Nothing But Trouble (7 page)

Frowning in concentration, he circled the entire table, and Laura took the time to slug down some of her drink. But over the top of her glass she watched him and had to admit the guy looked good frowning or smiling.

Right before he bent to set up his shot, he smiled wickedly at her. “Want to double up again?”

“Yeah, right. At this rate we’ll be kissing all night,” Laura blurted, before she’d had time to think of the implications.

His grin grew wider, and his eyes looked wickeder. “Works for me.”

“Just play, hotshot.”

His attention returned to the table, but the smile never quite disappeared. Laura couldn’t help but admire his lips, especial y when she recalled how they’d felt moving over hers.

The temperature in the room jumped several degrees.

Deciding that staring at his lips was probably a dumb idea, she focused elsewhere. Which, unfortunately, ended up directly on his rear end as he bent over the table. The man fil ed out Levi’s better than any man she’d ever met.

Plunk.

She’d been so busy studying his rump, she hadn’t even seen him take the shot. But she knew that sound al too wel .

Mad at herself for ogling him, she concentrated on the table again, wil ing his final bal not to go in. The bal apparently didn’t believe in telepathy, seeing as it headed straight for the corner pocket and sank.

Again he made no outward display of victory. Al he did was point with his cue and say, “Corner pocket.” And without hesitating, he hit his shot, and the eight bal went the way of the rest of them.

He straightened and looked at her, the sensual promise in his eyes something to behold. Laura was mesmerized. She watched as he gently pried her stick from her hands, then strolled over to the rack on the wal and put both of them away.

He returned just as casual y and picked up the fifty, slipping it back into his wallet.

She watched as he approached, his eyes stil dark and glittering. Heart pumping hard and fast, she held up two fingers.

“Two kisses. That’s it.”

“Scout’s honor,” he answered, nodding. “Of course, we never set time limits on them.”

Oh, boy.
“Don’t go trying to slip loopholes in on me.”

“No loopholes. I just like long kisses.”

“Well, I don’t.”

He nodded again. “I’l keep that in mind.”

“You do that,” she said, her voice a little too breathy for her peace of mind. And then her breath came to a halt altogether as his big hands cupped her face and he angled her head slightly.

“I wanted this the first second I saw you,” he whispered as he lowered his head.

A smal gasp escaped her before his mouth settled over hers. She tried to press her lips together to keep the kiss as chaste and short as possible, but the man was persistent, and such a good kisser. Too soon her mouth was open and hot under his, and they were kissing feverishly.

Sensation took over. Laura’s body came alive, tingling in al the right places. As if they had a wil of their own, her arms lifted and wrapped around his waist, her hands spreading over the planes of his back. His muscles flexed under her fingers, and heat from his body seared her even through his T-shirt.

Laura felt an overwhelming desire to yank his shirt from his pants and slide her hands up his back, to touch him skin to skin.

Though his hands had plowed through her hair and stayed planted on her head, she felt like he was touching her al over.

No, that wasn’t quite right. She felt the
need
for him to touch her all over. His lips wove magic, dragging her into his spell. She felt lethargic and energized at one and the same time. He smel ed so good and tasted even better. And she wanted his caresses so badly.

Unfortunately, he was apparently a man of his word, because he wasn’t even coming close to touching anything but her lips and her head. Laura silently wil ed him to go right ahead and try to take liberties.

But apparently he was as telepathic as the bil iard ball had been, because the only liberty he gave her was from the kiss.

Laura felt an acute loss as she slowly opened her eyes to look up at him.

What she saw in his gaze made her heart lurch. It was one part passion, two parts confusion. He searched her face like he was trying to place her.

And Ali’s prediction came back to her in a burst.
Confusion.

Confusion that would tie them together forever. She didn’t like the sound of that in the least, but she didn’t like not kissing him more.

“You call that a long kiss?” she asked shakily.

The confusion grew worse, while the passion was being pushed aside. And that just wouldn’t do. So Laura did something she’d never done before in her life: she grabbed the front of his T-shirt in both fists and yanked him toward her. “This is still kiss one,” she informed him before reaching up, grabbing the back of his head, and pulling his mouth back down to hers. “Try to get it right this time,” she murmured against his lips.

