and nipped hard at his bottom lip.
He slid his hand upward, over the flat of her belly to her ribcage and...
Slap!
“No!” She shoved him away, his hands still curved as they’d been on her body as he staggered backward, the side of his face stinging.
“You are one arrogant man, thinking you can use my attraction to you to make me forget what you’ve done.” She righted her shirt and pushed her hair back from her face. “You might have been able to bring me down with that wicked tongue three years ago, but I’m won’t be played so easily this time.”
Helpless to do anything but stare, his body still engaged for seduction, Josh just stood there, thoughts of protest and explanation screaming through his head. His mouth, however, seemed unable to form a single word let alone a coherent sentence.
She was wrong, so wrong, but he couldn’t spit it out. Couldn’t stop her from marching toward the door just as promptly as she marched in, throwing one last jibe over her shoulder. “Do yourself a favor and save your saliva for someone who hasn’t already figured out what you’re about, Josh.”
Chapter Six
S o he knew she was still hot for him. Fabulous .
Of course, it could have been worse—he could’ve realized she still wanted him while she’d been with Reed. And how many kinds of awkward would that have been? Hell, it was awkward enough now. And damn ballsy of Josh to think he could distract her—maybe even make her forget he’d stuck his nose in her business at all—by sticking his tongue in her mouth and using his sex appeal to break her down.
No way was she about to forget his role in the recent fallings apart of her life just because he kissed like both heaven and hell and did other things even better. No way, no how. Never again.
Juggling the drill she’d pilfered from Dan’s garage between her knees, Carissa lowered a panel of drywall from the wall in the living room. The muscles in her arms twitching, she turned it on its side and slid it across the room by the others she’d removed.
She’d spent the better part of Wednesday making phone calls to almost every contracting and construction company in the phone book, hoping to find someone benevolent enough to take pity on her situation and squeeze her and her little house into their schedule. But, as predicted, everyone was out of the office, tending to their busy agendas. She’d left at least a dozen messages, but, as of four o’clock, not a single one had called back.
Refusing to let the lack of response ruffle her, she decided to keep things moving along by herself until a willing replacement presented itself.
She blew out a breath, pulled her damp t-shirt away from her skin, and adjusted her ponytail, pleased with the work she’d done so far. Even if she wasn’t sure she’d done it correctly. It had been a long time since she’d done manual labor on a construction site and even then, she’d just been a kid playing around.
She wondered what her dad would think of her taking on a home renovation. Would he think her crazy? Or would he be proud of her?
Stupid girl. He probably hasn’t thought about you in months, so it’s not likely he’d give a damn either way.
Chastising herself for going down that futile road again, she succumbed to Pat Benatar blaring in her ear, wailing about best shots and girl power. Hell yeah. She could totally do this.
Except the drill didn’t seem to agree, as it gave way to a slow, drained battery death before she’d could unfasten another screw.
Crap. Why hadn’t she thought to grab the battery charger? She’d loaded half of Dan’s tools into her car; surely adding one more piece of stolen equipment to the mix wouldn’t earn her any additional jail time, should Dan decided to press theft charges.
She eyed the wall in which Alex had taken out his frustrations and twisted her mouth around as she contemplated her options. Saving the drywall wasn’t going to happen, seeing as it had a gaping
He slid his hand upward, over the flat of her belly to her ribcage and...
Slap!
“No!” She shoved him away, his hands still curved as they’d been on her body as he staggered backward, the side of his face stinging.
“You are one arrogant man, thinking you can use my attraction to you to make me forget what you’ve done.” She righted her shirt and pushed her hair back from her face. “You might have been able to bring me down with that wicked tongue three years ago, but I’m won’t be played so easily this time.”
Helpless to do anything but stare, his body still engaged for seduction, Josh just stood there, thoughts of protest and explanation screaming through his head. His mouth, however, seemed unable to form a single word let alone a coherent sentence.
She was wrong, so wrong, but he couldn’t spit it out. Couldn’t stop her from marching toward the door just as promptly as she marched in, throwing one last jibe over her shoulder. “Do yourself a favor and save your saliva for someone who hasn’t already figured out what you’re about, Josh.”
Chapter Six
S o he knew she was still hot for him. Fabulous .
Of course, it could have been worse—he could’ve realized she still wanted him while she’d been with Reed. And how many kinds of awkward would that have been? Hell, it was awkward enough now. And damn ballsy of Josh to think he could distract her—maybe even make her forget he’d stuck his nose in her business at all—by sticking his tongue in her mouth and using his sex appeal to break her down.
No way was she about to forget his role in the recent fallings apart of her life just because he kissed like both heaven and hell and did other things even better. No way, no how. Never again.
Juggling the drill she’d pilfered from Dan’s garage between her knees, Carissa lowered a panel of drywall from the wall in the living room. The muscles in her arms twitching, she turned it on its side and slid it across the room by the others she’d removed.
She’d spent the better part of Wednesday making phone calls to almost every contracting and construction company in the phone book, hoping to find someone benevolent enough to take pity on her situation and squeeze her and her little house into their schedule. But, as predicted, everyone was out of the office, tending to their busy agendas. She’d left at least a dozen messages, but, as of four o’clock, not a single one had called back.
Refusing to let the lack of response ruffle her, she decided to keep things moving along by herself until a willing replacement presented itself.
She blew out a breath, pulled her damp t-shirt away from her skin, and adjusted her ponytail, pleased with the work she’d done so far. Even if she wasn’t sure she’d done it correctly. It had been a long time since she’d done manual labor on a construction site and even then, she’d just been a kid playing around.
She wondered what her dad would think of her taking on a home renovation. Would he think her crazy? Or would he be proud of her?
Stupid girl. He probably hasn’t thought about you in months, so it’s not likely he’d give a damn either way.
Chastising herself for going down that futile road again, she succumbed to Pat Benatar blaring in her ear, wailing about best shots and girl power. Hell yeah. She could totally do this.
Except the drill didn’t seem to agree, as it gave way to a slow, drained battery death before she’d could unfasten another screw.
Crap. Why hadn’t she thought to grab the battery charger? She’d loaded half of Dan’s tools into her car; surely adding one more piece of stolen equipment to the mix wouldn’t earn her any additional jail time, should Dan decided to press theft charges.
She eyed the wall in which Alex had taken out his frustrations and twisted her mouth around as she contemplated her options. Saving the drywall wasn’t going to happen, seeing as it had a gaping
Similar Books
