Feeling Hot (2 page)

But he felt Patty’s eyes burning a hole into his back like a laser, and every instinct in his body told him the chick would follow him, if only to slip her number into his hand. He picked up the pace, his gaze honing in on the door. Ten more steps and he’d be outta here.

The door swung open just as he reached it. He halted, politely waiting for two middle-aged women to stroll inside. They wore matching lemon-yellow tank tops with the words
Rita’s Getting Married!
sewed on with blue sequins, and they were clearly sloshed, swaying and giggling as they burst into the bar. Two more women followed the duo. Then a third. A fourth.

Sweet baby Jesus. It was like a damn clown car. Female bodies kept popping through the door, all clad in those cheesy yellow shirts that had him inwardly cursing that wretched Rita.

He snuck a peek at the pool table and saw Polly eyeing him with the kind of determination you saw on the faces of suicide bombers—set on accomplishing the task at all costs. She took a step forward.

Crap
.

He tapped his foot in impatience as more women streamed into the bar. Shifting his gaze, he noticed a doorway to his right. Another glance across the room revealed that his single-minded brunette had turned to retrieve the purse she’d left on the pool table.

Without hesitation, Cash ducked into the opening he’d spotted.

He found himself in a narrow passage that boasted yet another doorway. Making a beeline for it, he burst into a small room bathed in darkness and let out a breath heavy with relief.

Thank the Lord. Now all he had to do was wait a few minutes, peek out to make sure the groupie wasn’t looking, and get the hell out of—

“I know I’m not supposed to be in here!”

Cash’s heart stopped, then took off like a runaway train. As adrenaline surged through his veins, he spun around, searching for the owner of the panicked female voice that had just knocked ten years off his life.

“I need a few more minutes and then I’ll be gone, okay?”

Squinting, he discerned a shadowy figure sitting on a cushioned loveseat on the other side of the room. “Jesus, you scared the hell out of me,” he grumbled.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was better able to make out his surroundings. Small room, maybe twelve by twelve feet. A stack of dusty boxes against one wall. Metal racks.

He walked over to the little couch sandwiched between more boxes and an aluminum ladder. “What are you doing sitting alone in the dark?” he demanded, peering down at the woman.

“I’m sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I know I shouldn’t be lurking in here like a serial killer, but like I said, I’ll be gone in a minute. There’s no need to tell your manager or—”

“Relax, I don’t work here.” He expelled a sigh. “I’m hiding out too.”

“Oh. Okay then.” She awkwardly patted the cushion next to her. “You might as well sit down. Can’t promise I’ll be good company, but you’re making me nervous looming over me like that.”

After a beat of reluctance, he lowered his body onto the loveseat. Then he squinted to get a better look at his fellow hider—and realized she was beautiful. Like absolutely fucking beautiful.

Didn’t happen often, but he was stunned speechless as he let his gaze drink her in. Long waves of tousled, honey-colored hair. Big blue eyes. Delicate features and a lush mouth, pink and perfect.

Sweet Jesus.

This woman belonged on the cover of a magazine. Or maybe in a porno—one that starred the two of them and involved that sexy mouth of hers on every inch of his naked body.

His cock promptly turned to granite, voicing its approval of the dirty images that filled Cash’s head. He clenched his teeth and breathed through his nose, trying to quell the rush of hunger that flooded his groin.

“Are you done staring at me?” she asked wryly.

Done? Christ, he hadn’t even gotten started. His gaze traveled south, snagging on the full perky breasts outlined by a tight scoop-necked top, her shapely denim-covered legs, the red toenails peeking out of a pair of open-toed heels. His mental porno took a different direction, one that now featured his mouth and
her
naked body. Holy fuck. He’d been with his fair share of hot females, but this girl surpassed hot. She was a scorching inferno.

“You know what, Mr. Pervy Eyes? You’re not making a good first impression,” she announced.

Yup, she was right. He absolutely had a case of the Pervy Eyes. Snapping out of his lust-filled stupor, Cash wrenched his gaze off the beautiful stranger and distracted himself by glancing around the room.

“What is this place?” he asked when he noticed a pile of wooden clothes hangers cluttering the linoleum floor.

“It used to be a coatroom.”

“How do you know that?”

“I used to work here, back when this bar was a French restaurant,” she explained. “This was the coatroom.”

“Those still exist?”

“Sure. But not here obviously, since this is no longer a coatroom.”

“Stop saying coatroom.”

“Stop asking questions that require the word
coatroom
in their answers.”

Cash stared at her. Then he burst out laughing. Okay, he liked this chick.

“So who are you hiding from?” she asked, crossing her ankles together in a nonchalant pose.

He stifled a groan. “A potential stalker.”

“Oh, I know all about those.”

He didn’t doubt it. With those looks, she probably fended off the advances of hundreds of dudes on a daily basis.

“So you’re also dodging someone who wants to get in your pants?” he prompted.

“Other than you, you mean?”

“Funny.”

“I thought so.” She paused, as if debating whether to confide in him. “I needed to get away from my friends for a few minutes. My best friend Tessa just landed a huge promotion at the advertising agency where she works, so a group of us went out to celebrate.”

Cash raised a brow. “And you’re hiding out. Wow. You’re a really shitty friend.”

“Me? How about
Tessa
? She’s the one holding this let’s-gush-about-my-new-job get-together on the same day her best friend was
fired
.”

“You got fired?”

“Yep, but that’s the least of my problems. I also have a crazy ex to contend with.” She exhaled loudly. “Let’s just say I’ve been having a really bad month, okay?”

Cash could commiserate—his six-month sexual dry spell wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows either. “Did you like your job?” he asked, deciding not to touch the
crazy ex
comment.

