She arched a bemused brow. He evidently was speaking for himself. As far as she was concerned there was nothing to think through. She knew what she wanted and had a feeling that he did, too. So what was the problem? She knew the score. Nothing was forever with Derringer Westmoreland and she was okay with that. Although she was hopelessly in love with the man, she knew her limitations. She had accepted them long ago. She had made more strides within the last twelve days than she’d expected in her entire lifetime. They had made love, for heaven’s sake, and he had kissed her senseless a week ago tomorrow.
But still…she was no longer a teenager with fantasies of him marrying her and living happily ever after with each other. She totally understood that was not the way the ball would bounce. She was not entering into anything with him blindly; she had both eyes wide open. Bottom line was that she didn’t have to safeguard her heart. Although she wished otherwise, the man had her heart, lock, stock and barrel, and it was too late to do anything about it but gladly take whatever she could and live the rest of her life on memories.
“I think I need to give you time to get dressed so we can get to the skating rink.”
She couldn’t help but smile softly. “Do you really want to do that?”
He shook his head. “No, but if you knew what I really want to do you would probably kick me out.”
“Try me.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “No, I think I’ll pass. I’ll wait out here until you change clothes.”
She moved around him to head down the hall and stopped right before crossing the threshold into her room. “You know it would probably be more fun if we stayed here, don’t you?”
He smiled then said in a firm voice, “Go get dressed, Lucia.”
Laughing, she entered the bedroom and closed the door behind her. While removing her clothes, Lucia made a decision about something.
For the first time ever she intended to try her luck at seducing a man.
Seven
Derringer glanced over at Lucia, who was across the room standing in line to check out their roller skates. He had two words to describe the jeans she was wearing—snug and tight. And then the first two words that would describe her overall appearance tonight were hot and sexy.
Deciding he needed to stop staring at her every chance he got, he glanced around. He had expected the place to be crowded since it was a Friday night, but why were there more kids than adults? Granted, it had been years since he’d gone skating, but still, he would think it was past these kids’ bedtime.
He laughed recalling how some smart-mouthed preteen had come up to him a few minutes ago and said he hoped he and Lucia were fast enough on the skates to keep up and not get in anyone’s way. Hell, he and Lucia weren’t that old.
“What’s so funny?”
He glanced down to see Lucia had returned with their skates. He then told her about the smart-mouthed kid and she smiled. “Doesn’t this city still have a curfew?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “Not anymore.”
He lifted a brow. “When did they do away with it?” He figured she would know because her dad had been a member of Denver’s city council for years.
She smiled sweetly up at him. “They did away with it when Bane turned eighteen.”
He stared at her for a second, saw she was serious and threw his head back and laughed so hard they couldn’t help but get attention. “You’re making a scene, Derringer Westmoreland,” she whispered.
He shook his head and pulled her closer to him. “Is there anywhere Bane didn’t leave his mark?”
“According to my father, the answer to that question is a resounding no. Now, come on, old man, or that kid will return and ask us to step aside.”
He took her teasing of his age in stride, but still he reached out and grabbed her around the waist. “I’ll show you who’s old and who’s not,” he said, and then he took off, pulling her with him.
It was past three in the morning when Derringer returned Lucia home, and he smiled as he escorted her inside her home. It had taken a while, but he’d eventually shown that smart-mouthed kid why he once had earned the reputation of being hell on wheels with roller skates. And then when the kid had found out he was a Westmoreland—a cousin to the infamous Bane Westmoreland—he had to all but sign autographs.