by Sophie Oak
“You gotta understand, there are rules to be followed, and the first one is don’t play around with other dudes. I really think Julian is going to be inflexible on that one.” Sam two-stepped with a light smile on his face.
Dani searched the bar frantically. Julian was here? What the hell was Julian doing here? But, yes, there he was. She couldn’t mistake those broad shoulders or the lush, dark hair pulled back in a sexy ponytail. She remembered what it looked like when it fell around his neck and past his shoulders. When he’d leaned over her, his hair had fallen around her face, making a little intimate world where there had only been the two of them.
“If you don’t watch it, Julian’s going to tan your hide,” Abby said with a cheerful little smile. “That’s the good part. The bad part is when he doesn’t let you have any fun, if you know what I mean. I wouldn’t push him that far, Dani.”
Dani stopped in the middle of the dance floor to the obvious chagrin of Brad whatever-his-name-was. The cowboy frowned and threw his hands up before stalking off in search of a less distracted partner. Dani allowed Sam and Abby to move her off the dance floor to the far end of the bar.
“I don’t understand. He doesn’t care about me.” Dani wasn’t sure why he was here, but he wasn’t here for her. She knew that. Craning her neck, she tried to see through the sea of dancing couples. Julian looked like he was talking to Finn and a woman. Val was trying to sink her perfectly manicured claws into Julian.
“Don’t worry about that,” Sam said, passing Dani a longneck. “Julian likes boobs on his females. If he’s in the mood for some manloving, he’ll find a guy. That sister of yours doesn’t stand a chance.”
Sure enough, Val turned from the two men, her chest heaving with obvious anger. She shot Dani a cold stare before marching to the bar where she met up with Cecelia Smith, her cool, blonde BFF. Cece was a terrible gossip. The tall, willowy twenty-four-year-old was already whispering behind her hand to her equally skinny blonde cohorts. The former cheerleading squad of Willow Fork High School might no longer wear little red skirts, but they stuck together, and they loved to cause trouble.
“See. I know what Julian’s into,” Sam said with that easy confidence of his.
A secret smile played on Abby’s face. “I wouldn’t mention that to Jack if I were you.”
“Mention what?” Jack slid an arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“Not a damn thing.” Sam winked at Dani. “I was just explaining to Dani here that perhaps she should have thought about actually wearing the other half of her skirt to this particular establishment.”
“Yes, that might have been smart. I do believe Julian took exception to Danielle’s wardrobe choices this evening.” The words were a lazy threat coming out of Jack’s mouth.
Dani was righteously confused. Finn was upset. She understood that, but Julian had dismissed her as though he couldn’t have cared less whether she stayed or went. Why should he care that she was wearing a skirt she’d bought as a part of a Halloween costume? It was one of the only things she’d left behind when she’d moved her things to Jimbo’s house. “My skirt has nothing to do with Julian Lodge. And from what I understand, he shouldn’t care either way. I talked to Lexi a couple of hours ago, and she told me all about his club. People run around there naked.”
When Lexi had explained exactly what kind of club Julian ran, Dani had been shocked, amused, and very, very interested. It wasn’t like she didn’t know places like The Club existed; she just hadn’t met someone who went to one. Except she had. Abby went to Julian’s club with her husbands. Lexi went there with Lucas. Lexi said it was one of the only places in the world where she felt truly comfortable.
“There are rules at The Club,” Jack stated implacably. His shoulders squared, and he seemed to get even taller. Dani noticed Abby and Sam both looked up to him, their eyes soft.
“There are laws everywhere,” Dani countered.
“I’m not talking about laws. I’m talking about rules. Julian’s club has rules, and the people there know they damn sure better follow the rules or they’re in for some serious trouble. There are no real rules here and no one to enforce them even if there were. It’s not fair, but it’s a fact of life that you’ll get treated differently because you’re wearing that…I wouldn’t even call it a skirt. It looks like a denim Band-Aid you wrapped around your ass. And you should be wearing a damn bra, Danielle.”
