The bouncers, two very large Hispanic men, took one look at Emma and smiled. She greeted them both as though she knew them, and the taller of the two started talking a mile a minute to her. Duke recognized Mike and Rogelio but didn’t know them personally. He’d spent numerous hours observing the nightlife in the club while trying to pinpoint the person who’d been taping the girls dancing then posting inflammatory articles about them on the Internet.
Duke’s attention was drawn back to their conversation. “Thanks, Doc, for texting me a picture before you removed it. I was eating lunch at the time.”
Emma snorted and said, “It’s not every day you see a bean shoved up a kid’s nose actually sprouting. I thought you’d want to see before I removed it.”
“We still haven’t figured out which of Cole’s brothers talked him into doing that. They stick together.”
Duke chuckled along with Gage, getting the gist of the conversation. He imagined Emma probably had seen just about everything as a family practitioner in a small town.
Mike reached out and shook his and Gage’s hands and said, “It’s getting busy but you shouldn’t have much difficulty getting a table.”
They seated Emma and themselves at one of the tall tables against the back wall. Duke noticed that she eyed the dance floor and looked a little nervous. He felt for her. The dancing couples all looked comfortable as they swayed and danced together, looking as though they’d all been born knowing how to dance.
He leaned toward Emma and said, “You look gorgeous tonight. I can’t wait to get you on the dance floor.”
He was telling a small lie. He couldn’t wait to draw her close to him, that much was certainly true. He’d never spent any time in dance halls or nightclubs unless he was working. His choice of venues for dates usually revolved around dinner and a movie, not stepping out of his comfort zone.
He had other cousins who had learned to dance as teenagers, but he and Gage had never been interested when they were growing up, and so he’d spent his twenties and early thirties avoiding places like this because he didn’t want to embarrass himself.
Summer had been very patient and kind when she showed him and Gage some dance moves and encouraged him to just listen to the music and let the rhythm of the dance provide its own inspiration. Summer had asked if Emma knew how to dance, and Duke had told her no, that he knew for a fact she didn’t. Summer had smiled and told him, “Well then, she’ll never know the difference if you’re both beginners, will she?” That was true, and now the moment to test that theory had come.
“Emma, want to dance?”
The hunted look in Emma’s eyes was confirmed in her reply. “Already?”
Gage smiled in commiseration and said, “It’s better to rip the Band-Aid off, right? Angel, you look really beautiful tonight and even though this is a stretch for me also, I’m seriously looking forward to getting you out on the dance floor.”
Emma bit her lip and smiled at his compliment. “If I could jump out of an airplane, I can do this too, right? I’m sorry I’m such a socially stunted geek, guys.”
Duke laughed at her description of herself. She hid it well. “Geeks ‘R’ Us, Emma. The dance floor is full and nobody will notice us stepping on each other’s toes. Want to wait until some friends show up?”
Emma hopped from her seat. “No! Let’s do this.”
Glad his question had the desired effect, he nodded when Gage said that he’d order a round of drinks for them. He held Emma’s hand and ignored his own self-consciousness as they walked together to the dance floor. Her hand was just as clammy as his, so they both knew how the other felt about this adventure.
Situations like this were more difficult for someone who had spent so much time in isolated settings, like behind a computer monitor. Emma had dedicated her youth and young adult years to her education and believed she was socially stunted because of it.
He smiled reassuringly at her when she bit her lip and held tight to his hand. He pulled her into the crowd, ignoring his own nerves in his determination to do this. Summer had suggested staying to the center of the dance floor because they’d be less likely to get run over by other dancers and could take the dance at their own pace.
Consolation came when he looked into Emma’s eyes, and he pulled her against him as the song changed. The Band Perry’s “All Your Life” began to play, and he cupped her neck and drew her to him for a brief kiss. Her neck muscles were stiff, and he left his hand there for a moment, rubbing gently as she settled her head against his chest. She bumped the toe of her shoe against his and briefly clutched at his shoulder.
