Defender (Doms of Mountain Bend Book 3)

by BJ Wane

  Pressing his mouth to her ear, he tugged on her lobe with his teeth. “Better?” he asked when her breathing returned to normal.

  She sighed. “I don’t know how you do it, but yes. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Clayton released her and pulled up her panties and shorts, eyeing the lingering pink spot marring her otherwise lily white buttock. Her soft, round ass tempted him, but now was not the time or place to indulge that fantasy. Monday’s were Sharon Mize’s day off at the bar, and the only day he frequented the Watering Hole ever since she’d become a thorn in his side after ending their brief affair. If they didn’t get over there soon, Shawn and Dakota wouldn’t wait on them.

  “How about dinner with me? Lisa and Poppy are joining us with Shawn and Dakota.” He turned her, smiling at the surprise etched on her face. She hadn’t expected that but also wasn’t aware of his ulterior motive in getting her to open up to the girls since he was getting nowhere with her. “Have you been there, yet?”

  “No, so thanks, yes. I’ll join you.”

  She bit her lip, and he could almost read her mind. “I asked you, sweetheart. My treat. If you’re ready, let’s get going.”

  Skye nodded, her relief obvious.

  Taking her hand, he refused to admit how nice her soft fingers felt clutching around his larger palm, a sign of the trust she wouldn’t give him verbally. For the first time, he didn’t know how to break through a woman’s resistance, but it was also the first time he’d been this compelled to pull a women’s secrets from her. “What did you do today?” he asked, holding the passenger side door of his Bronco open for her, deciding he’d give her one more shot to let him help her.

  She slid onto the seat, averting her face, and his disappointment ran too deep for comfort, making him question whether he already cared too much to walk away. And wouldn’t Shawn and Dakota get a kick out of hearing that confession?

  “I drove into Boise and did some shopping,” she replied.

  Clayton shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side, settling behind the wheel before answering. “Still not ready to tell me where home is?” He caught her wince out of the corner of his eye as he started the engine and pulled away.

  “I’m sorry. There are…issues I need to resolve before I can say much about myself.” She blew out a breath and cast him a look of remorse. “You’ve been nice, and patient, which I appreciate, but I’ll understand if you want me to leave your building.”

  It rubbed him wrong that she would think he would do that. “The offer was made without stipulations, as was the job of cleaning my office and home, and my help with whatever you’re struggling with.” He turned into the Watering Hole parking lot and found a place near Dakota’s Jeep. Cutting the engine, he reached for his door handle, turning his head toward Skye. “If you can’t talk to me, I can vouch for Lisa and Poppy. Come on. This place has the best sandwiches.”

  Skye hopped out of Clayton’s vehicle, the pleasant glow and lingering buzz from the orgasm he’d treated her to dissipating with his obvious disappointment in her. She wished she could confide in him more, if for no other reason than to pay him back by pleasing him with answers. But with half of her life still a blank, she wouldn’t have a clue where to begin or how he could help. She was now confident she hadn’t killed her husband, but that still left who had a big, possibly dangerous question, and a dream wasn’t proof of her innocence. While she didn’t doubt he could hold his own against any threat, especially with close friends she figured would have his back, a few, stress-relieving orgasms didn’t give her the right to embroil him in an unsolved murder. That went the same for his friends, Lisa, and Poppy.

  “Quit fretting, sweetheart,” Clayton said, grabbing her hand again to escort her inside.

  “How do you do that?” she hissed, still uncomfortable with his astute observation of her thoughts.

  His lips kicked up in a grin as he held the door for her. “Like I said, you’re an open book. There they are.” He nodded toward a corner table to their right, and she saw the other couples already seated.

  Skye hadn’t seen Poppy since her invitation to join her at the deli, but the redhead greeted her like a long-time friend, lifting a slim brow when her eyes landed on their clasped hands.

  “Skye, it’s good to see you again. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to visit with you at Spurs the other night. Lisa said it was your first time.” She sent Dakota a disgruntled glare. “Someone decided for me that I needed to leave early to rest.”

