Mary had a hundred questions about him, but she didn’t want to chance stirring Brodie’s curiosity again.

Her past was strictly off limits.

The music, a mellow, country tune, drifted in the air. She was more of a rock-and-roll woman, but she appreciated the sight of Brodie moving ever-so-slightly with the music, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel.

If a boulder could be relaxed, she’d say he was just that. Yet, while his expression seemed peaceful, his shoulders stretched his dark T-shirt and his biceps bunched and flexed with each small adjustment.

How exactly did a man go about getting a body like that?

“Do you work out?”

Mouth kicking up in amusement, he glanced at her. That dark-eyed gaze flashed over her before he returned his attention to the road. “You realize that’s a pickup line, right?”

Oh Lord, his eyes were…well, amazing. And hot. If it wasn’t for the unfamiliar lick of heat that intense look caused, she might’ve been embarrassed. Instead, her reaction threw her off.

Oh, she had her fair share of male attention, but usually it left her indifferent.

Not so with Brodie Crews.

Her MO was to steer clear of interested, or interesting, men, but really, what harm would it cause to look? She’d see him during this ride, then not again for a while. For that reason, she’d looked her fill—without being obvious.

His profile fascinated her, the way those thick, dark lashes shadowed his eyes, the high bridge of his strong nose and the curve to his mouth. His dark, thick hair held a slight wave, and no matter how many times he tunneled his fingers through it, it fell forward over his brow. The growth of whiskers on his jaw made her curious to know how it would feel to her fingertips.

And her lips.

“I’m just wondering,” she said, trying to play it off as idle chitchat. “You’re muscular for a man who makes his living driving a car.”

“I also work on cars.” He slid her an intimate smile. “As you know.”

The reminder of her first sight of him sent another flush over her skin. Coolly, she replied, “Is that what you were doing? I got an entirely different impression.”

“Because of the way Gina groped me?”

He said it without an iota of shame, making her jaw loosen and her mouth fall open.

Obviously, she was out of her league.

Brodie chuckled. “If I hadn’t been struggling to stay upright, I’d have shaken her off sooner, but Gina can always sense weakness. She thought she’d sneak in there while my defenses were down.”

“Your defenses?”

“I’m not at my best after a night of drinking.”

“Then why did you do it?” Personally, she’d never seen the draw. She sometimes had wine on very special occasions, which were few and far between. Drink, drugs…they caused a loss of control, leaving you not only vulnerable, but oblivious to all that really mattered.

“I’ve turned her down more times than I can count.” Brodie’s mouth went sideways, then he scratched the top of his head. “She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.”

“Is she in love with you?”

“Ha! No, not even a little.” Laughing, he shook his head. “Gina likes me okay, but that’s it. Mostly she wants bragging rights to say she’s banged Jack and me, both.”

It took all Mary had not to drop her jaw again.

Lori Foster’s DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

November 19th

A Soccer Mom’s Book Blog – Review

Panty dropping Book blog – Review

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

November 20th

All about reading – Review & Excerpt

Kick Back & Review – Review & Excerpt

Onceupon_a_bookdream – Review & Excerpt

November 21st

Booknerd1107 – Review & Excerpt

MI Bookshelf – Review

Sweet Red Reads – Excerpt

November 22nd

East Coast Book Chicks – Review & Excerpt

Living In Our Own Story – Review & Excerpt

The Reading Cafe – Review & Excerpt

November 23rd

Adventures in Writing – Excerpt

Book Addict – Review

Kat’s Books N Brews – Review & Excerpt

November 24th

Bad boys and bedtime stories book blog – Review

Kari’s Book Reviews and Revelations – Review & Excerpt

November 25th

Catty Jane Book Lovers – Review & Excerpt

Literary misfit – Review & Excerpt

Me Love Some Books – Excerpt

November 26th

Feel the Book – Excerpt

Renee Entress’s Blog – Review & Excerpt

November 27th

All Things Dark & Dirty – Excerpt

PNR Book Lover Reviews – Review

Romance Reviews and More – Review & Excerpt

November 28th

OMGReads – Review & Excerpt

Take Me Away To A Great Read – Excerpt

The Smut-Brarians – Review

November 29th

Cupcakesandbookshelves – Excerpt

Sofia Loves Books – Review & Excerpt

We Do What We Want Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

November 30th

Books 2 Blog – Review & Excerpt

Lynn’s Romance Enthusiasm – Review & Excerpt

Romance Addict Book Blog –Review & Excerpt

Shannon’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

December 1st

Crystal’s Book World – Review & Excerpt

Jax’s Book Magic – Excerpt

Read Review Repeat – Review & Excerpt

December 2nd

Family, Books and Food – Excerpt

Marta Likes to Read – Excerpt

Rachel Loren’s Love of Reading – Review

About Lori Foster:

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN. Visit her online at LoriFoster.com.

