by Tina Leonard
He felt a shootdown coming on. Of course he deserved it, he should have squashed his fellow SEALs the instant they’d started running their mouths. “It’s clear. Clean and clear as a bell.”
Harper gave him a long look.
“I’m not sure it can be that clear.”
“You have nothing to worry about from me, I swear.” He nodded vigorously. “They just want everyone to share their misery now that they’ve tied themselves down.”
“Do you think they’re miserable?”
“They swore they were confirmed bachelors and then changed their minds. Now they’re not going to be happy until they see me at the altar of Hell.” He shook his head. “That didn’t sound right. What I meant was, until they see me married, just like them.”
“I can’t really see you settling down.”
“Nor can I.” He raised his beer in another toast. “To freedom.”
After a moment, she raised her wine glass. “To freedom.”
That was that. He felt good about it. His words felt like a vow, a promise, even, that she had nothing to worry about from him.
And he meant it. He got the whole scenario: She was a single mother, she’d had Michael when she was around twenty-two. She wasn’t eager for a father figure in Michael’s life. And she’d just taken over Judy’s team, was raising up the new generation of Hell Belles, a better version than their mayor had managed.
To top it all off, Harper had never looked his way.
Oh, he totally understood what had brought her out here this summery late afternoon. He told himself to take a deep breath, chill. The sun was beginning its slow descent over his grove of trees, he could see his beautiful equine yard ornaments sheltering under some pecan trees, enjoying the slight breezes. It was so restful here, so peaceful, everything he’d ever wanted after the Navy—so no one was more surprised than he when he leaned over and kissed Harper right on her heart-shaped lips, stealing what he darn well knew was the only kiss he’d ever get from the blond everyone said was Judy’s last chance to bullfight and raise Hell.
Oh, God, her mouth was sweeter and softer than he’d ever dreamed, and she didn’t move away, didn’t slap his ears inside his skull. In fact, it seemed to Declan that she drew a little closer, almost seeking his mouth hungrily. Taste for taste.
He was dying.
Declan pulled away, staring into her beautiful eyes that were green as the trees around them.
“I swear you’re safe from me.”
“You’re safe from me, too.”
She got up and walked away, leaving him with an eyeball full of sweet, sexy ass, long, delicious legs, and a hard-on that wasn’t about to quit any time soon.
Of course he’d been fibbing, to the both of them.
Harper wasn’t safe from him at all.
And he’d played it safe long enough.
Chapter Two
Kissing Declan O’Rourke—and she had returned his kiss, hungrily in fact—hadn’t been her worst mistake, but Harper figured it rated right up there between doozy and what the heck just happened? The man was so darn sexy, all hot eyes and strong, roaming hands, and—
She hadn’t seen him in two weeks, not since that surprising kiss—which she still didn’t know what to make of—so one of his buddies had certainly lost their side of the bet. She couldn’t remember whether it was Saint or Trace who’d put money on Declan getting her to an altar in June, but the other rascal would lose his bet once July lazed its way into August.
They deserved to lose their bets. Hell loved nothing better than the misery of matchmaking. Everybody was always betting on something in Hell, all in the spirit of fun, of course.
Unless it was some wager between Ivy and Mayor Judy Jasper. Then it was serious stuff.
“Harper!”
Trouble stalked its way toward her in the form of Declan’s twin. “Hi, Fallon.”
“Where have you been keeping yourself?” He glanced at her team as they practiced. “And them?”
“We spent the past two weeks training at Judge Rory Nunez’s.”
“Kind of quiet around here without the team.”
It wasn’t easy to divine where he was going with this line of commiseration. Tall and lean, maybe not quite as muscled as Declan, there was no denying Fallon was a good-looking man. She’d heard several of the ladies had a thing for him, and he enjoyed spending time out at Ivy Peters’ Honky-tonk and Dive Bar. He was as inscrutable as Declan, but while she found that trait somewhat endearing in Declan, for some reason it was annoying on Fallon. “Do you have something on your mind?”
Declan, Saint, and Trace entered the training area. Fallon instantly went a bit tense.
“Hanging around again?” Saint demanded. “Forget where you’re welcome?”
“Don’t like the Horsemen’s training center anymore?” Trace asked, negligently eying Fallon.
Fallon stiffened. “I’m here to get your blood pressure up and steal your business secrets. By the look of your frowns, my plan must be working.”
He went off whistling. Harper forced her attention back to Winter, Cassidy, and Micaela. This was no time to get sidetracked.
Unfortunately, every time Declan was around, she found herself distracted.
“Got a minute, Harper?” Declan asked.
“Sure.” She noticed with some unease that Saint and Trace made themselves scarce, suddenly very busy now that they’d run Fallon off.
“How’s the team coming along?”
She looked at her new recruits proudly. “They’re talented. And work hard.”
“Mayor Judy staying out of your hair?”
“Of course not. But she’s not trying to manage the team, if that’s what you’re asking.” She gazed at him. “So, did you want to speak to me about something in particular?”
“Just making sure you and I are good.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked uncomfortable. “I wasn’t sure if you’d been avoiding me.”
