“I’d rather keep them on you.”
“I don’t want them on me. Don’t you get it? I was about to tell you we’re through.”
“Through? We haven’t even begun.”
“You know what I mean. It’s over.”
“But we’ve barely started.”
“Would you stop it?
“Who’s on first?”
“Be serious!”
“I am Serious and you’re Chicken, What’s on third.”
“I am not Chicken. And I don’t want to get involved with you, so there.”
The truck leapt over a bump. CJ braced herself as they landed, a hiss escaping her lips as the nylon straps dug into her once more.
His eyes smiled at her, the look in them openly teasing. “Has Harry been telling horror stories about me again?” he drawled in his cute Southern accent.
She gritted her teeth and clipped out, “No.”
“Good. I hate it when he does that.”
That did it. She had officially reached her breaking point. “The reason I don’t want to get involved with you is because I’m sleeping with my editor.”
“The one who thinks you’re sleeping with the 5th platoon?”
Man, she was going to strangle him. “All right, so maybe we’re not really lovers, but he wanted to be lovers. I turned him down. Ever since then he’s been looking for an excuse to fire me.”
“So? Quit.”
“He told me if I quit he’d spread a rumor that I was plagiarizing stories…to be specific, his stories. So I’ve been sticking it out. Saying the word plagiarize in the journalism industry is like yelling fire in a crowded theater.”
“He sounds like a real putz. All the more reason to quit.”
CJ almost screamed. “It took me two years to find that job,” she snapped. “Two years of doing temp work, of living hand to mouth, of putting up with one rotten employer after another. Two years,” she yelled, “and two weeks after I start at DRIVE, two weeks to the day, Miles makes a pass at me. He’s never forgiven me for punching him out, and he never will. I know that.
“Just as I know that if I mess up on this assignment, make one wrong move—believe me, getting involved with you would be a big wrong move in his book—then I’m out, and you can bet your you-know-what I’ll never find another job in journalism.”
“So?”
She gave up. The man was impossible. It was hopeless. She leaned back in her seat, crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the side window in silence. She hoped he asphyxiated on exhaust fumes.
“Hey. Does this mean we can’t get together tonight?”
She glared over at him and for the first time in her life felt the nearly uncontrollable urge to reach out, grab a man by the testicles and squeeze.
Hard.
Really hard.
“Because I have to tell you I’m coming to your hotel room tonight anyway.”
For the first time that morning Bryce Danvers sounded absolutely serious. Funny thing was, instead of scaring the hell out of her, it sent a fission of electricity through her obviously sex-starved body.
“Well, then let this be fair warning. If you do, I’ll…” jump your bones. She swallowed. “Call the police.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Oh, yes, I will.”
She looked so adorable, Bryce thought. But, damn, he wished he knew why she kept fighting him. After their kiss today, Bryce was one-hundred percent positive the two of them were meant to be. She was the first woman who’d ever resisted him. Well, at least since he’d made it big in the children’s toy industry. These days he could have any woman he wanted, and he didn’t say that out of ego. He knew he wasn’t a hunk. Boy next door. That’s what more than one reporter had used to describe him. But that didn’t stop women from flocking to his side—because of the money. That was the only reason. That and his sense of humor. Or so he told himself.
CJ was different.
Cute, sexy and one hell of a kisser. She wasn’t impressed with his wealth. Gave him tit for tat, and she wasn’t all caught up in wearing fashionable clothes or spotless makeup. In short, she was everything he’d been looking for in a woman, but didn’t know he’d wanted…if that made sense. His heart softened when he touched her. He had an uncontrollable need to see her smile, to make her laugh.
He was falling for her.
As weird as it seemed having known her for just two days, he knew she had what it would take to make him sink…fast.
That was why he reached out and placed his hand on her thigh, happy to note that she jumped. “CJ, you could call the National Guard and that wouldn’t keep me away.”
“Oh, yeah?”
But her voice was just a squeak. If he kept up at it he could break down her wall of resistance. She may fight an emotional entanglement, but she couldn’t fight the physical. And maybe that was the way to her heart, for suddenly he admitted to himself that he really did want her heart. Oh, yeah. He wanted to spoil her rotten. Wanted to take her on vacations where she’d never have to worry about rotten editors again. Wanted to see her eyes glow with happiness.
He navigated around a bend, glancing over at her. She stared out the window, a mutinous expression on her face.
“CJ, look, I know you don’t think I’m the serious type. Hell, there are days when I don’t take myself seriously. But you gotta believe me. There really is something between us.”
She looked at him like she wanted to believe, but something held her back, some wound she didn’t want picked at. What was it? Damn, he wished he knew.
“Bryce, I know you think what you feel for me is different, and it probably is…”
Damn straight it was.
“But I am different in looks, temperament, heck, probably even intelligence, but that doesn’t make me different than any one of your other gal pals.”
Gal pals?
“I’m sure every one of them thought they were the one for you, and they were probably devastated when you dumped them—”
“Dumped them? I didn’t dump anybody.” Now he was losing his patience. She held up a hand. “All right. Went your separate ways. So while I appreciate your interest…”
He lifted a brow. Appreciated?
