by Lacey Black
“Hey, Cowboy!” I greet with a wave.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he replies with a wide smile. It’s funny, he’s called me that since the night I met him, yet I don’t get that flutter of excitement in the pit of my stomach the way I do when the nickname rolls off Latham’s tongue. “Catching a class?”
“Yeah, spinning starts in a few minutes. What are you doing?” I ask, glancing over his shoulder and seeing a handful of guys and a few girls come out of the room.
“I started a few karate classes on Wednesday nights. Last week, I was talking to the owner, who mentioned the local karate instructor retired months back and no one has replaced him. He offered me the room a few nights a week, and I couldn’t pass it up.” Excitement twinkles in his ocean blue eyes.
“That’s great! I’m sure Marissa is happy to have you around,” I say with a smile, bumping my shoulder into his.
His own grin is easy. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Glad you’re sticking around, Cowboy,” I say, pulling him into my arms. “You make her happy.”
“She makes me happy,” Rhenn replies, not even caring he sounds like a sappy woman.
“Rhenn.” The deep timber of his voice sends tingles of awareness down my spine. I don’t have to turn around to know who’s standing behind me. I can feel his presence.
“Hey, Latham, good to see you,” Rhenn replies, releasing me and sticking out his hand for the third party in the hallway to shake. My body tingles with anticipation at his nearness.
“Sweetheart,” he whispers in my ear as he releases Rhenn’s hand. I can’t stop the shiver.
“Well, I should probably head back inside. My next class will be starting shortly,” Rhenn adds, turning toward the door. “Oh, will we see you Sunday?”
“I’ll be there,” I confirm.
“What happens Sunday?” Latham asks, leaning against the wall casually.
“Mary Ann’s brother and his family are coming up for the weekend. We’re having a family dinner at the bed and breakfast at noon. You should come,” Rhenn says to Latham, his invitation making my heart hammer in my chest. Do I want Latham there, interacting with my family?
“Maybe,” he shrugs, not committing.
“Well, if you’re not doing anything, stop by. They’re pretty great people, and Marissa has enough food planned to feed an army.” With a quick wave, Rhenn slips back into the room, leaving Latham and I alone in the hall.
After a few tense seconds of awkward silence, I turn to head to my spin class. “Harper.” Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes meet his. “You’re gonna be late.”
“Well, maybe if you would zip it and let me go, I wouldn’t be,” I retort.
The corner of his mouth twitches and laughter fills his eyes. “See you after class,” he says, slowly walking backward to the main room where weights clank together and music pumps through the speakers.
“You’re not joining me?” I ask, walking backward myself to my class.
“Oh, I’ll be joining you. Later.” With a wink, he turns and walks away, disappearing around the corner and getting lost in the sea of gym-goers.
And now, I’m left with spinning, when my body craves another workout. Oh well, I guess I do have something to look forward to.
Later.
Chapter Sixteen
Latham
I’m whistling as I head up to my apartment to make the call. My realtor called a few minutes ago, but I was finishing up with a customer and had to ignore the ringing. Now, I’ve got a few minutes to return his call and use the bathroom.
“Pete Benson.”
“Pete, it’s Latham. How’s it going?” I ask, pacing my small living room and kitchen.
“Well, Latham. I heard from Mrs. Morton. She said her son is coming home this weekend, and she’ll be discussing both offers with him. She’ll have an answer for me Monday.”
Monday. I’ll know the fate of the empty building between my hardware store and Harper’s panty haven in just four short days. “Anything I can do to ensure I get it?” I ask, instantly feeling guilty.
“Turn on the Latham Douglas charm, man. Stop by and schmooze her or whatever. Just make sure it’s your offer she picks when she makes her decision,” Pete says.
Sighing, I scrub my hand over my face, feeling the several days’ old scruff. Usually, in the summer, I hate it, but I guess when summer is at home versus on foreign soil in a shithole, it doesn’t seem to bother me too much. “Yeah, I hear ya.”
