Page 8 of Lowdown Dirty (Down and Dirty)

“I’m harmless,” he said loud enough for her to make out through the glass.

“Am I supposed to take your word for it?”

Touché.

“I come with excellent references,” he said.

“Given the environment, I’m not sure I would trust them.”

“Kinksters are some of the most honest people you’ll ever meet.”

That little spasm in her left cheek hinted to him just what she thought about that.

“I do have the keys, you know.” He’d forgotten he had them. He held them up and let her see them. Certainly, she’d recognize Carine’s massive key ring. Carine probably had keys to half the buildings on the Albemarle Sound on that thing.

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose, slumped in her seat, and made a sort ofwhatevergesture at him.

He wasn’t going to give her chance to change her mind.

He pulled the door open, quickly pushed the seat back as far as it could go, and dropped himself into the low thing, groaning as he did it.

“Shut the door. I’ve already donated blood this month. I don’t want to lose another pint to the mosquitoes.”

He slammed it and then sat quietly for a moment, just waiting to hear a buzz. There was none. “Thank the Lord.” Riffling through the keys atop his thigh in search of the one for the Miata, he said, “Hi. I’m Tim.”

“Where did Carine go?”

“She went to see if she could squeeze a gallon of gas out of my brother.”

“Your brother?”

“Uh-huh. Clay.” Tim found the key, shoved it in, and gave it a turn.

Click-click-click-click.

The car wanted to go. Really, it did. Seemed the tank just hadn’t been fed enough, though. “Yeah, that’s not the battery or transmission. You’d think she’d start carrying some extra gas after what happened last time.”

“What happened last time?”

“Really? You’ve got me in this lady’s car telling you stories and yet you haven’t even told me your name.”

“It’s…” From somewhere on the floor around her feet, her phone buzzed. Its bright screen illuminated a shapely pair of legs encased in sheer hose.

He hadn’t realized women still wore those. His mother did, but that wasn’t saying much. Mom was sixty-two.

She grabbed the phone and squinted at the screen a moment before growling softly and turning it over onto her lap.

“Bad news?”

“Who, you? Probably.”

Ha ha.

She had a bit of a mouth on her. He kind of liked it. Most women he knew wouldn’t think of sassing him, Heidi and Carine being the exceptions. They didn’t want anything from him and didn’t bother trying to impress him.

Maybe that was the stranger was lighting up his radar. The fact the lady didn’t expect a damn thing from him was sexy as hell.

“I’m here because Carine told me to be,” he said. “I guess she worried about you being in here by yourself.”

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