by V. F. Mason
“Yes, but after Henry died and left everything… there was a rumor that… he wasn’t Luke’s son after all,” she whispered, looking a bit guilty, as though repeating gossip was something she had never done before. Well, that certainly explained a lot.
I didn’t get some people. What was the point of college if you returned to your hometown anyway? There was literally nothing else to do, and the bar, although nice, didn’t provide the best time, but whatever.
To each their own, I decided and lifted my shot.
Damn, it was nice feeling the warmth spread inside me as I closed my eyes for a second and sucked on a lime.
Maggie gasped and I opened my eyes, irritated, because it interrupted my moment of nirvana. She stared in the direction of the pool table, so I followed her gaze and almost choked on my drink.
Ren was near the jukebox and had a leggy blonde on his arm. The woman was roaming her hands over him as they laughed. He pulled the girl close and kissed her full on the mouth as his hand moved down to grab one of her breasts. The blonde shifted to put his knee between her legs. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him.
Well, shit.
My eyes ran to Maggie, watching her closely for a reaction. Her eyes watered, but she quickly wiped the few tears away before anyone else could notice. She moved her head to the side and concentrated on the two men who had some pool match going, while her hands fisted on her lap. I wasn’t stupid, either; she had a thing for him, and I thought he had one for her, too.
Looking at the blonde, I changed my mind.
But before I could turn my head back or say anything soothing to Maggie or get the hell out of there, my eyes clashed with stormy blue ones as Shane entered the bar and strode toward us with determination.
The air changed in the bar. It became more electrified.
His gaze roamed down my body, observing every detail, and it hardened. I recognized the heat in his eyes, but there was also anger. I raised an eyebrow and lifted my chin. I didn’t give a shit about his moods. Ren followed him, pissed as well. When did he have the time to notice us?
“What the hell are you doing here? And in that fucking dress!” Shane growled, making me blink several times. Okay, so before Maggie and I left, he was still busy with work and then came back to take a shower, promising we would talk. I sort of didn't want to and came here. He had the right to be furious, but I couldn't have him moody in that place.
“Relax, we just came here to unwind a little bit.” I turned to the bar and found Grady was standing nearby, his attention on us. “Can I have one more shot, please? Or, you know what? Make it three.” I felt like having fun, and the whole scene with Ren quite frankly pissed me off. Grady nodded and, instantly, there were more shots in front of me.
Amazing service.
“We are leaving right now,” Shane hissed.
“Says who?”
“Says me. You can’t be here.” He motioned at all the men. “Not when everyone here dreams of fucking you.” His nostrils flared. Wow, he became possessive rather quickly.
Placing my hand on his chest, I could feel the rapid beating of his heart. “They are not.”
“Calling it like I see it,” he snapped, but not before sending warning glances to passing men who dared to look at me. I noticed we were gathering attention and two blondes sent daggers with their eyes. He opened his mouth to say more, when we were interrupted, forgetting for a moment about our argument.
“Maggie, have you lost your fucking mind?” Ren growled. He seemed angrier than Shane. His jaw ticked as deep fury fogged his eyes. “Go home. This place isn’t for you.”
I blinked at his outburst, because who the hell spoke like that to a girl?
“I just… it’s just that Serena wanted to go out, and she invited me.” She was rambling and I wanted to shake her. She owed no apologies to the douche who was kissing another girl literally a minute ago.
Ren ignored everything she said and continued his verbal blows. “Have you seen yourself in a mirror? Who goes out like this anyway?”
Like the woman he was occupied with was any better? Not that I was slut-shaming anyone, but come on, people.
Maggie looked down, and I feared she was on the verge of tears yet again.
I could understand his concern for her coming to the bar, considering it seemed she had never done it before. But that gave him no right to speak to her like that, and I was tired of his shit, too. I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, when I was stopped by a harsh voice behind me.
“Don’t fucking talk to her like that.” I jumped at Grady’s low, threatening voice. He stood next to me, or rather near Maggie. He was as tall as Ren and Shane, and just as intimidating. The tension in the air became almost suffocating.
