“Katarina.”
“Katarina.” He repeated the name with a smile. “It suits you. Very exotic.”
“Thank you. What’s yours?”
“Matt Loomis.”
“Well, Matt Loomis,” she said breathlessly. “I’m so grateful you were here to save me.”
His abdominal muscles clenched. Did this woman have any idea how gorgeous she was? She didn’t act like the arrogant young women he’d seen so many times on his travels. She was kind, eager, and more than a little naïve. His heart skipped a beat. “Have you ever handled a stick shift before?”
Her dark hair swayed when she shook her head. “No, but I’m a quick learner. Anything you want to teach me, I can learn.”
Pressing the clutch, he put the truck in first gear and gave the rig some gas. It rolled forward, leaving her broken down sedan on the roadside. “What are you going to do about your car?”
She shrugged. “I’m looking for a fresh start. I don’t really care about the car.”
“The state will tow it.”
“The state can keep it. I’m going to start a new life for myself, and I don’t need my past tagging along. There will be no more working for the man.” Giggling, she rolled down her window and pitched the cell phone out. “I won’t be needing that anymore, either. The old me is gone. Here’s to a new and improved Katarina, starting now.”
They rode in silence for a few miles, Matt’s attention focused on her tiny hand in his as he shifted to a gear to accommodate a low hill. She was relaxed, completely at ease with him from the moment she’d sat in the passenger seat. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so lucky, but it looked like the gods were smiling down on him.
He wanted to keep her talking, so he pressed her about her plans. “So, you’re starting a business?”
“Of sorts.”
His eyebrows shot up at her tone. “What kind of skills do you have?” Swallowing hard, he waited for her reply, his hand still holding hers on the gear shift.
“I have lots of skills.” She slipped her hand from beneath his and placed her palm on his thigh.
Even through his jeans, he could feel the heat that radiated from her. Her meaning was clear, but he stopped himself from moving her hand to the crotch of his jeans, which was already feeling tighter. “You don’t have to move to be successful. There are a lot of people around here who would pay for your services. Top dollar, even.”
“There’s a lot to be said for change of pace, and I don’t need the money.”
He scoffed. “Everyone needs money. You can’t buy everything you need with your looks.”
“It’s worked before.”
She was confident but stopped short of arrogant. The more she talked, the more intrigued Matt became. He’d never met anyone like her before. Glad he’d stopped to pick her up, he wondered again if it had been fate that put her directly in his path.
“It’s a long drive to Louisville, so we’ll have to stop in Richmond for the night.”
Her lower lip stuck out slightly. “How far is Richmond?”
Sucking in a deep breath, he imagined her full lip between his teeth. “Almost six hours. We’ll stop for food before we get there.”
Her hand inched closer to his zipper, blue eyes dancing mischief. “I know a way we can pass the time.”
He hadn’t imagined her meaning and mentally calculated how far it was to the nearest hotel with semi parking. He didn’t think he could make it all the way to Richmond at this point. She was too close, and his need was too great.
Patience, Matt, he warned himself. He wasn’t a first-timer, and women like Katarina were to be savored.
“You’re too beautiful to waste on just any man. Have you thought about branching out, maybe bringing in a few ladies to work under you?”
“I have. I have a lot of plans. That’s why I need to get out of here. The competition is a little too stiff for my tastes, and there are a few cops who insist on making things difficult for me. Well, one cop in particular.”
“A woman, I bet.”
Katarina flashed him a bright smile. “How did you know?”
“A man would know your worth. A woman will just be jealous of what she doesn’t have. You’re stunning. It’s not hard to believe that someone could be jealous of you.”
“You’re very sweet, Matt.” She rewarded him with a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting back and continuing as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. “Once I find a place, and I can operate without the law getting in my way, I’ll bring more people on. But for now, I’m counting on myself and no one else.”
“Smart.”
“That’s the only way to be successful in this life. I have dreams—aspirations, really—and involving others just complicates things. I learned that the hard way.”
“It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. That’s a big help when you’re trying to forge your own path.” He took his eyes from the road long enough to smile at her. Up close, he could tell she was wearing colored contacts, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t just her eyes he was intrigued by, but the entire package. Finding out what her natural eye color was would be half the fun when he had her in the hotel.
“What about you, Matt?”
Her question pulled him out of his revelry. “What about me?”
“Is driving a truck your endgame?”
He smiled, shifting in his seat to relieve some of the pressure in his pants. “I get great benefits, and I can afford to spoil myself, so yeah, this is a sweet gig. I’m my own boss, I set my own hours, and I own my truck. No one to answer to and no one to tell me how I can spend my
