Page 30 of Down & Dirty

Things were going so well, it was stupid to risk it by pushing her further, but I couldn’t stop myself. As she began to walk away, I reached out to catch her arm, leaning down close to her ear so only she could hear me.

“This means you’ll have to finally tell me where you live.”

A shiver shook through her. When she caught my eye therewas apprehension where her confidence had just been. Sky didn’t want me to know where she lived. And it had nothing to do with our agreement. She’d reacted too strongly the night before about the same thing.

“Or I can meet you there.”

Her lips curled into a hesitant grin. “If that’d be okay?”

I brushed my thumb back and forth over her smooth skin. “Whatever you want, honey.”

No one else heard me, but I spotted a flare of irritation lighting up her eyes before she walked away and I turned back to Billy laughing.

His shook his head with a bemused expression. “I don’t know how the hell you pulled that off, but man, I sure hope you know what you’re doing with that one.”

“We’re just exploring, Billy. Harmless.”

He picked up a wrench and pointed it at me. “Women are many things, but harmless is never one.”

Even as I shook him off and got back to work, I knew he was right. Skylar and I had managed our first foray into this new agreement better than I’d ever imagined possible. That still didn’t mean any part of this was going to be easy.

I snuck another glance as Sky made her way back toward the office. At least this challenge had a nice ass.

When I texted Skylar the restaurant to meet at later, I’d told her to stay in her car until I got there. We had some more logistics to iron out before we took this any further.

Cory: Come get in my truck. I’m parked diagonally behind you.

Sky: Why?

Cory: Can you just come here?

Sky: Why don’t you come get in my car? It’s nicer.

Cory: What do you have against my truck?

Sky: It’s yours.

I cursed under my breath as I ripped my keys from the ignition. This woman was hell bent on making every aspect of this harder, and as I walked over to her car, I was seriously unsure we’d survive long enough for this to do either of us any good.

“Happy now?” I asked, as I shut the door.

“No. You’re the one who wanted to have a meeting in the car before dinner. I just want to get this over with.”

“So do I, princess, but if we don’t do it right, we won’t get anything out of this.”

She was dressed in a pair of ripped black skinny jeans with heeled boots that made her legs look long and sleek. The bright red top she had on punched up the same shade on her lips and she’d rimmed her eyes with a charcoal liner, making it almost impossible for me to look anywhere but at her striking blue eyes.

There was no way anyone could argue that Skylar wasn’t stunning. But in her leather jacket and heels, she turned beauty into power. It was a trick most women couldn’t pull off. But Skylar did. Flawlessly.

It was that exact toughness that was shining in her eyes as she prepared to argue with me. It was no wonder she’d been a motocross racer. Only a woman with her kind of mettle could handle the danger and opposition she’d have faced.

“Don’t call me princess. Or honey. Or boss. Just quit it with the nicknames.”

I shook my head, scowling. “No way, nicknames are a hallmark of a relationship. I have to call you something.”

Her face lifted to the roof. “As if anyone is even going to be around to hear it?”

“See, this is why we needed to talk out here before going in.We’re about to be surrounded by dozens of peoplewho are going to hear it. This isn’t the two of us in a dive bar, babe.” She glared at me, but I went on. “This is us showing up in public together, and people will find out.”

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