Billi Jean by Running Scared Page A

still so new, she forgot about it a lot of the time. She’d caught the guys at the architecture firm staring at it today, but they’d never said a word. She’d not once seen Russ stare at it, but she knew he’d seen it. Those smoky eyes didn’t seem to miss a thing.
    She sighed heavily and examined herself in the mirror. Her blonde roots would be showing again soon, which meant she’d have to sit her ass in a salon chair again for an hour or more. Bummer. She’d have to find a place in Spokane, since everyone in Troy would gossip and there was no way she was going to the one salon she’d seen. Maybe even Spokane wasn’t far enough, she considered. If anyone did see her? Well, everyone changed their hair colour. Why not her? And Russ seemed to like it. A flush filled her cheeks at that.
    She was weakening to Russell Ryland. Who wouldn’t? It was nearly impossible trying to avoid him, and when he focused all that masculine energy in her direction, and only her direction, it was impossible not to respond. But maybe she needed to stay strong. She had no idea if having something with Russell Ryland was such a good idea. Heck, she didn’t even know what Russ wanted from her. Sex? More than sex? A relationship? She had no idea.
    The memory of him telling her he never flirted, but would with her, made her tummy flip-flop around.
     Sex. He wanted sex, for certain. Had any man ever been so close to getting it before? God, she was in over her head. She felt more alive than she ever had before in her life. It was enough to make her want to squeal. Not that she would. And not that they would be, well, yeah, having sex. Right?
    He’d said he wasn’t backing down. Did he mean until he was on top of her, holding her close while they made love? God. That made her tingle all the way up her spine.
    One look at her bright red cheeks, and she ran the faucet and washed her face with cold water until it didn’t feel so hot. Sighing once more, she met her eyes and shook her head at her reflection. She looked excited—almost bursting with happiness.
    What would her father say? Geez, he wouldn’t be too happy, that was for certain. What did she know about the guy? Not much. He owned a ranch. He was retired from the SEALs. He owned a nice truck. He had all his teeth. Oh, yeah, and he made her toes curl. Her grin spread. Russell Ryland could do a heck of a lot more, too. Whatever she allowed, he’d do it really well. Really, really well.
    Forcing a serious face, she breathed deeply a few times to calm her nerves. A date. It was a date.
    A date. She could do this. Even if her stomach was going insane with butterflies. A date. One last peek at her silly smile, and she headed out to check her outfit in her full-length mirror.
    She looked casual, she decided, but sexy, too, which made her consider changing clothes. Her low-rise chocolate brown cords hugged her butt and hung low enough that a flash of her stomach showed when she reached up to brush her hair off her face. The coarse weave of her burgundy sweater was cool, but the material was a little tighter over her breasts than she had noticed before. She looked stacked. Was looking stacked safe around Russell?
    And there went her blush again.
    She didn’t want to look too sexy, she supposed. And he had dressed casual, but nice. So this would have to do—plus, she was stalling.
    One more glance and she grinned at herself. Maybe Russell was getting more than he bargained for. After all, she’d been waiting for a guy who made her feel sexy and hot for years. And now? Geez, what else did she have to do with all her time? Why not lose her virginity to a hunky SEAL-turned-cowboy? It wasn’t doing her any good keeping it, she thought as she walked back into the living room.
    “Sunshine, are you trying to torture me? I didn’t think you could look prettier than you looked in that skirt, but…” He gave her a long, slow look from her face down to her boots—stopping along the way, she