by Lara Norman
Lara Norman
Johnnie And June
(Carter’s Bar, Book Two)
First published by LPN Publishing 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Lara Norman
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
First edition
This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy
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I would like to thank my readers for helping me keep my dream alive. A year ago, I published the first in this series, and I couldn’t have done it without you.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Lara Norman
Chapter One
Milo was a lucky man, and he knew it. When Lillie King hired him to work at her bar, he’d known nothing but the life of a gang member. The Bandidos weren’t as bad as they could have been, being in such a small town, but they were petty criminals. Lillie had seen something in him, and she and her mom had befriended him. They’d given him a new start in life, and he would never take it for granted.
When he’d come up with the idea of a bartending school, he didn’t really think Lillie would go for it. He didn’t know as much as she did, and the idea was to give her more time to spend with her family. He decided to watch videos online of all the neat tricks and different kinds of mixed drinks he could learn to make and then pass the knowledge on to others. With Lillie’s blessing, he’d waited an entire year after pitching the idea to start advertising. He’d used his own money to put ads in the local paper and surrounding areas. He created social media accounts for Carter’s Bar and then talked about the upcoming bartending school until he got a few interested people. He wasn’t charging a whole lot—he barely felt he knew what he was doing, after all—but with three people signed up, he decided to go ahead with it.
Which led him to the point he was at now. Frustrated, losing his patience, and about to call the whole thing off.
Milo was aware that he was a quick learner, so he’d factored in extra time for the others. They practiced at the bar during the morning so they’d be alone, but they were making a giant mess. He’d already resolved that they’d have to clean up after themselves; there was only so much he was willing to do.
“No, Cooper, like this.” Milo tried his best to speak in a measured tone and not lose his cool.
“Oh, I’m holding the bottle wrong.”
Cooper tried it again and Milo finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, that’s the way.”
They were going to learn to throw and catch bottles if it killed him. It looked good behind the bar, and the ladies that used to run it weren’t around as much anymore. Milo knew they needed a way to draw in out-of-towners to keep them successful.
“Okay, Nora, you’re next.”
She was better than the other two at pouring and mixing, but her reflexes made it nearly impossible to catch what she threw.
He groaned as another bottle hit the floor. “I think we’re going to call it a day. Clean up and be here before we open.”
He grabbed his leather jacket off the hook by the door and strode out to his bike. It was the only thing he’d really kept from the old part of himself, and it relaxed him to fly down the backroads of the tiny town he lived in. Abbott, Texas was not much more than a dot on a map to anyone that didn’t live there. To Milo, it was home.
He spent a few hours out on the bike before going home to shower and eat. By the time he made it back to the bar, he’d regained his composure and a generous store of patience.
They had a good night; Cooper, Nora, and Ryder were getting better at bartending. The showmanship would come in time. He focused on backing them up and keeping the customers happy if they got bogged down.
So he could be forgiven if he didn’t notice the gorgeous woman nursing a draft right away. He noticed her in plenty of time, after all. He headed over to her booth to see if he could get her a fresh pint.
“Hi, there. Can I get you a refill?” It felt like a line as soon as it was out of his mouth.
She looked down at her mostly full glass. “I’ve got plenty, thanks.”
Milo almost shifted his feet like a schoolboy. “You be sure to let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Sure,” she responded, but she wasn’t looking at him.
Resigned, he went back behind the bar. The woman was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Full lips, square jaw, and dark hair that glowed red from the bar lights. One thing Milo had learned since he began working at the bar a few years ago was that the ones sitting alone barely drinking were working through their problems.
When it came time for last call, she hadn’t moved from her spot. Milo and the others cleaned up behind the bar, cashed out the last customers, and finally, he had no choice but to go over to her again.
“Hey, sorry, it’s time for us to close.”
Instead of responding, she reached in her pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. She dropped it on the table and rose.
Milo watched in helpless fascination as she walked out of the bar. Nothing you can do, he reminded himself.
He sent Nora, Cooper, and Ryder home while he counted down the drawer from the register and settled the tabs for the night. When he was satisfied that everything was clean and put back to order, he stepped out the back door and locked it up behind him.
“I have a room at the B&B,” a voice said from behind him.
He whirled, his heart in his throat. Not because he was afraid that somebody was there to rob him, but because he recognized what she was asking of him.
“I live in town,” he countered.
“Too personal. You coming, or what?”
Or what? What would happen if he went with her? He’d been with exactly two women in his lifetime, and both of them were the house mouse type from the MC.
Her brow was raised in expectation, her face shadowed by the lone light that shined behind her. He felt an inexplicable pull toward her.
