Millionaire Playboys: Paying the Playboy's Price

He tied his hair and tried to ignore her chattering teeth, but couldn’t. His control dangled from a fraying rope and after that kiss the last thing he needed to do was touch her. Just his luck that his libido would emerge after months of hibernation for a woman he ought to avoid at all cost.

The fact that she was freezing her tail off without complaint got to him. Her silent shivers got to him. Even her damp flowers-and-spice scent got to him. In fact, everything about Juliana Alden knocked him sideways. “Turn around.”

Eyes narrowing, she hesitated and then turned her back. He brushed her hands out of the way and briskly chafed the cool skin of her upper arms. Her quick gasp tugged his groin. The firmness of the muscles beneath his hands surprised him. He’d expected a desk jockey to be soft, but Juliana obviously kept in shape from her tight arms to her tight a—

Don’t go there.

“I thought the weather back home was crazy.” Home. Except for his parents’ funeral, Rex hadn’t been back to the ranch since the day he’d turned eighteen, and even though the property had been sold, he still thought of the ranch as home. But his place was here now. Near Kelly, Mike and the girls.

Juliana tilted her head and looked at him over her shoulder. Her hair glided over his fingers in a soft-as-silk caress. “The storm front sitting off the coast must have backed into the cold front coming from the northwest. Wilmington gets weird weather when that happens. In the winter, we get snow, which—trust me—is odd for the North Carolina coast.”

Her shivers slowed then ceased. Her skin warmed and her muscles relaxed beneath his hands, but he didn’t want to let her go. A jolt of pure hunger hit him low and hard. It had been too damned long since he’d stroked a woman’s smooth, supple skin. Juliana leaned into him, and the desire to wrap his arms around her, bury his face against her neck and cradle her breasts in his palms grabbed him in a stranglehold.

He dropped his hands and stepped away, but there was nowhere to run in the confined space. Saddle racks jutted from the walls, forcing him to stand only inches from temptation. “We’ll stay here until the hail stops and then you need to go home.”

She faced him. “What about you?”

“I came on my bike. I’ll wait until the rain lets up.”

“And if it doesn’t, you’ll spend the night? Where? Here?” She gestured to the narrow four-foot bench.

“If I have to. I’ve slept on worse.”

A stubborn glint entered her blue eyes and her chin lifted. The single, bare lightbulb revealed a reddened patch of beard burn along her jaw. Damn. He hadn’t realized he’d been so rough. “I’m not leaving you here.”

His pulse misfired. “There’s no point in both of us being cold and uncomfortable.”

“That’s exactly why you’ll be reasonable and accept my offer of a ride home. I have a jacket in the car, so once the hail and lightning stop and I can get to it, I won’t be cold.” Her gaze dropped to the points of his nipples clearly outlined by his damp, clingy T-shirt. “And I keep a quilt in my trunk. You can use that.”

His reaction wasn’t caused by cold, but he wouldn’t correct her. If she looked lower, she’d figure it out by herself.

She tapped a finger to her swollen lips, and just like that, the memory of the kiss reignited the fire in his blood. Soft lips. Satiny tongue. He clamped his teeth, fisted his hands and fought to extinguish the blaze.

“Are you worried that someone will steal your motorcycle if you leave it here overnight?”

He should lie and say yes. It beat the hell out of admitting that he needed to put some distance between them before he pulled her back into his arms and put the strength of the bench behind her to the test. The flimsy thing probably wouldn’t hold their combined weight.

Not something you need to be thinking about, bucko.

“No. The owner has a couple of dogs she lets loose after dark. They keep an eye on things.”

“Then I’ll give you a ride.”

“There’s no need—”

“I guess you could call for a pizza delivery and hitch a ride back with the driver if you’re afraid to ride with me.”

Afraid? He straightened at the insult to his pride. “I don’t have a cell phone.”

He’d given it up along with most of the other trappings of success. Besides, he didn’t want his Nashville associates tracking him down. Not that he was hiding. He hadn’t done anything illegal. But he had lost all respect for the man he’d become, so he’d cut those ties. Permanently.

“Mine’s in the car. You can use it—if you insist on being impractical.”

That set his teeth on edge. “I need to see to Jelly Bean. If the rain hasn’t stopped by the time I finish then I’ll take that ride.”

He let himself out of the tack room and headed for the mare’s stall. He hadn’t prayed this hard for the weather to change since his first headlining concert in an outdoor venue. Twenty thousand fans had come to see him in the pouring rain. And they’d stayed despite the weather. He’d done his damnedest not to let them down, and from here on he’d do his best not to let himself down by crossing the line into temptation. But there were no guarantees of success. Juliana Alden had a way of getting around his common sense.

He had to get out of this auction package. He couldn’t afford to repay her the thousands she’d bid on him, since most of his cash was tied up in Renegade, but he could afford the four hundred the local dealership charged for the motorcycle driver-safety course. And the farm owner used to ride the horse-show circuit. He’d bet he could talk her into giving Juliana riding lessons in exchange for him doing a few more chores around here.

Yeah, that’s it. Juliana would get her lessons—just not from him. As soon as he got her back to Renegade, he’d tell her goodbye.

“Let me buy you a drink.”

Juliana’s heart missed a beat at Rex’s low-voiced invitation. She searched his face, but the streetlights didn’t penetrate the shadowy interior of her car. Had she misread his stony silence during the drive back?

Her palms dampened and anticipation danced along her spine. Would he invite her upstairs? She wanted to be corrupted out of her Goody Two-shoes image. Really, she did, and she had a brand new box of condoms in her purse to prove it, but frankly, the idea of getting naked with Rex gave her heart palpitations, because she was starting to like him a little too much for this to be a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am kind of encounter.

Last chance.

“Um…sure. I’d love a drink.”

He circled the car, took the umbrella from her and guided her toward Renegade without touching her, but Juliana was highly conscious of his hand hovering at the small of her back.

The bartender looked up as soon as they entered. “Your sister’s upstairs and, man, she’s a mess.”

“Give me a minute,” Rex called to Juliana. He yanked open the door to his apartment and took the steps two at a time. Juliana eyed the crowd of construction workers leering at her from the bar. Unwilling to deal with the kind of attention her skimpy attire drew, she followed Rex upstairs.

As she entered his apartment, Juliana noted the suitcase beside the door and then the woman sobbing in Rex’s arms. Unsure if she was intruding, Juliana hesitated.

“What’s up, Kel?”

The petite brunette drew back. Her face was blotchy and red from crying. Fresh tears streamed from her dark eyes as she drew a ragged breath. “Mike’s been hurt. He’s in critical condition in Landstuhl, Germany.”

“The military hospital?” Rex asked.

“Yes. He might—” Her voice broke. “They said he might not make it.”

He gripped her shoulders. “What do you need me to do? Name it. I’ll do it.”

His tender tone vibrated through Juliana. What would it be like to have a man care that much?

“I need you to keep the girls.”

“Whoa.” He recoiled and then dragged a hand over his jaw. “Where are Becky and Liza now?”

“Asleep.” She pointed toward a closed door. “I can’t take them with me, Rex. I know you have to work, but I have to go. I have to see Mike.”

“Yeah, you do, but Kelly, I’m not set up to watch the girls for more than a few hours. What about one of the other military wives?”