Page 44 of Betting on the Bad Boy

“I’m sorry. I just can’t get involved with anyone right now.”

“It sure didn’t seem that way when you had your ankles wrapped around my neck last night, telling me I’d better not fucking stop.”

She gazed out the window as the snow-covered fields whizzed by. “Forget it. You wouldn’t understand.”

Like hell I wouldn’t. I didn’t want to get involved with anyone either. But there was something about her. Something that just wouldn’t let me go. If she didn’t want to acknowledge it, fine. I was better off without her anyway.

We rode in silence the rest of the way to the senior center. When we got there, she got out of the truck and quickly climbed inside her car.

Hell. I got out of the truck, grabbed the scraper, and began to brush the snow and ice off her windshield. Finished with the job, I leaned down to her driver’s side window and she lowered the pane.

“Thanks.” I could tell she was eager to go because she’d already thrown it in Drive.

“Yeah, see ya around.” I patted her door, and she took off, slipping and sliding out of the lot until she hit the pavement on the road.

I climbed back into the truck and headed back to Meemaw’s, hell-bent on getting the redhead with the gripping thighs out of my fucking mind.

CHAPTER 24

Faith

I satat my desk in the small office I shared with Murph. Not my ideal office mate, but adjunct faculty didn’t have much say in which tiny, windowless box they got assigned. I needed to prepare lecture notes for my next class, but instead, I had opened up my latest steamy work-in-progress on the screen.

My night with Dante had unlocked a treasure chest of words from inside me, and over the weekend I found myself struggling to type fast enough to capture the story that flowed out of my fingertips onto the screen. What was it about him I found so inspiring? The ruggedly handsome good looks? His talented fingers?

When we first met, he’d claimed he had a gift for hitting the right spot. He hadn’t been lying. But beyond the incredible, inspiring sex, he stirred up something inside me, something I wasn’t sure I was ready to acknowledge.

My cell phone rang.

“Hey, Steph.”

“It’s new release day, Faith. How’s my favorite author? Any plans to go check out the bookstore this morning and seeCarnal Knowledgeon the shelves?”

“Come on, you know I’m incognito.”

“When are you going to give up on that and embrace it? People love you. Your books are doing really well, and this latest one... whew... the gals in the office read it over the weekend and said their husbands wanted me to pass on their thanks. Steamy stuff, girl.”

“Thanks. I just hope it clears enough to pay my rent for the next couple of months.”

“I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem. Based on the reviews from your street team, it should be your best-selling book yet. They’re all raving about it. Of course, all of them want to meet you. We’re doing an author event in April in Chicago. That’s not too far from you. Any interest?”

“I can’t. You know I’ve got to keep it a secret. My job, my family… my future depends on it.”

Steph sighed. “If you change your mind?—”

“I won’t. I’ve got a post ready to go for the blog. I’ll send it over later today. Do you have any graphics you can add to it?”

Early on, Steph had come up with the brilliant idea to use an avatar as my profile picture. That way I could stay undercover and still have a way to connect with my readers.

“Yeah, I’ll see what we can do. Good luck today, Faith. I’ll keep you posted as the numbers roll in.”

“Thanks. Talk to you soon.”

I disconnected as the door crashed open and Murph stuck his head into the room.

“Hey, Faith, how was your Thanksgiving?”

I quickly switched screens. God forbid he catch a glimpse of my work in progress. He hung his coat on a hook behind the door and climbed over a stack of papers and books, flopping down in the chair behind the desk across from me.