Мишель Роуэн - Hot Spell

However, it was true. She didn’t love David, but she had faith that she’d grow to love him. All of this love-at-first-sight stuff was highly overrated. There was no such thing as love at first sight. Lust at first sight, maybe. And lust faded quickly. A solid friendship, like that she and David had, given enough time to grow and mature into love, would stand the test of time.

She nodded to herself. Time was all she needed. Time away from Mystic Ridge and time away from Jacob Caine.

As far as she was concerned, she never wanted to see him again.

JACOB had decided to never see Amanda the Strange again.

Ever.

It was over.

Completely and utterly over between them. Not that it had ever begun.

He pointed at the shot glass in front of him and the bartender obliged him by filling it up with Jack Daniel’s for the…how many was it? He’d lost count. Good job O’Grady’s let him keep a tab. He was good for it. He’d never try to get out of any debts he owed for this wonderful, mind-numbing alcohol.

Yes, he was drunk. Being drunk was good. He liked it. He wouldn’t like it tomorrow when he would have to deal with the unavoidable hangover, but hell if he gave a damn at the moment.

He eyed his watch—nine o’clock. He still had a whole lot more Saturday night to get through. He was going to keep drinking until he could wipe Amanda’s face and body out of his memory forever.

Goodbye, ghost girl .

“Hey!” He motioned for the bartender. “I think I want to make a toast.”

The bartender, whose name was Steve, eyed him wearily. “Yeah? What to?”

“To women.”

“That’s not much of a toast, man.”

Jacob held up a finger. “I’m not finished. To women who have screwed me and then screwed me over. May they all rot in hell!”

Steve’s lips quirked. “That I’ll definitely drink to.” He poured himself a shot, clinked glasses with Jacob, and they both sucked down the whisky.

“Again,” Jacob pointed at the glass.

“You’re not driving tonight, I hope?”

“No way. Left my car at home. The walk’ll do me good.”

“Fresh air, exercise and all that bullshit.”

“That’s right.”

Steve eyed him. “May I make a casual observation?”

Jacob waved a hand. “Be my guest.”

“Normally, when you come in here you’re not alone, and I never see you with the same woman twice. Which one are you trying to forget tonight?”

Jacob snorted. “Funny, I’ve already forgotten.”

He wished it was true.

He didn’t want to fixate on her. It was sad and pathetic. He didn’t do sad and pathetic anymore. He’d left that side of himself in Seattle two years ago when he’d moved here to start a new life.

“Maybe I’ll become a monk,” Jacob decided.

“That doesn’t sound like a very good plan to me.”

“I could try it. What’s the harm?”

Steve grinned at him. “You know what the best way to get over somebody is?”

“Tell me.”

“Get with somebody else. As soon as possible.”

Jacob leaned over the bar. “You are a wise, wise man.”

“That’s why I get paid the big bucks.” Steve’s grin widened. “And if you don’t mind me helping you out a bit, there’s a babe over in the corner who’s been giving you the eye all evening. I’d put money on her being a sure thing.”

Jacob swiveled around on his stool and looked in the direction the bartender had nodded. And sure enough, there was a beautiful blonde staring at him. She wore a short skirt and had fantastic breasts that practically spilled out the top of her tight red top.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Steve said. “Just send me an invite to the wedding.”

Jacob tested his legs by standing up for the first time in an hour and moved toward the blonde without thinking twice. Yes, this was exactly what he needed. He needed to forget Amanda. After all, she already thought he was a womanizer. And that was an accurate enough description, at least until lately. He loved women. Always had.

This woman looked easy to love. Or, maybe she just looked easy.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, then cringed at his words. He could totally do better than that.

Luckily the blonde didn’t seem to mind. “Hey. You’re Jacob, right?”

“Guilty as charged.”

“I’ve been waiting for the chance to talk to you. I would have gone up to the bar but—” She leaned forward to share some of her cleavage with him. “—I’m way too shy.”

Sure she was.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Mandy.”

He grimaced. Mandy sounded a lot like Amanda. Too much like it. A thin layer of his pleasant inebriation burned off at the thought.

She patted the seat next to her. “Come sit with me.”

He sat. He needed to order more drinks. He couldn’t let himself sober up. Not tonight.

“I have to be honest.” Mandy’s gaze slowly traveled the length of him. “You went out with my sister Emily last year and she couldn’t stop talking about how amazing you were in bed.”

“Oh yeah?” He racked his mind for anything that might clue him in to who Emily had been. The fact that nothing came to mind did not make him proud.

“Mm-hmm,” Mandy wrapped her hand around his left knee and began to rub. “I guess I just wanted to find out for myself.”

He nodded stiffly. “Sounds good to me.”

“You don’t know how good.” Her red lips curled into a sexy smile and she leaned forward to kiss him as her hand boldly moved up his thigh.

Mandy wasn’t bashful, that was for sure.

And he wanted this. A gorgeous blonde with a sexy little body throwing herself at him? Giving him every indication that she was ready, willing and able even without having to use his empathic ability to get a read on her true feelings? That sounded like a very good thing indeed.

At least it did in theory.

She moved away from him and frowned when she realized that he wasn’t kissing her back. “Something wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Don’t you find me attractive?”

“You? You’re hot. No question.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

That was an excellent question.

“I don’t know,” he said.

That was not an excellent answer.

“I want you to take me back to your place,” she whispered, and wrapped her arms around him so her large breasts brushed against his chest. “I’m not normally this forward, but I really want you, even if it’s just for tonight. I’m okay with one-night stands.”

Hot blonde. Hot body. Willing to have sex with him with no strings attached.

And he had never been less aroused in his entire life.

Something was seriously wrong with that picture.

He pried her arms away from him. “This isn’t going to work.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” He grappled for a response. “Because I’m not in a good place tonight. I need to get my thoughts together.”

Understanding came over her face. “Is this a girlfriend issue? Because I can be very discreet.”

The woman was every heterosexual man’s wet dream come true.

But Jacob knew that a simple night of sex was not in the cards for him at the moment and it wasn’t just because of the alcohol. It was because of the picture seared into his brain.

A picture of Amanda.

A hot line of annoyance burned the rest of his buzz away.

That was Amanda for you , he thought. The ultimate buzz kill .

Then he gripped the side of his chair as another thought occurred to him.

This had to be a part of the curse. The clock was still working its magic nearly twenty-four hours after they’d first come in contact with it. Amanda could read his thoughts and he could make her tell the truth. They were compelled to be together sexually if in close proximity for too long.