by KB Winters
“Enough,” she said simply and took the seat beside Maisie to help her, something that rarely occurred to me. It hurt to admit it but watching Peaches teach my sister how to blow on her chili until it was cool enough to eat was domestic. Maternal. Two things I didn’t want associated with the woman who had me rock hard under the table.
Chapter Sixteen
Peaches
One of the things I didn’t miss about being surrounded by people was all the unspoken communication that went on. If it wasn’t some low simmering sexual attraction, I preferred to be straight up about how I felt. That was, if I was inclined to share my feelings with anyone. Ever. But ever since lunch I’d felt on edge, off kilter and more than a little bit anxious. It was all Gunnar’s fault.
His blue gaze had left a trail of heat down my left side and I’d just been helping Maisie eat the chili without burning her mouth.
He’d acted like I was trying to make her join a cult or something, staring a damn hole in the side of my head and every time I looked up, his face held an expression I couldn’t figure out. It wasn’t blank, there was too much intensity for blankness, but it wasn’t overtly anything and that had left me feeling the way I had in damn near every foster home I’d been in.
Like a burden. Someone I wasn’t pulling my weight. Like there was something I should have done but didn’t do, and no one ever told me what it was. And then they never failed to let their disappointment show. I fucking hated that feeling more than I hated fear or vulnerability.
Just to get away from his intense gaze, I rushed through my own lunch and did the dishes quickly so I could spend some time outdoors. On my own. Far, far away from Gunnar Nilsson.
Actually, it wasn’t that far. I walked around the ranch until I came upon a small man made lake that actually had fish in it. They were small, bluish and silver, zipping through the water without a care in the world. Lucky fish. Lately, it seemed that all I had were cares and worries. For me and the people around me. It was exhausting. And that only made me worry even more.
Even Gunnar’s incredible orgasms only helped for so long. I couldn’t keep drinking from that well or else I might start having thoughts a girl like me shouldn’t.
There was a sound in the distance, a disturbance of the leaves and twigs and rocks that peppered the grounds out this far. I froze, suddenly realizing why it was such a stupid fucking idea to come all the way out here. Alone. No one knew where I was. My shoes sat about ten feet to my left, a pair of cowboy boots I couldn’t resist buying when I caught a glimpse of the turquoise stones embedded in them. Now I couldn’t get to them without making my presence known. As it was, a big boulder shielded me from view but only if the sound came from behind me and that was hard to determine with so much quiet around.
“Fucking country life,” I whisper-grumbled to myself, slowly slinking down the rock until I was on the ground and my toes danced with the edge of the water. A body broke through the crop of trees but his face was still shrouded in shadow. I held my breath and waited to see the figure raise a gun or speak into a covert comms device but neither happened.
“Peaches, you can’t hide out forever.”
“Cruz,” I called out. “Fuck! What are you doing out here lurking in the woods?”
He blinked and scanned the area until our gazes collided and a smile split his face. “Checking on you. You’ve been gone a while.”
“Didn’t realize I was on a schedule.” My time was my own. Just because I was staying here for a while didn’t mean they could keep tabs on me. And that pissed me off.
“I know how you women are, and you’ve only got a few hours to get ready for the opening.”
Tonight was the Grand Opening for The Barn Door, Gunnar’s adult playground that if I was being honest, kind of got me a little hot and bothered. But only a little.
“I’m not going. It’s hard enough to be a woman at a regular club. At your sex place, I’ll never have a moment of peace. And Maisie is starting preschool in the morning. I want to be with her tonight.”
My one and only visit to a sex club involved spending too much time saying, “no thanks” and not enough time screaming, “God, yes.”
Cruz sighed and put his hands on his hips, his hair gleaming in the last shards of sunlight. When he smiled and the sun hit his beard, I couldn’t help but smile. “You know we all need to be there tonight, which means it’s the best place for you to be so we can all keep an eye on you.”
