by Annie Evans
“But he’s had one?” Grace asked. “A foursome.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny any information unwittingly divulged while under the influence of alcohol and cross-examination from a tipsy, persistent redhead.”
“So. Sage Carter is not gay, he’s a closeted porn star,” Grace said smugly. “That Airstream is probably equipped with video cameras in the bedroom, a bucket o’ lube in the nightstand, and whips and chains in the closet. I bet he buys condoms by the truckload. That’s where he goes on the weekends when he disappears—to Atlanta to sell his self-made movies in the underground.”
Bellamy accidentally snorted her margarita, making her eyes water and her sinuses sting. She wheezed in a breath while trying not to choke on more laughter.
“See, this is how rumors get started.” Kai sighed, shaking her head, and reached for Grace’s glass. “I’m cutting you off.”
Grace giggled and slid the glass back toward her. “All right, I’ll stop. God, I really needed this night out.”
“Bad day at work?” Bellamy asked her once she’d recovered enough to speak.
Grace frowned down at her glass, flicking salt off the rim with a fingernail. “Bad every day at work. No matter how hard I bust my ass, it never seems to get noticed. At least not enough for me to lose the ‘junior’ part of my title. Five years I’ve worked for that bunch of misogynistic asshole cronies, bringing in big clients and consistently making good loans. All for nothing. But I’ve heard rumors another bank might be coming to town. I sure hope it’s true.” Then just like that, she perked up, the misery disappearing from her expression. Or at least she made a great showing of it. “Enough of my sob story. We’re here to have fun and cut loose, not grouse about my employer.”
“Allow me to take advantage of your slightly inebriated constitutions and plead for help with Ruby’s party,” Kai said to Bellamy and Grace.
“You don’t have to plead, Kai,” Bellamy said. “Just say when and where, and I’ll be there if I don’t have appointments. Even if I do, I’ll come over after I’m done.”
“Me too,” Grace said, topping off their drinks with what was left in the pitcher.
“I hate to be a pain, but I could use the help with decorating. The boys have been cleaning up the barn and I think they’re almost finished, but if I leave the decorating in their hands, the place will look like a stag party.”
“For sure. When’s the party?”
“The Saturday after Thanksgiving, so two weeks from tomorrow. I’m praying the weather is nice because I don’t have a backup plan at this point.”
“What do you have lined up as far as food and entertainment?” Grace asked.
“I’m having it catered by the Cottonwood Diner since Ruby’s not big on barbeque. Just a couple entrees, a few side dishes, salad, rolls and tea. If people want to drink alcohol they can BYOB. Marilee Martin is baking her cake, and I’ve booked Sam’s nephew’s country band.”
“Girl, you got this,” Grace said.
“Did you send invitations?” Bellamy asked.
Kai nodded. “But only to Ruby’s family and friends who live out of town. The rest I’ve called or told in person. I’m figuring on around seventy-five guests.”
Grace whistled. “Wow, that’s some birthday party.”
“She’s worth it, especially since she didn’t have a bash for her fiftieth and she’s always made the boys’ birthdays so special.”
“Speak of the devil and in he walks,” Grace said, nodding toward the front door where Eli and Fritz stood, their gazes landing on them. Kai, Grace and Bellamy waved then Grace slumped back in her chair. “Party’s over. Where’s the third musketeer, I wonder?”
“In Atlanta peddling homemade pornos,” Bellamy said, spurning another fit of laughter.
Kai covered her face with her hands. “I’ll never be able to look at Sage again without giggling.”
Instead of joining them, Eli and Fritz wandered down to the end of the bar where Tucker sat, and ordered beers. Probably a good thing, since it would be hard to explain what they’d found so funny.
“Why didn’t they come say hello?” Grace asked.
“Because I told Fritz I would kick his ass if he showed up before ten. I might require a ride home, but I don’t need a chaperone.”
Grace high-fived her. “You tell ’em, sister. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to pee like a racehorse.”
“I need to go too,” Bellamy said, sliding out of her chair.
Kai sighed. “Well, fine. I guess I’ll go say hi then.”
Grace and Bellamy were standing at the sinks washing up when two girls burst into the restroom, chattering and preening in front of the remaining mirrors. Both looked to be just a day over twenty-one to Bellamy, wearing jeans so tight, bending their knees had to be difficult.
“Oh my God, Eli Carter just walked in. He’s so hot!” the brunette gushed, fanning her face for effect.
In the mirror, Grace met Bellamy’s gaze and winked as she reapplied a fresh coat of lipstick.
“Ain’t he, though?” the second girl said. “So are his brothers, but Fritz is taken. I hear he’s engaged to Kai Donnelly now. And I also heard Eli was seeing that new lady vet in town.”
Jesus, the gossip vine in this town rivals the internet. Bellamy pressed her lips together and made a showing of finger-combing her hair while she waited for Grace to finish.
“Well, he’s alone tonight and that makes him fair game, as far as I’m concerned,” the brunette said saucily.
Bellamy felt her eyes narrow. We’ll see about that.
It would be easy to say something nasty, but it wasn’t her style to get into catfights over men. There were other ways to handle situations like this, and she preferred to let actions speak louder than words. They tended to carry more weight.
