Page 8 of I Want Crazy (Loco, Texas 3)

“But you told us not to move,” Jessie said.

Red wanted to slap a piece of duct tape over her smart mouth.

Wyatt’s ugly face twisted into a monstrous scowl. “I am going to give you five seconds before I—”

Red downed the beer he’d just ordered and, after setting it back on the bar, put his hand on the small of Jessie’s back to propel her forward. “Easy, Wyatt, we’re going. Come on, California.”

“But—”

“Just hush up until we get outside. I’ve already got a sore jaw because of you. You want to get me shot too?”

Jessie snorted. “He wouldn’t really shoot us.”

“You’d be surprised what men would do to protect their interests, and I, for one, do not want to test your theory.”

Chapter Three

When they reached the parking lot, Jessie felt like she could run back to her hotel and never tire, that was how much adrenaline was coursing through her body. It had been too long since she’d been anything but angry, so when she turned around to face Red, there was a definite skip in her step as she walked backward.

“So what’s next? Should we go all Bonnie and Clyde? Ride across the country like Thelma and Louise?”

She smirked as he scowled at her. “Thelma and Louise? Do I look like a chick to you?”

Ah, to bait or not to bait…that was the question.

She decided to bait him. “Well, with the red hair, you could probably pass for a very butch Susan Sarandon.”

In the streetlight, she actually saw his lips moving like he was counting, his eyes closed, and her gaze was glued to his mouth. He did have nice, full lips, and he was definitely hot. And with his muscles and height, he could probably pull off some fantastic positions and…

What are you even thinking about? After yesterday and the way he went psycho over bar renovations, you really want to invite him into your bed? Have you not learned your lesson yet?

Will had been handsome too, but he had also tried to control her without her realizing it, from her friends to the way they had sex. Looking back, she wished she had realized what he was doing. A fight with her best friend, K.C., a fight that had led to them not speaking for two years, had all started with something Will said to her.

Don’t you ever get tired of her taking advantage of you?

The seed had been planted, and she’d run with it, nearly ruining their friendship. She’d found out later when they had made up that Will had hit on her afterward, and she’d told him to fuck off. K.C. had wanted to tell her but didn’t think she would believe her.

Jessie wasn’t going to be used or manipulated ever again. She was going to control her own life and her own orgasms. Which she could achieve without a six-and-a-half-foot redneck with linebacker shoulders and a grumpy disposition.

Apparently her body didn’t know that, though, because when he opened his eyes and stared down at her with irritation, she couldn’t stop thinking about sex; good old-fashioned angry sex.

“Look, California, you’re used to the type of men who get pedicures and highlights, but around here, if you insult a guy’s manhood, dollars to doughnuts he’s not gonna back down. You might want to remember that the next time you get smart with a strange man.”

Of all the narrow-minded, bullshit assumptions. “Okay, first of all, have you ever actually been to California?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I have never met a man who has had a pedicure.”

“I notice that you didn’t say you’d never seen a man with highlights,” Red countered.

Drat, she had seen men with highlights. “Just because a man has highlights doesn’t make him weak,” she snapped, before adding, “Besides, what do you know about highlights and pedicures?”

“I have four sisters.” She thought she caught a smile on his face. “What don’t I know?”

“And yet, you get all snarky about men taking care of themselves—”

“Girls can do that kind of thing, but men—”

“My God, you are not only rude and overbearing, but you’re also a sexist bast—”

“Careful, darlin’.” Sarcasm oozed from him as he crowded her. “Down here, ladies don’t talk like drunken sailors.”

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