by Radclyffe
“I don’t think that’s what you need. I remember last year when boot camp was in swing—you were tired, sure, but you were also having a great time. You don’t look that way right now.”
Mallory shifted her gaze before Emily saw too much. She’d wanted to be a forest ranger since the first time her father took her and her older brother camping when she was four. Her father had instilled his love of nature in both his kids, but only Rob followed Bill James down the academic path and became a botanist. Mallory didn’t want to study nature, she wanted to be in it, and what better way than to be guarding it against destruction. She loved her work, but after last summer, when she lost her crew, the pleasure always came with a backlash of pain. She couldn’t blame that tumult on Jac, even if Jac did make her shaky balance feel even shakier. She smiled wanly. “I’m a year older now. Maybe it’s catching up to me.”
“Uh-huh.” Emily sat forward, radiating calm acceptance. “Mallory, why don’t we go out for a little while? We’ll relax, have some fun, maybe a drink or two, and if you want to come back here, I’d love for you to do that. If you don’t, we will still have had a wonderful night.”
Mallory stared down at their joined hands. “I’m sorry, Emily. I’m bad company, and you deserve better.”
“I disagree. You’re wonderful company, and I enjoy seeing you whether we end up in bed or not.”
“Thanks,” Mallory said softly, lifting her gaze to Emily’s. “You’re a fabulous woman, and whoever you take to bed ought to be there a hundred percent.”
“Absolutely. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Emily scooted into Mallory’s lap, put her arms around Mallory’s neck, and kissed her. She rested her forehead against Mallory’s. “You’re an honorable woman, Mallory James. And I appreciate it. But please don’t put me on a pedestal, either. Believe me, I can enjoy a no-strings-attached hot romp in the sheets as much as anyone.”
Mallory grinned and kissed her back. “I’ll be sure to remember that, Ms. Postmistress.”
“See that you do.” Emily jumped up and tugged Mallory’s hand. “Now, take me out on the town.”
Feeling lighter than she had in days, Mallory looped her arm around Emily’s waist. “Your wish…my command. Where to?”
Emily laughed. “Where else? Tommy’s.”
*
“Slow slow quick quick,” Jac muttered while Reba wailed in the background. She lost the count and bumped Sarah off stride. Again. “Hell. Maybe you better lead.”
“You’re doing great.” Sarah tugged Jac’s arm tighter around her waist and subtly guided Jac through the pattern of a close Texas two-step. “Don’t look at your feet.”
“I can’t help it. I don’t want to step on yours.”
“You will if you look down. Look in my eyes.” Sarah squeezed Jac’s left hand. “You’ve got great rhythm. Go with it.”
“I feel like a klutz.” Jac followed Sarah’s instructions and concentrated on looking into Sarah’s eyes. The indigo irises sparked with flecks of gold, hints of fire against an evening sky. “This might not be good idea.”
“Why?”
“Your eyes are beautiful.”
Sarah blushed. “Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a line, you know.”
“I don’t care if it was, it was very nice.” Sarah moved a little closer. “Want to try going a little faster?”
“Oh man, you like to live dangerously.”
Laughing, Sarah leaned back in Jac’s arms and shook her head. “Not usually, but tonight, I’m feeling adventurous.”
Jac raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”
“Don’t worry, your virtue is safe. I’m not planning on seducing you.”
“Well damn, now my night is ruined.” Jac grinned and Sarah did something complicated that had her ducking and twirling under Sarah’s raised arm before she could think about it and trip herself. “Hey!”
“See? Told you.”
Sarah raised Jac’s arm, made a mirror-image twist underneath, and then Sarah was in her arms again and Jac didn’t think. She just felt Sarah and the rise and fall of Reba’s lament about love gone bad. Holding Sarah felt good, comfortable. “Thanks for this.”
Sarah rested her cheek lightly on Jac’s shoulder. “You’re welcome. I needed it too. It’s been a crappy spring.”
