Chasing Mrs. Right (7 page)

Chapter Ten

Ian was a goddamned idiot. He’d fully intended on asking Roxanne out. What he hadn’t thought to bring into the equation was the fact that she’d end up on her desk with his face between her legs. Christ, even thinking about it made his dick twitch. His chances of getting through this dinner without an outstanding case of blue balls were decreasing by the second.

The few days they’d been apart were a bitch. He’d spent more time on a treadmill than was probably a good idea, but he had gotten used to her touch. He’d come to need the feel of her skin against his, and that need got the better of him once lust hijacked his brain. Control sure as hell wasn’t his strong suit when it came to this woman.

When they reached the parking lot, he motioned to his Chevy. Roxanne raised an eyebrow. “Look at you, with your own wheels just like a real boy.”

“Oh, I’m most definitely a real boy.”

Her gaze dropped to the bulge in his pants that he couldn’t hide no matter how many times he adjusted his jeans. “I’m aware.”

With the sexual tension thick enough to cut with a knife, he cursed his goddamn twisted self-control. Sure, he could lose it enough to make her come in her office, but not enough to follow through and take care of his needs. Rationally, he knew having sex right now was too soon. The rest of his body wasn’t of the same opinion.

He opened the door for her, trying not to watch as she slid into the seat. This was going to be a long night. As they turned onto the street, she shifted to face him. “So, now that you have me where you want me…what are you going to do with me?”

He started to respond in kind, but cut off the words before they left his mouth. In the few interactions they’d had up to this point, she ramped up the sexual tension whenever things got a little too intense on a nonphysical level. She felt out of control, so this was how she tried to take it back.

Ian knew all about self-defense mechanisms.

But, though he understood the reasoning behind her switch, he wanted to know if there was something between them—something beyond the ability to give each other off-the-Richter-scale orgasms—which meant they had to actually sit down and have a conversation. He’d felt something at the club and afterward, and he needed to know if he could reclaim the woman Roxanne had been that night instead of this vamped-up version of her.

“What kind of food are you in the mood for?”

She sat back. “I don’t know. You’re the one who pushed this. Don’t you have some fantastic plan?”

Actually, no. She was so impulsive, he hadn’t been sure he’d be able to get her to agree to dinner. And, yes, he’d planned on taking her somewhere nice with low lighting and food that would do most of the seducing for him. Now, with her looking at him with the twinkle in her eye and the slightest tilt of her lips, he wasn’t so sure seduction was the right course of action.

What would it take to get her to show him that hint of vulnerability again? He was pretty damn sure it wouldn’t happen until he took back control of the situation, and since the woman had mentioned her weakness for good food, this was a decent place to start. “Pick a restaurant, Roxanne.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” She actually slouched in the seat and crossed her arms over her chest, taking the position of a sulky child. He was tempted to point that out, but caution got the better of him. Instead, he stayed silent, knowing damn well she couldn’t abide by it for long.

He was right.

“Okay,
fine
.” She uncrossed her arms and straightened. “There’s a great little Thai place on Hastings. Hope you like it spicy.”

Ian turned north and allowed himself a small smile. “I happen to love spicy.”

“Famous last words.”

“Actually, no. Those probably won’t be my last words.”

“Uh-huh. And what do you think those words would be?”

He shrugged, enjoying the opportunity to actually
talk
to Roxanne. “Something insane. My mother would claim they’d be something along the lines of ‘Hey Mom, watch this,’ but I’d like to think I’ve outgrown that stage.”

“That’s up for debate.”

“You’re mean.” He laughed. “I like you mean.”

“Then you’re crazy.”

“Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks.”

She huffed, but it didn’t quite cover up her laugh. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“Nope. I’m not really that charming.”

This time her laugh escaped, free and clear. “Liar.”

