by Mia Dymond
A red-faced Travis balled his fists, lunged at the bathroom door, and then stopped in mid-lunge. Casey’s mouth fell open when an arm shot from inside the darkened hallway and drug Travis from view.
Oh. Hell. What the devil had gotten into these women tonight?
Casey looked back at Annessa, still unsteady but remarkably alert. He sighed and pulled his handcuffs from the small of his back.
Her eyes narrowed until they almost closed. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would.” Casey snapped one cuff around her left wrist and the other to his right.
“I’m still not leaving.”
“Have it your way.” Well acquainted with her stubbornness, he snaked his arms around her waist and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold, pausing only a second to move his weapon to his side. Sweat coated his palms at the touch of her delectable heart-shaped ass just beneath his touch and immediately a whole different kind of punishment crossed his mind. It would only take seconds to squeeze the firm globes, turn his head slightly to the left and plant a love bite in the middle of her smooth cheek. A surprise attack of that caliber would go much further than a simple spanking.
“Put me down!”
His back muscles tensed as she beat them with her free hand but he ignored her assault and walked to the exit, somewhat concerned about his best friend’s wellbeing.
“I need quarters.”
Annessa’s fists stilled as he ripped his thoughts back to his prisoner. “No more shots, angel.”
She gave a soft laugh. “No, silly.”
His skin tingled when her fingers began to knead the tortured back muscles, lower and lower until her hand rested on his ass. For half a second in his sick, lust-cluttered mind, taking her home moved to number two on his to-do list. Taking her on the bar moved to number one.
He almost laughed out loud, not because that wasn’t possible – oh, it was possible. And, in his current state of arousal, it would only take seconds to do the deed. However, when he finally buried himself inside her sweet little body, it would not be in a public place and it would take hours – or days – to satisfy his cravings.
He froze when she squeezed tight. “I could probably bounce them off you.”
“Not tonight, Ness.” He glanced at the empty hallway again while he hoped to hell Annessa would pass out soon. From exhaustion or alcohol, he didn’t care. How in the name of God could he explain to Travis why his sister had her fingers squeezed around the muscles of his ass?
Luckily or not, Travis was still MIA and Annessa finally fell limp against him. Guilty, angry and relieved all at the same time, Casey stomped to the exit and tossed the bouncer an angry snarl as he shifted Annessa on his shoulder.
“Call the Sheriff’s Department,” he growled as he headed outside and stomped across the parking lot. He inhaled a deep breath of warm, night air as he opened the truck door, placed her onto the seat, and then dug the handcuff key from his pocket.
“Love you, Casey.”
Her sleepy, alcohol-induced confession made him grin. She’d put up a good fight but as usual, she’d underestimated just how much she needed him. Not to mention how he’d pretty much do anything to prove his point. He released her metal restraint and pushed her to one side. Without resistance, she fell over and lay against the cool leather, out cold.
***
Travis breathed a sigh of relief when his hands hit the nearest wall, preventing him from falling flat on his ass, still not quite sure why he stumbled in the first place.
“You can’t go in there.”
At the sound of a sultry, soft-spoken voice, he glanced down between his arms and noticed he now caged an all-too-familiar beautiful creature. A waterfall of long, black hair framed the fair-skinned beauty with sleepy, glazed eyes.
“Verity? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Vanessa’s getting married.”
He lifted one hand and ran it through his hair, grinning at the hiccup and giggle that followed her response. “How much have you had to drink?”
She dismissed him with a wild wave of one dainty little hand. “Not much.”
He snickered at the next hiccup that left her mouth and ran his knuckles down the side of one smooth, porcelain cheek. “I think you’re mistaken.”
A soft sigh left her plump, pouty lips as she rested her head back against the wall and blinked several times in rapid succession as if she could clear the haze from her incredibly sexy midnight blue eyes. Eyes so blue they were almost black in the heat of passion.