“Stay the fuck out of this, Grady. This doesn’t concern you.” Ren ordered harshly.
“Bullshit. You acting like an ass in my bar concerns me. You don’t talk to Maggie like that, at least not if I’m around.”
Maggie finally raised her head as her eyes widened, surprised. Ren grabbed her hand, wanting to take her away, and she almost followed, but then the blonde he’d been kissing came up and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
“Baby, quit this brawl and let’s go to the motel where we can have so much more fun than here. I miss spending time with you.”
Irritation blazed in Ren’s eyes, like he couldn’t stand her touch, and at that moment, Maggie let go of him. For the first time, I noticed determination in her. My hand almost rose to give her a high-five, but given the situation, I decided to keep that for later.
“Yeah, Ren, why don’t you go and have fun?” Maggie snapped.
He wanted to say more, but Shane stopped him. A look passed between them and Ren retreated. Taking the blonde’s hand, they left the bar. I didn’t understand him and his actions, but part of me felt bad for the pain that was present in his eyes.
Maggie looked up at Grady and took a deep breath. “Can I have a shot of tequila too?”
He nodded and they moved to the far end of bar. My eyes probably grew wide with surprise, but whatever.
“Serena, eyes on me, not on fucking Grady,” Shane snapped, and I huffed in annoyance.
“What’s going on with you?”
Instead of answering, when the music changed to blues, Shane dragged me to the middle of the bar with him. Before I could protest, he growled at me, “Not a word.” Once we reached the dance floor, he took me into his arms. Circling mine around his neck, I hugged him closer so that there wasn't an inch of distance left between us as we slowly moved to the song. “You’ll drive me crazy, woman, I swear,” he murmured, and a giggle escaped me.
“You’ll live.” Burying my nose in the crook of his neck, I inhaled his smell; the all-male scent only increased my desire. My eyes closed as my head rested on his shoulder, which caused him to bring me closer. Feeling his hard muscles, I controlled the desire to run my fingers across his chest or play with his hair.
I didn’t even notice when the music ended, but he continued to hold me close. After they played one more song, I stepped out of his arms and noticed Maggie laughing. “Someone is having fun,” I chirped. Shane followed the direction of my gaze, groaned in frustration, then rushed us from the dance floor to Maggie, who was drinking like no one’s business while sitting with Grady.
And then it dawned on me. Shit, she was drinking! How were we getting home? Neither of us could drive. Plus, if she had never drunk before, she was in for some huge pain when she discovered the beauty of a hangover.
“Maggie? Are you all right?”
She hiccupped and giggled loudly. How many shots did she have? I wasn’t gone that long, only two songs!
“Tequila is the shit!” she proclaimed, while munching on a lime wedge eagerly.
“If you want to go home, I can take you,” Shane suggested, not letting go of my hand for a second. I had a suspicion he didn't want to stay here a minute longer.
“I don’t want to
go. This tastes delicious!” Maggie laughed, licked the salt from her hand, took another shot, and brought the lime to her mouth. She seemed oddly happy, and there was a naughty look in her eyes as she moved closer to the bar owner. She wasn’t flirting. I think she just felt safe with him.
“Why don’t you take Serena home with you, and I’ll keep an eye on Maggie. Once she’s done, I’ll bring her in her truck and then go home from there.” Grady had quite a plan, which would solve the car issues. “I’ll put my bike in the truck, and that’s it.”
Shane thought for a minute, and then a look passed between them and he nodded. Men and their looks. But I trusted him. He wouldn't ever leave Maggie with someone unreliable.
“Grady, I trust you to bring her home safely. In an hour.” Shane grabbed my hand and pulled me out. I didn’t even have time to catch my breath, let alone say goodbye to Grady and Maggie.
Once we reached the truck, he opened the door for me and his warm hands ended up on my hips, helping me to get inside, which was hard to do in my dress. My skin burned from his touch, and I quickly moved away. Shane smirked, probably noticing my reaction to him—freaking jerk. He closed the door and jogged around to the other side, and in a second, he was sitting next to me and starting the engine.
