Heather Rainier (17 page)

Gwen smiled her thanks to him and replied, “What’s a Friday night without a good, old-fashioned brawl, right?” She tested her ankle and seemed to have little difficulty with it.

The furor settled as the bouncers, Mike and Rogelio, took control of the dance floor and located the original combatants. Ben Lawrence and Ethan Grant, co-owners of The Dancing Pony, confronted them as the rest of the nightclub patrons cleared the area. Seth rejoined Jayne and their group as the DJ started the music again. Three men were ejected from the club, none of whom were familiar to him or his friends.

Jack Warner and Justin Connors arrived with Jayne’s cousins, Grace and Charity, from the other side of the club near the bar, where they’d been directed to keep them safe while their men had helped. Ethan joined them, and he wrapped his arms around Grace, relief obvious on his face. He looked around to check the other women as though making sure they were all there and all right. The brotherly bond Seth felt toward Ethan increased at the visible sign of his concern for all the women and not just his own.

Ethan spotted Jayne and asked, “Are you and your mom all right?”

“Yes, we’re fine. What happened?”

Ethan let out a deep breath, consternation obvious on his face. “A gal brought her date over from Morehead to have a good time. The problem was that the other two men she was also secretly dating happened to show up here as well. Two of them are best friends, or
were
. She must’ve thought she’d be less likely to get caught in here. None of those guys were the sharing kind.”

Seth stroked Jayne’s arm and asked if she wanted a refill on her Coke. Her cheeks were still pink from exertion, but he was glad the fear he’d seen when the fight had broken out was gone. He never wanted to see fear in a woman’s eyes again as long as he lived. The memory of his last night in Europe welled up, but he quashed it down, planning to live this night in the here and now. He kissed her and then walked over to the bar, which had grown crowded.

The head bartender, Quinten Parks, filled orders, working busily beside Camilla O’Neal, the nightclub’s assistant manager, who also had her hands full, when Ben rejoined them and helped out.

As the crowd at the bar thinned, Seth placed his order. After working the cash register for a second, Camilla turned to Ben and placed her palm against his back and peered up at him. Her voice was soft, but her concern was clear. She seemed unprepared for it, and Seth was frankly a little surprised when the normally easygoing Ben lashed out at her.

“I
knew
this would happen. It was just a matter of time.” Camilla’s jaw dropped at his show of temper, and hurt entered her eyes, but he kept up the tirade as she stepped back. “This is why I
hate
it when you go out there with them. You don’t realize how worked up some of the men get when y’all are out there dancing. One of these days someone’s going to get seriously hurt. We’re damn lucky we were able to get it under control before an ambulance and the sheriff needed to be called.”

Quinten made a move to interject something, but Camilla put up her hand to stop him then bunched her hands into fists on her hips. “Wait just a minute, buster. That gal wasn’t even from here, and the fight didn’t start because the girls were dancing. Those guys started a fight on the other side of the club that spread to the dance floor. I’ve seen much worse nightclub brawls than this one—”

“To know that does not help me one iota, Cami. From now on, you’re staying back here, where it’s safe—” Camilla gasped, and her jaw jutted as Ethan made his presence known at the bar.

In a firm but low voice, he said, “Ben. Stop.”

“Yeah, Ben.
Stop
,” Camilla said, angrily glaring at her boss. “Don’t let your alligator mouth write checks your hummingbird ass can’t cash. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself, damn it!”

Ben’s eyebrows were a dark, furrowed slash as he frowned and was about to reply when Quinten placed a hand on his shoulder. He clenched his jaw as he held back whatever he was about to say. Patrons standing at the bar stared in amazement as Ben trudged through his office door behind the bar and slammed it.

