Frank reached for her fingers. “What? Never dances with you? He sounds like a terrible guy. I’m more than willing to take care of you, sugar.”
It took an incredible amount of self-control to not jerk Janey away from the other man. Even as he tried to reason with her, he kept an eye on Dan and Jerry, who were moving in dangerously close. “Janey. Get back to the girls now.”
She twirled and landed against his chest, every inch of her pressed up tight. She tilted her head back and stared into his eyes with a defiant expression. “Don’t boss me around. Nope, nope, nope. Ain’t gonna happen.”
Behind him, Janey’s friends continued to laugh, splashing sounds seeming to grow louder as dusk fell. Len didn’t give a damn anymore what she’d say about him taking charge. He hooked an arm around her, ready to scoop her up and beat a retreat. It took his full strength to hold her there, supporting her as she suddenly swayed hard.
“Len? I feel funny.”
Her hands slipped from around his neck, and he risked a quick peek just in time to see her lick her lips as she rocked against him.
His body rocked in response. Shit. Not the time or the place.
She started singing, dancing in place against his body. Len held on, gritting his teeth to resist the torment. He glanced up to check on the strangers.
In front of him was empty space, the backsides of the men growing smaller as they hightailed it toward the fire.
Good. At least one disaster was over before it got out of hand. The other, though? Was still driving him mad.
Len peeled Janey off his body, directing her back toward the swimming hole. She danced ahead of him, her butt wiggling as she picked her way over the uneven ground.
He was going to hell. That’s all there was to it. The thoughts racing through his mind were far too filthy, but he couldn’t seem to stop them.
He jerked off his jean jacket in an attempt to cover her. “Shannon, Liz. Get the hell over here,” he shouted.
Their laughter changed rapidly to shrieks as the other girls noticed he was approaching. Neither of them was as naked as Janey with their button-down shirts hanging to their thighs, but they still scrambled for their discarded clothing.
“You just wanted to see us in our birthday suits,” Janey teased. She turned in front of him, hiding her hands behind her back as he attempted to get her to put his coat on. “I’m not done. I’m going to swim some more,” she insisted.
Liz had made her way to their side. The moonlight shone off the water surface, lighting up the grove of trees. Dusk had fallen far enough it was too dark to see clearly, but Len thought her cheeks were flushed red. She looked as if she was going to make a smart comment to cover her embarrassment, but she must have caught a glimpse of his face.
“What’s wrong?” she demanded.
Janey gave him no time to answer. She caught hold of her friend’s hands and spun her in a wild circle. “Nothing’s wrong. We’re pixies in the moonlight. We’re dancing on clouds.” She let go of Liz and grabbed on to Shannon for a twirl before returning to Len.
Damn if she didn’t leap straight at him, throwing herself into his arms. Len barely caught his balance before they would have tumbled to the ground.
As it was, he grabbed hold of her butt, his fingers digging in as she wrapped her legs around his hips and cupped his face in her hands.
She stared into his eyes, all wildfire and passion. “You promised to dance with me. Or are you going to run away again?”
“Janey. Get off of him.” Shannon sounded scandalized. “Oh my God, what are you doing?”
“He promised. And a promise is a promise.” Janey shook off Liz’s hand. “Go away. I want to dance with Len.”
He caught Liz’s concerned expression a second before he had to scramble into action. Janey released both her arms and legs at the same time, and only his grip stopped her from hitting the ground. “Jeez, Janey. Careful.”
“Time to swim,” she shouted, twirling towards the water’s edge.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” Liz asked. “She’s like a manic on a high.”
Len didn’t have time to agree with her as he chased after Janey, cutting in front before she could make it into the water.
She smiled flirtatiously, swaying slightly from side to side as she crouched low into a football stance. “You want to play?”
Liz was right—Janey was not acting like herself. Her eyes were too bright and her gaze darted everywhere, as if she literally couldn’t stand still. Len stretched his hands to the side to block any attempts at a dash for the water. “It’s time for you to go home.”
