Driven to Temptation, page 6
What the hell had she been thinking?
As it was, she had less than three months left. Twelve short weeks to convince Aidan she was the natural choice for the Century Plains project.
She glanced at his profile, at the determined tilt to his jaw. Like he took on the world with no apologies. Like failure wasn’t an option.
Well, it wasn’t an option for her, either.
“Do you always fidget? Even while sitting?” he asked, cutting into her thoughts.
She froze at the question, purposefully stopped her toe-tapping. “Sorry. I’m not used to being a passenger on long road trips.”
Especially not alone with a super-sexy guy like Aidan. This time, she boldly studied his profile, stark against the backdrop of thick trees. Even from this angle there was no mistaking the intensity that permeated him almost from the moment she’d laid eyes on the guy. But what started out as mild curiosity soon ballooned into more.
Who, exactly, was Aidan Ross? Unapproachable entrepreneur, or someone who cared enough to help rescue a dog despite his allergy?
“You must like what you see.”
What the hell could she say to that?
The evenly said words made her look away, and a slow heat started at her neck and worked its way up. In a few seconds her face would be almost as red as her hair. Again. “Just wondering what makes you tick.”
Lame, but there it was.
“I’m no different than most guys.”
“Most guys are easy to figure out.”
“That’s interesting.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What is?”
“That you’re trying to figure me out.”
“We’re not talking about me.” She sighed, started tapping the floorboard again. “But I’ve got five older brothers who made sure I knew all about guys before I even stepped foot in high school.”
“No kidding?” He slowly whistled, a high-pitched sound that seemed amplified in the tight space. He might’ve been fighting it, but she saw a corner of his mouth crook up.
God, he was gorgeous when he smiled. Even when he didn’t smile, for that matter.
And if she wasn’t careful, she might forget all the reasons she should stay away from him.
He dropped the truck’s speed as they wove through town, headed for the next highway. “Damn,” he muttered as he glanced at the dashboard. “Traffic’s picked up.” He clenched his jaw briefly, then added, “I’d had it all planned out so we’d miss this part of the commute.”
“You always have everything planned?”
“Helps to avoid things like getting stuck in traffic.”
“But takes the fun out of life.” At least, that was the way she saw it. “What’s wrong with being spontaneous? Spicing things up a bit?”
“Spontaneity was something I was never good at.”
That much was obvious. “How sad.”
“Not really. It’s more efficient. Gets you toward what you want faster.”
He had a point. “But sometimes the trip’s more fun when life’s not what you’d predicted.” Although in her case, she had her eye on the bigger picture.
Nothing would derail her from that.
…
A call sounded through the cab at the same moment Aidan rounded the truck through a corner, taking it a hair below the posted speed limit. Which was a good thing considering a farm tractor crawled just ahead of them, a stream of black smoke coming from its exhaust.
“Shit.” He stepped on the brake, jolting them forward. “You okay?” he asked, chancing a look at Delaney.
“Yeah.” She nodded, a curious frown on her face. “Who’s Grant Phillips? This is the second time he’s called.”
Grant?
Aidan looked at the truck’s screen before he accelerated. He’d linked his cell phone to it so he could take business calls on the road. Only, Grant’s calls wouldn’t be about business.
“You don’t have to tell me.” Her toe-tapping stopped. “Oh, shit. Are you… I mean, is he…like, your boyfriend?” She clearly misinterpreted his silence.
“What?” He threw her a sideways glance. She couldn’t possibly think…
“Not that there’s anything wrong with—”
“Delaney.”
“I know a lot of guys who like guys,” she continued. “I mean…not a lot, lot, but—”
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “You can’t be serious.”
“About knowing guys who are gay?” She huffed out a breath. “Of course I am. Why would I lie about that?”
Really, what was it about this woman that aggravated and intrigued him at the same time? He shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m not gay.”
She stared at him, a mixture of fascination and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“As much as I want to prove it to you, we both know that’s a bad idea.”
“It is?” She swallowed, her gaze dropping to his mouth before flickering up again.
“Yes.” How he’d kept his voice firm was one hell of a miracle.
Aidan focused his attention on the road ahead and the way sunshine glinted off the pavement. Anything was better than doing something so dumb as to pull the truck off to the side and follow through on what his dick demanded.
She worked for Ross and Associates. He might own a small business, but there were plenty of examples of sexual harassment suits in the news. He definitely wasn’t going to be a part of that mess.
The truth it is.
“Grant Phillips is my foster brother.”
She frowned as if trying to process the thought. “What’s that like?”
“You have brothers. What’s that like?”
“Mostly a pain in the ass.”
“Grant was a pain, too. Very shy. He’s better now, but there were some moments back then when I wondered.” Given his brother’s background, it was amazing the guy eventually came out of his shell.
“Must’ve been something in the water.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not exactly Mr. Social yourself.”
Why bother to deny it? Instead Aidan focused on the stretch of asphalt ahead, on the flow of traffic and keeping the truck in its lane.
