by Livia Grant
“I’m sorry, Laney. Ginger and I just need a minute. Please excuse us. Stay there, we’ll be right back,” he added apologetically, gripping Ginger by her elbow, and helping her to her feet.
Ginger looked like the last thing she wanted to do was go with him, but she was not stupid. Anyone could see that Beau was not going to take no for an answer, and that Ginger was skating on thin ice at the moment.
Laney wondered if they would be going into their bedroom to ‘talk’ and how long she would be waiting. How awkward was this? Beau had said they would be right back, but Laney wondered if she should step outside and give them some privacy for a moment.
She watched as they walked from the room. Beau’s arm around Ginger’s waist, and Ginger dragging her feet, waddling as if she was much farther along than 22 weeks.
Laney thought that they would go all the way to their bedroom, but they stopped around the corner in the hallway, just out of her line of sight.
From her seat at the table, Laney could just make out Ginger’s voice. Her cousin was speaking in rushed angry tones. Laney couldn’t tell what she was saying, but she knew the tone well. Ginger had on her snitty control freak attitude. Laney bit back a smile. This should be good, she thought wickedly. Ginger used that tone with her a lot, because she could get away with it. At home, though, Beau did not tolerate it one bit.
Beau’s voice was slightly louder, and more controlled. Laney could hear him perfectly.
“Don’t. Stop right there. You and Laney had an agreement, and that agreement included a price. And you are going to honor that agreement, including the original price.”
More hushed whispers from Ginger that Laney couldn’t quite catch.
“No, what’s not fair is you trying to add on expenses that were incurred while you were the only owner. Being the sole owner may have had extra expenses, but it also had perks. Laney got treated like an employee, and paid as an employee. Those expenses are not her responsibility, do you understand me?”
Ginger responded, and she was getting slightly louder, but Laney still couldn’t quite make out what she was saying.
“I get it. I know you like being in control, and giving up a portion of that control to someone like Laney, who yes, can be irresponsible at times scares you. I know this. But you’re forgetting something. Laney went to culinary school, and that culinary school included business classes on owning and managing a restaurant and everything that that entails. She could run The Ginger Paddle without you, or she could open and run a competing business. You went to business school, and have no culinary skills. You could not run the business without her. Period. And I haven’t seen any other sushi chefs in Corbin’s Bend. You may not want to admit it, but you need her.”
Laney pumped her fist in the air. Beau had a good point, one that she hadn’t thought of and she was glad he had her back.
Muttered grumbles came from Ginger’s side of the hallway.
“Not another word. Remember what I promised you would happen if you did this. You have more than broken your promise, and I’ve given you a little leeway because I know you can’t help yourself. But I have reached my limit, and make no mistake, we will be discussing this later. And I think you know what I mean. Now you go out there and be happy, and gracious, and make a plan to make it official. I’m giving you two weeks. If it’s not official by then, your ass is mine.”
Damn. Laney almost felt bad for eavesdropping when she heard Beau threatening her cousin, and promising her a spanking later that evening. But, she reminded herself with a smile, Ginger really had deserved it. And, Ginger’s control freak ways were exactly why she and Beau had a domestic discipline marriage. If he didn’t rein her in every once in a while, she would spiral out of control.
She heard their footsteps heading towards her before they came into view, and Laney forced herself to put on a smile and look natural.
She had a feeling that Beau had meant her to hear every word, but she also didn’t want to embarrass Ginger further. Her cousin’s face was red, and she looked contrite next to her very somber husband. Beau had his hand on the small of Ginger’s back, and he nudged her forward.
“Laney I’m very sorry I reacted the way I did. I’m very happy for you, and excited to take this step together. We can go get papers drawn up first thing Monday morning.”
Beau nodded, and nudged her again.
“Oh, and the original price we agreed to is fine.”
“Thank you” Laney responded simply, stifling a laugh at her cousin’s obviously reluctance and her very obviously rehearsed speech. Damn, she thought, biting her lip. I don’t give Beau nearly enough credit. The man is practically a miracle worker.
Beau nodded at her happily and gave Ginger the look. Her cousin took off towards the bedroom, and Beau busied himself cleaning off the table and loading the dishwasher before joining her. It was obvious what was going on, and not wanting to make things any more awkward than they already were, Laney decided to take herself out for a drink to celebrate. This day had certainly ended up much better than it has started out.
Chapter Ten
Laney found herself back at Amore, by herself this time. She felt a little funny going into the bar alone, but she was celebrating. Besides, bar or not, it was still Corbin’s Bend not some big city bar in LA like the ones she used to frequent. You never went to the bar in LA alone.
But here, she felt safe, especially knowing it was Saturday night, and Julie’s husband Matt would be working in the kitchen. What could happen?
She went straight up to the bartender, whose name she now knew was Debbie, and ordered a cosmopolitan.
“Coming right up, sweetheart,” Debbie said with a smile.