Of course she had been. Not in a deliberate way, but definitely taking the opportunity to train out at Rory’s kept her from being here where she could run into Declan several times a day. “A little.”
He nodded. “I figured.”
“But yes, we’re good.”
“I should probably promise not to ever kiss you again.” He sighed deeply. “But neither of us would probably believe me.”
She wanted to laugh. He wasn’t the rascal his twin was, but he always had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “One kiss is forgiven. Anything more than that would be inadvisable.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “Which means I didn’t convince you when I had the chance.”
“You didn’t have a chance.”
“Ouch. I’m going to go now, while I still have some dignity.” He winked at her, walking off, loose-hipped and confident. She couldn’t help but stare after him, charmed in spite of herself—and she had a feeling he knew it.
“You like him?” Winter asked, pulling up beside her at the wood railing.
“We’re friends, if that’s what you’re asking, and I hope it is.” She looked at her new recruit.
“We can’t decide which of them is hotter,” Winter said.
Harper raised a brow. “Hotter?”
“Fallon’s dark and good-looking, sort of Top Gun-style. And Declan’s manly as hell, sort of Marlboro Man.”
“Really,” Harper said dryly. “You’ve been in Hell a little less than a month and you’re debating local bachelor hotness?” She was six years older than Winter and the rest of the new team, but suddenly felt older. She and Ava and Cameron had had this same discussion a long time ago—before they’d known the underhanded ways of the Horsemen, rivals of the Outlaws, Trace, Saint, and Declan. She’d often wondered how Declan and Fallon had ended up on opposite sides, more rivals than brothers. No one had a concrete theory—just that it had probably always been that way.
“We have to debate it. Obviously they’re both
trying to date you.” Winter grinned at her cheekily.
This she didn’t need. “I’m not going to be dating anyone. Shall you get back to the ring now?”
The cute brunette with the big eyes shrugged. “Can’t blame us for talking about it when you guys announced your love life through the drainpipe. Everybody in the surrounding counties could hear. So it’s not exactly secret.” She rode back to join her friends, and Harper pondered Winter’s words.
She went to the office, finding Declan poring over some papers stacked up on his desk. She closed the door behind her. “Do you have a minute?”
“Didn’t I just ask you that recently?”
She nodded, trying not to stare at the wide, muscled chest under the military-green t-shirt stretching tight over great pecs, nor stare at the full, well-shaped lips that had kissed her so thoroughly. “Apparently we’re the subject of some gossip.”
He leaned back. “In Hell? No big surprise.”
“It needs to stop.”
He shrugged big shoulders. “Gossip happens here.”
“I’m assuming you don’t want it anymore than I do.”
“Probably bothers you more than it does me.” He studied her. “What brought this on?”
She looked around his spare office, noting a small fan, a metal desk, and the rickety chair he seemed quite comfortable in. In fact, he seemed very comfortable in general, while she wasn’t. “If I’m being honest, it’s because my team seems to think there’s something going on between us.”
“How can I help you?” He shrugged again. “Stay away from you? I can’t promise that. First of all, Hell’s got about two hundred folks in it, on a good day when someone hasn’t gone off to find themselves or enjoy a bender. It’s hard to create distance in a town as small as this.” He gave her a long look. “Besides which, if I’m being honest, I don’t really want to stay away from you.”
“Has something changed between us?”
“Other than I kissed you? Not that I know of.”
That was the problem. Once he’d kissed her, everything changed. Absolutely everything.
The worst part was, she’d be fibbing if she didn’t admit that she’d liked it.
“I don’t see myself in a relationship.”
“Whoa, whoa.” He stood, walked around the desk. “Nobody said anything about a relationship. It was an impulse, nothing more.”
“I know. I think I let Winter get under my skin a little—“
“Those gals are a different vintage than you and Ava and Cameron were. You picked them because they were tough, right? Tough and talented?”
She nodded. “I did.”
“You’re going to have to be firm with them, or they’re going to know right off the bat that they can run you ragged.” He leaned a boot on the metal desk, stared at her. “I hear a rumor that they’ve been out to the Honky-tonk.”
Harper’s gaze went straight to his—at which point she realized uncomfortably she’d been staring at his mouth. “Are you sure? They’re under strict orders not to. There’s a nighttime curfew, and I’ve been at the Honeysuckle Bungalow with them every night.”
“It was just a rumor.”
“Not if you’re bringing it up. You know it for sure.”
“Okay. I know it for sure.”
She turned, leaned against the desk. “Damn it.”
“And yet, I seem to remember a certain blonde, a redhead, and an opinionated brunette sneaking out to the Honky-tonk when they were in training.” He gave her ponytail a gentle, teasing tug.
“That was different. That was—we were older than these girls.” She felt responsible for them. They were around twenty-two, though they seemed somehow older than she and Ava and Cameron had. More worldly, definitely tougher. Which was precisely why she’d chosen them out of the many other candidates who’d applied.
“It is different now, I agree. But only because it’s your team, gorgeous. Ownership’s a cagey bitch, isn’t it?”
“Did they get in any trouble?”
“I’ve said all I’m going to say. I’m no hero, sweetheart.”
