by Abby Green
* * *
Johnny saluted Candy as she left the bar, her day shift over. He liked her but guessed that for all of her talk, she’d happily break both his legs if he so much as harmed a hair on Ashling’s head.
He looked to where Ashling stood now, at the end of the bar writing something into a ledger. Her hair was dark gold and long and wavy and wild. Exactly how he’d imagined it would be, falling between her shoulder blades. She hadn’t put on her Sullivan’s T-shirt yet and was wearing a lacy smock-type shirt that came to just above the waistband of her jeans, showing off her small waist and tantalizing slivers of smooth golden skin. Cute and edgy at the same time. Just the way he liked it.
The bar was still empty, and at that moment she turned her head and looked at him, eyes wide and blue. For a second she reminded Johnny of a wild animal, beautiful and poised to run, and he felt the kick of adrenaline at the thought of chasing her. Even as, somewhere deep in a place he hadn’t explored in a long time, warning bells rang, because this was unprecedented.
Up till now women had been easy diversions for him, very much on the periphery as he patched his life back together. This felt dangerous because for the first time in a long time his life was back on track, and he sensed that Ashling was anything but easy. Not to mention the fact of who she was.
This was a recipe for disaster. Exactly the kind of thing his older sister, Mary, would have accused him of doing. Looking after his own needs and not giving a damn about anyone else.
All of a sudden Johnny felt incredibly weary. As if he’d been running for a long time and just wanted to lie down and rest for a while. He shouldn’t be here. Chasing Ashling Sullivan, who was, frankly, out of bounds.
But then she turned to face him fully, and something about her was different now. She still looked wild and beautiful, but in her eyes there was an almost belligerent expression. As if telling him silently to back off. And just like that, any hint of a conscience dissolved in a rush of heat.
He wanted her too much to back off, and the sense of danger about it was exhilarating, not debilitating.
She shook her head, frowning slightly. “Why are you doing this, helping me?”
Johnny pushed the darkness down deep. He smiled. “Would you believe me if I said I had a quota of good deeds to fulfill?”
She crossed her arms, but a hint of a smile played around her lush mouth. “You? Good deeds? Not in a million years.”
It was as if she saw through to a dark part of him, but it didn’t sting. He read something cynical in the depths of those blue eyes, and it eased something inside him. She was no wide-eyed ingenue. She was experienced.
Because he couldn’t not move over to her, Johnny went and stood close, noticing how she just tipped up her chin, even as her arms tightened fractionally over her chest. He swatted his conscience away easily. Too easily.
“I’m doing this because I want to, because you need the help. And also because I want you and I think it’s mutual.”
He slid his hand around the back of her neck. Her hair felt like silk on his hands. She stepped back out of his reach and his body protested.
“Even if it was mutual it’s not going to happen.”
Johnny snorted indelicately and put his hands on his hips to stop himself from reaching for her again. “If?”
She flushed a little, and he knew she was thinking of that moment last night when she’d looked ready to climb over the bar to get to him. He cursed himself for having mentioned Caitlin at that moment and then pushed aside his conscience. Again. He was good at that, he thought a little bleakly.
Ashling uncrossed her arms and mirrored his stance with her hands on her hips. “If nothing, Johnny. I’ve come back to New York for a new start and a new career. The agenda does not include hooking up with a guy.”
Johnny quirked a brow. “There’s an agenda?”
Now she looked pissy. “Yes, there’s an agenda, and nowhere on this agenda does it say have sex with Johnny Ryan.”
Johnny tried to stop his mouth from twitching, sensing Ashling wasn’t far from kicking him out of the bar completely. “Is this written in stone?”
“Practically. I made a pact with my best friend—no men. Not until we’ve set ourselves up.”
Johnny leaned back against the bar. Why would she have done that? None of his business, he assured himself quickly, pushing down the curiosity. Christ but she was cute when she was riled. He wanted to rile her some more. “And did you seal this bargain with a BFF pinkie promise?”
He could practically see steam coming out of her ears now as she glared at him. She stepped forward then and poked a sharp little finger into his chest, eyes spitting blue fire. “Just back off, Johnny. I mean it.”
He looked down at her and felt as if he was drowning. The air crackled between them. And there was no way in hell Johnny was backing off, because he sensed her weakening in spite of her belligerence. Something caught his peripheral vision then and he said softly, “Customer, behind you. And we’ll discuss this later.”
Chapter Five
We’ll discuss this later. I was still seething at the arrogance of that pronouncement a few hours later even as every blood vessel in my body seemed to be fizzing with anticipation. It didn’t help that I was aware of every tiny move Johnny made as we moved around each other behind the bar. Every glance, every gesture.
I’d never realized how intimate it was to work behind a bar with someone. It was like a dance.
When our bodies touched off one another even minutely the air seemed to vibrate between us. It was a miracle I hadn’t dropped every glass and messed up every order. And even despite all that, I recognized that we worked well together. And that once again I would have been slammed without his help. Not that I was about to thank him for it.