As he wove them seamlessly through the traffic, off an exit ramp, along a short drive through a commercial area, then back onto the expressway again, Mary had a revelation: everything about Brodie Crews was over the top.

His rugged good looks.

His teasing manner.

His frank way of speaking.

And now, she had to add, his skill at driving. He maneuvered with ease, weaving through traffic without speeding, seeming to find his way in and out of communities instinctively, all the while being completely relaxed.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for seeing his anger at the men who’d approached his car, she would wonder if Brodie Crews took anything seriously.

For the rest of the drive, she helped keep watch but she didn’t spot the SUV again.

Finally, she could relax too. “I think you lost them.”

He shot her a look of comical indignation. “You had doubts?”

Not really. And for some absurd reason, she was proud of him. What would he think if she told him that? He’d probably make a few more jokes, laugh it off, and continue being outrageous.

Belatedly, she answered him. “No.”

“No?”

“I didn’t have any real doubts.”

“Good. Because my guess is that they’ll somehow catch up to us on the way back. I mean, if they’re following, the whole point would be to steal from us whatever your boss bought, right?”

That was always a possibility. There’d been other times where she and a driver were waylaid, the goods stolen, and she’d had to go back to Therman empty-handed.

She would avoid that as best she could. “Yes, it’s possible.”

Cavalier, somewhat cocky, he said, “Hey, don’t sweat it. I’ll make sure we make the delivery, and on time, too.”

Mary appreciated his confidence because it boosted her own—especially as they left the highway for the less traveled roads that would take them to their destination.

Giving up her vigilance, she watched Brodie instead. His relaxed posture belied the alert way he took in his surroundings.

She realized that he knew trouble could happen, but also believed that he could handle it.

Astounding.

She’d never known a man so convincingly capable. She’d call him arrogant, except that he was so big, so powerful and formidably hard all over, it was easy to believe he could handle just about everything that might come their way.

Thinking that warmed her and she slipped off her button-up shirt, leaving her in the thin tank top, her arms exposed to the cooler air-conditioning. That helped, but not enough.

Especially when she knew that Brodie noted her every movement, even though he wasn’t obvious about it.

More heat uncurled from deep inside her, making her breasts feel heavy, her inner thighs tight. It was an un familiar heat, but she recognized it for what it was—base lust.

For Brodie. Insane. Ill-advised.

But apparently unavoidable.

Before she did something stupid, it seemed wise to distract herself by ensuring Brodie understood every possibility. “They could have been following us for another reason.”

“Yeah?” He pulled up to a red light and, after checking the traffic in every direction, turned to look at her. “What’s that?”

Having that dark, direct gaze aimed at her didn’t help to redirect her thoughts. His eyelashes were almost girly, they were so thick and dark, but Brodie was more elementally male than any man she’d ever met.

He quirked a brow. “If we were anywhere else, I’d take that as an invitation.”

As if coming out of a trance, she blinked. “What?”

“The way you’re looking at me?” His voice was deep, a little rough. “That usually means—”

“They may just want to rule out what Therman is getting,” she blurted, cutting him off. Dear God, she had been staring at him like a starving woman.

She almost considered putting her button-up shirt back on, just to make sure he didn’t misunderstand. But maybe that would be even more obvious, displaying her uncertainty in situations like this.

“They?” he asked, his supercilious brow still up.

“The men following us.” She jumped on the topic, hoping to talk past her own embarrassment. She wanted him, really wanted him, and it didn’t make any sense at all. She tried for her confident smile. “There are several collectors who want the same items. Usually whoever is willing to pay the most comes out the victor.”

He grinned. “Sounds like some serious sport.”

“Oh, believe me, collectors take it very seriously.” Needlessly, she checked her hair, smoothed her skirt, and overall squirmed over her own revelations.

She’d been forever without a man. Why now, and why him?

She didn’t have any answers; she only knew that he was off limits. Damn.

About Lori Foster:

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN. Visit her online at LoriFoster.com.