“No.” Dixie squared her shoulders, refusing to be shut down any longer.
“My son seems to have forgotten his manners,” Red said lightly as she stepped off the stage and went to stand beside Bullet. “Let’s get the bidding started, shall we?”
Dixie heard the masked tension in her mother’s voice. The room was unnervingly silent, save for the tension crackling in the air.
Bullet crossed his arms over his broad chest, turning to face the crowd, his voice low and threatening as he said, “Anyone who bids will deal with me.”
“Come on, Bullet. Don’t ruin the night.” Jon stood up and said, “I’ll bid five hundred dollars!”
“Sit down, Butterscotch,” Bullet seethed.
Jon sat obediently. Dixie rolled her eyes. Were there no more real men in the world?
A tough-looking blond guy on the other side of the room stepped forward, and Dixie’s hopes lifted.
Bullet snapped his head in the guy’s direction and barked, “Back off or I’ll take you down.”
Anger and embarrassment consumed Dixie. “Is this how it’s going to be? Nobody’s got big enough balls to stand up to my brother? Well, if that’s how it is, then y’all aren’t man enough for—”
“Thirty thousand dollars.” Jace’s deep voice thundered through the room.
There was a collective gasp and a rumble of shocked murmurs.
Dixie’s heart sped up even faster as the crowd parted, and Jace strode confidently to the front of the room, stopping inches from Bullet.
“You’re playing with fire, Stone,” Bullet growled.
“Thirty-five thousand,” Jace said authoritatively, holding Bullet’s stare.
His complete disregard for Bullet’s warning had Bullet stepping closer. “Don’t fuck with me, Stone.”
Jace’s eyes flicked up to Dixie, and a slow grin spread across his handsome face as he said, “Make it forty thousand, and I’ll volunteer at the shelter the next time I’m in town.”
Gasps and sounds of shock rose from the crowd.
Dixie was breathing so hard, she thought she might faint. She’d never seen anyone stand up to, or ignore, Bullet like that. Plus, Jace was offering up his time. Her hopes soared. Maybe she hadn’t been misguidedly crushing on Jace for all these years after all. Maybe…
And then it hit her.
And her hopes came crashing down.
Jace wasn’t bidding on a date. He was buying her so she’d be in the calendar.
Anger sent Dixie stomping down the steps to the two angry giants. She pointed at Bullet and said, “Back off. Now.” She turned furiously to Jace and said, “If you think you can buy me to do that calendar shoot, you’re wrong.”
“Hey, I’m just trying to win a date, Dix,” Jace said. “Any woman strong enough to get up on that stage is worth a hell of a lot more than forty grand.”
He said it with such vehemence, her heart leapt.
“What calendar?” Bullet eyed Jace.
Jace was still looking at her, and for the first time, she thought he was really seeing her.
“He wants me to model for the Silver-Stone motorcycle calendar,” she said a little absently.
“Fuck no! You are not going to be the chick on a spank-bank calendar.” Bullet bared his teeth and seethed, “I should tear you apart, Stone.”
“Go for it.” Jace winked at Dixie, completely unflappable, which was so damn sexy she nearly lost her breath.
“Boys…” Biggs said with an air of warning.
Bear and Bones rushed over.
“Sorry, Jace, but she’s my little sister. I really don’t want her in one of those calendars,” Bear said.
“Sorry, Dix,” Bones said. “But I’m with them. You’re not doing the calendar.”
Dixie was sick of being told what to do, and if she was ever going to break out of this little-sister mold, it had to be now. She threw her arms up, looking incredulously at her brothers, and said, “You know what?” She turned toward Jace and said, “I’m in. I’m doing the calendar.”
BIGGS WAS LIMPING toward them with a stern expression, and Dixie’s brothers were hollering angrily. But Jace couldn’t take his eyes off Dixie as he said, “And my date?”
For the first time in as long as he could remember, he actually wanted to go on a date. A fucking date. Not a hookup, but an honest-to-goodness date. The desire shocked the hell out of him. The crowd silenced, as if everyone in the bar was holding their breath, except Bullet, who was breathing fire, muttering threats.
