The Angel Tasted Temptation Read online

  And most of all, no sex.

  She'd been a good girl. And what the hell had it gotten her?

  A mortician as an ex-fiancé. A job as a waitress in Petey's Pizza Parlor, despite two years of college. An associate's degree instead of a bachelor's because somewhere along the way she'd convinced herself that was good enough.

  And most of all, a fear of anything that took her outside that insular environment because that was where the big, bad wolves existed. Too much sin, she'd heard over and over again from Pastor Wendall at the First Presbyterian Church, and she'd be headed on a nonstop highway to hell.

  Hell, Meredith had decided, didn't seem such a bad alternative to slogging pepperoni pizzas around and being kissed by a man who smelled of formaldehyde.

  Meredith took a step forward and tossed all the rules she'd lived her life by out the window. "I'd like to make you an offer, Mr. Campbell."

  He gave her an inquiring look. "You hardly know me."

  "Exactly."

  His mouth lifted up on one side. "Only because I'm a curious man, I'll ask what this offer is."

  She swallowed. "As I mentioned, I come from a small town in Indiana."

  He nodded.

  "And, well, this is my first time in a city."

  "A good city to pick for your first time." He grinned.

  She met his dark green gaze. "Exactly."

  The air hung between them, punctuated by a Sheryl Crow song. In the distance, a couple danced in the center of the room, another flirted in a corner booth.

  Travis slid onto his stool, propping one heel against the steel circle on the base. "Are you saying what I'm thinking you're saying? Or am I just an idiot guy who's thinking with his lesser brain?"

  "You heard me right." Meredith drew in a breath. "I want my first time to be in the city."

  "First time?" he echoed again.

  She saw him swallow. Who knew two words could have such an impact on a six-foot-two man? "That's what I said."

  "Uh, I'm not what you think I am."

  "You're not a man?"

  He chuckled. "Oh, I'm a man all right I'm not a... well, a gigolo."

  She smiled. "Good. I wouldn't want a professional. I suspect that would be about as fun as a breast exam from a gynecologist."

  Travis leaned forward, resting a hand on her arm. "I know you're new in town and all, Miss Shordon, but that isn't the kind of thing you go up to a stranger and offer."

  "I may be from Indiana, but that doesn't mean I'm an idiot, Mr. Campbell. I know what I'm doing." She took a step forward, placing her own hand on top of his. "Are you interested in the position?"

  A hundred emotions flickered on his face. He swallowed, then cleared his throat and considered her again. "I'm really not the right man for what you want."

  She frowned. "You can't perform?"

  That got his attention. "Of course I can."

  "No old football injuries or surgeries that prevent you from doing the job?"

  "Of course not." He cocked his head and studied her. "But you don't know anything about me."

  "I know enough." She'd seen him with Mike. Her gut told her Travis Campbell was a decent man, the kind who wouldn't turn her life story into a TNT special. Meredith collected her courage and drifted her hand down his chest. "I've seen the merchandise and I want to buy it."

  He let out a long breath, as if her touch had taken away his resolve. "I'm not for sale."

  "Then you can work for free."

  "Don't you, ah," he watched her hand make its way back up his chest, "have a boyfriend back on the farm, or wherever it is you lived in Indiana, that can do this for you?"

  She shook her head. "Not anymore."

  A fleeting thought of Caleb ran through her mind. She could just imagine his reaction to her propositioning a complete stranger like this. He'd be horrified, unable to understand how she could do something so personal with someone she hadn't known all her life. What Caleb didn't understand was that was exactly why she wanted a stranger for this job. So no one would know but her and the whole town of Heavendale could keep their noses out of her sex life.

  She sighed and took her hand off his chest. "Listen, I don't want this to get personal. Are you interested in the job or not?"

  His gaze skimmed over her again. For the first time, Meredith was sure she had made a mistake. This was a crazy idea. It had seemed so sane when she'd left the farm and boarded a plane.

  "Yes," he said after a moment. "I'll take the job."

  She gulped. "Good."