She had always wondered what it would be like to have an overprotective father. Jack Barnes was doing a fine impression of one. There was a big part of her that wanted to apologize and slink home to change. But she wasn’t letting that part of her win tonight. Tonight she was in charge.
“I’m sorry you don’t like it, Mr. Barnes, but it really isn’t any of your business.” The man Dani had come to see walked into the room from the back porch where they played horseshoes and smoked. Dani felt her eyes narrow and her fists clench. Jimbo Smart was laughing and drinking like he hadn’t put a torch to everything she owned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make a few things clear to my ex.”
She heard someone shout at her, but she moved through the crowd quickly before one of her friends could catch her and stop her from making a mistake she really wanted to make. The Barn was ridiculously crowded for a Sunday night. Shouldn’t these people be at church? Dani moved past the pastor of First Presbyterian, who was dancing with his wife and looked like he was having a great time. Dani seriously doubted Pastor Robert Cornelious of the First Methodist Church had ever two-stepped to “Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy.” Maybe she should change churches. After all, she was going to need forgiveness for what she was about to do.
One of Jimbo’s friends elbowed him, and the bastard looked up. His jaw dropped open as she approached.
“Damn, girl, you look good!” He whistled and gave his friend a return elbowing. He leaned over, but Dani could hear what he said. “I hit that.”
Joe, who worked at Jimbo’s shop, shook his head. “Yeah, we all know that. That’s probably why she bolted. You gotta hide that tiny dick, or you’re never gonna get a woman to marry you.”
Jimbo doubled over laughing. The bastard was drunk off his ass. When he came up for air, there was a pleading look in his eyes. “Come on, babe, defend my honor. It isn’t the biggest thing in the world, but it’s got stamina.”
No, it didn’t, but she wasn’t getting drawn into an argument over the size of his dick, which, compared to Julian’s, was tiny.
“Come on, babe, you gotta admit you owe me. The least you can do is take out an ad or something proclaiming that you didn’t leave me over the size of my dickor you could say you did, because it was too big for you to handle. Yeah, that’s what you should do.” Jimbo’s face was red from beer and laughter, and Dani couldn’t handle one more second of it.
She picked up the nearest napkin holder and fastballed it right at Jimbo. It took the cowboy hat right off his head.
“Damn, girl, what was that for?” Jimbo held his head in his hand while Joe laughed his ass off.
“That was for what you did to me. How could you? That was everything I owned. You could have burned down my house. Did you even think about that?”
Jimbo’s eyes got big and wide. “What the hell are you talking about, Dani? Are you pissed that I left your stuff in the yard? I tried to call, but you didn’t answer. You didn’t answer the door, either. I thought you would want your stuff back. Besides, Momma already set me up with this girl from Alba, and she probably won’t fuck me if my house is full of some other girl’s shit. It didn’t rain or nothing. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“Danielle!”
Julian’s voice carried across the room, the crowd, the loud music. He shouted, and Dani turned immediately. She saw Jack shaking his head with an “I told you so” air about him. The dancing stopped, and everyone moved out of Julian’s way as he stalked the distance between them.
“Holy shit, Dani, what kind of trouble are you in?” Jimbo asked, s
till rubbing his head.
The kind that got her spanked. Julian looked like a righteously pissed-off bull must look just before he gored the cowboy who’d tried to ride him. Dani took a step back, her back coming into contact with Jimbo’s front. She was surprised that his hands came up to her shoulders.
“Dani, maybe you should get behind me,” he said, his voice uncertain.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you, Dani,” Finn said, walking up and taking his place beside Julian.
When had they started working together? Well, she wasn’t about to hide behind Jimbo. She forced her spine to straighten. “This isn’t your business, Julian. And it isn’t your business either, Finn.”
That single eyebrow arched up. “What did you call me?”
“Julian, Sir.” Damn it, she had to stop that.
“I didn’t call you anything.” Jimbo took a step back, leaving her alone.
“See that it stays that,” Julian said. “Danielle, are you attempting to start a bar fight?”
