INNOCENCE AND ARROGANCE

by Kimberley Reeves

  Mina pulled her bathrobe on and fastened the tie. She listened at the door for a minute to see if she could hear Scott moving around and decided he must not have arrived yet. She’d towel dried her hair and still needed to brush it out but she thought she must have left it in her bedroom because it wasn’t in the basket she usually kept it in. She came out of the bathroom, turning immediately to her right to go to her room and let out a startled squeak when she was suddenly yanked backwards and pinned against a muscular chest. One arm had caught her around the waist while the other was folded across her shoulders in a loose a choke hold. She didn’t fight though, she merely relaxed against him.

  “Is that how you protect yourself?” Scott’s deep voice chastised.

  “I knew it was you.”

  “You couldn’t have seen me.”

  “I didn’t say I saw you, I said I knew it was you.”

  “How?”

  “The way you smell.”

  “I smell?”

  Mina laughed. “No, you don’t smell as in a bad odor, it’s the scent of your skin. It’s a mixture of soap and…I don’t know, musk? It’s a very masculine scent. I don’t know how to describe it, but I like it.”

  Scott grinned. “You like how I smell?”

  “Yes,” she admitted, “now can you let me go?”

  “I can’t. I’m trying to prove a point.”

  “What, that I’m helpless as a kitten without a big, strong man to take care of me?

  “Something like that,” he chuckled.

  “You really want me to do this?”

  “Bring it on, little one.”

  Without warning, Mina’s arm jetted forward then her elbow came back swift and hard to his solar plexus, forcing the air from his lungs and causing him to double over. Then she lifted her knee and brought the ball of her foot down hard, crushing his toes beneath the soft leather of his tennis shoes. He doubled over even more, still trying to catch his breath, and the strong hold he’d had on her waist loosened just enough for her to twist her body sideways. Again her arm swing forward, but this time she kept her arm straight and rigid as it swung back with deadly accuracy toward his crotch. Mina stopped just as her arm hit the inseam of his jeans.

  “Do you want to see how the maneuver ends?” She tipped her head back, a smug smile on her lips.

  “No,” he gritted. “I think you’ve made your point.”

  She planted a soft kiss to his cheek. “Thanks for caring, though.”

  “Thanks for not completing that last move.” He let her loose and Mina turned to face him.

  She patted his cheek. “Sorry I had to hurt you.”

  Scott rubbed his stomach, watching the sexy sway of her hips as she made her way to the bedroom. Damned if it wasn’t worth it just to see her walk away. Then he peered down at his foot, not at all confident she hadn’t broken a toe. Hell, her foot had to be half the size of his, how had she managed to make it hurt so bad? It was still stinging when she returned looking like a million dollars in a pair of snug jeans and form fitting shirt he’d picked out for her the day before. Her hair still hung in damp curls over her shoulders and for a brief moment, Scott allowed himself the fantasy of sifting his fingers through the soft tendrils at the back of her neck and pulling her to him for a kiss.

  “Are you okay?” She asked with genuine concern. “You have a strange look on your face.”

  “I’m fine, just a bit of a bruised ego is all.”

  Mina’s eyes danced with amusement. “Don’t let your manhood get too threatened. My brothers used to make me practice getting out of all kinds of holds. It was kind of like the game Inspector Clouseau played with Cato in the Pink Panther movies. They’d hide in different places and jump out at me. They wanted me to learn to remain calm so I could figure out what moves I needed to use to get loose.”

  “Sounds like I’m not the only one worried about you getting hurt.”

  She crossed her arms and eyed the hand that was still rubbing his stomach. “I’m not the one licking my wounds right now.”

  “Don’t press it, sweetheart, or I may just spring another surprise hold on you, but this time I’ll be prepared.”

  “Sounds like a challenge to me,” she arched a brow. “Are you throwing down the gauntlet?”

  “You wouldn’t have a prayer if I really wanted to get you in a hold.”

  “Bring it on, big man, I’ll be ready.”

  Scott looked at the arrogant tilt of her chin. God, Mina excited him in a way no woman ever had before. A slow smile spread across his face. “You won’t know where, and you won’t know when, but I will get you.”

  ****

  “Do you think you’re ready to take it out on the road yet?”

  Mina shook her head vehemently. “What if I hit another car? What if I hit a person? What if I forget which one is the gas and which one is the brakes?” She sat back in the seat and crossed her arms. “I don’t like driving, I’d rather take the bus.”

  “Mina, honey, you’ve only been at it for an hour. It takes time to learn to drive. Why don’t we just take a little side road so you can get used to having other cars around you? It’s kind of hard to learn the rules of the road from a parking lot.”