Okay. It wasn’t the end of the world. So the girls had sneaked out on her. “I sleep at the Honeysuckle Bungalow, in a room with my son. Micaela and Winter share Ava’s old room, Cassidy’s got the other. How did I not hear them go out?”
He winked. “Rumor has it you’re a very heavy sleeper.”
She gasped. “I’m no such thing!”
“Then maybe the girls went out the windows. How would a guy like me know the details of ingress and egress young ladies might think up?”
“Now you’re just messing with me. As a SEAL, you’d be particularly interested in the operational details.”
He laughed, a rich sound that made her heart jump. “Got me there.”
“Is there anything else you think I need to know?”
“If I give up any more details, I’ll be on the level of Jake the Snake. You know how we Outlaws feel about the Horsemen, and particularly, our most revered rival, Jake. The snake.”
He looked so pleased with himself. “I could use some help with my team. I guess you’ve figured that out,” Harper said.
He’d begun shaking his head before the words were even fully out of her mouth. “I’m not training them to bullfight. That’s our mantra here, no training females. You know this. And I refer you to my one truth—I’m no hero, even for a sexy stunner such as yourself.”
She started a protest, stopped, caught by his words. “Buttering me up will do you no good.”
“I’m pretty sure buttering you up would do me a lot of good. Butter, frosting, syrup, I’m game.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He shrugged. “So I think you’re hot. I slipped up once and kissed you. Won’t happen again. Doesn’t mean I died. I still know a hot woman when I see her.”
She also knew a hot male when she saw one—and he was a hot one with a gleam in his eye. Not to mention it was darn sexy that he admitted he was attracted to her enough to mention syrup and sex with her in the same breath.
I’m attracted to him, too. When did that happen?
“We’ve always been good friends—”
“Absolutely.” He nodded as he interrupted her. “Going to stay that way, too.”
“All right.” She stepped back. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll keep a tighter eye on my team.”
He shrugged. “Don’t make me your confessor. I don’t want to know any details.”
He’d gone cagey again. He and Trace and Saint all prided themselves on being tough-minded, ornery sobs. It was either a reputation they’d cultivated or one that they’d owned since birth, but they cherished it. But at this moment, he’d gone inscrutable again, and that was a sign.
Declan was keeping something from her. “I’ll find out eventually,” she said softly.
“Not from me. If I was keeping something important from you—which I make no claim that I am.”
A knock on the door sounded a split second before it swung open. Fallon stuck his head in. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“You very much hoped you were interrupting something, brother,” Declan said. “Much to your disappointment, however, you’re not.”
Fallon ignored that. “Harper, can I talk to you?”
“Sure.” She waited, making it clear he needed to have that chat right here, with Declan as a witness.
“It’s about your team.” Fallon glanced at his brother. “Did you tell her?”
Declan crossed muscled arms as he stared his brother down. “You can do the honors.”
“What?” Harper glanced between them. “What is going on with my team?”
“It’s nothing big.” Fallon came in and shut the door behind him.
“Nothing big, except you feel the need to blab,” Declan said.
“Wait a minute, Declan,” Harper said. “If there’s something going on with the team, I’m the one who should know.” She frowned at him. “
How about you tell me, since you seem so reluctant to be honest?”
“Rats never win,” Declan said with a sigh.
“No one said you were going to win anything,” she shot back. “Tell me.”
“What my snitch twin is referring to is that there’s a new venture out at the Honky-tonk that the girls seem very interested in.”
“New venture?” She looked at Fallon, who nodded. She turned her gaze back to Declan, the most handsome rat she’d ever come across, but right now, in full reluctant rat mode. “I thought you said my team had only been out to the Honky-tonk once.”
Fallon laughed. Harper glared at him, silencing his guffaw. He went to check out the diploma on the office wall instead.
“Ivy Peters has let a traveling train of entertainers set up out there. Maybe it’s better termed a train of shysters who specialize in temptation. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to how much temptation that might provide a team of young girls.”
“Why would Ivy do that?” This didn’t seem to fit with booze and bootscooting and flirtatious women at the Honky-tonk—nor the infamous, mysterious red door treatment her most select clientele were rumored to received.
Declan shrugged. “She got the idea from the yearly kissing booth Mayor Judy ran last year. A gypsy caravan suits her financial interests more, I suppose.”
“I don’t understand. Fortune telling and magic doesn’t sound like a prime profit maker to me.”
“I’d agree. But this is no ordinary traveling road show. Personally, I’d call it more of a ring.” Declan sounded certain shady things were happening under the guise of Ivy’s new business interest.
“The college kids that come out really storm that caravan,” Fallon filled in. “And some city slickers, and I’d say businessmen who like their pleasures kept secret.”
“What does this have to do with my team?” Harper asked. A slight chill stole over her as she sensed Declan holding back.
“The fortune teller tells their fortunes, or their futures, or whatever you want to call it,” Declan said. “The only thing is, I’m pretty sure a crystal ball isn’t the only way their fortunes are being divined.”
She looked at Fallon, who’d returned his attention to Declan, studying his twin with a silent scowl. “Do you have something to share?”