By the time she reached the counter, her hands had stopped shaking, and she was pretty sure her voice would sound normal. Bluff, bluff, then lie and bluff some more seemed the most prudent escape. She couldn’t lose her shop.
Jack had moved to sit on the counter, his long legs dangling just inches off the floor. “You got some great merchandise, chère.” He grinned. “Any more of those black things…” his gaze traveled the length of her “…in a bit smaller size?”
Heat stole through her body. The shaking started again, this time in her stomach. “Uh, no. A one-time-only order for a friend.”
“Right. What about the fancy dressin’ room?”
“It came with the building.”
“Come on, chère. I saw the boxes. Had to be at least four of ’em shoved against the wall.” He lifted one black eyebrow. “Bud’s Leather Palace? Lickable Lacies?”
Leather and edible underwear. Skyler let her head drop back. She was caught.
4
“YOU GOT A little business goin’ on the side, chère?” Jack grinned like the scoundrel Skyler had no doubt he was. “Don’t bother me. A little shadiness develops character. My grand-père sure didn’t get through Prohibition by sellin’ Coca-Cola.”
Skyler planted her hands on her hips. “There is absolutely nothing shady about my business.”
He winked. “Right.”
She crossed to the front door, eyeing the new “alarm” with disgust. She’d only been half paying attention as she installed the blasted thing the night before, since she’d been focused on listening to the emergency scanner to keep tabs on her brothers’ calls. “If you have to know the story behind my shop, the town council wouldn’t give me a business license for lingerie, so I decided to expand my inventory. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Jack slid off the counter, then he walked toward her. “But I’m thinkin’ you didn’t tell the council you were…expandin’ your inventory.”
Determined to avoid the laughing challenge in his whiskey-colored eyes, Skyler ignored his insinuation and experimentally opened the door. Ding-dong sang the chimes. She sighed in disgust.
Jack leaned down and laid his finger beneath her chin, lifting her face. “Does the council know about your little back room?”
She bit her lip. “No.”
“Who does know?”
“Other than me and my customers, you mean?”
“Other than them.”
He really did have the most lovely, expressive eyes. Being a big, macho fireman, he probably wouldn’t appreciate that comment, though, so she kept the thought to herself. If she pouted and batted her eyes, as she’d seen Monica do a million times to get a man’s attention, would he forget all this shop business and kiss her?
“Skyler…” he prompted in a low, determined tone.
“Well, uh, let me think.” She pretended to ponder the question. Just how would he use the information he now possessed? He was a hero, so he was honorable. Hadn’t he protected her at the bar? There was no reason to think he’d betray her now. Finally, she said, “You.”
“Me, what?”
“Other than me and my customers, you’re the only person who knows about the back room. In fact, you and Roland are the only men who know.”
A look of startled wonder crossed his face, quickly there, then gone. “Why Roland?”
She grinned, thinking of the black mask, cape and leather thong underwear she’d ordered recently for Roland. He liked to play Zorro. “He’s a customer,” she said simply.
“Why no one else?” he asked.
He meant her family. Monica had asked the same thing many times. But then Monica was bold and sometimes even controversial. Skyler liked peace. “They’d try to talk me out of it, or—”
“Accidentally blabber about it to the town council.”
She also really liked not having to spell out everything to him. Deadbeat Boyfriend #1 had really been slow on the uptake. “Exactly.”
“I’ll keep your secret,” he said, shrugging.
With great effort, Skyler found the presence to close her mouth. A shrug of those massive shoulders, then I’ll keep your secret. Simple as that. No dire warnings. No predictions of trouble. No questions about her profit or debt or sales projections.
He was definitely a man. But he was an exotic new species in her world.
“…expanded inventory?”
Skyler jerked herself from her musings, realizing Jack had asked her a question. “What?”
“Am I that distracting, chère?”
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Of course not.”
His gaze danced, but he didn’t call her on the lie. “What would the council do if they found out about your expanded inventory?”
She tried for nonchalance, but was pretty sure she didn’t quite pull it off. “Probably revoke my business license.”
“Imagine. ’Tite ange Skyler, the leader of a town conspiracy.”
She fidgeted. “I’m not…exactly.”
“Don’ be embarrassed, chère. You having a wild side intrigues the hell out of me. It makes me more interested.” He stroked the back of his hand down her cheek. “More attracted.”
Gulp. This not dating dangerous men rule wasn’t looking like such a hot idea. But it wasn’t just her libido or her heart she was worried about. Jack’s career was possibly on the line. Baxter was the perfect opportunity. At least until Atlanta came calling.
Rules were made to be broken, chère. She could practically hear the words glide off Jack’s tongue. The question was—how badly did she want Jack’s tongue gliding over other places? She leaned toward him, drawn to his energy, even drawn to the danger he represented. What her brothers didn’t know…
His gaze swept down her body, heating her intimately. “All this sure explains those skimpy purple undies.”
Skyler’s face flamed. “What undies?”
“Yours.”
“When did you—” She stopped, suddenly remembering Fluffy’s rescue from the tree while Jack gazed up at her. She gasped. “You, you…I can’t believe you looked! You’re a city employee, a civil servant, a—”
“I’m a man.”
Skyler didn’t know whether to be ticked, flattered or embarrassed. She settled for all
