“No.” He shook his head. “This is just weird, don’t you think? You and me chatting again after all these years.”
Her belly tumble-turned, and she said something she’d been wanting to say for years. “I’m sorry at the way we ended things, Levi. I wasn’t fair to you, I know.”
He shrugged but didn’t meet her gaze. “It’s water under the bridge. From what I recall, I acted like a tool. It was unfair of me to pressure you.”
She loved that about him, that he was willing to accept some responsibility for what she believed to be all her fault. He’d never asked of her anything more than any other teenage boy would have. But he’d treated her a hell of a lot better than most boys would have while they’d been together. When they’d broken up, she’d cried solidly for almost three months, certain she’d die of heartbreak. Everyone had assumed they’d split because he moved back home to his mother, but Selah knew the truth. Knew that if she hadn’t been such a prude, if her parents hadn’t branded her with the fear of God, it would have been a whole other story.
She wasn’t naïve enough to think they’d have lasted the test of time, but…
“Do you think you’ve got enough for your article?” he asked, jolting her out of her thoughts.
She realized it was now or never. And she wanted him bad, so it had to be now. “I lied, Levi. I didn’t simply want to interview you for my article.”
And then the truth spilled ungracefully from her lips.
Chapter Four
‡
Levi couldn’t have been more shocked if Selah had yanked her T-shirt over her head, ripped off her bra and thrown herself at him in the truck. And he didn’t manage to school that shock.
“What the fuck?” His grip tightened around the steering wheel. Had he heard her correctly? He couldn’t believe his ears. In fact, it was quite possible he was dreaming, that he’d dreamed this whole damn episode of Selah turning up at the rodeo grounds to talk to him.
He felt her hand on his forearm and flinched. He’d been so startled, he hadn’t even seen her reach out. “I’m sorry,” she gushed. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded.”
“What? So you don’t want to use my body for one sordid night of orgasms?”
“Well…” she began, but her voice drifted off before she could explain herself.
He’d never forget this announcement—learning that her one regret in life was not sleeping with him and that she wanted to rewrite history, to indulge in a red-hot one-night stand. While part of him was stoked she was so confident he could deliver the sexual highs she craved, he didn’t like the idea of being used. And he’d put promiscuity behind him with the rodeo—well, that was his plan going forward from this weekend. The whole growing up, getting a real job and settling down thing meant finding a woman who wanted him for more than just his body.
“Are you still a virgin?” he asked, glaring at her as that one thought sent a strange pain shooting through his body.
She blinked her sensuous, big, brown eyes, her long, dark lashes fluttering in a way that tightened every muscle in his body. It was all he could do not to lean over and kiss her senseless. If all she wanted was meaningless sex, then his truck seemed as good a place as any.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Who’d you give it to?” He was suddenly desperate to know this detail. Then he caught himself. It wasn’t any of his business. “I’m sorry, I just…”
She rubbed her lips together, as if wondering whether to tell him, and the action only drove him more crazy. “No, you deserve to know. A man I met in college.” A sigh. “It wasn’t anything special. I had too much to drink at a party one night and decided it was time to get rid of it. I was the only virgin in my college class.”
He cursed. Fresh pain washed through him at the thought she’d given what he’d so desperately wanted to some dude she felt nothing for.
“I’m sorry.”
He didn’t want her apology, damn it.
“I always wanted it to be you.” Her choked words, indicating she was close to tears, eased his anger a little, and he took a moment to properly look at her. “You meant more to me than anything, anyone, and your touch never failed to set me on fire, but I was scared. We were young, my parents had just suffered through the scandal of Magdalena’s teenage pregnancy, and I couldn’t do that to them again.”
“We would have been safe. I would have made sure of it.” Hell, he’d have walked through fire to look after her back then.
“I know,” she whispered. “And I wish I hadn’t been such a scaredy-cat.”
“What’s in it for me?” His question surprised even himself. Was he actually considering such a crass proposal?
