A Cautious Heart (The Heart's Temptation Series Book 1)

by Genevieve Matthews

  It is busy with a lot of people standing behind us waiting to get in. I don’t want to hold everything up so I simply say, “Okay.”

  He gives my arm a gentle squeeze where he is holding onto me and then lets go.

  “He’s sexy as hell,” Cate whispers in my ear as we walk toward the bar. That just makes me giggle. No kidding.

  We walk to the bar and I introduce Cate to Abbey. She supplies us with drinks and we squeeze through the crowd to find a table. Quinn is also working behind the bar but it is so busy I’ll have to finish introductions later.

  “This is a nice bar!” Cate shouts above the music. “You must make decent money, it’s packed!”

  “Yeah. It is generally packed on the weekends, weekdays are hit and miss.”

  We both scan the crowd. It is heavy with men tonight and I feel like Cate and I are being analyzed like we are on a serving platter.

  “I think you can certainly have your pick tonight.” Cate continues to search through the sea of people. “There are two cuties standing off to the side of the bar. Why don’t we put your out-of-date flirting skills to the test?” She is already smiling and waving at the two guys by the bar. They immediately start to walk over. “Besides,” she leans in closer, “a little jealousy never hurt anyone.” She winks at me and nods her head toward the front door where Heath is still checking IDs.

  “Hey, I’m Andy.” A cute blond guy stands by our table and holds out his hand.

  “And I’m Rex.” His friend says as he extends his hand. Introductions proceed like a game of ping pong. Andy, Bree. Bree, Rex. Rex, Cate. Cate, Andy. They sit down and Cate immediately begins turning on the charm. She is a very passionate woman. Not to say that I’m not, but I tend to focus on one guy and fixate. She likes to play the field and experience all of the fun that life has to offer.

  “Rex, do you like to dance?” she asks.

  A big smile crosses his face. “Sure.”

  “How about you Bree? Feel like dancing?” Andy asks.

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe in a bit.”

  “Okay, well we can stay here and you can tell me all about yourself.” He moves his chair right next to mine and puts his arm around my shoulder. He’s attractive. The problem is that I’m attracted to a different man. I want to try to take my mind off of him, though. I decide to relax and see where the night will take me. Cate’s right, a little innocent conversation with a handsome guy never hurt anyone.

  “Do you live in town?”

  “Yes. I haven’t been here long, just moved here a few months ago. How about you?” I take a long sip of my drink to help me relax. Andy is slowly rubbing circles with his fingers on my shoulder. I’m not sure if it is supposed to turn me on or make me feel good, but I mostly just find it irritating. I don’t really like being touched by people I don’t know. I focus on not pulling away or moving his hand.

  “No, I don’t live in town. Rex and I are driving through. We were at a business conference this week just north of here. We thought we’d make a few stops on our way home, just to see what some of these smaller towns had to offer.” He smiles and winks.

  Yup, got it.

  He lifts his hand and brushes his fingers through my hair, letting them trail down my neck and brush the top of my breast. “You have the smoothest skin. I would love to go somewhere a little quieter to get to know you better.”

  Well that was fast. I am barely treading water right now. Andy is too close and way too personal. I look around and see Cate still dancing with Rex. She can’t save me right now. When I look to the other side of the bar I see Heath. His body is tense and rigid, eyes locked on me as he makes his way toward me from across the room.

  Heath stalks over and pulls me away from Andy.

  “Excuse us.” He grabs my arm and pulls me up, my chair falling to the ground behind me. He throws me over his shoulder and carries me down the employee only hallway. “We’re going to have that talk now.”

  “Heath, what the hell!? Put me down!”

  We reach the small utility closet and he pushes me inside, closing the door behind us. He is mad, that much is obvious. He paces back and forth in the small space that we share. I have backed all the way up against the shelves.