He tried not to think too much of the fact that she thought him charming. He wasn’t, despite the nickname she’d given him that first night. Occasionally an ass, often a brute, always blunt. Charming? Not his thing. But then, a lot of things he took for solid truths seemed to change around Roxanne. With her, he felt lighter, as if he really were capable of slipping back into civilian reality without years of sitting on some couch with that goddamn therapist, or the frustratingly gentle way his family had taken to dealing with him since the homecoming party. With Roxanne, the verbal sparring and laughing while talking about serious subjects felt good. Natural.

He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. Immediately the peace of her touch soothed what little tension remained along his shoulders. She didn’t blink or give him shit or anything. Just squeezed his hand and grinned. “So, Charming, what have you been doing with your time since you got back? Besides investing in some sexy new wheels.”

“Truck’s not new. My parents had it in storage while I was gone.” And he really didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about
that
visit. His dad had been his usual chill self, but just as usual, his mother had gone above and beyond the call of duty. At least she’d stopped short of trotting out the neighborhood’s eligible females, though Ian had no illusions on that fact—she’d do it eventually. His mother apparently felt like a failure because both her children were unmarried. Elle had drawn most of the fire with her choice of fiancé, but that would only last as long as it took to plan the wedding.

Wedding.

Ian shuddered. Christ, he couldn’t deal with the fact that his baby sister was getting married. It was more than that, though. Not only was she getting married, but she was getting married to a man who was terrifyingly similar to that other loser she’d dated back in college. He still hadn’t decided how to approach the whole situation. Unlike last time, Elle had really dug in her heels about Gabe. She loved him, but Ian couldn’t let this wedding happen without at least having a sit-down with the groom. He just wasn’t ready to take that step yet.

He glanced over and realized Roxanne had been staring at him while he’d been mentally circling. “What?”

“I said it must be nice. You know, to have a family that cares.” The bitterness in her words was at odds with the subject, though she took up rubbing soothing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.

He almost made an offhand comment about her having met his parents but chose not to. Obviously, she had some familial issues in her past—or present. He wasn’t sure, though. Even with all the times Elle had brought up her best friend, she hadn’t mentioned Roxanne’s family once. So chances were, they were gone, though he couldn’t be sure if it was by choice or by death. “It is nice. Sometimes.”

“You sound like Elle.” Some of her seriousness melted away. “Though I can’t think of a single time I’ve met your mom when she’s actually treated me like a real human being.”

Ian winced. “She’s got her own ideas about what our lives should look like.”

“Your sister’s doesn’t include a nightclub owner, either.” She grinned. “I’ve waited years for Elle to stand up to your mom, and she finally did it for Gabe.”

“Right.” He scowled. “Gabe.”

“Take a chill pill, overprotective big brother. Gabe treats your sister like she’s spun glass, and the very ground she walks on is sacred.” Roxanne curled her lip in an exaggerated snarl. “Granted, he does all that without losing his man card and still manages to bring her out of her shell and expand her horizons and all that shit. It’s actually pretty damn impressive.”

“I’m sure.” Except he wasn’t. As much as his mother had her ideas about Elle ending up with a banker or a doctor or something, Ian had wanted her with an upstanding guy. He wasn’t sure Gabe fit the bill yet.

But he wasn’t taking Roxanne out to talk about his sister and the guy she was dead-set on marrying. He turned into the parking lot and followed her one-word directions to the Thai place. It was situated in what served as a strip mall—if a strip mall was 90 percent church. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Spend a lot of time here?”

“You’re judging. I can tell.”

“I would never judge. Are you in the choir?”

She climbed out of the truck and straightened her dress. “Yep. Us choir girls know all the good sex tricks.” She waited until he rounded the front bumper to slip her arm through his and lean in. “If you’re really good, I’ll take you around the building and let you pin me against the back wall. I hear it’s what the kids are up to these days.”

Ian stopped walking. “You certainly have a way with words.”

“That’s what all the boys say.”

