we got hit?”
“I did. Obviously it was worse than I thought.” Someone answered, getting his attention. He gave them their location, ended the call, and leaned his head back against the seat.
“What are we doing?”
He spoke with his eyes closed, his Adam’s apple jumping with his words. “Waiting for a new tire.”
“Don’t we have a donut?”
“If we did, don’t you think I would have put it on?”
“What about getting to Frankie’s?”
He sighed. “Can’t go without the bike, can’t get the bike there without the trailer, can’t move the trailer without a new tire. We’ll get there a little later.”
Casey stared at his profile, the hot sun shining through the windshield throwing his face into sharp relief. He looked harmless enough. Well, no, he looked like someone she would normally keep away from. He exuded a don’t-piss-me-off persona, and she had done plenty to piss him off.
“Won’t Frankie be upset?”
His eyes popped open. “My God. Do you ever shut up?”
“Not usually.” She had spent the last two months as a silent ditz. It was nice to be talking again. He stared at her. She pressed her lips together, glaring at him, wishing she could make him disappear.
Finally he leaned back and closed his eyes again.
Casey watched the cars fly by, the sun beginning its descent into the afternoon. The car was still running, the A/C blasting cold air around them. She sighed, breathing deep. A mistake. She got a nose full of Connor, the deliciously heady scent.
“Shouldn’t you let Frankie know?”
He sighed, eyes still closed. “I sent him a text.”
“Was he mad?”
“Do you care?”
“If I’m going to try to convince him that I’m there for him, I’d prefer he be in a good mood, not pissed at us for being late.”
His mouth quirked at the corner. “You might have a better chance if he’s mad. Angry, rough sex. Let him take his anger out in bed and then stay with him. That’ll convince him more than the quick, controlling fucks you’ve been giving him.”
She felt her face get hot. “How would you know what kind of sex Frankie and I have been having?”
He did grin now. “Frankie likes to talk. Tells us all about the women he’s been with, including you.”
She did not like Connor knowing anything about her sex life. Damn Frankie. “He said I’m quick and controlling?”
His smile deepened, his eyes shut. The bastard was enjoying this.
“Don’t get me wrong, he liked it for a while. The quiet, docile woman outside, a domineering wildcat in bed. But he’s over it.”
The A/C was on high, but she felt hot all over. This conversation needed to be finished, but she couldn’t stop herself.
“It was an act.”
He opened his eyes, pinning her with their brilliant depths. His smile lingered, barely. “So Casey Keene is nothing like Jenny Cartwright?”
She shook her head, afraid to open her mouth. She didn’t like how he was looking at her, like she was something to eat.
“Then you’ll have no problem letting him fuck you? Hurt you?”
“Actually I do have a problem with that.”
“Even if it saves your life?”
She frowned. “I don’t like rough sex.” Her voice sounded small in the car. Connor was too close, relaxed in the driver’s seat, watching her with his dazzling eyes.
Those eyes traveled down her body, back up her bare legs, and lingered too long on her mouth before returning to her eyes. She knew she was blushing deeply.
“Maybe not with Frankie,” he said.
“Not with anyone.”
“No?”
She felt her heart racing, couldn’t catch her breath for some reason. She was shaking, but he couldn’t see that.
“Let’s find out.”
He moved too fast. One moment he was sitting in the seat beside her, next he was looming over her, her wrists caught in one hand, his knees between her legs, the seat falling backward so that she was lying helpless beneath him.
But she was far from helpless. She fought, bucked, tried to kick but