Riding the Night

by Jaci Burton

Page 21

  Author: Jaci Burton

  Yeah, he had to admit that even though he hated dancing, having Teresa’s body rocking against his wasn’t a hardship at all. He slid his arm around her waist and brought her flush against him, took her hand in his and decided it was his turn to lead. He gave a gentle push and twirled her around, then drew her back in, capturing her waist and sliding his hand along her hip. She grinned, then laughed as she caught on to his movements. Then they were moving in unison, her body one with his. She turned in his arms, presenting her back to him, her ass sliding and shimmying across his crotch.

  It was just like sex—without the fucking.

  Getting a hard-on in the middle of a crowded dance floor was a bad idea, but a man could only handle so much torture, and Teresa rubbing her butt back and forth across straining denim was doing a number on him. He gritted his teeth, grabbed her hips and whipped her around to face him, taking her arm and placing it around his neck.

  “You’re doing a little dirty dancing here,” he said, rocking his pelvis against hers.

  She arched a brow. “You complaining?”

  “Hell no. But you’re going to be embarrassed when you have to walk out of this crowd and your partner has a hard-on. ”

  She shimmied in, pressing closer to said hard-on. “I’m not embarrassed at all. As long as you don’t use it on anyone else. ”

  He sucked in a deep breath and tried to remember to keep things light and easy with Teresa. He backed off a little, but she only moved in again, raised her leg and draped it over his hip to rock against him.

  “I’m tired of being treated like I’m fragile, Pax. Don’t back away. ”

  “I’m trying to respect where you’ve been and what you went through, Teresa. ”

  “I appreciate that. Now I just want to be treated like I’m a normal woman. ” She moved in, wrapped both arms around his neck. “A normal woman you might want to take to bed. ”

  He pulled her tighter against him. “You know that’s exactly what I want to do. But you also know the deal. ”

  She tilted her head back, her green eyes sparkling under the lights of the dance floor. “Yes, I know the deal. ”

  A deal he knew she wasn’t ready for. Yet. Pax lifted his gaze to the fringes of the dance floor. “AJ’s scored us a table. Let’s go have a drink. ”

  He took her hand and led her off the floor and toward the table. Okay, so maybe he’d chickened out, but the way she looked at him—the way she made him feel—he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. And he was damn sure she wasn’t ready for him and AJ, no matter what she said.

  “Who’d you have to kill to get this table?” Teresa asked as she took a seat and the beer AJ slid her way.

  AJ grinned. “I can be charming if I need to be. ”

  Pax snorted, and AJ slanted a dirty look in his direction.

  “Okay, so I might have muscled a couple of puny guys who thought they could take the table. ”

  “That’s what I thought. ” Teresa put her feet up on AJ’s lap and took a long swallow from the bottle of beer. “It’s hot out there on the dance floor. ”

  “Yeah, you looked pretty hot when you were out there,” AJ said. “For a minute I thought you and Pax were going to get down and dirty right there in front of everyone. ”

  She laughed. “The thought had crossed my mind. But Pax is too much of a gentleman. ”

  Now it was AJ’s turn to snort out a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Pax referred to as a gentleman. ”

  Pax looked affronted. “Hey. I’m not without chivalrous qualities. ”

  “Please. I’ve seen you in public with women. I know what you’re capable of. ”

  “Really,” Teresa said. “Do tell. ”

  “I don’t think you want to hear those stories,” AJ said.

  “I do. Tell me. ”

  AJ shrugged. “Okay. There was that time in Louisville with that cocktail waitress . . . ”

  Pax frowned, then nodded. “Oh yeah. Fucked her against the wall outside the bar while she was on her break. And don’t forget the two girls in Milwaukee. ”

  AJ laughed. “Oh yeah. The one who did me under the table in the back of the restaurant. ”

  Teresa’s eyes widened. “Under the table?”

  “Yeah,” AJ said. “That was a memorable night. I nearly choked on my steak. ”

  “You sure do meet interesting women. ”

  “We tend to hang out with women who like to have a good time, who enjoy partying and pleasure,” Pax said.

  “With no expectation of love and commitment, of course,” Teresa added.

  “Of course. It’s all just fun and games,” AJ said.

  “Until someone falls in love with one of you. Or both of you. ”

  AJ picked up Teresa’s hand, slid his fingers in hers. “Now, who would go and do a dumb thing like that?”

  TERESA SCANNED PAX AND AJ, HER PULSE POUNDING DOUBLE time. Who indeed? Her body swelled with heat and need, the desire to take on both these men and prove to herself she was still a sexual being.

  And maybe that was just libido conjured up by the dancing. Besides, she wasn’t here to satisfy her own carnal desires. She was here with a job to do.

  “Any sign of the Fists?”

  AJ shook his head. “Not yet. ”

  She sighed and took a long swallow of beer. “Chasing around looking for them seems like a colossal waste of time. ”

  “Agreed,” Pax said. “If they’re here—and that’s a big if—we need to plant ourselves somewhere and wait to see if they show up. ”

  AJ nodded. “Which means either here on Main Street or up at the campground. Those are the two hot spots. If the Fists are here, they’ll hit one of those two places. ”

  Teresa looked around. “How popular is this place?”

