Heather Rainier (9 page)

“Seth, it’s just sex. Can’t I just get it over with?”

Multiple male voices twisted and vibrated in her mind, faces swirled around her, and she suddenly couldn’t feel her legs.

A kaleidoscope of emotions crowded Seth’s thoughts as he watched Jayne on the dance floor with the cowboy who was holding her entirely too fucking close. Buck had called him a few minutes before and told him what Jayne had said and that Jayne was under the impression that Seth didn’t care. Buck had also said that she’d had to get drunk just to get up the guts to ask them, which meant her heart probably wasn’t in this little adventure. She looked happily soused as she chatted with the cowboy while they two-stepped, but then her expression morphed into sadness.

He moved through the club and onto the dance floor. As he got closer, he could tell by her posture and the way she was trying to focus on the man holding her that she must be inebriated. Foremost in his mind was getting her out of the cowboy’s arms. He definitely
did
care about what she was up to, and he wasn’t going to allow her to throw away a precious part of her she could never get back, not in the condition she was in. The thought of her lying helpless in some nameless cowboy’s arms turned his vision red.

He caught sight of Buck and Chad where they’d edged nearby on the dance floor. He was thankful for their interference in her little “cause” tonight but wished they’d kept her with them until he’d arrived. Considering that they’d originally had Jayne in their sights for themselves to share, he was grateful that they’d turned down her tempting invitation and called him to rescue her from herself.

Possessive anger seethed inside Seth as the cowboy slid his hand around Jayne’s lush hip and squeezed her ass cheek. Seth imagined wiping the pleased smile off the bastard’s face as he wove through the crowd on the dance floor. The man looked up and made eye contact with him for a few seconds and then turned his attention back to Jayne and murmured to her flirtatiously. The cowboy glanced his way again and Seth thought he saw challenge in the man’s eyes. Seth prided himself on being a relatively calm man, not given to fits of jealous rage or temper, but he was fixing to kick someone’s ass.

Mine.

A split second later, Seth’s anger turned to concern as Jayne’s feet got twisted around each other. She would’ve fallen if the cowboy hadn’t been holding on to her. Concern for Jayne replaced the smile on the cowboy’s face as dancers stared curiously and gave them a wider berth on the dance floor. Buck and Chad moved in hastily as well, and Seth clenched his jaw as the cowboy swept her into his arms and carried her from the dance floor.

All eyes were on them as Ben approached with what must’ve been Jayne’s purse and car keys. Quietly, Ben said, “I was mixing her drinks weaker, Seth, but Quinten didn’t know that and gave her a full-strength margarita a few minutes ago, which she downed pretty quickly. Kerry said she delivered a big glass of water to Jayne earlier. You’ve got a ticking time bomb on your hands.” Seth knew it was just a matter of time before she started bringing everything up.

Seth made eye contact with Buck and held up her set of keys. “Can you help me out with her car?”

Buck and Chad both nodded, and Buck took the ignition key off the ring as Seth described her car and recited her address. “Just bring it when you’re done here.”

“What happened?” Jayne’s words were slurred as she put her hand to her cheek. She peered around in confusion. Her eyes were bleary, and her cheeks went rosy as she squinted at him and recognition dawned. The same sadness from earlier crossed her face again, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Seth accepted her purse when Ben handed it to him, turned to the cowboy, and held out his arms. “I’ll take her from here.”

The cowboy’s dark eyes assessed him briefly, seeming to determine whether Jayne would welcome his intervention or not. “Jayne, do you want to go with him?”

Still woozy, Jayne replied, “Huh? Seth? What are you doing here? I was dancing…”

Buck patted the cowboy on the back reassuringly, and he finally shifted Jayne into Seth’s arms. “You take care of yourself, Jayne. Enjoyed dancing with you.” The cowboy glanced at Seth and nodded.

Jayne squinted at him and rubbed her forehead with her palm.

“I’m going to take you home, Jayne.”

“What happened? I was…” She pointed to the dance floor.

“You passed out.”

Jayne focused on his face, and she tightened her arms around him. He was torn between wanting to hug her to him and giving her a good shake. He carried her toward the door after nodding his thanks to his friends. Thank God she’d had men who cared enough to watch out for her. She hadn’t considered how her little adventure could’ve turned into a dangerous mistake. The fact that she’d gone to the club with a purpose heightened his relief that Buck had called him. He’d promised to not lose his temper with her when Buck had sworn to keep her from leaving the club, but he was angry with her. She could’ve been in a world of hurt. What had she been thinking?

Just then, Teresa Martinez hurried up to them with Angel and Joaquin and a beautiful blonde whom Seth didn’t recognize following behind her. “Jayne? Are you all right?”

Jayne looked up at Seth and took her purse from him after he gently set her on her feet, noting that she kept a tight hold on him. “I’m fine. Had a bit too much to drink. Seth’s taking me home.”

“I’m glad you’re not driving yourself.”

Angel and Joaquin turned their eyes to him, and he nodded his reassurance that he’d watch over her. Two blond-headed strangers in cowboy hats, who appeared to be twins, joined their group and murmured to Joaquin before skirting them and joining the cowboy who’d been dancing with Jayne. They glanced back with mild curiosity before heading toward a table.

Jayne sighed and leaned against him, and Seth said, “I’ll take good care of her.”

Teresa said, “I hope you feel better.” She glanced at Seth with concern in her eyes and softly asked, “Will you stay with her?”

Seth nodded and turned to the door with Jayne as Angel and Joaquin drew Teresa into the club with them. Once they were alone, Jayne groaned and put her hand to her head. The late-July heat hit them like a hot blanket and she glanced up at him cautiously when they walked out of the club to his truck.

“Buck and Chad will bring your car to your house.”

“Okay.”

