“No fair! You picked me up. I merely got in the car with a stranger. Which sounds bad, I know, but you should be the one worried.”
Tristan really wanted to know, but wouldn’t ask. “Why?” Yep. He heard it happen. It seemed Riley Henderson was too much for him to resist.
“Because I’m me,” she said, answering exactly nothing. “As to your other question. I’m a social media strategist-slash-publicist. People hire me to come up with the best way to promote their product or company on social media sites. I also accompany clients to media events to ensure they have the best public representation of whatever they’re trying to promote.”
“Sounds interesting.” Really. It did. He’d never met anyone who did what she described.
“Not really. Well. Sometimes. Mostly, it’s sitting at my computer all day and chatting with people online, hoping to build interest in my clients.”
“Met anyone famous?” he asked, as he turned onto Cherry Lane.
“One or two people,” Riley answered absently. “Hey, I have sort of an odd favor to ask. Can you drop me off at the end of the driveway?” Her question almost caused him to blow out a relieved sigh. “My aunt doesn’t know I’m coming, and the last thing I need is her seeing a stranger dropping me off. I’ll never live down accepting a ride from someone I don’t know. As it is, I have a lot to answer for.” Since they were already at the end of the drive, he didn’t have time to question that final bit of information.
Instead, he nodded. “I understand. It was nice meeting you.” The light came on as she pushed open the door.
“Maybe we’ll see each other again someday. Thanks for the ride.”
She jumped out before he could stop her. “Take the umbrella,” he called at her back. The sound of her laughter followed her up the driveway. Tristan realized he’d been staring at the spot where she’d been long after Riley disappeared into the darkness. The way his cheeks ached said way too much about how much he’d enjoyed the encounter.
Chapter 2
“I’ve invited Brother Daniels to pray with you today.”
Riley clenched her back teeth, biting down her bitterness so hard she tasted blood. She wasn’t stupid. What Aunt Billy meant was she’d invited a preacher to pray for Riley, not with, but for. It was one distinction she hadn’t missed. Homeless. She was homeless. It was a fact Riley couldn’t escape and Billy had taken her in. Doing her best to keep the anger from showing in her tone, Riley took a deep breath and forced her lips to shape a smile before responding.
“What time is he coming?” So I can make sure I’m not here, she silently added.
A knock landed on Billy’s old farm-style door making it rattle even though it hadn’t been loud. The crocheted lace curtains hid the visitor from sight, showing only a vague outline of a large figure. Billy’s face lit, shaving years off her features. Her hand flew to the unnaturally black bun at her crown. She patted down every stray hair before tugging at her hospital scrubs. A ball of resentment and anger settled in Riley’s gut. She knew. Without her aunt saying a word, she knew who stood on the other side. There was only one person who caused Billy to worry over her appearance.
“Well. There he is now. Right on time.”
Billy had known her game, as usual, and obviously had no intention of allowing Riley time to wiggle out of a good old-fashioned soul-saving session. To keep her brain from exploding, Riley tried saying that three times fast in her head. A genuine smile touched her lips briefly at the ridiculous turn of her thoughts. It died the moment Billy answered the door. Tristan stood on the other side. For a moment, Riley struggled for something to say. Why was he here? It didn’t matter. She was saved. There was still time for her to get the hell out of dodge. There was a God in heaven.
Riley pushed to her feet. The sun shining at Tristan’s back cast a halo-like glow through his blond hair. His gorgeous eyes twinkled with a mischievous light, captivating her and beckoning her closer. Her gaze slid down his chest. A light-blue button-down dress shirt, matching his eyes to perfection, strained against his muscles. Following their lines, butterflies fluttered in her stomach. That is until the item in his hand caught her attention. It was a Bible.
“It’s so good of you to take time out of your day for this, Brother Daniels,” Billy said, simpering like a schoolgirl.
