by Renee Rose
Boyd and I had a brief and silent conversation across the table. It may have been a while since I’d seen him, but we had clearly melded minds because he stood up and strode down the hall to the front door announcing, “Only way you two ladies get in that limo is if we come, too.”
I followed.
Marina turned to face me on the porch and rolled her eyes. “You can’t. It’s a bachelorette party! For women. No strippers. Just fun. Come on, we have to take the bride out on the town. It’s tradition.”
It was a pretty summer night, the weather calm in comparison to the night before. At least I didn’t have to worry about that, although storms blew in on summer evenings often enough. It wasn’t just last night that was a stark reminder of that, but my parents had been killed in the canyon during a storm. Boyd had barely made it out.
Fuck, I was losing my shit. Since when did I worry about the weather?
A couple other ladies had climbed out of the limo, made those high-pitched squeals of feminine happiness and had hustled Audrey inside to put a rhinestone-bedazzled “Bride” tee and a tiara on her. Boyd and I stared from the front porch.
Fucking ridiculous, this human tradition. And we’d just said we were going with them. Yeah, I was officially insane.
“I’m so winning that fifty bucks,” Boyd murmured, then slapped me on the back before hopping in the back of the limo.
The women were inside laughing and prepping except for Marina. It seemed she was letting Audrey have fun with her girlfriends. She stuck her head in the open door. “Seriously? The kitchen table’s still covered with food. You’re just going to leave it all?”
Boyd shrugged. “Rob’s not coming. He’ll take care of it.”
She didn’t look too happy to have that issue—excuse—resolved. “You guys.” She glanced around the dim interior. “There won’t be room for all of us with you in here.”
“Audrey can ride on Boyd’s lap,” I said stubbornly, trying to erase the image of her grinding over my lap the entire ride, that short dress riding up to show more thigh.
I shook my head again. Fuck. The full moon was approaching, and it had me all-consumed with her. It had never been like this although I’d never had my mate during one before. I was fucking doomed.
“Guys, really. This is a women-only event.”
“Sorry, darlin’. I’m afraid this is a non-negotiable. Colton and I can’t let you ladies go out unescorted. We’d go nuts back here imagining all the low-lifes who would get to see you while we couldn’t. You wouldn’t want us to suffer like that.”
I was grateful to Boyd for arguing the case because I was incapable of saying anything coherent at the moment. Not when her vanilla and cinnamon scent filled the limo, making my senses go haywire.
“Fine, you can come,” she relented, as if she had any choice. “We’re not doing anything crazy, just going to a bar called Cody’s,” she explained to Boyd, as if that might make us change our minds about accompanying them. “The limo’s so we can stay safe.”
Boyd winked at her. “Darlin’, I know you love her, too, but nobody takes my wife out without me around to protect her.”
“She’ll hardly be in any danger,” Marina protested.
“She gets tired easily these days and—” Boyd snapped his mouth shut.
“Why does she get tired easily these days?” Marina demanded, one pale brow arched.
It took me a moment longer to read into Boyd’s words. But when he quickly shook his head and said, “Nevermind,” I understood.
Boyd and Audrey had been keeping news from us. She was having a pup. It didn’t surprise me in the least. They were already mated. They’d been together about two months now, and he’d claimed her, bitten her and all, about a week in. If they fucked at a pace anything like what I wanted to do with Marina, then it was practically impossible for Audrey not to be pregnant.
“Oh my God!” Marina squealed, climbing in the limo and flashing those bare thighs as she did. Which only wanted me to flip up that cute dress and get a baby in her, right fucking now. “I’m so excited to be an auntie!”
“What’s this about becoming an auntie?” one of the other women demanded as she climbed in the limo. Two other ladies followed, all three introducing themselves. Becky, Anna and Leigh. They worked at the hospital with Audrey. I guessed them to be Audrey’s age or thereabouts. They were attractive in their western wear, yet my wolf could care less. I couldn’t, either, not with a sweet thing like Marina as comparison.