Once she was situated and he had the vehicle started and the AC running, he turned to her. “Let me know if you feel sick.” Jayne nodded and looked down at her hands.

On the drive to her house, Seth tried to calm the rising tide of anger and possessiveness that swelled at the thought of how the night could’ve ended for her. He contemplated all the things he wanted to say and all the questions he needed to ask. Jayne leaned her head back against the seat and stared out the windshield quietly.

Once inside her house, she flicked on a lamp, which bathed the living room in soft light. Her house was decorated with a feminine touch, which suited her personality. He followed her into the kitchen, sat her down, and then found a glass in a cupboard. He filled it with water and placed it in front of her.

“Drink that, baby.”

She glanced at him curiously, and the barest hint of a frown furrowed her brows for a second before she did as he asked. When she sipped from the glass and made a move to put it down, he tipped it back to her lips.

When she was finished, he put the glass in the sink and asked, “What was going through your head tonight, Jayne?”

She rested her head in the palms of both hands and closed her eyes. “It seems like a stupid idea now but I just wanted to get it over with. If I wasn’t a virgin, we—” She seemed so vulnerable, sitting there as she tried to reassure herself and explain to him at the same time, and the anger seeped out of him. They hadn’t really dated yet or made declarations about being exclusive, but that was changing tonight.

“We what, Jayne?”

Jayne shrugged. “We might’ve been intimate by now.”

“Fucking doesn’t always equal intimacy.”

“It wouldn’t have been fucking—”

“That’s what you would’ve gotten tonight, from that cowboy. Whether he’s a good guy or not, you wouldn’t have gotten intimacy from him. Not under those circumstances. Best-case scenario, your first time would’ve been a one-night stand. Worst case…I don’t even want to think about. I wanted more for you than that, Jayne.”

The thought of her waking up vulnerable in a strange bed sent a cold chill racing over his skin.

Never.
Mine
.

“I know.”

“You have no idea how hard it was to turn you down.” He tried but couldn’t keep the sharpness from his tone.

“Was?” Her stormy eyes met his, and he was surprised by the wave of heat her gaze cast over his skin. “Does that mean you’ve changed your mind?”

Don’t do or say anything you’ll regret later. She’s in no shape for this conversation.
“Let’s finish this in the morning.”

Jayne nodded and rose from the chair and walked from the kitchen. He sat there for a moment, contemplating his next action, before following her into the hallway. She was nowhere in sight, but a trail of the clothing she’d had on that evening left a path to follow into her bedroom. He walked past her red high heels and wondered if she’d worn them to embolden herself. He gulped when he saw her red lace bra and a red satin G-string lying in the doorway. He clenched his hands into fists, knowing that she wasn’t in her right mind and might regret this action come morning.

He wanted to do the right thing—
needed
to do the right thing—but she made that hard. He should go spend the night on her comfy-looking couch and be totally guilt-free in the morning. But he had to make sure she was okay. Worry won out when silence came from the bedroom. He couldn’t let her fall asleep on her back, and she probably wouldn’t even know that was a hazard after a night of heavy drinking.

Seth stepped into the dim comfort of Jayne’s bedroom but didn’t see her. A rhythmic sound drew his attention, and he peered around the corner to what must be her bathroom. Standing nude before her vanity, she was brushing out her long hair, which made faint crackling sounds as she drew the bristles through it. Her pink-tipped breasts swayed gently with her movements, and her eyes were heavy-lidded as she gazed at her reflection.

She set the brush down on the vanity and flicked her hair over her shoulders as she reached behind her to remove the necklace she was wearing. She must’ve noticed his presence because she turned from the mirror and walked nude out of the bathroom to him. She turned her back to him and regarded him with sleepy, seductive eyes in the mirror’s reflection on her closet door nearby.

“I can’t get it off. Will you help me, please?”

When she reached back to lift her hair from her neck, the pose was provocative, and he never would’ve guessed she was innocent. Her beautiful, round breasts lifted with the action, and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, drawing his gaze to the sleek line of her spine and the curve of her lush ass. She was still taking matters into her own tenacious hands. In her lusty, tequila-soaked brain, she was doing her best to tempt him, and it was working.

Her breath left her in light pants as he drew a fingertip up her back until his hand reached hers at the clasp of the necklace. Her delicate scent, a mixture of flowers and woman, soaked into his senses. All the reasons he’d given himself for leaving her untouched went to war with all the reasons he could think of for claiming her. They were both adults, in their midthirties, for crying out loud.

But she’s drunk, and this is not going to happen. Not tonight.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t indulge her a little. He knew it was a slippery slope. He’d thought all bets were off when he found out she was a virgin. He wanted her to have her dream. But she was becoming his dream, and despite what he’d been through and seen in the past, maybe he wanted to be the one to give her what she craved.

He removed the necklace and placed it in the palm she held up. She laid the necklace on her dresser as he slid his hands up her rib cage, over the now-healed outlines of the tattoo, and noted that she watched in the mirror as he cupped her breasts. He’d spent three torturous hours with her laid practically bare before him the week before as he’d tattooed her and hadn’t allowed himself to touch. Tonight he touched.

The solid, sensual weight of her breasts overflowed his hands as he squeezed gently and whispered, “Don’t ever do something so dangerous again, Jayne. When I said no, I never imagined that you’d pull such a crazy stunt. Promise me, never again.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re mine.” He didn’t have the right to demand that of her so suddenly. They hadn’t talked of exclusivity to one another, but he damn sure wanted to when she was in her right mind.

“You said you didn’t want me, didn’t want to—”

“I never said I didn’t want you. I wanted you to have your dream, and I don’t think a drunken one-night stand is what you held out for all this time. You
know
I wanted you.” He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to him so she’d be able to feel the diamond-hard shaft she’d inspired. “Never again, Jayne.”