She coughed and blinked again as color rushed to her cheeks. “Well, I would hope you’d find it enjoyable as well.”
No doubt about that. Despite his fury, he was barely managing to contain his erection. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d had such a blunt talk about sex with a woman, never mind one who drove him as wild as Selah did. He was torn between a resounding “Hell, yeah, let’s do this” and a definite “No.”
His cock was cheering for the sex, obviously, but a few niggly things held him back. His dignity, for one. And the fact she’d made him go without in high school. That was childish, maybe, but it was there. He couldn’t deny it.
“Where are you staying?”
“The Graff Hotel,” she answered, and he sent a silent prayer of thanks skyward that she wasn’t staying with her parents. Even if he was willing to contemplate her proposition, he’d draw the line at taking her under the local minister’s roof. And the single mattress in his trailer was no place to take a woman, not one like Selah, anyway.
“Let’s do dinner there. I’ll come to you.” He finally turned the key in the ignition, and the truck’s engine roared to life.
“Haven’t you got the welcome dinner tonight?” She sounded a little uncertain, a little nervous, and he liked that. Maybe she was all talk. Maybe she wanted to shock him but never imagined he’d take her up on her proposition.
He raised his eyebrows. “Do you know how many of those things I’ve suffered through? Do you want to have dinner or not?”
In reply, she nodded her head furiously. “Yes, let’s do it.”
“Good.” His lips curved into a grin. She obviously thought he’d made his decision in her favor. For the sex thing. Truth was, he still had a lot of thinking to do before he decided whether or not to hitch that ride.
*
After Levi dropped Selah off at the rodeo grounds, she climbed straight back into the car she’d rented at the Bozeman airport and headed into town to Sage’s chocolate shop. As she drove, she called her gal pals on speakerphone and demanded an emergency meeting. They were the ones who’d gotten her into this fiasco, so they could help her prepare.
As she was in Marietta on Charisma’s time and money, she should have hung around the rodeo grounds a little longer and tracked down a few more cowboys to hit with questions. Once the festivities kicked off that evening and the events started tomorrow, it’d be harder to pin them down, but she couldn’t worry about that right now.
Sage met her at the entrance to the shop. “I’ve got half an hour before I have to be back here, so I told the others to meet us at Java Café.”
Selah nodded as Sage took her arm and they started down the sidewalk. Quite frankly, she didn’t care where they went so long as they could get a table in a private corner so as not to be overheard. Hopefully, Sally Driscoll wasn’t working today, for she had a reputation almost as bad as Carol Bingley’s when it came to foraging for gossip.
“I’m so excited for you,” Sage whispered. “And I heard a rumor this morning that Levi Monroe might be moving to Marietta, buying a ranch or something, so maybe he’ll lure you back as well.”
Selah rolled her eyes. “And the local grapevine strikes again. He is moving here, but he’s leasing land from the McCulloughs to start a rodeo school. He’s not
buying a ranch. And even if we do sleep together”—she experienced a hot flush simply saying that out loud—“I’m not moving back. My career and life are in Seattle, and who’s to say we have anything in common these days?”
“You have chemistry, don’t you?” Sage wriggled her eyebrows up and down. “Trust me, that goes a long way. Besides, surely you don’t have friends in Seattle as good as us.”
“You got me there,” Selah said, grinning. She got the feeling she was going to be doing a lot of that this weekend.
Jenny was waiting in front of Java Café when they got there. “Chelsea just messaged. Apparently, she can’t make it, but wishes you the best of luck tonight.”
“What’s going on?” Sage asked, her tone a little annoyed.
Jenny shrugged. “She mentioned Jasper’s brother or something.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Selah said, pushing open the door of the café. Her friends followed her inside. Unfortunately, Sally was behind the counter whipping up coffees with her renowned barista skills, and they all put in their orders. Jenny ordered a large slice of carrot cake with her decaf latte, but Sage and Selah both ordered only coffee.
