to tamp it down fast. She still stared up at him suspiciously.

  “Cat, you’re being ridiculous. I’m pretty sure I can handle the sight of you in your underwear without losing my shit.”

  Lie. He wasn’t sure of that at all, but he needed to see that she took care of that cut, and he wasn’t about to let her stop him. “I want to clean it so I can get a good look. See if you need stitches. Your brother would deck me if I left you like this and you got lockjaw or something. Although you unable to jabber might not be so terrible,” he added just loud enough for her to hear.

  She scowled at him but opened the door. “Fine. But I’m telling you right now, I’m not going to the ER for a tetanus shot no matter what. I hate them. They hurt for like a month,” she said with a sniff and stepped into the foyer.

  He sincerely hoped she didn’t need one, since throwing her over his shoulder and dragging her to the ER could seriously hurt his chances of seeing her naked anytime soon. He said a silent prayer to the wound gods and followed her inside.

  Chapter Five

  Well, this is a grim way to end the evening, Cat thought bitterly. The scrape on her leg was stinging like the blazes, but her injured pride stung worse. Two times in one night, she’d managed to both humiliate herself and require rescuing. She may have mentally relegated him to the friend zone, but the rest of her hadn’t gotten the memo, and she was fairly mortified at having horked up nut-chunks and taken a dive down the stairs in front of him. That her favorite jeans had succumbed during battle only made it worse.

  Now, she sat on her toilet seat in bedtime boxers and a sweatshirt while Shane squatted in front of her, rubbing what felt like acid-treated shards of glass into her wound. “Shit, ouch!” She tried to pull away, but he had a firm grasp on her calf, pinning her in place.

  “Stop moving.” His tone was clipped and commanding. She wondered if that worked on the people he usually rescued because it wasn’t doing shit for her.

  “Stop torturing me, and I’ll stop moving,” she said through clenched teeth, gripping the sides of the bowl tighter when he only increased his efforts. “Seriously, is this fucking necessary? My butcher has gentler hands.”

  “Your butcher handles dead meat, so he can afford to be gentle. I’m trying to get the grime out of this scrape so it doesn’t get infected. Now will you shut up for a second and let me concentrate?”

  She bit her lip and turned her head when hot tears sprang to her eyes. What