“Would you walk to the edge of the ocean
Just to fill my jar with sand?
Just in case I get the notion
To let it run through my hand…”
“No one is going to care if we’re here in the middle stepping on each other’s toes. Relax, Em.” His cock tightened when she wrapped her arms around his waist and they began to move together to the music.
“Well, I don’t want the whole world
The sun, the moon, and all their light
And I just want to be the only girl
You love all your life…”
She gradually relaxed, and at some point during the song he realized that while they might not be moving with the same steps as everyone else, they were definitely dancing together. Their bodies were pressed against each other from knee to chest, and when he advanced, she molded herself to him in retreat and allowed him to lead.
They knocked toes on a couple of occasions, but each time she’d look up at him and smile as they regained their rhythm and continued on. The song was over too soon.
They returned to the table and sipped from the drinks Gage had procured for them. Emma looked much more settled, and he felt relieved. It was just as Summer had said. They would all three learn together.
Gage got out of his chair and held his hand out to her. Emma smiled and took it as she rose. Duke couldn’t resist a soft stroke on her ass when she winked at him as she walked past. She giggled and followed Gage to the dance floor. Duke wondered if Gage knew that the next song was a waltz.
A hand clapped down on his shoulder. He chuckled when he turned and saw that it was Ace Webster. Accompanying him were Kemp Whittier and Summer Heston, as well as Ace’s sister Lydia and her men, Chance and Clayton Carlisle.
“Hey!” Duke said as he rose from his chair to greet the ladies and shake hands with the men. Pointing at the recently vacated table next to them, he said, “Care to join us?”
They slid the square tables together, and the men seated Summer and Lydia before Chance left to place an order for drinks at the bar.
Summer leaned toward Duke and asked, “Not nearly as nerve racking as you thought it would be, was it?”
Duke shook his head. “Nope. It was worse. But then we got on the dance floor and it just…worked.”
Summer’s lovely face broke into a wide grin, and she sat up like a proud mama. “See? It wasn’t so bad! Oh, I see Emma out there with Gage right now. Aw, look. They do fine together. Everybody else is too wrapped up in each other to notice how anyone else dances. They look like all the others. I told you that you both had natural rhythm.”
Kemp snickered. “Duke, it never occurred to us in all these years that you two had never learned how to dance.”
Duke’s eyebrows shot up. “Probably because it’s kind of embarrassing. We were busy building the ‘geekdom.’”
Ace chuckled and said, “Maybe we should have let them out of the surveillance van more often, Kemp. If we’d known, we would have taught you ourselves.”
Duke laughed at Ace’s teasing and replied, “Thanks, man. The self-defense lessons were enough. I think we’re holding our own tonight.”
Lydia snorted and pointed at Gage and Emma, who were kissing as “Cowboys Like Us” by George Strait drew to a close. “Uh, yeah. Looks like it. Is he swabbing her tonsils?”
Duke had known Lydia since he was
a teenager and looked upon her as a younger sibling. He poked her in the ribs, and she giggled as she patted his shoulder. “You and Gage seem very happy, Duke. It’s good to see you getting out and socializing in the land of the living.”
“Damn, were we that antisocial?”
Lydia smiled at him indulgently. “No. We always knew where you were. It’s just nice to see you out and about is all. I had no idea you didn’t know how to dance.”
Duke grinned at Lydia and replied, “That’s because we hid it well behind out sarcastic, geeky wit.” He shrugged and added, “It’s not like we were deprived or anything. And now that we know Emma enjoys dancing we’ll bring her here again.”
Lydia nudged him with her elbow and said, “I like that she seems to understand that part of you. And you aren’t as sarcastic as some geeks I’ve known. At least when you crack jokes I get them most of the time.”
Duke and Gage had friends growing up who hid behind their cerebral wit to the point that no one got their jokes but themselves. At that point they were no longer fun to be around and wound up ostracizing themselves socially. Luckily Duke and Gage had never felt the need to be like that. They liked computers and technology, but they liked having friends, too.
