The guy was too good-looking. Cla.s.sic features, deep brown eyes. Young! "Hi, Hogan." Shifting his gaze, he said, "You must be Rachs friend. Welcome."
Dylan responded. "I am. We appreciate the invite."
"Im off. I have some details to check. Hogan, Ill see you down in the pit. Dylan, nice to meet you."
Turning, he kissed Rachel on the cheek. "Catch you later."
When Joe left, Rachel smiled at Hogan. "Theres food here. Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, sure. What is it?"
"Ribs, corn bread. Lots of sweets."
Hogan looked to Dylan.
"Go ahead, son."
"Ill walk you over." Rachel led Hogan across the room. Yep, those jeans were gonna antagonize him all day, that was for sure.
After a few minutes, she returned alone. Again, her expression was so pleased, he didnt get it.
I did it because I wanted to. I knew that Id never get another chance to be with you.
For the umpteenth time, he was embarra.s.sed to admit, Dylan wondered if she had really made love, as she repeatedly told him.
"Hes a nice kid."
"Blinded by your beauty, I think."
"Wow." Now those green eyes glowed like emeralds. "Another compliment?"
He beat back a smile. "Just a statement of fact. But, thanks for having him here."
"And you. I want you to see what Im doing thats good."
"I heard you say you gave a donation."
"Hmm. I did. And I might do a segment on this. My cameramans here taking footage."
c.o.c.king his head, Dylan asked, "A puff piece?" Now her eyes narrowed. "I dont do puff pieces anymore."
"Then, are you here to get the scoop? This track has had trouble. Money wise, with the backers."
She shook her head. "I know the new owners. Theyre legitimate."
"How well?"
"How well, what?"
"Do you know the owners? You looked cozy with Mancusi."The corners of her mouth turned up. "Are you jealous, Dylan?"
"In your dreams." He had to get out of this one. So he turned his attention to the track down below. "Tell me how this day came about."
She hesitated, then drew in a breath. "All right. Joe said..."
As she explained the thinking behind Kids Day, Dylan realized that shed never answered his question about how close she was to the other man.
They stood just outside the track, watching the lucky kids who got to partic.i.p.ate in Kids Day. Shouts of pleasure and praise accompanied each one as they raced to the pit, but Rachel was piqued at herself. Seeing Dylan, who looked d.a.m.ned handsome in his cashmere heather-blue sports coat and silky shirt beneath, had taken her breath away at first, and she was afraid hed caught her reaction.
"What tack will you take with a segment on all this?" he asked from beside her.
Trying to keep her eyes focused on the field, she said, "Im not sure yet."
"Didnt you come to give him good publicity?"
She faced him now. The overhead lighting made his hair glisten, and his big shoulders seemed to dwarf her. "Yes. Since I covered the scandal out here when it happened, like most reporters did, so I sort of, I dont know, thought maybe Id do a piece that would show some redemption for the racetrack. Their attendance is still low."
He didnt take his eyes off her. "So youre using your friend to make yourself look good for me." He smirked. "Leopards dont change their spots, I guess."
Temper spiked inside her. "Im not using Joe or trying to impress you." She stepped a little closer, but the scent of him, a bit spicy, filled her head and made her weak. She ignored it. "And youre not filling your part of the bargain. Youre trying to antagonize me. You said youd be nice."
His face lost some of its ice. "That I did. You bring out the worst in me, I guess." But then he added, "Im sorry."
"Okay. I dont want our differences to ruin the day for Hogan. He seems like a nice kid."
"He is, but hes had some trouble..." His voice faded off. "Never mind."
"You can tell me, Dylan." She touched his arm. "We signed the confidentiality agreement for personal stuff."
"His mother and I have been divorced for a decade. She was all about her career-she runs lingerie boutiques all over the country, and now has a place in Paris. Either she ignores my boy, or when shes with him, she treats him like she treated me."
"How?"
"I dont want to get into that. He just got back from a visit. Hes a little rocky."
"Im sorry."
Facing her, he said, "Now its your turn. Ever married?"
"No."
"Youre what, thirty-five?"
"Close enough."
"Why?"
"My sister Rebecca says its because Im too..." She blushed.
"Too pretty? Too confident? Too intimidating?"
Trying to bluff her way through this, she flirted. "You think Im all those things?
"Of course, doll. And you know you are."