  “What the hell was that?” He points back out in the general direction of the bar. The look on his face tears at me; it’s obvious he’s been watching things unfold with Andy. He has no way of knowing that I had been mere seconds away from excusing myself and escaping out of the bathroom window. “If you just want a good fuck, I can do that for you,” He says.

  His anger is making him bold. His words feel like a dark promise that I want to accept. He moves toward me, stopping inches from our bodies touching, daring me at the same time to deny him. “Is that what you want, Bree? Are you looking for someone to fuck you? Because if that’s what you want, it’s going to be me, not that pussy out in the bar.”

  Jealousy is a fine line to walk. Brian’s jealousy terrified me. He was like a ticking time bomb, waiting to punish me for making him feel that way. Heath is angry and jealous, but it doesn’t frighten me. I don’t know where my confidence comes from, but I know he would never hurt me. I also know this isn’t the time to bring up the fact that he had been flirting with a woman just the other night.

  I know how to handle a man in a jealous rage. I’m in my element right now. Without a word I wrap my arms around his neck and bring his lips down to mine. His hands instantly go to my hair as his tongue tastes me with a fierceness that lights me on fire. He is not gentle. He is being driven by his emotions, fighting to keep control. Moving my hands to his face I hold him still. With complete tenderness I take his hard and forceful kisses and slow his passion with a lick of my tongue and a soft caress of my lips. I stroke my fingers down his face, making him focus on me.

  “I don’t want to fuck. And I don’t want that guy in the bar,” I whisper. “I want you to show me how you can love me.”

  He stops his rough assault and takes a few deep breaths. Slowly his anger dissipates. The tension leaves his body with my admonition. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulls me close, lifting me onto the shelves behind us. We are so close our bodies are pressed against each other. I can feel his heart beating against my chest. Our lips touch again, softer this time. My fingers stroke through his hair as we deepen the kiss. His arms are wrapped around me so tightly, his big hands rubbing up and down my back as our kisses become frantic and needy once again. Pulling back, his teeth trail down my skin, biting softly, before his tongue is there to soothe it.

  His hands move from around my back to my waist and under my shirt. They are caressing every inch of my skin, the feeling like heaven on my body. I am desperate to know how his hands will feel on the most intimate parts of me. The pads of his fingers lightly brush over my nipples making me arch my back and press the weight of my breasts into his hands. He is touching and teasing my nipples into hard peaks, giving them a soft tug that sends the most delightful sensations shooting through my body. My head rolls back as a moan escapes my lips and I spread my legs so he can be as close as possible.

  I love the feel of his skin. My hands go under his shirt so I can worship every inch of his glorious chest and torso. He is hard and smooth, the best possible combination. Feeling completely wanton, I start to move my hips, rubbing myself against his hard length. A sweet ache starts to build between my legs.

  Unbuttoning my pants, he pushes his hand inside my panties. I lean back, supporting myself on the shelf. I feel his fingers gently spread my pussy, teasing the delicate folds and spreading my arousal all the way up to my most sensitive spot. His fingers are large and rough from working with his hands but the pleasure he gives is certain and sure. He pushes his fingers inside of me while his thumb circles my clit. I am lost in pleasure. Swimming in a vast blue ocean of it. He pulls his fingers out and puts one of them in his mouth.

  “All I’ve been able to think about is how good you would taste ever since I left you in your room t
hat night. I knew how good you’d be and it has been killing me. Baby, you’re so sweet.”

  I feel myself teetering on the edge of an orgasm as his fingers return and continue to rub and circle, slipping first one and then two fingers inside of me, filling me. Holding my hips with one hand his large thumb presses against my clit while his two fingers press inside of me and I feel myself begin to shatter into a million pieces. I cry out as he catches my pleasured moans with his mouth. No one has ever been able to make me come so hard and fast. He knows just how to touch me to make me ache and desperate for release.