“I am attempting to show this asshole that he can’t torch everything I own and get away with it.”
“What?” Jimbo shouted the question. When Dani looked back there was unmistakable confusion on his face. “I didn’t torch nothing, Dani. Why the hell would I do that?”
Dani turned to fully face him. “When I got home this morning, the fire department was putting out the fire in my front yard where you had burned everything I owned because of how pissed off you were that I left you.”
“No, babe, that’s not true. Damn, how did I miss that story? Everything was fine when I left. Look, I’ll be real honest with you. I like you, Dani, but I ain’t in love with you. I was actually kind of relieved. Although, the way you look tonight, if you want to, you know, have some righteously nasty breakup sex, I am all over that.”
“You asshole,” Finn shouted as he surged from behind Julian. His fist was back and quickly connected with Jimbo’s face.
Curses started flying as Finn let go. He had Jimbo on the floor before Dani could scream. Jimbo’s friend got in on the action, double-teaming Finn. Dani heard Finn groan as Joe’s fist connected with his gut. Jimbo managed to get a good kick in. Dani couldn’t stand by. As angry as she was with Finn, she still loved him. She tugged at Joe’s shirt, trying to pull him back. All around her the crowd moved in. Bar fights were a regular form of entertainment at The Barn.
“Stop!”
Dani felt an arm go around her middle, lifting her away from the fight.
Jack and Sam were in the middle of the fight, pulling people off one another. Jack held the back of Finn’s shirt even as his fists continued trying to pummel an opponent who wasn’t close enough to hit. Finn’s face was bloody, his nose bruised.
“Don’t even think about it,” Julian whispered harshly. His arm tightened around her. “Finn, I believe you’ve made your point clear. Jackson, is there a place where I can take these two? I need to clean Finn up and make both of them very clear on the way their evening is going to go.”
Dani felt her heart start to race. Julian was using that deep, almost hypnotic voice on her. She opened her mouth to protest. She shouldn’t go anywhere with him. He would only break her heart again.
Before she could even get the first word out of her mouth, Julian’s hands tightened around her. “I would watch my words, Danielle. I won’t hesitate to start your punishment here and now. You know I have no problem with showing you off.”
“Punishment?”
“Yes, and Finn is due some as well.”
Finn’s head turned. “Me? What did I do?”
“Acted like an ass,” Dani said under her breath.
A sharp smack hit her bottom. “Your running commentary is not required, little one. Speak up again, and I’ll have that skirt up and your panties down while I redden that ass of yours.” Dani could hear him sigh. “You are wearing panties under that thing, correct?”
“Of course, though it’s really more of a thong,” Dani admitted.
“That will do.” Julian let her go and walked to Finn. He lifted Finn’s chin, seeming to inspect him. After a moment he nodded before turning back to Jack. “Should I take them home?”
The big cowboy shook his head as he handed Julian a key. “Nah, I have a place upstairs just for such an occasion. Take the back stairs, and it’s the first door on the left. There’s a shower and some clean clothes and other items should you need them.”
“Excellent.” He turned to the stairs. Despite the fight and all the chaos around them, Julian seemed perfectly in control. Finn was a bloody mess. She knew she had to look atrocious, but Julian was neat and pin perfect. What would it take to mess him up?
He paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Danielle, Finn, come along.” He turned and walked as though it was a certain thing that they would follow.
He hadn’t gotten more than two steps up before Finn was reaching for her hand, pulling her along.
* * * *
Val watched as her sister—her pathetic can’t-keep-a-man sister—walked up the stairs after the gorgeous billionaire. What the hell was going on? Her mind raced. Maybe this Lodge guy was just feeling sorry for Dani. Maybe he viewed her as a charity case.
That had to be it. Except he hadn’t looked at her like she was a charity case. He’d stared at Dani like he really wanted her. She’d managed to get close enough to hear a little bit of what he said to her. He’d been upset at the way she was dressed and talked about punishment. Dani had closed her mouth really fast at that. What the hell had Dani gotten into?