“Want to tell me about it?” Jac asked.
“Nah. He’s not worth wasting a good dance on. But thanks for the offer.”
Jac dipped her head. “Any time.”
Sarah laughed. “Now that sounded like a line.”
“Busted.”
“Oh look,” Sarah pointed their joined hands to the far side of the wide dance floor that took up half the rustic bar, “there’s some of our crowd over there. I figured they’d end up here sooner or later. Want to join them?”
Steeling herself, Jac looked in the direction Sarah had pointed, and her stomach fell. Anderson, Ray, and Cooper sat at a table against the railing at the edge of the dance floor. Mallory wasn’t there. “Sure.”
When the song ended, she and Sarah threaded their way through the crowd toward the guys. By the time they reached the table, already crowded with beer bottles and shot glasses, Ray and Cooper had dragged over chairs for them.
“You look pretty good out there,” Anderson said to Jac.
“Sarah makes me look good,” Jac said.
Ray snorted and handed her a Heineken. “Good thing somebody does.”
“Ha ha.” Jac pulled up a chair for Sarah and then one for herself. Another song started, and Ray leaned over to Sarah and asked if she’d like to dance.
“Sure,” Sarah said, and they went off to the dance floor.
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t ask you to dance,” Anderson said. “Two left feet.”
“Me too, usually,” Jac said. “Sarah really is good.”
“My wife probably wouldn’t be overjoyed to know I was out on the town with a couple of gorgeous women, either.”
Jac laughed. “You’re pretty safe with me, Anderson.”
He grinned. “Likewise.”
“And just for the record, Sarah isn’t my date.”
“Not keeping score.” He stared across the dance floor, then waved. “Looks like we’re in for a real party tonight.”
Jac spun in her chair and told herself to breathe. The initial swell of excitement quickly turned to a hard lump of disappointment. Mallory had finally appeared, but she wasn’t alone. A very pretty woman had her arm looped through Mallory’s as they navigated the crowd, greeting people as they passed. They looked like they’d been here before. They looked like a couple.
“Yeah,” Jac said quietly. “I guess we’re all here now.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Hey,” Emily said, giving Mallory’s arm a tug. “Isn’t that Cooper over there?”
Mallory followed Emily’s direction and took in the group at the table. Cooper’s distinctive gold-blond hair and massive shoulders flashed like beacons even in the hazy glow of the cobweb-coated light fixtures tucked under the heavy pine ceiling beams. But she wasn’t looking at Cooper when she muttered, “Uh-huh.”
Jac sat at the table next to Cooper, with Sarah beside her. Mallory hadn’t expected to see Jac tonight, definitely not here. Jac’s head was tilted toward Sarah, who seemed to be whispering something in her ear that was making Jac laugh. Mallory slowed her meandering course around the room, trying to give herself time to figure out what bothered her the most—that Jac had appeared somewhere Mallory thought she’d be free of the confusing and annoying reactions she had every time Jac was around, or that Jac seemed to be having a really good time while she was having a really off night. Jac looked great in a casual white button-down collar shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up. Mallory was glad she’d chosen her favorite sweater, a black cashmere pullover that she’d bought on a whim because it felt so good against her skin and did nice things for her breasts too.
Instantly she wanted to shake herself for the
ridiculous thought. Ridiculous not to have anticipated Jac would show up here. Where else would she go on the one night off before a ten-day stint in the wilderness? Bear Creek was the only town within reasonable driving distance, and Tommy’s was the only nightlife.
“Sarah’s here too,” Emily said, delight infusing her tone. She grasped Mallory’s hand and pulled her along the sinuous path created by the haphazard placement of tables around the dance floor. “I haven’t seen her since last fall. What a treat.”
“Yes, she showed up early for training camp.”