Even as Tristan responded to her aunt’s praise, his stare never left hers. “Of course. It’s my Christian duty.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me.” Yeah. She heard herself. A horrified gasp left her aunt’s lips, but Tristan’s mouth lifted in one corner. His eyes turned wicked. She wasn’t taking it back. Seriously. They had to be screwing with her. Otherwise…. Riley ran down the list of her transgressions from the night before. Fuck her life. It just wasn’t possible.
Tristan cut into her thoughts and the worry tinging his voice made her wonder how long she’d been staring into space. “Maybe we should take this outside.”
Riley jumped on the suggestion.
“Yes. Outside.” Really. It wasn’t her fault. He’d lied by omission. Riley snorted. Tristan’s eyebrows rose in question, but she ignored him as she brushed past him and out the door. She couldn’t fool herself. It wouldn’t have mattered to her if he was the pope. Obedience was for the weak. She’d know.
The second Riley pulled the back door closed behind her, she turned on Tristan. “Thank you for humoring my aunt. There’s no reason for you to stay. I’ll hang out here for a while so she thinks we had a nice long chat.”
His brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Billy said you were looking for a bit of spiritual guidance.”
An unexpected bubble of laughter rose to her lips, escaping before she could call it back. Tristan’s frowned deepened. She realized he was serious.
“Do I strike you as the type of person who’d say something like that?” At her question, he shifted nervously, as if sensing a trap. “That wasn’t some female do-I-look-fat-in-these-jeans question. I’m being serious, so you can relax.”
He didn’t. Instead, Tristan chewed on his lip and eyed some point over her shoulder, obviously torn. Damn. Those lips. It was so wrong. “Seriously, Tristan. You can go. No one is going to take you over their knee for being a bad little soldier of God.” In spite of her best efforts, a devilish smile tugged at her lips at the thought of taking Tristan over her knee. His gaze shifted to her mouth. It didn’t move. Her nipples hardened. Bad thoughts. Lots of naughty ideas raced around her mind. She was so going to Hell.
His gaze lifted, colliding with hers, and Riley barely stopped herself from leaning back against the door for support. No matter why he was there or what came out of his mouth, his eyes gave him away. Riley’s palms itched to touch him. She clasped her hands behind her to keep it from happening.
“I could take you...” Oh God. The husky note in his voice. She wanted him to take her. “…back to your car, and we could get that flat tire taken care of,” he finished, leaving Riley disappointed. His mouth quirked up in one corner, making her wonder if he’d known how his words would affect her. “That way you can tell Billy—with all honesty—you’ve spent time in my counsel, even if it is about car repair and not whatever she was hoping for.” When she didn’t give in right away, his voice turned inviting. “Come on. What else do you have planned to do today?”
Just like that, there was nothing she’d rather be doing than attending a lesson on car repair. “Not a single thing.” The triumphant smile lighting his face at her answer made her wish, if only for a moment, that she was a better person. She could never have someone like Tristan Daniels. Amazing people like him didn’t happen to people like her. As he urged her to get her things together so they could go, Riley released an inner sigh. Truly, there was no rest for the wicked.
Chapter 3
“So, what brings you to town?” Tristan asked, trying to keep the laughter from sounding in his voice. Of course, he was forced to pose the question to the back of Riley’s head. She hadn’t moved her forehead
away from the steering wheel of her car for the past five minutes. That’s when she’d discovered her car wouldn’t start. He didn’t know how to make it better, but he knew leaning inside her car window with the sun beating on his back wasn’t getting them anywhere.
She mumbled something he couldn’t understand. Even though he couldn’t make out most of the words, the pained way she said them came across loud and clear. It had him opening her door and going down onto his knees at her side. Tristan possessed an unfortunate amount of experience with hysterical women. As much as he’d loved his wife, Harmony, she hadn’t exactly been stable.
“Did you say something about Billy?” he asked, attempting to keep his voice level and supportive.
Tilting her chin, Riley met his gaze. Her flat expression was worse than any fit of temper. His mind went blank in the face of her desolation.
“I said, I’m here because Billy is,” she whispered. “She’s the only family I have who still speaks to me. The last time I saw my momma, she said she hoped I caught some dreaded disease and died, so really, I couldn’t go there.”
