by Vivian Arend
Taking her home was a good idea before she broke something.
Only Janey was in the middle of a renovation project. “It can’t be to her house either. Who knows what mischief she’ll get up to in the place.”
“Len, it’s got to be you.” Shannon turned and pinned him with her gaze. “Liz is heading out early in the morning on holidays. I’ve got a shift at the hospital starting in a couple hours, so I can’t stay with her either.”
Leaving him as the uncontested babysitter. Heaven and hell. “Are you sure she’s okay?”
She nodded, tightening the ponytail holding her blonde hair back. “She’ll be fine. She doesn’t need to go to the hospital, and I bet she’d prefer not to be hauled in there like this.” Shannon made a face. “I could just imagine how people would react to hearing she was on drugs.”
Small-town rumour would suck. No way could Janey afford having dirt talked about her, not with her trying to officially make a go of starting her own business. “I’ll take care of her.”
Liz had scooped up Janey’s clothing on their return trip and handed the pile to Shannon. While Janey curled around Len like he was a May Pole, Liz glanced between their faces. “You figure out what’s up?” she whispered.
The situation was now unavoidable. Len cursed himself that he hadn’t stopped Janey from getting targeted in the first place, but right now was about making sure she was all right.
Nothing more would happen tonight, except him getting bluer balls than usual, but that was his choice. Had always been his choice. Bottom-line—she wasn’t going to get hurt any further, not if he could help it. Not by him or some unknown jackasses with an agenda, or by hard-nosed snoopy neighbours who would act as judge and jury and accuse her of wrongs she hadn’t committed.
He reached out his hand to Janey. “You’re coming home with me.”
Chapter Two
The tube of toothpaste and the brand-new toothbrush waiting for her on the bathroom counter got a frantic workout as Janey attempted to kill the foul taste in her mouth. And the entire time she scrubbed, she examined her surroundings in disbelief.
She was in Len Thompson’s apartment.
Hell, she’d woken up in the man’s bed. After her heart stopped racing in panic, confusion had set in. Why on earth was she in Len’s place?
She spit and rinsed, threw some cold water on her face and patted dry with the towel she’d found next to the toothbrush. At least now she felt halfway human, but she still had no idea what was going on.
Something very weird had happened, and she wanted to know what. Soon.
As she wandered through his apartment, she racked her brain for the missing details. The bonfire by the river came back, plus sneaking off with Liz and Shannon, but everything after that was a blur.
A granola bar and an orange sat in the middle of the kitchen table, along with her purse. She rummaged around in it until she found her phone, grabbed the food and took everything back with her to the living room.
She hadn’t spent a lot of time in Len’s place, but she’d been there enough to recognize where she was. She and his little sister, Katy, had been best friends since they were ten years old, and by the time Janey turned eleven she’d already decided Len was dreamy.
Not that she would have known what to do with him at that age. Nope, kind of like dogs chasing cars. Would they…bury it in the backyard, or what? Images flooded in of enormous piles of dirt with bumpers sticking out.
Whoa. That was weird. Her brain was obviously still not awake.
The clock on the stereo said it was ten a.m., which explained why Len wasn’t around.
She glanced down at what she was wearing. The oversized T-shirt had to belong to the man she’d spent years chasing. Had they actually done something?
Even with her foggy memories, the answer to that question was crystal clear. The way her head was pounding, she’d hit the bottle hard, and no way would Len have taken advantage of her being drunk. It wasn’t him.
Yet here she was, wearing nothing but his shirt.
She bit into the granola bar and chewed a few times as she pondered that detail. Her brain woke up a little, and she checked more thoroughly, running a hand over one hip.
Nothing. But. His. Shirt.
Jeez, she didn’t even have any underwear on. Chewing briskly so she could swallow her mouthful, she poked at her phone and waited for Liz to answer her call.
It went to voicemail. Janey popped off the couch with a curse, her head spinning momentarily at the rapid motion. She tried again, this time connecting to Shannon’s number.
Voicemail. Shit.
She checked the clock and decided to take the chance. Katy would be home, but who knew if she’d be answering the phone with a two-week-old baby in the house.
Katy not only answered, she was damn near frantic. “I couldn’t believe it when Len called me. How do you feel? I came over there at seven to keep an eye on you when he left for work, but you were still sound asleep. I swear I just left, not even fifteen minutes ago, because Tanner got fussy and you were still snoring like a log. I didn’t want him to wake you.”
“You were here?” This got weirder and weirder. “And what did Len tell you, because all I know is I’m not wearing any clothes, and I’m in his apartment.”
“No clothes—” Katy paused. “What do you remember?”
“Not a hell of a lot, especially not about the important things. I doubt you’re going to tell me Len and me did the dirty deed, because you would’ve run screaming if that was the case.”
Finally a laugh from her friend. “You got that right. No, hon. You didn’t tie one on last night. Someone slipped you some drugs.”
Someone slipped her—
A momentary rush of fear was rapidly replaced with anger as the grinning cowboy’s face flashed to mind. “That fucker. I should rip his balls off.”
“You know who did it?” Katy demanded.