After signing off, I pace my small living area, wishing I had more room to stretch my long legs. I haven’t been in too much of a hurry, but maybe it’s time to start looking for my own place to live. The small apartment above the store has been convenient as hell, but I wouldn’t mind a yard. And maybe a dog.
At that thought, my mind instantly wanders to Snuggles, that ugly-ass mutt who has somehow wormed her wrinkly way into my heart. Damn dog.
And damn the owner.
She has definitely worked her voodoo magic on me too.
There’s no time to try to figure it out now. There’s still several hours left in the day, and I’ve got to make a visit to Mrs. Morton in hopes of convincing her to sell the building to me. Guilt tinges the back of my neck and works its way down my spine. My chest aches at the thought of somehow deceiving Harper, but in honesty, she’s deceiving me too. At least she is if she knows I’m the one she’s in the bidding war with. Harper’s fiery side won’t let her sit back and not act, which is why I don’t think she knows it’s me.
Again, the guilt slides through my chest.
I have to push it away, though. This is business, plain and simple. If this were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter. I’d do whatever was needed to ensure she signed her building over to me.
Clearly I’m thinking about a certain redhead a little too much because I can smell her succulent, sweet scent. Knowing my break is over, I head down the short hall to the bathroom to take care of personal business before going back to the store to deal with Felicity. She hasn’t done anything all day but file her nails, but that’s okay. She seems to fuck up whatever task I give her anyway. The sooner I can convince Dad to give her the boot, the better. I’ve already had to upgrade our back-up computer system since she has somehow crashed the computer and deleted our entire inventory in a matter of two days.
Flipping open the lid and seat, I pull my cock from my pants to piss. As soon as I get a steady stream flowing, I hear what sounds like…splatter. Glancing down, I realize there’s something covering the toilet bowl. Unable to stop the flow of urine, I jump back, trying to avoid the piss raining down on my boots and pant legs.
“What the fuck?” I holler, failing to keep the flow angled to the bowl and now peeing all over my damn floor. “Son of a…”
Finally, I stop pissing all over myself, and the floor, and just stand there. I’m so shocked, I don’t even know what to do. I mean, yeah, I need to clean up the piss – and change my boots and pants. I quickly tuck my dick back in my pants and zip up, reaching for the faucet and wash my hands. Thank God the bathroom is small as shit and I don’t have to go far.
I stick my hands in the warm water and start to scrub, trying to figure out how in the hell Saran Wrap wound up on my toilet.
And then it hits me.
“Harper,” I growl.
My motions start to get jerky as I finish washing my hands and rip the hand towel off the towel bar. How in the hell did she get in here without my knowledge? I should have known the moment I smelled her that it wasn’t a hallucination. She had somehow gotten into the upstairs apartment. Since I keep the outside door locked at all times, the only way to get in was the entry from inside the hardware store. That means I have a traitor in the mix.
My dad.
Speaking of dear ol’ Dad, I hear his voice as he walks through the apartment. “Latham?”
“In here,” I grumble, tossing the hand towel on the sink.
A shadow falls over the floor as he fills t
he doorway. “Ummm…”
“Don’t ask,” I snip, retrieving a towel from the shelf and the cleaning supplies from the cabinet.
“You do know that goes in the toilet, right?” Dad asks, his question laced with humor. “Your mom will be so disappointed the potty training didn’t stick. Should I get the Cheerios?”
“Laugh it up, ol’ man. This is your fault anyway,” I tell him, bending down and soaking up the majority of the urine.
“My fault? How do you figure? I’m not the one who peed all over the floor,” he says, his eyes dancing with humor. “Or on your pants.” This time, he can’t contain his laughter.
“You let the enemy in, didn’t you? You were the only one who would have granted entrance to the pretty little devil and turned his back while she Saran Wrapped my toilet.” Lord knows Felicity wouldn’t have allowed her upstairs.
“Harper did this? You sure?” He coughs to cover his laugh.
