by Mia Ashlinn
By the time they stepped into the parking lot at Buddy’s Bar and Grill, Jaycee had cursed her way through most of the alphabet. She’d reached T in the few minutes it had taken to trek across town. “You foul-smelling thundercunts!”
And still, their prattling carried on without a break.
When they hauled her past the clunker she’d named Sally, Jaycee dug in her feet. Disregarding her, they yanked her around the truck of her dreams.
Jaycee wanted to stop and salute the luxurious, black Ford F-450, but that wasn’t going to happen. Her friend’s asses were on fire to get her into the bar and nothing would stop them, not even a drool-worthy truck.
Arriving at the entrance to the bar, Shannon jerked open the door, and Katie-Anne shoved Jaycee inside.
* * * *
“When do you think she’s going to get here?” Cade asked Gray for the hundredth time since they’d arrived.
Gray forced himself to breathe. No need to give away how anxious he was to see Jaycee. He’d fucked up three years ago, and he worried about the past getting ready to repeat itself. With Cade already about to jump out of his skin waiting for their woman to arrive in this pitiful excuse for a bar, Gray didn’t plan on giving him another reason to worry.
“Gray.” Cade interrupted him. “Are you going to answer me?”
Gray knew his first task—calm his best friend and lover. If they had a chance at success, it would be together.
“Cade, she’ll be here soon,” Gray assured in a tone that comforted but still held enough authority to brook no argument. He held out his hand to Cade. Without hesitation, Cade clasped it and slid closer to him.
Turning his head, Gray hid a smile. Affectionate by nature, Cade always latched onto any physical connection Gray gave him. Gray wished he could give Cade more, but he struggled with being openly affectionate. He could thank his parents for that.
A child’s life is easily fucked up by parents like his. Watching their relationship spiral out of control had nearly ruined his relationship with Cade and Jaycee. His mother spent years feeding him bullshit about how free-spirited women like their Jaycee couldn’t handle the things he needed from her. He’d denied his nature and his love for Cade because of some misguided obsession with protecting Jaycee from something she never needed protection from in the first place.
The front door of the bar swung open, and Gray leaned back so he could see but couldn’t be seen. He watched as his sister forced Jaycee inside.
Gray held his breath, waiting to see if Jaycee noticed them and hoping she wouldn’t. He wanted to approach her, not the other way around. The element of surprise gave them the upper hand and, with her, they needed it. The little spitfire had one hell of a mean streak they didn’t want to deal with right now. Her eye-for-an-eye mentality was a real pain in the ass.
In the past, Jaycee had loved to get her ass in the middle of a mess and expected him to bail her out every damn time. Then, when he got her home, he’d sit her down and lecture her within one inch of her life without doing what he wanted to do most, bend her over his knee and spank the luscious curve of her ass until it turned red. Cade would have been his wingman, counting each slap until he reached the magic number.
Normally, Gray loved to make a woman’s ass blush, but not their Jaycee. She needed to be taught a lesson or two. By the time he finished with the little she-devil, her ass would be as red as the color of her dream car.
He smiled indulgently, remembering the car she’d lusted after since the day she started driving, a 1968 Shelby Ford Mustang GT500 in candy-apple red. A couple of weeks before she’d left, he bought her one as a surprise and paid to have it tweaked to the exact specifications she fantasized about. He’d never even had the chance to tell her about the damn thing.
Gray exhaled when Katie-Anne propelled Jaycee toward the counter. Their sweet, clumsy woman tripped and nearly fell before his sister righted her.
As Jaycee stumbled her way across the bar, Gray couldn’t take his eyes off her. Their blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman was prettier now than she’d been three years ago. From her long, curly hair to her smooth, creamy skin, she took his breath away.
Jaycee seemed smaller, but it could have been his imagination. Their height difference had always been substantial, but not as much as hers and Cade’s. His partner stood two inches taller than he did. What would it feel like with her petite body sandwiched between their much larger ones?
Gray shouldn’t have allowed his mind to go there. His dick twitched and flared to life. Fuck.
