Page 9 of I Want Crazy (Loco, Texas 3)

“Good thing I’m not from here, then.” She gave him a little poke in his chest. “Have you ever been to a California biker bar or even better, the ghetto? I once saw a girl get stabbed in a bar bathroom, and let me tell you, women can be more dangerous than men when they are pissed off. If you think that I don’t know how to handle myself, you’re wrong.”

“And if I hadn’t been there and you’d pulled that kung fu shit, those boys might have targeted you, and not in a slash-your-tires kind of way. You never know how any man is going to react, especially if you come at him in front of his boys. I would never hurt a woman, but not all guys are like me, and if you come at them disrespectfully, you’re just asking for trouble.”

His meaning washed over her, and she pushed him with both hands, gritting her teeth when he didn’t move. “Are you saying that a woman who defends herself deserves to be attacked?”

She was no longer getting the warm fuzzies when she looked at him. He was a Neanderthal, a blockhead, a sexist piece of—

He grabbed her hands, and heat raced up her arms as he pulled her against him, his mouth several inches from hers. “No, I’m saying don’t call a man short and dickless unless you want to start a brawl in a bar.”

She tried not to breathe, because every time she did, her chest rubbed against him, and her nipples were painful little nubs. Plus, he smelled damn good, like leather and spice, and she didn’t like that she’d noticed. Her voice was soft, and she hated the smoky tone, his “asking for it” line ringing in her head. “I didn’t call him dickless.”

“I heard everything you said to him, and you might as well have,” he said, his voice rough. She noticed his mouth was getting closer and had to stop this. If he moved another inch, he was going to be kissing her, and she did not want that.

Really? ’Cause the way you are leaning into him might be taken another way.

Needing some distance, she pushed against his chest. “Fine. Next time a man comes on to me like that, I’ll bat my lashes and say no, thank you, like the meek little thing you expect me to

be.”

His grin flashed, making his eyes crinkle up, and her heart skipped a beat. She’d only seen the smile once yesterday, but she hadn’t imagined it. He was one fine-looking man.

“No one would ever call you a meek little thing, California.”

* * *

The woman was trouble, yet Red couldn’t help admiring her gumption. Not many women would have pulled a stunt like that unless they had backup, but Jessie didn’t seem to care who she pissed off.

Including him. Actually, if he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn she enjoyed provoking him.

Her smile was bright and did things to his body that should not be happening. Not with her. He’d been resisting the urge to kiss her since she’d put her hands on his chest, because kissing her would be crazy. She was crazy. Besides the fact that she was probably a left-wing nut, she was also destroying his favorite place to unwind.

He scowled just thinking about it and let her hands go. “You still ripping apart the Watering Hole?”

Her smile disappeared, and sarcasm dripped from her voice. “And for a minute there, I thought we might just become friends.”

“What made you think that? ’Cause I took your part and got into a bar fight?” He saw something pass through her eyes that looked like hurt and tried to ignore the little voice telling him to stop being an asshole.

“Or it could just be that you seem like a good friend to have.”

He thought he caught a suggestive tone in her voice, but decided he was crazy.

“Maybe for you, but I’m afraid if I keep hanging around you, someone might disfigure my moneymaker. It’s not like I can rely on just my personality to meet women.”

She snorted. “That’s for damn sure.” A few seconds ticked by before she asked, “So why did you jump in if you can’t stand me?”

Because you’ve got nerves of steel and won’t take my crap? “I have four sisters. If some asshole grabbed one of them like that, I’d have torn them apart.”

“So you just go around trying to save random women because they remind you of your sisters?” she asked, touching the end of his nose with her finger. “What a sweetheart.”

“No, I—” He realized she was teasing him by the sparkle in her eyes and chuckled. “You really are a pain in the ass.”

“Trust me, you aren’t the first man who’s said so.”

He felt the change between them. A few minutes ago, he had been ready to hog-tie and gag her, and now their banter had him thinking about other things. Like the fact that he’d had her so close, he could have checked “kiss a sassy California girl” off his bucket list.

Red shook his head, trying to castaway that dangerous train of thought. “Where are you parked? I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I walked.”

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