  "But first, I think you should know what you're getting yourself into."

  Then he swooped forward and kissed her.

  Travis had only intended to give Meredith Shordon a taste of her own medicine. But when his mouth met hers, an explosion of want burst in his brain.

  She kissed him back, tentative at first, as delicate as a hummingbird. The innocence of her lips, so tender, so soft, told him to tread lightly. The quiet fragrance of spring flowers drifted off her skin, a sweet contrast to the salty taste of margarita on her lips.

  He cupped her chin with his hand, tracing her jaw with his thumb. She opened her mouth to his and in one hesitant, gentle move, tasted him with her tongue.

  Holy shit. What had he done?

  He'd only meant to teach her a lesson. Instead, he found himself quickly drowning in desire.

  As if she felt the same, Meredith pressed forward, her breasts brushing against his chest. She tangled a hand in his hair and again brought her tongue into his mouth.

  Travis jerked back, ending the kiss before he jumped off the cliff and into bed with her. This was so not the plan.

  "Still want to honor that deal?" he asked, hoping she'd say no. Praying she'd say yes.

  Eyes closed, she nodded her head. "Uh-huh."

  Oh damn. He didn't need to be getting involved with this woman. She was too sweet, too naive, too much of a—holy crap—a virgin.

  Was he nuts? Any man with more than one functioning brain cell would leap at this kind of opportunity.

  The little voice in the back of his head reminded him that he'd made a vow to stay away from all the things that got him into trouble. Namely, alcohol and women. Especially women who had "hurt potential" written all over them. The last thing he needed was a brokenhearted woman armed with a bigger pocketbook than Olivia's.

  Travis glanced at Meredith and her wide, open, trusting blue eyes. When he did, he knew one thing: he needed to protect her from herself. She had no idea what she was asking for—or how another man with fewer morals would take it.

  Who was he kidding? He didn't have any morals. Or he hadn't had any before Olivia had purse-slapped him across the temples.

  Now he had morals. Well, at least he had good intentions.

  "You're perfect," Meredith said. "Exactly what I wanted."

  She said it like she was ordering a dress off a shopping channel. Didn't exactly do a lot for his already battered male ego. "I aim to please."

  "And you did." She smiled, then stepped closer to him. A vibration started against his stomach. Holy Mother of God. She had toys with her, too?

  His resolve definitely wasn't that strong.

  The vibration turned into a ring. Meredith rolled her eyes and stepped back. "Excuse me. I have a call."

  It was a cell phone, not something out of the Adam & Eve catalog.

  Then why didn't he feel relief?

  Meredith withdrew the phone, answered it and frowned. She smiled an apology at Travis, then moved back to where her margarita waited, condensation frosting the outside of the wide-rimmed glass.

  Kenny honed in on the opportunity and was at Travis's side in a second. "I thought you swore off women a few minutes ago. Or was that the other Travis?"

  "I did."

  "Unless my watch is really wrong, I don't think your self-imposed thirty-day waiting period has passed."

  "It hasn't."

  "So what are you doing?"

  "Saving that woman from herself."


  Kenny laughed. "Now that's one I haven't heard before."

  "I don't mean it that way."

  "What does she want with you?"

  "Let's just say she wants me to show her the best views in Boston."

  "She can take one of the duck tours for that. I hear they even give out free quackers." Kenny chuckled at his pun.

  "I meant the view from my bedroom."

  "Your bed—" Kenny took a second to digest that. Then his eyes and his grin widened. "Oh."

  "Yeah."

  "Well, too bad you've sworn off women, my friend." Kenny puffed out his chest and ran a hand through his hair. "Seems I'll have to do your dirty work."

  "Don't you go within five feet of her. I know how you are."

  "Only because you're the same way."

  "Not anymore."

  "Yeah, right. I'll believe that bullshit when they make Coors the national drink."

  "I'm serious."

  "So you're not going to sleep with her?"

  "Nope."

  Kenny laughed long and hard. "Right. You're just going to show her the sights?"

  "Yep. Be her own personal tour guide."