“Oh, I’m sure. This has her name written all over it,” I mumble, removing the nasty plastic wrap and spraying the hell out of the toilet and floor with a Clorox cleaner.
“I don’t believe it. Not that sweet girl next door.”
“She’s horrible.” She’s not. “A menace.” Who’s hot.
“And you’re sweet on her.” The old man’s voice is sugar sweet.
I can’t even deny it, because I am. Always have been.
“Anyway, I should head back downstairs. As soon as you change your pants, you better get down there too. When I was coming upstairs, Felicity was fixing the printer,” Dad says, shaking his head.
“What’s wrong with the printer?” I ask, crouched down on the floor and trying not to kneel in the piss.
He turns to go but gives me one last glance. “Nothing…before she started fixing it.”
“Son of a bitch,” I mumble, shaking my head. “I’d rather stay up here with the piss.”
My dad’s laughter carries through the apartment as he heads back downstairs. I’m left to finish cleaning my mess and probably an even bigger one down in the store when I’m done. After that, I have to figure out how to deal with the redheaded vixen down the block. There’s no doubt in my mind she’s the one who Saran Wrapped my toilet seat. Total juvenile move, but do you know what?
It’s going to be damn fun getting even.
Even though I’m headed down to fix my now-broken printer, there’s a smile on my face. I have an idea. A big sparkly one.
* * *
The familiar bell over the door rings, announcing my arrival. She closes in about fifteen minutes so I know she’ll be distracted. I only need a few seconds to steal her keys and execute my retaliation. Harper’s leaning over the counter, writing something on a slip of paper. My groin instantly starts to tighten when I see her formfitting top in a deep purple color that plunges in the front, revealing mounds of creamy flesh. I can already picture the sexy bra she’s wearing underneath, pushing those amazing tits together for my viewing pleasure.
“Stop staring, perv.”
I snicker and casually stroll up to the counter, taking in her long legs in black shorts that hit mid-thigh. I’m rock-hard, my earlier plan for vengeance thrown out the window. I’d much rather throw her down on the floor or bend her over the counter and fuck the hell out of her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks, her voice deep and husky.
“I was just thinking about how amazing you’d look bent over the counter, your smooth ass bearing my handprint on display.”
There’s a quick intake of breath before she clears her throat. “Not happening, buddy.”
“No?” I ask, my eyes meeting hers for the first time since I arrived. The desire is clearly there, written all over her gorgeous face.
“No.” Harper lifts her chin and crosses her arms over her chest, as she often does when she’s ready for verbal sparring.
“Pity,” I reply, my eyes dropping down and slowly perusing her from head to toe.
Silence fills the room, well besides the soft 90’s pop music coming from the laptop. “Everything running okay?” I ask, glancing down at the laptop and spying her purse on the shelf right below it. Just where I expected to find it.
She stands up straighter and narrows her eyes. “It’s working fine. Now. What did you do this time?”
Leaning my hip against the counter, I reply, “I didn’t do anything. I’m here merely to check on the machine I installed. You know, being all neighborly.”
Harper rolls her eyes so wide I’m sure she glanced at her brain. “Neighborly. Is that what we’re calling it these days?”
“Yep, neighborly. Last time, I remember you being very neighborly. Care to go another round, Harper?” My cock weeps yes.
A blush sweeps up her neck and stains her cheeks. I love getting her all riled up and flustered. “No,” she stammers, her eyes wide. “I’m working.”
“Pity,” I concede.
Just as I’m about to come up with some way to get her to move from behind the counter so I can access her keys, the shop door opens and a delivery man walks in. “Hey, Harper, sorry I’m late today. Big deliveries to the bookstore and a mix-up at the warehouse. I’ve been behind all day.”
“No worries, Alan,” she says, heading to meet the friendly man in the brown uniform. As she rounds the corner, she glares my way. “Don’t touch anything.”
Holding up my hands, I quick reply, “I wouldn’t dare.”
