Rules of Protection (Tangled in Texas) (Volume 1)

by Alison Bliss

  It’s what I loved about them. Neither pretended to be something they weren’t. They were sexually profound individuals who enjoyed sharing stories of their lively bedroom adventures with me. Even if I didn’t have much to offer on the matter.

  I wasn’t a prude, but compared to the two of them, I may as well have been a nun.

  I pointed out Gina and Dale and, without hesitating, the weasel grasped my elbow and led me across the room, not stopping until we stood before them. They stopped talking the moment we walked up.

  The weasel plopped me into the empty chair. He leaned down, brushing his lips across my ear, and whispered, “The name’s Jake.” Then he smiled and walked away.

  Gina barely waited for him to get away from the table before fanning herself. “Who the hell was that?”

  “That’s Jake,” I said nonchalantly.

  Gina and Dale traded questioning glances and then Dale added, “Hellooo, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Yummy!”

  “Was he the guy who gave you the eyes earlier?” Gina asked.

  I shook my head. “No, that was Sergio. Jake helped me get rid of him.”

  “What’s wrong with Sergio? Ugly?”

  “No, but it’s too bad about his personality. Not really the kind of guy a girl could fall in love with. He’s already in a relationship…with himself.”

  Gina and Dale both laughed.

  “Oh, and he has tiny girl hands,” I said, figuring they would draw the same conclusion I had. Weird, girly hands probably said a lot about the size of his package.

  Gina wore a wicked grin. “If you were a virgin and slept with Sergio, then you’d probably have to sleep with someone else after him just to make it count.”

  Dale and I laughed, but he still looked confused. “So how did Boy Wonder come into the mix?”

  “You mean…uh, Jake?” Damn. I still wanted to call him the weasel. “He pretended to be my boyfriend to deflect Sergio.” I wasn’t going to go into specifics about the flirty encounter in the hallway. I needed something to tell them about later. It was all I had.

  “He can be my boyfriend any time,” Gina said, fanning herself again.

  “He doesn’t look like the type who’d use the ‘take-a-number’ dispenser next to your bed, Gina.” Dale grinned playfully and then motioned to me. “He’s probably available on a first-come, first-served basis, which means our little vixen here has already hired him. I hope it’s for a permanent position.”

  “And what position would that be?” I asked.

  Gina offered a mischievous grin. “Boyfriend, lover, missionary, sixty-nine…”

  “Doggy-style,” Dale added, giggling as he gave Gina a high five.

  “Oh, stop it. He didn’t ask me to go home with him. Besides, even if he had, I wouldn’t have gone.”

  The two of them gave me a “yeah, right” look.

  “Okay, I’d like to think I wouldn’t have,” I amended. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

  Dale smiled. “Honey, when it comes to a man like that, we’re all that kind of girl.” Then he shrugged. “Besides, every girl needs to get laid on her birthday.”

  “Is that some rule I don’t know about?”

  By the time the waitress came over, all three of us were fanning ourselves thinking about Jake. She focused on me, since Gina and Dale both had drinks. “Can I get you anything?”

  “Vodka, straight up.”

  The waitress nodded and squeezed past us toward the bar.

  “Getting worked up?” Gina asked.

  “Of course not. Don’t be silly. I’m just thirsty because it’s hot in here.” I undid a button on my blouse, opened it up, and shook it loosely around my cleavage.

  When I looked up, Jake stood about ten feet away, his gaze lacerating across my chest. If he would’ve stared any harder, he could’ve seared it open and performed open-heart surgery on me. That would’ve been helpful since my heart had stopped beating the moment I spotted him again.

  I shifted nervously in my chair and crossed my legs to keep from fidgeting, unintentionally exposing quite a bit of upper thigh. But it worked to my advantage. The waitress returned with my drink, but before I could pull out my cash, a large hand slid a twenty-dollar bill across the table at her.

  “Keep the change,” Jake said. He leaned over me, his eyes raking across my thighs with intensity. “Dance with me.”

  “I…uh…” His proximity removed all of the air from my lungs.

