by Riser, Mimi
Wow, was that cute, or what?
Slo’s breath snagged on the intake. He felt a suspicious warm flutter deep down inside – deep and low – very unexpected, but not exactly unwelcome. Maybe some wolfish devil had possessed him, the hungry spirit of a Don Juan or Casanova – or maybe it was just the surprisingly enticing sight of her standing there all sweet and quivery like a freshly steamed plum pudding waiting for the hard sauce – but he had an incorrigible urge to move closer and touch her. Young and innocent suddenly seemed kind of…well, interesting.
“Um, no, I haven’t had that pleasure yet,” he answered Sam. With a provocative, predatory stride, he advanced on the quarry.
“Slo Larkin, this is Roxanne Sinclair. Roxy, meet Slo,” Sam said with a merciless grin at them both.
Slo never saw the grin. He was too busy giving one of his own to Roxanne – one of his best, the grin that curled toes, melted underwear, and flattened feminine resistance like a steamroller.
“Always nice to see a new face in town. Especially a face as nice as yours.” He offered her his hand.
She refused to take it.
Undaunted, Slo took her hand instead.
Then dropped it. Quickly.
Whoa, she was trembling. And hot – you could fry eggs on her. Either the poor kid had a bad case of malaria, or he had carried his little tease a little too far. She wasn’t just nervous, she was terrified. Of him. Great, just great. Boy, was he ever proud of himself. This was why he didn’t mess with virgins.
“Roxy’s minding the shop while Jil’s away. Did you hear Jil got married?… Yeah, and Evangeline Allen, too. That was something, wasn’t it?… Husband’s name is Harper Rourke…” Sam’s voice droned on and on, making small talk, filling the air of the shop – air that pulsed with undercurrents of electrical tension.
Slo listened no closer than politeness required, answered the questions with as few words as possible. He was far more aware of the one who was not speaking – the blue-eyed baby doll who stood backed against the old-fashioned counter. Her gaze kept darting to his, then away, as though the mere sight of him scorched her. She was quivering and sizzling like a lit fuse.
What a waste, all that energy squandered on stress.
There was dynamite in that baby doll. Someone someday was going to have one hell of a hot time lighting it. Some lucky guy was going to get himself an armful of fiery delight.
Too bad that guy couldn’t be him.
Enough, Larkin! You’ve come, you’ve seen, you’ve conquered. Now quit playing Big Bad Wolf. Leave Little Red Riding Hood alone and go bother Grandma.
“Well, um, I guess I’d better be gettin’ back to the house.” Slo turned toward the exit.
Sam stopped him. “So soon? You just got here, man.”
“Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t planning on staying. Gran’s got dinner waiting.” Smashed green tomatoes, with cantaloupe pulp for dessert – Slo could hardly wait. “I just thought I’d drop by for a minute to say hi and, um, meet your cousin.” He gave Roxanne an apologetic nod. “Newcomers are kind of an attraction in this town, in case you hadn’t noticed yet.”
But then you’d be an attraction anywhere, wouldn’t you, baby?
Slo knew he hadn’t spoken the thought aloud – but to see Roxanne, you might almost have guessed he had. Flushed and flustered, she turned her back on him, snatched up a rag, and began frantically dusting the counter, working her way down its length, wiping and polishing with a vengeance.
Damn, but it was cute how easily she blushed. There was something irresistible about this kid, something naive and seductive in the same breath. Sweet heat. A dangerous temptation. He was starting to imagine other things he could do to make her blush. Sultry, steamy, intimate things…
With effort, Slo shoved the lewd images out of his head. Roxanne had just reached the counter’s end, which sat opposite the door to the studio, and would probably be bolting through that open door any moment now. And he had better take himself and his evil mind out the other door before he disgraced himself. This little girl was getting to him – and she was too damn young. Too shy, too sensitive, too—
He stiffened and stared as his gaze fell through the doorway behind her and landed on a large canvas propped against two easels in the center of the studio. An incredible painting of an incredible figure.
Help me, Lord…
She was gut-gripping glorious, that’s what she was!
