She turned and marched down the hallway, leaving him standing there alone. The front door opened and she walked out into the front garden. He pondered his next move for merely a moment before he followed her.
He stomped across the wiggly boards of the front veranda, casting his builder’s eye over the missing planks and loose nails. “By the way you reacted to my kiss, I think you’re lying.”
She bent over a straggling rose bush and flicked off a beetle munching its way through the pink bloom before looking his way. “Just because I might want to have sex with you doesn’t mean we need to get know each other well.” She snapped off the rose and twirled the flower between her fingers. “When I left LA, I made the decision to keep men out of my life. I’d like to make that clear. Don’t confuse casual sex between adults as a relationship, because you’ll only end up getting hurt.”
She wanted to have sex with him? Well, if that didn’t take the cake. A woman after his own heart, no strings attached.
“You seem lost for words, R.P. Cooper. Never been offered sex before without a wedding ring attached? Don’t tell me a man with your looks is a blushing virgin?” She dropped her hand, the rose still clasped between her fingers, a smile brightening her face.
She was gorgeous, and she’d just said she was going to use him for sex. How much better could life get? Get a grip, man, and make a date. There was no way Riley was letting this one go without something concrete to work with. A date, a time to chat, anything that gave him something to look forward to.
“Well, you kind of threw me with that statement. It’s not often a girl offers you a no-strings-attached affair. I wasn’t quite expecting it.” He stepped off the rickety old veranda, his gaze on her face. “Most of them want commitment or a ring on their finger before they get too free with their charms.”
“That’s not me; I can promise you that. I’m a normal, healthy woman who likes sex once in a while, but I don’t do commitment and have no interest in it.”
A wave of pain washed over her face, clouding her eyes for a fraction of a second. Once she blinked, it was gone. He almost thought he’d imagined it. She coughed and looked away from him. “If you’re not interested, I’ll understand.”
“Uh…no…I mean, yes…yes, I’m interested. I’m not ready for the big wedding and family gig. I’m still enjoying life as a bachelor.”
His palms were slick with sweat, and he was sure there was a goofy look on his face. Riley wiped his hand across the back of his neck and thanked his lucky stars for accident-prone females and his darling mother trying to get him to help out.
“Fine then. You can take me to dinner tonight so we can get to know each other a little before we…uh…relieve that itch.”
“You mean scratch that itch?”
A hint of a blush rose over her cheeks, almost hiding the swath of freckles across her nose. It was cute. Riley smiled at her sudden discomfort; glad he wasn’t the only one struggling to deal with such a golden opportunity, no matter how appealing it was.
“Yes, that. Be off with you so I can go about my business. I’ll see you tonight about seven thirty.”
“Okay, I’ll book a table in town and we can get to know each other.” Riley turned on his heel, walked back through the house, and out to his truck. No-strings sex—now that would keep him going all day.
Chapter 5
Oh my God, Sassie. What the heck have you done now? She crouched down on the cracked pavement and clasped her hands over her head, hoping to stay the voices battling to be heard in her mind. Of all the stupid things to put out there. Sex without strings!
The man did do something to her, she had to admit if only to herself. The blood still hummed through her body after only one kiss. And yes, she needed sex again. It had been far too long since she’d had a satisfying roll in the sheets with someone, and she was getting antsy. Her ex didn’t count—not when he was balling someone else and treating her like the hired help.
She concentrated on the crack in the pavement by her feet and watched the ants scurry about their business, totally unaware of her dilemma over the rash decision she’d just made.
In town for a week and already offering to jump into bed with a cute guy. At least she’d made it clear there wasn’t to be anything more than plain sex. No commitment, no promises, and no telling her what to do. She’d better remind R.P. Cooper of that one tonight when and if he showed up.
He had a thing about giving her orders already, and that wasn’t acceptable. She blew a breath up her face and watched her hair lift and flutter back down against her cheeks. With an impatient gesture, she lifted a hand and flicked it back before rising and stalking into the house. Her footsteps pounded the hallway floor back to the kitchen, where she surprised a bald-headed man raising his hand ready to knock on her back door.
“There you are, love.” He held out a sheet of paper. “Kitchen delivery for you. Where do you want it?” Sweat dripped from his shiny bald head, and he wiped it away with an impatient hand.
“Um, in here I guess.”
He looked around and shook his head. “A word of advice, love: put it in a room where you have space to swing a cat. That way, you can make your cabinets and then put them in here. Otherwise, you’ll be struggling. I can tell you that for free.”
Good idea. If her brain weren’t fogged with the image of R.P. Cooper naked, she would’ve thought of that herself. “And who said
