Kristie came up behind her carting a pot of baked beans. “Let me answer that for you, Ave. It’s definitely a good idea.”
Across the expanse of the well-manicured lawn, Avery caught sight of Jase from the corner of her eye. He was chatting up a group of guys and their dates, or wives, or whatever, but somehow, she felt his attention on her as a vibration that traveled the length of her body. Every inch of her was painfully aware of him, dialed in to his exact location like metal seeking out a magnet.
What would it hurt to give in to her attraction? Even if it was just for one night?
Again, she caught his eye from a distance and her breath caught at the intensity of his stare. Her heart clenched at the thought of what it would be like to be discarded by a man like Jason Blackwell once he was done with her. She didn’t think her self-esteem would be able to take a hit like that. He could throw a million dinner parties for all she cared, Avery wasn’t going to give in no matter how charming—or sexy—he might have been. Jase Blackwell was simply going to have to remain one item on her bucket list that went uncrossed.
Distance was the only option.
Chapter Three
“Come on you piece of junk. Start!”
If ever Avery had wanted to firebomb her own car it was right now. Kristie and Peyton had already taken off for the night, leaving Avery officially stranded. And apparently dead was the theme of the night because when she fished her phone from the bottom of her purse, she found that it had rolled over and kicked the bucket sometime in the past few hours as well.
Great.
She stared through the windshield at the looming three-story mansion that was Jason Blackwell’s house. The place was a castle in comparison to her own modest apartment. Avery’s stomach clenched at the thought of knocking on the door and asking him for help. Wouldn’t that be the icing on tonight’s cake? She rested her head against the steering wheel and let out a groan. A do-over would be so welcome right about now.
Avery squealed at the sound of a knock on her window and her head snapped back from the steering wheel with the force of a rattlesnake strike. Her heart jumped up into her throat and her fear slowly transformed to annoyance when she came face-to-face with Jase’s smiling countenance. Glad I could entertain you. Ugh.
“Car won’t start?”
Avery rolled down the window, cringing at its squeaky protest. “Oh, no. I just like to round out a night of waitressing by hanging out in customers’ driveways. It’s sort of my thing. You don’t mind, do you?”
Jase laughed and the sound rippled through Avery’s body, settling low in her abdomen. She hadn’t felt that sort of spark in a long time. And it scared the crap out of her. “Believe it or not, that wouldn’t be the strangest thing a woman has done in my driveway.”
Avery gave him a wry smile. “Somehow, I wouldn’t doubt it.”
Jase opened the car door and Avery stiffened. For some reason the barrier of the door between them put her at ease. As though protecting her from the image of perfection on the other side. She was willing to bet those feathery locks were silky soft. He was so tall that it looked uncomfortable for him to hunch down to eye level with her. His body just seemed to go on forever. And when he smiled … sweet Jesus. A rush of liquid heat spread from her belly outward, bathing her in delicious warmth. If a grin made her feel that good, she could only imagine how his hands would make her feel …
“Far be it from me to interrupt a woman’s post-waitressing rituals, but if you want, I can give you a ride home.”
As she saw it, Avery had two options. One, she could ask Jase to use his phone and call Kristie to come pick her up. In which case, she’d be alone with him in his house. Two, she could let him drive her home. In which case, she’d be alone with him in his car. Crap. Either way they’d be alone together and Avery seriously doubted she’d have the willpower to turn him down again if he asked her out. Holy crap, she was sure her cheeks were flushed from the heat in his gaze. The rest of her body sure as hell was.
“Avery? I’m sensing a moral dilemma. It’s just a ride home. I’m not asking you to knock off a bank with me or anything.”
She cocked a brow. “What? You mean that’s not what this is about? I brought along a black catsuit, a ski mask, and everything. You know, just in case.”
Jase’s resounding laughter melted Avery’s insides. “Oh, sugar. I would pay good money to see you in that getup.”
