Page 8 of Seducing Daddy

She didn’t affect Chet that way, and he seemed to notice anything on two legs with breasts. In fact, he even called Jolene cranky once, and I had to set him straight. I didn’t find her cranky.

Could she use a reason to smile?

Evidently.

That didn’t make her a grump.

What was it that put the frown on her face? I planned to find out.

She was right. I’d almost kissed her in front of God, the choirboys and girls, and everybody. If I didn’t check myself before I wrecked myself, I was going to cause a big stir in this town. We all got pieces of crazy in us, some bigger pieces than others, and Jolene drove me nearly mad with lust.

The thing of it is, I didn’t give a fig.

She was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen, but seeing the remoteness in her eyes made me wonder what it was that gave her the impression she needed to keep her distance. I didn’t have to ask to find out how probing into her personal life would piss her right off.

So, I didn’t.

Stealing a kiss from her beneath the mistletoe hung above Main Street was a lot simpler than trying to earn it.

Mighty tempting.

But I wanted to claim her lips gently. To place my lips against hers and discover how soft they were.

Despite how I was long overdue for a make-out session, I wanted more than just sex from Jolene.

I wanted her affection. Her admiration. Hell, her devotion and, yes, obedience.

Not because I was a man of the church. God, no.

Because I craved the fantasy of teasing and tormenting her, pushing her to the brink and then pulling back. Making her beg for it.

Instead, I relied on the one thing I could do for her, and that was to make her laugh.

I’d nearly accomplished that this evening, standing outside the Repertory Theater, singing corny Christmas carols right along with the prepubescent revelers.

I was going to take my chances with her. Her barely perceptible smile encouraged me. Since the first time we met, I felt better about my odds. I stepped up into my truck and planned Mission: Make Jolene Giggle. What I wouldn’t give to hear that.

I turned off on Grizzly Peak Road, towards my ranch. This was one of those Lost Coast storms, which made the two-lane road unfit for travel. Rain fell from an angry sky, and the wind moaned its misery.

What about Jolene? She drove that crappy car of hers, and I doubt it had four-wheel drive.

The belly of the sky split open and rained so hard on the road it was difficult to see the faintly painted dotted line. I slammed on the brakes, barely avoiding a collision with blurred shapes filling the road. My windshield wipers couldn’t beat fast enough to keep the glass clear. Squinting my eyes, I made out what the obstruction was.

A crummy station wagon had come to a halt sideways on the road. Evidently, just missing the enormous tree trunk blocking its path.

I stepped out of my truck and approached the vehicle with its hood tipped into the ditch—stuck. It could have easily slid off the sheer cliffside of the road instead.

My pulse settled slightly, seeing Jolene was on the inside lane, hands gripping the steering wheel for dear life; the anxious look on her face told me how frightened she was.

Pulling up on the handle, I opened the door and bent over to speak to her. “Are you all right?” A tight knot of worry inside begged for release.

“Fine,” she said in a voice that seemed to come from a long way off.

“You’re definitely going to need a tow.” Jax could come pick up the vehicle when the storm settled. I’d call in the situation to Sheriff Pepper so he could block the road from further traffic.

Jolene visibly pulled herself together, drawing a shuddering breath into her chest. “Ya think? What other bright ideas can you share with me, Captain Obvious?” she snarled, swinging her legs out of her car, standing up, and stomping her foot so that the muddy water splashed all over my jeans.

“You seem to have a real thing for messing up my clothes,” I scolded. “Climb in the truck, and I’ll get you out of here.”

---