Maybe she should go put on some makeup and change into the new sweater she’d bought, just in case their guests arrived earlier than she expected.
Then she heard the garage door open and heavy footsteps in the hall. It must be Joe—she’d have heard Brent’s pickup pull in.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said, looping the hand towel back over the ring before turning. “Sorry I was so…”
Whatever she’d intended to say evaporated along with every lick of moisture in her mouth. It wasn’t Joe standing in the doorway of the tiny bathroom with his hands braced on the frame, hemming her in—it was Hake. And he looked like trouble with a capital Oh shit .
He leaned into the bathroom without letting go of the frame, glancing around and peeking between the hinges as if to make sure no one was behind the door.
Finally he turned toward the kitchen. “I’m sorry to bother you, miss, but my wife and I have run into some trouble and we need a place to…” he glanced over his shoulder at her, “stay for a few days.”
AJ followed him, struggling to catch up mentally as he looked around. “Oh, um—”
Hake spun around, pinning her with a hard stare. “Is anyone else here?” He took a step toward to her, looking much bigger and harder than she remembered, and she instinctively took a step back. “A boyfriend, maybe?” He moved closer, letting his dark brown gaze slide down her body.
AJ’s breath clogged in her throat. Oh holy shit, he was doing the home invasion thing, wasn’t he? And he was being way too convincing. No lip-smacking or overt leering, no cheesy Festus accent, no sidekick for comic relief like Mandy’d described in her hilarious but hot account of Brent and Joe’s roleplaying. Everything about Hake’s expression said he knew he could do whatever he wanted to her and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
And it was every bit as exciting as she’d thought it would be. Maybe more.
“Where’s…” When only a whisper of sound emerged, she swallowed with difficulty and tried again. “Where’s your wife?”
“Oh, she’ll be around,” he murmured, raising his hand to touch AJ’s short blond hair. When she flinched, he dropped it, a glint in his eyes as he let them linger on hers. “So, boyfriend? Anyone else who lives here?”
“Boyfriends,” she blurted. “Lovers, I mean.”
“Boy friends, plural?” He raised a brow. “Funny, you don’t look like the type. In fact, you look like a luscious little country girl, ripe and ready for a good…plucking.”
The deliberate way he enunciated the word took her breath away as adrenaline snapped through her. He was almost too good at this.
“It’s true! I have two. They’re both—” She backed into a cabinet and gasped. “I mean they both live here. In fact, they should be back any minute.”
Hake stayed right on her, crowding her into the corner, bracing his hands on the countertop to trap her and leaning in way too close. He smelled like he’d been on the road all day—like hot male skin with hints of new-car scent and gasoline, mints and fast food, aftershave and Mandy’s perfume…
“You’re lying, country girl.” His breath drifted across her ear, making her shiver.
Gripping the edge of the counter, she strained backward, both to keep him from touching her and so she could make eye contact. Bad idea. The cruel amusement she saw there, the diamond-hard edge of pure determination, made her want to slide to her knees and beg for mercy—by unbuckling his belt, tearing open his fly and sucking his cock.
“I’m not,” she protested weakly.
“I think you are. I think you live here all alone.” He crowded closer, pressing his hard-on against her as he stared into her eyes. This was totally turning him on as much as it was her. “And this being a holiday weekend, I think nobody’s going notice what a handful of strangers are out here doing to that pretty little body.”
Chapter