Grace must’ve been thinking the same thing. She looped an arm through Bellamy’s, saying, “Come on, girlfriend. Let’s go polish a few belt buckles.”
Fritz had Kai on his lap when they exited the bathroom, kissing her neck, putting a secret smile on her mouth. Bellamy laced her fingers through Eli’s, tugging him off his barstool. “Dance with me, cowboy.”
He smiled warmly, wrapping an arm around her waist as she led him out onto the dance floor. Grace followed with Tucker in tow, a wide grin of pure delight on his face, and maybe a touch of disbelief. It wasn’t long before Fritz and Kai joined them too.
Eli pulled her close as a country ballad started playing on the jukebox. She slid her hands around his neck, relishing the heat and awareness that flared as their bodies touched.
Over his shoulder, she noticed the two young girls from the bathroom gaping at them while they whispered to each other, probably calling Bellamy all kinds of ugly names. She didn’t care. When Grace and Tucker drew closer, Grace gave Bellamy a fist bump. In the high heels, her and Tucker were nearly the same height, and his grin hadn’t faded one degree.
“What was that all about?” Eli asked.
“Just silly girl stuff.”
He pressed his mouth to her ear, whispering, “You look beautiful.”
“So do you.” She drew one palm down to stop over his heart. “I love the shirt.” It was rose-colored with faint paisley print and pearl snaps. In addition to being pretty, it showed off the width of his shoulders, hugged the muscled curves underneath. She fingered the snap in the center of his chest. “Can I tell you something?”
“Always.”
“I think I’m developing a fetish for pearl snaps.”
His eyes glittered with mischief. “That so?”
She nodded, biting her lip.
“Any old pearl snaps or just my pearl snaps?”
“Just yours.” No question.
They were almost indecently close now, with Eli’s hard thigh tucked between her legs as they swayed to the music. Arousal simmered in her blood. Everyone else in the room disappeared.
“Good to know ’cuz I have a closet full of ’em.”
He brushed his mouth across her temple. “I’ve missed you this week.”
She drew back to peer up at him. “Yeah?”
“Like crazy.”
“Same here,” she confessed.
“I’ll make it up to you later tonight,” he said, those gray eyes darkening with heat and promise.
“How about sooner rather than later?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he took her hand and they left the dance floor, waving goodbye to everyone as they headed for the door. Eli helped her up into his truck then circled around to climb in. As soon as his door slammed shut behind him, he was grabbing her thighs and dragging her across the truck seat. Laughing, she caught his face in her hands to kiss him, tracing the seam of his lips with her tongue, bypassing flirty and coy altogether. He groaned into her mouth and let her in before taking control of the kiss, melting her bones in the process.
They necked like greedy teenagers for a solid ten minutes, hands roaming everywhere, breathing heavy enough to fog the windows, before she said, “Not that I have anything against making out in your truck, but I’d rather you come home with me.”
“No way in hell I’m fucking you in the parking lot of a bar, either.” He shoved a hand through his hair then grabbed the steering wheel. “Just need a minute for some blood to return to my brain so I can remember how to drive.”
Bellamy scooted back to her side of the truck while he adjusted the impressive bulge in his jeans with a wince.
“All the doors and compartments on your truck locked?” he asked her.
“Yes. Think it’ll be okay?” She wasn’t totally sloshed, but she was tipsy enough to know she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, drive herself home.
“Yeah, the streetlights stay on all night and city cops patrol pretty regularly through here.”
Decision made, Eli cranked the truck, they both buckled up, and he drove out of the parking lot.
Chapter Fourteen
It was chilly inside Bellamy’s house, almost the same temperature as outside. Immediately her hands went to her arms, trying to rub away the cold. Eli bit his tongue hard enough to hurt. He hated that she was staying in a place with no source of heat except a fireplace that was dangerous to use. The old house probably didn’t have an ounce of insulation in the walls or ceiling, and drafty windows and doors to boot.
“Did you see about getting the chimney cleaned?”
She shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “I keep forgetting.”
Or was it money? He didn’t dare pose that question, though. Finances were a deeply personal subject and none of his business. Unless she asked for his help, which he knew would never happen, he’d have to sit back and let her figure things out for herself, hard as that was to do.
“Wanna chance it and light a fire?” he asked. It was her house. Had to be her decision.
Blowing warm breath into her hands, she nodded. “Please.”
“Gather up some scrap paper and your matches while I grab the wood.”
He stepped out onto the porch and the stack of wood he’d split, loading his arms down with several pieces of dry oak and a few scraps of fat lighter to help start the fire. Back inside, she had everything laid out on the hearth while she huddled there as if the flames were already licking up the chimney. He dropped into a crouch and got busy. She watched closely, sitting on the floor next to him Indian-style, arms hugging her body for warmth.
“I know about the horse,” she said.
Eli kept quiet, feeding the growing fire another log.
“It was an incredibly kind and generous thing to do.”
“Tucker’ll take good care of him,” he said.
“Why didn’t you want me to know?”
