Spark (Steel Brothers Saga 19)

With Donny Steel, you never know. He could meet someone else between now and then. He could easily drive back into town, hook up with a local, and be at the party tomorrow night chasing another skirt.

“So…” Donny says.

“Yeah?”

“Where do you want to go?”

I wrinkle my forehead. “You mean now?”

“No. I mean on our date. The night after tomorrow.”

“Oh, right. Whatever you want is fine. I eat anything.”

“There are some great places in the city, or we could eat here in town. Up to you.”

“I’ll love whatever you choose.”

“Good enough.” He pauses a moment. Then, “Did I come on too strong?”

Really? We have to talk about this? Can I drive off a cliff now, please?

“No. I was into it, if you couldn’t tell.”

He chuckles. “I could tell.”

Damn. Those sparks are dancing over my cheeks again. I swear I won’t have skin left by the end of this night.

“So where’d I go wrong?”

“You didn’t.”

“That’s not true, or we’d be hitting the sheets about now.”

This time I giggle. I can’t help myself. “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“After that kiss, baby, yeah. I am.”

“Maybe I don’t go to bed with a guy on the first…whatever this was.”

“Oh.” He nods. “That’s cool.”

I don’t sleep around, but in truth, if I weren’t waltzing into his mother’s office tomorrow, I probably would have gone with him to the hotel.

Sure, I’d be one of a whole lot of notches on his bedpost, but that’s okay. I enjoy sex for the sake of sex. I just don’t do it nearly as often as he does.

I’m not looking to fall in love anyway. Law school first, if I ever get there. That’s what I want, and that’s what I’m going to do. I can’t focus on that if I’m in a serious relationship with an older man who’s probably thinking about settling down and starting a family. The Steels are all about family.

Funny. I’ve never thought about denying myself sex before. I’ve never been afraid of falling in love before, because frankly, I don’t think about love after a date. Or after a kiss.

This is different, though. Different in a way that makes me pretty darned uncomfortable.

I tell myself I’m thinking about sex for the sake of sex with Donny, but if that were truly the case, I’d be in bed with him right now.

The potential job with his mother is just an excuse. There probably isn’t even a job, and if I were doing the horizontal tango with Donny right now, I just wouldn’t go see Jade tomorrow. It’s not like I have a scheduled interview with her. It’s a cold call. Simple as that.

No, the reason I’m not in bed with this gorgeous man right now is simple.

So simple.

I don’t want to fall in love.

I don’t have time to fall in love.

And I could so easily fall in love with Donny Steel.

Chapter Thirteen

Donny

After another scorching hot kiss, I hop out of Callie’s car, wave goodbye, and head into Mom and Dad’s house. I’m horny as hell, but taking care of things myself doesn’t appeal to me at the moment.

Mom goes to bed by ten, but Dad’s usually up until midnight, so I head to his office. To my surprise, he’s not there. He must be in bed already.

I walk behind his desk and sit down in his comfy leather chair. This house and office once belonged to my grandfather, Bradford Steel.

Who apparently signed a quitclaim deed transferring all his property to his youngest son, Ryan.

Dale knows something. I don’t dare bother him at this hour. He’s still a newlywed, and he’s in bed with his wife, either sleeping or doing the thing that I wish I were doing with Callie Pike.

I’ve been in Dad’s office many times, but things look decidedly different from this angle. Sure, I sat in his chair sometimes when I was a kid, but this is the first time I’ve sat here as an adult. Seems strange, but I’ve never been in here without Dad. I love the ranch, but I chose a different path. Mom, of course, was thrilled—that I chose the law, not so much that I left the ranch.

And here I am, back again.

I never thought I’d come back permanently. I thought the powerful law partnership in the big city was what I wanted.

But Mom asked.

And I said yes.

I don’t ever have to worry about money. My love affair with big city life had nothing to do with the money I was making—and I was making some decent cash.

It was all icing on my already abundant cake.

Being a Steel means never worrying about money, which is pretty darned nice, frankly. Even if the fire destroyed everything we own, we’d still be okay. Grandpa Steel made sure of that. During his reign, he apparently diversified into all kinds of investments, including some amazing tech start-ups, and we’re all set for at least four lifetimes. Still, the heartbeat of the Steels is still Steel Acres Ranch.