  “It’s not a request,” Jake said, pulling me from my chair by force.

  I looked to my friends for help, but Gina laughed. “He’s better than a caveman.”

  Dale smiled flirtatiously at Jake from across the table. “Jake, honey, how’s your gaydar?”

  Jake gave a wolfish grin and winked at both of them. “Everything of mine is perfectly intact.”

  Gina and Dale drooled on each other as Jake dragged me toward the dance floor. Some support group they were. They threw me to the big, bad wolf, hoping he’d eat me, just so they could hear about it later.

  Jake pulled me out on the floor and spun me into his arms as a slow song played. Dale and Gina watched us from across the room.

  “You were flirting with my friends.”

  A smile played at the corner of his mouth. “Just giving them some food for thought.”

  “And getting them to take your side?”

  “That, too.”

  “I thought you said I was trouble.”

  He scanned the room, looking everywhere but at me. “Yep, and I was right.”

  “I was minding my own business. You came over to me, remember? Why bother, if I’m so much trouble?”

  “Because I need a favor.”

  That piqued my interest. “Favor?”

  “Same thing I did for you. Put on a show to detour some unwanted attention.”

  “Y-you want me to kiss you?”

  He glanced down toward his groin. “With extreme caution this time.”

  My mind instantly recalled the rock solid bulge in his pants from before, causing a surge of lust to run through me. I breathed out hard. “No.”

  “No? What do you mean ‘no’?”

  “You heard me. No. You do understand what the word means, right? Or maybe you’ve never had a girl tell you that before.”

  “Wait, I helped you. You owe me.”

  “I didn’t ask you to kiss me.”

  “You didn’t exactly decline, either.”

  “I was surprised, that’s all. It won’t happen again.”

  His stare was unnerving as he tightened his grip on my hand. “Like I said, you owe me.”

  Defensively, I yanked my hand from his and narrowed my eyes as the slow song ended. “You can’t force me to do something I don’t want to do.”

  “Oh, you want to. You’re just being difficult.”

  People cheered as a faster song boomed from the large speakers; apparently, it was popular. I turned to leave the dance floor, but he grabbed me from behind, snaking his arms around my waist. His warm breath caressed my neck. My ass practically cradled his groin as he grinded into me to the beat of the music.

  He stroked his large hands along the outside of my thighs, lifting my miniskirt slightly. Then he swiveled his pelvic area back and forth across my ass until my hips were as loose as his. Maybe he was just feeling frisky, but I had to admit the man had moves.

  Gina, Dale, and I had a theory about how a man dances representing their sexual ability. In other words, a guy who can’t catch a beat on the dance floor probably has no rhythm in the bedroom, either. So far, the theory had proven true. At least that’s what Gina and Dale told me. If Jake’s presence on the dance floor was any indication of what he was like in bed, then I’d let him dry fuck me any day of the week.

  Jake spun me around to face him. He pulled me closer, though I didn’t think it was possible without crawling under his skin. His dreamy eyes focused on mine intently, penetrating deep, as if he were probing my most intimate parts. He may as well have ha
d his hand up my skirt. The thought alone made me whimper.

  I should’ve kept walking instead of allowing him to stop me. I don’t know what I was thinking. Well, I know…but I shouldn’t have been thinking it.

  “I won’t ask twice,” he demanded.

  Our faces were almost touching. My gaze traveled between his lips and his eyes, contemplating my decision. From our previous encounter, I knew what a tasty morsel he was, and I was starving for more of his…Oh God! I’m going to hell. Drawing a breath, I did what any self-respecting girl would do. I plastered my face to his and held on tight.

  A low, guttural sound came from deep within his throat as his tongue glided over mine. My fingers locked behind his neck. His hand slid down to my ass, grabbing a handful, and a hot wave of sensation melted me against him.

  My heart hammered against the walls of my chest. I knew nothing involving my heart could be good for either of us—especially since it’s the one organ in my body I didn’t intend to let him near. I tore away from him, stumbling back.

