Free Let It Ride by Jillian Burns Page A

smile at her mother and took two strides to the sink. “I’ll wash if you dry, Tammy.”
    Her mother simpered as she got to her feet, picking up napkins and tea glasses. She turned a wondrous look to Jordan. “He’s such a hunk,” she whispered like a schoolgirl as she followed him.
    Jordan’s face flamed. She couldn’t let him bring lunch and wash the dishes. She opened her mouth and then closed it. Her mother had thrown a fit earlier when Jordan had made him leave. Resentment flared. Why did she have to be the bad guy and Cole got to be Mr. Charming Hunk making nice with her mom? Playing the role of hero, stepping in to save the day. She didn’t need rescuing. They were just fine without him.
    She watched her mom smiling and laughing with Cole. Having fun for the first time in a long time.
    And the truth was, she did need some quiet time tostudy. Would it hurt to accept help just this once? It wasn’t as if she was depending on him for any kind of long-term commitment.
    Spine stiffening, she gathered up her notebooks and textbooks. Cole looked up from washing a plate and stared at her. She met his dark gaze and the back of her neck tingled. The room felt hot, suffocating. She knew—she just knew—he was remembering that night on his motorcycle. His hands on her body, his mouth buried between her thighs. Him, inside her.
    At the memory, her cotton panties were wet. Before he could read the need on her face, she ducked her head and strode into the bedroom.

6
    â€œY OU GOT a personal problem, Jackson?” Lieutenant Colonel Ethan Grady barked the question like the drill sergeant he used to be as he straddled the stool next to Cole’s. Even if Grady hadn’t approached him on his good side, Cole would have heard him.
    Cole swigged the last of his Cuervo and let the final strains of George Jones’s “I’ll Always Get Lucky With You” end before he acknowledged him. “Besides you?”
    â€œYou were supposed to meet us at that yoga lady’s shop after lunch.” Grady waved the bartender over. “Soda water. No ice.”
    â€œOh.” Cole signaled for another shot of Cuervo.
    â€œâ€˜Oh’? That’s it? You risked your uncle’s fifty-year-old Scotch to make me get a herbal treatment and then you don’t even show?”
    â€œSo, did the lady help you find your chi?” Cole sucked down the next shot of Cuervo.
    Grady took a sip of his water. “Nope. We’ll have to reschedule. Figured you needed to be there since you won the bet.” He set down his drink and turned to face Cole. “Where you been the last twelve hours?”
    Where had he been? Some alternate universe, maybe? That was the only explanation for why he’d knocked on Jordan’s door intent on seduction and then settled for domestic duties. He’d played Gin all afternoon with a poor lady who was losing her mind. And left without making a move on Jordan. Not even a kiss on the cheek as she’d shown him to the door. Maybe he was losing his mind, too.
    Grady’s hand clamped on his shoulder. “You okay?”
    Cole noted Grady’s worried gaze. He was sick of people looking at him like that. “I’m good.”
    Trying to clear his mind, he’d ridden out to Hoover Dam after leaving Jordan’s and watched some guys kayaking down Black Canyon. He’d shot those rapids before. But never again. The knowledge burned a hole only tequila could fill. Or Jordan.
    No. He had to shake the whole Jordan thing off. She was just a Keno girl he’d had a good time with. There’d been plenty before her. And there’d be plenty after. So she’d treated him as if they were nothing more than polite strangers when he’d left this afternoon. He’d never wanted to get involved with the woman anyway. Relationships tied a man down. Just ask his dad.
    What he needed was to get his head straight. Get back in