Shannon was approaching from the back. She held up her hands questioningly, but all Len had were suspicions.
With a total lack of self-modesty, Janey closed the distance between them and caught hold of his belt. “You gonna take me home?”
Sweet mercy. Her words came out husky and low, scraping over his already tormented nerves. He glanced over her shoulder even as he wrapped his fingers around her wrists to stop her from playing with his belt buckle. “Shannon, did Janey have anything unusual to drink tonight?”
Liz joined them as well. “Not that I noticed, but…”
She leaned over and whispered in Shannon’s ear. The woman’s eyes grew wide, and she slipped between Len and Janey. “Let me take a peek at you, hon.”
Shannon somehow kept Janey in one spot for long enough to check her eyes, swearing softly as she wrapped her fingers around her friend’s wrist to take her pulse.
Len closed the distance to Liz’s side. “She’s not drunk, is she?”
A simple shake of the head. Liz whispered softly. “You think someone slipped her something?”
“Drugs?” Len glanced back toward the campfire. The cowboys’ behavior became crystal clear. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all. Only what did they give her?”
Shannon turned Janey to face them, her arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Liz, how about you and Janey go for a walk to the trees and back?”
Janey pouted. “I don’t want to walk. I want to dance.”
“We can skip. That’s kind of like dancing,” Liz offered.
Shannon waited until the two of them were out of earshot before she spoke. “It’s my guess someone is higher than a kite. It should wear off in a few hours, but until then, she’s going to be a handful.”
“She doesn’t seem drunk,” Len protested.
“Not alcohol, but a chemical high. If I had to guess, I’d think it was Ecstasy. It’s not that dangerous, but we do need to keep an eye on her.”
Len’s fists twitched to go rearrange a few faces. “I’m going after the bastards—”
“Don’t bother,” Shannon responded. “You have no proof, plus they’re probably miles away by now. Be thankful they didn’t slip her a roofie, then take off with her when she passed out.”
Even the thought of it made his blood boil. “We need to take her home.”
“And keep an eye on her,” Shannon insisted.
Janey had Liz over by the trees. She was jumping and trying to touch the leaves on the overhanging limbs. Every other leap ended with her on the ground, laughing uproariously.
Taking her home was a good idea before she broke something.
Only Janey was in the middle of a renovation project. “It can’t be to her house either. Who knows what mischief she’ll get up to in the place.”
“Len, it’s got to be you.” Shannon turned and pinned him with her gaze. “Liz is heading out early in the morning on holidays. I’ve got a shift at the hospital starting in a couple hours, so I can’t stay with her either.”
Leaving him as the uncontested babysitter. Heaven and hell. “Are you sure she’s okay?”
She nodded, tightening the ponytail holding her blonde hair back. “She’ll be fine. She doesn’t need to go to the hospital, and I bet she’d prefer not to be hauled in there like this.” Shannon made a face. “I could just imagine how people would react to hearing she was on drugs.”
Small-town rumour would suck. No way could Janey afford having dirt talked about her, not with her trying to officially make a go of starting her own business. “I’ll take care of her.”
Liz had scooped up Janey’s clothing on their return trip and handed the pile to Shannon. While Janey curled around Len like he was a May Pole, Liz glanced between their faces. “You figure out what’s up?” she whispered.
The situation was now unavoidable. Len cursed himself that he hadn’t stopped Janey from getting targeted in the first place, but right now was about making sure she was all right.
Nothing more would happen tonight, except him getting bluer balls than usual, but that was his choice. Had always been his choice. Bottom-line—she wasn’t going to get hurt any further, not if he could help it. Not by him or some unknown jackasses with an agenda, or by hard-nosed snoopy neighbours who would act as judge and jury and accuse her of wrongs she hadn’t committed.
He reached out his hand to Janey. “You’re coming home with me.”
Chapter Two
The tube of toothpaste and the brand-new toothbrush waiting for her on the bathroom counter got a frantic workout as Janey attempted to kill the foul taste in her mouth. And the entire time she scrubbed, she examined her surroundings in disbelief.