Riding Hard by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page A

knew that he’d picked up on her unbidden reaction to him. Knowing she wanted him even though she didn’t approve of him was...insulting? Degrading? Maybe both. “Drake, I—”
    “No worries.” His jaw tightened. “I wouldn’t dream of causing you to do something you don’t want to do. Women tend to have a certain response to me. Always have, ever since I was a teenager. Mostly it’s fun for both parties, but in this case...”
    She’d hurt his feelings. There was no way around it. “I’m sorry.”
    “Just for the record, I don’t make a habit of moving in on another man’s territory.” He massaged the back of his neck and glanced away. “I’ve only done it once, and if I could take it back, I would.” Then he sighed and looked over at her. “I’ve never said that to anybody. It sounds like doing it once is no big deal when I know it is. I just wish... Damn it, I wish that one stupid mistake wasn’t the only thing you saw when you looked at me.”
    At that moment, it wasn’t the only thing she saw. She saw a man who, for whatever reason, had betrayed himself as well as his best friend. She believed him when he claimed never to have cheated before or since. But why had it happened at all? She thought the answer would be complicated, and unraveling complicated motivations was her passion.
    He gave her a crooked smile. “You have that look on your face again.”
    “What look?”
    “The same one you got back at the Spirits and Spurs when I said I must be a glutton for punishment. I told Regan about your reaction, and that’s when he mentioned your field of study.”
    “Huh.” She wasn’t sure which surprised her more—that he’d been paying such close attention to her expressions or that he and Regan had been discussing her that night and she’d had no idea. Apparently she’d been so wrapped up in being cool that she’d missed some things.
    “I figure, when you look like that, you’re fixin’ to psychoanalyze me.”
    “And you wouldn’t like that.”
    “Not much, mostly because you’ve already decided I’m a bad character. I don’t think your evaluation would be unbiased.”
    She flushed at that truth. “You’re right. It’s a failing of mine. Being judgmental is a no-no for a psychologist, and I am judgmental. I’ll have to give that up if I expect to be an effective therapist.”
    “Then why not start with me?”
    “I thought you didn’t want me to work with you.”
    “I don’t if you consider me lower than whale poop.”
    “I don’t consider you lower than whale poop.” That was hard to say without laughing. “Whale poop is at the bottom of the ocean. That’s as low as anybody can go, and I don’t consider you that bad.”
    “Okay, then where would you rank me? How about lower than a snake’s belly?”
    She couldn’t hold back a grin. “Stop it. You’re being ridiculous.”
    “No, I’m not. I’m trying to get a bead on just how bad your bad opinion of me is.”
    “No, you’re trying to charm me.”
    His expression was priceless, exactly like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Busted.” He gazed at her. “Was it working?”
    “You know it was. It’s what you do best. That’s why I’m so leery of you.”
    “Leery? You mean like afraid?”
    She thought about that. “Maybe.”
    “Why would you be afraid of me?” He spread his arms wide. “I’m completely harmless.” Then he sniffed and made a face. “However, I stink to high heaven. I could use a shower before we sit down to eat. I can’t stand myself, so I can only imagine what I’m puttin’ you through. If you want to be judgmental about that, I wouldn’t blame you a bit.”
    Smiling, she shook her head. “You just can’t help it, can you?”
    “Help what?”
    “Never mind. Let’s go back to the house so I can fix us some dinner and you can shower.” She started walking in that direction, but her thoughts remained with their conversation. If she understood him correctly, he