Falling For A Redneck (3 page)

He thought about sauntering in and bugging her some more, but fear of a flying frying pan stopped him. Chances were good she’d fling it along with her burnt dinner. It would take more than one smoking-hot kiss to melt her. But with time, maybe, just maybe, it could be done.

And he knew just the man for the job.

The letter sat on her desk taunting her. Shocking in its contents. Frightening if true.

Surely someone played
a practical joke, but one that hit too close for comfort. The stark black-and-white block printing glared at her.

I know who you are and what you’ve been doing at night.
SLUT. You’ll pay for what you’ve done.

Whoever had written the note seemed to be hinting at her evening career as a dominatrix, but how? Marissa always took care to keep her identity secret to the point of craziness. The few times she’d advertised, she’d never shown her face, and during her sessions, she always wore a mask. All her clients were fully screened to weed out weirdos and whackos. All had as deep a desire for discreetness as she did. So who the hell had found out, and why did they want her to stop?

A jealous wife? That seemed the most likely scenario, but which one of her clients had let slip his secret? And did she really care if some Mrs. couldn’t handle it?

Marissa couldn’t just stop. As a single girl, she had expenses that her salary as a clerk just couldn’t cover on its own. If it came down to it, she could afford to lose one of her clients, as replacements were easy to find, but which one was the problem?

Or was she fretting over nothing? She wouldn’t put it past one of her co
-workers to play a nasty prank. Was someone in the office attempting to get her to snap and lose her cool? Maybe quit? She had no friends here. She’d never bothered trying. She didn’t feel a need to socialize, not since the divorce when she’d realized most people, even those she’d thought friends, were more interested in the salacious details of her breakup than her wellbeing.

Tapping her nails distractedly on her desktop, Marissa pondered what to do.

The idea of capitulating to a blackmailer, a cowardly one who didn’t even dare confront her face to face, struck a stubborn chord inside her.
Screw them!
If they didn’t like her second career choice, too freaking bad. Her pro-domme work followed the line of the law to the tee. No sex or sexual services were involved; therefore, no laws were being broken.

And if someone’s wife didn’t like it, too bad. Get a divorce.

Swiveling her chair, she fed the letter to the shredder behind her desk, where most of the permit applications she received went, listening with grim satisfaction as the sharp teeth tore the threatening note into little ribbons.

Marissa didn’t take orders from anyone.
She gave them. Whoever this anonymous blackmailer was, they could kiss her ass. What were they going to do? Scare her? Hurt her?

She’d like to see them try.

A
t the garage Dirk bought—or should he say the bank owned?—he read a letter of his own and cursed.

“Stupid
, bureaucratic jerks!” He crumpled the missive into a ball and flung it into the corner of his office, just missing his garbage pail.
Why can’t I ever get a break?

“Something wrong
, boss?” asked Andy, his tousled head popping inside the door.

“
Those bloody jerks on their fat asses down at city hall refused to give me a permit so I could park overflow vehicles out in the yard. Apparently, we can only have a set number due to some mumbo-jumbo bylaw no one has ever heard about. Goddamn pencil pushers in their fucking offices! Bet you none of them has known a real day’s work in their life.”    

“
Ah, that sucks, boss,” said Andy. He came in and settled his lanky form onto the chair in front of the desk. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Try again,” Dirk grumbled. “I know they’ll allow it if I figure out how to fill in the stupid form properly and if I could understand their
freaking bylaws. What I need is to find someone who speaks their legal, red-tape language to give me the loophole I need.”

“What about
using a lawyer?”

A
sarcastic-tinged chuckle rumbled from Dirk. “Oh yeah, like I’m gonna give those scum suckers who tried to screw me over, a dime. Not that I have a bloody dime to give. I sank everything into getting this place.” Every penny he had plus some loaned from his mom, who still believed in him even after all he’d put her through.

“You know what
you need to do?” said Andy with a devilish grin. “You need to date one of them office clerk gals. Butter her up nice and good. Show her a good time and then get her to fill it out and push it through.”

And that suggestion pretty much summed up Andy
. His solution to most of life’s problems involved getting laid. Had a hard day at work—get laid. Have a day off with nothing to do—get laid. Worst part of it all, Andy never had a problem getting laid. But in this case, maybe Andy had the right idea. Dirk definitely needed help, and who better to aid him than someone who worked with those forms and bylaws every day?

“You know,” said Dirk
, his tone pensive as he rolled the idea around in his mind, “that’s not a bad idea.”

