Victoria Dahl - Lead Me On

“No, it’s not right,” Jane muttered before she said goodbye and hit End. It wasn’t right that no matter how hard she tried, Jane couldn’t get away from this life. The life of courthouses and bail bondsmen and visits to jail. It didn’t matter how good she was at her job or how hard she worked. All it took was one phone call and Jane Morgan was right back in the trailer park.

She picked up the business card and looked at it one last time.

Yeah, she was spiraling, all right. Might as well enjoy the damn ride.

AH, CHRIST. Chase slapped down the visor of his truck in a burst of panic. He’d forgotten to shave.

“Shit,” he muttered at his reflection, swiping a hand over his prickly jaw. He popped the visor back up with another curse. There was no time now. Jane Morgan had called and asked him to meet her. Even the quick shower had been a risk. He’d half expected to come out of the bathroom and find that she’d left a message calling it off. Now that he was only steps away from the bar he wasn’t turning back.

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he damn sure wanted to find out. Chase slammed the door of his pickup and rushed across the street to the bar.

It took a few seconds to spot Jane. She sort of…blended in to the background. Despite it being Friday night, her hair was still pulled back into a tight bun. She still wore her pricey-looking white suit. As he watched, she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Jane was getting sleepy. He was about to miss his chance at a date.

Chase pushed through the mingling crowd and stopped next to her table. “Hey, Jane.”

“Oh!” she yelped, slipping on her glasses before she pushed awkwardly to her feet. “Hello.”

“I’m really glad you called.”

“I…just… I had your card.” Her hands gestured helplessly, so Chase waved her back to her chair.

He glanced down to her glass of water. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Um…sure.”

Chase caught a waitress’s eye, and the woman sauntered over with a grin that faded when he tilted his head toward Jane. She ordered a martini and looked surprised at his request for a Coke.

“Aren’t you going to have something?”

“No, I don’t drink.”

Her eyes flew wide behind the glasses. “Oh! I’m sorry. I’ll cancel mine, then, and—”

“Hey, it’s no big deal.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to be disrespectful or—”

“It’s no problem. I’m not an alcoholic, so you don’t have to worry that you’ll push me off the wagon. My dad’s a big drinker, and I thought it’d be better if I never started down that road.”

Jane looked doubtfully down at her water.

“Seriously!” He laughed. “You know I work in construction, right? I guarantee my friends can throw back a hell of a lot more alcohol than you can. So drink up.”

Her drink arrived as if on cue. “Well…” She picked up her martini with a bemused smile. “All right. Cheers, then.” Still, she took only a tiny sip.

“So why did you call? Not that I’m objecting.” When a blush climbed her face at his words, Chase grinned. A blush was good. Very good. The modest Miss Jane did like him, despite her earlier words. There was something about her that made him want to…mess her up a little. He’d never been interested in a woman like her before, but for some reason her coolness fascinated him. And this new nervousness pushed heat through his skin. She’d probably never even been alone with a guy like Chase.

Jane took another sip of her drink and swallowed hard. Her pearl earrings glinted softly, as if warning him of her modesty. “It’s my birthday. On Sunday, I mean.”

“Oh, happy birthday.”

“Thanks. So I just thought, um… Well.”

Chase blinked at the sudden blush in her cheeks. “What? You thought I’d make a good birthday present?”

“No!” she cried. “Of course not! That would be… No, I just thought I’d…celebrate.”

But that hot red burn belied her words. He’d been half joking, but now…

Jesus Christ, was he supposed to be the present she gave herself for her birthday? Chase wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

No, wait. He was sure after all. It felt pretty damn fine with him.

Jane finished her drink in one gulp.

“So,” he ventured, suddenly unsure what to say. All he could think about was the fact that Jane really was looking for a good time, and that good time apparently involved him. Still, she couldn’t possibly mean to be so forward. Maybe she thought they’d hang out tonight and go on another date on Sunday.

Chase cleared his throat. “How’s work going?”

“Fine. How’s the business of blowing things up?”

He grinned. “Pretty damn fun. Not that I get to blow things up very often, but when I do, it’s a rush. You wanna see a blast sometime? Maybe next week?”

“Oh.” Her soft mouth made a lovely little O. He noticed how perfect her skin was and wondered what it would feel like if he dragged his fingers across her cheek. Though her eyes had brightened with interest, she shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Think about it. I’ll call you next week.”

He ignored the way she frowned. She might be shy, but she’d called him. She was interested.

“Chase, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but…”

“Shit, did I screw up already?”

“No, I just want to be clear about something.” Jane sat up a little straighter, though he wouldn’t have thought that was possible. She always looked stiff. This girl needed some serious relaxing, and he’d be happy to show her how to get down and dirty.

“I’m not, um…” She cleared her throat again. “I just got out of a relationship, so this isn’t… This is casual.”

“Casual.”

“Yes. Temporary.”

Chase wasn’t sure why he felt a little twinge of hurt. After all, he’d asked her out while still riding an adrenaline wave. He hadn’t thought about much more than the challenge of getting her out for a drink, and then a little more. “Okay. Duly noted. I asked you out because I thought we might have fun, that’s all. No pressure.”

She smiled, her eyes flashing happiness. “Good. Have you had dinner?”

“Yes. Have you? I’d be happy to—”

“I’m good,” she blurted.

So she didn’t want dinner or a relationship. Was he losing his mind or did that leave only one possibility? “Let me buy you another drink,” he offered, the only thing he could think of.

“No, but thank you.” Her eyes fell to the table. “One more thing. I wouldn’t normally go out with men with whom I have a working relationship. I mean, I wouldn’t normally do this at all, but…”

“I’m happy you’re making an exception.”

“I trust you’ll be discreet?”

“Oh, of course.” Chase tried to shake off the feeling he was being interviewed, but Coke sloshed over the rim of his glass when he picked it up.

“If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I’ll have to deal with come-ons and crude remarks. I can’t have that in my workplace.”

“No problem. You can trust me.”

“Good.” She nodded, her mouth serious. “Can we go to your place, then?”

His throat spasmed, choking off the soda he’d been swallowing. The Coke tried to escape another way, burning toward his nose. Chase coughed in a desperate attempt to retain some dignity, but he couldn’t stop his eyes from watering. “What?” he managed, swiping at the tears. Despite his theorizing, he hadn’t convinced himself that Jane had called him for sex. He was feeling more sure by the second.

Jane didn’t answer. She’d regained her composure, perhaps because he’d lost his, and now she sat in her normal prim pose, hands clasped and resting on the table in front of her.