  "I'll make sure the cleaning lady changes your sheets. Just in case."

  "You're a pig, Kenny."

  "And proud to live among the dregs of society." He grinned. "So tell me. Where'd this miracle come from? I didn't think there were any innocent women left in Boston."

  Travis glanced over at Meredith, her back to him as she continued her cell conversation. As he did, he remembered what she had told him about where she came from and who she was. An idea began to brew in his head. A bad idea, one he shouldn't even be considering. But he did anyway. "She's from Indiana."

  "Yeah, so? Corn-fed and all that?"

  "Exactly." Travis's gaze hit Kenny's. It took a second, but he could see the wheels begin turning in Kenny's head, the same wheels that had been churning in his own a second earlier. "What did Larry say at the meeting Friday morning?"

  "If we can make it fly in Topeka—"

  "We can make it work anywhere." Travis took a sip of his soda and tipped the glass in Meredith's direction. "She's our key to making it fly in Indiana."

  Kenny shook his head and reached for his drink. The lime twist had fallen into the glass and bobbed among the ice, like a Martian drowning in rum. "Is that what makes her so special?"

  "Well, she does have amazing legs." Travis smiled.

  "I thought you swore off women."

  "I didn't die overnight, Kenny."

  Kenny clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "Glad to hear it, bud." He glanced over at Meredith, admired her legs—and more—for a moment, then turned back. "Promise me one thing, though."

  "What?"

  "That while you're, ah, capturing the thoughts of your newest focus group over there, you won't do anything stupid."

  "Like what?"

  "Like fall in love. We have a good thing going here with the bachelor life and I don't want you screwing it up. You get hooked on her and before I know it, there are panties in our shower and flavored coffee brewing in the kitchen."

  Travis laughed. "No worries here. Falling in love is the last thing I'm ever going to do."

  Kenny raised his glass towards Travis and clinked with him. "That's why you're my hero."

  "Dear, I was so worried about you I had to call again."

  "Momma, I'm fine."

  Her mother paused a second. "Is that a jukebox I hear in the background?"

  "Uh, yeah."

  "Are you in a bar? Do you know the statistics for young women who are murdered after visiting bars in big cities?"

  "I'm fine," Meredith repeated, more firmly this time. "I'm over twenty-one, remember? And besides, I'm not doing anything illegal."

  It was only illegal if she paid him.

  "Still, I wish you wouldn't have gone to Boston. Caleb is still pining for you, you know."

  Meredith sighed. Breaking up with Caleb had been the right thing to do, even if he had taken it pretty hard. In an odd way, she was sure her former home ec teacher, Mr. Galloway, who'd lain in the Deluxe 2000 casket in the back of the hearse, would have approved. At least he hadn't rolled over in the cherry box when she'd told Caleb she was moving on. "It's over between us, Mom. I really don't care what Caleb thinks."

  "Honey, he still loves you. Why he could hardly get through Lester Hewitt's funeral, he was crying so hard. Reverend Wilkins had to call a time out so Caleb could pull himself together."

  ''We're not engaged anymore. He'll meet someone else." She'd known Caleb since kindergarten and when he put on a dark suit and held out a box of Kleenex with that mixture of compassion and charm he had, he was nearly irresistible to women.

  "Not in his line of work."

  "Morticians get out. They have, like, casket conventions or something."

  "Still, he says he'll never meet anyone like you."

  "I'm not having this conversation."

  "J.C. Henry called this morning. He needs to know when you'll be back to fulfill your duties."

  Meredith had dropped a letter in the mail slot at J.C.'s office the morning she left, resigning her position as Miss Holstein. Apparently, J.C. wasn't going to let her off that easily.

  "I'm not having that conversation either. I told you, I don't want to be Miss Holstein. Tell him to find another cow girl."

  "You used to want to be."

  "I was different then." When Meredith had signed up to compete in Miss Holstein, it had been on a lark. She hadn't expected to win; she'd only done it to do something, anything different from what she was doing right then. A beauty contest, even if the prize was wearing a cow suit for a year, was definitely out of the ordinary for Meredith Shordon's life. It had been her first step toward independence.

