Swearing softly, Billy headed for the door, not looking back.Hitting the road was probably the sanest thing he could do… put some distance between them.But that was what he always did, wasn’t it?Look how well that always turned out.
He raked a hand through his hair as the door to The Ruckus slammed behind him.They weren’t even fighting this time, but things were getting weird.Emotional… uncomfortable… And his craving for her was getting stronger than ever.
Damn, he was a head case.
A brisk breeze hit him, and he hunched deeper into his jacket.He needed to find an engine to work on, something old and greasy and rusted.Because, God knew, he needed to fix some things.
* * * * *
Roxie was cranky.Cranky in the sense of being grumpy, tired,andsexually frustrated.
She still wasn’t sure what had gone down with Billy earlier today.He’d nearly melted her kneecaps before things had come to an abrupt halt, and she wasn’t one who dealt with teasing well—especially after she’d climbed upstairs to her apartment, in stocking feet mind you, and had found evidence of him there, too.The bed had still been rumpled, and the sheets had smelled like his cologne.He’d made her ache, damn him, and then he’d screwed with her head.
If there was one surefire way to piss her off, that was it.
Problem was, right now she had to be pleasant.
“I’m sorry about the noise out there,” she said as affably as she could muster through clenched teeth.The bar was busy, and she wanted to keep it that way, so she led her visitors into her office.They weren’t unexpected, but they certainly weren’t making her day any better.
She placed herself behind her desk in a conscious power move.“Now, what is all this about a complaint?”
She stared calmly at the two men standing across from her.Both wore all black, with shiny metal badges.One wore his clipped onto his belt, while the younger one pinned his proudly onto his chest.She could wind the newbie around her pinkie.It was the older one, the one built like a tank with a crisp crew cut that concerned her.
“Some kind of disturbance?”she said sweetly.
She didn’t really need to ask.The prudish librarian had called in to complain.
Probably because her boobs weren’t as nice as Roxie’s.
Roxie stood a little straighter, arching her back.The bar area was so warm, she’d stripped down to her black tank top.Hey, if you got ’em, flaunt ’em.
She saw the way the younger cop’s eyes widened and then flashed determinedly back to his notepad.
“We had a report of a woman matching your description disrupting traffic on I-67,” he said, reading his notes.“This woman had climbed the billboard your establishment has posted near the bridge.”
A woman.Singular.Well, that was the first thing that had gone right today.
“Oh, that?”She gave her best innocent look.“It was just a little publicity stunt.We had our grand reopening yesterday.”
She smiled and gestured back towards the bar as the beat from the jukebox thumped through the walls.As she’d predicted, the place was packed tonight.
So packed, it was giving even her a headache.
But wait, it had been Billy who’d caused that.The fink.The sexy, bad boy, so-gorgeous-he-made-her-sigh fink.
A growl bubbled up in her throat, but she quickly caught herself.
“You can’t go around climbing billboards, Ms.Cannon,” Officer Crew Cut said firmly.“You could have caused an accident by distracting all those motorists.”
Like drivers hadn’t been distracted by that billboard for months.Tilting her head, Roxie let her hair fall forward.“Could you tell me what exactly the caller said I did?”she asked, winding a curl around her finger.
The young officer’s cheeks flared red.“She claimed you…” He coughed.“Exposed your… ahem… breasts in public.”
Roxie let her eyes widen just enough.“Oh, no.That didn’t happen.”
Technically, her curves had been covered by her bra.Her good hot pink one, in fact.She was wearing it even as they spoke.
Acting embarrassed, she folded her arms over her chest, but discretely plumped her curves even higher.“The caller must have been talking about the billboard itself.You see, my…breastsare rather exposed in that big, detailed, laser-printed image.”