“I should say hello, but we don’t have to hang with them if you don’t want to.” Emily half turned, walking backward and studying Mallory with a tiny frown between her brows. “I know you like to get away from work when you’re here, so if—”
“No,” Mallory said quickly. She wasn’t going to be derailed by Jac’s presence. She had control of herself, after all. “It’s fine. If you don’t mind.”
Emily pressed close against Mallory’s side to make way for a couple headed for the dance floor. “I like your crew. I don’t recognize some of them, though.”
“Three of the new guys.” Mallory made a conscious effort to sound upbeat. She was going to be seeing Jac on and off the base every day for the next six months, and she might as well get used to it. The conflicting blend of anticipation and wariness that stirred her insides whenever Jac was around had to burn off eventually. Sooner or later she’d be able to look at her without her heart jumping into her throat and every cell in her body starting to tingle. Hopefully sooner rather than later, because the on-again off-again, totally unwanted sexual charge that went along with everything else was making her damn irritable.
“Um, Mallory sweetheart,” Emily said laughing, “one of those guys is definitely not. If you haven’t noticed, I am going to start worrying about you.”
“I noticed.”
“She is one of yours, right?”
“One of the rookies.” Mallory was having trouble putting more than a few words together, and feeling more and more disoriented with every second. Especially when Sarah rose and Jac followed her to the dance floor. Mallory watched them find space on the crowded floor, watched Jac open her arms and Sarah step into them as if she’d done it a million times before. Sarah was beaming. She looked radiant, and Jac, sultry and sexy in the plain shirt and faded jeans, had a gentle amused smile on her face. Damn it, they looked like they were really hitting it off.
“You sure about this?” Emily asked. “Because you’ve got about two seconds to change your mind.”
“I’m sure.” Mallory jerked her gaze away from her best friend and the rookie she shouldn’t even be thinking about and drew Emily up to the table. “Guys, this is Emily.” She pointed to each of the men at the table in turn. “Ray Kingston, Ron Anderson, and you know Cooper.”
“The night is definitely looking up,” Ray announced. He and the other men hastily rearranged the bottles and glasses on the water-ringed tabletop and commandeered several more chairs from nearby tables. When Mallory and Emily settled at the table, Ray pushed two sweating bottles of beer across to them. “Here. These are fresh.”
“Thanks,” Mallory said, shifting her seat so she couldn’t see the dance floor. Too bad she couldn’t as easily dispel the image of Jac and Sarah from her mind.
Emily leaned into Mallory and sipped her beer. “So how are you all liking training camp?” She squeezed Mallory’s knee and grinned. “Or maybe I shouldn’t bring that up with Mallory here.”
The guys laughed.
“Please,” Mallory said, spreading her arms to indicate the whole of Tommy’s, “feel free to speak your mind. I hereby declare this a penalty-free zone. In here, I’m not the boss.”
From behind her, Jac said, “If that’s the case, we need to spend more time around here.”
Jac’s voice feathered down Mallory’s spine like warm honey and settled in the pit of her stomach. Heat flowed indolently through her depths, and she had to force her fingers to relax their grip on the bottle she was clutching. “Don’t get too used to it.”
“Actually,” Jac said, sitting opposite Mallory, “I don’t know about these guys, but the only complaint I have about training camp is there aren’t enough hours in the day to train more.”
Ray and Anderson cracked up, and Mallory couldn’t help but smile a little bit. “I’m also not giving out any points for kissing up tonight, Russo. So you can save it.”
Ray hooted and poked Jac’s shoulder. “Busted, buddy. You can forget about impressing the boss tonight.”
Jac stared at Mallory, her mouth curved into a smile, but her eyes more searching than amused. “Apparently so.”
“Emily,” Sarah said with a big grin, crowding next to Jac, their shoulders touching familiarly. “Great to see you. I can’t wait for you to catch me up on all the news.”
Emily laughed. “That might take five minutes or so.” She stretched her hand across the table to Jac. “We didn’t get introduced. I’m Emily Sorensen.”
