Heaven, Texas (Chicago Stars #2)(62)

He didn’t smell anything more exotic than french fries and dust, but Gracie gave a contented sigh as she breathed in the air. “Thank you so much for bringing me here. I don’t know when I’ve had such a good time. Everybody’s been so nice.”

She sounded giddy and her eyes sparkled like Christmas lights, making her look so pretty it was hard for him to remember she wasn’t prime-cut. The air-conditioning unit hummed loudly, but didn’t quite drown out the music from the juke box. She pushed a strand of hair away from her cheek, then locked her hands behind her neck and leaned back against the building’s rough wooden siding, thrusting her breasts forward at the same time.

Where had she learned a trick like that? He suddenly wanted his old Gracie back, with her raccoon tail dress and lumpy hair. He’d been comfortable with his old Gracie, and the fact that he was the one responsible for her transformation into a honky-tonk hellcat made him even more peeved.

“Did it occur to you that I might not like my fiancée displaying her chest to everybody in town?”

She looked down at herself and her hand flew to her undone button. “Oh, my.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, tonight, but I think you’d better settle down right now and act like an engaged woman.”

Her eyes shot up to meet his. She stared at him for a long moment, clamped her teeth together, and flicked open the second button.

He was so surprised by her defiance that it took him a few seconds to find his voice. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“There’s no one around. I’m hot, and you’re immune to me, so what difference does it make.”

She was hot, all right, and so was he. He didn’t know what had gotten into her tonight, but he was putting a stop to it. “I never said I was immune to you,” he retorted belligerently. “You’re female, aren’t you?”

Her eyes flew open. It was a nasty crack, and he was immediately ashamed of himself. His shame grew as the stunned expression on her face changed to a look of concern.

“Your knee is bothering you, isn’t it? That’s why you’ve been so grouchy all evening.”

Leave it to Gracie to find an excuse for his boorish behavior. She only wanted to see the good side of people, a fact that made everybody in the world take advantage of her. Still, he wasn’t up to destroying her illusions about him by telling her that his knee was doing fine. Instead, he reached down and rubbed it through his jeans. “Some days are better than others.”

She cupped his wrist. “I feel terrible. I’ve been having such a good time that I wasn’t thinking about anybody but myself. Let’s go home so we can put some ice on it.”

He felt lower than a snake. “I should probably keep moving so it doesn’t freeze up. Let’s dance instead.”

“Are you sure?”

“‘Course I’m sure. They’re playing George Strait, aren’t they?”

“Are they?”

He caught her by the hand and gathered her against him. “You mean to tell me you don’t recognize George Strait?”

“I don’t know much about country singers.”

“In Texas, he’s more of a religious figure.” Instead of taking her back inside, he tucked her close and began to move. They danced between an old Fairlane and a Toyota, and her hair smelled like peaches.

As their boots shuffled in the gravel of the parking lot, he couldn’t resist slipping his hand under the hem of her vest and resting it in the small of her back. He felt the bumps of her spine, the softness of her skin. She shivered, reminding him that she needed a man so badly she was in danger of falling for the first smooth-talking bastard to come along.

The idea upset the hell out of him. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he liked Gracie, and he sure as hell didn’t want her stripping down for somebody who wouldn’t treat her with care. What if she gave herself to one of those sons of bitches who was too damned selfish to make sure she was protected? Or some oversexed jerk who rode her too rough and ruined her pleasure in sex forever? There were a million disasters waiting out there for a desperate woman like Gracie.

He’d been playing hide-and-seek with the truth too long, and he knew the moment of reckoning had finally come. If he wanted to keep facing himself in the mirror every morning, he had to set aside his misgivings about mercy f*cking and do what needed to be done. She was his friend, dammit, and he never turned his back on his friends. That left him with no choice. The only way he could be certain the job got done right was to take charge of Gracie’s initiation himself.

For the first time all evening, his black mood lifted. He felt smug, even a little self-righteous, the same way he felt when he’d written out a five-figure check to a good charity. More than sex was involved here. As a decent human being, he had a responsibility to protect this woman from the pitfalls of her own ignorance. Without giving himself any more time to consider the complications that were certain to arise, he plunged right in.

“Gracie, we’ve been avoiding the topic for the past few weeks, but I think we need to clear the air. That night you were drunk you said some things.”

He felt her stiffen beneath his palm. “I’d appreciate it if we could both forget about that night.”

“That’s hard to do. You came on kind of strong.”