He drove in silence, squeezing the steering wheel so tightly I could see his knuckles becoming white, but he paid me no attention. I didn’t feel like talking either, mainly because I was confused about what the hell was going on with us.
Chemistry? Yes. But what about the insane desire to explore it? Not to mention, we kind of decided to try something last night, but neither of us have spoken about it.
Suddenly, he turned down a dark lane on the side of the road and stopped the truck so abruptly I barely had time to blink.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
He removed his seat belt and did the same with mine. Before I could say anything else, he took my face in his hands and kissed me.
Kissing Shane was not about gentleness and romance. It was hot, passionate, and uncontrollable. He nipped my chin, and then he licked my lips, as if asking me for permission he didn’t need. As I opened my mouth and his tongue came inside, I groaned. My hands found his hair and tugged on it, which deepened our kiss. His tongue roamed inside my mouth, staking a claim. The outside world didn’t exist in that one perfect moment. Shane’s hands grabbed my ass and he lifted me up, squeezing me roughly, and a moan slipped from me. My arms went around his neck as I straddled him, putting my core in direct contact with his erection, and we both groaned in pleasure. My hips shifted to feel the pressure of his hard-on.
Thank God, the interior of the truck allowed such things, because I couldn’t think of stopping.
My body grew hot as my nipples throbbed and hardened. I pulled back to catch a breath and gulped for air. He proceeded to kiss my neck as my fingers tugged his hair and scratched lightly at his scalp. Once I had enough oxygen, I searched with closed eyes for his lips and found them again. Our kiss was surer, more sensual than the previous one, and we took our time. We weren’t in a hurry. His hand traveled down to my breast, gently squeezing it, sending pulses of desire through me. I hissed, wanting more of his touch, more of his lips. Just more of him. Not a single part of my body wanted to stop.
But then the earlier scene from the grocery store with Maggie showed in my head like a flash, and just like that, the mood was gone. I couldn't go further with him without an explanation about Miranda. He made me forget about it for a moment in the bar, but we needed to discuss it.
Pushing him back, I slowly sat back on the seat while both of us breathed heavily, not taking our eyes away from each other. My red lipstick was smeared all over his mouth and my cheeks heated with embarrassment. Nothing like marking a guy.
“We need to talk.”
By his frown, it wasn't hard to guess he didn't see that coming.
Shane
Serena was beautiful, her full, red lips swollen from kisses, not just anyone’s kisses, but mine. Her eyes were heated and her chest was rising rapidly. She was aroused, and God help me, so was I.
Did I ever want anyone else before her? It all felt like a distant memory at the moment.
I needed to fuck her so hard she would scream my name loud enough for everyone to hear. The constant hard-on I’d had for the last few weeks was pushing painfully behind my zipper, and seeing her right there didn’t exactly help me. I got mad remembering her in the bar full of guys staring at her, wanting to touch her.
Like I would ever fucking allow that. She was mine, and I’d be damned if anyone else touched her.
“About what happened….” For fuck’s sake, she still argued about the bar?
“You went to a bar. What did you expect? For me to leave there alone?” Part of me was still pissed with her for going there. Serena wasn’t my anything, at least out there in the open. She was mine in my head, though. If she thought I would allow her to go unprotected into a local bar where the company wasn’t exactly the best, she had another think coming. And we would fix all the official bullshit tonight. Four weeks, four days, whatever we had left would do. She sure as fuck wouldn't spend another second at the ranch as a single girl.
She was mine to protect, to look after, and mine to want. I couldn’t have her, but neither could any other guy there. It was selfish and chauvinistic and whatever the fuck women liked to call my kind of behavior, but it was me, and I refused to apologize for it.
“I just wanted to have some fun. You should know. You’ve gone there frequently enough recently.”
