He fought down the urge to press his lips to hers and prove her wrong right then and there. He would have, if he hadn’t been so determined to break Bobby’s record.
Bobby hadn’t put the moves on any woman. Rather, they’d come to him, eager and willing.
Ditto for every woman in Dillon’s recent past. He was on a mission and he wasn’t about to get distracted now.
“I’ve been trying to make Tilly’s list forever,” Meg continued. “If I can beef up my sex appeal, I’ll be a shoe-in. You have to give me some pointers.”
“And what will you give me?” He waited for a long list of seductive suggestions starting with “I’ll strip naked and give you a lap dance.”
“New clothes.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“While you’ve made a decent transformation physically and, obviously, mentally, what with overcoming your shyness and everything, you haven’t come anywhere close to finding a sense of style.” She eyed his jeans. “Designer?”
“Who cares?”
“The majority of women the world over, every homosexual on the face of the planet, and let’s not forget the metrosexuals, bless their stylish little souls.”
“When I look at awoman, I seriously doubt she cares what sort of jeans I’m wearing.” He gave her an intense look and grinned at theway her pulse suddenly leapt at the base of her throat. But while the reaction was immediate and intense, it quickly faded and once again shewas fantasizing about the pizza. “Myjeans are irrelevant.”
“Maybe. But if you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right. Namely, if you want to make a complete transformation, it means looking the part right down to your skivvies.” She arched an eyebrow. “You still doing the Spider-man boxers?”
“Not since the third grade.” Her dad had gone out of town and she’d slept over at his house. She’d worn an oversize Green Bay Packers T-shirt that night, while he’d been in his webbed boxers and a plain white T-shirt. She’d brought her army men and a flashlight, and they’d snuck into his closet after bedtime and played until dawn. While she’d looked and acted like one of the boys back then, she’d smelled a hundred times better. He could still remember the scent of her strawberry shampoo.
His nostrils flared. Beneath the perfume and hair products, he caught a whiff of the familiar scent.
“Whites?” she persisted. “Solids?”
“Neither.” He inhaled again and electricity spiraled straight to his groin. He fought against the hunger and focused on giving her another grin. “I’m in commando mode.”
“Oh.” Her gaze shifted nervously and he knew she was racing to think of something else to say to distract herself from the sudden mental image he’d stirred. She shrugged. “Okay, so you don’t really need any advice when it comes to undergarments. But these jeans…” She shook her head and wrinkled her nose.
“There’s nothing wrong with them.”
“They’re from last year’s bargain bin at the Shop-’til-you-drop, aren’t they?”
“So?”
“So you need a pair that are a little more updated, not to mention a shirt to go with them. An outfit that says cool, classy, sexy, which I can certainly provide.” She leveled a blazing blue stare at him and made her proposition. “You educate me in the finer points of being a convincing sex object, and I’ll help you find a look that does your new image some justice.”
He seriously doubted she could come up with anything that could do more for his sex appeal than the vamp blood flowing through his veins, but the thought of letting her try definitely snagged his attention.
Resisting him during a brief run-in like this might be easy. But no way could she hold back if they spent more than five minutes together. The thought struck and suddenly he knew exactly what he needed to do—seduce Meg Sweeney to the point that she stopped holding back and offered herself to him like the countless other females in Skull Creek.
Not only would he break Bobby’s record, but he would disprove beyond a doubt what he’d started to suspect—that he was, indeed, as geeky as everyone thought.
Tempting a woman determined not to be tempted would be the ultimate proof, not to mention he’d spent a lot of years wishing he could go back and re-do that first horrific kiss.
His memory stirred and he saw the disappointment in her eyes, the reluctance to try it again.
The image fueled his determination and he gave her his most seductive smile. “You’ve got yourself a deal, darlin’.”
DARLIN’? SINCE WHEN DID Dillon Cash use the term darlin’?
Since he’s morphed into a megalicious stud-muffin who makes you want to rip off your panties and do the happy dance all over him.
Not that she would.
Shewas through taking the lead. Shewanted a man towant her so badly that he couldn’t keep his hands off of her. A man who would gladly rip off his boxers and do the happy dance all over her.
Holding tight to her resolve, she drew a deep breath and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as she walked back toward the motel lobby.
She could feel his gaze on her and awareness zipped through her. Her nipples pebbled and she became painfully aware of the way the lace cups of her bra rubbed back and forth with the slight swinging motion of her arms. Her blue jean skirt tugged and pulled and her thighs actually trembled.
Thanks to Dillon and his suddenly overwhelming sex appeal.
As tempting as he was, she couldn’t deny her good fortune. She’d definitely found the key to her future success. Once they started lessons—
Her thoughts slammed to a halt. She’d been so anxious to escape her traitorous thoughts that she hadn’t proposed a time and date for their first session.
“What about tomorrow morning—” she said, but the words died as she turned and found the walkway empty.
June bugs bumped against the single bulb that lit the concrete path. Her gaze traveled back to the spot where he’d stood and she eyed the closed door.
No rustle of denim as he’d turned. No creak of metal as he’d opened the door…No thud as the door had shut behind him. Nothing.
One minute, she’d felt his gaze and the next…poof. He’d disappeared.
Right.
She ignored the strange tingling that worked its way up her spine. He wasn’t actually gone. He was inside and she’d obviously been too wound up in her thoughts and her body’s traitorous response to notice the details.
Grasping at the explanation, she fought down the notion that something wasn’t quite right and turned back toward the lobby.
She would give him a call in the morning and set up a meeting. Maybe midmorning. While she didn’t have any men’s clothes in her shop, she could take his measurements and then do some online shopping later. He would tell her what books he’d been reading, give her some pointers, and then they could head over to Uncle Buck’s for a makeup lunch.
Thanks to her lustful thoughts and her desperate attempt for a diversion, she had a sudden craving for double pepperoni that even a dozen pleasure bites couldn’t touch.
A craving that haunted her for the next hour as she turned in her homework, finished her class and headed home. A craving that drove