Tristan drew back, unable to believe his ears. “Surely she didn’t mean it.”
Riley held his gaze without flinching. “Trust me. She meant it.”
Prying her hand away from the steering wheel, Tristan linked his fingers with hers and pulled. “Let’s go. We’ll stop by a friend of mine’s shop, and have him pick up your car. While he’s taking a look at it, you need some fun time.”
Riley’s features shifted. She snorted as she willingly followed him. As absurd as it might seem to anyone else, it was exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for. He’d rather have Riley thinking about how ridiculous he was than how bad her current luck ran.
“I get the feeling my idea of a fun time is vastly different from yours.”
Oh, the way she said that was enough to tempt any man. Not to mention, he was almost certain their ideas would match up perfectly when the time came. The direction of his thoughts caused Tristan’s steps to falter. He spun, walking backward toward the truck while holding both of her hands, covering up his misstep. She did something to him—made him different somehow. Better. God. He really wanted her. Her soft white t-shirt, blue jean mini-skirt and boots did nothing to hide her every beautiful asset. A wolfish grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Come on, Ms. Riley, you don’t think I’m capable of finding something to do that you’ll enjoy?” A wicked light entered her eyes. It had him half hard already.
“I’m certain you can. Especially considering I’m damnably easy to please. Some might go as far as to call me self-sufficient.”
A bark of surprised laughter left him before he could call it back. “I swear. There’s no one else in the world like you. Everyone else treats me like I’m above such things.”
Riley’s eyes widened with mock innocence. “What things, Brother Daniels? I have no idea what you mean, since I would never toy with you,” she paused before adding, “Unless you wanted me to, that is. In all honesty, I love toy play.”
Tristan allowed his lust to leak into his stare. “You’ll make me blush.”
Smiling brightly now, Riley eyed him for a moment before responding, “Yet you’re not, are you? Blushing, that is.” Tristan didn’t miss the breathless note in her voice. It moved him to honesty.
“No ma’am. I’ve never been more at ease in my life.” And wasn’t that almost enough to scare a man. One day soon, Riley was going to bring him very low. He could practically hear the clock ticking already.
After helping Riley inside the truck, she grabbed his forearm before he could move away. She held his gaze. All the humor she’d regained was gone from sight.
“I’m glad you’re comfortable around me, but don’t stay that way.” A hint of worry wormed its way into his mind at her dire tone. Luckily, Riley didn’t allow it to grow. “Staying in the same position for too long can cause a man to go stiff, and you know there’s only one remedy for such a thing.”
Tristan’s mouth went dry. Still he managed to sound halfway normal when he responded. “Really? What’s that?”
“My special deep tissue massage, of course.”
While Tristan was still attempting to absorb her claim, she tugged the door closed, leaving him no choice but to step out of the way. He shook his head, doing his best to dispel the image she’d painted in his mind. Dear Lord. He wasn’t going to last long in her company. She was the definition of temptation. If God was testing him, he was going to fail. Without a single doubt, he was a doomed man.
***
Tristan’s friend turned out to be a man named Matt who owned a place called Ace’s Car Repair. Riley found this humorous for all the obvious reasons. Since Matt didn’t strike Riley as the type of man who found anything funny, she kept her thoughts to herself. At five-nine, Riley towered over Matt. She’d comforted herself that this was the reason why he pretended she didn’t exist by speaking only with Tristan. At least, that’s what Riley told herself, since—surely—there weren’t still men who found women inferior.
Instead of getting angry over his slight, Riley chose to tune the men out. After all, she already knew what was wrong. Like a dumbass, she’d left her emergency flashers on all night, completely draining the battery. Most likely, a good charge would solve the problem, but she’d get a new one to be on the safe side, because—God only knew—she had no intentions of ever coming back to this place.