Janey thought harder, but it was no use. “I got a first name, and I might recognize his face, but beyond that, nothing. You’re serious? Someone drugged me?”
“Yeah. Liz and Shannon said they didn’t notice anything until all of a sudden you were dancing like a fool. Shannon thought maybe it was Ecstasy.”
Panic hit like a rock fall. “Oh, Lord, did I do anything terrible?”
“Not as far as I’ve heard,” Katy rushed to reassure her. “And you know Len would never let anything like that happen to you.”
That was true. The man watched her like a hawk even while pretending he wasn’t interested. The split between what he offered and what she wanted was a wide chasm. He’d refused to get close.
Which made her current situation even more confusing. “Why am I in his apartment?”
“You had to be watched last night, and Len was the only one who could do it.”
Lovely. “Gee, thanks. Sounds like I was the booby prize at the fair.”
“Hey, they didn’t ask me. Just assumed they shouldn’t dump your doped-up ass on me with Tanner not sleeping through the night.” Katy made a rude noise. “You’re my best friend, and I wouldn’t have minded one bit, but I’m glad Len was able to look after you.”
“That makes me feel a little better,” Janey admitted. “But I’m still confused.”
“You were drugged. Which sucks, but it could have been far worse.” Katy’s concern was clear. “What if they’d…? No. Not even going there. But, hon? You were lucky.”
If the only thing Janey had to deal with was a bit of confusion, she’d been more than lucky, considering what could have happened. Her imagination was vivid enough there were paths she didn’t want to go down, so she consciously pushed away from considering in detail the hell she’d avoided. Deliberately focused on another part of the big picture. “I understand a little better what you felt like, by the way. After you had your accident and lost track of things. A little bit, I mean. I lost a few hours. It sucks.”
“It does,” Katy agreed. “But you’ll figur
e it out.” Soft baby noises in the background rose in volume from gurgles to full-on protest. “Listen to the kid. You’d think I never fed him. One sec.”
She spoke away from the phone, and Janey waited patiently as her friend cared for her little one.
“Back.”
“Am I okay otherwise? Do you know?”
“I talked to Shannon, and she said yes. She’ll be off shift at noon if you’d like to call her. But otherwise, everything should be fine.” The squawking in the background continued to escalate, and Katy laughed softly. “His royal whininess is summoning me. If you feel up to it, come by for lunch.”
Janey needed to get moving anyway. “I’ll talk to you later.”
She let her friend off the line, debating what to do next. Her confusion was still there, but she wasn’t terrified anymore.
It was strange being in the man’s apartment without him. Even weirder when she realized she would have to borrow something of his to wear home. The jeans and shirt she’d worn to the party were on the table, and it was obvious he’d tried to clean them up, but no way was she putting mud-stained underwear back on.
Embarrassment increased as she realized Len would have folded the garments. The idea of his hands on her bra and panties was not nearly as sexy as she’d thought it would be.
Of course, she’d always imagined the first time he’d handle her clothes would be while she was in them, alert and eager to play.
So much for that daydream.
She stood with her hands on his dresser drawer and took a deep breath, bracing herself before tugging it open and peaking inside. When she caught a flash of underwear she slammed it shut.
Third attempt revealed sweatpants, and she grabbed the smallest pair possible. She was going to have to tie a rope around her waist to stop the fabric from falling off her hips.
She tucked all her things into a plastic shopping bag and shoved her feet into her still-wet cowboy boots. Locked the door behind her and marched the seven blocks home at a rapid pace, letting herself in the unlocked back door of the house she’d grown up in.
Inside was a mess. Even though she’d worked hard to keep things as neat as possible, dust and renovations went hand in hand, and piles of new tiles and flooring were everywhere.
Fortunately, the downstairs bathroom was in one piece, mostly. The light fixture wasn’t working, but she’d grown accustomed to showering by the light pouring in from the hallway. Janey stripped off Len’s borrowed clothing and stepped into the shower, ducking her head under the steamy water.
She closed her eyes and let the heat soak in. Well. That hadn’t been the kind of morning she’d expected.
Janey opened her eyes and stared forward, concentrating on the tasks ahead of her. In the mirror across from the shower stall, she noticed something dark on her stomach. She glanced down in fear, visions of enormous leeches flashing into her brain.
What she saw was less nauseating but even more unbelievable. She turned off the water and stared some more.
Whatever had happened last night? Len Thompson had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
He’d been waiting for her to arrive. No way, knowing Janey as he did, would she would let this go without at least railing on his ass a little. Which was good, because once the shouting stopped, they’d be able to get their new situation out in the open as soon as possible.
Didn’t mean he was looking forward to the conversation, though.
It had been one hellish night. Having her finally collapse into a restless sleep on his bed had been the only saving grace. Today wasn’t looking to be much better, not when it started by having to get his sister to come over. Explaining to Katy what had happened had been bad enough, but with Janey sleeping in so long, showdown at O.K. Corral was going to go down right smack dab in the middle of the family-run Thompson and Sons garage.
