Hot Number (9 page)

He studied her, his face expressionless but
his eyes gleaming hot. “Didn’t I tell you to call me Nick?” He
slugged down the rest of his beer and gave the waitress a hand
signal for refills.

She’d tried once or twice on the ride over to
call him by his first name, but ‘ Nick’ and ‘Sadie’ registered a
discordant note in her ears. She wondered how long it would take
her to stop thinking of him as the sheriff or as Saxon. Nick was
surely a manly name, but Saxon sounded so lustfully medieval.
Somehow, it seemed part and parcel of the fantasy this Vegas trip
had become. “Sorry. Nick, it is. And you ducked my implied
question.”

His mouth thinned in a way she was beginning
to recognize. “I didn’t like the way he groped you,” he said in
something approaching a growl.

That almost blew her concentration. Finally,
the guy had let out some feelings. “But what made you think I
didn’t welcome that poor man’s ardor? I told you, Cassie and I came
to Vegas for the express purpose of having ourselves a riotously
good time. I was well on my way tonight until you launched into the
fray like a pit bull on steroids.”

He snorted. “Nice analogy. But did you really
welcome what he was doing?” His gaze told her he didn’t believe a
word of it.

Nick was right, of course. Still, she wasn’t
giving up just yet. Teasing him was more fun than she’d had in a
very long time.

She shrugged, enjoying the way the movement
brought his gaze down to her breasts. “I might have. Maybe,” she
said thoughtfully.

He tipped back in his chair, his eyebrows
arching in polite disbelief.

“Well, not so much, truth be told,” she
finally admitted. “He
was
pretty grabby.”

“That’s what I thought.” There was a trace of
smugness in his tone. “You just like to yank my chain with all
those quips and hundred-dollar words. I’ll bet it would drive you
crazy to know I actually get a kick out of it.”

Wow. A guy who likes the way I talk.
Prince Charming, where have you been all this time?

Sadie struggled to recover her poise.
“Heavens, no. Not at all. Consider it my little contribution to
local adult education, Saxon.”

“Jesus, will you drop the Saxon stuff?” It
came out as a rumble, but his eyes were laughing. Did he really
appreciate the odd sense of humor that had turned most guys off on
the first date?

“So,
Nick
.” She paused for effect.
“What exactly are we doing here—other than taking advantage of some
excellent beer prices?”

Another flicker of a smile. She was making
progress.

“Hey, I think you just called me cheap,” he
said.

“Hardly. Nobody likes a good bargain better
than me. But why do I get the feeling you like asking questions but
not answering any in return?”

“Not everybody likes talking about
themselves. And, just to be clear, asking questions is my
job
. I don’t do it for fun.”

She’d sensed from their first meeting that
Nick had posted
Do Not Enter
signs around his emotional
perimeter. The occasional hint of sadness in his eyes made her
wonder what tragedy or loss he had suffered to have erected that
kind of fence. “What
do
you do for fun, Nick?”

He gave a short, humorless laugh. “You mean,
what did I
used
to do for fun? Back when I actually had some
free time?”

Despite his sardonic tone, she detected no
real bitterness, and didn’t respond to his rhetorical question.

“Stuff guys are supposed to be into,” he
continued. “I played a little amateur football. Surfed some, when I
was stationed in San Diego. Drank beer and chased women.”

Sadie’s ears perked up. That explained the
way he carried himself, and the aura of command that was obviously
second nature to him. “You were in the service, then?”

“Eight years in the Marine Corps.
24
^th
MEU.”

Double wow.
She sucked in a breath.
“Iraq?”

Nick went oddly still. Several very long
seconds of silence made Sadie feel awkward, curious, and intensely
aware of everything about him.

“Maybe you don’t like to talk about it, but
I’m interested if you want to,” she said in a tentative voice.

He offered a brief smile that never touched
his eyes. “My unit had two deployments in Iraq—Fallujah and Ramadi.
Then another in Afghanistan, in Helmand Province.”

Sadie’s throat grew tight. He’d been in the
center of it all—the places where the fiercest fighting had
occurred. Who could know how that had affected him?