  He looked surprised at first, but then averted his eyes to scope the room. “It worked. I don’t see them anymore.”

  “Them?” I asked angrily. “Jesus, how many women are you trying to detour?”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Sure it isn’t.”

  He glanced over at me. “You’re mad again?”

  “I don’t like being used.”

  “I didn’t use you, at least not how you’re making it sound. You knew what this was.”

  “What’s your point?”

  “You walked into this with your eyes wide open, and now you’re mad because you didn’t like what you saw.”

  My eyes narrowed. “God, why are men such assholes?”

  “Because women are…you know what, never mind. I don’t have time for this. I’ve got better things to do.”

  He walked away before I could protest and left me standing on the dance floor alone. Frustrated, I made my way back to the table where Gina and Dale waited impatiently.

  “Where’s the dreamboat?” Dale asked.

  I gave him a sour look.

  Dale laughed. “What, no love connection?”

  Gina smiled as I picked up my vodka and chugged it. “Damn, girl. He got to you.”

  “Shut up.”

  She laughed, too. “You know if a man buys you a drink and you take it without going home with him, then you’re a tease.”

  “Yeah, but if you go home with him, then you’re a slut.”

  Dale grinned. “She’s got you there, Gina.”

  “I’d rather be a slut than a tease any day. It’s more fun.”

  “Well, I’m not you,” I told Gina. “I’m not going to springboard myself into some guy’s bed because he has a heartbeat and a blood supply that pools below his belt.”

  “Hell, I’m not sure Gina considers the heartbeat mandatory,” Dale said.

  She shook her head. “You two are wrong. I’m very selective when it comes to men.”

  “Are you kidding?” I asked, lifting my brows. “You choose men the same way a child picks out a new puppy; first one who crawls in your lap is yours.”

  Dale broke into hysterics.

  “You guys are jerks,” Gina said to him.

  “It’s a joke,” Dale said, still laughing.

  Gina crossed her arms, fuming mad.

  “Well, I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier,” I said to her. “But tonight, before you picked me up, I shaved my bikini area.”

  Dale and Gina both looked puzzled. “So what?” she asked.

  “I thought I’d try something new and be…um…creative.”

  Dale looked confused. “What did you do?”

  “Is it as bad as the last time?” Gina asked me, grinning.

  “Worse.”

  Gina giggled. “Nothing could be worse than last time.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  Gina completely lost it but pulled herself together long enough to explain the situation to Dale, who was irritated he was out of the loop. “The last time this one tried to get creative…”—she used two fingers on each hand to gesture air quotes—“…she ended up looking like she had mange.”

  They both laughed, but I didn’t care. The three of us always made fun of each other. Dale and Gina were already roommates when I met them, and although they’d been friends longer, I never felt like a third wheel. A few months ago, they’d even asked me to give up my apartment and move into a three-bedroom with them. But I politely declined. Dale had a tendency to walk around naked, and Gina was a complete slob. No way I’d be able to clean up after her with my hands covering my eyes.

  “Don’t look now, but I think your boyfriend is staring again,” Gina said, motioning to the back of the room.

  I turned my head in time to catch a glimpse of Jake sweeping the crowd with his eyes before slipping through the doors leading to the private lounges. “He wasn’t looking at me.”

  “Oh, he was,” Dale said, confirming Gina’s assessment. “Right before you turned to look. Maybe it was an invitation. I bet he wants you to follow him.”

  I shook my head and laughed. “He didn’t even know I saw him.”

  “So what,” Gina said. “It would be fascinating to see what happens between you two when there aren’t a hundred pairs of eyes keeping those clothes of yours intact.”

  My stomach knotted up just thinking about it. “I’m not going to have sex with a random guy in some storage closet.”

  “Honey, I say the same thing every time I’m drinking in a hotel bar,” Dale said with a chuckle. “But I always end up in a room, and I’m never alone.”

  Gina grinned knowingly. “This guy has you scared to death.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Any time something scares you, you unleash the sarcasm,” she responded. “It’s what you do.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

  “See what I mean? Come on, follow him and find out what he’s doing,” Gina said. “He looked like he was hiding from someone.”

