Chapter One (25 page)

pull up in the driveway. Rascal bounded out to greet her, He sure as hell did. Couldn’t sleep the past couple barking and wagging his tail.

nights either. Laid awake jacking off, her scent clinging to his He knew the feeling. His pulse jacked up just looking at sheets and pillowcases.

her as she slid out of her car wearing a tight pink skirt with a Goddammit, he wanted her in his bed again. And not matching short jacket. Her sunglasses masked her eyes, but the just for one night or two, either. He wanted forever. God, he grim set to her lips told him she wasn’t happy to be there.

could imagine how she’d react if he told her that. But he knew Not that he expected her to be. In fact, he’d wager she her fears and he had to handle this delicately. If he pushed too was downright pissed about his ultimatum.

hard, he’d lose her. So he had to play this cool. Very cool.

“Blair,” he said as she walked up the stairs.

He picked up an auto magazine and flipped through it

“Rand.”

while she wandered through the house, then set it down when

“Thanks for coming.”

she returned, noticing she sat in the chair next to the sofa.

“Uh huh. Shall we get started?”

Keeping her distance, was she?

“Sure.” He opened the screen door for her and she Flipping the paper over in her clipboard, she cast him a stepped inside, her back stiff and straight.

direct look. “I assume you have specific ideas on redesign.”

Oh yeah. She was mad as a swatted hornet. He grinned.

“Not really.”

Her perfectly sculpted brows arched upward. “Excuse me?”

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Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

He leaned back and placed his arms over the back of way. But he wasn’t going to have her. Not tonight, anyway.

the couch. “I have no clue.”

“Decorate it in a way that would please you if you lived here.”

“Then how am I supposed to redesign the interior of

“Fine. I’ll make sure the litany of brides-to-be your home?”

approve.”

“That’s your area of expertise, Blair. I’m a lawman, not

“Great.”

a designer.”

“You’ll need to move out for a couple weeks.”

“But this is your house.”

“I can stay down at the jail. There’s a bedroom and

“I trust your judgment.”

shower there.”

“I could turn your entire house into a pink, frilly She stood and smoothed her skirt, pulling a sheet off nightmare.”

the clipboard. “I’ll need you to list and tag the items that are He laughed. “You could. But you won’t. You’re too staying. Someone from my office will call you in the morning ethical for that.”

to notify you what day we’ll start.”

She sighed. “You’re right. How am I supposed to know

“I hope it’ll be soon?”

what you want, Rand?”

She pursed her lips and studied him. “Have a candidate

“It’s easy. You know me. And this place is a mix and in mind for Mrs. McKay already?”

mess of furniture that doesn’t match. Other than a couple

“You might say that.”

antiques that belonged to my grandparents, everything goes. I She had trouble disguising her surprise at his comment.

want to settle down, raise a family some day, so all I’m looking

“I’ll do my best to hurry things along for you, then. Wouldn’t for is something functional.”

want to keep the impending bride waiting.”

“Really.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

She tapped her pen against the clipboard. He fought With a sharp inhale through her nose, since her lips back a smile. “Yeah. Really.”

were cemented shut in a tight line, she scooped up her things

“So you want to redecorate to parade the prospective and stalked to the front door, practically pushing the screen off brides around in something a little fancier than what you have its hinges as she slammed through it on her way out.

now.”

Oh yeah. She was damn mad now.

Oh, she was getting pissed. He wished he could laugh.

He had her right where he wanted her. Furious, jealous

“Not fancy. I’m a simple man. I just want it nice.”

and confused.

“Define
nice
.”

God, he loved her.

He loved the way her bottom lip twitched when she was annoyed. He wanted to grab it with his teeth and pull her

*****

Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

Redecorate. Parade of brides-to-be.
Blair drummed her Sickening.

fingernails on her desk and tore through her catalogs, wishing But Rand, instead of doing what Blair’s father had she could redecorate Rand’s house like a sultan’s harem. Jewel done, had just given her free rein over his entire house. Had colored pillows, hanging swags, draping silks in every color of told her to decorate it the way she would if she lived there.

the rainbow. It would serve him right if she did.

Except she wasn’t going to be decorating it for herself.

Too bad she had professional scruples.

She was going to be decorating it for some other woman. He’d
Asshole. Prick. Degenerate. Dickhead
. She hated him.

just fucked her, while he was obviously already entertaining Hated, hated, hated him. With a passion that made her blood the idea of marrying someone else.

boil.

Son of a bitch. How could she have let her heart get How dare he be so nice, so professional, so

involved in one night of glorious fucking? Because it sure as accommodating.

hell hurt at the thought of Rand marrying another woman, of So utterly and completely unpredictable. She’d fully some other woman having that back yard with those kids and expected him to have a detailed outline of every piece of dogs and that swimming pool.

furniture he wanted and where, every color, every fabric, Stupid fantasies, anyway. It had been a bet. And she’d allowing her no leeway whatsoever. Instead, he blew her away done her part and fulfilled it. Now it was over. She and Rand by telling her to do whatever she wanted.

were over.

Her father had allowed her to redecorate one room in And when she finished this project, she never had to their house once. Right after she’d graduated from college.

think about him, see him, or speak to him again.

She’d made suggestions, but nothing she’d offered had been But she would do a good job on his house. She would good enough for him. He’d changed everything. And his design it as if she was the woman who was going to move in choices had been hideous, but of course he had to have control.

there, as if she was the woman who was going to have his Her mother hadn’t said a word. So typical. Blair hadn’t children and create a life with him.

bothered to argue with him. It was his dime, after all. He’d She’d show him he could trust her with his faith in her.

wanted Early American ugly, and that’s what he’d gotten. The Because she was a professional who was damn good at colors were dark, not a feminine touch at all. And it was their her job.

master bedroom. By the time Blair had finished there had been Not because she cared about him.

nothing left of her mother in that bedroom.

