Page 123 of Sin With Me

I guess I wasn’t that bad afterall.

“OMG! Emma, you were amazing. I swear you missed your calling.” Grace hugged me when I came backstage.

“Did you see thatguy?”

“Whatguy?”

“The cowboy.”

“Honey, they’re all cowboys here,” she laughed.

Only then did I notice the field of hats. Yet the man with shining blue eyes had been the only one to capture my attention during the dance.

I grabbed the first piece of fabric that caught my hand, draped it over my shoulders, and pushed past Grace saying, “I’ll be rightback.”

As soon as the side door swung open I bumped into a stone-hard chest, and was hit by the natural smell of him, mixed with a blend of burning leaves and Aqua Velva. I knew the scent from my father – to this day he used that old-fashioned cologne each morning. And where was the hint of leather coming from? The man grabbed my wrist, pulling me to the side, his brutal force catching me off guard.

“Hey, watch it!” I tried to twist away but his hold was tight. Just as I was ready to knee him in the crotch and flip him over the way my brothers had taught me, I looked up into the deep blue eyes of wonder.

“Oh, it’s you,” I said as if I’d known him for years. Distracted by the scar that cut through his left brow, I just stared at the mark that added another layer to the level of sexy he sported.

“Why are you coming out here with nothing on?” he asked.

Startled, I looked down at my silk robe and the two gems poking from underneath, which made it look like my nipples were stones, which theywere

“I’m wearing a robe. And it’s none of your business.”

“It is my business when a girl, who is obviously smart, is selling her body to a bunch of perverts.”

“Are you calling yourself a pervert? I doubt anyone forced you to comehere.”

“I have nothing to do with yourjob.”

“Exactly. And for your information, this is not myjob.”

“Good, because if it was I’d have to burn this place down just so another man couldn’t look atyou.”

Wow!This was the oddest conversation with a stranger I’d ever had. The moment I saw him, I felt like I was his, which was even worse. No man had ever had such an impact on me. He was so annoying, yet the power behind his voice, his confidence and domineering way, intrigued me. No matter what he said, the concern was clear – intent yet to be determined.

“Why are you judging me?” I fought the urge to smooth my finger over the white ripple in hisbrow.

“Because there’s no excuse for a woman to do what you’ve justdone.”

“So, you’re saying you didn’t enjoy it?” I asked, watching his jaw tense the same way it had earlier. I knew he’d liked what he saw when he was watching me, adjusting his crotch before he’dleft.

“You’re a hypocrite, Mr. Cowboy. If you don’t want to watch, you shouldn’t come to places like these.”

He reached into his back pocket as his phone buzzed and frowned. “I was meeting someone here, but it looks like my meeting’s canceled.”

I never believed anyone this quickly; in fact, in my job, assuming I’d heard a lie was only natural. I operated the smaller branch of our private investigations company, where most of my clients were crying wives whose suspicions of cheating husbands I had to confirm. I truly hated what I did. It was depressing because the moment one stepped into my office to hire me, I knew she’d end up leaving with mascara streaking down her cheeks, and the reason was simple: if you suspected it, it almost always meant he cheated. A woman’s intuition was rarely wrong – something I’d learned from my sister-in-law, Allie.

I’d been begging my brothers to entrust me with something different; in fact, I’d threatened I’d leave the firm and join a circus if they didn’t. My rebellion in taking the stupidest dares and bets Grace could come up with was becoming suspicious, and more than once my brothers had stopped me from fulfilling my end of the bargain. Last week I’d barely had enough time to put my clothes back on after skinny dipping in a stranger’s pool before they found me. I swear, sometimes having a family of private investigators sucked balls.

“I’d like to take youhome.”

“You’re a stranger. I don’t do rides with strangers, and I have acar.”

“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” hesaid.

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