Laney leaned her elbows on the bar and turned on her stool, looking around the dim room. Amore was packed, even for a Saturday night, and as she scanned the room, she saw several familiar faces, but no one she really felt like talking to. Despite her celebratory mood, she found she still wasn’t much in the mood for conversation, and if she were honest, she would much rather be celebrating with a glass of wine at home then at a crowded restaurant bar. But, she thought with a wry grin, Ginger had ruined that for her.
Debbie put the drink in front of her, and Laney pulled a ten from her wallet, and tried to hand it to her, but Debbie waved it off.
“Your friend already paid.”
Laney’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry? I’m not with anyone tonight. You must be thinking of someone else. Here, take it.” She pushed the bill forward on the counter top.
Debbie pushed it back. “It’s already been paid for, sugar. Put it away.” Debbie was still smiling, but her voice was getting a forceful edge to it.
Confused, but not willing to push the matter further and risk pissing off the sweet lady, Laney put her money away. She would find a way to sneak it to the woman as a tip before she left, just in case. She didn’t want to be responsible for the till being short.
Shaking her head, she picked up her drink and swiveled her seat around once more to face the crowd. And came face to face with the one person she did not want to see.
“You know,” Josiah drawled. “It’s rude to ignore someone’s phone calls and messages when they’re just trying to make sure you’re okay.”
Laney rolled her eyes. “Well, as you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
Josiah nodded. “Well, I’d sure like to talk about that little note you left for me this morning.”
“Sorry,” she said shortly. “I’m not really here to chit-chat.”
“Well, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here, alone, on a Saturday night, if you don’t feel like socializing?”
“If you must know, I’m celebrating.” She paused. “I found out this afternoon I saved up enough money to buy half of The Ginger Paddle from my cousin. So, I’m going to officially be half owner of a sushi bar.” As annoyed as she was, Laney couldn’t help but grin at how wonderful it felt to get to say that out loud.
Josi
ah’s smile was wide, and genuine. “Lannea, that’s wonderful! Amazing news! You have to let me buy you a drink to celebrate.”
“I’m pretty sure you already did,” Laney deadpanned, the waitress’s insistence beginning to make more sense now.
“So I did,” Josiah agreed cheerfully. “So what? It’s not against the law to buy a pretty lady a drink every now and again. And even if it was, I am the law,” he reminded her with a wink.
“Josiah, you don’t have to call me pretty, or buy me drinks, or worry about me anymore. We’re done, over, finished. Our arrangement was a mistake.”
Josiah was not one to give up easily. He leaned towards her and took her hand in his. “But,” he insisted, “you are pretty. I wanted to buy you a drink, and I was worried about you. And, sweetheart, say what you want, but I for one am certain that the only mistake about our arrangement was my agreeing to let you keep it platonic.”
Laney yanked her hand away, seeing red. If this weren’t Corbin’s Bend, and he wasn’t a cop, she would surely dumped her drink right on top of his arrogant little head and slap him across the face. She might do it anyway.
She raised her hand, and her drink with it, but stopped herself before she did anything too stupid. She was sorely tempted, but she wasn’t actually foolish enough to do it. Not here, anyway, on a night where half the town seemed to be in attendance. Brent would have her ass yanked up in front of the disciplinary board for sure. And with no husband, or boyfriend to speak of, she could only imagine who her spanker would end up being. The thought was enough to still her hand, but not her mouth. Never that.
“I’m sorry that your fragile male ego can’t seem to handle being told no, but you were the one who wanted to keep it platonic. Don’t play coy with me. I know exactly what was going on. I was practice for you, a place holder, if you will. And I’ve got news for you,” she continued, pointing her finger in his face. “I don’t need anyone to help me manage my life. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m actually managing just fine.”
Josiah raised his brow at that last part, but he let it go. “I don’t know what to tell you, sweetheart, other than somewhere along the way our wires got crossed, because you were most definitely the one who wanted to keep it platonic. Now, I agreed only to give myself more time to eventually wear you down, but, honey, I wanted you so bad I couldn’t see straight.”
Laney gaped at him, going over their short lived arrangement in her head, and for the life of her she couldn’t remember exactly who had propositioned who and why. But surely he had to be pulling her leg. If there was one thing she remembered clearly, it was the horrendously bad impression she had made on their first encounter.
Josiah smirked at her as if he knew exactly what was going on in her head, and he probably did. She held up her hand and set her empty glass on the counter.
“I can’t do this right now,” she said, backing away. “I just can’t.”
Her head pounding with unwanted thoughts, she turned and stalked out the door. She wasn’t quite fast enough to miss Josiah’s parting words.
“That seems to be a reoccurring theme of yours today. There seems to be an awful lot of things you can’t do. Or maybe, the real truth is that you’re just scared. Funny, I never figured you for a chicken!”
Laney stopped dead in her tracks. Had he really just called her a chicken in front of the entire town?
She could feel his eyes on her retreating back. She turned, and walked straight toward him, a woman on a mission. The crowd parted to make a path for her, undoubtedly hoping for a dramatic scene. She stopped inches away from him.
“Tell me,” she began, jabbing her finger into his chest, accusingly, “that you did not seriously call me a chicken.”
