as you
keep hinting, Vanny.”
“Well, I don’t mean to be disrespectful.”
“Except when you are being disrespectful.”
She smiled. “Except then, I guess.”
As he smiled back at her, she let a wisp of the thought
she’d been fighting since he got on this rig into her brain. Fuck, he was gorgeous. That black hair and blue eyes and buff bod. Just like she remembered
him. He’d be lucky if she didn’t jump him tonight. Unfortunately,
what she’d been saying to Harry was probably the truth. Compared to the women
Michael Reynolds hung around with, she was probably as plain as your average
dog, even if she was hot shit among a bunch of roughnecks and roustabouts. When
she’d been all dressed up as Shelly in makeup and wispy black underwear, he
probably didn’t notice much. But now…
Besides, despite that she’d had her share of one-night
stands when she came into her own sexuality, just to prove she could more than
anything else, sex for the sake of sex hadn’t held much appeal for her these
last few years. She’d made an exception when she was filching the reports from
his iPad, not that it did her much good. The iPad if not the sex.
She was as good as a man in any number of areas, including
most anything on a drilling rig, but they won hands down when it came to
heartless no-holds-barred no-consequences fucking. She found, whether it was
because she was a woman or because she had more of her long-dead mother in her
than she’d ever suspected, she couldn’t go about it the same way they did.
So although she bragged about her sexual exploits off the
rig just like the guys did, she was making most of it up these days. And she
sure as hell didn’t publicize the one that really had happened. Her night with
him.
“How old are you, Vanny?” he asked unexpectedly.
“Twenty-six. Why? How old are you?”
“A lot older.”
“Really? What are you, thirty-five?”
“Forty.”
“You don’t look so bad for forty.”
“My beauty treatments are paying off, thank God.”
She glanced at him sideways and realized he was wearing a
sly smile. “You’re kidding.”
“If you say so.” He grabbed his side of the chain link and
swung them higher.
The sun dipped completely below the horizon and the deck
lights automatically responded by becoming brighter. There were row upon row of
white lights, on every deck of the rig, strung from end to end like some crazy
Christmas tree dropped out in the middle of the ocean.
“And I’ve been working out in a fancy-pants gym too,” he
added, mid-swing. “I’m just warning you in case you take it in your head again
to try to knock me on my ass.”
She had a sudden memory of the tight, hard feel of his ass
as she groped it while he pounded between her thighs. Talk about a stress
flashback.
“That was a joke too, in case you couldn’t tell.”
“I know.”
“Good. ’Cause you sort of looked like a deer in the
headlights for a minute there.”
“No. I knew you were joking.”
“If you have to explain that, the joke’s a flop,” he pointed
out.
They swung in silence for a bit and then he offered, “O’Malley
was telling me a little bit about your background.”
Not too much, she hoped. “Old man’s a blabbermouth,” she
said mildly.
“That’s a very unusual upbringing you had.”
She shrugged. “No more so than yours, I’d guess. It looked
like you’d never even seen a bunk bed.”
He laughed. “The truth is I hadn’t. I’m sure this will come
as a surprise to you, but as the oldest son of Damien Reynolds, I had a pretty
privileged childhood.”
“I’m shocked.”
“We did have one thing in common, you and me.”
“Oh yeah? What was that?”
“No mothers.”
“I had a mother!” she snapped and stopped the swing, hard,
with her boot. “She was just dead, that’s all.”
His eyes were very blue as he faced her, with those
ridiculously long lashes. For one minute, she almost thought he was going to
touch her.
But he
keep hinting, Vanny.”
“Well, I don’t mean to be disrespectful.”
“Except when you are being disrespectful.”
She smiled. “Except then, I guess.”
As he smiled back at her, she let a wisp of the thought
she’d been fighting since he got on this rig into her brain. Fuck, he was gorgeous. That black hair and blue eyes and buff bod. Just like she remembered
him. He’d be lucky if she didn’t jump him tonight. Unfortunately,
what she’d been saying to Harry was probably the truth. Compared to the women
Michael Reynolds hung around with, she was probably as plain as your average
dog, even if she was hot shit among a bunch of roughnecks and roustabouts. When
she’d been all dressed up as Shelly in makeup and wispy black underwear, he
probably didn’t notice much. But now…
Besides, despite that she’d had her share of one-night
stands when she came into her own sexuality, just to prove she could more than
anything else, sex for the sake of sex hadn’t held much appeal for her these
last few years. She’d made an exception when she was filching the reports from
his iPad, not that it did her much good. The iPad if not the sex.
She was as good as a man in any number of areas, including
most anything on a drilling rig, but they won hands down when it came to
heartless no-holds-barred no-consequences fucking. She found, whether it was
because she was a woman or because she had more of her long-dead mother in her
than she’d ever suspected, she couldn’t go about it the same way they did.
So although she bragged about her sexual exploits off the
rig just like the guys did, she was making most of it up these days. And she
sure as hell didn’t publicize the one that really had happened. Her night with
him.
“How old are you, Vanny?” he asked unexpectedly.
“Twenty-six. Why? How old are you?”
“A lot older.”
“Really? What are you, thirty-five?”
“Forty.”
“You don’t look so bad for forty.”
“My beauty treatments are paying off, thank God.”
She glanced at him sideways and realized he was wearing a
sly smile. “You’re kidding.”
“If you say so.” He grabbed his side of the chain link and
swung them higher.
The sun dipped completely below the horizon and the deck
lights automatically responded by becoming brighter. There were row upon row of
white lights, on every deck of the rig, strung from end to end like some crazy
Christmas tree dropped out in the middle of the ocean.
“And I’ve been working out in a fancy-pants gym too,” he
added, mid-swing. “I’m just warning you in case you take it in your head again
to try to knock me on my ass.”
She had a sudden memory of the tight, hard feel of his ass
as she groped it while he pounded between her thighs. Talk about a stress
flashback.
“That was a joke too, in case you couldn’t tell.”
“I know.”
“Good. ’Cause you sort of looked like a deer in the
headlights for a minute there.”
“No. I knew you were joking.”
“If you have to explain that, the joke’s a flop,” he pointed
out.
They swung in silence for a bit and then he offered, “O’Malley
was telling me a little bit about your background.”
Not too much, she hoped. “Old man’s a blabbermouth,” she
said mildly.
“That’s a very unusual upbringing you had.”
She shrugged. “No more so than yours, I’d guess. It looked
like you’d never even seen a bunk bed.”
He laughed. “The truth is I hadn’t. I’m sure this will come
as a surprise to you, but as the oldest son of Damien Reynolds, I had a pretty
privileged childhood.”
“I’m shocked.”
“We did have one thing in common, you and me.”
“Oh yeah? What was that?”
“No mothers.”
“I had a mother!” she snapped and stopped the swing, hard,
with her boot. “She was just dead, that’s all.”
His eyes were very blue as he faced her, with those
ridiculously long lashes. For one minute, she almost thought he was going to
touch her.
But he
Similar Books