Shannon, who had followed the women inside, turned and winked at them.
With a chuckle, Gray nodded his head and tipped his beer in Shannon’s direction.
“I always knew I loved that girl,” Cade commented.
Gray snorted. “Hell no, you didn’t. Do you have any clue how many times I’ve had to stop you from strangling the girl?”
“Well, damn it, Gray. She shouldn’t drag J into so much shit.”
Gray shook his head slowly, dropping his beer bottle to the tabletop. “It’s always the quiet ones.”
“Fuck yeah. I wish Jared, Drew, and Randy would piss or get off the pot. That little girl’s going to be in for one hell of a ride when they do.” Cade lifted his beer bottle and drank half of its contents in one, long swallow.
Gray snorted. “No more than they’ll be.”
“True,” Cade agreed with a twinkle in his green eyes. “But the ride is always worth it.”
They’d spent twenty-six years on a wild ride of their own with him constantly denying his needs. Gray still had no clue how both of them survived those years without one of them walking away. Knowing they loved each other, but holding back physically, constantly tormented them. He remembered hundreds of times when it physically hurt him to not reach for Cade.
Jaycee walking away had pushed them together, not because they wanted someone to fuck around with but because they needed each other to survive. Their friendship and love for each other carried them through those bleak months before they physically turned to each other.
“You know how much I love to ride,” Cade interrupted his thoughts.
Gray chuckled. “Be good, Cade, or I’ll give you a red ass when we get home.”
“Could we?” Cade asked with a lecherous grin.
“I’m going to come up with a better punishment for you.”
Cade wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, please, do.”
Gray ignored him, knowing exactly what Cade was up to. Mister Funny laughed his way through stressful situations. Continuing this kind of conversation inevitably led to trouble for both of them.
Gray rubbed his callused thumb slowly in a circle on Cade’s palm and sat back, waiting.
Chapter 3
Jaycee stumbled into the wobbly barstool at the counter with the help of Katie-Anne, nearly losing her balance as it teetered back and forth before settling into its proper upright position.
“If I take the handcuffs off, are you going to bolt?” Katie-Anne asked with an evil grin. “I would really hate to have to chase your ass down again.”
The hair on Jaycee’s arm stood up. If Katie-Anne chased her down, Jaycee imagined it wouldn’t be pretty this time. Pissing Katie-Anne off always bit people in the ass, and Jaycee wasn’t in the mood to go down that road tonight.
Jaycee shook her head emphatically. “No. I will keep my ass firmly in this seat.”
“Good.” Katie-Anne pulled the keys to the handcuffs out of her pocket and removed them from Jaycee’s wrists.
Rotating her wrists, Jaycee sighed, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Katie-Anne replied, hopping up on the barstool next to Jaycee.
“Aw, damn, Katie-Anne,” Shannon fussed as she plopped down on the other side of Jaycee. “You’re such a spoilsport. Couldn’t we have left them on a little longer?”
Jaycee harrumphed in annoyance, and Katie-Anne laughed softly.
A smarmy-looking bartender approached them the moment thei
r asses hit the seats. With a lewd wink, he jotted down their orders then disappeared.
“J, what in the hell possessed you to move to this sorry town? Seriously.” Katie-Anne’s disgust-filled words were obnoxiously loud. It fit right in with the atmosphere in the bar.
Humorously, Shannon whispered to Katie-Anne loud enough that Jaycee could hear, “Methinks she was trying to get away from your brother and his friend.”
Katie-Anne’s contemptuous expression instantly transformed to one of delight. Mirth danced in her eyes as she leaned across Jaycee. She covered her mouth and mock whispered, “Oh, riggggghhhht. She was being a pussy.”
Jaycee wadded up the gummy napkin in front of her and threw it in Katie-Anne’s unsuspecting face. She didn’t even want to think about what the goo on her hand was.
Get rid of the evidence. Jaycee wiped her hand on her faded jeans. “I was not being a pussy,” she stated indignantly.