Quinten walked past Camilla to fill Seth’s order for a frozen margarita without saying a word to her. The petite, but shapely, strawberry blonde frowned when he walked back to his side of the bar without acknowledging her again. Seth recognized the tension in the angles of Quinten’s face. He knew from past conversations that Ben, Quinten, and Camilla had worked together for the last two years. Judging by the tension simmering between them now, he’d be willing to bet that both men had been in love with her for a while and had never told her.

Quinten placed Seth’s drinks on the bar in front of him, took the required money, and nodded in thanks as Seth dropped several paper bills in the bartender’s tip jar. Sympathizing with him, Seth collected his drinks, determined to not waste any more time.

As he returned to the table, he noticed Jayne speaking quietly with her mother. Frieda nodded, gave her a hug, and then joined the group at Grace and Charity’s table. Jayne beamed at him as he placed her soda in front of her, and he could hear the hint of excitement in her voice as she said, “Guess who has her house all to herself tonight?”

The night was definitely shaping up. “You?”

“Yes. Grace invited Mom to come out to the ranch for a sleepover. Charity and Justin are spending the night and so are their kids, Justine and Beau, so Mom is running by the house to pack a bag and then spend some time with all of them. She said she won’t be home until tomorrow afternoon or possibly early evening.” Jayne looked up at him, and the eager excitement in her eyes morphed into hope and invitation. “Will you spend the night with me?”

Seth’s answer was his kiss.

* * * *

On the way to her house, Jayne gazed up at Seth in the dim interior of the truck cab. Lightning flashed, illuminating his chiseled features. The evening thunderstorms that week had been fairly mild, but this storm had seemed to be building in intensity all evening. Recalling her conversation with her mom on the night she’d arrived, Jayne spoke.

“I want to ask you about something.”

“Sure.”

“Why haven’t you charged me for any of my tattoo sessions? I feel bad for not remembering to ask about it. Do I pay you one lump sum at the end after it’s finished?”

Seth shook his head minutely. “I decided not to charge you. It’s my responsibility to collect payment from you at the beginning of the session, but I changed my mind.”

The wind blustered against the truck, carrying the rain in sideways sheets that looked like they’d sting, as Seth drove down Main Street.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to take payment for it.”

“Why?”

“It’s special.” He turned his piercing gaze on her and murmured, “
You’re
special. Taking payment for it seemed wrong. When it’s done, I think it’ll be my favorite tattoo.”

Jayne knew he had to have done hundreds, if not thousands, of tattoos. “Really?”

Seth nodded and gathered her close with one arm and kissed the top of her head. “When I sketched the design, I thought there was no way you’d want something that big, since you’d never had a tattoo before. I thought you’d only want a little flower or heart, or something like that.”

Jayne chuckled. “You know better now, don’t you?”

“You have a high pain tolerance.” He seemed lost in his thoughts, and her mind briefly went back to the point in her life where she’d learned patience and had developed that high tolerance for discomfort. She shook her head minutely, evidently drawing his attention as he pulled the truck into the driveway. “You okay?”

She nodded as butterflies took flight in her stomach. He pulled close to the garage, switched off the ignition, and leaned forward to look out at the storm, which had gained intensity. “Want to wait a few minutes and see if we get a break before we run for the door?”

“Sure.” The butterflies in her stomach went “Blue Angels” on her, and she froze, not sure what to do next. Luckily, Seth provided her with the answer as he pulled her bodily into his lap.

“Let me distract you from all those anxious thoughts I see flitting across your pretty face.”

She liked this take-charge side of him and went willingly to him. “I’m not anxious.”

Seth’s sexy chuckle could barely be heard over the rain pounding against the roof of the truck as he slid his fingers around her nape, held her close, and kissed her. A wave of heat swept through her as he tightened his hold. Giving over to him was intoxicating and seemed to spur him on as he gripped her nape and kissed her more deeply. He was no gentle, submissive lover in that moment, and she hoped it was indicative of the way he’d make love to her. She’d fantasized about him taking over, taking control, taking her, and her panties were flooded with the evidence of her excitement.