  “You were looking peaked, so, bite me. It worked, and you were much better the next morning,” Dakota shot back without remorse.

  Lisa giggled as Skye took the seat Clayton held out next to her. “You two crack me up.” She turned her smile on Skye. “They’re either sniping at each other or all over each other.”

  Poppy snorted. “Like you and Shawn aren’t?”

  “Hey, we don’t snipe at each other,” Shawn protested, draping an arm across Lisa’s shoulders. “When she doesn’t agree with me, I just pull out my handcuffs to persuade her.”

  Skye had wondered if Poppy belonged to the club, and, with the open dialogue about the lifestyle, she found herself more comfortable around all of them. Listening to their friendly banter made her wish she could join in, had the right as part of their group to joke with them. Shawn’s indulgent look and Dakota’s fierce protectiveness stirred up a longing inside her for someone special she could turn to in good times and bad, like now. She chanced a peek up at Clayton when his muscled arm brushed her shoulder, and her heart performed a slow roll, her skin prickling with awareness.

  Yes, she wanted him, and wished her life weren’t so complicated so she could entertain the idea of sticking around to see if it could lead into something more. She might have her work cut out for her, considering all she’d heard and gathered about him enjoying his bachelorhood too much to give it up just yet. But a man like him, caring, protective, and willing to defend didn’t come around all that often. Regret for her circumstances weighed on her as she turned away from his too-observant gaze.

  “Do you plan on sticking around Mountain Bend, Skye?” Shawn asked, handing over a menu.

  “For about another week,” she replied, making a snap decision to reap what she could from Clayton’s attention before returning to Boise. It was time she quit cowering in Mountain Bend and confronted her remaining memory loss head on where it had occurred, even if the thought of returning to the house she’d shared with Alex still scared her spitless. She couldn’t spend weeks more waiting for snippets of what happened to fill in the pieces for her. “I’ll have to get home after that.” She gave them a rueful smile, hoping to bypass the questions she could tell they wanted to ask. “I’ve played hooky from my responsibilities long enough.”

  Clayton’s brows snapped together in a frown, his eyes sharp and assessing as he studied her face. Skye tried schooling her features into a bland expression, but when his look turned calculating, she panicked and failed.

  “You should make time to spend with Lisa and Poppy,” he told her, “so you have friends to visit and another reason to come back.”

  “Definitely,” Lisa agreed. “Neither of us has been here more than a few months, most of our time taken up with our guys and getting settled with our new jobs. School will start up again shortly, but this week I have time, if you want to come out to the ranch. Do you ride?”

  Skye thought she should be better at answering questions she possessed no memory of by now, but once again, she floundered for a reply. Erring on the side of caution, she stated, “Not much, but that sounds like fun. Thank you.”

  “I’ll join you. Just give me a head’s up on when. Jerry has his weekly dinner with Miss Betty on Wednesday, if that works for you two,” Poppy said.

  Leaning back in his chair, Clayton drawled, “I’m betting it’s not long before Old Man Sanders asks her to move out there.”

  Dakota scowled. “That wouldn’t be right.”
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  Everyone but Skye and Dakota burst out laughing.

  “Isn’t that akin to the pot calling the kettle black?” Poppy asked him in a sugary tone.

  “He’s preparing for kids someday,” Shawn teased. “You know, do as I say, not as I do.”

  Before anyone could respond, Clayton’s eyes turned frosty, and he swore seeing the waitress approaching their table. “Son of a bitch, what’s she doing working today?”

  “Uh, oh. Sucks to be you.” Dakota’s words held no sympathy and earned him a glare from his friend.

  “Shut up,” Clayton shot back, and Skye could tell he wasn’t amused.

  “Hi, guys. Nice to see you in here again.”

  Skye immediately didn’t like their waitress. Partly because she omitted greeting the female diners at the table, but mostly because of the possessive way she looked at Clayton followed by a quick flicker of jealous hate aimed at her. She could be nice and let her know nothing would come of her association with Clayton, even if admitting that caused a pang of regret, but a perverse part of her didn’t want to be nice.