“No. I hated it, actually. I worked as a salesgirl at a jewelry store and my boss was a total creep. He kept offering to take me to Victoria’s Secret to help me pick out lingerie. You know, in case I need a second opinion.” She blew out another frustrated breath. “But that’s not the point. The point is, I got fired. Again.”

Cash couldn’t help but laugh. “It happens to you a lot?”

“Sure does.” She slanted her head. “What line of work are
you
in?”

He hesitated for a beat, then said, “Security.”

Fine, he was lying again, but he’d already escaped one navy groupie tonight and he wasn’t looking for a repeat performance. Then again, this woman was so beautiful he might be willing to make an exception.

“Huh. I figured you’d say military. You give off a military vibe. I mean, look at that big, buff body of yours—it ought to be illegal.”

He didn’t miss the slight note of derision when she said the word
military
. “Got something against military men?” he asked lightly.

“Nope. I respect the hell out of them,” she answered. “I just don’t want to date them.”

He frowned, a part of him wanting to admit he’d lied about his job, just to see how she’d react. But she kept talking before he could get a word in. “I bet you’re good at security. Me, on the other hand? I suck at everything.”

Cash smiled. “I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true. That’s why I always get fired. School was never my thing, so I didn’t go to college. I have no interest in medicine like my mom, no distinguishable talents, no great passions. I like messing around with my camera and taking pictures, but that’s just a hobby.” Vulnerability flashed in her big blue eyes. “Do you think there’s a certain age when you should have everything figured out? Because I just turned twenty-six, and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life.”

He shrugged. “I think everyone figures stuff out at their own pace. Eventually you’ll find yourself on the right path.”

“I guess.” Her shoulders sagged. “Maybe I should get into porn. According to some creepy producer who approached me on the street, I have the ‘look’ for it.”

“You really got asked to do porn?” Well. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who could totally picture this blue-eyed beauty in his own personal naked film.

“Yes, I really did,” she said in a glum voice.

“Porn’s an admirable profession,” he said solemnly.

She pursed her lips in thought. “But my porn-star name sucks. You know how you’re supposed to take the name of your first pet and pair it with the street you grew up on? Well, our dog’s name was Boris and I grew up on Denton Street. Boris Denton. That sounds like a dictator.”

“I’m not even going to ask why you’d name your dog Boris.”

“That’s my brother’s doing.” She fired him a curious look. “What would your porn name be?”

“I don’t know. I never had any pets growing up.” He shrugged again. “Besides, I’ve been told my real name sounds like a porn name anyway, so I guess I’ve already got one.” He supplied his name before she could ask. “Cash McCoy.”

She promptly shook her head. “That’s not a porn name. That’s cowboy all the way.”

“Cowboy,” he echoed dubiously.

“Hell yeah. Or maybe an actor.” She clapped her hands together. “An actor who
plays
a cowboy. Can’t you see it?” Her voice deepened to mimic the movie-man voice from the previews. “
One duel, one chance to avenge his pa’s murder…Cash McCoy in…
High Noon Outlaw.” She grinned at him. “Maybe that’s what I should do—write the copy for movie trailers.”

“I think you should stick to porn.
High Noon Outlaw
sounds like the worst movie on the planet.”

As another peal of laughter left that Cupid’s bow mouth of hers, lust slammed into his groin again. Damn, her lips were so damn sexy. Pink, ripe and utterly kissable. His mouth tingled, and he had to fight the urge to lean in and press his lips to hers. He was dying to know if she tasted as sweet as she looked. The kind of noises she’d make when their tongues touched.

“Why do you keep staring at my lips?”

Sheepish, he met her eyes, which were narrowed with distrust. “I can’t help it. You have really nice lips.”

“And let me guess, they’d look even nicer wrapped around your dick.”

He choked out a laugh. “You said it, not me.”

“But you were thinking it.”

Yup, he sure was. And his cock seemed to enjoy the wicked thoughts running through Cash’s mind—the big boy was harder than a baseball bat, pushing against his zipper and begging for some attention.

“So it’s true, huh? Men really do think about sex like every other minute,” she said in a wry voice.

“Afraid so,” he confirmed.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde bombshell ran a hand through her hair, causing the scent of her shampoo to drift into his nose and wreak havoc on his senses. She smelled like cherries—man oh man, he loved cherries.

Make a move, McCoy
.

His brain’s order—or had that come from his cock?—called attention to the opportunity staring him square in the eye. Here he was, sitting in the dark with a beautiful woman and an erection—why the hell was he dilly-dallying?

“You know, I just had a thought,” he drawled.

“Is that a new occurrence for you? Is your brain tingling?”

One of them is…

Cash fought a grin and slid across the couch, stopping when only a mere foot separated them. “See, you just got fired, which means you’re upset. And I’m not the kind of man who walks away when he encounters a damsel in distress.”

“Uh-huh. Go on.”

“It’s in my nature to want to ease that distress. Lucky for you, I know exactly how I can make you feel better.”

“I’m sure you do.” Her lips twitched as if she were holding back laughter. “So, pray tell, what will make me feel better?”

“A kiss.”

“Ah.” She paused. “I think I’ll pass.”

“You sure about that?”

He slid even closer, so that his thigh pressed into hers. The moment contact was made, a jolt of heat seared through his camo pants and scorched his skin. The blonde’s eyes widened at his nearness, but she didn’t scoot away. In fact, he was certain he glimpsed a flicker of desire in those baby-blues. And he’d definitely heard the hitch in her breath.

Oh, and look at that, the tip of her tongue was sweeping over her bottom lip.

Cash chuckled. “You totally want to kiss me.”

Even in the darkness, he saw the blush staining her cheeks. “I do not.”