A Touch of Scarlet

by Liz Talley

  “You mean, I won’t act on it. If I were a betting man, I’d say self-control is not one of your strong points. But it is one of mine. So I won’t wig out and lose all sense just because you walk by in a tight pair of pants and don’t bother to wear a bra.” He glowered at her, uncrossing his arms and propping them on his lean hips.

  “Hey, I’m wearing a bra today. And did you say wig out?” She didn’t think she’d ever heard a man use that particular expression. He looked so cute when he was angry. So sexy when he was defensive. She wanted their banter to go on and on, culminating in—

  No. She wasn’t going to provoke him. Wasn’t going to let the spark of attraction go anywhere. She still loved John. Still dreamed about him. At least she wanted to dream about him even if he faded more each day.

  Adam bristled like a dog guarding its turf. “What? No. I mean, yes. What does it matter? The important thing is what happened at the station isn’t going to happen again. I don’t make many lapses in judgment, and I damned sure don’t repeat them.”

  Scarlet smiled inside, though she presented him with a calm demeanor. She was a good actress. “I’m sorry. Of course. And I’ve made you angry enough to curse. Sorry about that, too.”

  “I’m not angry.”

  “You sure? Because you look angry.”

  He spun on the heel of his perfectly polished boot and stalked up the flagstone path to the porch. “Report to me after this first session. I have your email address and will send you the time I expect you to come to the station. Behave yourself,” he called over his shoulder.

  Then he disappeared into Phoenix.

  “And goodbye to you, too,” Scarlet said to the emptiness surrounding her. For a moment she felt lonely. Which was stupid. She wasn’t any more alone than she’d been ten minutes ago. But something about Adam did things to her. Confused things. Things she’d rather not think about.

  So she wouldn’t.

  She followed the path and prepared herself to meet the men she would be working with. Teaching acting to gang members. Should be a piece of cake.

  ADAM WAVED TO RICK, then stepped outside. Scarlet had gotten to him with her very honest and very true words.

  Yes, he wanted her. But did she have to bring it out in the open? He didn’t want to admit it to himself, much less say it out loud. Now it was out there. Floating. Waiting to fan the flames of need that burned inside him.

  Yes, he wanted Scarlet.

  But he couldn’t have her.

  To take what he wanted from Scarlet would be unethical. Illegal. Misconduct. And even if no one found out, those actions would only lead to disaster. Better to imitate his mother’s approach to life. Close eyes and ignore what’s right in front of you. Don’t acknowledge. Don’t respond. Do nothing. Life is easier that way.

  Even as he thought about avoiding truth, he knew it was no way to live. At least, no way he wanted to live.

  Scarlet was braver than him. She’d said what she felt, what she knew to be true. He’d denied and ran. He didn’t feel too proud of himself, even though the final result was what he’d been after. He and Scarlet were totally platonic and they had to remain that way.

  His phone buzzed as he opened the door to his cruiser. He pulled it from the holder clipped to his belt. No ID.

  “Hinton.”

  “Oh, Adam, you answered,” the voice said with a nervous giggle.

  “Yes.”

  “This is Sophia. Sophia Waters, Mayor Waters’s daughter.”

  “Of course. What can I do for you, Miss Waters?”

  Another nervous giggle. “Well, this is going to sound very forward. I wondered if you had a date for the Labor Day picnic next weekend? I haven’t met too many men in Oak Stand. Or should I say single men. Um, single men who are nice men. Oh, I’m so botching this—”

  “No, you’re not botching anything—”

  “Oh, but I am.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh. This time it didn’t sound as nervous. “I’m not really good with being an aggressive, modern woman.” She paused. “I called to ask you to attend the picnic with me. I make a good lemon pie and I’ll even be naughty and sneak in some wine.”

  What could he say? Sophia was the right kind of woman. She’d said so herself. With her bright blue eyes, subdued makeup and nicely padded bra, she was exactly the sort of girl he should be dating. Sophia taught Sunday school at the Methodist church, she whipped up brownies for the firefighters’ bake sale and she painted her fingernails the lightest shades of pink. She was refined, polite and cheerful. Everything a man could hope for in a partner.

