Romancing the Ranger

by Jennie Marts

  He took a step closer, pressing her back against the elevator wall, and slid his hand behind her neck. Drawing her face up, he leaned in and took her mouth in a soft kiss, his lips barely grazing her.

  She sighed against his mouth, tasting the faint lingering of orange soda, her fingers digging in to his shoulders.

  His second kiss was deeper as he pressed into her, his lean body hard against hers as he took her mouth in a carnal onslaught of fever and lust. His hand slid down her waist, over her hip, and grabbed her butt, lifting her leg and wrapping it around him.

  She pulled him to her, matching his frenzied desire as everything in her burned with heat and a passionate need.

  Moaning into his mouth, she rubbed against him, desperate to feel his hands on every inch of her.

  The ding of the elevator brought her back to reality.

  Wade stepped back, leaving her gasping for breath and aching for his touch.

  Cool and composed, he grinned down at her as the elevator doors slid open. “Hello.”

  Holy freaking hot hellos.

  He took her hand, and she followed him out of the elevator, reeling from their passionate embrace.

  The garage attendant standing by her car arched an eyebrow at her, but instead of shamefully hiding her face, she pushed back her shoulders, grinned, and acted as if it was a normal everyday occurrence for her to be ravaged in the one minute elevator ride. “Thanks for bringing my car up.”

  She looked over at Wade. “You want to drive?”

  He shrugged. “Sure.”

  She leaned toward the attendant as he opened the door of her car, keeping her voice low. “Can you please call over to The Blue Bistro and reserve us a table? We’re headed there now.”

  He nodded. “Of course, Ms. Hudson. I’ll take care of it right away. Have a nice evening.”

  Wade rolled his eyes as she slid into the leather seat next to him. “Geez, your family must be a little more important than you let on. Everybody treats you like royalty around here.”

  She waved a hand at him. “Oh, it has nothing to do with me. They get paid to act that way.”

  He answered her with an “uh-huh” sound and put the car in gear, but his light demeanor seemed to have changed a bit.

  She let the conversation drop and instead focused on giving him directions to the restaurant.

  …

  Dang.

  He could never remember if you started from the outside and went in or the inside and went out. Who needed this many dang forks anyway?

  Wade adjusted the collar of his shirt, hating the constricting feeling of the tie, and waited to see which fork Reese would pick up first.

  The restaurant she’d brought him to had more utensils and dishes on the table than in all of Gram’s china closet. He didn’t know what to do with half of this stuff.

  He followed Reese’s examples through most of the meal, missing half of what she said to him as he concentrated on proper etiquette and not letting steak juice drip onto his shirt.

  He’d thought wearing the suit would impress her. But all it had accomplished was making him feel like a fool and reminding him he was completely out of his element.

  The grandeur of her apartment had kept him from even sitting on the sofa. At least it held pieces of her charm in the little knick-knacks and funny throw pillows.

  But this restaurant was something else entirely.

  There were no prices on the menu and half of it was in French. At least he thought it was French. It could have been Greek or Russian for all he knew. And everything was à la carte.

  Reese had to explain to him that when you ordered the steak, all you got was the steak, and you had to order the potatoes and salad separately.

  What kind of nonsense was that?

  He knew the restaurant was expensive and the steak he’d ordered would cost him a bundle. But for those prices, they couldn’t throw in a baked potato or some lettuce?

  They finished their meal, and he excused himself to find the restroom.

  He pushed open the heavy oak door marked “Gentlemen” and stepped into an opulent room with marble floors and gleaming gold faucets on the sinks. There were no tacky urinals, but instead individual rooms with louvered oak doors.

  A man wearing a dark suit stood at the sink and greeted him with a smile. “Good evening, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?”

  Huh? Wade dipped his head to the man. “No thanks. I’m pretty sure I’ve got this under control.”

  He took care of business and returned to the sinks to wash his hands, all under the watchful eye of the man in the suit.

