by Deanna Chase
She tsked. “Please. If two people ever needed to get it on, it’s them.”
I had to agree. And if I had my way, then we’d for sure be getting down to business in zero minus sixty and counting. But right then, Diesel was leaning against the wall, his feet crossed at the ankle while he smiled down at some barely dressed teenager. Her skirt was so short that if she bent over, more than just the moon was going to come into play. Not that I minded. On principle, nudity wasn’t an issue for me. But when the girl’s assets were catching the eye of the man I had my sights on, then I started to get a little irritated. Okay, a lot irritated.
Our drinks arrived. I grabbed mine and elbowed Sassy. “Let me out. It’s party time.”
She glanced around the room. “What? Are you going to join Diesel in the john?”
I tilted my head as if I were contemplating that. Then I shot another look at him. He was laughing, those whiskey eyes crinkled at the edges as he stared at the infant.
“No. I’m going to dance.” I pointed across the room at a ruggedly handsome man wearing clean jeans and a black T-shirt. His matching black hat was pulled down far enough I couldn’t see his eyes, but he had a strong chin and enough five o’clock shadow to tickle all the right places.
“Oh, nice choice.” Sassy’s eyes flashed with interest, but she shook herself and smiled at Jeeves. “But I bet he has nothing on you in the bedroom.”
Jeeves pumped his eyebrows at her, but said nothing.
“See you two later.” With pink-tini in hand, I sauntered over to my mysterious cowboy. Without saying a word, I slipped my hand into his and led him out onto the dance floor.
He glanced down at my ample cleavage and smiled. “Hello there, darlin’.”
“Hello yourself.” I raised my drink in salute, and then downed it. After discarding the glass, I tilted my head up, licked the sugar off my lips, and asked, “Well, are we going to tango or what?”
He let out a low rumbling chuckle. Then he swept me up into his arms and proceeded to lead me around the room in some sort of country and western two-step one might expect to see in the movie Urban Cowboy. My movements were rusty, but I’d danced enough in my day that it wasn’t a problem to follow along. By the time the number ended, I was almost an old pro.
“I’m guessing you’re not from around these parts,” he said, brushing a fallen tendril of hair off my neck.
His touch sent a small thrill through my body. “What was the giveaway? My accent?” I knew my soft southern lilt had a touch of French. Nothing like the folks from the mountains of West Virginia.
“That and I would’ve noticed a fine looking beauty like yourself.”
Only he wasn’t looking at my face. The man’s eyes hadn’t left my chest once since we’d stopped dancing.
“I need a drink,” I said, fanning myself.
“Yes, you do.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me across the battered wood floors over to the equally battered bar. “Four whiskey shots. And one of those fru-fru pink drinks with the sugar on the rim.”
“Pink-tini” I said, resting on one of the barstools. Being a flesh and blood human was taking a toll on my poor feet. But damn, the boots were cute, so I’d grin and bear it.
The gruff bartender pulled out four shot glasses and expertly filled them with the amber liquid. My dance partner handed me one. “To a night of indulgence.”
“Ha! I’ll drink to that.” I clinked my glass to his and then knocked it back. The pleasant burn of the liquor stung my throat and made my eyes water, but I immediately picked up another shot glass. “Ready for round two?”
The handsome stranger tipped his hat, and together we made short work of the whiskey.
“What’s your name, darlin’” he asked, handing me my pink-tini.
“Ida May. Yours?”
His hand slipped from the small of my back to my hip as he pulled me to his side. “Willard Buckeye Pierce. You can call me Will.”
“I’ll call you Bucky,” I said, slurring just a little. Then I giggled and took a gulp of the sweet liquid.
“You can call me whatever you want, sweetheart, just as long as you don’t stop looking at me like that.”
I grinned up at him. “And how is that?”
His brilliant blue eyes glinted as he adjusted his hat to meet my gaze. “Like you’ve already decided to take me home tonight.”
