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Crista shook her head. “It’s not enough for you, Dawg. ”
“Says who?” He threw himself in the large leather chair behind his desk and stared back at her broodingly.
Crista rolled her eyes as she stored the polish and rag in the bottom drawer of one of the file cabinets before straightening to face him.
The look on his face was sexy and scary at the same time. Intent, brooding, dominant, and aroused.
“Stop being an ass,” she chided him. “You know you love this store. You pretend you don’t. You want people to think you don’t. But I know better. ”
He folded his fingers together over his tight abs as he leaned back and let his gaze rake over her.
“And how do you know so much about me?” he drawled with a hint of anger. “It’s not like you try to get close to me. ”
And there he was wrong. Even in the past year, Crista had soaked up every hint of gossip she could about him. She had watched him, let others talk about him, and found herself looking for excuses to be in places where she knew he would be.
She knew the lawsuit that his aunt had brought against him just after he joined the Marines had ignited a fury of controversy through the town at the time.
All the cousins—Rowdy, Natches, and Dawg—had been in the service, leaving no one in Somerset to protect his interests other than his uncle Ray. Ray Mackay had held that front line like a bulldog holding onto a bone, though.
He had hired the best lawyers, paid them himself, and kept Dawg apprised of each step of the battle. He had managed to get court dates delayed until Dawg had leave, and had stood beside his nephew, against his sister, and shed a tear on the stand as he related the times he had been forced to protect Dawg as a young boy from the father who would have abused him.
Dawg’s bitterness went clear to his childhood, and it had created a man who, even at twenty-four, had been hard and shadowed with distrust. Four years in the Marines and four years working for whatever government agency he was a part of hadn’t helped.
“Getting close to you would have been hard, Dawg,” she finally answered him. “Your groupies stood layers deep and jealously hoarded that hard body of yours. ”
It wasn’t far from the truth.
“Or you were just too scared to take what I was offering. ” He leaned forward, bracing his arms on the desk as he stared back tauntingly.
And maybe he was right there, too.
Crista shrugged. “I was young. Ages younger than you in experience. ”
“But not anymore, are you, Crista? Seven years in bed with two lovers at the same time? Your experience definitely matches mine now, wouldn’t you say?”
Crista felt her heart pause, then race viciously in her chest. She didn’t want this conversation with him now.
“My life after I left Somerset is none of your business, Dawg,” she finally said, aware of the defensive sound of her own voice. “I’ve already explained the distinction to you. ”
She didn’t want to explain Mark and Ty; they were none of his business. And he hadn’t begun this relationship with her because of an overwhelming need or rousing love. She was the one that got away.
She was smart enough to admit that to herself.
“So, if the three of us had been willing to be faithful to you, you would have considered it?”
She didn’t like the look on his face as he posed that question. It was suggestive, dark, and warning.
“No. I wouldn’t have. ” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before crossing her arms over her breasts and staring back at him candidly. “Come on, Dawg, it was eight years ago. You weren’t in love with me. I was a nice little one-night stand that you were too drunk to remember, that’s all. Now, I’m just the woman you’re blackmailing. Let’s not start dragging the past into it. ”
“Just the woman I’m blackmailing,” he murmured then, his voice deepening, becoming harsher, hungry. “My own little sex toy, right?”
Crista didn’t let her lips twitch or her amusement show in her eyes. She had a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate it in the least.
She shrugged her shoulders negligently instead. “Do you have a better description?”
He rose from the desk abruptly, startling her enough to cause her to jump a step backward.
Smiling in satisfaction, he moved to the tinted windows that looked out over the floor of the lumber store.
