The Driven Snowe (2 page)

Josh felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. “You mean, you really don't know? You didn't set this up?”

“No, but you're starting to make me wish I had.” Adam's obvious humor and interest convinced Josh that he was telling the truth. “Who
is
this woman?”

“I have no idea.” Josh rubbed his face. “Who else would set me up like this? What kind of a sick prank…”

“How do you know it's a prank?”

“She said she was a virgin, but I don't buy it.”

“Why not?”

Because Josh couldn't figure out what the hell else she could be. Because he couldn't figure out what the hell she
was,
period. It had to be a prank. She couldn't be for real. “For one thing, she's twenty-nine.”

Adam burst out in a short bark of surprised laughter.
“Get out!”
He quickly headed back to the bar to peer into the darkened room, but Josh stopped him.

“I'm not kidding. Not that she looks it, or anything, but I get the feeling she would have yanked out her driver's license if I had asked her to.”

Adam squinted at him. “So why do you think she's lying about being a virgin?”

Her kiss.
His bloodstream was carbonated, and his body was on fire. No virgin could kiss like that.

He tried to focus on more tangible evidence. “Well, for another thing, she was insistent—she wanted to lose her virginity
tonight.
Like it was some sort of mission, or something. That's where the whole ‘sure thing' came in.”

And didn't that comment still sting?

He could tell Adam was getting plenty of amusement from the statement. “So what'd she do? Go home?”

That made Josh pause. He had been keeping an eye out for her. “She's still in the bar.” The fact made him uneasy.

“Really?” Adam's voice was gleeful. “Maybe she wasn't kidding. Maybe she's looking for another taker. Heck, maybe
I
should go back inside…”

“No. She said that she was looking for me in particular.”

She also said that she was going to lose her virginity tonight. Like she didn't have a lot of choice in the matter.

A chill washed over him. It took him a second to realize it was fear. She might be tall for a woman, but she could easily be overpowered by any of the men that were sitting in the Cable Car, right this second.

What if she were telling the truth?

“Josh? You okay?”

“Adam, do me a favor. Get lost for a good fifteen minutes. I don't want you to witness this,” Josh said, not quite sure what he was going to do. Thinking about it, he growled, “If you breathe a word of this to
anyone…
”

“I won't, but I'm going to harass you bright and early tomorrow, and you'd better fill me in.” Josh knew he wasn't kidding. “Happy virgin hunting.”

Josh didn't dignify the comment with a reply. He was striding back into the bar in two heartbeats.

A big man in a red-checkered shirt had taken Josh's earlier seat, and now leaned over to talk to Angela. She looked totally uncomfortable. She was sitting on the edge of her seat. Josh could sense the tension in her
body from across the room. He couldn't imagine she was willing to sleep with the man she was sitting with, but something about her determination, her strange practicality, kept setting off unreasonable alarms in his head.

I don't have a lot of choice…

Dammit! What she was doing was
dangerous.
Didn't she realize that?

“Angela.”

Her head whipped around, her eyes wide and surprised. And relieved, he noted. “Josh.”

“Me'n'her were having a little talk,” the bullnecked guy protested.

“Not anymore,” Josh replied. “The lady has a situation, and I promised her I'd help her with it. Tonight.”

He saw hope flare in her eyes, and, to his surprise, fear. “Will you excuse me?” she said, not even looking at Bullneck. She got up and let Josh put his arm around her. The man grumbled and lumbered back over to the bar.

“You're following me home,” Josh said, his voice tight. “Then we're going to take care of this little ‘situation' of yours.”

And I'll show you what can happen when nice girls go looking for trouble.

 

A
NGELA SAT, PARKED
in Josh's driveway, watching him as he got out of his black Infiniti.

This may be the single most stupid thing you've ever done.

Her hand fumbled on the seat belt release. If she were this clumsy on the belt buckle, how was she going to be when she had to…when they were…

No “may be” about it. This is
definitely
the most stupid thing you've ever done!

She glanced at the car keys in her hand. All she would have to do…

A knuckle rapped on her window, and she gasped, dropping the keys.

“You okay in there?” He was still grinning, as if the whole thing were some sort of fraternity dare.

If he'd been menacing, or even overeager, she would have driven off. But his obvious amusement kept pushing buttons she didn't even know she had. Oh she'd do this, all right, she thought as she threw her keys in her small purse. Even if she mangled him trying, she'd lose her virginity tonight.

She got out of the car, closing the door with a slam. “So. This is your house?” she said, sounding as casual as her anger and nervousness would allow. “It's nice.”

“I like it. Lots of privacy. You could make all sorts of noise—” he looked at her suggestively “—and nobody would hear a thing.”

Ignoring the statement, she followed him in the house. He turned on the lights. He doesn't live like a hedonistic bachelor, she thought, then almost laughed at the primness of her own observation. What had she expected? Empty beer cans, bras hanging from the chandelier?

The furniture was modern, but not harshly so—clean lines, and a subtle styling she appreciated. Windows opened up to the trees beyond. A large octagonal fish tank illuminated the corner. “It's great.”

“So. Should we go at it on the couch, or what?”

Her high heel caught on his carpet, and she stumbled. “Sorry?”

“After all, you're here for sex, right?” He sat down on
the couch, patting the cushion next to him. “I imagine you're in something of a hurry.”

“I see.” She didn't, but then, he was the expert. “So…the point of this is to just dive in there, and be as fast as possible? I mean, is that normal for you?”

“Hardly.” He looked insulted, though that wasn't her intent. He stood and faced her. “If you want slow…”

He went to her and took her mouth and her breath in the same instant. He moved languorously, seducing her lips.

Oh my, can this man kiss!