  My pleasure is short lived as the door to the storage room slams in and rattles off the wall as someone kicks it in. I jump a foot and grab onto Heath as the sound of the door hitting the wall reverberates around the room. My eyes meet Brian’s and I can instantly see the raging storm circling within him as he bursts into the room.

  My head still aches even though it has been almost two days since I got knocked out. One moment I was completely lost watching Bree come undone in my arms, swelling with pride that my hand is what got her off. The next thing I know, I am waking up in Jack’s truck on the way to the hospital after being knocked out cold. I remember seeing her face transform so quickly from pleasure to fear but before I could do anything about it, everything just stopped and went blank. My head hurt so fucking bad in the truck I couldn’t even think much less try to ask Jack what had happened. I said one word in the truck on the way to the hospital.

  Bree.

  Jack understood it to be the question I wanted to ask. Was she okay? The only thing I cared about at that moment. He told me she was fine and I expected to see her at some point later that night. I didn’t. I called, she didn’t answer. I texted. Nothing. Jack drove me home the next day and told me to give her time. I didn’t understand what the hell she needed time for. Wasn’t I the one that spent the night in the hospital? Because of her ex-boyfriend?

  The conversation that I had with the police officer the next day just made my temper flare. He kept asking me what the guy looked like that hit me and I had to continuously repeat myself that I didn’t see the asshole that hit me because, like a limp dick bastard, he hit me from behind with my guard down.

  That part of the conversation was irritating, but what really got me was when he told me that my “girlfriend” told him it was her ex-boyfriend that assaulted me. Keeping my temper in check, I had to explain to him that she isn’t my girlfriend, but she would know if it was her ex. Besides, a girlfriend would check up on you in the hospital to make sure you were okay. I should have known better than to expect anything different from her. I don’t know why I thought she would be different. It just makes me pissed at myself for letting down my guard and letting my emotions take over.

  He ended the conversation by asking if I wanted to press charges. I really had to think about that. Maybe I should just let it go because then if I ever saw him again, I’d just pay him back for the crack to my skull and concussion that left me with this God awful headache all the damn time.

  Jack refuses to let me work until my headaches go away. So, I am spending another day lying on the couch watching bad TV when there is a knock on the door. Pulling the door open, Quinn walks right in holding up a bag of food in one hand and a six pack of beer in the other.

  “Chinese food man, I hope you’re hungry!” He says.

  “Come on in,” I say sarcastically as he walks past me into the living room, sitting himself on the couch. After pushing all of the shit off of my coffee table and spreading out the food, he slaps the spot next to him on the couch. “Sit down and eat,” He says. “The game’s on, man, why aren’t you watching it? What the hell is this?”

  “It’s one of those shows where people do really stupid shit and record themselves. It’s cheering me up.”

  Accepting the fact that I now have company, I sit down next to Quinn and grab a beer. Without asking he grabs the remote and begins flicking through the channels looking for the game. I can’t help but roll my eyes. Most of the time I just prefer to be left alone. Except when it comes to Bree.

  “So how’s your head?”

  “It still hurts.”

  “Man, that was such a crazy night!” he says as he cracks open a beer and turns to look at me. “I was working my ass off behind the bar. Next thing I know, Bree’s friend Cate is frantic…looking all over for her. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. I just see this big guy start walking in the back, like he owns the place.” He pauses to take a swig of his beer and opens a carton of Chinese food. Once he cracks open the chop sticks and scoops out a mouthful of noodles he continues. “Then I hear this loud bang and I just take off running for the back. I get back there and you’re lying on the floor, out cold. This asshole has Bree up against the shelves, he’s choking her—“

  “What?” That got my attention. All of a sudden I’m sitting up and I need more details. “He was choking her?” At the thought of Bree being hurt I can feel the rage that has been dormant inside of me for so long begin to make itself known again.