To keep herself entertained, Riley spent a few minutes calculating Matt’s weight. She was willing to bet real money she outweighed him by twenty pounds. When she got bored with that topic, she tried to decide if he dyed his hair. It was an unnatural shade of red, but she couldn’t find any roots of a different color. In her fascination, she leaned closer, inspecting his eyebrows and lashes until she noticed an uncomfortable silence had fallen. Matt eyed her with suspicion until she flushed and backed away while muttering her apologies. Tristan’s knowing grin was the only thing keeping her from complete humiliation. She switched her attention to their surroundings to keep from doing anything else ridiculous.
A large, dark-haired man loomed at the edge of the pair’s conversation, catching her attention. He shifted from foot to foot as if unsure of his welcome. Riley tossed a wink his way. Being relegated to the useless female category was starting to make her bitter. When he realized his presence wasn’t going unnoticed, a sweet smile spread across his face. Riley fell in instant like with him. It was his eyes more than anything. The moment he smiled, they lit, and Riley caught sight of an inner kindness. A person could feign gentleness in every way, but no one could mask their soul. That was something that shone equally in everyone’s gaze.
“Are you okay with that?”
The silence following Tristan’s question combined with the way everyone watched her, made Riley realize he was speaking to her. She floundered. “Um. Yeah. I wasn’t listening.” She cast a quick glance in the dark giant’s direction, as if his existence excused her distraction. Tristan followed her gaze. He blinked. Riley wondered if he honestly hadn’t noticed the other man’s presence before that moment. If so, he was quick to recover, waving a hand in his direction, and making the introductions.
“This is Hunter Crawley. He owns the hardware store next door,” he added, before switching his attention back to the mechanic. Since she hadn’t been listening, Tristan had obviously decided he would do as he pleased with her car. Once again, he was speaking with Matt as if she wasn’t there. Riley chose not to get offended.
Hunter sprang forward with one hand extended. Riley was quick to accept. “I’m Riley,” she offered, since Tristan had either forgotten her half of the introduction or assumed Hunter already knew. Hunter’s first words proved it was the second option.
“You’re Billy’s niece, right?” He didn’t wait for her to respond. “My property falls on the other side of the fishing hole behind her house. We’re practically neighbors.”
“That’s awesome,” Rile
y said for lack of anything else. She wasn’t uncomfortable. It was more that she didn’t know what to say. Everyone seemed to know her, but she hadn’t been there in years.
“I guess it’s a bit awkward having everyone know your name.”
Riley snorted, liking Hunter more and more by the minute. “It is. Not in a bad way, but I’m still adjusting.”
Hunter hadn’t released her hand. She was trying to decide how to gracefully remedy the situation when he blushed and backed away.
“Sorry about that.”
An odd thought hit Riley. The man was stunning. It was almost funny she hadn’t noticed right away. Perhaps it was his quiet demeanor. He didn’t demand attention, but once she noticed, Riley was having a hard time looking away from his blue eyes and black hair. His eyes weren’t as light in color as Tristan’s, but they were just as alluring. Not to mention, he had an amazing body.
“Quit flirting, Hunter,” Matt fussed, making Hunter turn a deeper shade of red. The idea of Matt’s rudeness causing any embarrassment on Hunter’s part brought out Riley’s inner bad girl. That naughty bitch never knew when to keep her mouth shut. It seemed today would be no exception. Pivoting on her heel, she easily repositioned her body at Hunter’s side while linking her arm through his in one fluid motion. He didn’t attempt to get away.
“Hunter was trying to be the perfect gentlemen. I was the one refusing to let that shit go on. Being ignored is hard on a girl’s ego.”
At an obvious loss, Matt blinked. “Okay.”
She could feel Hunter’s eyes upon her, but she didn’t meet his gaze. She couldn’t. Tristan’s lips were pressed into a hard line, leaving her fascinated. It also encouraged her outrageousness.
“Truly. It’s a good thing I’m not lacking in confidence. Otherwise, I’d never recover.”
“You’re beautiful.” The quietly spoken words at her side were said with such honesty, Riley found herself holding Hunter’s stare. Not only had he meant them, his relief over her interference was almost tangible. She squeezed his forearm.
A Dash of Desire (Spiced Life #2) Page 2