  “I’d love to go with you, Sophia. I have Labor Day off, so I can lose the uniform and wear jeans.”

  Sophia laughed again. “That sounds wonderful. And, please, call me Sophie.”

  “Okay, then, Sophie, shall I pick you up?”

  “Well, sure. I guess. If you’d rather not, I can meet you there.”

  Adam thought she sounded as if she’d rather him make it an official date and pick her up. “The picnic starts at noon, so I’ll pick you up at eleven forty-five.”

  “Great. See you then,” she murmured. He could hear pleasure in her voice. Something about it made him feel uneasy. The way he’d felt at the dozens of debutante balls his mother had forced him to attend when he was in college. He felt…hunted.

  “See you,” he said, pressing the end button and returning the phone to its holder.

  He ducked inside the cruiser, firing the engine as Scarlet appeared on the porch. She stood, one hip cocked, arms akimbo. She watched him for a moment before raising her hand and wiggling her fingers, which he took to be a wave.

  He felt his groin tighten. Damn it.

  He didn’t wave as he reversed out of the gravel parking area and turned toward the highway that would take him to the town he served. He wasn’t being rude. Simply childish. Damn Scarlet for making him want her so much. Damn her for making Sophie Waters seem like taking a bath with his socks on.

  Then it struck him. What he faced was a test.

  Nine months ago, he’d left Houston and all that it represented. He’d left behind being his father’s son. Left behind Angi and a failed marriage. Left behind using his name to get ahead. He was done being Adam Hinton, heir to a large fortune, ne’er-do-well, seduced by big-breasted women in honky-tonk dives. Instead he set out to be who he’d always wanted to be. A policeman. A citizen. A friend. A neighbor. A regular Joe.

  So the desire Scarlet Rose evoked in him was a test.

  Would he revert back to his old ways?

  Or stick to his guns about being a changed man?

  Much depended on holding to the latter. He had no choice. He had to ignore the lust humming in his blood and look toward a future with someone who would stay in Oak Stand. Who would have his children. Who would balance a checkbook. Who would head a committee. Who would conduct herself in an orderly fashion.

  This was a test he had to pass.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  TWO DAYS LATER, Scarlet pushed through the glass door of the police station, relieved no reporters lurked outside. Seemed as though her stint as news item of the week was over. They were on to drunken heiresses who had face-lifts and child actors getting out of rehab, then wrecking their expensive rides while driving under the influence.

  “Hey, Scarlet,” Roz called from her desk behind the faux-wood front counter. “How are things at Phoenix?”

  Scarlet shrugged. Not good. But she didn’t want to admit she’d utterly failed to engage the guys’ interest in acting. They were way more interested in the way her butt filled out her tight black pants. Very different from her Jewish matriarchs. Tomorrow night, she would wear a gunnysack. “Fine. Just takes some getting used to.”

  “That bunch has been there for only about two weeks. Sometimes they need a sort of decompressin’ time before they open up. Or that’s what Trudy Cox says. She teaches GED there. You met Trudy yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  Roz opened her mouth, but Ada
m interrupted her. “Scarlet, come into my office and we’ll talk.” He turned into his office like a dictator. Guess she’d play the part of obedient subject. She was, after all, under his authority…which pissed her off. She shouldn’t have to toe the line for any man.

  “Coming, dear,” she called, giving Roz a wink before heading toward Adam’s office. Roz chuckled.

  “Close the door.” He didn’t bother to shift his gaze from the computer screen. He seemed grumpy, which should have made him less appealing. It didn’t.

  She nudged the door closed with her foot and settled onto one of the standard-issue office chairs in front of the shiny teak desk. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

  He gave her his attention. “Why not?”

  She arched an eyebrow.

  “Good God, I’m not going to rip your clothes off, throw you over my desk and have wild sex with you.”

  She didn’t say anything more, mostly because the scenario he’d painted made her pulse race. Desire snaked low in her tummy, uncurling and spreading its warmth. She shifted on the chair. “So you say.”

