The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [245]
“Don’t be a fool,” he growled. “You’ll end up catching your death running around near naked like that.”
Her arms crossed over her middle and her neck stiffened at his exasperated tone. A heavy beat of silence passed before she rounded on him. Her eyes weren’t cool now. They were bright and hot with anger.
“I can’t believe you got me into this fix,” she nearly shouted, “then have the nerve to try to seduce me and—”
“I wasn’t trying to seduce you, damn it!”
“—and to criticize me!”
Distracted by the way her crossed arms hefted her breasts a little higher, Jordan was slow to respond. He managed to drag his gaze up to her very angry face again, and he scowled. “I got you into this fix? Honey, I’m the one who was trying to help you out!”
She thrust her jaw toward him in clear challenge. She was so close, her sweet hot breath pelted his face. “I’m not your damn honey, mister, and I didn’t need your help. I deal with Larry in one way or another nearly every night. He’s a regular at the bar—a regular drunk and a regular pain in the butt. But I know how to handle him.” Her lip curled, and she added with contempt, “Obviously, you don’t.”
Jordan let his hand holding the jacket drop to the seat between them. Never in his life had he been at such a loss for words. He rubbed his chin, scrutinizing her until she squirmed. Good. Her discomfort, in the face of her hostility, gave him a heady dose of satisfaction.
“Ah.” He cocked one brow. “I think I understand now.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
He shrugged. “I suppose any woman with enough guts to display herself as you did tonight must know how to handle the pathetic drunks who want to grope her. I’m sorry I interfered. Would Larry have given you a bigger tip?”
She choked on an outraged breath. “You hypocrite! I had you pegged from the start. You sit there and condemn me, yet you were at the bar, weren’t you? You’ll gladly watch, even as you look down your nose at the entertainment.”
Jordan leaned closer, too, drawn to her like a magnet, wishing he could lift her into his lap and hold her close and feel all that angry passion flush against his body. She practically vibrated with her fury, and for some fool reason it turned him on like the most potent aphrodisiac.
“I was there,” Jordan said, “to protest the place, not to support your little display.”
Her eyes widened and her chest heaved; Jordan couldn’t help it, he stared at her breasts. They were more than a handful, shimmering with her frustration, creamy pale and looking so soft. His palms itched with the need to scoop those luscious breasts out of her bodice and weigh them in his hands, to flick her nipples with his thumbs until they stiffened, until she moaned.
He swallowed hard and met her gaze, knowing his look was covetous, knowing that she knew it, too.
“So,” she said, and to his interest, she sounded a bit breathless despite her efforts at acerbity, “you’re a vigilante? One of those crazy people who protests all the sinners, people who drink or dance or have fun of any kind?”
“Not at all.” They were both so close now, a mere inch separated them. She wasn’t backing off any more than he was, and her bravado served as another source of excitement. He’d never met a woman like her.
Jordan felt the clash of wills and the draw of sensual interest. “My only concern,” he murmured, distracted by her warmth, her scent, “is the inebriated men who leave the bar and enter my county. Your county. They’ve caused a few problems which I’d like to see taken care of before someone ends up hurt or even killed.”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. Jordan drew a deep breath, trying to remember what it was he had to say. “I had intended to talk to the owner, nothing more. But then, I didn’t realize you liked being felt up by Larry.”
Her gaze jerked back to his. Her bottom lip quivered before she stilled it, making Jordan wonder if it was caused by upset at his nasty words—why was he being nasty, damn it?—or from the distinct chill of the night. He felt the first nigglings of shame for baiting her. In the normal course