Page 79 of Steel

There was a pause, her entire body tensing. A small, sad smile appeared on the corners of her mouth. “Like you said. Why don’t we enjoy our evening? Okay? I might be a little hungry too.”

The woman was intoxicating, even the fresh air difficult to breathe. Not because I didn’t like or appreciate her choice of perfume, because I did.

Because I was eager to be with her when I wasn’t. Because I wanted to protect her. Because she created a level of desire that I wasn’t used to. Even my hands were sweaty as they’d been before.

She’d worn a dress that lightly hugged every curve, highlighting the very reason God had made women. Holy shit, she wasstunning, the length highlighting her long legs that should be wrapped around my body.

Constantly.

Fuck. Allowing my brain to go off on tangents wasn’t a good idea.

One thing I did need to talk to her about was the dog. It would probably break my heart as much as Damon’s if the pup already belonged to someone.

She moved away from me and as soon as she did, I felt a huge sense of loss. Maybe I’d come on too strong in telling her all my woes. Hell, I hadn’t talked to anyone about how I felt or why I hadn’t been at work that day.

Sure, a couple of the jumpers knew how distraught I’d been, but sharing the ugly secret I’d been keeping with her meant I trusted her. A woman I’d just met. I shoved my hands into my pockets, watching as she settled Damon into the back of the Camaro.

I’d even wanted to impress her by driving my baby instead of the truck.

What did that say about me and about the woman with the killer long legs?

My goodness, I was far too into the girl, but what I’d told her had been the truth.

None of it meant we couldn’t enjoy tonight. Then I’d have a chat with the chief of police tomorrow about the park she’d been at. If there was any way of collecting fingerprints or other evidence, then maybe the police could put an end to this little reign of terror.

As soon as I climbed inside, I turned toward Damon. “Now, who’s up for a big, juicy burger?”

“With cheese?” he asked.

“Well, duh. What’s a burger without cheese? And you can even have bacon if you want.”

His eyes lit up just like his mother’s. “Bacon.”

“If that’s alright with your mother? Oops,” I said, laughing as I noticed her face.

“Yes, oops. But that’s fine. Let’s get going. Mama is hungry too.”

Whatever she’d been worried about had passed on the surface, but I sensed she was struggling to keep from showing any fear. What kind of asshole didn’t take care of his woman and child?

I dropped the subject.

For now.

As usual, Ziggy’s was packed. Given it was a warm June day, the outside speakers were on and classic rock was jamming through them. Which seemed to surprise her.

With her nose wrinkled, she stared at one of them as we headed to the entrance.

“Did you honestly think all we like around here is country music?” I nodded to a couple of the locals as we walked by.

“Well, this is the land of rodeos. That is pretty darn sexy, if you ask me.”

Man, when she threw me one of her overheated looks, I could instantly be putty in her hands.

“Ow. You have an uncanny ability to hurt me. I’d say you should have dinner with my brother except Kenzie might beat your ass.”

“From what I can tell, you probably made one hot cowboy.”

“Don’t bet on ever seeing that again. I was almost gored to death.” As soon as we walked inside, Damon was in awe. Their crowd was larger than usual for a Wednesday night.