Red made an excited little sound.
Dixie’s lips curved up, and she said, “Sold, for one date!”
The room erupted in whoops and cheers.
Like a damn teenager, Jace pumped his fist. “Yes!”
“Biggs,” Bullet growled as his father came to his side. “You got something to say about this?”
Biggs stroked his beard, eyeing all of them. “Hell yes, I have something to say.” He looked out at the crowd, eyeing the Knights that had circled them, standing guard, and gave a single curt nod.
It felt like the whole room exhaled as the men who would give their lives for the brotherhood eased their protective stances and backed away.
“We’re real sorry for the interruption,” Biggs said loudly to the crowd. “Y’all can go celebrate. This is a family matter now. There’s nothing else to see here.” He waited as people made their way toward the buffet tables. Then he turned to Bullet and said, “Thank you for doing exactly as I taught you.” His eyes moved between his three sons. “You boys make me proud every single day, and you always have.”
Bullet’s chest puffed up with the take-that look he gave Jace.
Biggs’s keen eyes found Dixie, and Jace stepped closer to her, shocking himself, and apparently her family, as they all looked curiously at him. He didn’t step back. Biggs held his gaze for another beat before turning his attention to his daughter. Dixie shifted on her high heels, her beautiful green eyes moving nervously to Red’s. Red’s supportive nod was almost imperceptible. If Jace hadn’t been looking for it, he would have missed it. A little smirk of confidence lifted Dixie’s lips, and she met her father’s steady gaze.
“Princess, I raised you to be tough, to speak your mind, and to be as ballsy as your brothers,” Biggs said in a serious tone. “I expected you’d rebel one day. Or maybe stake claim to your life is a better way to say it. Though, I have to admit, I never expected your mama to be in on it.” He looked at Red and said, “You and I are going to have a little talk later.”
“I look forward to it,” Red said sassily.
Biggs glanced over Bullet’s shoulder at Dixie’s sisters-in-law and friends, huddled together and watching them intently. The girls stilled like deer caught in headlights. The second Biggs looked at Red and Dixie, the girls huddled together again, whispering behind their hands.
“It looks like you ladies have formed a club of your own,” Biggs said. “Every club needs a powerful leader and a strong second. Well played, ladies. Well played.”
Relief swept over Dixie’s face, and she threw her arms around Biggs. “Thank you, Dad. I didn’t mean to disrespect you. I just…It started as a joke, but then it wasn’t…”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Bullet grumbled, scowling at Jace.
“What do you think I’m going to do, Whiskey? Spit it out,” Jace challenged.
“Boys,” Red said. “Can’t we play nice?”
“I mean no disrespect, Red, but I’d like to hear Bullet’s answer.”
Bullet ground his teeth together, his hands fisting as his wife, Finlay, a pretty little blonde, came to his side. She unfurled his fingers and slid her hand into his with a sweet smile. The tension in Bullet’s jaw eased as she said, “Are you guys almost ready for some food?”
“Soon, sweetheart.” Bullet lifted colder eyes to Jace and said, “You’re putting my sister in a calendar that she has no business being in.”
“That’s my decision to make,” Dixie snapped.
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Bullet opened his mouth to speak, but Finlay patted his stomach and said, “She’s right.”
“Bullet, you’re an admirable man and a fine brother,” Red said. “But you boys have each had your time to shine. Now it’s Dixie’s turn. You’ve taught her to be the fierce lioness she is. I know letting go is hard—I’ve had to do it several times already—but you need to loosen those reins or you’re going to push her away.” She handed Jace a card and said, “Congratulations on your date.”
“Thank you.” Jace shoved the card in his pocket. “Bullet, how about you and I sit down, and I’ll show you what I have in mind for the calendar? I’ve got three sisters. I know what lines not to cross. And Dixie is not going to just be a model. She’s going to be the face of Silver-Stone, which in the business world is the equivalent to Red being Biggs’s queen.”
“Red isn’t on a calendar,” Bullet said sharply.