“In fact,” he said as he lowered his head, “I’d say you’re pretty drunk, Doc.”
Before he could stop himself, Travis pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes widened and he prepared for a struggle. Instead, she draped both arms around his neck and split his lips with her tongue.
His cock hardened when a breathy moan left her throat and her full breasts caressed the surface of his chest. Out of desperate need, he moved his hands from the wall and slid them beneath her shirt to palm each one, plucking her peaked nipples with a thumb.
“Travis, please.”
Her whispered plea traveled the length of his dick as she thrust her breasts further into his touch. Suddenly, logic and promises evaporated into thin air. He smashed his hips against hers, aligning his greedy cock with what he knew to be a warm, wet treasure. Another whimper vibrated his lower lip and then she ground against him. Up and down, then side to side with some sort of cock-strangling hip roll thrown in.
Sonuvafreakinbitch.
His scalp tingled as her hands left her neck and tunneled in his hair, her fingers winding in the strands, pulling and squeezing with each lazy roll of her hips. Ah, damn, if he could find the strength to release her breasts, it would only take seconds to lower his zipper. And only a few more milliseconds to cram himself between her legs and take them both to Heaven.
Or hell.
His dick screamed in agony while he groaned out loud and gently separated their lips. “Verity baby, this is dangerous.”
“Don’t care.” Her hands left his neck to cup the bulge in his jeans.
“You will tomorrow.” With his dick now cursing, he moved her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the palm.
“Fine,” she mumbled.
He straightened her top and motioned with his head at the ladies room door. “Is Van the only one in there?”
She nodded and swayed to the left.
“Whoa.” He grasped her elbow and lowered her to the floor. “Sit right here.”
“That’s the ladies room.”
“Yeah, so?”
She placed both palms against the floor and attempted to move her legs underneath her to stand. “So, I’m a girl. I’ll go.”
Travis snickered. Girl? No, Dr. Verity Thomas might be female, but she was no girl. She was a full-blown, swallow-your-tongue incredibly beautiful woman. The one woman whose brilliant mind, as well as her amazingly sexy body, held his divine interest. And the one woman who insisted they keep their association quiet.
He gave her shoulders a gentle push until her sweet little ass kissed the floor. “Then I’d have to carry you both out. Just make sure no one comes inside behind me.”
“Oh please.” She rolled her head to one side and snorted. He bit the side of his cheek to keep from grinning at the obvious alcoholic-induced noise. “I’m a doctor. I know how much I can drink before my body is affected.”
He squatted in front of her and took her chin in his hand. “Sweetheart, you might be the doctor, but take it from me, your body is definitely affected. And if you’ll tilt your eyes downward, you’ll see just how affected mine is at the thought of you losing control.”
Her gaze dropped to his pulsing hard-on, which only made matters worse. One look into her eyes told him she wanted it buried as deeply inside her as he wanted. Hell, he was sorely tempted to leave his sister in the bathroom and nail Verity right there in front. And, in his current state of mind it was a perfectly logical solution. Vanessa would nev
er escape and he could test Verity’s theory of how much alcohol she could really handle.
Except, she’d never forgive him for breaking his promise.
A soft sigh left her lips as she moved her gaze back to his. “Travis,” she murmured, “take me home.”
CHAPTER TWO
Annessa sat straight up in bed, a move that she immediately regretted when the room spun around her and several million hammers pounded the nerves in her skull. She moaned and eased back on the pillow with the covers over her head. Why on earth did she drink so much?
And how did she get home?
She opened her eyes and snuck a peek at her body. Pink bra and panties. Man’s white, cotton, button-down shirt …
Oh. No.
Fragments of last night’s events scurried around her fuzzy brain. A fifth shot of tequila. Dancing on the stage. Peeling off her clothing. Casey. Handcuffs.
Annessa moaned again.
“Long night?”