“That’s because I’m such a nice guy, sweetie,” he replied. Lydia rolled her eyes and laughed as he added, “If you’ll excuse me I’m going to go claim another dance from the gorgeous doctor.” Duke leaned over and kissed the top of Lydia’s head and nodded at the others. He met Gage and Emma halfway as Gage took his phone from his pocket and frowned at it.
Duke asked, “Everything okay?”
“I’m going to have to change my phone number, again. I don’t know how Amy could’ve gotten my new number.”
“Did she ever respond to your last e-mail?” Duke asked, already guessing the answer which was confirmed by the brief negative shake of Gage’s head.
Emma reacted to the name and said, “That’s the one you told me about, right? She’s really stalking you?”
Gage nodded tersely then slipped the phone back in his pocket. “It looks like you’re going to spend most of your time on the dance floor, angel.”
Gage kissed her quickly, and she replied, “That would be just fine with me, honey.” Emma put her hand in Duke’s, and he led her back to the dance floor.
“Whoo. That was fun. I do believe I could grow to love dancing with the two of you,” Emma said, obviously relieved. Duke pulled her into a dance embrace as “Tomorrow” by Chris Young played.
“Summer and Lydia just arrived with their men. We broke our ‘dance cherries’ in the nick of time,” Duke said as he watched Gage slip into the club foyer with his phone to his ear.
Emma snickered at his word choice and looked toward their table and waved back at Summer, who looked very proud of herself. “Our ‘dance cherries’? We’re just popping cherries all over the place.”
Duke chuckled and kissed her throat. “We’re pervy that way.”
“The bucket list has been good for all three of us, hasn’t it?”
“It has, Em. I’m looking forward to the next one on our list.”
“For vacation time, right? I wish you’d tell me what we’re doing.”
Duke grinned and replied, “And spoil the fun we’re having teasing you? Never. Just pack for camping and you’ll be in good shape. Let us take care of everything else.”
“I can’t wait.”
Duke slid his hands down to her ass and stroked her garter belt through the silky fabric of her dress and said, “I can’t wait for tonight.”
Her relaxed hold on him and her contented sigh against his chest made him smile. Not every item on their bucket list had to be earth shattering or life threatening to be fulfilling.
Chapter Eleven
“Tree camping? Oh, excellent!” Emma said excitedly as she looked up into the tree. “This is why I needed gloves and long underwear, huh?”
Duke and Gage looked very pleased with themselves as they set their supplies at the base of the tree. Their adventure had begun with a nearly twelve-hundred-mile road trip that brought them to Helen, Georgia. From there, they’d entered the Chattahoochee National Forest.
They’d made one overnight stop along the way to Georgia, so they didn’t arrive at their destination exhausted and wound up spending a good portion of their afternoon actually exploring. They’d hiked around Anna Ruby Falls during the afternoon and had done some fishing but had no luck. Emma had thought it odd that they didn’t set up a campsite first, until they led her to the base of the tree and introduced her to their climbing and camping guide, Jenetta.
Emma was friends with a couple who had gone tree camping in California and had told her all about it in colorful detail. It was one of the big items on her bucket list, and when they’d entered the Chattahoochee National Forest, she’d begun to get her hopes up.
Emma turned to Duke and Gage and hugged them both, doing her best to curb her ardor in front of their guide. “Thank you so much, guys.”
“Ready to climb?” Jenetta asked enthusiastically.
At Emma’s eager nod they got into climbing harnesses and hooked up to the lines hanging from the high branches of the oak tree. Emma had basic tree-climbing skills learned in the Girl Scouts and wasn’t surprised to find that Duke and Gage also possessed the same knowledge. Their love of the outdoors was one of the interests they’d shared.