  The waitress rested her hand on Clayton’s shoulder, and he frowned. “I thought you had Mondays off, Sharon,” he said, his tone accusatory as he shrugged off her hand.

  Lisa and Poppy smirked so Skye quit holding back her own satisfaction at Clayton’s response and the woman’s unhappy expression. She supposed it was inevitable she would run into one of his previous lovers in a town this small. That didn’t mean she had to like it, or her, she thought.

  “I offered to fill in for one of the other servers who called in sick. What can I get you this evening?” The question might have been meant for all of them at the table, but her attention remained focused on Clayton.

  Clayton winked at Skye, reaching over to trail one finger across the back of her hand, his light touch eliciting tingles up and down her arm. She warmed from his blatant flirtation and returned his smile, even though she knew he was just trying to douse the other woman’s attention.

  “What would you like, sweetheart?” he asked.

  Skye gave her order without glancing at the waitress, but she had no trouble hearing her huff of annoyance. Sharon delivered another disgruntled glare toward her after she’d taken all their orders then walked away, none too happy with Clayton’s continued attention on Skye. As soon as she was out of earshot, however, he once again suggested she get together with Lisa and Poppy when Poppy mentioned shopping the local flea market for fresh produce on Friday.

  “You should go with her,” he prompted. “A lot of tourists like to pick up arts-and-crafts items made by the townsfolk, as well as food items to take home with them.”

  “Sure, sounds like fun, if you don’t mind, Poppy,” she replied, his obvious attempt to pawn her off this last week thwarting her idea to indulge in as much of his sexual attention as she could before leaving. Given the ache his change of heart in spending time with her produced, maybe that was for the best.

  “Not in the least. Be sure to give me your phone number, and I’ll call when I can get away.”

  “Just don’t overdo,” Dakota grumbled.

  Skye got a kick out of Poppy when she responded to Dakota by patting his thick forearm, her voice sarcastically sweet and innocent when she said, “Of course not, dear.”

  For the next hour, she listened more than talked, and saw how close the three men were, and how much Shawn and Dakota cared for Lisa and Poppy. Skye envied the women, wondering how it would feel to have someone look at her with such possessive devotion. She tried to ignore the warm rush she experienced every time Clayton’s deep voice or low, rumbling laugh resonated next to her, and how much she longed for a change in her circumstances that would enable her to stay here longer.

  When sadness at the thought of returning to Boise at the end of the week pulled her down, the need to excuse herself before anyone noticed took hold. Pushing her chair back, she rose, saying, “Excuse me, where are the restrooms?”

  Lisa pointed toward a hall across the room. “Down there. I’ll join you as soon as I finish.”

  “Thanks.”

  Clayton sent her a curious glance, which she ignored as she pivoted and wound her way through the crowded tables.

  When she reached the hallway, Sharon, their waitress stepped in front of her with a glower, startling Skye out of her despondent thoughts. “He’s only using you to get my attention, you know,” she said, her eyes swinging toward Clayton then back at Skye.

  Fed up with the woman, and her misconception about her relationship with Clayton that she wished wasn’t in error, Skye snapped, “It looked to me like he has your attention whether he wants it or not. Take a hint.”

  “Why, you bitch! I’ve known him and been with him for years. He’ll forget all about you as soon as you leave town, and I’ll have him back.”

  Exasperated, Skye shoved past her, tossing over her shoulder, “Fine by me, if that’s what you want to believe.” She slipped into the restroom, leaned against the door, and closed her eyes on a shuddering breath. If the stupid woman couldn’t see Clayton’s blatant disinterest, that was her problem, as well as the hurt she was headed for. Skye had enough of her own to cope with, the most distressing now was acknowledging she’d failed to keep her heart from tumbling into strong feelings for Clayton.