Except her mother.

And her mom had pronounced it just lovely, had praised Blair for her work and told her father that his taste was wonderful.

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Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

“Damn. This is nice,” he said, tilting his head back and resting his palm against the butt of his pistol in his hip holster.

“It just brightens up the front porch a little.”

Her throat had gone completely dry. She hoped he couldn’t tell she was shaking. Honestly, why was she so nervous?

“I’ll take you on a tour of your new place, if you’re interested,” she said with a casual shrug.

The house turned out perfect. Blair’s stomach squeezed

“Sure. I can’t wait to see it.”

with both excited anticipation and bittersweet regret. She could Rand didn’t know who was more nervous—him or

live in this house, could be comfortable and happy here.

Blair. She might be trying her best to hide it, but he saw it in It was gorgeous, a place she would consider every the furtive glances she threw his way while she acted woman’s dream, yet a house a man could enjoy living in.

nonchalant and shrugged her way into a near fit.

And Rand was due any minute. She cruised through For two damn weeks he’d been cooling his heels at his every room to make sure nothing was out of place, then ran to office, dying to sneak out here and see what she was doing, but the front porch when she heard him drive up, her stomach holding true to his word and staying away. It took enormous twisting in knots.

willpower and lots of jacking off.

She was never nervous about presenting her finished He missed her. Missed being around her, missed her product to clients, but she was today. Nevertheless, she scent, her smile, even missed annoying her. He really liked smoothed her skirt and presented a calm, professional annoying her. He liked her riled up and angry, all miffed at him demeanor, leaning against the door as he came up the stairs.

with righteous anger. Her face glowed when she was pissed And tried not to drool as he hooked his thumbs in the off, her eyes sparkling with passion.

belt loops of his jeans and stopped at the front step, resting his He missed touching her. Kissing her. Fucking her.

hip against the porch railing, whistling.

His cock ached for her.

She’d done the front porch, too. Not much, of course, His heart ached for her.

but enough that he’d notice. Or she’d hoped he’d notice. She’d He was a fucking mess. He hoped to God this worked.

left the porch swing, because she really liked that. Added extra

“If there’s anything you don’t like,” she started, wide wicker chairs with cushions, a few hanging plants with blocking the door before he could enter, “we’ll of course fix colorful blooms and a couple cement floor plant stands that it.”

greeted him as he walked up the stairs. They’d painted the

“Let me inside, Blair,” he said softly. “I’m sure it’s porch, too, so it gleamed a bright white now.

fine.”

119

Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

“I don’t want it to be fine. I want you to love it.”

Six chairs, to be exact. And they didn’t match perfectly.

Now there was a revelation. And as soon as the words Which he loved, because his grandma’s chairs hadn’t matched, spilled from her lips, he could tell from her wide eyed look that either. Hell, he didn’t remember where they’d all gone to.

she regretted saying them.

Relatives homes here and there, no doubt. But he liked that the

“I already love it. It has your touch.”

sturdy wood chairs didn’t look brand new; they blended in with

“Whatever. The whole team worked on it, not just me.”

the rest of the kitchen.

She moved out of his way and he stepped inside.

The cabinetry was pine. Sturdy, dark to match Wow. It was a completely different house. Gone was Grandma’s table. The countertops had been replaced in a dark the threadbare old furniture that didn’t match. Everything was granite that was cool as hell, the sink changed to a double one gone. And nothing looked the same. Yet the minute he walked in a shiny chrome. It was modern yet old at the same time. It in he felt. . .comfortable.

looked like a country kitchen, but any woman would squeal It wasn’t stuffy or pretentious or, God forbid, too girly.

with delight to cook in there, with it’s huge refrigerator and Yet it wasn’t overly masculine, either. Neutral colored fabric double open island stove.

couches sat perpendicular to the fireplace along with a couple He was speechless. And damned impressed with Blair’s really comfortable looking thick leather chairs with ottomans.

talent.

The rest of the living room was bare save for a couple pale

“If you’ll follow me down the hall,” Blair said, “I’ll wood tables next to the furniture to place drinks and magazines show you the bedrooms.”

on. The lamps were modern, but not funky. The room was He knew he hadn’t said a word yet, that Blair was practical and useful, yet cozy enough for a woman to enjoy, probably going crazy with worry, but honest to God he didn’t with a nice rug in front of all the furniture. He could envision quite know what to say.

kids with toys spread out on that rug enjoying a fire in the

“We left three of the rooms undecorated at your winter while he and Blair read the paper and drank coffee.

request, assuming you’ll want to some day make them into He walked into the kitchen and found his

nurseries and children’s rooms,” she said, her voice ending on grandmother’s old trestle table, which had been refinished. It a squeak. She had to clear her throat as she moved down the still retained its old charm, still held the old nicks and hall.

scratches, just looked. . .better. Not as old and beat up and He smiled at that. “Uh huh.”

junky. Now it really looked antique, but kind of cool.

“Now for the master bedroom.” She half turned to him

“There were no chairs with this table, so I…the staff as she pushed the door to his bedroom open, then moved out of scouted a few sales and found several that closely matched,”

his way as she flipped on the light. “I hope you like it.

she said.

There could be a cardboard box and a towel on the floor. As long as Blair was in there with him, he’d like it.

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Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

It didn’t have a cardboard box. Instead, the iron bed had Her gaze narrowed. “You are so goddamned arrogant!

a scrolling pattern at the headboard and footboard. Flowers and How dare you assume that just because we’ve had this lurking hearts that a woman would find appealing. What he liked was sexual tension between us, just because we had one night of the matching iron canopy. Strong and sturdy construction, too.