Doom made those stupid hammers pound harder when Casey’s smooth husky tone crept through the covers. Annessa squeezed her eyes closed and swallowed a wave of nausea just before the sheet left her face. She forced her eyes open to find him perched on the side of her bed wearing his trademark woman-eater grin, bare chested, his shoulder-length black hair damp and wavy. The strong aroma of coffee seeping from the mug he held was the only thing that saved his fine ass from hitting the floor.
“What are you doing here?”
“I brought you home.”
Her gaze chased a lone water droplet as it fell from the end of his hair to the top of one shoulder then down his chest until it disappeared, absorbed by the waistband of his jeans. Panic crept up her spine when she noticed the loosened top button of his pants. Very slowly she moved her head to study the pillow next to hers.
“I slept in my old room.”
Oddly, she didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed by his confession. “Why?”
“Because I’m a nice guy, Annessa.”
She rolled her eyes. “So you say.”
He smirked and gestured at the mug with his head. “You want this?”
She sat up, stacked the pillows behind her, then reached forward to accept the warm remedy. She almost screamed when he moved the cup out of her touch.
“Not so fast.”
She frowned. “Casey, my head is about to spin off my shoulders and I feel like somebody ran over me. Please give me the mug.”
“For a kiss.”
Annessa paused, sorely tempted to knock the cup from his hands, crawl on top of his muscled body, and kiss him breathless. Probably the best hangover cure in the world.
“No,” she answered instead.
He raised an eyebrow. “Sure about that?”
Sure? No she wasn’t sure. Truth be told, she couldn’t really trust her line of thinking around him. Aggravated with both him and herself, she threw the covers from her body and stood in a huff – or tried to anyway. Unfortunately, her legs refused to cooperate and she was forced to grab his shoulder for support.
He shook his head, grasped her waist with his free hand, and eased her to sit on the edge of the bed. “How much did you drink last night?”
She managed to lift one corner of her mouth. Half a smile would just have to do. “A lot.”
He handed her the mug and she almost purred when the stiff coffee coated her taste buds.
“Why?” he asked.
She kept her lips pressed to the rim of the mug in an effort to stall. The answer was very simple, really. She needed to hide, desperate times called for desperate measures, and in her case that required major encouragement. However, that wasn’t any of Casey’s business.
Annessa swallowed a mouthful of coffee. “It was ladies night out. We were celebrating Vanessa’s engagement.”
“Yeah, from my viewpoint, you were having a pretty good time.”
She squinted one eye and tilted her head to one side. “Just what exactly did you see?”
True to his nature, he didn’t hold back. “In your exact words, a lot.” Same old Casey.
“Oh well.” She gave a resigned sigh as if the thought of him seeing her naked didn’t bother her in the least. “Nothing you haven’t seen before.”
She could’ve sworn she heard liar in his low chuckle and her already-touchy stomach fluttered as he tilted her chin with one finger. “Believe me Annessa, I definitely saw things I’ve never seen before.”
“Not my fault,” she mumbled.
“Do you remember anything about last night?”
Annessa groaned. “Not after I asked Blake for another shot of tequila.”
Casey raised one eyebrow. “I told you to say away from that stuff.”
“Exactly.” Mentally she planted her fingers in her ears and stuck her tongue out at him. Very rarely did she do anything he suggested, mostly to spite him.
“You said some pretty interesting things.”
Annessa tried hard not to appear desperate to hear how big a fool she made of herself. “How so?”
“You asked me for a roll of quarters.”
She frowned and nodded. “For the shots.”
“No.” He chuckled again. “To bounce off my ass.”
Although not entirely sure she actually voiced that particular desire, she knew one hundred percent she thought it. Still, she wouldn’t admit anything. “You wish.”
“I could find a witness.”
“Fine. I believe you. What else?”
“You think my tattoo is sexy.”
Her mouth watered. The intricate black Celtic band wrapped his muscled left biceps like a rubber band. Inked against his tanned skin, the design drew attention to the power of his arms, a power she knew to be both suffocating and arousing. Sexy did not begin to describe it.