“Like I told Gunnar, a casual eye is all right. I don’t want any of you changing up your routines for me. If you see something, say something and we’re all good.” Even though the fear hadn’t worn off that Cruz could have been someone else, I couldn’t let these men disrupt their lives for me. I wouldn’t.
“You don’t have to worry about the guys hitting on you, you know?” He laughed at my affronted look. “You’re hot as fuck and you know it, but we all know you’re Gunnar’s woman.”
“No, I am not,” I practically hissed the words at him.
Cruz just laughed again, the bastard, and held his hands up in a defensive gesture. “Whatever you say, babe. I’ll swing by the main house around nine to pick you up. Don’t forget to dress sexy, this ain’t no church social.”
He turned and walked away but it was slow enough that I never lost sight of him, not even after stopping to slip my boots back on, before I followed him back to the heart of the ranch. The big white house came into view with the large wraparound porch, complete with a wooden glider covered in flannel on the front porch. Martha’s touches were everywhere with potted flowers on either side of the steps and wildflowers growing around the perimeter of the house. It was a great home. Gunnar had managed to give his sister something he’d never had, and I admired him for that. Dammit.
I sighed with reluctance. I needed to go to this grand opening tonight. I’d bought a sexy little outfit last week when I thought it might’ve been fun to go, but even though I knew I needed to go, I couldn’t muster up a fuck about going.
Still, I indulged in a long hot bath making sure every inch of me was smooth, tidy, and smelling of perfume. Since it would be a shame to let the outfit go to waste, I took my time dressing, making sure I looked like the sexy, confident woman I wanted the world to see. A woman no one dared fuck with.
When I was properly glossed, smoothed, and smelling irresistible, I slipped into the sapphire blue teddy with the scalloped edges and a plunging neckline that would draw all kinds of attention to my D cups. The open panel in the back and the thong bottom would keep eyes on me, but the shimmery lace cape would let me decide how much they got to see. I grabbed a pair of black stilettos with ankle cuffs that matched the leather & lace cuffs on my wrists.
“There we go.” I looked sexy and sassy and confident, but just innocent enough to make even the shy guys feel bold.
As I stood staring at myself in the mirror, I smiled. Not because I looked that good, though I did, but because I had a plan. I couldn’t keep fucking Gunnar without messy emotions getting involved, but that didn’t mean celibacy. The club was the perfect place for me tonight. Maybe a threesome would get those intense blue eyes out of mind, hell maybe a devil’s threesome would make me forget how well his cock filled me up. Then again, maybe some girl on girl action would remind me that men were nothing but trouble. Whatever I found tonight, I would be open to it.
Except Gunnar. These thighs were closed for him. Permanently.
I let out a long breath and squared my shoulders. I was ready.
To have some kinky, Gunnar-free fun.
Chapter Seventeen
Gunnar
I couldn’t believe I was actually nervous about tonight. Me and the guys got to The Barn Door an hour before opening to do a final run through and everything was perfect, yet I was still nervous. Me, Gunnar fucking Nilsson, nervous. I knew part of it was because this was the first thing I’d done on my own, without Cross and the guys, in more than a damn decade.
Yet here I was, doing
it. Not on my own though, the guys from Hardtail Ranch had pitched in, taking on tasks without being asked. Like a real family. When the time came, the Opey Chapter of the Reckless Bastards would be damn near as good as the first. At least that was what it felt like tonight.
Everything was set for a night of success. Martha and the twins had Maisie. The DJ was already set up and music blared through strategically placed speakers that made the whole place pulse with heat and desire. Two bartenders manned every bar and they would take turns delivering drinks and making sure everyone had what they needed. Within reason. Ford had the door covered, and I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about that.
“Yo! Gunnar.” Slayer strolled up with his lazy long-legged gait, long brown hair swinging behind him and a big ass grin on his face. “The bartender up front is looking pretty green and maybe a little scared of her own shadow.”
Shit. She was an experienced bartender which is why I didn’t say shit when Joplin hired her, but I needed to be sure she wouldn’t run screaming halfway through the night. “Thanks Slayer. You seen Peaches?”