It was the last coherent thought she had for several minutes. Soon, the slow seduction became a building need. He went from sampling her lips to devouring them. She felt his kiss wash over her in waves, like a relentless storm. She was helpless to do anything but give herself over to it.

When he released her, it took her a moment to get her bearings. “Well. That was better than I expected.”

He let out a burst of sharp laughter. “How would you know what to expect—being a virgin, and all?”

“I read a lot.” She took a calming breath, nerves fluttering in her stomach. “But you're right. I'm out of my depth here…” She paused, registering the smug smile that was spreading across his face. “And
you knew it.
That's the point you're trying to make here, isn't it?”

She snatched up her purse. “If you just brought me here to prove something,” she whispered, her voice shaking, “then maybe you should have left me at the bar.”

He went and stood between her and the door. “And then what would you have done?”

“I don't know.” She felt deflated. She wished she could take off her shoes. The pinching made it hard for
her to think. “It took me all day just to get the guts to ask you. And I know this will make you angry, but after all I'd heard, I didn't think that you were going to say no.”

“Angela, what the hell
have
you heard about me? I mean, I've had a lot of fun in my time, but I'm hardly the Casanova of Manzanita.” He smiled when she giggled, a real smile this time, not a smug, challenging one. He sat down and patted the sofa again, with no suggestive overtones. “Sit down for a sec.”

She did so, feeling the heat coming off his body. She paused, then kicked off her shoes. He grinned at the action.

She studied him. His black hair and cobalt blue eyes. The way his grin curved, the way his chin looked like it was carved out of granite. The small scar over his right eyebrow. The kindness of his smile, one of the first things that had struck her, and the gentleness in his voice.

She had made the right choice.

“Why are you doing this? Really.” His voice was low. “Are you sure you even want to?”

“Oh, yes,” she breathed. “I'm sure. Scared or not, it's definitely what I want.”

“It's the scared part that concerns me,” Josh muttered. He tilted her chin up, looking her square in the eye. She closed them, anticipating another delicious onslaught.

He chuckled, and her eyes flew open. “No, not yet,” he said. He pulled her against his chest and put an arm around her shoulders. He smelled good, like something spicy. A vague scent of sandalwood, maybe…

“Still with me?”

“Hmm?” She looked up to see his blue eyes glowing
down at her. He'd obviously noticed she was paying attention to something other than his conversation. “Oh. Yes.”

“Why are you doing this now?”

She tensed against him. “Why?”

He frowned. “Nobody just decides to lose their virginity overnight, Angela. What set you off?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “I don't think you'd understand…”

“Try me.”

“I have a pretty good life,” she started, thinking quickly. “But I sort of…well, I realized I was going to be thirty. I'd kept putting off the big stuff I'd always meant to do. I've never been to Europe. I've never gone skinny-dipping, I've never eaten a seven-course meal…”

“So,” he said, grinning. “You've got a really full night ahead of you, huh?”

“Well, I figured that I was the most nervous about sex, so I'd just start with that,” she said, with an embarrassed laugh. “If I can do this one, I can do anything.”

It wasn't the whole reason, but it was close enough. Even brushing past the true reason made her feel queasy.

“Do you always make decisions this way?” She could feel the rumble of his voice under her ear. It tickled the side of her head, and she nuzzled him a little. He moved her so he could better look at her face. “Well, do you?” he repeated.

“Pretty much.”

He laughed, and something in his eyes shifted. “Sex changes things. Even when it isn't supposed to mean anything. Maybe especially when it isn't supposed to
mean anything,” he said. “Believe me, you should think a little more about all of this.”

She'd come so far, her body protested. Was he going to send her
home?

She glanced around, and for a brief second glanced at an electrical cord that was draped by the fish tank. She then gave the arm of the sofa an appraising look.

I could tie him up.

She giggled. Oh, she was in trouble when ideas like that made even a modicum of sense.

He smiled at her, stroking her side in what she guessed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. The feel of his broad hand moving down her body was anything but, and she felt warmth spreading up from her abdomen.

“I mean it,” he repeated. “It's not something you just want to rush into.”

“Josh,” she said, “I've been ‘rushing into' this for about twelve years or so now, don't you think?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don't think I do.” How was she supposed to explain this? she wondered. “I've wanted this for a long time, and to be honest, I want you. I'm sure you think that I'm going to have all these regrets tomorrow—or worse, that I'm going to have this incredible night and then think that it's going to mean happily ever after. I'm twenty-nine, not seventeen,” she chastised gently. “I know it's not going to be like what I'm expecting, but I also know that I can live alone quite comfortably. I might be unhappy, but in a way, I've been unhappy for years already. I'd rather take the misery
and
the sex.”

He laughed. “Angela, I don't know who the hell you
are,” he said, his voice gruff. “But I like you, you know that?”

“I like you, too,” Angela said with a broad grin. “I wanted to do this—and when I first got here, it all hit me, the reality of it. I
wanted
to, and I
didn't
want to. Now, I'm sure that this is what I want. You're making this so much easier for me.”

He was being so sweet and considerate, when he could have been so horrible. Without thinking about it, she leaned forward and kissed him.

It lasted a little longer than she had intended. When she pulled away, his eyes were half-lidded. “You're not bad at that.”

She blinked. “At what?”

“Kissing,” he replied, and his voice was husky-rough. She felt her stomach clench, and her heart pound. “I know I shouldn't sleep with you, no matter how ready you think you are. But maybe we could make do with that kissing of yours.”

She couldn't help but feel disappointed. “Just…kissing?” Was he kidding? What had she just said she wanted?

The smile grew hotter, it was the only way she could describe it, and his eyes suddenly glowed. “Trust me. Kissing will be more than enough.”