“Sorry,” she said. “That’s probably not the thing to say to your boss.”
“Hard to learn to be social when you’re shuffled around from home to home.”
Until Edward and Miriam Wilson took him in. Only then did he have a couple of years in one place with firm role models. Even then he’d never really outdistanced his past.
“What?” Her voice was as surprised as the look he caught when he glanced her direction. “I thought maybe he came to live with you and your family.”
He wished. “Nope.”
“So you moved in with Grant’s family.”
“Wrong again.”
“Oh.”
He waited for more, but thankfully, Delaney didn’t pry.
“So you’ve got a special bond with Grant.” She reached for her Gatorade and gulped down a quick swallow.
“We got into a few adventures together.”
“You?” She let out a short laugh. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Hey, it’s happened, you know.” And in his case, he was glad. Grant was his closest friend, would likely always be that way.
“Oh? Like what?” She raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.
“Like the time another kid was picking on Grant. We sneaked out of the house and stole his car.”
“You what?”
“Don’t worry, we didn’t do anything more than park it in front of a known prostitute’s home.” It had been a perfectly executed plan, one that Harold had helped them concoct and that his sister never discovered. If she had, there was no doubt Miriam would’ve banned him from coming over again.
For a brief moment, the strains of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” were the only sounds that mixed with the rumble of the engine.
“That’s really cool,” she said at last.
Aidan heard the smile in her voice, and a slow, inexplicable warmth spread through him.
“You’re obviously smart, you care about rescuing a lost dog—even if she did make you cry—”
“You would bring that up.”
She held up a hand to stop him. “Let me finish. And somewhere in your past you helped your foster brother get through some of the toughest parts of his life.” She smiled. “You’re a good man at heart, aren’t you, Aidan Ross?”
Was he a good man? “The jury’s still out on that one.” He stepped down on the accelerator, and the truck immediately responded to his command.
Too bad the rest of his life didn’t work that way. If it did, he’d find some way to quell the lonely days and even lonelier nights.
For good.
Chapter Nine
Aidan knew his truck, knew when something didn’t feel right. But truck problems in the middle of a relatively short road trip were something he didn’t plan on. Damn it.
The truck pulled to the left, no matter how hard he tried to keep it between the lines. His head pounded right along with the realization there was a good chance they’d hit Seattle at the worst of the city’s evening commute. All too similar to the Portland traffic they’d just left behind. Only worse.
God fucking damn.
Aidan checked his mirrors before he crossed two lanes of interstate traffic, slowing down significantly.
“What’s the matter?”
“Flat tire.”
“Oh.”
His phone beeped, an insistent tone that told him he had voice mails piled up and waiting for him. Disconnecting his phone from the truck’s Bluetooth system hadn’t stopped the calls from coming in.When it rained, it fucking poured.
He depressed the button for the hazard lights and slowed the truck onto the shoulder. “Looks like we’re stopping again.” He shoved the gear into park.
From hell to hell-in-a-handbasket. Aidan’s head continued to pound staccato beats he fought to ignore. At this rate it’d be midnight before they got to Seattle. And he still had to pick up the projector for tomorrow’s presentation.
Damn. It.
He glanced in his mirror before opening the driver’s side door. The shoulders of the interstate were wide enough for him to step out, but he still checked, every nerve ending tuned to the errant driver who could run him over. Getting creamed by oncoming traffic wasn’t in the plan, either.
Aidan stepped out, slammed the door, and headed toward the front of the truck. Yep, it was definitely low. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his watch. This was the last fucking thing he needed to happen today.
Might as well suck it up and get it done. “It’s a flat,” he confirmed when Delaney joined him.
“I can see that.” She crossed her arms underneath her breasts, the boxy suit jacket on again. “Maybe I can help.”
“Maybe.” He shoved aside the mental image of Miriam Wilson. She’d insisted her boys behave like gentlemen, fostered or not. Clearly, she’d never run across anyone like Delaney Harper.
“Really?” There was a tinge of excitement in her voice.
“Really.”
The more he thought about it, it was safer to keep her in the one-of-the-guys category than anywhere else. At least, that was way better than wanting to kiss her…and more.
She walked away, and a moment later, she’d opened both the front and rear passenger side doors.
Aidan stalked back to the driver’s door and yanked it open. Opposite him, she reached for a box on the backseat. “What are you doing?”
“Unloading. It’s how to get to the lug wrench and jack stand.”
Of course she’d know that. If there was one thing he’d learned about Delaney, it was that she was a take-charge kind of woman. He kinda liked that about her, certainly respected her for it. “Your brothers taught you well.” She pulled out her overnight bag and set it on the roadway.
“They didn’t want to teach me at first.” She shook her head, early-afternoon light hitting strands of her red hair and making them sparkle.
Aidan froze. Sparkle? Jesus. He was seriously losing it. When had he ever thought a woman’s hair sparkled?
He pulled his gaze away from her face, her hair, and focused on something, anything that would break whatever wavelength his brain was on.
