Carol Finch - Fit To Be Tied - Fit To Be Tied / The Lyon's Den

“Spoken like a woman who had a love affair that went south in a hurry,” he remarked.

Jessica jerked up her head. “And she doesn’t want to talk about it, so don’t ask.”

He shrugged those impossibly broad shoulders. His wet shirt accentuated rock-solid muscles and a washboard belly. Jessica tried exceptionally hard not to notice.

“That’s fine by me. I don’t want to talk about Sandi Saxon, the two-timing vamp who dumped me on her way up the social ladder so she could kick the dust of Buzzard’s Grove off her heels and land a sophisticated lawyer, either. It’s tough being left behind in a small town, hurt and humiliated, knowing your friends and acquaintances are discussing your personal disaster behind your back.”

“The woman must’ve been an absolute idiot.”

Devlin did a double take. “You don’t like me, yet you’re siding with me?”

It took a lot of gumption for Jessica to admit her feelings for him, since she had kept her emotions locked away most of her life. It was like sliding onto an operating table, prepped for open-heart surgery. Furthermore, she had learned not to let her affection show for fear it would be used against her.

“I like you fine, Callahan,” she said awkwardly. “That’s the problem. You happen to be devastatingly attractive, as if you don’t know. So was the ten-timing Don Juan who used my heart as a doormat. If I’ve been hard on you, don’t take it personally. It was unfair of me to transfer my disgust with Rex Cranfill to you.”

Devlin braced his arms on either side of her shoulders and leaned down to press his lips to hers in a light, butterfly kiss. But it wasn’t enough. Before he realized what he was doing he had deepened the kiss, plundered her mouth, as if he were starving to death for a taste of her—which he guessed he was and just refused to admit it to himself.

Sensations spiraled through him, giving him one hell of a head rush. He felt his arms contracting, pulling her closer. Devlin forced himself to back off and sit upright before he did something stupid, like running his hand down the column of her throat to cup the clinging fabric that covered her full breasts. Damn, this woman had an amazing, spontaneous effect on him. He’d gone from zero to hard-on in two seconds flat.

“All I have to say is that the guy you fell for must have been the world’s biggest idiot.” He made himself stand up and turn away before she noticed the bulge in the lower regions of his anatomy. “Peel off your wet clothes while I fix your flat tire. When I get back I’ll rustle up something for supper.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

Devlin was pleased to note that her voice was as unsteady as his. Made him feel ten times better. “You’re right, Blondie, I don’t have to, but I want to. If I’d jumped out to fix your tire you wouldn’t have twisted your ankle.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” she insisted.

“No? Try telling that to my conscience,” he said before he walked into the rain, hoping it would cool him down.

THAT KISS was definitely a mistake of gigantic proportions, Devlin scolded himself as he shoved the pickup into reverse and backed from the driveway. Yup, that kiss was going to be right there between them when he returned. He probably should apologize, but he wasn’t sorry to discover that she tasted sweet and passionate and was so damn responsive that desire hit him between the eyes when she kissed him back.

Devlin shook his head and sighed, knowing he had become too direct, blunt and straightforward for his own good these past few years. The lessons he’d learned with Sandi Saxon were still controlling his life to some extent.

After that humiliating episode, he had made his intentions perfectly clear to the women who came and went from his life. Not that there had been many of them. He’d been chased on a regular basis, but he refused to get caught just because he was considered good marriage material. Truth was, it had been a long dry spell for Devlin, which was probably why he’d gone off like a ticking time bomb when he leaned down to kiss Jessica.

Nowadays, if he was attracted to a woman he said so. He also set limitations, because he’d had no intention of getting serious again. He wanted that understood up front.

His mind wandering in a dozen different directions, Devlin stepped into the rain to make short shrift of the tire that had given Jessica fits. Then he hooked up her car to a sturdy chain and towed it to her house.

Devlin glanced at his watch. Thirty minutes had passed, and he still wasn’t certain if he was ready to face Jessica again. But there was no postponing the inevitable, he told himself. He’d just play it cool. If she wanted to discuss that explosive, lip-sizzling kiss that rocked his world, then she could bring it up.

Devlin dashed through the downpour, then shouldered through the front door to see Jessica’s ruined business suit piled on the coffee table. Thank goodness she had covered herself up with the handcrafted quilt. He didn’t need to see her in that skimpy pink robe, because his imagination was already doing a number on him.

“Your flat is fixed, but you’ll need a new tire,” he said, striving for a nonchalant tone. “Anything else I can do for you before I fix supper?”

“Well, yes, but I doubt you’ll want to do it,” she murmured, then glanced quickly away.

Yup, she was definitely uncomfortable about that impulsive kiss he’d laid on her without warning. “Your wish is my command, Blondie.” Yeah, that’s it, Callahan. Keep things light and impersonal, and maybe you both can relax.

“My animals haven’t been fed,” she announced.

Devlin smacked himself on the forehead with the heel of his hand. “Damn, did I ever walk right into that. Now I have to feed the nuisances that started this feud between us.”

Jessica grinned, but she couldn’t maintain eye contact for more than a couple of seconds. He figured she felt as awkward as he did after that impulsive, electrifying kiss.

“Don’tcha just love the irony of this, Callahan?” she asked.

Good girl, Blondie, keep it light and we’ll get past this awkward moment, he mused. “Yeah, and when I get eaten by a bear you can tend my wimpy cattle herd. I’d probably appreciate the irony of that even more.”

“I’m really sorry about the extra work and all the trouble my animals caused,” Jessica apologized. She stared at the air over his left shoulder. “I realize we have a problem, and I tried to solve it by moving some of the cages farther west. But since it’s raining, and I can’t walk, it will be a while before I can move the loud-mouth animals away from your fence.”

“I appreciate your effort. Now where’s the feed and who gets how much of what?”

Jessica grabbed a pen and notepad off the coffee table, then made a list of the rations for her exotic animals.

“Criminey, your feed bill must be staggering,” Devlin said when she kept writing and writing.

“The association picks up part of the tab, but the rest comes out of my pocket. Not that I mind. The animals are my hobby, and they have become like family to me.”

“A husband might be cheaper,” he retorted.

Jessica picked up her credit-card bill and thrust the invoice at him. “Think so? My ex-fiancé sneaked a peek in my wallet and jotted down the account number and charged a cruise for two to my tab. He was clever about spending my money more often than his after we started dating.” She gave herself a self-deprecating smirk. “Being a number cruncher by profession, you’d have thought I’d notice. Go figure.”

“A fine pair we make,” Devlin said, then snorted. “Your ex-fiancé wanted to get his hands on your money and my ex-fiancée didn’t think I could make enough of the green stuff to keep her in the manner to which she aspired. If I ever find myself on the verge of what feels like love, money sure as hell isn’t going to enter into the equation. If the lady doesn’t love me for who and what I am, doesn’t approve of the same things I stand for, and against, doesn’t return my loyalty, then I want no part of it.”