  “I don’t want to,” she said stubbornly.

  Scott fought hard not to laugh. “You have to learn, it’s a job requirement.”

  Mina set her chin. “You just made that up.”

  “Well, I’m the boss and I can make up any company rules I want to. Effective immediately, it’s a job requirement to know how to drive.”

  “Fine. I’ll take us out on the road, but if I hit another car or wrap us around a telephone pole, I’m not paying for damages.” Mina put the car in gear and made a very slow trek across the parking lot then eased the car onto the road.

  Scott told her when to make turns and soon they were in the middle of a residential area. As they crept along, he wondered idly how she thought they’d end up around a telephone pole since she’d have ten minutes to hit the brakes at the speed she was going.

  “Mina, the speed limit is twenty-five miles per hour, not five.”

  “Baby steps,” she quipped without looking at him.

  “At this point baby steps is all it would take to pass you up. Press down on the pedal a little harder.” He sighed in exasperation when she only picked up another two miles per hour. “Press down a little more, sweetheart, and we might beat the toddlers.”

  “It’s not nice to make fun of me,” she said primly.

  “Hey, you’re the one who came up with the baby steps comment, I’m just letting you know when you’ve advanced into another growth category.” They put in another hour before calling it quits for the day. “You did pretty good after that first timid start,” Scott told her as she put the car in park.

  “I wasn’t being timid,” she said indignantly, “I was being cautious.”

  “Okay, I fold, you were cautious, not excruciatingly slow.”

  Mina huffed and got out of the car. She stuck her nose up at him when they passed each other in front of the car, sending Scott into a fit of laughter. He loved being around her, she’d made him laugh more in the past two days than he could remember doing in the past several years. There was always too much work to do, too many serious thoughts about contracts and upcoming deals, or shipments that had gone wrong. It felt good not only to take the day off, but to actually forget about work for awhile. Scott had gone into work every Saturday for as long as he could remember so it seemed like a double treat to be taking the day off and to be spending it with Mina.

  “I have a bit of grocery shopping to do,” he said, once they’d exchanged places. “Would you like to come with me?”

  “I’m not talking to you,” she pouted.

  “Yes you are.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “You just did.”

  “That doesn’t count. I had to tell you I wasn’t talking to you, otherwise how would you know I’m giving you the silent t
reatment?”

  Scott laughed and pulled out onto the street. “It does count, so technically you’ve broken your vow of silence and have to talk to me again. So do you want do come with me?”

  “You probably just want me to go so we can pick up something I can make you for lunch.”

  “Actually, I hadn’t thought about that. Thank you for the offer, Miss Mina, I think I’ll accept.”

  She looked at Scott, noting the complacent smirk on his face. “You think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?”

  “Maybe just a little,” his smirk widened.

  “Okay, I’ll make you lunch,” she said sweetly.

  Scott shot a sideways glance at her. “Why do I get the feeling you’re about to get even with me?”

  “Because you’re a very clever man.”

  “Maybe I should just take you to lunch.”

  “Coward,” she accused.

  “If I apologize, do you promise not to hurt me?”

  “I’ll think on it and get back to you.”

  She told him to turn and the next corner. Once they were inside, they each took a cart and started up the aisles. Deciding that paybacks were in order for the teasing he'd dished out, every now and then Mina would move her cart a little ahead of his then turn it slightly so he’d bump into her.

  “You’re doing that on purpose,” he grumbled.

  “Am not. You’re just a poor driver.”

  “I’ll bet my cart can go faster than yours,” he challenged.

  Mina checked the aisle for possible people obstacles. “As soon as that man turns the corner, you’re on.”

  They stood side by side, watching the man intently. When he finally moved on, they barreled down the aisle, laughing and trying to push each other’s carts into the shelves. Mina was giving it her all, but Scott’s long legs won out.

  He took a bow when they came to an abrupt halt at the end of the aisle. “The undisputed champion,” he drawled.

  “No fair, I had a defective wheel,” she declared.

  He moved her cart back and forth. “You little liar. There’s not a thing wrong with your cart.”

  “I think it must have been knocked back into alignment on that last bump you gave it.”

  Scott shook his head. “You’re a very poor loser and an even worse liar, now where’s the english muffins in this joint.”

  “Two aisles to the left,” she told him, eyeing the contents of his cart. “You eat too much canned food and frozen dinners.”

  “Now you sound like Maggie. She’s always nagging at me about how I eat.”

  Mina was shocked by the twinge of jealousy that shot through her. “Is Maggie your girlfriend?” She asked casually. She plucked a can from the shelf and pretended to read it as if his answer wasn’t really that important.