  “You don’t come to Sturgis without stopping in here at least once,” Pax said. “Most people come in several times. It’s legendary. ”

  That’s what she thought. Which gave her an idea.

  “Any idea who owns or runs this place?”

  AJ leaned over her shoulder and pointed. “Steve Flyton. Heavy-set dude over in the corner bar. ”

  “I’ll be right back. ”

  “We’ll go with you. ”

  She turned and placed a hand on each of their chests. “Then we’ll lose these prime seats and I like it here. I’m going over to talk to Steve. ”

  “About?” AJ asked.

  Teresa lifted her lips. “About a job. ”

  Pax’s brow lifted. “Why?”

  “Because if this is the place to be, what better spot to watch for the Fists? Rather than looking for them, let them come to us. Besides, you guys can be out riding and I can be here working. ”

  AJ shook his head. “Don’t like that idea. You’d be left unguarded. ”

  She rolled her eyes. “I hardly need a bodyguard. ”

  “I agree with AJ. If the Fists do come in here and the guy who killed Larks spots you and happens to know you saw him do the deed, you’re in trouble. ”

  Okay, so they had a point. “Fine. First things first, let me see if I can wrangle a bartending job out of Steve. Then we’ll work on the rest. ”

  She waited while they considered it.

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Pax said. “We won’t find them riding around in circles. ”

  AJ shrugged. “Go for it. ”

  Now they were getting somewhere. Excited, she rose and maneuvered her way through the crowd toward where the mostly balding guy with the rather scraggly brown and gray beard leaned against the edge of the bar. He wore a Flying Heads Saloon T-shirt big enough to cover his ample belly and jeans that balanced precariously low on his hips, and he grinned like he’d just won the lottery when she came up to him.

  “Well, hi there, darlin’. ”

  She introduced herself. “Love your place here. I own a bar in Miss
ouri. I’m jealous of how popular yours is. ”

  “Yeah, we do pretty well here during the bike rally. We try to keep the beer flowing and the women dancing. ”

  “You have customers waiting for drinks. You need more help behind the bar. ”

  He turned and frowned. “Yeah. Some of the kids who work here would rather be partying than working. That means sometimes they don’t show up when they’re supposed to. ”

  “Need some hands?”

  He arched two very bushy eyebrows. “You offering?”

  “I am. ”

  He scratched his beard and studied her. “If you own a bar, I assume you know what the hell you’re doing. ”

  “I do. ”

  “I need people to work nights. That’s when I have a hard time staffing. ”

  “No problem. I’m not here to party. ”

  “Okay then. Go see that pretty brunette behind the far corner bar. That’s my wife, Sandy. She’ll get you set up and she’ll probably kiss you with gratitude. ” He motioned and got Sandy’s attention, then pointed to Teresa.

  Teresa laughed and shook Steve’s hand. “Thanks a lot. ”

  Sandy looked ragged and tired, and she was so grateful to have Teresa on board she did kiss her cheek, especially since Teresa required little to no training. She was ready to go to work that night, and Sandy wanted nothing more than an hour’s break to put her swollen feet up on a chair and rest. So Teresa got right to work.

  Bartending there was easy since most people either wanted beer or shots or soda, so she didn’t have to make any fancy drinks. She popped the beers fast and she already knew what the hell she was doing, so her tip jar took money almost as quickly as she took beer orders. The crowd pressed in on her, obviously sensing she was filling orders and filling them fast. But still, she managed to hold her own and at the same time keep an eye on everyone she served. So far, none of the Fists had come in. But she figured this was a prime spot. She had every confidence she was going to see them here and it was only a matter of time.

  By the time the bar closed at midnight and everyone shuffled out, Teresa was tired but exhilarated. At least now they had a plan. She finished cleaning up the bar.

  “You did good tonight. ”

  Teresa smiled at Sandy, who was tall and thin and tattooed nearly all over. She wore her salt-and-pepper hair stick short, show-casing a row of piercings in and outside each ear.

  “Thanks. I like bartending. I’m not much for standing around and doing nothing, so this gives me something to do. ”

  “Aren’t you here on vacation?”

  “Well, yes. But I bought a new bike while I was here. Now I have to pay for it. So you saved my life giving me a job. ”

  Sandy laughed. “I know how that is. Always something pretty out there we have to spend our money on. ”

  Teresa folded the rag and laid it on the bar. “Isn’t that the truth? I’ll be paying for this bike until I die. ”

  “Well, I’m glad you got the bike, and we got you. You did good and we’re glad to have you working with us. See you tomorrow night?”

  “You bet. ”

  AJ and Pax came toward them.

  “Bar’s closed, guys. You’ll need to leave. ”

  Teresa scratched her nose. “Oh. They’re . . . with me. ”

  Sandy’s brows lifted. “Both of them?”

  Teresa tingled as Pax and AJ flanked her. “Yes. ” She introduced the guys to Sandy. They shook her hand.

  Sandy looked over AJ and Pax, then nodded. “Oh, to be young again. ” She shifted her gaze to Teresa. “You are one lucky woman. Enjoy these two. ” Sandy walked away, muttering something about youth and stamina.

  Pax slid his arm around Teresa’s waist. “You ready to go? You worked hard tonight. ”