“Smooth talker, aren’tcha?” I lowered my eyelashes, playing coy, and barely noticed when he pulled me off the stool, tugging me back onto the dance floor. My head was sort of fuzzy and when I stumbled, he caught me and pulled me in close, wrapping his arms around me.
“Careful, Maybelle,” he murmured into my hair as his hands slid lower, inching toward my butt.
“Ida May,” I said automatically, wondering what had happened to my pink-tini. Damn, those things were delicious.
“Sure, sweetheart.” He removed his hat, revealing thick, wavy brown hair. The kind a girl could really sink her fingers into. Then he dipped his head and brushed his lips over my pulse.
“Well, that’s nice.” I was somewhat surprised that my pulse wasn’t racing, but his attention was welcome all the same.
“Nice?” He pulled back and fixed me with a stare that had challenge written all over it.
I shrugged. “You wouldn’t want me to lie would you?”
His arm tightened around my waist, pulling me in so that my body was molded to his.
That was nice, too. He was tall, with muscles in all the right places. Smelled of fresh air and hay, exactly what one would expect from a cowboy.
“Look at me, Maybelle.”
“Ida—”
His lips came down on mine, silencing me. He tasted of whiskey and cigarettes, and I immediately started to push him away. But his grip tightened and his kiss became more insistent, more demanding, his tongue thrusting and teeth biting.
I finally tore my mouth free and was just about to read him the riot act, when Diesel came out of nowhere.
“Back off, buddy.” My ex pulled me away from Bucky and stepped in front of me, blocking me from the cowboy.
“Who the hell are you?” Bucky reached for me, but Diesel moved to the side, cutting him off.
“Her date. Now go bother someone else.” Diesel turned, already shuffling me back toward the table.
“Hey.” I stopped and planted my feet.
Too bad my borrowed shoes had no traction, and with one tug on my arm Diesel was able to literally drag me back to where Sassy and Jeeves were making out. She’d moved to the other side of the table and was sitting with her legs wrapped around him, attacking his mouth like it was made of cheesecake.
“Let go!” I yanked my arm out of Diesel’s grip and glared up at him. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’m the guy who’s going to keep you from being assaulted.”
“I—”
“You’re drunk and have no idea who that guy is.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared me down.
“That’s none of your business,” I said haughtily.
“The hell it isn’t.” Diesel took a step toward me, trapping me between him and the table.
“Whoa,” Sassy said, finally coming up for air. “You two need a little privacy?”
We both glared at her.
“Hey, I was just asking. Because the electricity rippling between you two, it’s enough to blow a transformer, if you know what I mean.”
“Go home, Sassy,” Diesel said. “Take Jeeves back to Zelda’s or out to lookout point. We’ve got it under control here.”
I pointed to her and then my lips, making a circular motion. The red lipstick she’d applied earlier was now smeared practically all over her face. “You might want to do something about that.”
“You’re one to talk,” Diesel said, turning his glare on me.
“Hey! Mine can’t be that bad. I barely even exchanged spit with that guy.”
“That’s not what it looked like from here.”
“H
ow would you know?” I eased away from him, waiting for Sassy to untangle herself from Jeeves. “Last I checked you were too busy flirting with a teenager.”
His whiskey eyes flashed with irritation. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” I waved an impatient hand. “Just seems every time you’re supposed to be with me you’re off with someone else. Younger and prettier.”
“Ida—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” I tucked my arm through Sassy’s, who was standing next to the booth adjusting her rumpled top. “Ready to freshen up?”
“Yep.” She blew a kiss to Jeeves. “I’ll be back in a second. Then we can decide where we want to finish this.”
Her boyfriend nodded and took a sip of his cosmo.
On the way to the restroom, my anger started to fade and along with it any hope of sobriety. The last of the whiskey had finally hit my blood stream, and if I wasn’t mistaken, my tongue was starting to go numb.
That would really suck for later in the evening. I’d had big plans of tasting every inch of Diesel. Or was it Bucky? Damn, was he still around? Or had Diesel run him off?