“I’m not waiting all night. Yes or no?”
“Yes,” he found himself saying.
She turned and walked off; he left his motorcycle behind the bar and followed a few paces behind. He didn’t know why he thought any of this was a good idea.
She had a long stride that ate up the asphalt in western boots. Her legs were encased in jeans and she, too, wore a leather jacket. It was spring, so the nights were cool while the days were nearly stifling.
She walked up to the front entrance of the B&B and used a key to get in. Milo had never had a reason to be in the one and only hotel in Abbott, but he found it to be cozy, if not a little outdated.
She waited until he’d come in behind her before locking the door and leaving the key in a dish on the hall table. He went along behind her as she climbed the stairs, his breathing quickening at what was to come.
She let him into her room and stripped off her jacket, throwing it ove
r the slat-backed chair pushed up to a desk. “Drink?”
He nodded, watching her pull a handful of liquor bottles from one of the dresser drawers. At his wide eyes, she explained.
“I couldn’t decide what I wanted. I have tequila, rum, and whisky.”
“What kind of whisky?”
She looked at the bottle in her hand. “Johnnie Walker Red.”
He grinned. “My favorite.”
She hummed while she pulled two plastic glasses from a sleeve. “Can I call you Johnnie, then?”
He mulled that over. It seemed she didn’t want to use real names. “Okay. What am I going to call you?”
She stood in front of him and handed over the cup. “I have an affinity for old country music.”
He frowned. “You want me to call you Dolly?”
She chuckled and took a sip. “No, June.”
He racked his brain for a singer named June, then it dawned on him. “Ah, because I’m Johnnie, so you’re June.”
She shrugged. “Why not?”
Yeah, why not? He was already doing new things with his life. “What made you want to come to a nonexistent town like this?”
Instead of an answer, she tipped his glass toward his mouth. Obliging her, he drank when she did.
“I don’t want any questions. No talking at all, actually.”
He pondered that. He wasn’t terrible in bed; at least, not that he knew. “So if I want to say dirty things in your ear . . .”
She tossed her empty cup in the direction of the trash can. “That kind of talking is welcomed.”
He nodded and drained his cup to join her. They stood at the foot of the bed which was canopied and floral. June pushed his jacket off his shoulders and let it drop. Deciding it was now or never, he yanked his shirt over his head and toed off his shoes. She didn’t seem to want to waste any time and pulled her shirt off to toss it on the floor. Even with her purple lacy bra staring him in the face, he could only concentrate on the way her mouth looked as she pursed her lips.
June reached for his pants and unbuckled them. Milo thought about the likelihood that he would embarrass himself by blowing too soon, but then she touched his abdomen and he forgot all about it.
June lowered his pants to his hips and bit her lip. “Do you happen to have a condom?”
He didn’t even want to admit that he carried a few in his wallet as if he thought he might get to have spontaneous sex in this dinky town. What had seemed like wishful thinking was about to pay off.
“Yes.”
He reached into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet and the three condoms he kept tucked inside. With a grin, June peeled off her jeans and boots and climbed onto the bed.
“Why don’t you come join me?”
Because he wasn’t about to argue with a mostly naked hot girl, he discarded his pants and joined her. He dropped the condoms on the bed between them.
“Three, huh?” Her eyes glowed blue fire in the light of the lamp.
He hadn’t thought of the total number having any significance. “It’s just what I have on hand.”
“Well, I say we make good use of what you have on hand, Johnnie.”
Wasting no more time, she grabbed the back of his head and brought his mouth to hers. The burn of whisky left on her lips caused a groan to work its way up his throat. He wanted her, that much was true. He would also bet there was more to her than what she was showing him.
She arched her back when he trailed his fingers down to cup her breast. He wanted to take off her bra, but despite the fact she was willingly engaging in sex with him, he didn’t think he had the right to be so bold.
June didn’t appear to have any such qualms. She raised up to straddle him and unclasped her bra while grinding her hips over his erection.
“Oh God.” He was pretty sure he’d actually been robbed at gunpoint and died. That was the only logical explanation for what was happening.
With her hands up in her hair, June rotated her hips and showcased her breasts. All he wanted was a handful of them, so he took. They were exactly the right size for his palms, her nipples were tight, and he discovered she made the sexiest sounds when he rolled them between his fingers.
She leaned down to kiss him and her hair fell around his face. She smelled sweet and tasted even better. She bit his lip and he moaned, lifting his hips to brush his cock over her panties. He wanted to press inside her, to have her slide down over him and make him see stars.
“June.”
“Yes, Johnnie?”
“We’re not naked.”