“You clearly did more than your share, Nick.”
She instinctively used his first name. “You should be very
proud.”

Even though he didn’t move, his posture
seemed to relax and the charged intensity in the atmosphere
surrounding them lost its substance. “I am. Even after three tours
over there, I didn’t want to leave the Corps. But I didn’t have a
choice. I had to come home.”

“Home to the States?”

He shook his head, and the sadness was back
in his eyes. “Home to Vegas. When my dad died several months ago,
there was nobody else to take care of my mom. She’s not well.”

“I’m so sorry.” She reached across to stroke
his hand with a light, sympathetic touch. He jerked slightly, as if
surprised by her gesture of sympathy.

“She’s been diagnosed with early-onset
Alzheimer’s. And she’s only sixty-two, which makes it even worse.
If I hadn’t come home, she’d have had to be institutionalized.” He
shook his head, looking grim. “There’ll come a time soon enough
when I won’t be able to take care of her any longer, but I’ll be
damned if I’ll see her in some facility one day sooner than she has
to be.”

Sadie had an aunt with Alzheimer’s, but she
was in her eighties and had several children to look out for her.
Nick’s mother had no one but him, and he obviously hadn’t let her
down. He was a hero in more ways than one.

“She must be grateful. I don’t know how many
men would do what you’ve done.”

He scoffed, as if to deny any sacrifice on
his part. “I don’t know how anyone could do anything else.”

From the look on his face, she could tell he
didn’t want to pursue that particular line of conversation.
Modest and heroic.
Sadie had never met anyone like him.

“You must have to hire people to look after
her when you’re at work, don’t you?” she asked. “Since you said you
work really long hours.”

“Mom can still manage to do a lot of things
for herself. But, yes, I have a couple of people who cook for her
and clean up when I’m not there. And they get her to bed when I
have to work late.”

Her heart ached for him, and for how
complicated his life must be. “It’s a tough situation for you.”

“Not really. Not compared to what she’s going
through.”

Sadie didn’t know how to respond to that, but
she had to turn the conversation soon or she’d burst into tears.
When she was young, her father had tried to break her of her
tendency to cry easily, scolding her for what he called a
lamentable lack of emotional discipline. But Nick’s selfless, quiet
courage seemed to blow through all her meager defenses. She had to
pull back before she dissolved into a puddle and ruined their
evening.

She touched his hand again and then drew it
back across the table. “I have to say this wasn’t the conversation
I envisioned on our way here. But I’m really glad we had it,
Nick.”

He nodded, looking relieved that she’d
brought the subject to a close. “I never talk to anyone about Mom,
except for her doctors and her caregivers. But talking to you
was...okay.”

Her throat constricted again. “Anytime, Nick.
I mean that,” she managed.

A few seconds of silence, then a hint of
mischief crept back into his gorgeous dark eyes. “Ah, Sadie?”

“Yes?”

“What kind of conversation
did
you
envision?”

She laughed, more than ready to humor him.
She wanted to do whatever she could to cheer him up. “Oh, I thought
we’d start with something light, like the latest developments in
particle physics research. Then maybe we’d move on to the origin of
the universe and unification theory.”

Most regular guys would be flummoxed by her
remarks, but he didn’t even flinch. “Well, you’ll be miles ahead of
me, of course, but fire away. I always wanted to know more about
unification theory.”

He must be pulling her leg, but he didn’t
seem to be laughing at her at all.

“Fire away?” She didn’t bother to hide her
surprise. Baseball? Yes. NASCAR? Certainly. But physics? Not so
much.

“I’m not an uneducated dolt, Sadie. I did
learn a few things at university.”

Even with her mighty mathematical brain,
Sadie had to quickly re-compute her internal model of Nick Saxon.
“I’m sorry. I just assumed you’d gone straight into the military.
Especially since you spent eight years in the Marines.”

“I’m a little older than I look, if that’s
what you’re getting at. But don’t worry about it.” Suddenly, he
switched into interrogation mode. “Now, Ms. Bligh, how about giving
me the
real
answer to my question?”