“Looks like you have the makings for a little ménage à trois,” Sassy said as she held the ladies’ room door open for me.
“Huh?” I glanced in the mirror and blinked twice trying to clear my vision. It didn’t work. There were three of me, each of us with bright red lipstick smeared on my left cheek and mascara smudged under one eye. “Damn, who did this to my face?”
“Hot cowboy. I thought he was going to do you right there on the dance floor.” Sassy passed me a paper towel, and went to work on cleaning up her own appearance.
“Bucky,” I said, hating the way his name sounded. “Bucky,” I tried again. “What kind of crappy name is that?”
“So no ménage à trois?” Sassy asked, patting her blond hair into place.
I shook my head, hating that idea. Even though dancing with the cowboy had been fun, the mauling I’d endured without the benefit of an invitation wasn’t exactly what I’d call a good time. As much as I hated to admit it, I was glad Diesel had stepped in. And he was going to be rewarded for it. Big time. “Diesel isn’t into sharing.”
She nodded. “I can see that.”
I headed into one of the stalls, and when I returned to wash my hands, the bathroom was empty. No Sassy anywhere. “So much for no girl left behind,” I muttered.
“Did your friend ditch you?” a woman said, coming out of another stall. She had long auburn hair and was dressed in a short black dress with black leggings. But it was her shoes that caught my attention. They were black with red laces.
“Yeah. It would appear that way.” I clutched at the counter to keep the room from spinning.
“Whoa.” She put a hand on my shoulder, steadying me. “Hold on a sec. Let me help you.”
“I’m fine.” I shrugged her off, but teetered on my heels and clutched at her arm, laughing. “Oops. Looks like I’m a little tipsy.”
“A little. Come on. You probably could use some air.”
I let her guide me out of the bathroom and down the hall to the back door. The moment we stepped into the chilly air, my mind started to clear. “Holy ice balls!” I clasped my arms around myself and shivered. “What is it, like negative ten degrees out here?”
She scoffed. “More like twenty. But don’t worry, I’m going to warm you up.”
I frowned. “Huh? You got a jacket—ouch!”
The long-haired beauty grabbed my upper arm, pinching until it made my eyes water.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting you the hell away from my man.” Her expression morphed into one of pure hatred as she started to drag me across the dimly lit parking lot.
“Let go!” I struggled, trying and failing to twist out of her grip. “I’ll leave him alone. Geez. We were just dancing.”
“Right.” Long-haired beotch yanked me forward, making me trip and fall to one knee.
A rush of anger seared through me, and I reached out, grabbing her ankle with both hands.
“What are you—”
I yanked. Hard, sending her flailing to the ground, ass first. She landed with a thud, her pretty face contorted with hate. “Not so pretty now, are you?” I spat and then moved back toward the bar.
I’d just grabbed the door handle when a sharp, stabbing pain hit me in the back and I froze. A small ball of heat seared my shoulder, intensified, and crawled over my skin at a rapid rate. I let out a cry and let go of the door as a red glow coated my skin.
“Burn, Ida May. Burn in hell,” I heard a faint raspy voice say from behind me.
Move, Ida May! I ordered myself. But it was useless. The magic held me firmly in place, my skin on fire. A scream was caught in my throat, and the last thing I saw before I blacked out were those stupid black shoes with red laces.
4
“I don’t know how you ended up here, but you were supposed to die a long time ago.”
I heard the words, smelled the overly sweet stench of honeysuckle and started to gag.
“That’s right, Ida May. Let go. Leave Diesel in peace to suffer his fate.”
Diesel? Who was this crazy person? And what did any of this have to do with me. My brain was too fuzzy to make sense of anything.
Pain radiated over my skin, stabbing me with a thousand tiny little needles. “Why?” I finally gasped out, heaving in a ragged breath as my lungs burned.
“Why should he suffer? Because he’s caused too much pain already.”
I shook my head, nausea making my eyes water. “No. Why are you doing this to me?”
She let out a loud cackle that made the pain in my head pulse. “Because you weren’t supposed to be here. You were supposed to be dead. You can’t help him.”