Katie-Anne and Shannon’s laughter filled the air around Jaycee. She sat in stony silence, not giving them the satisfaction of any further rebuttals. In her life, she’d learned that being silent was often the best answer.
Someone approached Jaycee from behind. Damn, she wasn’t in the mood for some cheesy pickup line in this seedy bar. She whirled around ready to tell someone off, but stopped short. Two sinfully good-looking men with dark hair and bedroom eyes stood side by side, their arrogance rolling off them in waves.
The short, stocky man smiled at her with a smile that could melt the panties off of most grown women. He looked like a man who knew what a woman wanted and exactly how to give it to her.
Turning, Jaycee sized up the taller man. He was quieter, far more serious. His face was harsher, and his eyes were harder. Single women dreamed of taming a man like him.
It was too damn bad they left her ice-cube cold.
The cowboy with the award-winning smile leaned toward her, pressing her back against the filthy counter. She ignored the discomfort, preparing to give him the tongue-lashing he deserved, when he spoke. “My name’s Tommy. This here’s Judd. I just thought you should know our names since you’re gonna be screaming ’em later.”
Wow. Jaycee stared at him dumbfounded, unsure of what to say. It took her a moment to recover. Opening her mouth to blast them, she noticed two more men striding toward her, purpose filling their every step.
Her heart raced, the blood pounding through her veins at a pace that rivaled a horse in the Kentucky Derby.
She wasn’t sure what caused the spike in her heart rate. Was it seeing them for the first time in years? Was it that they were headed toward her? Or, was it the chill that shot down her spine, raising the hair on her arms? No way was she hanging around to find out.
Jaycee gave the egotistical cowboy a shove before scooting around him and his cohort in crime. Then she made a break for the door.
Before she took her fifth step, a large hand landed on her arm and wrenched her around, exerting enough pressure to maintain control without hurting.
Cade. There hadn’t been any doubt that he would be the one to come after her. Of the two men, Cade was more dangerous to her, and they knew it. He knew exactly how to handle her. He snuck under her radar, pushed her into a corner, and then pounced. She preferred to deal with Gray. He was good at pissing her off, and she held her own when she was pissed.
Fuck, this was really, really bad.
“Dance with me, darlin’.”
No, that couldn’t happen. Jaycee knew better than to go on that dance floor and step into his strong arms, press her body up against his, and sway to the music. Her head told her she shouldn’t let her arms snake up his chest and wind around his neck, and he mustn’t be allowed to lock his arms behind her waist so he could hold her close. But that wasn’t what her heart told her.
Cade tipped Jaycee’s head back with his index finger. She looked up—and up—until her eyes reached his face. Involuntarily, she drank in his handsome features. She started with his tousled strawberry-blond hair, lowering her gaze to his green eyes, prominent nose, and the dimples on each side of his mouth. She saved his sexy lips for last.
Oh, how she loved those lips. When they’d been younger, she’d loved to stroke his bottom lip with her fingers. He always responded with a sly smile followed by a nip or a lick that left them wanting since they never followed through with a kiss.
Without conscious thought, Jaycee brushed her index finger across his bottom lip as she’d done a million times before. When it dawned on her what she was doing, she recoiled and jerked her hand back. Cade’s face fell, but he quickly masked it with a smile.
“Darlin’, that was not a request,” he informed her with a twinkle in his green eyes. He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the hardwood floor in the middle of the bar. She was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to be an actual dance floor, but he obviously didn’t care.
When he reached his destination, Cade stopped, and just as she had imagined, he pulled her close and started dancing. The lack of music didn’t intimidate him in the least. He swayed back and forth, leading her around in a circular motion.
Cade didn’t speak, and neither did she.
The contented feeling she’d always experienced in his or Gray’s presence filled her senses. She closed her eyes and relished this moment, knowing that when he stopped, he would go. Cade had Gray, just as he’d wanted. There was no room for her.
Jaycee assured herself that leaving had been the right thing to do. Her last day with Gray and Cade proved that. Their searing kiss would be forever burned in her mind.
Her two men kissing hadn’t inspired jealousy. Quite the opposite, it’d made her horny as hell—until she’d watched Gray return the kiss.