  He handed Wade a towel. “Can I offer the gentleman some mouthwash or a mint?”

  “Mouthwash? Do I need some?” Wade huffed a breath into his hand and sniffed.

  “No, of course not, sir. No offense intended. It’s just a courtesy of the restaurant.” He took the wet towel from Wade and dropped it into the hamper under the counter.

  “Okay, sure. Why not?”

  He poured a dab of green liquid into a small disposable cup and handed it to Wade who took it, rinsed and spit before handing it back.

  The man smiled and waited patiently. “Will there be anything else, sir?”

  Realizing he was waiting for a tip, Wade pulled out his wallet. How much should he tip for the use of a towel and a swallow of Scope? He considered a few singles then grabbed a fiver and passed it to the mouthwash guy. “Nope, that should do it. Thanks.”

  He escaped the restroom before the guy offered to iron his shirt. That was for sure the most expensive mouthwash he’d ever had.

  Heading back to the table, he saw a tall distinguished man standing at the table talking to Reese.

  The man held out his hand and gave him an appraising glance. “You must be Wade. It’s good to meet you. I’m Robert Hudson, Reese’s father.”

  “Nice to meet you, sir. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Robert raised an eyebrow, and Wade thought he held the handshake just a beat too long, his grip solid and full of confidence. “I’ll bet she has. But she hasn’t told me much about you, Mr. Baker. Except that you work for the Forest Service.”

  Wade nodded, not sure if he should remain standing or resume his seat across from Reese. “Actually I work for the Park Service, sir. I’ve been with them for eight years now.”

  “What kind of degree do you need for that kind of work? Or do you just need to be in good with Smokey the Bear?”

  “Dad, stop it.” Reese’s voice was taut.

  Wade was used to these kinds of insults about his job and waved away Reese’s concerns. “It’s okay, Reese. Actually, I have a bachelor of science degree in park and rec administration.”

  Reese’s dad laughed in a slightly mocking way. “I didn’t know they handed out degrees in recreation.”

  Reese pushed back her chair and stood. “Dad, that’s enough. No one handed Wade a degree. He earned it. And you seemed to have missed the administration part.” She looked around for the waiter. “It was good to see you, but we were just leaving. As soon as we get our check.”

  Robert waved a hand in dismissal. “Oh don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it. You two kids go have fun on your date.”

  Wade took a step forward. He was quickly losing control of this situation. “No, I couldn’t let you do that, sir.”

  “It’s already done.” His tone was light, but Wade detected a whiff of condescension. “You just take care of my little girl.” He leaned down and dropped a quick peck on Reese’s cheek then winked at Wade. “She’s my most valuable treasure. Make sure you get her home at a decent hour.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Dad. We’re leaving.” She stepped around her father and grabbed Wade’s hand, tugging him away from the table before he could do anything more than wave.

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” he called as Reese pulled him toward the door.

  The warm night air hit him as they stepped outside, and he realized he was sweating
. Like a nervous teenager meeting a girl’s parents on their first date.

  Actually, it felt more like the anxiety at a job interview.

  He looked down at Reese with a grimace. “Well, that was awkward.”

  A pink blush deepened on Reese’s cheeks. “Oh my gosh, I know. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe we ran into him. I’m so embarrassed.”

  Yeah, that was quite a coincidence.

  He figured the doorman at Reese’s apartment had probably tipped him off. “You don’t need to be embarrassed. I’m the one that looked like a fool. I could have paid for our meal, you know.”

  Her cheeks darkened further. “I know. I know. I’m sorry. But I also know how my father gets, and it would’ve been worse if we’d argued about it, and he’d have ended up insisting and paying for it anyway.” She squeezed his hand. “Can we please try to forget this part of our evening and get back to our date?”

  He looked down at her upturned face and softened at the look of pleading in her eyes. “Yeah, all right. Did you have something else planned?” He glanced at the door to the expensive restaurant. “Maybe something a little less uptight?”