And he did. Oh, sweet heaven, he did.

Laura was oblivious to everything but Brandon. To the way he molded her lips and pressed them apart. His tongue swept across her lower lip, then dipped inside her mouth to tangle with hers. She’d never experienced this melting sensation before, this need to press into a man, to make him a part of her. She’d never wanted so badly to be touched, ravished, claimed.

And yet he stil was doing nothing but kissing her. What was wrong with him? Or maybe it was something wrong with her?

Maybe he’d been tel ing the truth. Maybe all he real y wanted from her was a kiss or two.

There was only one way to find out.

Her arms slid over his shoulders, and she pulled him closer until her breasts were crushed against his muscular chest, their thighs were pressed together, and she felt in great detail just how much he was enjoying kissing her.

He groaned as she rose on tiptoes, brushing upwards against his body, then slowly dropping down. She was fully aware she was teasing him, driving him to the brink. And yet though she felt him quiver with it, he stil didn’t attempt to touch her in a sexual way.

Did she have to hand him a road map?

He tore his mouth from hers with a groan, then feverishly kissed her cheeks, her temples, her jaw, murmuring words she couldn’t comprehend through the fog in her head.

Laura’s hands took on a life of their own. They slid down his neck to his chest to his abdomen. He was heat and lightning, al hard, excited male. She glided her hands down his hips, then back to his waist as he reclaimed her mouth.

She didn’t know how long they kissed. It went on for what seemed like forever, but was over far too soon. Brandon broke the kiss and stared down at her, then stepped back. “Damn, woman,” he said, voice gritty. He ran both hands through his hair. “For someone who doesn’t like kissing, you sure are good at it.” Disappointment, frustration and a feeling of abandonment swel ed inside her. Which made Laura ornery. She plunked her fists on her hips and tried to catch her breath. “And that’s apparently all you’re good at,” she said.

His hands stil ed in his hair. “Excuse me?”

“Kissing. That’s about al you can do, hmm?”

“That’s all you’d let me do!”

“Oh, give me a break. If you couldn’t tel I wanted you to . . . do more, you’re as dumb as a rock.”

A slow smile curved his lips. “Yeah? You want me to do more?”

“Not now I don’t!” she said, realizing that was a real whopper, but too frustrated to worry about her honor. Besides, she hadn’t been thinking much about her honor a minute ago.

He stepped closer and ran his fingers down her bare arm, and she had to suppress a shiver. “I was just trying to honor your request,” he said softly, seductively. “But, if you changed your mind, I’m happy to do whatever you want.”

She scrubbed at her arm where goose bumps had risen in his fingers’ wake. “Wel , I’ve changed my mind back. It would have been dumb, anyway.”

“It would have been mind-blowing.”

“A mistake.”

“A dream come true.”

“A fling.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Laura choked. “Maybe not? Are you out of your mind?”

He chuckled. “Probably. But right now being out of my mind feels pretty damn good.”  

She couldn’t stop the words. “If you wanted that so bad, why didn’t you take it? I wasn’t exactly fighting you.”

“I’m not taking anything from you, Laura. I’l give you anything you want, but I’m not taking.”

She went still. She’d never met a man in her life who didn’t want to take whatever his self-centered heart desired. So she had an impossible time believing this man, no matter how sincere he appeared. “Give me anything I want, huh?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay. What I want is to go home.”

Much to her relief—although relief didn’t feel as good as it should—he let her go.

LAURA’S RELIEF lasted exactly ten sleepless hours. The moment she arrived at work the next day at four in the afternoon, Ali and the day manager, Kathy, trapped Laura in her office.

“He’s back,” Ali said breathlessly.

“He’s gorgeous,” Kathy said.

Laura considered pleading ignorance, but felt a little too out of sorts to pull it off. “How long has he been here?”

“He dropped in at noon,” Kathy said, “but when he saw you weren’t here, he said he’d be back later. That was about ten minutes ago.”

“It’s going to be a long night,” Laura muttered.

“What happened last night?” Ali asked.

“We were nearly robbed,” Laura said.

Ali waved that off. “Kathy told me about that. I want to know what happened with your prince.”

Laura sighed. “He’s not my prince.”

