Baddest Bad Boys(5)

Robin? Robin of the dorky glasses, the mouthful of metal? Robin who was as cute and funny as a bouncing labrador puppy?

The irreconcilable images slammed together, like a truck hitting his mind. Those big brown eyes, magnified behind Coke bottle lenses.

It was Robin. Holy shit. In his mind he’d already been nailing this girl, right and left and center. Danny would kill him if he knew Jon had entertained pornographic thoughts about his baby sister. “Ah, sorry,” he muttered lamely. “I didn’t recognize you. You look…different than I remembered. Do your brothers know you’re out dressed like that?”

Her back straightened and her eyes narrowed to gleaming brown slits. “Mac and Danny have nothing to say about my wardrobe.”

“Maybe they should.” He jerked his chin in the general direction of her taut brown nipples, all too evident in the chill, and averted his eyes.

“Why should they?” Her slender arms folded over her chest, propping the tits up higher for his tormented perusal. “I’m twenty-five, Jon. That’s a two, and then a five.”

He blinked at her. “No shit.”

“Absolutely, shit. Want to see my driver’s license? I wear what I please. I answer to no one.”

This was surreal. He dragged his eyes away from her gleaming pink lips, and pulled himself together. “Uh, I don’t mean to be rude, but what the f*ck does your age have to do with anything? And what are you doing up here, anyhow?”

The gleaming lips pursed. “I could ask you the same question.”

“You could,” he conceded. “But it would be none of your goddamn business. Your brother gave me the keys. I’m crashing up here for a couple weeks to do some fishing and stare at the wall with my mouth hanging open. And now? Your turn. What did you come up here for?”

Her gaze fell. She started to speak. Pressed her hand to her belly.

“Um…you,” she said.

2


Jon looked at her. Twilight deepened in visible increments. He cleared his throat. “Could you clarify what the f*ck you mean by that?”

Robin threw her head back to look into his eyes. “I don’t need to clarify anything. You understand me perfectly well.”

“You mean…” His mouth stopped moving. He just couldn’t say it. It was evidently too horrific an idea to him, too shocking to verbalize.

Mayday. Going down. She resisted the urge to wrap her goose-bumped arms over her braless, much too visible boobs. “Yes,” she said.

A scowl furled his brows together. “You have got to be kidding.”

Hope soured inside her. “I’ve never been so serious in my life.”

He was starting to look pissed, as if someone were playing an unfunny joke on him. “What put this crazy shit into your head?”

“It’s been in my head for over ten years,” she announced.

He couldn’t stop shaking his head. “I cannot believe it,” he muttered. “I cannot f*cking believe it. This is all I need. Come on, let’s get inside.” She followed him arround the side of the cabin. He turned, scowling, when he found the door open. “What the hell?”

“I have a key,” she said simply. “I’ve been here for a while.”

His gaze sharpened. “Did Danny tell you I was coming up here?”

She bit her lip, and looked away. “Not exactly.”

“Wait. You were the receptionist today, right? Did you listen in?”

She flushed. “Um…”

“Bad.” He shook his head at her, scowling. “Bad karma.”

She lifted her chin. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not gonna do me. Get your ass in here. And sit. Down. Now.”

His voice snapped like a whipcrack, working on her nerves in some mysterious way that made her body obey before she knew what she was doing. Suddenly she was sitting, ramrod straight in the dim kitchen. On the spot. She regretted having chosen the tight, sheer chemise top. He was so big, vibrating intense man energy at her.

“Don’t glare at me,” she said sulkily.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. “Are you on the rebound? Do you want to make some guy jealous? What’s the deal?”

“There’s no deal.” She tried to lick her lips, and tasted the strawberry-flavored gloss she’d glopped over it. “And there’s no boyfriend.”

“Then why the f*ck are you here?”

She flinched at the harsh punch of his voice. The truth popped right out, like it always did when she was put on the spot. “Because I’m tired of waiting for this to happen! And I wanted you to be the first!”

“First?” His eyes went wary. “You mean to say you’ve never…oh, holy f*ck. You’ve never…” He sounded afraid to just up and say it.

“Yes! I do mean that! I want you to break the ice for me, OK? That’s all! Just…do the honors. So I can exhale and get on with it! I won’t get clingy on you. I don’t expect you to fall in love with me or—”

“That,” he said, through gritted teeth, “is fortunate.”

His clipped tone chilled her, but the damage was done. She might as well just go for it. “It’s just this one little thing. To break the spell.”