Josiah shrugged. “I call ‘em like I see ‘em, and you, darling, are running scared. The question is, what are you scared of?” His eyes twinkled as he closed the gap between them. “All signs point to me.”
“You?” Laney scoffed. “You think I’m scared of you?” She rolled her eyes. “Please, I am not scared of you, of all people. You’re probably the least scary man I have ever met.”
“Oh yeah?” Josiah cocked his head at her. “Prove it.”
* * * * *
His heart was pounding. He could feel about 100 eyes boring into him, as he and Laney went head to head in a pure battle of will and wit. They were nose to nose, so close he could practically taste the vodka on her breath when he called her out, daring her to prove that she wasn’t scared of him. He had no idea why he had done that, or what it even meant, but it had seemed like the only thing to say in the moment.
Lannea’s eyes got huge, and her face determined. For a minute, he was sure she was about to smack him, or throw a drink on him, but she didn’t. She stood there silently, staring at him with this strange look on her face. It was intense, and oddly arousing. The heat in her eyes was almost too much to handle. His mouth went dry, and he gulped for air. Her hand came up, and he braced himself for the slap he was sure was coming. His eyes closed on instinct.
Nothing happened. Confused, he opened an eye and peeked out. Her hand came up slowly, and caressed his face. Her other hand grabbed the back of his neck, and the next thing he knew, her lips were on his in a passionate kiss. He heard a cheer come up from the crowd, and he pumped his fist in the air, with his lips still locked on hers. He grabbed her ass, and squeezed, claiming ownership. Her body reacted to his claim, and she pressed up against him until he fell against the bar. The crowd went wild.
“Get a room!” someone shouted.
Breathless, Lannea pulled away, her face still inches from his own. “Want to?” Her voice was sultry and inviting.
“Yes, please.” His desire was evident in his voice, as well as a few other places.
“Let’s go.” She grabbed his hand, and pulled him from the bar, amid the hoots and hollers of the other patrons.
* * * * *
They barely made it into his house before their hands were all over each other. They were a jumbled mess of limbs and Laney could barely tell where she ended and Josiah began. Her hands raked through his short locks as her mouth explored his. He tasted as good as he smelled. They somehow stumbled up the stairs, all the while tangled in a passionate embrace.
Once they made it to the bedroom, Josiah quickly stripped his clothes and reached for her shirt, tugging it upwards over her head. She grabbed it back and pulled it down, tugging it back into place.
“Nuh-uh, cowboy, That’s not how this is going to go.” She shook her finger at him, and stripped down to her bra and panties.
Josiah’s mouth widened in surprise and Laney laughed at the shocked look on his face. She shoved him down onto the bed and climbed on top of him to straddle him.
She drank him in then, her first full look at him fully undressed. She liked what she saw. He was all lean, toned muscle from his calves, to his rock hard six pack abs to his biceps that bulged in all the right places. She reached beneath her and gripped his bulging cock. He moaned loudly and she was pleased to see that he was fully aroused.
“You’re ready for me now, aren’t you, cowboy?” She wiggled her eyebrows seductively and gave his erection a slight squeeze.
He nodded excitedly. Poor boy, you would think he was a virgin or something from how close he looked to blowing his load.
“Well, that’s just too bad for you, because I’m going to make you wait for a bit while I have my fun.” She batted her eyelashes at him now, really going for it. The more she got into it, the more fun she was having. “You do want me to have some fun, right?”
Breathless nods from her bed partner forced her to choke back a giggle.
She slowly slid off of him and rid herself of her bra and panties, tossing them to the floor. “Let’s see, what kind of fun shall I have?” Laney looked around. It had been a long time since she’d had sex, but training kicked in. “Do you have any condoms?” He blinked at her, as though surprised, but nodded and pointed at his side table. Score.
“Hmmm, you like that do you? Let’s see.” She took the tip of his cock inside her mouth and watched as he shivered. Her tongue covered the tip in slow circles while she gripped his shaft, working him up and down as she sucked. Her hand moved lower to grip his balls, lightly tugging on the soft skin as she took him deeper and deeper into her throat.
She watched his face, carefully and when she saw that he couldn’t take it much longer, she slowly released him from her mouth, and slid up his legs until she was perfectly positioned to take him inside her. “Do you want to fuck me now,” she asked him breathlessly, surprised at how aroused the intense expression of desire on his face was making her. Without waiting for a reply, she guided the head of his thick cock to her pussy and began to slide down his shaft, taking him in, inch by inch.
Josiah groaned, and his hands moved to grip her hips. “Slowly,” he panted.
Laney cocked an eyebrow and took one of his hands, moving his fingers to her clit. “Slowly,” she repeated, as she began to grind herself against him. She wasn’t usually the type of girl who enjoyed being on top, but the glazed look of raw lust in his eyes, combined with the increasing pressure of his fingertips on her swollen, throbbing nub and his girth filling her from the inside, were strangely intoxicating.
“You like that?” he whispered, as he stroked her with more fervor.
She moaned and closed her eyes, riding him harder and faster as she felt the familiar pressure begin to build.