Ah, so she did notice my absence, and if her tone was anything to judge by, she didn’t like it. The thought of her jealousy made me smile, and her eyes became darker green. She looked like an angry kitten. I chuckled at the thought. Yeah, my sexy little kitten.
“Don’t let it go to your head. It’s not like I was counting,” she hurried to explain.
“Right.”
She narrowed her eyes at my mocking tone. “Anyway, today we went to the grocery store and met someone there.” Confused with the change of topic, I silently motioned for her to continue. “I know about Miranda, Shane.”
My jaw tightened, and I clenched my hands on the steering wheel. I should have known someone would tell her. Nothing was a secret here, and that story was the talk of the town for a whole year. After all, I was responsible for destroying the sweethearts of Moonlight Rose and turning golden-boy Ren into a douche and womanizer. Some folks in the town still gave me the cold shoulder and icy looks. No one cared to hear my side of the story, so I didn’t share. She was just like everyone else.
“Don’t talk about shit you don’t understand.”
Serena jumped at my harsh voice, and her eyes studied me with concern and a bit of fear. Was she afraid I would do something violent? Only the lowest of men would ever hurt a woman. But let her be afraid. I wasn’t in the mood to ease her mind when she thought I was such a lowlife.
“Sorry, it probably came out the wrong way. I just meant—”
I raised my hand to shut her up. “I don’t really care. Let’s just be silent for the rest of the ride, okay?”
She nodded and I was glad. Going home, no one spoke a word. That kind of silence was uncomfortable and awkward, and I wanted to get away from it.
Once we reached the ranch, I parked the truck and got the hell away from her. I had no gallantry left in me, and she could damn well leave the truck on her own without my help. I was afraid I would either strangle her or kiss her.
I strolled to the swing behind the stables and sat down. It was a two-seat swing, which stood lonely on the grass, but at the same time gave a homey feeling to the rather cold area. Hawk had built it for Maggie, a nice thing a father did for the child he loved. I tried not to wince thinking about it and remembered what she used to tell me. The swing always helped her to think or calm down, and she could get a better perspective. I saw her come here many times on the rare occasions when she was home; usually,
it was after Ren said something upsetting to her.
I trusted Grady to bring Maggie back home, and the reason I agreed to the whole drinking tequila idea was because she really needed to relax. Grady was a good guy, decent, even with his one-night stands. And as far as I knew, he didn’t do relationships, like, ever. But in no way was he considered a douche, and women swooned over him, wanting to get married. For me, it became quite clear tonight who he wanted.
My eyes were on my legs, so when I heard soft footsteps, I raised my head. Serena was slowly approaching me. She had her shoes in her hand as her bare feet with pink toenails moved through the grass. She sat on the swing next to me, saying nothing. Her small feet swung back and forth, and I barely resisted palming them in my hands.
“I just wanted to talk about it. No judgment or anything.” Her soft voice was full of guilt, and she was looking at me with uncertainty as she pushed her hair behind her ear.
“I’m sorry I overreacted. It’s kind a sore subject for me.” Just because I didn’t grow up here didn’t mean I wasn’t allowed to have a trial. I was just handed a guilty verdict by everyone. I didn’t care what everyone thought; I didn’t interact with townsfolk much. But I did care in what light Serena saw me. And maybe I was angry with her, not because she believed those things, but because, to her, I would forever be tainted by them.
Silence settled around us again, and we just looked at the stars, absorbing the night. There was a slight wind, but it didn’t make the weather chill. Rather, it was good in a fanning way, carrying the noises of grass blowing, animals calling, and the horses in the stable.
Strange, at a time like that, I found comfort in the peace and quiet after I was so angry in the truck. I knew she was still bothered by whatever had happened, because among other things, she was tapping on the swing rope with her finger. Without looking, I took her hand and squeezed it. I couldn’t stand the thought of my silence upsetting her. I didn’t want her sad, angry, or fearful because of me.
She squeezed me back.
Our eyes met, and for a split second, everything else faded away and there was only us. In that moment, I could forget all that separated me from her—the bullshit rumors, assumptions, and mistakes.