Longing to be closer to him, more intimate, she turned, and when he realized what she was doing, he helped her straddle his lap. His forearms against her backside held her down as he rubbed his hardening cock against her and murmured, “Much better.”

The pounding of raindrops on the roof rose to a low roar as she rejoined her lips to his, losing herself in the passion of their embrace. In that position, he was slightly below eye level with her, and she felt a little powerful as she ground against him, at least until he gripped her hair and took control of the kiss. His tongue slid in a sinuous dance with hers as he rubbed his cock against her throbbing cunt. Her heartbeat sped up as the ache grew and her pussy lips swelled with the friction. She longed to feel him inside her, filling her.

The rain abated gradually over the next minutes as they stayed locked together in tumultuous pleasure. When they finally came up for air, Seth’s voice sounded rough as he said, “Let’s run for it. This may be our only chance for a while.”

She climbed from his lap and grabbed her handbag as he opened the door, jumped out, and reached for her. She let him lift her down from the truck and then they ran through the rain to the front porch as she dug in her handbag for her keys.

Inside the house, she dropped her belongings and turned back to him as he closed and locked the door behind them. Her mom’s car was gone, so she knew that they were officially alone for the evening. She shivered as the air-conditioning hit her rain-dampened skin, and Seth silently drew her without preamble to her bedroom. He continued into the bathroom, and a few seconds later, she heard the shower come on. He was unbuttoning his black button-down shirt when he reappeared, and she watched raptly as he revealed more of his muscular chest.

“I don’t want you to be chilled or anxious. A hot shower will help.”

He stripped the shirt from his shoulders, and she was once more captivated with his body art. The monochromatic gray-and-black designs on his pecs were a stark contrast with the unadorned flesh of his sternum and abdomen. She reached out to stroke him and gazed into his eyes, letting him know that although his tattoos captivated her, she was truly attracted to the man first and foremost.

He slid his hands around her hips and lifted the hem of her top. She raised her arms to assist him and moaned when he trapped her arms in the fabric above her head while he kissed the upper swells of her cleavage. He groaned and rubbed his lips and chin against her flesh, and she realized that he’d shaved very carefully that evening so she’d feel no rough stubble, just the softer, tickling hairs of his goatee and moustache. The thought struck her as very considerate. Combined with his dominating kisses and attention, it was a heady moment, and she held still for him, giving him what he craved. Her hair fell through the neck opening of her top and slid down her back, tickling her spine. Her belly fluttered with excitement as he drew close enough that she could feel his body heat bare millimeters from her skin.

When he finally released her arms, she wrapped them around his neck and sighed when he unclasped the black lace bra and peeled it off of her.

His fingers were like tongues of fire on her flesh as he looked her over with hungry eyes. “Touching is nice but I want more now. I want to taste every inch of you, Jayne.”

Speechless at the predatory heat in his eyes, Jayne nodded. Seth went down on his knees in front of her, and she trembled with anticipation as he pressed his lips to her abdomen, just below her belly button.

Lifting each foot, he removed her black cowboy boots. Her cunt was swollen and wet with need, throbbing as he unbuttoned the fly of her jeans and lowered the zipper. There was a pleased look in his eyes as he slid his fingertips into the parted fabric and tugged downward then held them as she stepped from each leg. He repeated the action with her thong, drawing the black lace down her hips and thighs.

She felt slightly dumpy and uncomfortable, clad in nothing but the white tube socks she’d worn with her boots. He lifted her left foot and kissed her knee as he placed it atop his. Doing so partially opened her pussy lips, revealing her damp flesh to him. She forgot all about her dorky gym socks, trembling all over as he centered his hot gaze on her pussy and hungrily licked his lips.

His long black hair tickled her as he kissed her inner thighs while removing her socks one at a time, making the mundane task seem incredibly sexy. He held her calf in place and slid his fingertips up the length of her leg, from her ankle to the apex of her thighs, and glanced up at her.