Andy slapped his thigh and grinned.
“Right on, boss. I’m sure there are lots of old broads over there that would totally dig you.”

Old
? Had Andy implied he could only get old chicks? Just because Dirk had just passed the thirty-mile marker—a few years ago—didn’t make him old. He kept fit and made sure to pluck the gray hairs on his chest, which seemed intent on multiplying more quickly lately. He even shaved his head daily to hide the gray on top and his receding hairline. Dirk sighed.
Getting old sucks
. Next thing he knew, he’d need a walker and bifocals.

“Maybe I’ll take a walk over to
City Hall and see what the pickings look like. And just so you know, older women are much better in bed. Experience, my boy, beats youth any time.”

Andy’s eyes lit up.
“Really? You know what, maybe I should test that theory. My landlady’s been hinting at getting a piece of me. Maybe I’ll give her a try.”

Dirk just sighed again and shook his head.
Oh, to be so young—and horny—again.

Leaving
Andy in charge of the transmission repair on the Dodge Caravan in the shop, Dirk changed his grease-stained shirt for a cleaner, black Harley one. His black jeans didn’t have any holes in them—yet—and he’d even popped a mint into his mouth. Armed and ready to face the bylaw dragons, Dirk left and walked three blocks over to City Hall.

Walking in, he strode over to the front information desk and flashed a smile
—a hundred-watt one—at the white-haired old lady sitting behind it.

“Can I help you?” she asked
, beaming back at him.

Piece of cake
, Dirk thought. “Yes, I need to talk to someone about a permit. I tried filling the darned paperwork out to get one, and, well, I think I did something wrong because it got turned down.” All this he said with an ‘aw shucks’ face that worked like a charm.

“Oh, you poor dear. Those pesky forms can be such a pain. So many little things to remember.”

“You can help me then?” he said, widening his smile.
In the bag.

“Me?” The chubby grandma giggled. “Oh no, I’m just the receptionist. Permits and forms, that would be Marissa’s department. Lucky for you, she’s in right now, and her schedule is clear. Why don’t I take you in to see her?”

His
smile deflated a little.
Shoot, another woman.
Hopefully she’s as receptive to my smile as this receptionist is.

Dirk followed the portly receptionist down a short hall to a closed door that she knocked on.

A brisk, “Come in,” sounded.

The friendly
-looking grandma poked her head around the door. “Marissa, I’ve got a nice gent here who needs some help with a permit. I told him you were free.”

A
loud sigh came from the office. “Mrs. Fairchild, I’ve told you before to have them make an appointment, and it’s Ms. Masters, not Marissa. This is a place of business, and you need to treat it as such.”

“Yes
, of course, Ms. Masters. And I know you prefer appointments, dear, but he seems like such a nice man. Surely you can spare a moment.” The grandma turned to look at him and made a face, rolling her eyes, which almost made Dirk laugh out loud.

A very terse, “Fine
,” sounded, and Dirk almost turned around to make an appointment instead. This didn’t sound too promising. Maybe he should try and catch this Marissa broad on a non-PMS day.

Too late
. The receptionist swung the door wide and nudged him in.

Dirk took two steps in and stopped.

“You!” They sounded like a perfectly rehearsed comedy act.

The grandmotherly receptionist fled down the hall
, leaving Dirk alone to face Ms. Masters, also known as the ice princess, his bitchy next-door neighbor.

“What are you doing here?”
She scowled at him, her dark eyes flashing in annoyance.

Inside, Dirk
groaned.
Screwed, so screwed.
So much for the seduction plan he’d hatched with Andy. Judging by the daggers shooting from her eyes, the ice princess would never help him.

“Let me guess, you’re the
only one in charge of permits?” Dirk held back a frustrated sigh.

“I handle
all
permit applications. Why?” she asked, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips.

With nothing to lose, Dirk decided to try and plead his case. “See, I’ve got this garage, right, and it’s starting to get busy, but my current permit only allows for vehicles to be inside the garage overnight. But sometimes I’ve got more cars than spaces. Owners don’t always pick them up the same day. So I filled out one of them permit forms and sent it in asking to be allowed to leave some vehicles to stay in the lot overnight and—”

“Got rejected,” Marissa finished with a cool smile. “I remember your application. Should have read the bylaw more carefully and filled out your form right.”

“So
it is allowed?” said Dirk with relief.

“If you get a permit.”

“That’s great. Can you help me out so I can get it?”