She was supposed to be here for opening night because it was the best place to make sure she was safe.
“Nah, but you know how women are. They always take forever to get ready for everything.” He rolled his eyes and walked away. I turned and headed toward the front bar.
“Hey Jasmine, how’s it going?”
Dark brown eyes looked up at me, and I understood exactly what Slayer meant about her being afraid of her own damn shadow. “Oh, hey Gunnar. Good. Just getting ready for the night.”
“You gonna be okay with this?” She nodded and looked around, making me wonder if she was afraid of me or the club. “If you feel uncomfortable just say so. We have people here that will keep you safe from any unwanted attention, all right?”
Finally a small smile touched her pouty mouth. “Yeah. I’m good. Thanks for making sure though.” She gave me another look and went back to work.
Another fire put out and I was feeling good but just to be safe I decided to do one final check of the rooms downstairs. All the equipment was brand new and shiny as fuck, even the low black and red lights of the private rooms. The leather gleamed, the silver sparkled and everything encouraged the members to indulge in their darkest, kinkiest desires.
I made my way to the back bar on the front level and nearly ran into Saint. “The line is already wrapped around the building. I think all the members have showed up.”
Saint’s expression was serious, as it always was but tonight his gaze was a little steadier and a little more direct. A smile crossed my face as the words sank in.
“Fuck yeah!” I held a fist up and though it took a second, he finally fist-bumped it with a smile.
“I’d better go and start greeting our members.”
I clapped him on the back and smiled. “I’ll go with ya.” This was a big damn night for me and it was off to the best possible start. The only problem was Peaches. Where the hell was she? “You seen Peaches?”
He just shook his head and continued forward and as we approached the front door, I pushed thoughts of Peaches out of my mind and greeted The Barn Door members as Ford checked them in. The doors opened and slowly the club began to fill with members dressed in suits and slinky dresses, and others dressed in a lot less than that. Ninety minutes after opening the place was hot and the pulsing beat infused the air with a mixture of sex, desire, and adventure.
Bodies moved all around, on the dance floor couples and triples bumped and ground on one another, some just swayed slowly and kissed while their hands roamed and caressed. The booths were filled with people getting up close and personal with each other, talking about things like limits and desires while others didn’t bother with a pretense.
At one table a woman knelt underneath, her hands stroking a man’s thighs as she sucked him off. At the table he had a tit in his mouth and his hand between another woman’s legs. The sight made me smile. And it made my dick stand up and take notice because this was exactly what I pictured for the place.
Thoughts of my hard dick brought to mind a curvy wild-haired woman who should be here by now. And wasn’t. “Cruz, have you seen Peaches?”
He smiled and nodded. “You haven’t? Oh man, she’s around here somewhere.” The gleam in his eyes put me on alert.
“Gettin’ into trouble?”
Cruz shrugged, but even in the dark lights of the club I could see amusement and mischief in those eyes of his.
“Depends on what you mean by trouble.” He must’ve seen the frustration on my face because he flashed a sympathetic smile. “She’s in the VIP booth like you said.”
I was on my feet without a word of thanks or acknowledgment but luckily Cruz was laid back as fuck, not letting much get to him. It was a quality I appreciated in those around me, but my focus was on finding Peaches and making sure she was safe. And steered clear of trouble.
The VIP tables were available by reservation only. The high backs and circular shape were meant for privacy and they had dedicated bottle service so the tables were only disturbed if they wanted to be. I found Peaches at the reserved table.
She wasn’t alone. A man in an expensive suit and cowboy boots sat with her, whispering in her ear, maybe even brushing his lips across her neck if the closed-eye smile was any indication. For some reason it pissed me off even though I knew it shouldn’t.
Yeah, we’d fucked a couple times, but I had no claims on her. That didn’t stop the anger from coursing through me or the desire to rip that motherfucker apart from settling over me like a warm, welcoming woman. I took two steps toward the table when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t do it, man.” Slayer stood at my side with a serious expression on his face. “I know what you’re thinking but trust me if you go over there half-cocked that spitfire will do what you’re thinking of, and worse, just to spite you. To prove she can.”
