Devil in Texass(46)

“I have a job,” Liza beamed. “Jess just hired me on a part-time basis.”

“And not a day too soon,” she added.

Jack grinned. “That’s great. The two of you will get along well.”

“We should commemorate the occasion tomorrow night,” George said. “How about

the four of us go out to dinner after you two close shop?”

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Liza faltered for a moment. First, it was a bit of a surprise that George already

considered she and Jack a couple, given their minimal interaction this evening. But then she remembered that he’d said Jess had talked about her before she’d arrived and Liza deduced that she’d shared Lydia’s little nugget. That Liza had been in the truck with Jack when she’d hit them.

Her second thought was, “Won’t you have to work tomorrow night?” She posed

the question to Jack.

He gave a slight shake of his head and his jaw set. A telling sign of instant tension, she’d learned. “No one serves liquor on Sundays in Wilder, darlin’. Means I close shop for the day.”

Liza didn’t have to ask who’d advocated for that law. But she started to see why the reverend’s morality sanction rubbed Jack raw. It wasn’t just about shoving his views

down people’s throats or restricting them or directing them to suit his own needs and purposes. He was actually affecting the economy and people’s livelihoods. By forcing

Jack to close early or not open at all, he was cutting into Jack’s profits.

Just as she was sure Lydia was doing to Ginger. A woman who had a dream. One

Liza could empathize with. Liza hadn’t been unemployed since she was a teenager.

Working had helped her to define who she was as a person. Having left her job really

had undermined her confidence and her self-worth. But she felt as though she was back to being productive. Useful. Needed.

In fact, if she was only working part-time for Jess, perhaps she could put in a few

volunteer hours with Ginger, helping her with the window displays and advertising.

Not to mention her online store.

There was nothing Liza could do about the City Council’s imposed curfew, but

there were other workarounds to consider…one that just might help someone. Like

Ginger.

“So,” George said, “Are we on for tomorrow night? A double date?”

George appeared genuinely excited about the idea. Eyeing Jack again, Liza found

that he seemed just fine with the invitation to have dinner with the Mills.

“Looks like it’s a date,” Liza said.

“I’ll call Ruby in the morning to make the reservation,” Jess told them all. “It gets busy in the evenings.”

“Seven o’clock?” George asked.

“That works for us,” Jack said. Then he added, “Well, it’s last call.”

The Mills finished their cocktails, said their goodbyes and left. Liza moved back to

the bar. As the evening began to wind down at the saloon, she anticipated the

opportunity for things to heat up afterward.

116





Devil in Texas

Chapter Eleven



When the bar closed, Jack said, “I’ve got a few closing chores tonight. You want to

wait with me?”

“Sure.”

Following him down a corridor that housed the restrooms and what she presumed

was a storage room, he unlocked the door to his office and stepped inside. She found it interesting how obsessed he was with locking all of his doors. How he’d been

impressing that practice upon her too. Must be small Texas towns were no longer

impervious to crime.

As the door closed behind them, Jack pulled her into his arms. “I’ve been waiting

all night to kiss you.”

There was no missing the desire in his voice. From the way his beautiful blue eyes

glowed in the soft light from his desk lamp, she suspected he wanted to do a hell of a lot more than just kiss her.

The thought made little volcanoes of excitement erupt within her. Wrapping her

arms around his neck, Liza pressed her body to his. His warm lips brushed hers and her eyelids fluttered closed.

“What about your closing chores?” she asked in a breathless voice.

“I’ll get to them eventually. After I’ve made you come a time or two,” he said.

She moaned against his mouth. “You say the sexiest things.”

“Thought you didn’t like my small talk.”

Grinning, she said, “Not when you could be doing other things with your mouth.”

He kissed her, hard and demanding, like he had something to prove. Or was

looking for answers in her kiss. She couldn’t tell which and a few seconds later, she didn’t really care. She lost herself in the feel of him, the smell of him, the taste of him.

Jack was simply too delicious. It was impossible not to drown in his very essence.

As his hands roamed her body, cupping her ass and squeezing the cheeks, then

moving up her sides to reach in front and palm her breasts, she felt her knees weaken.

His fingers shifted again and felt around her backside for the zipper on her dress.

“No zipper,” she told him as she broke their kiss.

Jack pushed her tight skirt up to her hips, the material bunching at her waist. While resuming their passionate lip-lock, his hands skimmed down to her bare ass, cupping

the cheeks and pressing her body against his. A groan caught in the back of his throat, causing electricity to shoot through Liza.

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She tugged at the hem of his shirt, tucked into his jeans, then went to work on the

long line of buttons.

“Should we lock the door?” she asked as she pulled away and stripped the shirt

from him.

“Locks automatically when it shuts,” he said. “I’m the only one with the key.”

“Good.” She didn’t want anyone walking in on them. They’d created enough of a

stir for one day. And something told her what Jack intended to do to her would burn

the rumor mill to the ground if word got out about it.

Her hands skimmed over his wide chest as his eyes blazed with lust. He kissed her

again, then pushed her thong panties over her hips and down her legs. Liza had to shift her hands to his broad shoulders as he sank to one knee and carefully eased the scant material over her sandals so that he could leave the shoes on.

His hands and his eyes grazed her skin as he slowly stood. “Darlin’, you could

knock the stripes off a zebra.”

She grinned at him as her stomach fluttered. “Glad you think so.”

“Mm,” he said and practically licked his lips. Liza lost her breath all over again.

“Turn around,” he said in his low, intimate voice.