  “Not a chance.”

  Her desire fell apart and disappeared. Instead a little dart speared her heart. What did he mean not a chance? He didn’t want her anymore? Of course, they’d agreed to not doing any sort of sexual hokeypokey, but to be so brutal about it…

  “Tell me about yesterday.” He resumed his preoccupation with the computer, moving the mouse, clicking and scrolling. His eyes narrowed in concentration.

  Something about his easy dismissal annoyed Scarlet. “Well, after I passed out joints to get us in the zone, we took turns acting out scenes from our favorite porno flicks and then I left. They loved it. I must commend the judge on finding such a fulfilling community-service project for me.”

  No response. Not a flicker in his eyes or a jerking of his chin. Oh, he was a cool customer.

  “Maybe I should give the class a whirl. Sounds…educational and…stimulating.”

  Scarlet shrugged. “A sure thing.”

  Adam slid the keyboard beneath the desk, pushed his chair back and gave her his full regard. “Okay, so really, how did everything go?”

  “Badly.” She crossed her arms as she crossed her legs. Today she wore a strapless denim number by D&G that hit her upper thighs with a cute flounce. She’d paired it with strappy sandals and a cheetah-print scarf at her neck. She’d left her hair down, and the deep red waves brushed her collarbone. It was a hot look. She’d hoped to have Adam with his tongue lolling out.

  Obviously it hadn’t worked.

  “Why?” he asked, folding his hands across his flat abdomen like a principal addressing a student he’d caught cheating.

  “Because they couldn’t stop staring at my ass long enough to do any of the exercises I wanted them to try. They looked at me blankly before giving me a once-over and making come-jump-on-this expressions. One even made kissing faces.”

  Adam lifted his eyebrows and then his gaze raked her, much like her students had. “Maybe you should wear a sweater. Cover yourself up.”

  “I wore what I always wear to teach acting classes. Every inch of me was covered. In black.”

  He unclasped his hands and spread them apart. “Perhaps something baggy. Make it professional.”

  She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t that they were being sexist pigs. They were uncooperative. They snorted every time I demonstrated what I wanted them to do.”

  “I know you might not want to hear this, but not very many people are open to acting classes, especially gang members who’ve spent their whole lives putting on a tough face for the world. I don’t know much about acting, but I do know you have to strip away who you are to create who a director wants you to become.”

  “True. I like to think I’m a blank slate awaiting the direction, waiting to be swept up in the moment.”

  “That may be easy for you, but not for these guys. They’re not very tuned in to their inner, emotional selves.”

  A niggling of an idea seized Scarlet. “You.”

  “Me?” Alarm appeared in his eyes. “What about me?”

  “Will you come to my next class? All I have to do is show them a rugged, manly man going through the technique. Who is more macho than a guy with a gun strapped to his waist?” It would be perfect. She and Adam could start with a repetition exercise. If she could show her students how easy it was to bond and respond to a partner in the moment, they would be more apt to see acting as a serious discipline.

  But Adam looked horrified.

  “First of all, I don’t wear my gun at my waist. It’s not a fashion accessory. It’s on my hip. And second, I’m not taking part in your class. I’m supervising you, making sure you don’t violate the terms of probation—”

  “I’m not.” Scarlet stood, shoving her hands in the baggy pockets. She paced as she worked through the idea. The students at Phoenix needed a role model, needed to see another man abandon his inhibitions and immerse himself in portraying a feeling. Yeah, having Adam there would be perfect. He was as buttoned-up and conservative as a guy could get. Not nerdy. No, with that body and his sense of humor, he was way beyond geek chic. But his reserved demeanor held him apart. If a guy like Adam could stand up in front of everyone and engage in acting exercises, then anyone could.

  She stopped pacing and whirled around. “Say you’ll do it. Not for me, but for those guys.”

  “No. Use Rick. He’s—what did you call it?—macho. He’s their leader. Much better to use him than—”

  “I want you.”

  “You can’t have me.”