Val watched the three of them disappear up the stairs. Jealousy curled in her stomach. That bitch. Had she known what she was doing when she fled her wedding? This billionaire guy seemed to be a friend of Jack Barnes. Maybe Dani had known exactly what she was doing.
Val felt her hands fist at her sides. She thought about what had happened this morning. She’d called that two-timing asshole John Hartley and asked him to find a way to get her sister out of the picture. He’d been utterly unwilling to help her. In fact, he’d told her that if she couldn’t get the house in her name in the next couple of days, he was going to announce the coming deal. It turned out fall elections were more important to mayors than mistresses. Val was going to get the shaftagain.
“You want to explain what the fuck that was about?”
Jimbo hauled her around, a nasty gleam in his eyes.
This was so not what she needed. She saw Cece start to point their way. Cece would have a rumor going in no time at all. Val pulled Jimbo toward a darker, more private part of the bar. There was only one man sitting at a table in here. He nursed a beer and didn’t seem to pay particular attention to anyone.
“Will you keep your voice down?” Val shoved him into a corner.
“No, I won’t. You want to explain to me why Dani thinks I torched her shit? I was damn careful with all that crap. I even made sure that stupid-ass elephant she loved couldn’t possibly hit the ground and get wet. So how did it all manage to burn? I’m betting it was you, Val. What the hell have you got against Dani?”
Everything. Everywhere Val went, she was always Danielle Bay’s little sister. Even when she ruled the school, all any teacher could talk about was how smart Dani was, how kind. No matter how gorgeous and thin Val managed to make herself, there was someone who thought Dani was better than her.
“You can’t prove anything.” Val would be damned if this redneck hick would get the best of her. She loved what he did for her in bed, but she would be damned if he pushed her around. “Besides, what the hell do you care? She left you at the altar, or has half a dozen beers made you conveniently forget that fact?”
“She just came to her senses is all.” His calm infuriated Val. “Dani was always too good for me, and we both know it. She’s a nice lady.”
Nice? She’d left her fiancé and gone to bed with a practical stranger. “She’s fucking that guy, you know.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that feeling when he stared
a damn hole through me. If I’m right, she might finally get around to getting into Finn’s pants, too.”
“Finn’s gay, dummy.”
“Nah, Finn’s just real flexible, if you know what I mean. My sister went to the same college as Finn. He got around with a lot of people. Girls, boys, maybe the occasional goat, but I always knew he had a thing for Dani.”
Why wouldn’t this asshole get mad? “That guy she went upstairs with is loaded. She left you for money.”
“I doubt that. Dani’s not like that at all. But hell, if that guy’s loaded, then good for Dani…and Finn. I get the feeling that dude is open-minded like Jack Barnes. I gotta wonder why all the crazy threesomes around here are dude fests. I need to start a new trend. Two girls and one guy, namely me. That’s more sensible.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Probably. I was sure as hell a dumbass for sleeping with you. Here’s the deal, Val. I won’t open my mouth about this because I think it would hurt Dani, but you back off. Maybe she’ll leave for Dallas with the rich dude and Finn, and then you can have that pitiful excuse for a house all to yourself.” He pushed past her and walked back to his friends.
Val felt tears threaten. How had her sister won again? After all the times she’d slept with that asshole, he still defended Dani.
“You look like you could use a drink.”
Val turned. She’d forgotten about the guy at the table. He had a trucker hat pulled low over his face, but he seemed young to Val, maybe mid-twenties. He was clean shaven and thin, almost to the point of being gaunt. Still, he had a certain prettiness about him.
“I don’t think I’m good company tonight.” She wasn’t in the mood for a hookup, not when her sister was busy screwing more money than Val could ever imagine.
“Oh, but you might find out we have a lot in common.”
Val rolled her eyes. As pickup lines went, it was pretty pathetic. She was just about to put the imbecile in his place when he spoke again.
“Like you want to hurt your sister, and I am intensely interested in hurting Julian Lodge.”