“You’re right. But you do realize Dixie’s gorgeous and guys are looking at her all the time. Now she’ll have a company behind her, a legal team, a public relations group. She’ll have me demanding respect for her.”
“What else will you demand, Stone?” Bullet challenged.
He sensed Dixie holding her breath and said, “Not a thing. Ever.”
Bullet narrowed his eyes and said, “With a forty-thousand-dollar investment, I’m not sure I believe that.”
“It’s a donation to charity, Bullet, not a brothel payment.”
Bear chuckled. “I’m not thrilled about this calendar, but you two can fight this out. I want to go spend time with my wife.” He offered his hand to Jace, and when Jace shook it, he said, “Thanks for the donation. The shelter needs it.”
“I trust you boys to be civil,” Biggs said, reaching for Red’s hand. “If you’ll excuse me, my woman and I are going to have a little talk.”
Red patted Bullet’s cheek and said, “Remember what I said, honey.”
“He will,” Finlay promised.
Red winked at Jace, blew a kiss to Dixie, and said, “Bones, maybe you want to spend time with Sarah, too?”
Bones glanced at Bullet and said, “You cool? Most of the people here were ready to piss their pants when you lost it.”
Bullet nodded.
“Good,” Bones said. “Jace, I’d like to see what you have planned for the calendar when you have time. When and where is the shoot taking place?”
“Monday and Tuesday in New York City. We’ll leave Sunday and be back Wednesday. I’ll grab you after I settle up my donation with Chicki.”
“Oh, shoot.” Dixie looked around the room. “If I’m going away, I need to talk to Tracey about taking my waitressing shift and to Quincy about handling the auto shop while I’m gone.”
“Congratulations on winning a date with Dixie,” Finlay said. She went up on her toes, pulling Bullet down so she could say something into his ear.
Bullet made an appreciative sound and said, “Stone, grab me when you talk to Bones.”
“Will do.”
When they walked away, Dixie let out a loud, exasperated breath and said, “Oh my God. What a nightmare.”
Jace stepped closer and said, “I’m glad you changed your mind.”
“You have my brothers to thank for that.”
She said it so sharply, it rubbed Jace the wrong way. “It wasn’t my intent to even talk about the calendar photo shoot tonight. I came to support your efforts with the auction, which you pulled off beautifully, by the way.”
“Thank you, but it’s okay. I know your time is running out to find a model.”
“I’m being serious, Dixie. I didn’t come here to pressure you. I came here to make a change. To give of my time, not my money. I had no idea you were going to be auctioned off, and I’m glad I won the date, but I don’t want you to do the shoot because you felt pushed into a corner or just to stick it to your brothers.”
A snarky smile lifted her lips and she said, “You had no problem pushing me into a corner for the last two days.”
“You’re right, and I realize that it doesn’t matter how much I want you to be the face of my company. Doing something like this calendar will bring you international exposure, and that’s a lot of pressure. It could upend your life in a way I hadn’t considered. A photo shoot like this will probably lead to ads on television, in magazines, billboards…”
“What? I thought this was a one-time thing.”
He scrubbed a hand over his beard, wincing at his own impulsiveness. Shea thought he’d been a pain in the ass trying to find someone who lived up to Dixie. Once Dixie was in the calendar, once she truly became the face of Silver-Stone, no one else would ever be right enough to fill her shoes. That wasn’t a fair position to put Dixie in without her knowledge, so he said, “I know. That’s my fault. I’ve had you in my mind as the face of Silver-Stone for so long, I got excited at the possibility of you actually agreeing to do the calendar and I didn’t think beyond it. Seriously, I want you to think about it. I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
She studied his face with a curious expression and said, “Why did you bid on me if it wasn’t to try to buy my agreement to do the calendar?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I saw you up there, and it just happened. I didn’t like how it was playing out. I hated the anger and embarrassment I saw in your eyes.” And I hate the thought of another man’s hands on you. He kept that to himself, because he didn’t understand why he felt it so viscerally.
She crossed her arms and said, “So you were rescuing me?”