He grabbed one of the poster boards, then leaned it against the open door. “Why didn’t they want to teach you?” Not that it mattered to him. He just had to keep her talking. She’d eventually say something to pull his brain out of his pants.
“It’s flat-out dumb. They told me it was a guy’s job. The more I insisted, the more they held their ground, and the more I got pissed.”
“Because, of course, your personality had nothing to do with it.”
“Hey, I was lot more…insistent when I was a kid.”
That made him chuckle. “More than you are now? You’ve gotta be kidding.”
“Wait. What have I been so insistent about on this trip?”
“The dog.”
“That couldn’t be helped. Fifi was lost.”
“Bathroom stops.”
She propped her hands on her waist and gave him a sexy-but-in-charge look. “Did you want me to pee in your truck? Of course not. What else what was I supposed to do?”
“No need to get testy.” He grinned in spite of himself. “Just giving you examples like you’d asked.”
“Oh.” She lowered her arms and pulled a box off the seat. “It’s a huge family joke now. And it’s partly how I learned to go with what life threw my way.” She shrugged. “Well, I mostly do that.”
She chewed her bottom lip as she turned to place the box off to one side.
“Anyway, since they’d refused to teach me, I learned how to do it courtesy of the internet.” She grinned at him, the thousand-watt variety that seemed to span the backseat and strike him in the center of his chest. “That showed them how determined I was to learn to take care of myself.”
The gap between them seemed to shrink, which was a whole other sensation for him. Like being grounded and free at the same time. Her smile faded a fraction, and her gaze locked with his. An unnameable something danced in her eyes. Curiosity? Desire? Aidan wasn’t sure, but for the briefest moment they were connected on a level he’d never experienced before. His brain seemed to focus on Delaney, on the way her eyes flashed brightly.
Then she turned, effectively breaking their connection.
“The internet. Right.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. Admittedly, he was really lousy at small talk, but even more so after that eye lock.
What was it about this woman that made his insides want to twist into a knot and his libido take off like a sex-starved male?
Maybe he could engage his brain again. He had a problem, and he needed to develop a strategy to deal with it. In this case strategy involved hooking up with a woman who wasn’t an employee.
He’d deal with sex after the conference, when he was able to concentrate on that part of his life. Right now, he needed to get through the trade show and nail the Pierce Engineering account. Which meant keeping his guard up around Delaney.
Aidan yanked a box out of the way while she climbed onto the backseat, skirt hiked up again as she knelt and searched between the seat and seat back.
“Now what are you doing?” He didn’t mean for the words to sound rough. But one look at her position, at how she straddled an imaginary line, took his dick-brain where it didn’t belong.
“Pulling the seat up.” She yanked at the tab with an oomph. “It’s easier for me to get leverage if I do it up here instead of from the ground.”
Do it up here.
The fantasies rolled forward like a projector. Their sweaty bodies, arms and legs entwined. Mouths tasting, exploring, driving each other toward—
“Stop.” God help him, he’d have her flat on her back if she didn’t quit. Right. Now.
He was in the truck and beside her in the space of a heartbeat, his hand resting on hers.
Turned out touching her wasn’t such a great idea. Her skin was smooth, soft, and a weird charge zapped through him. He pulled his hand away like it’d been seared. “I can do that.”
Her eyes widened so he could see tiny flecks of gold in them. Emerald eyes with flecks of gold. Stunning. And clearly reflecting she felt something, too.
She swallowed, looked down at where he’d touched her hand as if she were seeing it for the first time. “You said I could help.” Her normally confident voice was softer, and somehow ignited a protective instinct in him.
“And you will.” He removed his sunglasses and tossed them onto the front seat. “But I need you to let me do this.” He squelched the fantasies, tamped them firmly in place and threw on a mental padlock for good measure. “Please.”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
He nodded. It might not necessarily be what he wanted to happen, but it was what needed to happen.
She hesitated. “Maybe you can hand the lug wrench and jack stand over.”
If it meant she wasn’t straddling anything, perfect. “Great.”
She slowly, carefully, eased herself to the opposite side, out the truck door, and safely back to the ground.
Aidan pulled the seat up and out of the way. The lug wrench was secured in place. Exactly where he expected. His shoulders eased and his breath calmed. At least everything here was where it should be. He loosened the bolts, pulled it out, and set them aside. After freeing the lug wrench, he handed it over to Delaney. “Here you go.”
Their fingers touched, and again a strange, zinging sensation ripped through him. He tried to let go, wanted to let go, but somehow…couldn’t.
She leaned forward, eyes wide as if gauging his reaction. Her lips parted, and she moistened her lower lip with her tongue. Slowly…sensually…seductively.
For a moment he couldn’t remember any good reason not to give in to temptation and do what any reasonable man would.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Their relationship had to stay within the boundaries of reason. Anything else, anything more, had the power to blow his plans into nothing that resembled what he wanted: grow his company into a powerhouse in the construction industry.