“Working with chocolate has turned me off all sweet food,” Sage explained as they slumped into seats at the most isolated table they could find.
“Being pregnant has turned me into a monster where sugar is concerned.” Jenny reached for the little packets of sugar that sat in a jar in the middle of the table, even though her drink hadn’t arrived yet.
“Enough about food,” Sage said matter-of-factly, positioning her chair so she could easily interrogate Selah. “Give us the lowdown about what happened this morning.”
Selah sucked in a deep breath. “Well, I used the ruse of asking him for an interview, and then we went for a drive out to the McCulloughs’ spread. It was so damn hot hearing him talk about plans for his rodeo business, but we talked about other stuff, too. It was easy, good. He got a little nostalgic, said how bizarre it was to be together again like that.”
“Aw.” Jenny looked as if she were about to cry. Selah figured it was hormones.
She patted her friend’s hand and continued, “I almost lost my nerve, then just as we were about to leave, I asked if he’d like to fuck me, to rewrite the past.”
Sage snorted. “You what? In those exact words?”
Jenny laughed. Loudly.
Selah hung her head. “I know. I just blurted it out wrong.”
Still stifling giggles, Jenny said, “Well, I can guess what his answer was to that.”
“What male would ever say no?” Sage agreed.
“Say no to what?”
The three of them almost jumped out of their seats as Sally came over with a tray of steaming drinks.
“Nothing.” Selah shot her a saccharine smile and gestured to their mugs. “Thanks so much for these. I dream about your coffee whenever I go back to Seattle.”
It was an outright lie—the coffee wasn’t that good—but it worked.
“Oh, shucks. Thanks.” Sally beamed as she lowered each drink and then Jenny’s cake onto the table. “You girls yell if you need anything else.”
“Will do,” they said in unison.
Selah cursed. “How much do you think she heard?”
“Only the last bit, I’m sure,” Jenny said. “Now, where were you?”
“His reply,” prompted Sage.
“He asked me out to dinner at The Graff.”
“Oh, he wants to wine and dine you with fine food first.” Sage laid a hand upon her chest and sighed. “I like his style.”
Another smile burst on Selah’s face.
“Hang on,” Jenny said, a forkful of cake halfway to her mouth, “but doesn’t that kind of ruin the just-sex deal? It adds romance. It ups the stakes.”
“Yay. Go, Selah.” Sage punched the air.
Selah bit her lip. She hadn’t thought of it in those terms. And she was certain Levi hadn’t, either. That would complicate things, and she didn’t want to complicate things. “I don’t think so. I guess the man just wants to get his strength up before we…you know.”
Her friends giggled. “Oh, yeah, we know,” Jenny said.
Sage glanced at her watch. “Really sorry, but I’m going to have to bail soon. Shall we discuss tactics?”
By tactics, she meant whether Selah should book an appointment today at the salon to get waxed or whether shaving would do. Whether she’d packed appropriate undergarments or needed to take a quick visit to Married in Marietta, which, in addition to beautiful bridal gowns, also sold an array of hot lingerie.
“I don’t want to look too desperate,” she said, secretly imagining the look on Levi’s face if she stood before him in a slinky, little, red or black lace number.
Sage nodded. “Besides, it’s not worth spending dollars on something that he’ll rip off in a matter of seconds.”
A shiver whispering through her, Selah agreed, but when she said goodbye to her friends ten minutes later, she made a beeline for Married in Marietta. Due to most people being busy with rodeo fever, the shop was empty, and Lisa, the owner, was eager to attend her.
“Got plans for tonight?” she asked suggestively as she directed Selah to the “extra sexy” section.
“No.” Selah laughed as if the idea was preposterous. “I’ve got my eye on someone back in Seattle, and I know you stock quality garments.”
Lisa’s eyes twinkled. “Say no more.”
