Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas, #2)(63)

“We’re friends.” My cheeks grew warmer, so I took a sip of my chilled wine.

“Uh-huh. And Jake and I are brother and sister,” she said. “Has he tried to undress you yet?”

Nearly swallowing my tongue, I choked at her bluntness and let out a little cough. “Um, not exactly.” I wasn’t aware that having a conversation with Emily would lead to such an intimate discussion, but maybe it was a good thing. She obviously had more experience with men than I did and could probably give me some fascinating advice on how to handle the situation with Cowboy. “If anything, he pulls back whenever we start to…you know, do stuff.”

Emily’s face warped with genuine confusion. “Really?”

“You seem surprised by that.”

“Well, it is Cowboy we’re talking about. Hmm. Guess that puts a whole new spin on that fireman saying, ‘Find ’em hot, leave ’em wet.’”

We both laughed at that, and the sudden camaraderie put me at ease. Emily was impulsive and wore her blatant sexuality on her sleeve like a badge of honor. No wonder Jake couldn’t keep his hands off her. All the sexual energy buzzing in the air between them after their ten minute round of under-the-table touching hadn’t gone unnoticed.

But I wasn’t Emily, and there was nothing wildly sexual about me. “Most men are simply not attracted to me. Not that I’ve given them much reason to be.”

“What? That’s ridiculous! You’re much hotter than you give yourself credit for.” She shook her head in disbelief. “You have the most amazing blue eyes I’ve ever seen. And look at that gorgeous red hair of yours. Any woman would kill for that shade of natural red.”

“But I dress like an old maid,” I said, averting my eyes to avoid showing her how embarrassed I truly was.

“Well, Cowboy doesn’t seem to mind.” I glanced back to her and caught an unreadable expression on her face. Then Emily grinned at me. “I think he likes the primness. You could probably curtsy and cause him to ache in places he never knew existed.”

I shrugged lightly. “I don’t know about that.”

“Well, I do. Cowboy is well-known with the ladies for his insatiable desire. If he’s not jumping in the sack with you, especially when you’re offering, then there’s something more going on.”

It was true I’d seen oddities in his behavior that didn’t coincide with the rumors I’d heard. But that couldn’t possibly mean anything, could it?

“I don’t know. I think we’re just circling each other, trying to figure out what’s about to happen. I’m not sure how to take things to the next level.”

Emily leaned toward me. “You want to seduce him?”

I felt compelled to answer her honestly, but there’s nothing like being asked a direct question that makes you lose confidence. So I chewed on my lower lip and nodded.

She grinned at that. “Anna, just think of this as sexual warfare. Panties are your weapons.”

“Chalk this up to cluelessness, but how do I go about getting to that part?”

“That’s easy. Just give him a sexy look and you’ll be knocking boots with him in no time. Here, try one on me and I’ll tell you what I think.”

“You want me to—”

“Yep. Give me your sexiest look,” she encouraged. “Then I’ll judge if it will spark his libido.”

“Okay. Um, here goes.” I breathed out a slow breath and relaxed my face. Then I cocked my head to the side, batted my eyelashes, and smiled wide, teeth showing.

It must’ve went horribly wrong because Emily wrinkled her nose and cringed. “Um, yeah, that’s not sexy. Creepy, maybe, but definitely not sexy.”

I covered my mouth and giggled with embarrassment. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“That was obvious by your epic fail of turning me on.”

I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t have turned you on, anyway.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You are pretty cute.” She leaned closer and toyed with the stem of her wineglass, licking her lips as she lowered her chin and looked up at me beneath her dark lashes.

The sudden change in her demeanor had me stammering. “I…um…”

Emily sat back in her chair and threw her head with a laugh. “I’m just messing with you.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I thought you were flirting with me.”

“Exactly,” she muttered, taking a sip of her wine. “You saw how I did that, right? You can totally do it, too. Just practice a little. Then Cowboy won’t know what hit him. He’ll have to be carried out on a stretcher.”

“But what do I do in the meantime?”

“Have another glass of wine for the extra boost of courage and then show him your panties. The rest will fall into place.”

“Are you sure?”

Emily grinned. “As Cowboy would say, ‘God always takes care of helpless creatures.’”





Chapter Fourteen


Cowboy snagged my house keys from my hand and unlocked my front door, pushing it open and stepping aside to let me enter. He followed me inside and shut the door behind us, then tossed the keys on the small entryway table.