She licked her lips. “I vaguely remember handcuffs.”
Casey shrugged. “Public intox, indecent exposure, assault on a peace officer.”
“Yet I’m in my bed. Half naked, but in my bed.”
“Protect and serve that’s my motto.”
His additional shrug and smooth, sexy smile caused Annessa to bite the side of her cheek. “Anything else?”
“You told me you loved me.”
For about two milliseconds, she contemplated blaming her words on the alcohol. If she’d been as far gone as he claimed, he might actually buy it. Except when she stole a glance into Casey’s brown eyes, the sparkle there blew her fib into a million pieces. Besides, she knew for a fact those piercing eyes were equipped with x-ray vision.
Of course he knew the truth behind her confession. She’d loved him over half her life.
After the sudden death of their parents, Travis had been left at the age of eighteen to raise his twin sisters, twelve years old, spoiled rotten, and on the verge of womanhood. And even after enlisting in the Army, Casey didn’t hesitate to step in and assume the role of surrogate brother. Love him? With every fiber of her being.
“I do love you, Casey. You’re part of my family.”
He loosened her fingers from the coffee cup and set it on the table beside the bed. “I think you and I both know there’s a whole different kind of love between us.”
“In your dreams.”
She prepared for another battle and seriously considered surrendering. Her head just wasn’t in it. Literally.
“Tell me something, Annessa.”
“What now?” she mumbled.
“When did you add my name to your tattoo?”
She swallowed hard. He really did see something new last night. She swallowed again and then hoped for the best as her lie slid off her tongue. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
In two seconds flat, he lifted her makeshift gown up and over her hip. The scripted, black letters still graced the surface of her skin. C-A-S-E-Y still spelled love, no matter how hard she tried to deny it.
“Care to change your answer?”
She batted cobwebs from her brain and pressed
herself to come up with something to distract him. Unfortunately, alcohol and her roaring hangover prevented her denial. Fine.
“When I learned to shoot tequila.”
Another cocky smirk. “You don’t listen very well, do you?”
She moved her hands to cradle her aching head. “Apparently not.”
He stood and instantly she missed his warmth. She had half a mind to yank him back down beside her, curl up against his mountain of chest muscles, and sleep the day away. Then again, maybe the tequila was still toying with her brain.
He tipped her chin with one finger. “I’ve got to go to work. I’ll check on you later.”
She watched him walk toward the doorway, totally mesmerized by the muscles rippling in his back as he moved. Then, as if he felt her stare, he turned and gave her a look of pure male appreciation.
“By the way, Ness, you’re in every single one of my dreams.”
Annessa groaned and threw herself back against the pillows after Casey pulled the door closed. This was so not the way she anticipated her return. He wasn’t supposed to play hero, not this time.
She moved her slightly dizzy gaze around the pale yellow walls, meant to soothe her nerves. At least the house provided some small comfort, even if Casey had her nerves in tatters. In her very-carefully planned strategy, she flew into town under the radar, walked the aisle as Vanessa’s maid of honor, and then spent another couple weeks hiding out. Damn that tequila. Naturally he had come to her rescue and she wondered if her traitor of a subconscious hadn’t maneuvered the whole thing.
She lifted the collar of Casey’s shirt to her nose and inhaled a deep breath. God, she missed him. Wild. Musky. Carefree. Many times in the past she had burrowed into the depths of his embrace, comforted by the familiar scent. Did he taste as good? What she wouldn’t give to press her lips to the hollow of his neck and suckle the skin there. Mark him with her own tattoo. Her thighs tightened.
Stop, Annessa.
She’d buried those feelings six feet under years ago.
With a low groan, she rolled her head to the side and glanced at the clock. Eleven thirty. Vanessa expected her to meet for lunch in thirty minutes. Her stomach turned over. Maybe just a glass of Gingerale.