He finally met her gaze, and sweet Christ, he probably shouldn’t have. Flames danced in her eyes, turning her irises a golden green, the soft sheen of tears unmistakable. It killed him that something as simple as seeing a neglected horse found a better home moved her so much. Or that it could mean as much when it took little effort on his part. Had no one ever done something nice for this amazing girl?
Damn, the things she did to his heart.
He meant what he told her earlier as they’d danced—she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever known, but her beauty went way past the surface of her skin, right down to the very center of her soul. It hurt to watch her struggle to find her place in the world when he knew his, mostly. To sit idle while she tried to make peace with a broken dream, mourn the loss of her grandmother in her own way and put down roots somewhere.
All along, Eli had thought adding the figurative fertilizer was the way to help her accomplish those things. Now he wondered if it was a mistake. If in doing so, he wasn’t confusing her more. Disrupting the natural progression of her life in some way. What he wanted more than anything was to be a part of it, but she had to be ready for that too. She had to want him there with her for it to ever work.
“I figured with everything else I’ve done for you, you might see it as me trying too hard or pushing you someplace you didn’t want to be.”
She got to her feet, offering her hand. He took it and straightened to face her, searching her eyes for something that told him she understood what he meant. Her gaze was steady and intense, all uncertainty gone.
“At this moment, I’m right where I want to be.”
Grasping her waist, he pulled her to him for a deep kiss then, with their mouths still locked together, he backed her against the closest wall. One taste of her and the room became an inferno, chasing the chill from his skin, sending a jolt of desire through his body. Her tongue stroked over his before retreating to make a teasing swipe across his bottom lip.
He drew his mouth down her throat, nipping at the tender skin above her collarbone, loving the sound of her sigh and the way her hands clutched at his hair. When she tugged, Eli lifted his head.
“Timeout,” she said, excited breaths heating his neck.
He braced his hands on the wall and levered himself away to give her some space. “Something wrong?”
“No. It’s just that when you kiss me, I lose my train of thought, and on the way home I had this really dirty fantasy, probably fueled by Jose Cuervo and our hot make-out session in the bar parking lot.” She gave him a sheepish grin, scrunching her nose. “Wow, I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
And just when he thought she couldn’t get any sexier. “Yep.”
“Definitely Jose’s fault.”
It wasn’t Jose’s fault that his dick was currently as hard as a fencepost. That was all on her. “Wanna tell me about this filthy fantasy?”
She peered up at him, toying with one of the snaps on his shirt. “I’d rather show you.”
His forehead hit the wall. “Damn, Bell. I might have a heart attack before we ever get naked.”
“Then you should sit down.”
In a flash, she was out from under him and in the kitchen. He checked the fire again, but by then it was roaring, spilling heat and gilded light across the big room, through the archway to where Bellamy stood with her hands braced on the top of a ladder-back chair. Now would not be the time for a chimney fire.
Eli sat down facing the farm table, his back to the living room and the fireplace, and waited for her to make the next move. Her fantasy, her call. He was just a willing participant.
She stood in front of him, pushed his hair back from his face and kissed him again. Before he could pull her down onto his lap though, she was gone. So he sat in the quiet kitchen listening to the burning wood pop and hiss behind him and the hard rush of blood pulse inside his ears. While he waited, he tugged off his boots and cracked his toes. No way was he losing the socks, even if she wanted him to strip. The floor was too fucking cold.
Behind him, he heard her rustling around in the other room, a door closing down the hall then opening a few minutes later, and the distinct sound of something metallic. When she reappeared in front of him, she wore a fluffy white robe that hit her mid-thigh. The belt was tied, concealing what lay beneath. She’d left on her socks too, and they had cows on them. Dancing dairy cows, to be more precise, wearing tutus.
He looked up, cocking an eyebrow.
She shrugged. “I don’t have any sexy socks and my feet are freezing.”
Everything on her was sexy, even goofy socks. “What’s under the robe?”
“Be patient. But I promise it doesn’t have farm animals on it.”
“Thank God for small blessings.”
Reaching into the pocket of the robe, she withdrew a handful of shiny metal, then untangled the mass to let it dangle from her hand. Twin chains with big rings on each end. The same kind of chains they’d used to pull the calf, except maybe a little shorter.
Things just got interesting.
“They’re brand new, before you ask.”
“Good to know.”
“Are you wondering who gets restrained, me or you?”
“I’m the one sittin’ in the chair, darlin’.”
“You could say no.”
He almost laughed aloud. “You do realize who you’re talkin’ to, right?”
Her smile was warmer than the fire. “So it’s a yes, then.”
Without waiting for Eli’s corroboration, she moved behind him, drawing his hands down to the back legs of the chair. The technique she used was the same one she’d demonstrated for the calf, with twin loops evenly bracketing his wrist bones. Then she wound the lengths of chain through the chair braces and told him to tip it onto its back legs. When he did, she slipped the rings onto the front legs and pushed him forward, pinning his restraints in place with the help of his own weight. He tested them, finding they had very little give. She’d done a damn good job.
“Are they too tight?” she asked, running her hands up his arms and over his shoulders as she moved to stand in front of him again. “You’re not uncomfortable, are you?”