Kitty Anne in Charge [Cattleman's Club 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Jenny Penn

  “Meet me in the bathroom in five,” Kitty Anne purred as she slid over to the edge of the booth.

  GD honestly thought she might meet him there, but he wasn’t about to let the first time with his goddess be in the sterilely frigid bathroom at some low-rent, twenty-four-hour diner. So he stopped her before she could lift that gorgeous ass off the vinyl. Placing a hand over her wrist, he waited until those brilliant eyes settled on him before he corrected her assumption.

  “I’m not looking for sex, beautiful,” GD assured her. “What I’m willing to pay for is a little honesty.”

  “A little honesty?” Kitty Anne repeated, clearly not following.

  “Why are you really messing with Cole?”

  “Why are you worried about why I’m messing with Cole?”

  “Because he’s a friend.”

  That was using the term lightly. Cole was more a menace and annoyance, but he was also a lot of fun to be around. “I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

  “I’m not going to hurt him,” Kitty Anne promised with a smirk. “Well…I mean, I am going to strip him naked, tie him to a bed, and spank him, but he’ll be begging for every lick.”

  GD blinked and burst out laughing at just the thought of what she said. It was an outrageous claim, and there was no missing the innuendo implied in her tone, but he didn’t doubt that she meant what she said.

  “I’ll tell you what, beautiful, you pull that off and I’ll pay you the fifty bucks for a picture.”

  “Done.” Kitty Anne nodded and extended her hand across the table as if they’d struck some kind of deal.

  “Done.” GD played along, holding his smile until he felt her soft skin against his.

  Kitty Anne might have looked strong and vibrant, but she felt fragile and delicate as he closed his fingers around hers. There was a shock of awareness with that first touch, and he felt his heart seize with an ache so powerful it almost brought tears to his eyes.

  He wasn’t lost alone in the moment. Kitty Anne was there with him. He could scent her response as the sweet hint of feminine arousal thickened in the air. She was already hot and wet, and the bathroom wasn’t but a few feet away. So was the waiter who arrived on time to save GD from doing something colossally dumb.

  The kid hesitated, waving the double quarter pounder with cheese between GD and him before Kitty Anne snatched it out of his hand. He didn’t fight but shoveled another plate piled high with chili-cheese fries in front of her before turning to offer GD his bowl of soup and the salad that had clearly been pulled from a fridge not minutes ago.

  Kitty Anne wrinkled her nose at it and shook her head. “That looks disgusting.”

  “Not a salad fan, huh?”

  “Not a frozen salad.” The twinkle in her eyes grew brighter as she glanced down hungrily at her burger. “Especially not when there is meat on the table.”

  GD smiled at that, watching with more than simple amusement as she dug into her meal. Kitty Anne ate with the enthusiasm of a starving woman. That thought struck him hard as GD considered the address Kitty Anne had listed on her license. It actually belonged to her mother, who basically lived in a tin can of a trailer. That was still better than the monthly motel rental where Kitty Anne stayed.

  Librarians didn’t make much, and Kitty Anne was actually worth less, which had him wondering if she spent all her money on clothes because she clearly didn’t spend enough on food. He’d have to take care of that because he didn’t want his woman living in poverty.

  “So.” GD stretched back, shifting in his seat to accommodate the massive erection he got just from watching her eat. He needed to distract himself and start figuring out a plan to get her set up better.

  “You like working at the library?”

  Kitty Anne shrugged. “It covers the bills.”

  “Well, that’s a depressing level of enthusiasm.”

  “Work isn’t supposed to be fun. That’s why they call it work,” Kitty Anne instructed GD with a pointed look that assured him this conversation was of no interest to her, but it was to him.

  “Not if you enjoy your work,” he countered.

  “Really?” Kitty Anne lifted a curious brow at him. “And you enjoy yours?”

  “Most of the time.” That he did. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I do for a living?”

  “No.” Kitty Anne shook her head and lifted up her glass of tea, failing to truly hide her smile behind it. “I already know. You’re a PI. A dick.”