Marina had been right. There wasn’t room for us in the limo. As the women scooted and squeezed, it became apparent we weren’t all going to fit.
“Um, either you need to leave, or I’m sitting on your lap,” Marina informed me.
My dick got hard again. It was turning into a permanent state around her, which wasn’t helping my situation. “I’m not leaving.”
“Your choice,” she sang out, obviously not disappointed in the least to drop her perfect ass in my lap.
It was all I could do not to stroke everywhere—up and down her bare thighs, under that short dress, between her little tits. Somehow, I managed to only wrap an arm around her waist and pull her soft buttocks over my rigid cock.
Blue balls.
I was going to be in a permanent state of blue balls this week.
How in the fuck could I avoid this little human when my brain had permanently traveled south to reside in my dick?
Audrey climbed in last, the sparkly tiara holding her long hair back from her face. She looked happy—as usual with Boyd—but excited, too. This was a special time for her, and I was glad she had her friends with her to celebrate. But I wasn’t letting any of these ladies go to Cody’s without a chaperone. They were all too pretty, too sweet, to not be hounded by dicks with… dicks. That place was a meat market, guys on the prowl for fresh meat. Audrey had an obvious “Taken” sign on her with the tiara and t-shirt, but Marina… they’d be ready to gobble her up.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I didn’t tell her, she guessed.” Boyd reached for his bride and settled her on his lap before the limo glided into motion. He nuzzled a kiss at her neck and the arm wrapped around her settled low on her flat belly.
Audrey’s other friends let out a chorus of squeals and congratulations, which Audrey tried to quell. “Don’t tell anyone at the hospital,” she warned. “It’s early days. I don’t want to make it public until the second trimester.” She was an Ob/Gyn and knew what she was talking about.
She looked up at Boyd. “I won’t be riding the bull tonight.”
He nipped at the spot where he’d claimed her. “The mechanical bull? Hell, no. You’ll ride me instead, and I promise you’ll have just as much fun.”
Audrey giggled, and the other ladies fanned themselves.
“We can have this limo just take us up to our cabin, and you can have your bull now.”
Audrey tried to work herself off her mate’s lap. “Oh no. I might not be able to drink, but I can still have some fun.”
“I’m so happy, Audrey.” Marina laid her hand on her sister’s arm. This time her voice was choked with tears.
I squeezed her. I couldn’t help it. She was such an exuberant thing. So full of laughter, life, and emotion. I hadn’t realized how one-dimensional and boring I’d become in the military. Next to her, I was like a stone man. She was colorful light.
“I hope I’m not ruining the party. No mechanical bulls, no drinks,” Audrey promised with a smile.
“I’ll drink for you,” Becky offered, the other ladies nodding in agreement, laughing.
“We have more to celebrate now,” Marina declared. “Just because you’re pregnant, doesn’t mean you can’t dance.”
“Mmm, Cody’s isn’t much of a dance place,” Leigh said. “But we’ll figure something out.”
The idea of Marina dancing in that flirty little dress made me groan.
I seriously wasn’t going to make it through the night.
An hour later, I was nearing de
ath. Somehow, Bossy Becky, as I now thought of her, had cleared a section of the bar, and the ladies, along with some other fun-loving patrons, were line dancing. I didn’t give a shit about any of them, but I did about Marina and the way her dress swirled with every turn. I saw higher and higher on her pale thighs, and that meant every other fucker in the bar saw too.
Our convo from earlier about whether she was wearing panties made me want to rip out every man’s eyeballs. If I was wondering, then they sure as fuck were too.
“I’m impressed,” Boyd said, standing beside me. We were leaning against the wall between the pool tables and the bathrooms with a clear view of the ladies. The country music pulsed through the hidden speakers in tempo with the throbbing in my temples.
He took a pull from his beer bottle. I held mine but hadn’t touched more than a few sips.
“With what?” I asked, my eyes on my mate.
“That you haven’t dragged her out of there.”
Two women walked past toward the ladies’ room, and I lost sight of Marina. I wanted to shove the women along… which meant I was losing my shit.
