Page 25 of Snow in Texas

“Goddamn it.” He pulled his hands from her shirt, lowered her slowly to the ground. She wobbled a step, had to catch herself against the rock with an unsteady hand. Colin thought his own knees might give way.

He answered the phone with a snarl. “What?”

“Damn,” Candy’s voice said on the other end. “Is that how you always greet your superiors?”

Colin took another deep breath and willed himself to calm. “No. Sorry.”

Jenny was straightening her shirt, looking at the ground and not at him, still trembling. Shit, he’d gone too fast. The moment was totally shattered, and he had no idea if there was a chance of regaining it again at some point in the future.

“What’s up?” he asked Candy, and couldn’t keep the displeasure from his voice.

“There’s a situation,” the VP said. “Get Jenny back here, ASAP.”

“Right.”

When he hung up, her head lifted, and her face was totally composed now, all traces of passion gone. “Everything okay?”

“No,” he said, feeling selfish and grim. “Not really.”

She stared at him a moment, beautiful, but distant again.

Only now the pull was worse, because he knew what she tasted like.

“But Jen?” he said. “I answered my own question just now. It’s worth it. Absolutely.”

Twelve

Colin

The ride back to the clubhouse was distinctly less enjoyable. There was the tug of worry in his gut, and there was the stiffness in Jenny’s arms around his waist. He could feel the tension in her, knew it wasn’t just the vibration of the bike but a trembling in her body. She’d wanted him – there was no doubting that – but now she was shaken, and he didn’t know if that was about whatever awaited them at home…or what they’d just done.

Huh. So he was calling ithomenow.

Candy and Jinx stood side-by-side in the parking lot, waiting for them. Jenny scrambled off the bike the second it was parked with a fast, “Thanks for the ride.” She went inside without looking back.

Colin sighed and unclipped his helmet as his two new brothers – superiors, whatever – advanced.

“She have a nice time?” Candy asked. His expression was pleasant, save for his eyes. Those were the color of frost.

Colin met his stare without shrinking.Fuck you, he thought.She’s a grown-ass woman and I’m not backing off unless she tells me. He nodded. “Yeah. She did. Said she loves riding.”

Candy twitched a chilly grin. “Yeah. She does.”

Jinx cleared his throat loudly. “So…”

“So,” Colin echoed. “What’s the situation?”

Candy grinned for real, some of his usual sparkle returning. “How’d you like to grab a drink, prospect?”

~*~

“Does Swayze work here?” Colin asked as the three of them slid into a wood-walled booth.

“Don’t speak ill of the dead,” Jinx said, seriously.

“Didn’t think I was.”

The Armadillo was a true Texas roadhouse in the old fashioned sense. Wood paneling, low lighting, hardwood floors dusted with peanut shells. It was a big, sprawling place, with two stages, a long bar that ran the length of the back wall, and plenty of booths in shady corners. Candy had picked a spot with a view of the girls in cutoffs grinding against one another on the dance floor, with a single dim lamp overhead, and high booth walls to keep out prying eyes and ears.

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