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Before ending the call, Jackson had given him his marching orders. “Spend some quality time with her, bro. In no time, you’ll know that she is the one for all of us.”
Jessie cleared her throat, pulling him back to the here and now. “You drifted off for a bit. What were you thinking about?”
“How I was going to keep you out of trouble in Wilde. It’s going to be a challenge.”
“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” She sipped her coffee, wetting her mouth with the dark liquid. As long as he got his cupful directly from her lips every day, he could actually see himself learning to love coffee. Wouldn’t his brothers be surprised?
“I don’t doubt that, Jessie. But you still haven’t met with Austin, and I think I can help you get a meeting.” Phoenix’s eldest brother had been putting Jessie off for nearly a week. So like Austin to keep his plans to himself. The guy was an uber-control freak, and Phoenix believed refusing to see her was some kind of plan to keep her off-balance.
“How can you help me see your brother?” Her green eyes sparkled. She was intrigued.
“Let me give you another tour of the mine today. I promise you’ll meet him.” He knew when his brother took his dinner and where. Austin wouldn’t like an ambush, but that didn’t matter. If Phoenix got to spend more time with Jessie, then his brother’s wrath would be worth it.
“I probably shouldn’t trust you, Phoenix.”
“Sure you should.” He reached across the laminate top of the table and squeezed Jessie’s hand. When she didn’t pull it back, potent voltage rolled up his arm, down his torso, and into his balls.
“All right. But you better deliver on your promise of me seeing Austin.”
“Oh, I’ll deliver that and more. You won’t be sorry, Jessie.”
“I’m not so sure, cowboy.”
Chapter Two
Jessie sat in the truck next to Phoenix. She’d never seen such breathtaking male beauty in her life. He could’ve doubled for the perfection of Michelangelo’s David, even though he wore a cowboy hat, T-shirt, jeans, and boots. But it wasn’t just his looks that got to her. His intensity and wicked ways unnerved and delighted her beyond reason. Against good judgment, she’d agreed to let him take her to the mine today. I’m an idiot.
He looked at her with his big hazel eyes, causing her to experience a bit of vertigo. “You look flushed, angel.”
“I’m all right.” She tasted the deception on her lips.
“Would you like to hear some music?” He kept one hand on the steering wheel, and one hand went to her thigh, sending a warm shiver through her body.
She considered asking him to remove his hand but didn’t. Instead, she answered, “That’d be nice.”
“Great. I think you’ll like this.” He punched some buttons on his iPod, which was connected to the stereo in his truck. The sweet sound of a piano filled the cab.
“That’s not country music. And me thinking I knew you.” But she didn’t know much about any of the Wilde brothers. How could she? She’d only been in town for a week. Still, one thing she had discovered was the brothers really knew how to pleasure a woman. And something she’d never thought would happen in Wilde, of all places, had happened. She’d lost her virginity here.
She could never forget how wonderful Phoenix’s brother Jackson had been that night. The last few days with him had been amazing. Though spending nights with Jackson was untimely, given her current work assignment with his family’s mine, she hadn’t been able to refuse him access to her hotel room, or her body.
Curious, she grabbed Phoenix’s iPod. “What else would I find in here?”
“Some jazz, hip-hop, alternative, heavy metal, classical, and yes, even country.” He turned on the wipers as a light rain dotted the windshield. “I’m multifaceted, Jessie. Besides, your mind seems to be buzzing, so I think some soothing tunes might be best for you right now.”
Phoenix was right. Yet, it wasn’t about Wilde Mine’s recent occurrence that had her brain in overdrive. What ruled her thoughts and made her heart pound in her chest right now was the cowboy sitting next to her.
“I guess I’m thinking about my investigation,” she lied, hoping he would believe her.
“I bet.”
Jessie decided to keep the conversation on business, praying it might afford her some control she desperately needed around him. “What can you tell me about the accidents?”
He shrugged. “Not much to say. Before these latest events, the mine was incident-free for over fifteen years.”
“I saw that in the agency’s file. Very odd that all four occurred in under a month.” She decided to probe more. “What about the three accidents before I arrived?”
“I’m sure you read about those, too.” His quick answer and tone told her she’d hit a nerve.