  Probably one of the women he tried to shake loose. I hated to admit it, but I was curious. His behavior intrigued me. He had looked around as if someone watched him, though I never saw anybody paying attention…unless you count us, of course.

  “Okay, fine,” I said, getting out of my chair. “I’ll take a quick peek, but I’m not sleeping with him.”

  Dale laughed as I walked away. “Girl, you better watch out for those magicians. Like magic, he could easily make your panties disappear.”

  I pretended not to hear him and kept walking. When I got to the back of the room, I paused and leaned against the wall. What the hell was I doing? If I had any brains left, I’d go back to the table and forget the whole thing, but there was a problem. I couldn’t get Jake out of my head.

  From the first time I saw him, my mind clouded over, as if he shut it down and forced me to do things I wouldn’t normally do. He caused my brain to fog, but I didn’t know how or why. It was as if he put a dunce cap on my head, and I took it literally.

  Now I had a decision: follow him or go back to the table. The smart thing to do was rejoin my friends, but nobody had ever accused me of doing the smart thing.

  I let out a breath and swung through the door. It led to a narrow hallway undergoing some renovations. A ladder, some painting supplies, and a few boxes of new lighting fixtures lined the walls. The corridor was long and quiet with no sign of Jake.

  Most of the fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling were broken or not working. One blinked constantly as if it were getting ready to go out. That alone made the passageway eerily dark, but I followed the length of it anyway.

  When I got to the end, I wasn’t sure what to do. I could go left or right, but had no way of knowing which way Jake had gone. So I used logic. The bulge in his pants had hugged one side more than the other, suggesting he was a righty. Therefore, I ended up going to the right, and moments later, came to a door labeled
Lounge 3. I opened it and peered inside. Nothing. Entire room was empty, except a few pieces of furniture covered with thick, clear plastic.

  I continued on and stopped at the next room labeled Lounge 4. The last door in the hallway. If he wasn’t here, I’d have to try the other hall in the opposite direction. I turned the knob and started to pull it toward me, but stopped when I heard voices. Curious, I cracked the door open without making a sound. I peered in through the two-inch slit and caught a glimpse of more furniture covered with the same thick plastic.

  A familiar voice rose as a man walked into view. Even by his profile, I recognized Sergio as he stood in front of the plastic-covered couch against the wall. He spoke to someone out of my eyesight.

  “You know it wasn’t me!” Sergio said in a tense voice.

  “Take a seat,” the other man said.

  Sergio sat, but stayed nervously on the edge of the cushion. “Come on, Boss. You know I wouldn’t lie to you.”

  The mystery man finally strolled into view in his navy blue tailored suit. He was a short, heavy-set man with a round, pudgy face, a large, crooked nose, and a mole under his left eye. “It’s a shame, Sergio. I told you to lay low and I’d give you a pass, but instead…”

  Two men in sleek suits with short dark hair joined his side. They resembled bodyguards, and both silently stared at Sergio.

  Sergio stood, waving his arms frantically. “Wait, Mr. Felts. I’m telling you…”

  The other man—the one referred to as Mr. Felts—shook his head and clicked his tongue sarcastically. “We have a problem that needs some attention. My associate on the inside says someone’s been feeding data about my operation to the feds. That’s no good. I can’t afford to lose the respect of my family and friends. I need a scapegoat to correct this problem.”

  “Please, Boss, I’m telling you…it wasn’t me.”

  “Sit down, Sergio,” Mr. Felts ordered. “And stop carrying on. You’re something all right, but you’re not a damn goat.”

  The two big men behind Mr. Felts chuckled. Sergio blew out a huge breath. Relieved, the tension melted from his posture as he sat back, kicking an ankle up over the knee of his other leg.

  Sergio looked at Mr. Felts and grinned. “Then what am I, Boss?”

  “The sacrificial lamb,” Mr. Felts said, as he reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a long silver gun.