Heaven, Texas (Chicago Stars #2)(63)

“As you said, I was inebriated.”

He’d said she was drunk, but this wasn’t the best time to correct her. “Liquor sometimes has a way of bringing out the truth, and since it’s just the two of us here, we don’t have to tell lies to each other.” He slipped his hand an inch higher on her spine and rubbed one of the bumps with his index finger. “The way I look at it, you’re pretty much a sexual powder keg waiting to blow up, which is understandable considering the fact that you’ve denied yourself one of life’s sweetest pleasures.”

“I didn’t deny myself. The opportunity simply never came along.”

“From what I saw inside, the opportunity could come along at any minute. Those boys are only human, and, the fact is, you were flaunting yourself.”

“I wasn’t!”

“All right. Let’s just say you were doing some heavy-duty flirting.”

“I was flirting? Really?”

Her eyes widened with delight, and he realized he’d made a tactical mistake. With her typical unpredictability, she hadn’t taken his comment for the criticism he’d intended it to be. Before she got so caught up with the notion of herself as a Southern belle that she forgot to pay attention to what he was saying, he hurried on. “The point is, I think it’s about time we put our heads together, so to speak, and came up with a plan that’ll be mutually beneficial.”

The song came to an end. He reluctantly withdrew his hand from beneath her vest and let her go. Leaning back against the side of the Fairlane, he crossed his arms over his chest.

“The way I see it, we each have a problem. You’re long overdue for some tutoring in the sexual arts, but since we’re supposed to be engaged, you can’t get your tutoring from just anybody. I, on the other hand, am used to having a regular sex life, but since I’m officially an engaged man and this is a small town, I can’t just call up my old girlfriends and make arrangements, if you get my point.”

Gracie was nibbling her bottom lip to beat the band. “Yes, I, uh—Well, it’s certainly a problem.”

“But it doesn’t have to be.”

Her chest began to rise and fall as if she’d just run a long distance. “I suppose not.”

“We’re both consenting adults, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t help each other out here.”

“Help each other?” she said, her voice faint.

“Sure. I could give you the tutoring you need, and you could keep me off the streets. I think it’ll work out just fine.”

She licked her lips nervously. “Yes, it’s—uh—very logical.”

“And practical.”

“That, too.”

He heard the barest trace of disappointment shade her response, and he knew enough about women’s need for romance to understand the time had come for some fancy footwork. “Now the thing of it is, sex isn’t much fun if the two partners are only looking at it as some kind of convenience.”

She was nibbling again. “No, that wouldn’t be fun at all.”

“So if we decide we’re going to go ahead with this, we’d have to put all that out of our minds from the start and do it right.”

“Do it right?”

“Which doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have to set up some ground rules. I always think knowing the rules up front makes most things work out better in the long run.”

“I know you’re quite fond of keeping communication channels open.”

Along with that nervous flutter in her voice, he was almost certain he heard a small thread of annoyance, and he nearly chuckled aloud. Composing himself so that he sounded as serious as a TV evangelist, he regarded her gravely. “Here’s what I’ve been thinking…It’s obvious this is going to be a stressful experience for me.”

Her head shot up, and she was so clearly astonished it took all his self control not to laugh. “Why should it be stressful for you?”

He gave her a look of wounded innocence. “Honey, that’s got to be obvious. I’ve been pretty much a stallion from puberty on. Since I’m the experienced partner, and you don’t have any experience as far as I can tell that goes much beyond having that podiatrist kiss your foot, I’m going to be completely responsible for making sure your initiation into the sexual arts goes right. There’s a possibility—far-fetched, I admit, but still a possibility—that I could mess everything up and you’d be traumatized for life. That sort of responsibility weighs heavy on my mind, and the only way I can guarantee everything goes right for you is to take absolute control of our sexual relationship from the very beginning.”

She regarded him cautiously. “Exactly what would that involve?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to shock you so much you’ll decide to back out before we even get started.”

“Tell me!”

Her voice had risen to something approaching a shriek, and he could no longer remember what his earlier bad mood had been about. Her impatience reminded him of someone who’d matched the first five numbers on her lottery ticket, and was waiting to hear the last one.

He tilted the brim of his Stetson back with his thumb. “The thing of it is, for me to make certain this is going to be a good experience for you, I’d have to pretty much take control of your body right from the beginning. I’d have to own it, so to speak.”