Finally, after what felt like dealing with a hurricane, there was a lull. I leaned against the back bar and took a long drink of cold, fizzy cola and found my gaze lingering almost lazily on Johnny as he bent and stretched to put glasses in the washer. He stood up, that long powerful body uncoiling with all the grace of a jungle cat, and something inside me seemed to weaken, fatally. And then he turned to look at me.
Damn.
He prowled toward me, slinging the cloth over his shoulder. It should have made him look ridiculous. It didn’t. I scowled.
He remarked cheerfully, “You know, if the wind changes your face will stay like that.”
I couldn’t help my mouth from twitching at one side. My father had always used to say that. Johnny rested alongside me, too close. But I wasn’t going to move and show him he affected me. I could feel the tiny hairs on my arms standing straight up, though, as if reaching toward him.
I felt him looking at me, seeing my small smile. “That’s better,” he said approvingly. A lick of heat went straight to my solar plexus.
“So, tell me more about this agenda of yours.”
The question was casual. I shot Johnny a glance but he was checking that the last customers at the bar were occupied before he looked back to me.
I sighed and folded my arms. “I’m setting up a business with my friend Jenna.”
“She of the no-men pact?”
“We of the no-men pact,” I corrected primly. Why the hell had I let that slip out anyway? It must make us sound like frat girls.
I continued reluctantly, “I’ve been living in LA, working on films as a makeup artist, and she’s a stylist. We’re pooling our resources and experiences to start up a kind of agency hiring out our services for shoots.”
Usually when I told people what I’d done, they’d ask if I’d met anyone famous or what I’d worked on, but Johnny just turned more toward me and said, “Sounds pretty cool. And tell me, where is Jenna of the Agenda this evening? I presume you’re both on watch over each other to make sure neither of you
stray off the straight path?”
I heard the humor in his voice and just about managed to stop myself from scowling again. “She’s in Miami for two weeks for a family occasion.”
Johnny’s voice turned speculative. “So you’re all alone and undefended for two weeks?”
I looked at him and said with more strength than I felt, “Not happening, Johnny.” I moved away out of his far too disturbing orbit and clanged the small bell at the end of the bar signaling a call for last orders.
The sooner this night was over, the better. And I would do whatever it took to make sure Johnny didn’t feel like he had to keep “helping” me out. Because I knew I wouldn’t survive another night working alongside him without climbing him like a tree.
* * *
When the last customer had left a little later and I’d locked the door, I was determined to pretend as if there was nothing swirling between me and Johnny and as if he was just like any other staff member.
I came back to the bar and said brightly, “So what are you doing now if you’re working for yourself?”
He put down some glasses and looked at me narrowly for a minute, as if my breezy tone of voice hadn’t fooled him for a second. “I’m a carpenter.”
That immediately made me think of his hands and how big and strong they were, yet surprisingly graceful. I knocked the cash tray from the register off the nearby tip jar with clumsy hands and it would have fallen if not for Johnny’s lightning-fast reflexes. Just what I didn’t need to be reminded of.
“Hey...”
Before I knew what was happening he was reaching out and taking the tray out of my hands. He said in a low voice, “You’re like a cat on a hot tin roof.”
I was, too, in spite of my efforts to deny what was happening. I was jittery and clumsy. As skittish as a horse.
I turned to face him just as he put the tray down.
“Look, thanks for your help this evening, but we’ll be okay for tomorrow and I’ve got a temp starting on Monday.” I crossed my fingers mentally at the white lie.
Johnny looked at me. Dark blue eyes glowing like sapphires on fire. “You’re saying you really don’t want this?”
I knew he wasn’t talking about the job and I shook my head, afraid that if I spoke it’d sound breathy and give me away. He crossed his arms and his muscles bunched.
“Fine.” He said. To my horror, it wasn’t relief that rushed through me.
“But first I want you to prove it.”
“Prove it,” I repeated stupidly.
He nodded. “Kiss me once on the lips, and if nothing happens I’ll walk out of here right now and call it quits.”
I was about to protest when he said silkily, “You owe me as much for helping you out, don’t you?”
I wanted to scowl again. Damn him for playing games.
Carefully I said, “One kiss, and you can’t touch me.”
Johnny uncrossed his arms and held his hands up. “Scout’s honor.”
I almost snorted. He was no Boy Scout. Against my better judgment I moved forward until I was standing so close that I could smell musk and heat and man. I wanted to close my eyes and breathe him in. I gritted my jaw. One small, chaste kiss and then step back, Sullivan. I could do that.
He was tall, though. Tall enough that I had to go up on tiptoe. Johnny’s hand came to my elbow. I almost sprang back but his hand tightened.
“I said no touching.”
His mouth quirked sexily. “I’m just helping you reach, it doesn’t count unless it’s on the lips.”
I muttered something rude under my breath and reached up and pressed my mouth against his with the full intention of pulling away just as quickly, but I couldn’t. His lips were firm and yet soft. I was poised awkwardly, his hand on my elbow the only thing stopping me from falling against him completely.
For a long moment nothing seemed to move, no breath, no air, only the blood pumping through my veins and arteries, gathering pace. My heart was racing. And then my inner rebel came to life and demanded more.