His pulse pounded, his stomach did a back flip, his jeans suddenly shrank. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Roxanne snap upright and drop her dust cloth, but he had more immediate concerns. Blood was morphing into molten lava. Something volcanic was about to erupt. Him. He could swear he smelled smoke. Mumbling a hasty, haphazard goodbye, he turned and beat a rocky retreat out the street door and down the sidewalk.
A flurry of wild stamping sounded from the shop behind him, but he didn’t dare turn around to investigate. Maybe Sam had taken up flamenco dancing. Why not? It seemed like something Sam might do.
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Sam was dancing, in fact. But more along the lines of an energetic soft-shoe, or perhaps some Irish clogging. Sam was doing it to extinguish the genuine fire that erupted seconds before Slo made his escape. Roxanne’s dust cloth had burst into flames the instant it hit the floor.
Singing “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,” Sam crossed the shop, maneuvered Roxanne aside, and executed a neat shuffle-step as he stomped out the blaze in rhythm to the old tune.
He flashed his shaky cousin an upbeat grin. “All things considered, I think that little meet-and-greet went pretty well. How about you?”
“I think that man better stay far away from me,” she said on a ragged breath. “He’d better keep his distance or this whole town could go up in smoke!”
Sam heaved a longsuffering sigh and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Roxy, that is the wrong attitude. Slo lives in Houston, and he likes it there. He hates Star and never sticks around for long, but while he’s here, he’s your neighbor. You need to view this as a learning experience, because you’re not going to be able to avoid him.”
“Yes, I can. I’ll go out to the ranch until he’s gone. I’ll stay with Harper and Evangeline.”
“I’m sure they’d love to have you, but it won’t solve anything. Slo always visits Evangeline when he’s home. She’s one of the few people in the area he actually enjoys talking to.”
“Then I…I’ll…”
“You will stay here and face this.” Sam gave her shoulders a squeeze. “There’s nothing wrong with you, hon. You’re an attractive, intelligent woman with a powerful ability. If you’ll stop being so frightened of that power, I think you can conquer it.”
“I can’t.” Her voice came out like the scratch of sandpaper. “I’ve never been able to control it. I’m a human flamethrower! That’s why my father locked me away in a nuthouse – because I am too dangerous to be allowed loose.”…
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About the author:
Mimi Riser is a multi-published, award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction. Her books celebrate the upbeat and the offbeat, and “happy endings” are her specialty. She began life in the urban northeast, but now resides in the rural southwest with one husband, two dogs, and more cats than anyone wants to know about.
http://www.mimiriser.com
ALSO BY MIMI RISER:
Novels
Eyes of the Cat
Sherwood Charade
Kiss My Blarney Stone
Space Rats and Rebels
Lifestyles of the Witch & Famous
Heven’s Gaite
The “Stardust” Series:
Every Jack Needs His Jil
All Fired Up (novella)
Short Stories
The Great Race
If Wishes Were Kisses
Joy to the Worlds
The Robin Flies Again
Nonfiction
Texas Treats
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Cooking Up Christmas
Homemade Halloween Treats
The Kitchen Witch Everyday Magic Book
The Kitchen Witch Glossary of Cooking Herbs & Spices
The Kitchen Witch Guide to the Timeless Art of Herbal Tea
Spice Up Your Love Life! Aphrodisiacs from the Kitchen
The Naughty Girl’s Guide to Divining by the Dots
Hands On Numerology
The Kitchen Witch Spring Into Summer Book
The Kitchen Witch Yuletide Book
The Kitchen Witch Halloween Book
The “Odd True Tales” Series
“Holistic Harmony” Series
Anthologies
Romance: Fantasy, Food, and Fortune Telling
Breaking the Thought Barrier
Erotic Romance
Cymric’s Rose
Samantha White & The Seven Dwarves
Dungeons & Dirty Dreams
Romeo’s Revenge
Tina Takes a Tumble
Saving Sally Savoy
A Knight to Remember
Just Another Lonely Knight
In the Heat of the Knight
The Adventures of Cassie Nova
The Cowboys & The Courtesan
Wicked Comes the Beast
Playing Pirates
Pirates Do It With Passion
The Sylver & Steele Series
Paperback Anthologies
My Knightly Adventures
Return to the Burn
Can’t Fight the Feeling
Pirates & Other Wicked Pleasures
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