Fortunately, by the time Janey jerked opened the door from the back parking lot and rushed in like she owned the place, coffee break had begun. All the guys who worked the shop—Len’s three brothers, his dad, and Katy’s partner—had vanished into the staff room earlier.
So he was alone to admire the wildcat expression in her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into two pigtails, and for a moment she looked twelve again, not the relentless seductress he’d had to deal with the night before.
He’d expected a bit of an attitude, but the sheer flaming belligerence flashing in her eyes was a surprise.
She stomped across the concrete floor of the garage, jerking to a halt only inches away from him as she stuck a finger in his face. “You’ve got a shit-ton of explaining to do.”
“How’re you feeling this morning?” Len folded his arms across his chest, attempting to create a barrier between him and the glaring young woman.
“How the hell am I supposed to feel the night after all sorts of things happened I can’t remember? I mean, thank you for taking care of me after that jackass slipped me the drugs—I’m grateful, I really am. Katy told me you looked after me, but there’s a whole lot she didn’t know about. Am I right?”
She wasn’t beating around the bush. “You were a bit of a handful.”
“A handful?” Her volume increased, and she planted both fists on her hips. She was much smaller than him, but right then she seemed a towering bundle of fury. “What exactly did I do that made this seem like a good idea?”
She whipped off her T-shirt, and Len’s heart leapt into his throat. “Jeez, Janey, put your clothes on.”
She tucked the hand holding the shirt behind her back, pointing her free fingers like a gun at the printed words on her abdomen.
At least this time she was wearing a bra, which was a whole lot more than she’d had on the last time he had gotten up close and personal with the bold black marks decorating her skin.
“Len Thompson, you tell me right now why your signature is on my belly. Along with what looks like my handwriting saying Len + Janey 4ever.”
A distant rumble of voices grew louder, and Len glanced over his shoulder to see the staff room door opening. It was bad enough to have to deal with this, but he couldn’t allow anyone to see Janey half-naked in the middle of the family garage.
He turned back and braced himself. “I’ll explain everything, but not here.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere without some answers.”
Len gave up trying to convince her. Simply leaned over and planted his shoulder against her stomach, grabbed hold of her legs and picked her up. She squawked in dismay, but he ignored her complaining, heading for the exit at a rapid clip. He had them outside and tucked in next to the propane shed in no time, out of sight from anyone who might wander into the garage yard.
“Put me down this instant, you big lughead.” Janey punctuated her complaints by smacking her fists into his back.
“We’re not discussing anything in front of my family.” Len lowered her to the ground, careful she had her balance before letting go. He snatched her T-shirt from her hand and thrust it forward. “Put your clothes on.”
Janey folded her arms over her chest, her chin rising defiantly. “Why is your signature on my body?”
“Because it was the only way to get you to stop…” Len paused, not because he wasn’t going to tell her the truth, but because there had to be a better way to say this than simply blurting it out.
In front of him, her defiance lessened and her bluster faded. “Damn, what the hell did I try to do to you?”
He couldn’t stop the smile that twitched his lips. “Not much more than anything you’ve tried before.”
“Shit.” Janey sighed, jerking her shirt over her head. “So. You got to take care of me while I was high, and I basically offered myself to you. Again.”
“It wasn’t all about sex,” Len reassured her. “You ran the gambit. You asked for a hug at one point, and when I gave you one, you started crying.”
She frowned, leaning back on the corrugated metal of the shed wall. “Crying?”
“You said I would never hug you unless you were dying. Then we had a long conversation about how you were not dying, and then you got really fascinated with your hands. Which somehow led into a conversation about how your mom would kill you if you ever handed in notes where your handwriting was that crooked.”
“Great.” She rolled her eyes. “Anything else I should know about?”
Nope. Not telling her, not even if she insisted. Some things he couldn’t say out loud without fucking dying all over. “Not really.”
She tugged at the bottom of her shirt, exposing a little of the sharpie markings on her belly. One brow shot up again, but she didn’t say anything. Just waited, expectantly.
Fine. It seemed this was going to happen, and Len couldn’t even feel remorseful about it. “After you’d had a shower—because you insisted you were being consumed by a million, trillion ants, you got a little…affectionate.”
Janey’s head banged on the shed wall. She closed her eyes and cursed softly. “Fab. What did I do? Try to give you a hickey?”
She honestly looked so upset by the whole situation Len didn’t have the heart to tell her all the details. Like how he’d had to go in the shower with her because he was afraid she wouldn’t stay vertical. And no way would he show her the scratch marks she’d left on his back. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t offended.”
“But for some reason I decided to do a semipermanent tattoo, and get you to autograph it.”
“You were rather insistent.”
She shook her head, regaining her feet as she moved away from the wall. “Well, thanks again for taking care of me. And sorry I was a pain in the ass.”
She tried to walk around him, but Len shot out his hand and caught her by the elbow. “I’ll come by your place around six.”
Janey’s brows shot skyward. “Hello?”
“For our first date. We can hit the diner for supper.” Maybe last night he’d had his arm twisted, but now that he’d wrapped his head around the situation, being together with her was all he could think about.