Part 6 (2/2)
Laced-up, scuffed brown boots showed beneath well-worn jeans that rode low on his lean hips and were faded white in stress spots, like his knees, the pocket where he kept his keys. His fly.
Emma blinked at that, then shook her head and continued upward. With the casual clothing, he'd forgone a belt. In fact, two belt loops were missing from the ancient jeans.
In deference to the heat, he wore a sleeveless, battered white cotton s.h.i.+rt that left his muscular arms and tanned shoulders on display. Mirrored sungla.s.ses s.h.i.+elded his eyes, and his mouth curled in a lopsided, wicked grin. ”Morning, Emma.”
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, making speech difficult. ”What are you doing here?”
Lifting one hand, which caused all kinds of interesting muscles to flex in his arm, he showed her the smallest of her suitcases. ”You forgot this in the trunk of my car. I thought you might need it today.”
”Oh.” She looked around, not sure what to do next. She did need the case, seeing that it held her toiletries and makeup. But she could hardly invite him in when she wasn't dressed. Loosening her hold on the bedspread, she reached for the case. ”Thank you...”
Casey removed the decision from her. Lifting the case out of reach, he stepped inside just in time to see B.B. bound off the bed and lunge forward with a growl. When he recognized Casey, he slowed and the growl turned into a tail-wagging h.e.l.lo. Casey greeted the dog while eyeing the bed he'd vacated. Being a double, it provided just enough room for one woman a and her pet.
He quirked an eyebrow at Emma as realization dawned. She hadn't slept alone, so he couldn't accuse her of lying. But she hadn't slept with a man either, which had been his a.s.sumption.
Casey grinned and reached down to pat the dog. ”You've sure got the cushy life, don't you, B.B.?”
The dog jumped up, putting his paws on Casey's shoulders. Casey laughed. ”Yeah, sleeping with a gorgeous woman would put any guy in a good mood.”
Left standing in the open doorway, Emma hadn't quite gathered her wits yet. Too little sleep combined with Casey Hudson in the morning could rattle anyone. She certainly wasn't up to bantering with him. ”He's always slept with me. It's one reason I bring him along everywhere I go.”
”Gotcha.” Casey looked around again, and his grin widened. ”So. Where's Damon?”
He tried to sound innocent, but failed. Knowing the jig was up, Emma scowled at him. Would he now consider her fair game, since she wasn't involved? What would she say to dissuade him if he did?
Did she really want to dissuade him?
The connecting door opened and Damon stuck his dark head out. With only one eye opened, he demanded, ”What the h.e.l.l's going on?” Then he saw Casey, and that one eye widened. ”Oh, it's you. I should have known.”
In his boxers and nothing more, Damon pulled the door wider. Emma wasn't uncomfortable with his lack of dress. More often than not, Damon acted like her brother.
Casey took in the separate rooms with a look of deep satisfaction. ”Morning, Devaughn.”
”Yeah, whatever.” Damon yawned, leaned in the doorway, and crossed his arms over his naked chest. His blue eyes were heavy, his jaw shadowed with stubble, and his silky black hair stuck out in funny disarray. ”You country boys like to get up early, I take it?”
”Country boys?” Casey didn't sound amused by that description.
Undisturbed by Casey's pique, Damon lazily eyed him with both eyes this time, taking in the old snug jeans and the muscle s.h.i.+rt. ”Brought it up another notch, I see.”
Casey's scowl darkened. ”What?”
Damon just shook his head and glanced at Emma. ”Give me a minute to get dressed.”
She didn't want to turn this into a social gathering, and besides, both men were bristling, which didn't bode well. ”That's not necessary.”
”No?”
”No.” Emma saw Damon's surprise and rubbed her forehead. He looked as tired as she felt, so why didn't he just go on back to bed so she could deal with Casey in private? She moderated her tone. ”It's fine, Damon. Get some more sleep.”
He didn't budge. ”You turned willing overnight?” Her moderation shot to h.e.l.l, Emma ground her teeth together. ”Damon...”
”Was it the macho clothes that turned the trick?” Casey s.h.i.+fted his stance but Emma growled, causing both B.B. and Damon to watch her warily.
Damon straightened in the doorway with dawning suspicion. ”Have you had your coffee?”
Emma slowly looked up at him. A long rope of tangled hair hung over her bloodshot, puffy eyes. She wore only her T-s.h.i.+rt and a bedspread. Curling her lip, she asked, ”Do I look to you like I've had coffee?”
”s.h.i.+t.” He turned to Casey with accusation. ”So where is it?”
Casey blinked in incomprehension. ”Where is what?”
As if speaking to an idiot, Damon enunciated each word. ”The coffee?”
Casey shrugged, but offered helpfully, ”They keep a pot brewing in the lobby.”
”Right. In the lobby. And here I had the impression you knew something about women.” Shaking his head at Casey in a pitying way, Damon turned to Emma. ”Just hang on, doll. I'll run down and snag you a cup.”
On a normal day Emma would have thanked him and dropped back into bed. But this wasn't a normal day. Today, Casey stood in her temporary bedroom looking and smelling too s.e.xy for a sane woman's health and she wasn't properly dressed. ”It's okay. B.B. needs to go out too, so I might as well get the coffee myself.” And then she wouldn't be left closed up in the motel room with Casey.
Apparently stunned, Damon blinked at her. ”Are you sure?”
”I'm sure I'm going to smack you if you don't stop pus.h.i.+ng me.”
”All right, all right.” Damon held up both hands, which should have been comical given that he wore only print boxers. ”Hey, what do I know about a woman's needs? They're ever s.h.i.+fting and changing, right? One day coffee is a necessity before she can open her eyes. The next, no problem, she'll get it herself.”
Emma turned away and stomped to the dresser to s.n.a.t.c.h up her jeans. Ignoring both men, she trailed into the bathroom and shut the door. She didn't exactly slam it, but her irritation definitely showed.
She heard Casey whistle low. ”Wow. Is she always like that in the morning?”
”Be warned a yes.”
Casey chuckled, but Damon, clearly disgruntled, said, ”I wouldn't if I was you. What you just saw is nothing compared to how grouchy she'll get if she doesn't get a cup of coffee real soon.”
”I'll keep that in mind.”
”You do that.”
Emma brushed her teeth while praying that Damon would now go back to bed. He did, but not without a parting shot.
”I usually fetch her a cup before I wake her up, especially when she hasn't had enough sleep. But since you did the deed this morning, and at such an unG.o.dly hour at that, you can deal with the consequences all alone.”
She heard Damon's door close, then heard Casey mutter to B.B., ”You won't let her hurt me, will you, buddy?”
B.B. whined.
<script>