I forced myself up, barely managing to get my arms and knees underneath me as the asphalt dug into my skin. I had to get up. Had to do something other than lie there and let this crazy witch kill me. But just as I grabbed onto the door handle again to try to pull myself up, another bolt of red light slammed into me.
Pain exploded in my lower back, and I collapsed onto the ground, barely gasping for breath. Footsteps approached, and I curled into the fetal position, certain the witch had backup. This was it. They were going to finish me off or toss me into the woods. After all these years as a sassy ghost in New Orleans, I was going to die at the hands of a jealous lunatic and end up roaming the backwoods town of Asscrack, West Virginia. Son of a—
“What in the fresh hell do you think you’re doing, bitch?” came a familiar female voice.
Without warning, another red ball of light flew past me, heading straight toward Sassy, who’d stopped just a few feet from me.
But she threw her hands out and sent a ball of puke-green flames directly at the red light. The two collided, setting off a massive explosion. Asphalt debris rained down on us, followed by shouts and cries of alarm.
“What happened,” I heard Diesel say. Then he cursed and was crouching down beside me. “Ida May?” he asked, his voice soft.
I blinked, squinting up at him. “Yeah?”
“Are you all right? Can you move your arms and legs?”
“I think so.” I gingerly sat up, leaning into him for support. Everything ached from the attack, but as far as I could tell, there wasn’t any permanent damage. “Boy, did you piss her off.”
“Who?”
“The one who did this to me.” I glanced up at him and frowned. “She said you need to suffer.”
His jaw tightened and a muscle in his neck started to pulse. “Did she say anything else?”
“Something about me and how I was supposed to be dead.” I pressed a hand to the back of my head and felt something wet. “Oh my god! Am I bleeding? I have a head injury. A concussion. Crap, I’m going to die… again… in this shitty parking lot without getting any action. This human vacation sucks ass!”
“Uh, Ida May?” Sassy said.
“Yes?”
<
br /> “You’re not bleeding. You fell in garbage juice. Worst case you’re lying in rotten orange peels. Best case, yesterday’s gravy.”
“Oh. Right.” I brought my hand close to my nose and nearly gagged again. “Oh, gods. It smells like the inside of a dead chicken. Someone get me out of here and into a bath. I can’t stand it any longer.”
Diesel didn’t waste any time. He bent and picked me up, his strong arms cradling me once again against his rock hard chest. Then without a word or complaint, he carried me to his truck.
Sassy followed. “I’ll fill Baba Waba Ding Dong in on this attack when she calls. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
“She’ll call?” I asked, resting my head against the seat of the truck.
“Or show up. You never know with that one. But that bitch just used illegal magic, so I’m sure it will register on the anointed one’s radar sooner rather than later. Anything you want me to tell her?”
“Um… just that the crazy witch clearly wanted me dead and she said that Diesel was supposed to suffer.”
Sassy frowned and turned to Diesel. “Do you have an idea who that was?”
He shook his head. “No. I didn’t see her. Though I suppose it could be the one who put this curse on me. I just have no idea who that could be. Once we get back to my cabin, I’ll see if Ida May can help me with a description.”
“Might not matter if she’s transformed herself.” Sassy’s gaze darted back and forth between us. “You two have any common enemies?”
“None that I’m aware of,” Diesel said, and then he shut my door. A second later, he was in the truck, the heat turned way up and barreling down the highway. Taylor Swift was on the radio singing about never ever getting back together.
“I guess that says it all,” I muttered.
“What?” He glanced over at me, his eyes troubled.
“Nothing.” I leaned against the cold window and let out a sigh. “It’s not important.”
The log cabin Diesel had rented for his stay in Asscrack was on the small side, but it had been remodeled recently and had every modern convenience. The kitchen was upscale, with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. The gleaming floors were knotty pine hardwood, and the living room had floor to ceiling windows to enjoy the vast beauty of the forest. But the best part was the bathroom.