Instead of pulling back, my mouth moved, ever so slightly against his, seeking to explore more of those firm contours.
And then all hell broke loose. His arm snaked around me, arching me into that lean, hard body, all but taking my feet off the floor as his other hand went to the back of my head, cupping it. He held me captive as our mouths opened, and we kissed with a kind of voracious hunger I’d never experienced before. My arms were twined around his neck.
It wasn’t pretty kissing; it was passionate, devastating. His tongue was rough, demanding my response, and I gave it without question. Nothing existed except this vortex that consumed us. I was aware of my breasts crushed against his chest and his hand moving down to cup and squeeze my ass, long fingers exploring and stroking boldly down to the seam between my legs.
I finally drew back, gasping, dizzy. His eyes were dark and heavy-lidded with passion. Jesus. It had been instantaneous. Somehow, I pulled out of his arms, dimly aware that any chance I’d had of convincing him I didn’t want him had just gone up in flames.
Between my legs was throbbing and moist. I opened my mouth, not even sure of what I wanted to say, aware that my hair was tumbling down around my shoulders. He must have taken the tie out.
His eyes glittered. “Don’t even say it. I don’t know about you, but that kiss was not your regular kiss.”
That was what unnerved me.
“I don’t care what it was, it won’t be happening again.” Or it wouldn’t, as soon as I felt as if I could walk away. My legs were like jelly. After a kiss. I hadn’t felt like this even after sex with Steve.
Now Johnny scowled. “I want you, you want me. I think we’ve just proved that pretty comprehensively.”
Anger pierced me and I was afraid it was directed at myself for not just giving in. Pathetically, I seized on the first thing I thought of. “I can’t Johnny. I promised my friend—”
He made a low growling noise and took his gaze off me for a second to reach past me and pick something up off the counter. I looked. My phone. Immediately my insides lurched as Johnny looked at it intently.
“What did you say her name was? Jenna?”
Panic gripped me. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Johnny sent me a glance that told me he would. He made a tsk-tsk noise as he held the phone out of my reach with ease.
“You really should install a security password or PIN. Any kind of eejit could access your phone.”
He grinned at me then while also obviously scrolling for what he was looking for. He found it with a smirk of triumph. I saw him push a button and snapped at him, “Don’t you dare call her.”
But Johnny was effectively holding me back with a hand to my upper chest, and when I realized where it was I moved back. His face morphed into a wide grin. “Hi! Is that Jenna? You’re right, it’s not Ashling...”
He winked at me, the bastard, and then he was saying brightly, “No, don’t worry, I haven’t kidnapped her. The thing is, you see, Jenna...”
He turned away from me now and walked to the other end of the bar talking in low tones so I couldn’t hear him. I went after him but his arm shot out again to hold me back just as I heard him saying, “I think we could definitely consider this two weeks a hiatus, don’t you? I mean, there must be lots of cute surfer dudes in Miami...Oh, you have? Well, would it help if I said Ashling was sending you her blessing right now?”
I aimed a sharp kick at the back of Johnny’s calf but he didn’t even flinch. He turned around then and looked at me, smirking. “I’d love to put you onto her but I’m afraid she’s a bit busy right now...Okay, nice talking to you, too, Jenna. Have fun in Miami.”
Johnny took the phone away from his ear and shut it off. I could see that he powered it down completely. Ineffectual anger mixe
d with something far more dangerous coursed through me.
“How dare you involve my friend in this.”
Johnny put the phone down. “You’re off the hook now. She’s got her eye on some surfer god called Chad, or Brad. I wasn’t quite sure which.”
I fisted my hands. “This is crazy, Johnny. Of course I don’t mind if Jenna is with someone, but I am not into a hookup no matter how short or potentially pleasurable.”
Somehow I was now backed up against the service counter just under the main bar and Johnny was in front of me. He put his arms either side of me on the steel surface and looked down, all traces of smirking and humor gone. Now he looked serious, concerned, almost. “What is it, Ash? Did someone hurt you?”
I looked at him and could feel myself pale slightly at his intuition, and the way he said Ash. I liked it way too much.
I forced myself to focus on resistance, feeling the need more than ever if the way he said Ash was getting to me. “If I told you someone had hurt me, would it make a difference?”
He smiled, but it was lopsided. “What if I said I could help you get over it?”
I made a face even as excitement bounced around my body, the traitor. “What are you offering, Johnny? A down and dirty fling for two weeks? Just what the doctor ordered?”
Chapter Six
Johnny tilted his head to the side for a moment as if considering it. “Something like that. Call it your last wild ride...before Jenna of the Agenda comes back and fun and games are over.”
Something occurred to me far too belatedly, and I narrowed my gaze on that gorgeous face. I folded my arms between us, creating a flimsy barrier.
“You didn’t really speak to her, did you?” I didn’t even have to ask. If Johnny had rung Jenna and said what he’d said, Candy or someone would be banging the door down right now, convinced I was in the clutches of an ax-wielding serial killer. Jenna tended to be a little overdramatic at the best of times.
He didn’t even look sheepish and just said, “Do you really think she’s holding up her end of the agenda?”