  “Maggie’s…” He looked over at Mina and felt a sudden surge of happiness. She was actually getting jealous! “Maggie’s been with me forever.”

  “So… you love her then?” She turned away from him, staring intently at the can. She was so overwhelmed with disappointment,

  she felt like crying. She’d been stupid and naïve to think a man like Scott Travis wouldn’t have at least one woman on the line.

  “Sure I love her.” Scott reached around her and blindly grabbed a few things from the shelf. He glanced down at her and was both surprised and little guilt-ridden to see the sad look on her face. “I think you’d like her. She’s been with the family since before I was born.”

  She lifted her head. “Before you were born?”

  “Maggie just turned eighty-five, but you’d never guess it. She still cooks all the meals for my parents and on Sundays when the whole family gets together.”

  Mina shoved the can back on the shelf, suddenly feeling like she wanted to laugh and do a high kick in the air. “I noticed your pictures,” she moved her cart down the aisle. “Two sisters and three brothers that I could see. So the older woman in the pictures must have been Maggie.”

  Scott was glad to see Mina back to her happy, smiling self and by the time they finished up their shopping he noted with satisfaction that her cart was piled high. He let her go first then she came back to stand by him while the cashier rang up his items.

  Mina scoffed and shook her head at the unhealthy way he was eating. She picked up the english muffins. “Is this all you eat for breakfast?”

  He shrugged and plucked them from her hands, tossing them back on the counter. “It’s quick and easy.”

  “Well quick and easy isn’t very healthy. If you want, I could make some breakfast burritos for you. I could wrap them individually so you can keep them frozen until you get ready to heat them. It’d be much healthier than an english muffin.”

  “What’s a breakfast burrito?

  “You’ve never had one? You scramble eggs, onions, sausage, and cheese together and wrap them in a soft tortilla shell. They’re pretty tasty and very filling. You really should have a good breakfast, Scott, it’s what jump starts your metabolism. Breads in the morning just make you sluggish.”

  “They sound great, but I’d hate to make you go to all that trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble. Besides, if you have a good breakfast, you’re less likely to be grumpy in the morning.”

  “I’m not grumpy in the morning,” he said defensively.

  “You were grumpy this morning when I called you.”

  “I wasn’t either, I was just worried about you.”

  Mina picked up two small jars on the counter and looked at them curiously. “Scott? Why do you have two jars of pickled pig’s feet?”

  “Pickled what?” He looked at the jars she held up, vaguely remembering having grabbed them from the shelf when they’d been talking about Maggie. “Damn, I meant to get smoked pig’s feet.” He took the jars from her and hastily handed them to the cashier. “I changed my mind on these.” Beside him, Mina was giggling so hard she had to lean on him for support.

  “I’ll run back and get the smoked ones for you,” she volunteered between snorts and giggles.

  He quickly paid the cashier then put his arm around Mina’s waist and swept her away from the counter and the smiling customers behind them. “I didn’t even know they sold things like that at a grocery store. Who in their right mind would eat pickled pig’s feet?”

  Mina waited for him to open the trunk then started loading her groceries inside. “You should have tried them. Really, where’s your sense of adventure?”

  Scott made a face. “I have enough sense not to be adventurous where pig’s feet are concerned.” He closed the trunk and went around to open Mina’s door.

  “Thanks, Scott,” she said sincerely.

  “For what?”

  “For taking me driving and making grocery shopping fun.”

  He smiled down her. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”

  She lowered herself down in the seat. “Yes it was, even if I did have a defective cart.”

  Scott closed her door and shook his head. He was going to play hell ever getting the last word with Mina.

  Chapter 4

  Mina set the plate in front of Scott. She’d cubed a few chicken breasts then sautéed them in butter and garlic while the noodles cooked. Then she’d tossed in chopped onions, green and red peppers and asparagus spears in with the chicken. While she and Scott chatted about what her job duties would include, she whipped up a cream sauce. The whole meal didn’t take more than twenty minutes to prepare. She served it up with garlic bread and waited for his response.

  Scott took his first bite of the dish she’d prepared and smiled. “Is there anything you can’t do? This is wonderful.”

  Mina set a much smaller portion on the table and took her place in the chair opposite him. “When you have four brothers who think waiting five extra minutes for a meal is going to kill them, you learn to make things in the quickest possible manner.”

  “Now I regret not holding you to that week of home cooked meals.”

  “Stop by ne
xt weekend and I’ll whip you up some of my pickled pig’s feet casserole.”

  Scott choked and grabbed for his glass of iced tea. “How about I promise to stop by if you promise not to mention pig’s feet to me again.”

  Mina smiled. “You have a deal.”