My shoulders fell because, dammit, he was right. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem.” He flashed a smile and blended back into the crowd.
I took another glance over my shoulder at Peaches, who was laughing again but at least there was some distance between her and cowboy boots. Spotting one of our platinum members, Mayor Hal and his wife Lorna, I went to make sure they were having a good time. “Hal. Lorna. I trust you’re enjoying yourselves?”
Lorna’s green gaze gave me a thorough once over, and I knew exactly what was on her mind. “We are. This place is lovely.” Her words came out like a purr and her tits were barely contained in the silk nightie she wore that skimmed the tops of her thighs. Lorna was a beautiful woman, but she tried too hard.
“Thanks. Have you had a chance to explore our specialty rooms downstairs?”
Hal’s smile widened. “Headed there soon, I think.” He flashed a hungry look at his wife, and I knew what was on his mind.
“Maybe you’ll stop in and play with us later?” The way she was eye fucking me made her desire clear, but Mayor Hal was one man I couldn’t afford to piss off. I needed to keep that man in my pocket.
“As incredible as that offer is, I only play when I’m not on the clock sweetheart. How about some of our best bourbon to loosen you guys up?” I motioned for one of the servers who quickly came and took care of the mayor and his wife.
I waited as long as I could, but Peaches was like a goddamn magnetic field, pulling me in, and I found myself standing in front of the VIP table where once again, she was not alone. This time a stacked blonde sat beside her with a hand on her thigh and her lips brushing soft, teasing kisses along the smooth honey brown skin of Peaches’ shoulder. The blonde’s free hand traced the sapphire lace that stretched over mouthwatering cleavage, tempting Peaches with soft touches.
“Ladies.” They didn’t move apart right away, but eventually Peaches opened her eyes and a small smile touched those plump lips.
“Gunnar.” That was it, just my name with no emotion. Hell, I probably deserved it, but I did
n’t like it, not when she was looking hot as fuck in that outfit.
Before I could say another word or scare off the handsy blonde, a man in leather pants and more fucking cowboy boots approached.
“You said martinis so I asked for ’em extra dirty.” He looked at me and smiled. “You joining us? I got a feeling these two will be a handful.”
There was no fucking way Peaches or I were going anywhere with this guy. Peaches quirked a brow at me, challenging me to do what every fiber of my being was urging me to do. Fuck it. I stepped a little closer to the table and grabbed Peaches by the arm, pulling her to her feet and yanking her away from dirty martini and his handsy girlfriend.
“Get your paws off me, asshole!” Peaches continued to swat and smack at my hand and my arms. “Gunnar, seriously.”
She could fight me all she wanted, but I was bigger and stronger, and determined. Determined to do what? I had no fucking clue, but the way my cock strained against my zipper was a big fucking hint. I couldn’t take her to any of the rooms because they were all probably full of naked bodies doing dirty things to each other, which is exactly what I wanted—no needed—to do to Peaches.
“In,” I told her when we came to stop in the dimly lit hall where my office was located right beside Joplin’s.
Arms crossed and chin tilted up in defiance, Peaches scowled at me. “Fuck you, Gunnar. A couple of fucks doesn’t give you the right to go all Neanderthal on me.”
I placed my hand on her lower back and gave her a gentle push inside before kicking the door shut. “You shouldn’t be offering it up to everyone at the club.” I knew it was the wrong damn thing to say as soon as the words left my mouth, but the outraged look she shot me told me it was worse.
“You didn’t mind when I offered it to you.” Arms folded so her tits sat right on top of her arms, Peaches looked like a wet fucking dream in blue lace that only covered the good parts and even then, it was just barely. I ate up the sight of her smooth brown skin on display, the little bodysuit she wore clung to her curves. “Oh my God, you’re jealous.”