  “And you’re my film noir sex kitten.” GD didn’t bother to disguise his grin as he caught and held her gaze. “I guess that makes us a perfect match, huh?”

  “Except that you wear the wrong hat,” Kitty Anne retorted as she glanced over at where he’d set his favorite Stetson on the seat beside him before giving GD a full once-over. “And you certainly lack the jaded detachment most of the heroes project.”

  “And here I was going to say the same about you.”

  “You don’t think I’m jaded?” That clearly shocked Kitty Anne, no doubt because she put so much effort into the act.

  “I think you’re sweet and silly and in way over your head,” GD answered honestly as he leaned forward to whisper softly across the table. “Do yourself a favor. Say no to Cole, no to your friends, and yes to me and I’ll tell you anything you want to know about me right here and now.”

  He knew she was going to say no to him, but Kitty Anne thought about it, and that was enough for right then.

  “I really don’t have any idea what you’re going on about.” Kitty Anne waved away his comment as she began to munch her way through the massive pile of fries before her. “I like Cole. He’s hot.”

  GD snorted and rolled his eyes at that. “And that’s all that really counts, right?”

  “In a lover? What else is there?” Kitty Anne paused to glance up, asking that question with a hint of honest curiosity.

  “Talent?” GD suggested without any hesitation. “Skills? Creativity? Flexibility? I can think of all sorts of things that I’m looking for in a lover.”

  “Maybe you’re just picky,” Kitty Anne suggested with a hint of expectation sounding in her tone as she dared to tease him. “You limit your variety when you get too picky, but now we, at least, know why you’re not married, right?”

  GD tipped his head back and laughed at that, finding himself truly entertained by Kitty Anne. She really was just like her namesake—cute and funny, quick and intelligent, curious and mischievous. Thankfully, he didn’t expect her to claw up the furniture, though he wouldn’t object if she wanted to sit in his lap and let him pet her.

  Of course, he’d feed her first because GD wasn’t keen on losing a finger. He knew how cats got when they got hungry, and Kitty Anne wasn’t any different. She ate like a three-hundred-pound linebacker. In all of his life, GD had never seen a man, much less a woman, put it away the way Kitty Anne did.

  She could afford to eat like that he soon discovered when he asked her if she liked to work out. The answer was no, but then she admitted that she did enjoy learning different martial arts and taking dance classes and going snorkeling, canoeing, kayaking, spelunking, mountain climbing, and the list just kept going on.

  “Ever tried rock climbing?” GD cut in after the waiter appeared to take away their plates and drop off Kitty Anne’s sundae.

  “Rock climbing requires too much finger strength,” Kitty Anne complained as she swirled her spoon through the layers of ice cream, fudge, and whipped cream piled high in the tall glass in front of her.

  GD watched as she pulled her spoon back out and began to lick it clean. He swallowed hard and fought back the savage pulse of lust but couldn’t stop from imagining just how soft and velvety her tongue would feel stroking over his heated flesh as she licked him clean. That was just what he’d command her to do right after she finished sucking him dry.

  “Rock climbing’s expensive, what with all the equipment needed.” Kitty Anne dipped her spoon back into her sundae. “I prefer
to spend my money down at the studio working up a sweat and saving my extra cash for the fabric shop.”

  “Fabric?” GD repeated numbly, having a difficult time focusing as she hypnotized him once again with the slow, sensual dance of her tongue over her spoon.

  Kitty Anne smirked, the sparkle in her eyes giving away not only her amusement but also the fact that she was intentionally teasing him. If GD hadn’t gotten that message before, he surely did then as she straightened up and thrust her breasts out at him.

  “I make all my own clothes…what do you think?”

  He thought her nipples were hard and begging for a little attention. GD closed his eyes, knowing he was being toyed with but not able to deny he was enjoying the moment. Hell, there wasn’t even any need to be discreet while he ogled her tits. After all, the woman was sticking them out there and waving them around.