He closed the distance between them and said, “No. You aren’t someone who needs rescuing. I was selfishly taking advantage of an opportunity, and if that makes me a dick, then it does. I think we both realize it’s about time we get to know each other better.”
Her breathing hitched, and hell if he didn’t love that little tell. He put a hand on her hip as he felt her sway forward. “Tell you what. How about we take advantage of the night and share a dance? We’ll put your answer off until tomorrow, okay?”
“About the date?” she challenged.
“No, kitten. You’re mine for one night. That deal is sealed,” he said as he led her into the dancing crowd. “I was talking about the calendar.”
As he drew her into his arms, she said, “If you call me kitten again, my claws are going to come out.”
“Now you’re taunting me with dirty promises?”
“Jace! Dixie!” Jillian hurried over to them like she was on a mission. She plastered herself to the two of them, one arm around Dixie, one arm around Jace, and said, “I’m cutting in before you two start going at it on the dance floor.”
Bloody hell.
“We are not going at it,” Dixie said with enough of a bite to sting.
Jillian wobbled her head from side to side with a sarcastic, “Uh-huh. Dixie, you were the bomb up there! You were like the Rosa Parks of the Whiskeys, breaking free, everyone else be damned! You’re an inspiration to single girls with overbearing brothers everywhere.” She patted Jace’s side and said, “And, Jace! I wondered what that bid was about, but”—she whistled—“now I can see. Sparks are flying all around you two. Poor Finlay is doing everything she can to distract Bullet. He’s over there chewing on nails by the bar.”
“Okay, Jilly. Enough.” Jace couldn’t keep the sharpness from his tone. “I thought I told you not to bid on Jared.”
Jillian rolled her eyes. “And what gave you the idea I’d listen? Once Izzy started bidding, I got carried away with winning. Speaking of Jared, he’s with Nick and Jax, who I’m sure are laying down ground rules right now.” She lowered her voice and said, “Every one of which I intend to break.”
“Jilly,” Jace warned.
“You’re not even my brother, so back off. One day all the men in the world will realize we women can think for ourselves, and then what will you have to worry about?” Jillian smiled and said, “I’ll let you get back to your hot-and-heavy dancing. I just wanted to say congratulatio
ns, and, Dixie, Jace was so enthralled with you as the face of Silver-Stone, he stole my picture! I already altered the clothes for the shoot to fit you. It’s a good thing I made that dress for you, Dixie, or I wouldn’t have known your measurements. Jace, you can pick them up tomorrow. Good luck at the shoot.”
She flitted away with a bounce in her step, and Dixie’s eyes went cold. “What did she mean that she altered the clothes to fit me?”
“I figured you might come around and I was worried she wouldn’t have time to do the alterations if I didn’t get her started.”
Dixie stepped back, anger and hurt warring in her eyes. “So what was all that crap about not even wanting to bring up the calendar shoot tonight?”
“I wasn’t going to talk about it. You’re the one who brought it up. I was just covering my ass, Dix. I had planned on talking with you tomorrow, and hoped I’d be able to convince you to do the calendar.”
“It was a dick move.” She whirled around to storm off.
Jace grabbed her hand, hauling her back into his arms, and held her tight despite the fumes coming out her ears. “There’s the tempting claws I keep hearing about.”
“Cut the shit, Jace. This whole thing was a lie,” she seethed.
“I don’t lie, Dixie.”
Her jaw clenched tight again.
“I respect the hell out of you, and lying would undermine that. I wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t.”
She glared at him, eyes narrow, lips pursed. “Then maybe you’re just covering your ass right now because you’re afraid of what Bullet might do if he found out you played me.”
He scoffed. “Bullet would put up a hell of a fight, and he’d probably fight to the death to preserve your honor.” He lowered his mouth beside her ear and said, “But so would I, and I don’t lose. Ever.” Drawing back, he saw surprise and something darker simmering in her eyes, and man, he liked it. “I told you the truth. I was covering my ass with Jilly, and yeah, I thought you’d eventually come around. That doesn’t make me a dick. It makes me a confident, smart businessman.”
“It also makes you an ass.”
Taming My Whiskey Page 7