“Really,” she added. “I’m flattered you’ve set your sights on me, but the fact is I don’t want to be in someone’s sights.”
Especially yours, were the silent words.
He bit back an oath of frustration. Actually, he kinda liked that she didn’t just jump in his arms. It was apparent he had his work cut out for him. Maybe he just needed to slow down, much as he hated to do that. But things were happening pretty fast between them. Maybe he should back off. They had time. All the time in the world.
He settled back in his seat, smiling. And if he couldn’t break through, he’d kiss her senseless again. Hell, maybe he should do that anyway.
Chapter Nine
She didn’t trust the look in his eyes, and so when her hour of purgatory finally ended, CJ wasted no time. She left the first check point as quickly as her asbestos-covered feet could carry her. It was a simple matter to bum a ride to the nearest town. From there she rented a car, but instead of driving to the next starting point she drove in the opposite direction—a two hour drive south—back to Las Vegas. It was a necessary task. Susan had invited her to visit Harmony Haven the day she’d met her and CJ had decided there was no time like the present to take her up on the offer. Unfortunately, she’ d have to wait until later in the day to meet with her, but that was okay. By the time she drove back to the next staging area it’d be late at night
Perfect timing to avoid Bryce.
It meant hanging out in Vegas all day, but CJ didn’t care. She would get started on writing her article and checking e-mails and doing anything else that would keep her busy and her mind off of Bryce.
And so it was nearly eight hours later when CJ finally pulled up in front of a lemon-colored home, a sign outside proclaiming the place to b
e Harmony Haven done in frilly, playful-looking letters. It didn’t look like a foster home. It looked like a bed and breakfast. Gabled roof. Light gray roof tiles. A front porch that ran the length of the home. The town they were in was only a few miles away from where she and Bryce had started the off road rally race, but it seemed like an oasis. Hard to believe they were in the middle of the desert with the tall trees and green lawns that dotted the neighborhood.
“CJ,” a little boy cried.
CJ’s eyes moved to the bay window that was shielded by the porch’s overhang. Daniel’s excited face peered out at her, the little boy reminded her of a squirrel with the way he kept popping his head up.
“She’s here,” she heard him tell someone else inside the house.
“Good,” a feminine voice answered. Susan? It must be.
Five seconds later she had her confirmation. The woman from the first day of the race called out a greeting. CJ automatically grinned back. Still, her feet felt like lead as she moved forward.
You’re being ridiculous.
And she was. She knew that. Just because she didn’t want to get involved with Bryce didn’t mean she shouldn’t use her journalistic connections to shine the light on one of his pet causes. What was wrong with her?
But she knew the answer to that too. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to write an article about Harmony Haven, it was that she didn’t need another excuse to “like” Bryce. As it was, she “liked” him a little too much.
“Come in,” the gray-haired woman said. “How was your drive?”
“Terrific,” CJ said. It’d only taken her two hours to backtrack along state highways. To be honest, it’d felt nice to ride in a vehicle that didn’t leave bruises on her shoulders.
“Sorry I couldn’t meet with you this morning,” the woman said. “But there was a reason for the delay.” She stepped aside.
“Hello, CJ.”
The blood drained from her face.
“Isn’t it great?” Daniel asked, bouncing up and down on the couch placed in front of the window. “He flew a helicopter here.”
“A helicopter?” she repeated, more in shock than disbelief.
“I called him this morning and told him you wanted to meet with me. Imagine my surprise when Bryce told me he wanted to be here, too.”
Good lord. She couldn’t get cell service in her own backyard and yet the woman had actually gotten through to him in the middle of the desert. Was there no escaping the man?
CJ wanted to turn and walk out, but she knew she couldn’t do that. “I see,” she said instead.
“I thought it was important that I be here,” he said. “I wanted to show you around some. Let you see what it’s like for these kids.”
She nodded, CJ making a big pretense of digging her camera out of the black nylon case she’d slung over her shoulder. But the image of him was burned into her mind. He wore street clothes. Light blue button down that hung out of his jeans. Freshly shaved too, by the looks of it. And showered. She could smell him all the way from where she stood.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly. “Let’s get started, shall we? Is it okay to take a picture of Daniel?” she asked Susan.
“Of course,” the woman said with a smile in her bright, blue eyes.
What followed was an hour of sheer torture as she was forced to interact with Bryce. But not the Bryce from the race track. This was a new Bryce, one who was clearly on his best behavior. Nary a flirtatious glance flickered through his eyes. No lewd comments crossed his lips. He merely took her through the two story home—CJ becoming reacquainted with Marybeth, Samson, Patti and Laurie—CJ finding herself impressed by his speech despite trying to remain detached.
“This is what more big cities need to be doing,” he said, motioning toward the play room they stood in. It was brightly lit thanks to a row of windows across the front of the house. Hardwood floors. Butter yellow walls. Cheery.
“A steady home for these kids to live in while they wait to be reunited with their moms and dads, or wait to be permanently placed,” he said, tapping a toy car that had been left out with his toe, the thing skidding across the floor. “Instead, what happens is children are bounced from home to home. Handed off to perfect strangers instead of one individual.”