“Good, can I have him?” Kathy piped up.

If Kathy weren’t happily married, Laura might have voiced the protest that sprung to her lips. Which was pretty stupid, considering she’d known the man for one day and one kiss. One really, really unforgettable kiss.

She’d tossed al night, thinking about that kiss and what hadn’t fol owed. The man had actually refused to take advantage of the situation. She supposed she should have been happy about that. She’d never known before last night that she was capable of meaningless sex. But last night she’d been out-of-her-mind capable of it.

Had Brandon made even the smal est of moves in that direction, she’d have had him down on that bil iard table in a flash, tasting every yummy inch of him. And today she’d be kicking herself. So real y, she should be wildly happy right now.

“Laura?” Ali said, dragging her back from her logical assessment of the matter.

“Hmm?” she said, tucking her fanny pack into her desk drawer, which gave her a good excuse not to meet Ali’s gaze. Ali might be a bad psychic, but she real y could read Laura’s moods.

“Tel us what happened.”

“Nothing happened, Ali. Wel , not much. We played pool.”

“You’re blushing.”

“It’s windy outside.”

“Right.”

“Okay,” she said, throwing up her hands. “We kissed.

Once. That’s all.”

“Is he a good kisser?” Kathy asked.

“Have I ever mentioned you guys are nosy?”

“Give us a break,” Kathy said. “Up til now you’ve been woefully lacking in things to be nosy about.”

Wasn’t that the truth! Laura hadn’t been involved with even one male since she’d kicked her bum of a husband out of her apartment and out of her life. She hadn’t had the time or the inclination.

And she didn’t have the time or inclination now, either.

Wel now, that wasn’t exactly true. In two days she was taking her first vacation since she’d opened the bar. But that didn’t mean she wanted to spend that time with Brandon Prince.

Did she?

The more she thought about it, the more appeal the idea held. After al , Brandon had awakened her to the fact that it had been far too long since she’d had any kind of intimacy. And she was more than attracted to the man. But he would be leaving soon and taking any chance of a deeper involvement with him.

Come to think of it, he was perfect.

Then again, he’d made it abundantly clear that if she wanted that sort of relationship, she’d have to ask. And Laura didn’t know a thing about how to approach a man and ask to use his body. 

Hannah would be the most logical person to discuss her dilemma with, although Hannah’s expertise lay more in the direction of fending off unwanted advances from men. And she was good at it, too. She could cut a man to the quick with a single word.

Maybe Laura could ask Terry and Avis, the Booker twins.

They seemed to be experts on the matter, leaving the bar with different men almost every night.

She almost laughed out loud, for even considering asking advice from bar patrons on the matter of how to seduce a man.

Jeez, maybe she was losing her marbles.

“Wow, she’s really gone,” she barely heard Kathy comment.

“That must have been some kiss,” Ali whispered, her voice fil ed with awe. “I’ve never seen that dreamy expression on Laura’s face since I’ve known her.”

“Wel , maybe when the new cash register was delivered.”

Laura shook her head, trying to return to earth. What in heck was the matter with her? And how bad off was she if the only other time in six years her friends had seen an expression of joy on her face was when she’d bought a new cash register? That made up her mind right there and then. It was time to get a life.

Even if it was just a temporary life.

“Ready?” she said to Ali.

“Oh, yeah! I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“Me either,” Kathy said, following hot on their heels.

* * *

BRANDON WATCHED Laura approach the bar from the back, and he couldn’t hold back a grin. Damn, the woman was sexy. He’d never have thought it in a mil ion years, but those shapeless overalls she’d worn yesterday had really turned him on. Today she wore faded jeans, a red cotton polo shirt tucked into them. Yesterday he hadn’t been able to gauge how busty she actually was. Today he could. The woman appeared to have perfect breasts—not too large, not too smal . His mouth went dry at the thought of undressing her and taking her breasts into his hands.

Ali and the day manager fol owed in Laura’s wake. Ali smiled and winked at him, which he considered a very positive sign. Laura didn’t smile when she spotted him, but she also didn’t appear surprised to find him there, so he was pretty sure Ali had forewarned her. If he’d expected Laura to blush with embarrassment or discomfort, he’d sorely underestimated her.