It was a joke of course, but the way his voice got low and husky with the words caused Avery to shudder. His accent even got a little thicker, slow and sweet like honey fresh from the comb. She wondered what it would be like to hear that voice low in her ear, whispering passionate, dirty things and Avery shifted in her seat. Just thinking about sex with Jase made her body burn and her clit throb. If the simple thought of him made her wet, she could only imagine what the real thing would be like.
She gave a nervous laugh. She could talk a good game, but her snark was a shield she wore to hide the lack of confidence she felt on a daily basis. “I doubt it would be too impressive. I bet you’d pay more just to get me to take it off.” Oh god. “Wait. That came out wrong. I don’t mean that you’d want me to—Not that I think you’d want to see me—” Could the seat just fold her up and swallow her already? “That’s totally not what I meant.”
Jase’s answering amusement rippled over her, open and good-natured. “I’d say something to that but somehow I doubt I could give you a response that wouldn’t get me into trouble.”
Avery grinned and her cheeks flushed with renewed heat. “Probably not.”
“Okay, so how about that ride? Or would you rather camp out in my driveway until someone sends a search party out for you?”
She let out a slow breath and tried to slow her racing heart. “Thanks. A ride would be great.”
Jase extended his hand and his palm swallowed hers as he helped her out of the car. He held on just a little too long, the lingering contact causing sparks of sensation to tingle along Avery’s nerve endings. She cleared her throat and he gave her a sheepish grin as he released her hand, which she rubbed against her thigh. As though the simple act could banish the sensation of his touch. She’d need to cut her hand off at the wrist for that to happen.
Jase led her into the garage that was at least twice the size of her apartment. The contents were a gearhead’s wet dream: a Maserati parked at the far end, a Harley-Davidson toward the rear, and a vintage ’67 Corvette in mint condition occupied the center space. Jase didn’t pay them any mind as he made his way toward the older-model Chevy pickup in the far right bay. It seemed so out of place among the other cars and high-priced toys. Caked with mud and much too practical and lusterless, like a rock nestled in a bed of diamonds.
“This poor truck looks like it’s run the gauntlet,” Avery remarked as she opened the door. What was it with Texas boys that they all had to jack their pickups up a mile off the ground? She was going to need a damned stepladder to get inside. Even up on her tiptoes, she couldn’t grab the oh-shit handle on the frame to hoist herself up. “For some reason,” she grunted as she reached up again, “I doubt there are many mud bogs around this swanky subdivision.”
A quick yip escaped Avery’s throat as strong hands encircled her waist. Jase’s hands were so big that the tips of his fingers almost met, and he lifted her up into the truck as though she were nothing more than a rag doll. “Sugar, you’re just barely knee high to a grasshopper. You sure you don’t need a booster seat to ride up front?”
Holy cats, he was killing her. Pouring on that Texas charm, it’s not like he knew that sort of good-natured teasing turned Avery’s insides to Jell-O. No, that was just Jase’s personality, and it wasn’t doing anything to cool her lust. Looks and personality? He was almost too good to be true.
“As if I haven’t heard that one before.” She forced herself to tease back. To hide the fact that she was nervous and sweating bullets from the attention. “Come on, Blackwell. You can do better than that.”
“A challenge, huh?”
He stretched out the seat belt and leaned over her to buckle it, his arm brushing against her breasts. Avery inhaled a sharp breath as her nipples tightened beneath the cotton fabric of her bra. “If you want to call it that.”
“You do realize that I have an insane drive to win at all costs, right? Challenge accepted.”
∗∗∗
Nothing got his blood up like a little healthy competition. And as Jase rounded the backside of the truck, his blood was damned near humming in his veins. For the fourth time this week, Avery had all but ignored him through dinner, intentionally avoiding his gaze. After dinner, she’d kept to the kitchen, cleaning up and packing it in quicker than a pony heading for the barn. By the time he’d ushered the last of his teammates out the door, she was gone. But the automotive gods had been smiling down on him tonight. He was going to kiss that little junker of hers on the bumper when he got home. This was just the opportunity he needed to get to know her better. And already he found her irresistible.