Chapter 1 #5
Too bad she’d probably never see him again.
She felt herself droop at the thought, but she wasn’t going to lie to herself.
Buck had gotten what he needed from her.
Whatever late night magic she thought she’d felt, it had just been twinkle lights in his eyes and the excitement of doing illegal deeds at midnight.
That was all. She was sure he flirted with every girl that way.
The doorbell rang and Aunt Melinda poked her perfectly coiffed head out of the kitchen, pearls gently swinging at her neck. “Could someone get that please?” she called.
Her cousins were either busy playing blocks with the little one or football in the backyard, so Carrie got up and went to answer the door, taking her coffee with her.
The satisfaction she felt at her accomplishment was still there, but the euphoria was already fading.
As she opened the door, she wondered how she could get it back.
How could she keep her own foot on the gas?
The familiar, handsome face on her aunt’s front porch made her gasp in surprise.
“Buck!” Carrie felt herself blush up at him over her coffee mug, her exhaustion draining away as Buck smiled crookedly at her. “What are you doing here?”
He was wearing a button down and slacks, looking both gorgeous and responsible.
Definitely not like a mafia gang leader, and holding a white casserole dish covered in foil.
Still dangerous though, with the way he made her heart rate speed up when he winked down at her.
He also looked somewhat less exhausted than Carrie, after he and his associates had abandoned her at 3am to her FurrBaby re-stuffing to move their cocaine to .
. . wherever they handled that sort of thing. She probably didn’t need to know.
Directly behind him at the curb, a flash of blue caught her eye and she couldn’t help but stare at the black Porche Boxter parked there conspicuously, looking fast just sitting still.
“No!” She gasped aloud this time. She absolutely needed a ride in that car.
“Ahem,” he coughed a laugh, drawing her eyes back to him with a smirk. “My eyes are up here.”
She gulped and looked back up into said eyes, dark lashed and blue like the Pacific. The knowledge that he’d tracked her down at her aunt’s house, bringing a fast car and a casserole, shot a thrill straight to her core.
“You said you didn’t have time to make a side dish. I kind of thought I owed you one,” he said, pulling her attention back to the dish he was holding. She reached out to peek under the foil, sniffing at the heavenly smell of savory spices and butter.
“It’s stuffing. My mom’s recipe, with pumpkin spiced pecans.” He waggled his eyebrows roguishly at her and laughed as Carrie mock recoiled at the mention of the devil’s spice.
She rolled her eyes at him and tried not to smile. “Pumpkin spiced stuffing, very clever.”
“I thought so. You look great, by the way. I really like those shoes.” His eyes held a wicked glint as he looked down at her, making her toes curl in her patent leather Mary-Janes.
He leaned forward to whisper next to her ear, revving the delicious tension between them into the red in zero seconds flat.
“You know, they would go with a very different kind of costume than the one you wore last night, hmm?”
She gasped at his audacity. His eyes dropped to her mouth and this time he leaned in, his free hand sliding slowly around her hip, pulling her to him. He smelled delectably of mint and woodsy aftershave. “What lesson number were we on?” he asked.
“I don’t remember.” She didn’t think she could remember her own name at the moment.
“We’ll call it lesson four then: Don’t get distracted while on a job because you want to make out with your partner,” he whispered, his eyes half-lidded.
“Does that come up a lot then?”
“Last night was a first for me.” He moved infinitesimally closer, till she could feel his cool, minty breath on her lips. “I really had to be disciplined on that one.”
“Hmmm. Well then, how about after the job is over?” she breathed.
“There aren’t any rules after the job is over,” he whispered and then his lips finally, finally brushed hers.
Carrie’s eyes closed and her breath caught.
Buck’s kiss was feather-light like he was tasting her, sampling.
It wasn’t at all like she thought he’d kiss.
It wasn’t fast or dangerous. He didn’t plunder, though she did think the devouring might come later.
No, he kissed her like he was perfectly happy to take his time.
After several lusciously slow moments, he pulled back, gently uncurling her hands from where they’d clung around his neck without her even realizing. He gave her a look full of promise before pasting on a pleasant smile as he looked behind her into the house.
“Carrie dear, who’s this?” She hadn’t even heard her aunt’s approach across the foyer. Carrie tried to calm her breath.
“Hello, you must be Carrie’s Aunt,” Buck said charmingly. “Please forgive me for intruding on your family time. I’m Carrie’s friend, Buck. She and I went to high school together.”
“Oh! Carrie, you didn’t tell me you’d invited anyone!
” Aunt Melinda was clearly thrilled. “Well, come in. Come in! And you brought a dish? How thoughtful of you!” She reached past Carrie to take the foil covered stuffing from Buck.
“It’s so nice to have a ‘friend’ of Carrie’s here for once. ” She gave her niece a wink.
“Actually, I was just asking Carrie if we had time to go for a short drive before dinner. If that’s okay.” He gestured behind him at the parked Porche with an almost bashful look that Carrie knew was one hundred percent for her aunt’s benefit.
“Oh, of course!” Aunt Melinda took in the expensive sportscar with an approving eye. She gave Carrie a look that said, well, he must do very well. “I’ll just slip this into the warming oven. Dinner’s in an hour.” She went back in the house.
Buck walked her to the car and opened the passenger door for her, leaning down. “Just out of curiosity, was that kiss for me, or my car? I saw you eyeing it.”
She shivered at his proximity again but tried not to let him see what he did to her.
“I distinctly recall,” she tapped a finger on his very nice chest in time with her next words.
“You. Kissing. Me.” Then she reached up to whisper in his ear.
“But I’ll give you another . . . if I get to drive.
” With that, she plucked the key fob from his hand and sprinted for the driver’s seat.
Buck’s surprised laugh boomed in the quiet street, but he didn’t protest. She took the wheel, admiring the feel of smooth leather beneath her, and realized this was what she’d been missing.
She wasn’t going back to that comatose, Honda Civic kind of life.
She wanted adrenaline and Nitrous Oxide in her system.
She looked at Buck and realized she didn’t want practical, she wanted to feel alive.
“Say Buck,” she asked as he buckled in and she revved the engine. “Got anymore shipments coming in? There’s this new kind of water gun that should be big for Christmas called the MegaMister. Large capacity. No stuffing required. What do you think?”
He laughed. “I think I’ve created a monster.” He leaned in to steal a kiss. “But I like it,” he growled in her ear. She grinned and shoved her foot down on the gas.