They hadn’t realized she entered the house, and she hadn’t told them before she heard the groan tear its way out of Gray’s throat. He’d sounded like an animal calling to his long-lost mate, and Cade responded with a growl of his own.
Standing in the doorway, Jaycee had watched as their kiss turned almost violent. They devoured each other as though they couldn’t get enough, as if they’d been starving for each other. It wasn’t a pretty, sweet kiss. This had been pure, animalistic lust.
Jaycee’s chest tightened until she’d been left gasping for breath, and her mind filled with one, plaguing question. Why hadn’t she been kissed like that?
Gray always held himself back. He never kissed her with the all-consuming passion she sensed deep inside, and Cade hadn’t kissed her at all. But with each other, they let go.
That had been her moment of truth. Jaycee realized she couldn’t have every part of Gray, and she couldn’t have Cade at all. She refused to live the half-life her mother had where she loved two men but only had one.
She wouldn’t spend her future crying herself to sleep at night while Gray turned to alcohol to dull his pain and Cade married a woman he hated. Watching her parents and Gray’s parents live like that was enough. The three of them didn’t need to repeat the past.
Gray and Cade had no chance of keeping her, but they had a chance with each other. So she walked away and left her heart behind, praying her men would find their way to each other.
Jaycee’s eyes snapped open when the first notes of her favorite song filled the acrid air. Scanning the room, she instantly found the source. Shannon leaned against the old jukebox in the corner, waving at her with a shit-eating grin.
Jaycee scowled at her backstabbing friend and mouthed the words You’re going to pay.
Shannon gave her a thumbs-up sign then waltzed off with an extra spring in her step.
Jaycee knew she was making a fatal mistake, but snuggled into Cade’s embrace anyway. She relaxed for what seemed like the first time in an eternity, feeling safe and cherished in his big arms.
Cade lowered his head until it rested on top of hers. Every breath he took fanned through her curly strands of hair, making her feel like she’d been shoved into an inferno. Her overheated body shuddered against his large frame, and
she bit her lip to hold back a giggle. Only her men could make her shiver when she was on fire.
Sighing quietly, Jaycee listened to the lyrics of “We Danced” by Brad Paisley. The country crooner sang, “And we danced. Out there on that empty hardwood floor. Chairs up and the lights turned way down low. Music played, we held each other close…”
Jaycee wondered if Cade realized this was the scenario she’d dreamed about since the first time she’d heard this song. This setting was what movies were made of. All romances needed a scene with lovers on a dance floor in the soft, pale light, dancing to their perfect love song.
Only, they weren’t lovers, the dance floor had some kind of icky coating, and the neon Come On In or Fuck Off sign was distractedly blinking at her. Okay, it wasn’t really the setting for a romantic movie, but she didn’t give a shit. This was her fantasy, not some director in Hollywood’s. Cade was in Jaycee’s arms, and they were dancing to her favorite song. She could have been anywhere, and it would be magical.
Cade kissed the top of her hair. “I’ve missed you, Jaycee.”
Tears sprang to Jaycee’s eyes, and she wanted to respond to his sweet words but couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat. Before she found her voice, Brad belted out the last line of the song, “Yeah, we danced,” followed by the final chords.
Stepping away like a scalded cat, Jaycee wanted to scream out, Hallelujah!
Cade smiled, knowingly, with a hint of derision. “Now was that so bad, darlin’?”
Without waiting for her answer, Cade grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the bar counter. As they drew near, Jaycee saw Gray deeply entrenched in a heated conversation with Douchebag Cowboy Number One and Douchebag Cowboy Number Two.
Katie-Anne and Shannon stood close by, egging on the men engaged in the pissing contest.
Jaycee heard Number One inform Gray, “She ain’t got no ring or collar. That makes her fair game. I’m feeling mighty horny, and that little filly sure looks like she knows how to fuck a man every which way but loose.”
The man never had a chance. Gray’s fist smashed into his face faster than the strike of a cornered snake. The asshole’s head snapped backward, and he groaned.