  She offered him a relieved smile. “Yes, of course. How about if we go listen to some music? There’s a fun little Irish pub downtown that usually has a live band. It’s only a few blocks from here. We could walk off our meal and go check it out.”

  Wade nodded. “Okay, that sounds all right. And I could use the walk.”

  They fell into step next to each other as they walked down the block and turned into the downtown area of Denver. Several clubs were housed in this area, and a long line of people snaked down the sidewalk in front of one.

  Wade gawked at the sheer number of women lining the sidewalk, all of them dressed to the nines in heels and skimpy dresses. He’d never seen so much cleavage in one place before.

  They walked along the sidewalk next to the line. “What are they all waiting for? Is a big-name band playing there tonight?”

  Reese laughed. “No. Just a DJ. They’re all waiting to get in. That’s The High Rise, one of the most popular dance clubs downtown. They only let so many people go in, and the bouncers check out the line and only allow the best-looking inside.”

  “You’re kidding, right? All these gorgeous women are standing in line like cattle at auction hoping a couple of meatheads will decide if they look good enough?”

  “Yep. Either that or they pay big bucks to get in. It’s a stupid status thing. And it’s not even that great of a club. It’s loud and way too crowded.”

  He gave her a sideways glance. “So, you’ve come down here and subjected yourself to this? And it sounds like you’ve been among the chosen ones that they let inside?”

  It sounded to him like a great place to avoid.

  She shrugged.

  “Reeeeessseee!!!” A high-pitched shrill voice screamed her name, and two women from the line stepped out and threw themselves at Reese. One was blond and the other a brunette, and both wore short dresses and spiked high heels.

  The blonde was the bearer of the shrill voice, and her words tumbled out in an exaggerated mixture of fakeness and too many shots. “Oh my gawwwdd! I’m so glad to see you. We’ve been waiting here forever. Your hair looks gorgeous. I just love the dress.”

  The brunette gave her more of an air-hug then stepped back, giving off an air of importance and confident standoffishness. She looked down her nose at Wade. “Who’s your friend?”

  A wave of hairspray and perfume surrounded him as the blonde flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her chest against him.

  Her cleavage was blatantly on display as her breasts practically exploded out of her low-cut red dress, reminding Wade of the dough that popped out of a biscuit can when it was cracked open.

  He tried not to look.

  She rubbed herself against him, twisting her long nails into his hair. “You’re cute.”

  She giggled at Reese. “Your friend is too cute, Reese. I just want to eat him up.” She tilted her head up to Wade and ran her tongue along her heavily glossed lips. “Did you hear that? I just want to Eat. You. Up.”

  He heard all right. Reaching for her arms, he tried to pull them from around his neck and escape her grasp.

  He looked to Reese for a little help, but she was being dragged to the front of the line by Ms. Snotty. He followed along, Red Dress deflecting his attempts to free himself and clinging to him like a little monkey.

  They reached the two bouncers at the front of the line, and one leaned down to hug Reese, leading Wade to suspect that she’d been here more times that she’d let on.

  He could hear snippets of their conversation, something to do with vodka and bottle service.

  She looked back at Wade and mouthed, “Do you want to go in?”

  He shrugged. This was her world, and he wanted to experience it. She’d been in his for the last several weeks, and he wanted to see just how different that had been for her.

  She sure hadn’t had linen tablecloths and fifteen forks at his grandmother’s place. Hell, they’d had a few meals that hadn’t required utensils at all. “Sure.”

  “Gawwdd, I need another drink sooo bad.” Red Dress giggled and wrapped her arm around his waist. “Don’t worry, Reese will get us in. Brock’s probably already inside and has a table. He always gets bottle service and never stands in line.” She spoke loudly into his ear to be heard above the noise of the music.

  Brock? What the hell?

  These must not be close friends of Reese’s if they still thought she was with Brock. And as much as he wanted to experience her world, he did not need another run-in with Brock.