“Someone like Susan,” CJ provided.
“Yes,” he said, nodding, smiling absently at the woman in question. “Susan does a great job, but she has help. Two other people work alongside of her, but it’s always the same people. No sudden changes. That’s what these kids need. Stability.”
“You sound like you speak from experience.”
She’d found very little information on Bryce’s parents. She knew their names, but not much more.
“I do speak from experience,” he said softly. “But not for the reasons you think,” he said.
She lifted her brows in question.
“My parents fostered kids up until their death a few years ago.”
He’d lost his parents?
“We always had a full house. It’s how I ended up in the toy store business. I was always the kid playing around with things, trying to fix toys if they broke. Things wore out fast in our household and so my vocations sort of evolved out of necessity. The rest, as they say, is history.”
She’d had no idea. Sure, she’d known he’d founded Toyco, but somehow she’d thought he hailed from a really rich family, one who’d given him a leg up to start his business. Obviously, that wasn’t the case—not if there were worn toys laying around.
“But please don’t print that,” he said. “I don’t want people digging into my past and bothering some of the kids I grew up with. They don’t need that.”
“No problem,” she said, lifting her camera and taking a picture. Damn it, she’d known this would happen. She’d known sooner or later she’d end up with a whole new opinion of Bryce.
“Okay,” she said brightly, too brightly. “I think I have enough.” She turned to Susan. The blue-eyed lady smiled. “Thank you so much for agreeing to see me on such short notice.”
“No problem,” she said. “Anything for Bryce.”
CJ steeled herself before meeting Bryce’s eyes. “And thank you, Mr. Danvers,” she said. “I’m sure you had to hustle to get here. The readers of DRIVE Magazine appreciate it.”
“Are you going to tell them how much I love race cars?”
CJ spun around. Daniel stood there, a toothless smile on his face.
“And that Bryce let me ride in his race truck.” He frowned a bit. “Well, not really. But he said that one day I could ride in one.”
She squatted down before she could stop herself. He was adorable, this child. What was his story, she wondered. She hadn’t wanted to pry. But it seemed impossible that someone had given him up for adoption.
He might have been taken away too.
She tried to keep the sadness from her eyes. “I promise the readers of DRIVE will get to read all about your off road racing adventures.”
He smiled. CJ stood up before she did something silly, like pull the child into her arms.
“See you tomorrow, Bryce.”
“No, wait,” he said, “I’ll walk you out.”
She turned back in time to watch him give Susan a hug. “Thanks for everything.”
“No, thank you,” she said, hugging him back.
CJ looked away, pretending to fiddle with her camera when, in fact, all she succeeded in doing was shutting it off.
“Come on,” Bryce said, lightly touching her arm so he could guide her down stairs.
Don’t pull away, CJ. You’ll look like an idiot if you do that.
“Lucky you gets to fly home,” she said, trying to distract herself with conversation.
“You could fly home with me,” he said softly.
This was the Bryce she knew. Bryce the flirt. Bryce the playboy. Frankly, she was grateful for his return. Bryce the good guy scared the crap out of her. It would be so easy to do something irresponsible with
that man.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I have a rental car.”
“You could leave it here.”
They were at the head of a stairwell, CJ using the opportunity to break contact with him. She flew down the steps two at a time. “Thanks anyway,” she called airily. “I’ll just see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, CJ,” a little voice called.
Damn. She forced herself to stop. “Bye, Daniel,” she said, smiling up at the boy before making a break for the door. Bryce caught up with her the moment her hand found the knob.
“We can have the rental car company pick it up. You could fly back home with me…”
Share my hotel room. And my bed… He didn’t say the words out loud, but he didn’t need to. She could read his unspoken intentions in his eyes.
“I have too much work to do.”
Which was a stupid thing to say. It inferred that she’d have gone with him if it wasn’t for the article she had to write.
“Do it in the morning,” he said.
“No,” she said firmly and with a lift of her chin. Mistake. It brought their lips closer together.
“You certain?” he asked, his gaze darting down, then back up again, the down again.
It was entirely too hot all of a sudden.
“Positive,” she said.
“Darn,” he murmured, and was she mistaken, or did his head drop a bit.
“Darn, what?” she found herself asking.
“That means I’ll have to go to your hotel instead.”
She drew back. “You wouldn’t dare.”
It was the wrong thing to say. She could tell he took her words as a challenge. “Oh, yes, I would.”
No, he wouldn’t. He was just pulling her leg.
Or was he?
He’d had no trouble tracking her down last night. “Bye, Bryce,” she said, darting away before she said something else to provoke him.
“And so you just jumped into your rental car and drove away.”
“Yup,” CJ admitted to Deanna later that evening. “Although not without a few pit stops.” Delaying tactics, she knew. She’d been hoping that if Bryce made good on his threats, he’d give up waiting for her. She’d been right, too, because when she’d finally pulled up in front of her hotel room a half-hour ago, the sun having long since faded from view, he’d been nowhere in sight.
Playboy Prankster: Extreme Racing, Book 1 Page 10