  “Yeah, man. He was yelling at her, threatening her. I just reacted, you know. I lunged in there and threw my arm around his neck, pulling him off of her in a choke hold. He was like a fucking wild animal. He bucked and threw me off of him. I was going right back in for round two when I heard the sirens outside. He heard them too and just took off. When I looked back at Bree she had your head in her lap, crying while she ran her hand through your hair.”

  “Jesus. I had no idea. Has she been at work?”

  “No. She hasn’t been in at all. I figured she was out here with you.”

  “Did she go to the hospital too?”

  “No. She wouldn’t go. Told Jack to take you and she went home with Cate. I managed to press a towel to your head to slow the bleeding and we got you into Jack’s truck.”

  I have to just sit and take that in for a minute. While processing Quinn’s words I feel a flash of panic as some of his words register.

  “You said she went home, do you mean home with Cate? Like back to the city?”

  “I don’t know, man.”

  “Damn!” I need more information. Earlier today I was so pissed at her, thinking she had rejected me. I didn’t understand at the time why she wouldn’t follow up with me, make sure I was okay. I had been so close to writing her off. I felt sick inside about it but it seemed inevitable. Now all I want to do is find her and find out what the fuck is going on. And then, the question comes to me that I should have asked from the beginning.

  “Do they have her ex in custody?”

  “No. They can’t find him.”

  Quinn seems so calm through my entire line of questioning. He is half way through his food and now his focus is back on the game. I feel like I am going to jump right out of my skin. There isn’t a chance in hell that I am going to be able to sit still until I can talk to Bree.

  “So you two are dating though, right?” he asks.

  “No we aren’t dating.” I hesitate to say the words out loud. I like to think that our time in the utility closet has changed things between us but everything went wrong so quickly. And there is the fact that I have never asked her out on a date. “It’s complicated.”

  “When aren’t things complicated. I just figured you were. I mean it’s so obvious that you like each other.”

  “It is not obvious.” I know how she makes me feel but I think I do a good job hiding it. I’m not the type of guy to lay all my business out there for everyone to see.

  “Well I tried to get her to notice me for weeks when she first got here. I just gave up when I pulled my head out of my ass and realized that she was always looking at you.” He isn’t mad as he says this, just matter of fact. Like I should have noticed these things as well. “You just need to make a move man.”

  He makes it sound so easy. “Obviously I’ve thought about it. But I did some really stupid shit when I was younger. Once she finds out about it, she’ll be gone.”

 
“You don’t know that.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, I don’t. But if I’m right about it, that kind of woman could break me.”

  “I don’t know much about it, but I think it’s worth taking a chance on a woman that makes you feel that.”

  Maybe Quinn is right. Maybe I need to stop worrying about everything so much and just make a move already. Getting up from the couch, I grab my phone and walk into my bedroom. I sit on the edge of the bed trying to get up the nerve to call her. After two days of not hearing from her, I lose my nerve. So I send her another text.

  Where are you, Bree? I need to see you.

  I guess part of me hopes to see an immediate response. Hopes that she is missing me like I am missing her. I don’t. Maybe it does mean something that I haven’t heard from her when all of this crazy shit has been going on. That could be an obvious dismissal. After hearing what Quinn had to say I feel like I need some answers. Why no one has told me any more of the details about that night is beyond me.

  Bree must have made a statement to the police that night but there is no way someone would just give me that information. I have to talk to someone else that might know more about it. I have to find Jack.

  I walk into the bar an hour later and head right to Jack’s office. I still haven’t heard back from Bree and I am fighting every urge not to just drive over to her place.

  Jack is sitting behind his desk looking at something on his computer. He looks surprised and then annoyed that I am here. “I thought I told you to stay home and rest for awhile. No work until that head of yours has healed.”

  “I don’t plan on working but I need to talk to you.”

  “Okay, shoot.” He leans back in his chair giving me his undivided attention.

  “Tell me about what happened to Bree. I haven’t heard from her and I need to know what’s going on.” I don’t want to sound desperate but I am willing to if that means Jack will open up to me.