“Jac Russo,” Jac said, shaking Emily’s hand.
“What do you think of Tommy’s?” Emily asked.
Jac glanced at Sarah, her eyes sparkling. “I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. Dancing isn’t usually my thing, but Sarah is a great teacher.”
Sarah draped her arm over Jac’s shoulders. “That’s not true. You’re a natural. I told you that.”
A buzz of annoyance swarmed Mallory’s throat, and she swallowed back the unexpected surge of jealousy. Sarah was just being friendly. Sarah was a friendly person. In fact, that was one of the things Mallory liked best about her. Right at the moment, though, she would’ve preferred Sarah being a little less friendly. Sarah touched Jac with a whole lot more than friendliness. They’d obviously been having a great time together all evening. While she’d been out of sorts and unable to connect with Emily the way she wanted, Jac was off painting the town with Sarah. Wonderful.
“Anybody for refills?” Ray asked, rising.
When everyone answered in the affirmative, Sarah got up. “I’ll give you a hand.”
Emily shifted her chair toward Anderson, who was telling her about his wife and kids and job back home, and Mallory found herself with nowhere to look except at Jac. The conversation faded into the background and Jac was all she saw. Garth Brooks started singing about thunder and lightning and lust, and for a millisecond, Mallory thought about asking Jac to dance. The idea came out of nowhere and hit her harder than a falling tree, but fortunately she came to her senses instead of losing them. Tommy’s might be a work-free zone and she might not be the boss tonight, but she couldn’t afford to drop her barriers around Jac whether they were at work or not. If she did, she might not be able to get them back up again when she needed them. A body brushed by her arm trailing a cloud of vanilla and sandalwood and complicated florals. Obsession. She knew the perfume, and she knew who wore it.
A busty blonde in tight blue jeans that accentuated her heart-shaped ass and a tight white stretch top that made it very evident she wasn’t wearing a bra leaned down and murmured something in Jac’s ear. Chantal Burns. Wonderful. Just wonderful.
“I’m not very good,” Jac said, subtly shifting on her chair as if trying to put a little space between herself and the breasts that were very close to her cheek.
Chantal put her red-tipped fingernails on Jac’s shoulder and smiled across the table at Mallory. “Hi, Mallory. I see you’ve brought us some interesting new…faces.”
The jealousy that had plagued her earlier buzz-sawed back. Chantal was a sometimes bartender at Tommy’s, married to a long-distance trucker who was never home. Chantal filled the hours while he was away fooling around with the customers, male and female alike. Mallory squelched the desire to pluck Chantal’s hand off Jac’s shoulder. “How are you doing, Chantal?”
“Much better now.” Chantal cocked her hip, trailed her finger up Jac’s shoulder, and twirled a lock of Jac’s hair around her fingertip
.
“I can see that.” Mallory raised her brows at Jac, whose expression vacillated between amusement and disbelief.
Chantal bumped Jac’s shoulder with her hip. “Come on. If you need lessons, I’ll teach you.”
Emily grasped Mallory’s wrist as Lady Antebellum started singing “Need You Now.” “This is a great song. Want to dance, Mallory?”
“Sure,” Mallory said, determined not to ruin Emily’s evening.
Jac’s smile never wavered but her eyes shuttered closed, locking Mallory out. The sudden change sent a cold blast through Mallory’s insides. As Emily pulled Mallory toward the dance floor, Jac’s whispered words to Chantal roiled in her depths.
Let’s dance. I’m sure you can help me out with whatever I need.
*
“So,” Chantal said, sliding into Jac’s arms, “you’re going to be up at Yellowrock all summer?”
“I don’t know yet,” Jac said, trying to inch back and still keep her rhythm. Chantal didn’t seem to care if they were actually following the dance steps. She was so close against Jac’s stomach and hips there was no way Jac could actually carry off the pattern. “I’ve still got a lot of boot camp to go.”
