She clapped a hand to her chest with the melodrama of a seasoned soap star. “You’re willing to wait to have sex with me? I’m devastated. I may never recover from the crushing disappointment that I won’t get to have you as my naked love slave tonight after work. Because heaven knows, there’s nothing more romantic than an earthquake zone.”
He stopped in front of the cottage where her team was staying. “You know you’re only making me love you more when you get all feisty like that. Oh, and in case you were wondering, when I fall in love, I most definitely want to have sex. Love? Big-time aphrodisiac in my book.”
He’d stunned her silent. She was watching him with those sexy smoky eyes of hers as if trying to figure out how much of his bullshit to believe.
“The love thing, though? You should probably take it with a grain of salt, since I’ve been married three times and I was just responding to your sparkling wit.” Liam sat on the steps, boxed meals resting on his knee as he patted the spot next to him for her to sit. “Would you like the rice and beans? Or the rice and beans?”
“Uh, guess I’ll have the beans and rice.” She sank slowly to sit beside him, taking the supper from his hand and flipping open the lid. “Seriously, I don’t want you to get any ideas about us as a couple.”
“Are we sitting on the same step?” He pinched open the carton of juice. “Because I thought we kissed the other day, and I distinctly remember there being tongue involved.”
“You’re right.” She grinned. “And you’re actually funny. I mean it. But I’m not in the market for a relationship. I already told you why. And yes, I do date. I’m not a nun, but I just got out of a really messy breakup—”
“Sweetheart, I’m the king of messy breakups. Just read my divorce decrees. All three of them.” He toyed with a loose strand of her hair, sliding it behind her ear. “You made it clear you’re not interested in more.”
“I’m afraid that’s the way it’s got to be,” she answered, her voice going a little husky.
“Fair enough. I can honor that.” He pulled his hand away, stroking her shoulder along the way. “You’re smart to know I’m a bad risk at the white-picket-fence gig.”
She swayed into his touch, only a little but enough, her tongue dampening her top lip. “Uh-huh.”
His fingers trailed down the length of her arm, but his eyes never left hers. “However, if you want a man who will try his damnedest to give you a mind-blowing orgasm, then I’m your guy.”
Blinking once, slowly, she swallowed hard and backed away, scooting over a couple of inches on the step. “How could I turn down such a romantic offer?”
Chuckling, he reached into the boxed meal for the wrapped plastic cutlery. “Now I’m the one who’s crushed.”
“Somehow I think you’ll survive. You’ve had quite a bit of practice after all,” she said dryly.
“Your sympathy for my heartbreak is overwhelming.”
“If you want warm and fuzzy consolation, go talk to someone like that grandmotherly looking lady over there.” She pointed to a woman with silvery blonde hair, a baby on her hip as she talked to one of the relief workers.
Liam tore open the prepacked beans and rice, dipping in his spork. Three bites later, he said, “Hey, thanks.”
She paused midbite. “For what?”
“For taking my mind off the shit going on around here.” He looked down into the mix of beans and rice, stirring slowly. “I needed that today.”
“You’re welcome.” She waited until he looked up and then she smiled, really smiled. No teasing. Just honest compassion. “There’s so much pain to go around here, it feels good to be able to help.”>An excuse.
He hadn’t met a woman in a long time who intrigued him as much as she did. Who saw right through his bullshit. And who could stand toe-to-toe with him when life sucked ass at the worst level possible.
He knocked on the door, his knuckles raw and scabbed over even after wearing protective gloves on the job this week. Maybe he should go back to his place and clean up first—and maybe he should leave her alone to sleep.
Just as he started to turn, the door opened. He recognized one of the other dog handlers from her task-force team, a guy wearing a T-shirt with a fire department logo.
Before Liam could speak, the guy had already turned around to yell, “Rachel, it’s your air force buddy.”
So he’d become that obvious hanging around here, had he?
The fire department dude backed out of sight, making way for Rachel. She hovered in the doorway, wearing a fresh pair of khakis and a white tank top that fit her so damn well. She had two hairpins in the corner of her mouth, as she was in the process of pinning her long dark hair into a loose bundle on top of her head.
“Wanna take a walk?” he asked, already caring too much about her answer. “I know this great little joint that’s giving away free orange juice in the half-pint cartons. It’s pretty exclusive. I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’m pretty sure I can get us in.”
She studied him through narrowed eyes, assessing and obviously picking up on how much the crappy day weighed on him, because she nodded.
“Sure.” She plucked the two bobby pins out of her mouth and stuck them into her gathered-up hair. “Disco needs to crash for a while before we can go back out in the field.”