When I saw her again, all of two seconds later, she moved two steps to the right, in sync with the others, then did a spin, her skirt flaring up.
“Fuck,” I said to myself. Boyd laughed. “Your woman’s out there, too.”
“Yeah, but mine’s wearing jeans and not showing off all of her—”
I turned to him. “Don’t fucking say it.”
He held up his hands in front of him, beer held in one. “Mine’s got my mark on her neck and my baby in her belly. You’re keeping your hands off.”
I growled, pissed. Yeah, Boyd was the messenger, but still. I had nothing to tie Marina to me other than my wolf saying she belonged to me. She belonged out there, having fun, having guys ogle her fucking gorgeous legs. That was what twenty-one year olds did. The smile on her face and the flush to her cheeks showed how much fun she was having. Audrey was next to her, and they were laughing.
There was nothing inappropriate about their fun. The sundress covered more of Marina than some of the outfits other women were wearing. She wasn’t even looking at other guys.
Yet I wanted to toss her over my shoulder and carry her out of there. If I did, everyone in the bar would get a show of that taut ass that belonged to me.
I ran a hand over my face, and Boyd slapped me on the shoulder. “Welcome to the club, brother. I’m going to enjoy spending that fifty bucks.”
Fuck. Fuck.
I couldn’t have her, and I couldn’t leave her alone.
When a guy, more her age than mine, joined her and started dancing along beside her, I saw red. My wolf wanted to rip the fucker’s head off.
I took a step forward, but Boyd’s hand on my arm stopped me. “Easy.”
Looking his way, I practically snarled at him. “Easy for you to say. Your woman’s wearing fucking jeans.”
With that, I was off. Marina might not be mine, but she definitely wasn’t for that pansy ass in the Wranglers. If she wanted to get it on with a guy, it was going to be me. Except I couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.
Fuck.
11
MARINA
* * *
I had no idea line dancing could be so much fun. Becky and the other ladies from the hospital were hilarious and could cut a rug as if they were in a country dance competition. And they were super cute in their jeans and cowgirl boots. Leigh was even worse with a fun cowboy hat with braids. Audrey wasn’t much better than me, but she was having the best time, too, even decked out in the silly t-shirt and tiara.
This was why I’d come to Montana. To hang with my sister, to cut loose. Well, I’d cut loose all right, but with Colton, which was a whole lot of fun in a completely different way. As I spun with the others, I caught a glimpse of Colton and Boyd. They were watching us. Of course, they were.
I should have been upset they felt we needed keepers, but I had to admit, the way they were looking from their spot against the wall was more like two possessive men than babysitters. They gave us room, but it was obvious they were there with us. They blended in with the crowd at Cody’s. Both of them screamed cowboy. Boyd, with the cowboy hat I wondered if he even wore to bed and that huge rodeo championship belt buckle. Colton wasn’t wearing a hat, and his well- worn jeans and snug shirt were just like everyone else’s. It was the way he carried himself, the way his gaze roved over the space as if keeping watch for any kinds of dangers, that set him apart.
There were cute guys everywhere. I might have been young, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew who flirted with me. But none of them were Colton. Sure, some guys were closer to my age than him, but they just seemed like boys. Just like the guys back at college. I wondered if they would spank me or tie me up. I wondered if they’d make me call them sir when naked. I didn’t think so. I didn’t think I’d get wet for them either. None of them would compare to Colton. None of them did.
That was why, when the song was over, it was Colton my nipples got hard for as he cut through the crowd to get to me. Ever since I woke up from my nap, I’d gotten mixed signals from him. He’d barely touched me, but he couldn’t stop looking at me. He’d been watching me like a hawk since we got to the bar, and now he was heading my way. I licked my lips, wishing he’d carry me off like he had earlier in his kitchen.
But this was Audrey’s bachelorette party. No matter how many orgasms I craved, they’d have to wait.
“Hey,” I said. He stood so close our bodies almost touched, his hot from… from him being hot. His gaze was almost penetrating, reminding me of when he’d lifted me down from the sign by the swollen creek. As if I was the only person in the world. He sniffed, then growled. Or I thought it was a growl over the music.