Jenetta instructed them as they made preparations to start their climb. “You’ll need to stay in your harnesses, attached to the lines, for your own safety once you get up there. The temperature is only supposed to get down to the low fifties tonight, so with the insulated gear you brought you should be fairly comfortable. Keep your cell phones handy in case you run into any trouble and I’ll contact you in the morning. Just follow my lead up the tree and rest when you need to. We have plenty of time. Your portaledge is about fifty feet up. Anybody need a pit stop before we start climbing?”
Emma laughed. “I didn’t, until you mentioned it.”
Jenetta giggled and pointed the way to the facilities and said, “It’s better to take care of it now than realize it once you’re up there.”
Five minutes later, Jenetta was helping her into the basic safety harness and then getting her rigged for the climb. Emma was grateful for the safety equipment because climbing without it was not part of the thrill of tree camping that she’d wanted.
Emma paused as often as she needed to on the climb up, taking time to enjoy the view around her. The mirrorlike surface of the lake came into view, and she could see the outlet into the lake for one of the waterfalls in the park. The lake was surrounded by trees in various shades of autumn colors. Duke and Gage checked with her frequently, and although she was doing fine, she was certain she’d feel the climb the following night. She smiled, thinking she’d have to talk them into a rubdown to avoid having too much soreness.
The bright-red portaledge came into view as they reached their destination. Jenetta stopped with them on the sturdy branch above their nest for the night and gave them the basics on the portaledge itself.
“Your portaledge is suspended from that branch,” she said, gesturing to the thick oak tree branch. “But you’re also anchored at all four corners. That will minimize swaying with the wind but don’t be surprised if you feel it rocking, especially if you close the canopy.”
Jenetta demonstrated lowering the canopy to cover their ledge in case it rained or the temperature dropped. Emma doubted that she would feel the cold very much between these two hot-blooded men.
They watched over her as she lowered herself to the portaledge and hooked her safety harness onto it as instructed by Jenetta, and then she removed her climbing rig. She was thankful that the camping service Jenetta represented had a portaledge that would safely hold three people. She would have been willing to do this in separate quarters, but doing it together was the whole point of the adventure.
Gage smiled at her as he lowered himself next to her a
nd divested himself of his climbing gear. Duke followed soon after, and then Jenetta lowered herself and made sure they were harnessed properly to their safety lines, had everything they needed, and that they could reach the supplies tethered nearby. Once all was secured, Jenetta bid them good night and began her climb down the tree.
For the first time ever, Emma ate supper fifty feet up in a tree as the three of them watched the sun set on the Blue Ridge Mountains. They’d picked the perfect season to come on this adventure.
The rolling hills and mountains surrounding them were blanketed with trees in various stages of turning autumn leaves. The hills were a beautiful, undulating palette of red, russet, green, gold, yellow, and brown. In the fading light she could make out the reflections of the trees on the smooth mirror surface of the lake and took several pictures.
After their meal, they joined their sleeping bags into one big, cozy goose-down nest. Emma looked around anxiously, and Duke said, “Jenetta told me that there were no other tree campers in our immediate vicinity. We should have total privacy up here. Of course that doesn’t mean there’s not someone with binoculars on one of the hills across the lake watching us right now.”
Emma chuckled at his sly reference to her public-exhibition kink and slipped her sweatpants off and stuck them in the duffel tethered to one of the nylon rope loops on the structure. Gage considerately slipped her eyeglasses off and put them in their case in the duffel for safekeeping. If it fell over the edge, it wouldn’t go far, and they could suspend anything by the loops if it got in the way. The cool air brushed her bare skin, and her center throbbed with anticipation.
“Naughty angel,” Gage murmured as he cupped her ass with his callused hands. “You’re not wearing any undies.”
“Nope. I figured they would just get in the way.”
“True,” Duke agreed as he dotted her throat with soft, damp kisses that sent delicious heat through her body.
Rainier, Heather - Their Divine Doctor, A Holiday Ménage [Divine Creek Ranch 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 12