Yeah, she doesn’t believe me. With another eye roll, she heads to the front door to sign for her package and I slip behind the counter and grab her keys. It only takes me a second to double click the unlock button and another second to set the keys back in her purse, but I know my time is up. She’s signing her name and will turn around before I can return to my side of the counter. So, I reach for the laptop and click a few keys, verifying her backup is updating properly.
“What are you doing?” she practically growls when she turns and starts to head my way.
“Just making sure everything is running properly. Sometimes, with new systems, you have to make minor tweaks to your programs,” I answer with a casual shrug.
She meets me around the counter and hip-checks me out of the way. “Like you tweaked my music player to blast that God-awful song?” she asks, moving the mouse and looking over her laptop screen.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Her familiar scent wraps around me, making my cock painfully hard. I shove my hands into my jean pockets to keep from reaching for her. She’s a nanosecond away from being thrown over my shoulder and hauled off to the nearest mattress, and she doesn’t even know it.
Knowing time is running short to accomplish my task, I turn and head toward the door. “Well, it’s been great, Harper, but I must be going.”
She watches me, her eyes full of skepticism and annoyance, and doesn’t say anything as I head out the door, whistling Tammy Wynette. I can practically feel the steam rolling from her ears as I push the door and head out into the late afternoon July sun.
She’s going to hate this…
Chapter Seventeen
Harper
I watch him go. Partially because he looks amazing in worn jeans that hang dangerously low on his trim hips, but also because I don’t trust him. No way in hell did he just come over to say hi. Or be neighborly, as he suggested. Glancing around, I check to see if anything is out of place. I spy the laptop and note the back-up program he was looking at still open, but nothing seems disrupted.
Besides, he’s not stupid enough to mess with me right before my eyes.
Right?
Sighing loudly, I push Latham’s visit out of my mind and start to shut down the store. As soon as I head to the front door to lock it, it pushes open, a frazzled Adrian Harkins flying inside. “I need help!”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, glancing over her petite shoulder to see if someone is following her.
“Mac is coming home in a few hours, and I know you’re closing, but I need
something that says ‘You’ve been overseas for five months, and I’ve really missed you. Let’s have a baby.’ Do you have anything that says that?” she asks, her blue eyes wide with excitement and hope.
“I have plenty that says that,” I tell her honestly, locking the door and escorting her toward my bridal section. “Are you looking for classic and sexy or dangerous and sultry?”
“Dangerous. Definitely dangerous. I haven’t seen him in over five months, and his plane lands at eight tonight. I want to be naked by eight oh five.”
“Well, then let’s get you ready to greet your husband, though you may want to wait to get naked until you’re home. I’m sure all of the other soldiers and spouses would appreciate it,” I tell her with a laugh, leading her through the store to the more risqué section.
She spends a few minutes browsing the selection, but when her eyes land on the black bustier and thong set, I know she’s sold. “That will look amazing with your tanned skin.”
“You think?” she asks, holding up the bustier and glancing in the mirror.
Leaning in, I whisper, “You’ll have him panting like a dog and making a baby in no time.”
Her eyes twinkle with glee. “I want this one.”
I dig in the small stack for her size, guesstimating her at a thirty-four C. “Let’s try this on real quick,” I say, grabbing a medium panty and escorting her to the changing room. Adrian checks her watch, her eyes frantic with nerves, and dips into the curtained room. “What about stockings? You’re wearing a skirt. Those will be a delightful treat,” I holler through the curtain, sorting through the black nylons and finding her size.
“Do you think?” she asks, the sound of zipper teeth sliding and clothes dropping filling the room.
“Definitely. Let me know when you’re ready to be snapped in back.” With nylons and a garter belt in hand, I meet her at the curtain and wait for my cue.
“Ready.”
I slip inside and help fasten the tiny black snaps. I give her privacy and avoid looking in the mirror, but notice the way the black material hugs her torso beautifully. It’s a perfect fit. “Here, put these on too,” I tell her, handing off the garter and nylons.