Not true. Her confidence had been bruised by how she grew up, but she wasnt about to share that with him. She believed Dylan would honor the agreement, but she was vulnerable to her secrets. So she said flippantly, "Youre right about that."
"Any guys in the picture now?" he asked.
From behind, she heard Hogan yell, "Hey, Dad, look what I got!"
Turning away from him, Rachel was glad for the interruption. Hogan carried an orange jersey. "All the pit guys signed this. Some of the kids got the drivers one, but I like these guys better."
Rachel smiled at him. "You know, I do, too."
"Thanks a ton for asking us, Ms. Scott. Its been awesome!"
She was surprisingly happy to have given the experience to him. "Youre very welcome."
Feeling too drawn to the ONeil men, she checked her watch. "Im afraid I have to go. My train leaves in a half hour."
"Didnt you drive?" Hogan asked.
"No, I dont have a car."
"You have a town car that carts you around." Dylans brow had furrowed. "This was work."
"My driver has a family thing today."
"What about your cameraman."
"Already gone."
"We can drive you back, cant we dad?"
"Um..."
"No, thats okay." She didnt need to be with them any longer.
"You can sit in the front seat with Dad. Ill take the little backseat. He always says we should be polite and kind to... What do you call women, Dad?"
"The fairer s.e.x. And yes, I do say that. Ms. Scott, wanna ride with us?"
She had no choice but to accept. d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l!
Dylan pulled up to Rachels condo building and felt a thud in his heart as he remembered the other time hed been here. For the entire drive, Rachel had entertained Hogan with tales of famous people shed met and hed responded with a zillion questions about his favorite stars. So Dylan had a lot of time to think about that night with her, to let her perfume surround him, to let himself be lulled by the sultry sway of her voice.
Maybe that was why, after he dropped Hogan off for a sleepover with Cleary and pulled in front of her condo, he shut off the engine. She didnt get out right away. "Thanks for the ride, even if you didnt want to give it to me."
"Thats not true," he lied. "I meant what I said to my son about respecting women. Taking care of them."
"Dylan." Her voice was a purr off her lips. "You didnt want to give me a ride any more than I wanted to take one."
Facing her in the small front seat of his Fiat, he watched her, backlit by streetlights. "What do you mean?"
With a disgusted look on her face, she shook her head and reached for the door handle. He clicked the security locks. When she turned back around, her eyes flashed with anger...or was that excitement? The kind hed seen when he was at her house before.
"Tell me why." His words were a coaxing whisper. And the air got heavy in the car.
"Its h.e.l.l sitting next to you, being so close, when I cant touch you."
Defenses lowered by her honesty, he gripped the steering wheel. "Its the same for me."
She waited a long time. Then asked, "What are we going to do about it? Im not sure I can be with you for as long as this takes without wanting you."
Jesus Christ, just mentioning that she wanted him made him hard in seconds. "I dont know. I guess we could call the whole thing off. Forget about each other and the second column."
"You know my boss wont give me the foreign reporters job while the entire ONeil familys against me."
He could say he didnt give a s.h.i.t. He could say that was her problem, not his, but instead, he lifted his arm, slid it across the back of her seat and snagged a lock of her hair. A curl wound around his finger. Wrong move! All over again, he felt the heavy ma.s.s spread across his stomach, like it had been their one night together. "So soft," he murmured. "So thick and lovely."
"Oh, G.o.d, Dylan. Dont." She breathed out words he could tell she didnt mean.
He tightened his hold on her hair and tugged, causing her to lean in closer. "What are you doing?" she asked hoa.r.s.ely.
"d.a.m.ned if I know. Maybe one taste will put the fire out."
She stared hard at his lips. "One taste could never be enough. I need to leave."
Tug, tug. Closer, closer until her breath was a whisper-soft touch on his face. They were surrounded by a dusky coc.o.o.n. Making their encounter more romantic. s.e.xier.
"You dont want this, Dylan."
He swallowed hard. "Do you?"
"Of course I do. I was honest about why I slept with you."
"Take what you want, darlin."
They both froze. Then, slowly, her hand slid to the lapel of his jacket, up to his jaw, around to his nape, which was sweaty.
He was going to let her lead if it killed him. She did some tugging of her own and brought his mouth to hers. Their lips touched and heat flared. They melded together, wanting, taking. He opened her mouth with his tongue. Probed the sweetest thing hed ever tasted, ever wanted to taste. Her long fingernails sc.r.a.ped his neck and he bucked toward her.
She re-angled her head.