Her Last Wild Ride

Johnny saluted Candy as she left the bar, her day shift over. He liked her but guessed that for all of her talk, she’d happily break both his legs if he so much as harmed a hair on Ashling’s head.

He looked to where Ashling stood now, at the end of the bar writing something into a ledger. Her hair was dark gold and long and wavy and wild. Exactly how he’d imagined it would be, falling between her shoulder blades. She hadn’t put on her Sullivan’s T-shirt yet and was wearing a lacy smock-type shirt that came to just above the waistband of her jeans, showing off her small waist and tantalizing slivers of smooth golden skin. Cute and edgy at the same time. Just the way he liked it.

The bar was still empty, and at that moment she turned her head and looked at him, eyes wide and blue. For a second she reminded Johnny of a wild animal, beautiful and poised to run, and he felt the kick of adrenaline at the thought of chasing her. Even as, somewhere deep in a place he hadn’t explored in a long time, warning bells rang, because this was unprecedented.

Up till now women had been easy diversions for him, very much on the periphery as he patched his life back together. This felt dangerous because for the first time in a long time his life was back on track, and he sensed that Ashling was anything but easy. Not to mention the fact of who she was.

This was a recipe for disaster. Exactly the kind of thing his older sister, Mary, would have accused him of doing. Looking after his own needs and not giving a damn about anyone else.

All of a sudden Johnny felt incredibly weary. As if he’d been running for a long time and just wanted to lie down and rest for a while. He shouldn’t be here. Chasing Ashling Sullivan, who was, frankly, out of bounds.

But then she turned to face him fully, and something about her was different now. She still looked wild and beautiful, but in her eyes there was an almost belligerent expression. As if telling him silently to back off. And just like that, any hint of a conscience dissolved in a rush of heat.

He wanted her too much to back off, and the sense of danger about it was exhilarating, not debilitating.

She shook her head, frowning slightly. “Why are you doing this, helping me?”

Johnny pushed the darkness down deep. He smiled. “Would you believe me if I said I had a quota of good deeds to fulfill?”

She crossed her arms, but a hint of a smile played around her lush mouth. “You? Good deeds? Not in a million years.”

It was as if she saw through to a dark part of him, but it didn’t sting. He read something cynical in the depths of those blue eyes, and it eased something inside him. She was no wide-eyed ingenue. She was experienced.

Because he couldn’t not move over to her, Johnny went and stood close, noticing how she just tipped up her chin, even as her arms tightened fractionally over her chest. He swatted his conscience away easily. Too easily.

“I’m doing this because I want to, because you need the help. And also because I want you and I think it’s mutual.”

He slid his hand around the back of her neck. Her hair felt like silk on his hands. She stepped back out of his reach and his body protested.

“Even if it was mutual it’s not going to happen.”

Johnny snorted indelicately and put his hands on his hips to stop himself from reaching for her again. “If?”

She flushed a little, and he knew she was thinking of that moment last night when she’d looked ready to climb over the bar to get to him. He cursed himself for having mentioned Caitlin at that moment and then pushed aside his conscience. Again. He was good at that, he thought a little bleakly.

Ashling uncrossed her arms and mirrored his stance with her hands on her hips. “If nothing, Johnny. I’ve come back to New York for a new start and a new career. The agenda does not include hooking up with a guy.”

Johnny quirked a brow. “There’s an agenda?”

Now she looked pissy. “Yes, there’s an agenda, and nowhere on this agenda does it say have sex with Johnny Ryan.”

Johnny tried to stop his mouth from twitching, sensing Ashling wasn’t far from kicking him out of the bar completely. “Is this written in stone?”

“Practically. I made a pact with my best friend—no men. Not until we’ve set ourselves up.”

Johnny leaned back against the bar. Why would she have done that? None of his business, he assured himself quickly, pushing down the curiosity. Christ but she was cute when she was riled. He wanted to rile her some more. “And did you seal this bargain with a BFF pinkie promise?”

He could practically see steam coming out of her ears now as she glared at him. She stepped forward then and poked a sharp little finger into his chest, eyes spitting blue fire. “Just back off, Johnny. I mean it.”

He looked down at her and felt as if he was drowning. The air crackled between them. And there was no way in hell Johnny was backing off, because he sensed her weakening in spite of her belligerence. Something caught his peripheral vision then and he said softly, “Customer, behind you. And we’ll discuss this later.”

Chapter Five

We’ll discuss this later. I was still seething at the arrogance of that pronouncement a few hours later even as every blood vessel in my body seemed to be fizzing with anticipation. It didn’t help that I was aware of every tiny move Johnny made as we moved around each other behind the bar. Every glance, every gesture.

I’d never realized how intimate it was to work behind a bar with someone. It was like a dance.

When our bodies touched off one another even minutely the air seemed to vibrate between us. It was a miracle I hadn’t dropped every glass and messed up every order. And even despite all that, I recognized that we worked well together. And that once again I would have been slammed without his help. Not that I was about to thank him for it.