“I got her, but how ’bout water and close out my tab?”
“You got it, Davis.” Luke laughs, turning to grab me a bottle of water from the fridge behind him.
“Your name is Davis?” I ask the man next to me, weighing the sound of it.
He doesn’t acknowledge me, waiting for Luke to come back with his credit card and his receipt to sign. He scribbles his signature and hands it back to Luke, dropping his feet to the wooden floor under us and stepping back. I follow his movements with my eyes, waiting to see what he’ll do next, already anticipating the rush of disappointment when he leaves, knowing I’ll likely never see him again. My jaw drops the second his hand comes out, palm up, in a gesture that clearly means he wants me to go with him. I look from his hand up to the darkness shadowing his face, wondering if I should actually be careless enough to go off with some stranger I don’t know.
“You gonna give me shit about this?”
Confused, I look from that tanned hand with the long fingers back up at him, but I can tell by the tilt of his hat that he’s speaking to someone behind me.
“Would it matter?” Luke laughs behind me and I turn to look at him.
“Not really. Only opinion that I care about is hers, but still askin’.”
Luke shakes his head but still smiles. “Not her keeper, but I assure you if I had a problem with this shit I wouldn’t have sat her next to you and continued to refill her glass.” Luke looks down at me and gives me a wink. “Been a while, darlin’, make sure he wraps it up.”
I gasp and feel heat blossoming on my cheeks as Luke turns with a deep laugh and walks away. I’m going to kill him.
Heat blankets my back a second later and two strong hands clasp my hips. I feel him move until his breath is at my ear. “Let’s go be bad, hmm?”
Am I going to do this? Go off with some man I don’t know and sleep with him? Because I would be a fool to think this is anything else. Earlier I promised myself I was done living a ghost of a life and that I was going to find a way to be wild and free. I’ve never slept with someone I wasn’t in a long-term relationship with. Oh, who am I kidding, I’ve only slept with one man. To say I’m in over my head here is an understatement. Lucy does it all the time. Hell, she keeps telling me I need a good rebound romp in the sheets. Screw it, I’ll regret it if I don’t at least jump in the saddle again, letting this man go without taking him for a ride.
I take a deep breath, lean back against the strong body behind me, and nod. “Yeah. Let’s go . . . be bad.”
My back vibrates with his laughter, and I shiver in his hold, my wide eyes meeting Luke’s across the bar. He gives me a wink and smiles his ruggedly handsome, crooked smile, tipping his chin toward the door in silent confirmation that he has no problem with the stranger leading me away. Knowing that the dark cowboy has Luke’s trust breaks the final restraint on my reservations. I turn, look up at my companion, and smile.
“Lead the way.”
2
CAROLINE
“Bar at the End of the World” by Kenny Chesney
Deliciously reckless.
That’s really the only way I can explain the feeling that’s rushing through my body right now.
The darkness around us makes my other senses come to the forefront. The rasp of his five o’clock shadow against my sensitive skin as he kisses and licks his way down the column of my throat only makes my arousal spike to dangerous levels. Had we made it farther than even a foot into the motel room across from Hazel’s, I would’ve turned on a light so I could finally see him, but now it’s more fun to continue this ride with that unknown factor. He can be anyone I want him to be now. Or anyone I don’t want him to be. For one night, I can take the pleasure my body hasn’t had in years and live off the memories of it until I’m ready to give another man a chance. Hopefully I won’t let another five years pass before that happens again.
I push my hands from his shoulders and palm his jaw as his stubble prickles against my fingers while my hands wander up to his hair. His hat falls to the floor with a thud and I know he’s just as lost in me as I am in him, because he doesn’t even make a move to pick it up. He lets out a deep grunt when I mold myself against his body, seeking some sort of friction. The next thing I know, my back is against the door and he’s gripping my bottom. His mouth hits my jaw with a bite of his teeth, making a squeak of pleasure shoot up my throat, and his deep rumble of laughter reaches my ears as he presses me harder into the door with his hips. The heavy bulge of his erection against that spot makes me so desperate for him that I whimper in relief when his mouth finally closes over mine in a wet tangle of tongues.