  “Please.”

  “No.”

  What was wrong with him? “Are you chicken?”

  He bristled. Men. Always the same. Double dog dare them and they jumped right into your hand, every time. She closed her hand to seal the deal. “I think you are. I think you’re scared they will think you’re girly if you do a simple acting exercise. You’re afraid of getting in touch with your inner self. Typical man.”

  “I’m not afraid. I simply don’t want to be there. Doing that.” He stood and crossed his arms over his chest, concealing his badge. But Scarlet knew body language. He was defensive. Protecting himself. His masculinity.

  She smiled and tilted her head. “I see.”

  “What do you see?”

  “I see a man who has a chance to make a much-needed impression on guys who are scared and angry. Who hate police officers and see them in only one light. This is a chance for you to let them see the man beneath the uniform. To see you are more than the law. But you’re afraid it will make you weak.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “Don’t worry,” she said, shifting her gaze to the ceiling and sliding her tongue over her top lip in an I’m-thinking gesture. “Maybe I can get Drake to come. He seems fully in sync with his emotions.”

  “Fine. I’ll do it.” The way he almost growled the words revealed more than he was probably comfortable with.

  Yes. Scarlet clapped her hands. “Perfect.”

  “Anything else going on I should know about?”

  Other than dreaming about sliding her hands over his chest and licking his neck? “Nothing else. I’m in bed by ten o’clock every night and I’m eating my veggies.”

  He smiled. Finally. Something about it warmed her to her recently polished toes.

  “Good.”

  For a moment, silence hung between them. Adam studied her. Then his eyes dipped a smidgen. To her décolleté. She peeked surreptitiously and saw that her neckline gaped a bit. His observation didn’t feel the way the gang members’ ogling her had. Adam’s notice felt…welcome.

  The air became supercharged, crackling with unfulfilled desire. Scarlet swallowed and tried to find a smile. She failed. She pressed her lips together and tried to avert her gaze from his broad shoulders, from that small sprinkling of hair at the base of his throat, barely visible above the T-shirt he wore beneath his dark uniform. Tried to pretend he didn’t have lean
hips, a tight stomach and long, lanky legs.

  “Um, guess I’d better go. I told Rayne I would pick up Henry from school. They’re doing preproduction stuff today and start filming tomorrow.”

  His gaze met hers. “Oh, yeah. Good. I’m logging two hours in for you as time served, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Silence fell again. Scarlet didn’t move. Just soaked him in. Want burgeoned into beast mode. It clawed its way out from beneath the boulder of reason. She couldn’t stop it. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

  “Shit,” he breathed, closing his eyes.

  “But I won’t. I promised you I wouldn’t jeopardize your integrity. Still, I think you should know that I really, really want to kiss you.”

  “Stop saying things like that. Please. I’m trying—”

  “Never mind.” She moved toward the door. “My mouth gets me in as much trouble as my actions. This office isn’t bugged, is it?”

  “No.” He sank into his chair, a pained expression on his face. “We have to ignore this thing between us. Giving in to temptation will bring only temporary satisfaction and it can lead to disastrous consequences…for us both. This is a test of our resolve, Scarlet. If I did what I want to do to you, people would find out. The press would find out. I’d lose my job and you’d be painted as—”

  “A scarlet woman?”

  He smiled. “Is that why you picked the name?”

  She shook her head. He was right, but she didn’t like it. For the first time since John, she felt something for a man, and she couldn’t pursue it. So not fair.

  “It’s too bad, isn’t it?” she said. “To play together would be so mutually beneficial. But it can’t happen because of who you are. And what I did.”

  “Even if I weren’t the police chief and you weren’t serving out community service, it wouldn’t work between us. I’m not looking for a good time. I’m looking for a woman who will make a good wife.”

  “A wife?” She widened her eyes. Not a role she wanted to audition for. She couldn’t see herself like Rayne. No setting a perfectly prepared dinner in front of a man at the end of a long day. No wiping babies’ bottoms or decorating Christmas trees. Wife was a shoe that did not fit.