  “I think a lot of strippers spend a lot of money for that kind of rack, beautiful.”

  “Really? And do you know a lot of strippers?” From the glow in her cheeks to the twinkle in her eye, Kitty Anne looked ready to giggle.

  “More than most women would probably deem decent.”

  “I’m not most women, and I think we’ve established that I’m not decent.” Kitty Anne paused before leaning in slightly and giving a look that GD knew was going to lead to trouble. “Though, to be honest, I always wondered what it would be like to be a stripper…to be naked in front of so many strange men. Sometimes I think about that and close my eyes and then—”

  Then her breasts bumped into her glass of tea, knocking over the thick, plastic cup and sending a liquid cascade of ice down over his lap. GD started hard enough to move the whole booth backward and damn near upended the table as he shot to his feet.

  The couple on the other side didn’t take kindly to the sudden, jarring motion, and the man yelled out a warning that cut off quite suddenly as GD turned to give him a look. He knew he was taking advantage of his size, but it didn’t really impress Kitty Anne, who had fallen over laughing in her own seat.

  Sighing, he left her to her giggles as he dealt with the waiter who came rushing up, and then he headed to the bathroom to try and clean up. There were not enough hand towels or time enough for him to waste beneath the hot air dryer, and he walked back out looking much like he had when he’d walked in, as though he’d peed himself.

  * * * *

  Kitty Anne bit the inside of her lip and tried not to laugh as GD came stalking back up to the table with a massive wet spot highlighting the very large and thick-looking bulge tenting his jeans. Her gaze lingered there as she silently tried to imagine just how big of a man he actually was.

  She was betting he would be the biggest she’d ever had, and she would have him. Kitty Anne had already come to that conclusion and didn’t suspect he’d put up too much of a fight…but, then again, there was always Cole. For the first time since Kitty Anne had agreed to Patton’s silly plan, she wished she hadn’t.

  Now she had a decision to make. She could strike while the iron was hot and attempt to seduce him tonight, writing everything off to a one-night stand, or she could wait until after she humiliated Cole. That would be risky. GD might be looking for revenge right about then, and why that thought made her wet, Kitty Anne didn’t know.

  She knew only that it would be a shame not to get more than a night out of the man. After all, he was more than simply enticingly thick and nice to look at. He was actually a lot of fun to hang around with.

  That thought lingered with her as he escorted her back to her car. When most men would have made a move, GD simply walked away, leaving Kitty Anne standing there watching him go, which only went to prove that he was up to something.

  She just wasn’t sure of what.

  Chapter Three

  Thursday, May 29th

  The worst thing about getting arrested was the waiting. Kitty Anne hated waiting. It was boring. What was not boring was being paraded about in a negligee that left little to the imagination. Then there was putting up with Cole’s grin, which was smug enough to make Kitty Anne itch to be nasty.

  Being in handcuffs, though, she decided to shut up and behave…and plot. Cole and his buddies might have won this round, but there would be another, and next time, she’d make sure it was her that ended up smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Until then, he was Hailey’s problem.

  Kitty Anne had her own concerns. They’d started with being shoved into the back of a van that served as a modern day paddy wagon and dragged down to the county detention center. There she was processed, her fingerprints taken along with an unflattering picture.

  Then to top indignity on insults, they’d scrounged up a female cop to do a rather probing physical search, though Kitty Anne would have sworn in a court of law it was actually a man in drag. At least she was a handsome fellow.

  So was Kitty Anne’s mother, who she would definitely not be calling to come bail her out. That was a show she’d rather not put on for the cops. Not to mention, with her mother’s tendency toward drama, she might end up in the cell next to the one Kitty had been shoved into. She’d have to call Rachel. That is if she survived long enough to call Rachel.

  The deputy shut the door behind her and abandoned Kitty Anne to a room full of pissed-off prostitutes. That probably would have tickled her mother, just as Kitty Anne knew it would have made Lynn Anne proud at how well she defended herself.