“Let’s get a drink.”
I nodded. He reached for my elbow, but like earlier, seemed to rethink it and just held out an ushering hand to indicate the path to the end of the bar. I looked back, and Audrey and Boyd were right behind us. Boyd talked a guy off a stool and set it before Audrey, so she could sit. I hadn’t gotten used to the idea that Audrey was pregnant.
The kind of family I’d always wanted—two people who loved each other obsessively having a baby that would be the center of their world—was right in front of me. Growing. I was crazily jealous of what she had, but she deserved it. After my dad being a dick and ditching her mom and Audrey having to pretty much raise herself and take care of her depressed mom… Yeah, the tiara she wore should have been made of diamonds.
I leaned my side against the bar, and Colton loomed beside me, his foot resting on the brass rail as he flagged down the bartender.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
Audrey tilted her head, the tiara teetering a bit as she did so, and looked around. Raising her arm, she pointed toward the back. I had no idea how I missed Becky on top of the mechanical bull. It was whipping her back and forth, but she was holding on, her free hand swinging over her head. I couldn’t see Leigh or Anna in the crowd, but I assumed they were with her.
“She’s a riot,” I told Audrey.
She nodded, pushing her glasses up. “Amazing nurse, too. She’s much better at riding that bull than I am.”
“You rode it?” I asked, staring at my staid sister and back at Becky who was whooping it up. “Why have I never heard about this?”
“She was pretty good, too,” Boyd said, kissing Audrey’s temple.
Audrey grinned but rolled her eyes. “One time,” she clarified. “Well, my days of bull riding are like Boyd’s. Over.”
The bartender came by with bottles of water and set them before us. Colton screwed off a cap and handed one to me. I frowned at it. “I wanted another lemon drop,” I said. I wasn’t planning on getting drunk, but it wasn’t a bachelorette party without a little alcohol. “I’m drinking for Audrey.”
Just then, the waiter came back with my preferred drink—which showed Colton had been watching me closely—and a Shirley Temple, which Au
drey grabbed right up and pulled a cherry from the glass and popped it in her mouth.
“You’ll have your drink, but the water, too.”
Well. I guess he did have a Daddy streak in him. Bossy, but sweet.
I took my drink and looked up at him through my lashes. I had no idea how to respond to that other than, okay or yes, please, so I stayed quiet.
“So, Colton, when do you have to be back to base?” Audrey asked.
I stilled, and I felt oddly deflated. I hadn’t forgotten this was temporarily, but I wanted to. He was going back to North Carolina. I only had a few weeks until fall semester started… in a different time zone. On the opposite side of the country from him. In no fantasy world could I imagine that what we started this week could become anything. At least not right now.
“Next week,” he replied.
“Boyd told me you might not re-enlist.” She swirled her drink around with her straw.
Colton glanced at his brother. “Did he?”
“Are you?” I asked, curious. We may have done things a little backward, having sex first and the whole getting-to-know-you thing second. It was probably a good idea to see where he stood on the priority of his career. I assumed, like most people, it was pretty high. “Leaving the military?”
He gave a negligent shrug, as if it wasn’t a huge decision. “There might be another tour in me.”
“To Afghanistan?” My mouth was suddenly dry. From our little middle of the night chat at the motel, I knew he’d been deployed before. Multiple times. The basis for that nightmare. Why would he want to go back if he had a chance to retire? He wasn’t old, but still…
“Wherever they send us. What about you? You’ve got one year left of school.”
It was my turn to shrug. “Yeah, but there’s no threat of the enemy or IED in the engineering department.”
“Coming to Montana’s a vacation for both of you,” Audrey replied. “I’m just glad you could be here.” She leaned toward me. “Maybe we’ll do some line dancing tomorrow night at the reception.”
“Hell, no. We agreed to the wedding,” Boyd said, picking up Audrey’s left hand and kissing the engagement ring. “And one hour at the reception. Then I get you all to myself.”