“Hmm. That does seem to be a problem.”
She lifted off him and shimmied her panties down her hips. Milo quickly took off his own underwear and watched June. She threw her leg back over him, and he caught sight of her pussy, bare and glistening.
She sat on his thighs and reached for one of the condoms. He stared at her hands as she unrolled it over his hardened cock, and his muscles quivered. He wasn’t used to being so intimate with someone and wasn’t sure what he should and shouldn’t do. There were things he liked that he never ventured into, and he sometimes thought he never would. His previous encounters had been drunken and over almost before they began. He wasn’t that man anymore, though.
So he let her lead, let her come back into position and lower down over him. She took him inside her body and he felt it like a gift as she eased down very slowly. He held his breath.
“Damn, Johnnie, your physique hides what’s in your pants. Even when I saw it, I didn’t think it would feel this full.”
She was so tight, so hot, he tried not to come right then. “I aim to please,” he pushed out between teeth clamped together.
“It’s working.” She rose up and lowered again, taking more of him inside her. She moaned with her eyes closed, her hair falling behind her to brush his thighs.
Milo gripped her hips to thrust in time with her movements. She cried out each time he hit her as deep as he could go, and he felt his balls clench in response.
She reached down and stroked herself. “Fuck, I’m close,” she cried.
Milo saw stars.
“Come with me, come with me,” she chanted.
He had no trouble with granting her wish. He thought maybe he’d blacked out when he came, so complete and thorough was his satisfaction.
“Johnnie,” he heard.
He opened his eyes. “Yeah?”
“When can we do that again?”
“In a minute.”
Instead, he fell asleep with June curled into his side.
Chapter Two
When he woke, he was alone. He looked around the room, noticing it was dark outside the windows. It didn’t feel as though he’d been asleep for an entire night. The bathroom door opened and closed, and June crept back to the bed. She’d apparently been in there with the light off.
She climbed on the four-poster bed and rested her head on her pillow. Johnnie kept his eyes closed and let her settle before he took a peek. One hand was curled under her cheek and the other grasped the sheet to her chin. He only watched her for a second before drifting back to sleep.
Milo woke some time later when soft sounds of distress caught his attention. He sat up and placed a hand on June’s arm.
She bolted up, eyes wide and terrified in the scant moonlight.
He held his hands up. “It’s just me. Johnnie, remember?”
June shoved her hair out of her face with a trembling hand. “Nightmare.”
“I figured.” He rubbed her chilled arms. “You okay?”
She nodded, but she didn’t look okay. She laid back down and curled into his side. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He couldn’t know what her dream had been about, but it must have spooked her. She clung to him in her sleep until the first light of dawn crept in the windows. Then she angled her head, found a spot on his shoulder with her tongue, and began a path of wet kisses. Milo stirred, blinking, and found June rising up over
him.
In the space between sleep and wakefulness, he wanted to never forget the way she looked. Her eyelids were heavy with sleep, her hair in a tangled mass around her shoulders. She had a quality about her that said she was stronger than she knew, yet fragile in the presence of her demons.
She leaned over to the bedside table to get one of the two remaining condoms and moved down Milo’s body to slip it on. He needed very little in the way of encouragement; after all, he’d woken up to a siren singing him her song.
There was nothing said between them, merely her body and his. She may have initiated the encounter, but he soon rolled her over and showed her what he wanted. He pressed her legs up and draped her knees over his shoulders as he drove deep inside her. She grew restless, tossing her head as she cried out his nickname. He needed more, so much more, but gave her what she needed instead. Strong and fast, he took her up over the peak and let her fall. It took mere moments for him to follow, panting in her ear and then rolling to rest at her side.
“Good morning,” he mumbled.
“Yes, it is a good morning.”
He didn’t move at first, but he felt her staring at him. He cracked open one eye. “What is it?”
She looked away.
“Time for me to go, huh?” There was no bitterness in his tone. She’d given him a hell of a night and then more the next morning. He was grateful.
He levered himself up and went into the bathroom with his clothes. He got a quick shower and walked back out fully dressed.
She was standing in front of one of the windows. “Thank you.”
“Sugar, it’s you I should be thanking.”
“Then you’re welcome.”
He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “I’ll see you around.”
He knew as he said it that it wasn’t true. He headed down the stairs, thankful to not run into anybody. He still had to walk back to the bar to retrieve his bike.
Milo didn’t see anyone until he was halfway home, for which he was grateful. He waved at the gray-haired man walking his dog in his robe and kept going, parking behind the little house he rented. There wasn’t much real estate in Abbott, but he’d managed to find a place on the edge of town and was happy enough in it.