“You need to hang out with a different crowd.” He opened the door for her and let her precede him. She, of course, took the opportunity to rub her entire body against his. “Jesus Christ.”

“Now you’re getting it.” She winked at him over her shoulder and led the way to an open table.

The restaurant was barely more than a hole in the wall, though the building itself was new. The color scheme leaned toward red in a serious way, but it somehow managed to be calming instead of aggravating like most places would be. Maybe it was the low lighting or the fact that it was mostly empty, but this place seemed extremely chill and welcoming.

They sat down, and Roxanne slid the menu across to him. “The Massaman curry is phenomenal. The best in Spokane as far as I’m concerned.”

“You have a thing for food.” Which was why he’d suggested dinner in the first place.

“It’s what holds any party together. If the food is bad, the entire thing can go south pretty quickly. Good food keeps people in a better mood and decreases the chance of fights and stuff.” She shrugged. “Plus, life’s too short to eat things that don’t make your eyes roll back in your head from pleasure.”

“Noted.” He filed that piece of information away for later use.

After they’d given their order, he settled back in his chair. “So, did you grow up in Spokane?”

“You remember what kind of coffee I drink, but you don’t know the big details? How disappointing.”

Technically, Elle
had
told him bits and pieces about Roxanne’s life, but he was missing some of the more important parts. “Maybe I want to hear it from you.”

“Don’t you think we’re a little past the whole first-date conversation?”

There she went again, trying to put more distance between them. “Since this is our first date…nope.”

“You’re so difficult.”

“That’s what my mother’s always told me.”

Roxanne rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. Yes, Charming, I’m born and raised in Spokane. I already know you were, because your darling sister was.” She sipped her Diet Coke. “Though I am kind of curious why you enlisted. Elle mentioned neither of your parents were particularly happy about that.”

He chose not to comment on the fact that she’d obviously paid nearly as much attention to mentions of him as he had to his sister talking about her. Instead, he focused on the question. “My dad would have been happy if I followed in his steps and gone into the farming business. My mom, well, you already know how she’d react.”

“
That career is completely beneath the perfection that is my son.
”

He choked. Damn, that impression was spot-on. “Yeah… Something like that.”

“Go figure.” She motioned for him to continue, and leaned forward to lace her fingers through his. The touch centered him enough to keep going.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after high school. Everyone had an idea, but none of them felt right. So I decided to take the path that would give me a few years to make up my mind and let me see a little bit of the world, too. I liked it well enough, so I re-upped for a second term.”

Roxanne propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “Do you regret that choice?”

“Regret it?”

“Yeah, because, you know, the whole borderline-PTSD thing. That is what you have going on, isn’t it?”

Ian blinked. Yes, he’d admitted that there were some serious things going on behind the scenes that he didn’t want to talk about, but it was a far cry from her calling him out like this. Not that she was wrong. “More or less.”

“Right.” He waited for pity or something like it to show in her face, but she just nodded matter-of-factly. “My question stands—do you regret it?”

“I…” Did he? Would his life have been significantly simpler if he’d stayed home and gone to college like both his parents wanted? Probably. But try as he might, Ian couldn’t picture that life making him any happier than he was now. If he’d stayed, he would have resented the hell out of his job, and that kind of bitterness could cripple a man more thoroughly than the nightmares he suffered through these days. Besides, not everything he’d seen in the last ten years had been terrible, and he’d met some great people along the way. Hell, he probably never would have met Nathan if they weren’t both in the military. “No. I don’t think I do.”

“Good. Regret like that can eat you alive.”

“Speaking from experience?”

Roxanne sat back as the waitress brought their food, taking her touch with her. It was only when the woman moved away that she spoke. “I don’t have any regrets. They’re a waste of time.” She said it without an ounce of emotion leaking through, which suggested she was lying. As if she sensed what he was thinking, she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “But that’s enough serious talk. Let’s move on to something fun. What’s your favorite position?”

Jesus Christ, this really was going to be the longest night of his life.