Selah was getting good at this lying thing. Her father would have been appalled, but she couldn’t summon any guilt. Just half an hour after stepping into the boutique, she exited with the most provocative black bra and panties she’d ever bought in her life. And of course, just as she’d been about to leave, she’d realized that she hadn’t brought a wow dress with her from Seattle. Wanting everything to be just perfect that night, she turned back and added an amazing, black-and-white lace number to her purchases. It fitted like a second skin and finished just above the knee, but both Selah and Lisa agreed it still managed to look classy.
Obviously, such a dress required shoes to match, and she was pleasantly surprised to find the perfect pair at Main Street Shoes, which in her recollection had always sold mostly grandma shoes. Stoked with her purchases, she walked back to her rental car, bags swinging at her sides, feeling like a kid counting down to Christmas. This was turning out to be the best business trip ever.
How on earth she’d get through the next few hours, she had no clue!
Chapter Five
‡
Levi was more than a little pissed off when he walked up the steps to the recently refurbished—more accurately, saved from the brink of demolition—Graff Hotel. He’d heard anecdotes from Cole and Em about what Troy Sheenan had done with the place, but this was the first time he’d gotten close enough to take any real notice. It looked almost regal from the outside, and when he stepped into the lobby, it became clear Troy had spared no expense. But Levi couldn’t give a damn about the palatial mahogany furnishings, lavish rugs and opulent marble floors. All he could think about was the woman waiting for him somewhere inside. Selah.
The woman who’d refused to leave his mind all day and had made it impossible for him to get anything else done. He’d planned a little training with his horse and to devote some time to the business plan he needed for the bank, but all that had flown out the window with Selah’s surprising proposition.
Would he like to fuck her?
Hell, yeah.
Would it be a smart move?
Despite spending all day agonizing over this question, he hadn’t yet decided.
He was glancing around, looking for the restaurant, when he saw her walking toward him from the elevators on the other side of the lobby. Actually, sashaying would have been the correct term. A killer smile on her face, her shoulders held back and her chin high, she looked confident and drop-dead sexy in a black-and-white dress that left little to the imagination and made his mouth go dry. Heels so high and
pointy they could have been used as weapons punctuated her steps, click-clacking across the marble floor. He certainly felt defenseless against them.
Her whole outfit—from those f-me shoes, the dress, right up to the chunky heart pendant that sat snugly in her cleavage—told him that, to Selah, dinner was merely a formality, that her investment was in what might came after.
He was going to have to keep his wits about him.
With that thought, he puffed up his chest and pasted an easy grin on his face. “Hi there,” he said, dipping his head, despite not wearing his cowboy hat. He felt a little naked without it, and the fact he was wearing clothes that rarely saw the light of day didn’t help either.
“Hi.” She beamed at him as he leaned in to kiss her politely on the cheek, and he tried not be affected by the suggestive tone she put in that one, supposedly innocuous word, or the feel of her soft skin against his lips. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Yeah.” Damn, she smelled good. Leaning close gave him another whiff of that sweet fragrance. Theoretically, the scent should have been nauseating, but on her it had the opposite effect. It made him hungry—not for cotton candy or Jolly Ranchers, not for the fancy dinner they were about to be served, but for Selah. The hunger had lain dormant for years, but the moment he’d laid eyes on her again, he’d realized it had never actually died.
They stood in the lobby, staring at each other for a few long moments. It would have been so easy to be lost in her warm, brown eyes. To grab her hand, forgo the pretense of dinner and ask her what number her room was. His body liked that idea a whole lot, but he refused to stumble at the first hurdle.
“Shall we head into the restaurant?”
She nodded, and Levi resisted the urge to take her hand or offer his elbow as they walked toward their destination. It was bad enough simply being near her. Touching her again would have been his downfall.
“Good evening, sir, madam.” The maître d’, dressed in a fine black suit and a deep crimson tie to match the tablecloths, bowed his head and smiled at them. “You have a reservation?”
Tease Me, Cowboy (Montana Born Rodeo Book 1) Page 5