  And then she'd gone and won the damned thing. She'd tried to tell J.C, the event's organizer, they'd picked the wrong girl, but he wasn't having any of that. Finally, she'd given in and accepted the hooved crown, figuring she'd find a way out of her bovine obligations afterwards.

  Five hours later, Rebecca had called and Meredith had ditched it all—the crown, the sash, and most of all, the damned udders.

  "I don't see how you could change overnight," her mother said. She let out a sigh, then switched gears. "If you won't come home, then at least take care of yourself so I don't have to go out there and claim your body from some alley somewhere."

  "Momma, that isn't going to happen."

  "Take your vitamins. Maybe I should have Dr. Michaels send you a prescription for antibiotics. It is cold season, you know."

  "I'm fine. I haven't coughed once since I arrived." She took a sip of margarita. Tequila would kill anything in her anyway.

  Her mother let out a frustrated sigh. "Promise me you won't talk to strangers."

  She'd already broken that rule. But for a good reason. Hearing about Caleb—and the life that waited for her in Indiana if she didn't find one here first— just reinforced her determination.

  She said goodbye to her mother, flipped the phone shut and glanced over at Travis Campbell, who was chatting with his friend.

  As she took a step closer to him, years of her mother's neurosis flooded her mind. She didn't know this man at all. She could be wrong about him. Could she even trust her instincts?

  The last time she'd done that, she'd been the one girl at day camp who thought the shiny plant with three-leaf clusters was cute and picked some for a bouquet. She'd spent the entire week in the infirmary, covered from head to toe in pink calamine lotion while everyone else canoed and caught fireflies in itch-free comfort.

  Travis Campbell wasn't poison ivy. Still, he could be toxic to her in other ways. And she knew a little dab of pink lotion wasn't going to be enough to rid her body of all she'd felt when he kissed her.

  She already knew she'd be back for more anyway. Her body still simmered with unanswered desire. Meredith closed the distance between herself and Travis and figured if she didn't take a
risk now, she'd never do it.

  "Sorry about that," she said, arriving at his side again. "Phone call I had to take."

  "The reluctant boyfriend?" He arched a brow.

  "No." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not exactly on his friends and family list right now."

  "Business then?"

  "No. I'm not really in the kind of business where my cell phone would be ringing off the hook."

  "And what business is that?"

  "Well, for a few weeks, I'm working at a gift baskets shop, helping out my cousin."

  "A temporary gig? And where will you be after that? At Hallmark, recommending a good thank you card?"

  She shook her head. "I'm going back to Indiana."

  "Why?"

  "Because that's where I live." For a second, it sounded so sad to picture herself going back home. It was the only place she'd ever lived and yet, despite the honking horns and congested streets, she liked Boston. As clichéd as it sounded, she now knew how a bird felt after living in a cage too long. Boston held something Heavendale never had; it felt as if the real Meredith was somewhere here, waiting to be found among the crowded neighborhoods and the slim saplings that peppered the sidewalks, as if Mother Nature was bound and determined to punch through the concrete.

  But once she returned to Heavendale, would she be able to go back to the life she'd left? To Petey's? To being Miss Holstein? Or would she find herself displaced and lost in the town where she'd lived all her life?

  And be worse off than when she'd left?

  Meredith shook off the maudlin thoughts. She was only after one thing right now. Travis. The rest could wait.

  Sheryl Crow had segued into the Dave Matthews Band. Across from them, a couple danced in the space between the jukebox and the tables. Another pair was making out at the table beside the juke.

  "So, I'm a what, few-weeks stand for you?" Travis asked with a teasing grin. "You're going to love me and leave me?"

  Her gaze hit his, hard and direct. "I will leave you, Travis Campbell, but I won't love you."

  He grinned. "You think so?"

  "I know so."

  "Have this pretty planned out, don't you?"

  "Down to the last contingency."

  "No, you haven't. I'm a contingency you haven't counted on. Me. And what I might want from you."