She stared back at him, feeling shy and more
than a tad foolish. What the heck was she supposed to say? That she
wanted to leap his bones? Obviously she did, but she couldn’t help
wondering if he would think her more than a little slutty if she
said so. Suddenly, it mattered very much what Nick Saxon thought of
her, especially after that last conversation.

Then again, he’d just offered up the
opportunity for her to state precisely what she wanted from him,
and this might be her only chance. Men like him—honorable, kind,
and handsome as sin—didn’t come along very often, at least not in
her life. What kind of idiot would she be if she let this chance
slip away?

She sucked up her courage and took a swan
dive off the high tower. “All right, then. If you insist.” The
words came out way too close to a croak. She took a deep breath,
willing the tension out of her voice. “What I’d envisioned was that
you would charm me out of my pants before we finished our second
drink. Then you’d rush me back to my hotel room for a long night of
unforgettable, unimaginable passion.”

She put on a little huff for effect. “There.
Satisfied? Now it’s your turn. Why did
you
drag me
here?”

Now that I finally discovered some guts,
don’t leave me hanging here, Saxon
.

He looked smug, sexy, and arrogant all at the
same time. And the big jerk was making her wait while her insides
churned and beads of perspiration broke out along the nape of her
neck.

Finally, he put her out of her misery, giving
her a bone-melting smile. “Great minds really do think alike, don’t
they?”

She sucked in a deep breath, unable to hide
the nervous excitement bolting through her. Though she’d been
salivating over the thought of a naked Nick Saxon for the last
twenty-four hours, it had only been a fantasy. But now, could it be
that the dark, mysterious, and impossibly gorgeous sheriff wanted
to make love to her?

No freaking way
.

She’d come to Las Vegas hoping for a bout of
totally uninvolved sex with a stranger. Until a half-hour ago, the
hard-ass sheriff who dragged her off the table yesterday would have
been perfect. But now the sheriff wasn’t a complete stranger any
more. Now, he was Nick Saxon, war hero and devoted,
self-sacrificing son.

And that seemed to change everything.

* * *

A little later, they barely made it to Nick’s
car before he
did
blow through all her defenses with what
Sadie could only describe as a soul-shattering, toe-curling kiss.
When he opened the door to hand her into his big SUV, she glanced
up to thank him. Whatever it was he saw in her eyes at that moment,
it launched him like a missile.

Yanking her up onto her tiptoes, he claimed
her mouth, the insistent pressure of his tongue pushing past her
willing lips. His hands spread low at the base of her spine,
smoothing the soft fabric of her dress before he tugged her tight
against his groin. His erection rocked into her, pressing against
the perfect spot, making her damp and hot and barely able to hold
herself upright. As if he could sense that, his big hands slipped
down to cup her bottom. He cradled her against him, kneading her
flesh in a gentle, seductive rhythm.

Nick deepened the kiss, turning it hot and
wet. He explored every part of her mouth with a deliberate and
sensual intent that soon left her aching and frantic. She had to
feel more of him—all of him. So she slipped her hands inside his
jacket and reached around to stroke the long, hard muscles of his
back. Just standing in the grubby parking lot, with several layers
of clothing between them, she could tell his body was so much more,
so perfect compared to the few men she had slept with.

And, God help her, she hadn’t known it was
possible to feel totally possessed by just one kiss.

Too soon, Nick loosened his grip and pulled
back. Sadie hugged him even harder, plastering her cheek into the
warmth of his chest, some part of her afraid that if they stopped
they would never start again. Murmuring her name in a low voice, he
put a finger under her chin and gently tilted her face up to look
into his.

“Car sex with you would be amazing, and I’m
tempted as hell, but not in the parking lot of
Billy
Jack’s
.”

She flushed, this time with embarrassment.
“Darn,” she said, trying to cover. “I still have that on my Vegas
to-do list. Can I get a rain check?”

He clamped his hands on her ass and boosted
her into the passenger seat. Even that bit of masculine impatience
made her heart race with excitement, which was really pretty
pathetic when she thought about it.

So stop thinking and just feel.