  “Reese.” He called her name, but the crowd was too loud, and she was handing the bouncer her credit card.

  What? His manhood had taken enough of a blow when her dad had paid for dinner, but now Reese was paying their cover for this club.

  He pushed forward to stop her, but was distracted as the blonde’s hand slid from his waist down to grab ahold of his butt.

  “Whoa there.” He grabbed her hand and pushed it away. What the hell was going on?

  “Oh goody!” she squealed and pressed forward as they followed Reese and Ms. Snotty up the stairs into the crowded club.

  Not having much of a choice, he was swept up the stairs and pushed through the throng of people. They passed the dance floor, and the deep beat of the bass pounded in his chest as hordes of couples danced and writhed to the music.

  They were herded into a round booth, and a waitress appeared, carrying a bottle of vodka in a bucket of ice and a tray of shot glasses.

  Reese pulled him down onto the seat next to her and offered him an apologetic look.

  Ms. Snotty leaned across him to speak loudly to the blonde. “Reese and Brock broke up. This is her date you’ve been molesting.”

  Red Dress giggled again and wrinkled her small nose up at him. “Oops, my bad. Lucky girl.” She winked at Reese and pointed to the glasses. “Pour me a drink, honey. Let’s get this party started.”

  What kind of crazy world did Reese live in? These girls were nuts.

  Reese tipped her mouth up to speak loudly into his ear as she pointed to Ms. Snotty and Red Dress. “This is Julie and Lisa.”

  She yelled his name to the two women. “This is my date, Wade. He’s from Cotton Creek. It’s a small town up in the mountains.”

  Julie was not impressed, giving him a slight nod then turning her attention back to the throng of people in the club. Probably looking for someone more interesting than him.

  Lisa threw back another shot and leaned into his arm. “Nice to meet you, Cade. Pour me another one and then let’s dance.”

  He poured another shot for her. “You all go ahead. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the table.”

  She giggled and downed the drink. “You don’t have to. You really aren’t from around here.” She pointed at the bottle of vodka. “That’s what bottle service is, silly. Reese got us th
at lovely two hundred and fifty dollar bottle of Grey Goose vodka, and it lets us sit here as long as we want.”

  Two hundred and fifty dollars? For one bottle of vodka. Ridiculous.

  Before he had time to question Reese, Lisa was on her feet and pulling them out to the dance floor.

  He was terrible at this kind of dancing, but the music was loud and the people were packed in so tight, all he’d have to do is sway a little and he should be fine.

  Reese slid in next to him on the dance floor and slipped her arms around his neck. She put her mouth next to his ear and shouted, “Are you all right? I know this isn’t what you were expecting.”

  He pulled her against him and tried to suppress his frown. “I’m fine. I just wish you wouldn’t have wasted your money on getting us in here.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I know. I succumbed to peer pressure. What else is new?”

  Her peers were now dancing with them, or at least that’s what he thought they were doing.

  It didn’t seem much like dancing to him, more like grinding themselves against him and Reese.

  The music was loud, and he could feel it beating through him. The room smelled like booze, cigarette smoke, expensive cologne and an underlying scent of weed.

  The dim lighting added to the intoxicating blend of skin and movement as the three women danced around him. He was used to leading one woman around a dance floor and this just made him feel strange and uncomfortable at the same time.

  The song changed, and Reese grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the table.

  The two girls followed, and Lisa drunkenly slid into the seat next to him. Her face had the slack look of too much to drink and mascara smudged under her eyes.

  She reached for the bottle and knocked over the bucket, the icy water pouring into Reese’s lap.

  Reese gasped as the cold water soaked into her lap.

  Wade grabbed for the bucket before it could knock over the other drinks.

  Lisa leaned against him. “I really don’t feel so good.”

  She grabbed for the empty ice bucket, bent forward, and to Wade’s horror, vomited into it.

  Setting the bucket on the floor, she groaned and laid her head on Wade’s lap.