  Still, there were a lot of them and only one of her.

  It took a moment for the deputies to come running in. By then Kitty Anne was both exposed and disheveled, which made it a perfect time to be dragged back out of the cell and through the entire center before being informed that she was being released, but it wasn’t Rachel who had come to save her. It was GD. She should have known.

  He stood there waiting in the lobby, looking fresh, pressed, and very amused. He had her coat, the one she kept in the back of her closet. It so rarely got cold enough in lower Alabama to justify a full-length, wool trench, even if her mother insisted she have one. Of course the only way GD could have gotten it was if he’d broken into her motel room.

  That thought unnerved her. Now he knew the truth. She was a slob, and how very unsexy was that? That thought bothered Kitty Anne more than she cared to admit, but she refused to let it show as she strutted right up to him barefoot and wearing the rags of her nightie as though she was in heels and dressed to kill, which she sort of was, given her boob was hanging out.

  It bounced and swayed, drawing everybody’s attention, but not GD’s. Kitty Anne knew he had to be aware of her state of near undress, but his gaze never faltered from hers as he held out her coat, allowing her to step into it with a dignity that came not from a place of deep confidence but from one of well-rehearsed responses.

  Kitty Anne knew how to give attitude.

  So did GD.

  He didn’t say a word, and neither did she, as he led her out to his truck and helped up into the cab. The air inside was thick with a heavy musk that was quintessentially male. The heady scent filled her with a longing that had her eyeing GD as he paced around the hood to the driver’s side.

  He looked good, and now that they’d gotten over the Cole hurdle, there was no reason left not to indulge in a little second-place consolation canoodling. After all, he kind of owed her for all this trouble, and Kitty Anne didn’t doubt that GD was directly responsible for the police crashing into the motel just as she was about ready to tie Cole up.

  That had been a shock.

  Now came her reward.

  She kept that opinion to herself as he pulled out of the Dothan PD’s parking lot and turned back toward the motel. Neither of them spoke. Not a single word. Not all the way back to where she’d left her car. Only once he’d pulled up behind it and parked did GD finally turn to confront her.

  “So…I paid.”

  “Excuse me?” That wasn’t what Kitty Anne had expected him to say.

  After her heavy and pointed silence, she was expe
cting a little humility. Perhaps even some subtle groveling. The man had gotten her arrested, but instead of sounding the slightest bit hesitant, his tone was edged with a hint of demand as he repeated himself.

  “I paid. Five hundred plus dollars. That should buy me a lot of play,” GD stated explicitly enough to have Kitty Anne stiffening up as she caught on. Just in case she didn’t, he made himself even clearer. “I figure that should buy me five honest answers to any questions of my choosing.”

  Kitty Anne didn’t relax with that clarification but narrowed her gaze on him instead. “You do realize that you just implied that I am a liar, right?”

  “Beautiful, I just bailed you out of your own sorry attempt to set up my friend, so don’t even try to play that card,” GD warned her, earning him an even darker look.

  “Fine,” she finally agreed. “You got five questions, and I’ll try to answer them honestly.”

  “You’ll do better than that,” GD stated simply.

  “Ask and we’ll see.”

  “Like I’m going to waste my questions that easily.” GD snorted. “Don’t worry. I’ll ask them when they’re needed.”

  “Whatever.” Kitty Anne rolled her eyes, dismissing the suggestive hint in his tone. “GD—”

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t?”

  “Don’t bother with whatever speech you’ve practiced in the break room mirror. I know all the lines,” he assured her, not that Kitty Anne was certain that she knew them.

  Then again, she wasn’t sure what the hell he was talking about. That didn’t stop GD from continuing on with arrogant presumption.

  “Hell, beautiful, I wrote them. I got them memorized and the full act perfected. Watch,” GD commanded as he picked up her hand in both of his. He held on to her as though she was fragile and special. That was just how she felt as his thumb rolled gently across the tops of her fingers and he stared deeply into her eyes.