  “I recognize that look,” Dakota stated as soon as Lisa and Poppy left the table for the restroom. He glanced from Clayton to Shawn. “It’s the same one you wore on your sleeve after meeting Lisa.”

  Shawn nodded, grinning at Clayton’s scowl. “Me, too. I saw it on your face often enough after you met Poppy.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Clayton wasn’t ready to admit what they were saying.

  Dakota scoffed. “Come on, Clay. You’ve got more than a hard-on for the girl. It’s obvious as all get out.”

  “She’s got trouble, and I want to help. That’s all. You’d do the same.” His reasoning sounded lame even to him. He’d seen Sharon talking to Skye, and his first reaction had been to come to her defense. But whatever she’d said worked to defuse Sharon’s argument, proving Skye did have a backbone she wasn’t opposed to using. If he was convinced she could handle herself, why was he still itching to help her when she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in accepting his offer?

  “We both did,” Shawn said. “But it took coming to terms with our feelings before we acted, and we both came close to waiting too long. Don’t make that mistake, Clayton. If you want her, or want to see where your relationship might lead, act now, not later.”

  “I’m not ready to settle down,” he argued, but that excuse wasn’t convincing anymore, at least, not to him. “I hardly know her, or anything about her.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Dakota replied with a rueful drawl. “There’s a connection that wasn’t present with anyone else. That’s all you need to start with. If it doesn’t pan out, at least you won’t have regrets.”

  Seeing the concern and support reflected on his friends’ faces, Clayton blew out a breath, surrendering to their advice. Something different had clicked the moment he met Skye. He’d labeled it concern, then added lust, but more had stirred inside him each time he’d seen her, spoken with her. And then he had touched her, heard her cry out in release, cementing whatever feelings had been loosely growing.

  “Well, shit.”

  Shawn and Dakota laughed. “Welcome to the downfallen,” Shawn said.

  “I have hurdles to overcome before that happens.” And Clayton would have to come up with a way to break through Skye’s defenses before he could explore the possibility of his first committed relationship.

  Chapter Eight

  “What did you want me to do, Meg? Hog tie her and toss her in the back of my car?”

  Harper held the phone to her ear as she walked to her car in the parking lot, her frustration with her sister growing by the day. She should have known better than to tell Meg about the inheritance that would go to Skye Anderson when her moth
er passed away, and it was really dumb of her to go along with another one of Meg’s outrageous schemes. Hadn’t she gotten into enough trouble in the past listening to her sister?

  “You should at least have found out where she’s staying, or a way to stay in touch.”

  “And how was I supposed to get her to tell me that? She doesn’t trust me, and now she’s sure she didn’t fire the gun. It was all I could do to convince her I didn’t see anyone else in the house when I arrived.”

  Harper got behind the wheel of her twelve-year-old Escort and winced at the stifling heat. A new car with air conditioning had been at the top of her list of purchases once Alex divorced Skye and got half of her inheritance, but she’d put that pipe dream on hold, along with so many others when Alex and Meg screwed everything up.

  “You’re the one who panicked and not only killed him but our chances of salvaging anything from this plan,” she reminded Meg.

  “The bastard had already blown the gig with his temper when he knocked her around and she filed for divorce. Hell, Harper, her old lady is still breathing, and I haven’t been able to dig up any activity on Owen Marshall’s estate since he died. I don’t know what the executors of his will are waiting for.”

  “It’s not like the money will do Mona any good at this stage. She doesn’t have long, and he did arrange for weekly reports to be sent to his lawyers, which they’ve been doing.”

  Harper wondered why Skye was still in the dark about her mother’s family but assumed her grandfather had his reasons for acting as he had. Once news of his death had circulated on the web, she had done her part and moved fast to introduce Skye to Alex, leaving it up to him to coax her into marriage. The three of them went to high school together, Alex and Meg constantly plotting get-rich-quick schemes that never panned out and often landed them in trouble.

  Harper only had herself to blame for jumping on board this one, and now look where they were – smack dab in the biggest cluster fuck of them all.