“Sure
.” Marissa rose from her office chair and took two steps over to a file cabinet.

She said yes?
Dirk’s jaw almost dropped to the floor in astonishment.
Wow, I must have packed a powerful kiss last night for her to be so agreeable.
He restrained the smug grin that threatened to erupt on his face.
Not so old after all!

As Marissa
bent over to pull open the bottom drawer on the cabinet, Dirk had to shift his hands down over his groin as her skirt pulled tight around her sweet ass, making him tight in another region. How did such a skinny woman get such a hot, begging-for-a-grab ass?

A
s she stood back up with a stack of papers in her hands, he shifted his eyes quickly lest she catch him ogling. She thumped her load down loudly on the desk.

“Here you go.”

Dirk looked at the stack of papers blankly. “Here’s what?”

“A new copy of the forms you’ll need
, plus a copy of all of our bylaws so you can adjust your property correctly for reassessment.”

“I thought you were going to help me
,” said Dirk stiffly, feeling the creeping presence of his temper.

“I am. I’ve given you all the paperwork and research you need to do things right. Come back when it’s done.” She said this with a smirk and
her trademark arched brow.

I should have known better. As if that uptight bitch would help.
Dirk grabbed the hefty pile, the tight rein on his bubbling temper betrayed only by the tic in his cheek. “You know, ice princess, for a second there I thought you were going to come off your lofty pedestal and act like a human being. Guess I was wrong.”

“My job isn’t to do your work for you,” she re
torted, coming around her desk to stand in front of him with arms crossed. “I just approve or reject. If you need help, hire a lawyer.”

The lawyer comment, not to mention her cool behavior after last night’s sizzler of a kiss
, were what made him snap. Or so he told himself later.

Dropping the stack of paper with a loud thump, he crushed her body to his, trapp
ing her arms against his chest. Then, safe from any possible harm, he gave in to his irritation—and temptation.

Instant fire lit through his body the moment his lips touched hers.
She stiffened against him, only to melt a moment later. Her mouth opened at the coaxing of his tongue. He slid a hand down her back and grabbed the ass that had tempted him moments before. Squeezing it made her sigh against his mouth, and the ache in his pants grew even more acute.

He ground his hips against her, his arousal painful inside the tight confines of his jeans. To his surprise, her pelvis
returned the pressure against his. He slid his hands down her perfect ass and skimmed her thighs. Touching the hem of her skirt, he tugged it up as he pushed her back until her legs hit the desk and she sat down on its surface. With her legs spread, he nestled his body between them, pressing against her hot core even as his lips devoured hers.

A noise out in the hall distracted him and brought him back to himself.
Shoot, I lost control again.
But points for him, so had she.

Stepping back from Marissa, his cynical side enjoyed the soft, dreamy
expression on her face, a feminine look that lasted all of two seconds before the bitch came back.

Standing up from the desk, she smoothed down her skirt but not before he’d seen the garters that held up her hose.
Naughty underwear for such a prim and proper lady. Made him wonder what kind of panties she wore, if any. His dick hardened further at the thought.

“How dare you?” Marissa screeched, her face turning a bright red.

“The same way you dare to treat me like dirt
, princess. I may not be as educated as you are, but I am a human being and don’t appreciate being treated like the scum on the bottom of your shoe.” Actually, Dirk didn’t know why he’d embraced her other than because he wanted to.
Still want to. That and much more.

“Why kiss me then
, if you dislike me so much?” she asked, rubbing her swollen lips.

God, they look so red and plump. I’d love to see them wrapped around my cock.
Dirk had to be going insane. Why did he keep having these thoughts and urges for the town’s biggest bitch?

“I kissed you because someone’s got
to get you off your high horse. Maybe if you got laid once in a while you wouldn’t be so uptight,” Dirk said in a matter-of-fact voice.

The look of astonishment on her face, quickly followed by darkening anger
, was Dirk’s cue to leave. Which he did quickly, almost bumping into the friendly receptionist, who held her laughter in behind a raised hand.

Dirk grinned at her and then almost laughed himself at the wink she gave him and the whisper
ed, “You’re a brave man.”

Not brave
, really. Just horny apparently for an ice princess who refused to stay thawed.

Of course
, his bold action of a moment before probably meant his permit application was screwed for the moment. But, after what he’d gone through with his ex and the time he’d served in prison, he understood patience. Besides, Ms. Masters could pretend indifference and outrage all she wanted; her lips and body told quite another story.