Jess looked in the direction Bonnie’s finger was pointing and smiled. “Damn! He’s hot as hell, Bonnie. You sure he meant that to come to me?”
“He did, and it comes with a message. He said to let you know that if you were any prettier, they’d have to lock you up. Oh, yeah! And his name’s Griff.”
Jess laughed and waved at the man who was staring her down. “What a moron. Tell him that if he was any hotter, I’d have to call the fire department. And take him this nasty drink and let him know I’m a beer drinker.”
Bonnie took the Rob Roy with her as she made her way to the man who’d sent it. He wasn’t smiling when she got to him. “She doesn’t want it?” Griffin asked.
“She said to tell you that if you were any hotter, she’d have to call the fire department. Plus, she told me to let you know she’s a beer drinker and nothing else.”
“Then get her a beer. Whatever kind’s her favorite,” Griffin said. “And tell her Griff said he likes her sense of humor.”
“K, I’ll let her know that,” Bonnie said, then hurried off to take care of the orders. She was beginning to feel like a go-between for the men in their efforts to gain female companionship for the night.
She took the Rob Roy to Kel, who was chatting it up with Miss Foster, the high school librarian. Kel’s eyes narrowed as Bonnie placed the cocktail glass of pinkish purple liquid in front of her.
“What the hell is this about, Bonnie?”
“Do you see that Scottish stud giving you the eye, Kel?” Bonnie asked her.
“Yes, I see the dim-witted man. And why would you let him believe I wanted anything from him?” Kel asked as she turned her dark blue eyes back to her cousin.
“I told him the drink wouldn’t gain him anything with you, Kel. But he insisted. And he said to tell you that he’s your knight in shining armor or some shit like that. Anyway, his name’s Ethan Southern, and he gave me a hundred to get this to you. He and his friends seem to have a thing for the Flannigan sisters this evening.”
“You don’t say,” Kel said with a grin that was somewhat evil in nature. “Who’s botherin’ my sisters?”
“Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome is asking after Cait, and the one with blond curls is after Jess.” Bonnie sighed as she looked at the three hunky men who were trying to act as if they weren’t looking at the women they’d set their sights on for the evening.
“And I got the man with amber waves that hang to his shoulders that are as broad as any I’ve ever seen. A beast, I’m sure.” Kel sipped the drink and held up her hand in a motionless wave to let the man know she’d accept his drink, as it was her family’s bar and they needed every dollar they could get.
“I’m sure he’s a sweetheart,” Bonnie said, then giggled. “They’re all winners, cousin. You should give the man a chance.”
“And you should get your ass back to work before I send you home for this mischief you’ve managed to get us into,” Kellie said as she gave her cousin one arched eyebrow.
“I’ll get back at it. But I didn’t have a thing to do with who the men picked to pester this evening. They did that all on their own. Just so you know.”
Kel’s eyes settled on the man who’d so boldly called himself her knight in shining armor. As if she needed one. The nerve of him!
Chapter 5
Jess got up to go to the bathroom and found the cute guy with a bevy of blond curls that went to his shoulders was wiggling his finger at her. She couldn’t help but smile at the man who was giving her a sexy grin.
Step by step, she made her way to him. “Thanks for the drink, Griff. It is Griff, right?” Her words were laced with an Irish accent.
“It is. My full name is Griffin Houser. I’m from Montana, here on some unofficial business. And your name is Jess,” he said as he gazed into her icy emerald eyes. His favorite color. “And I bet you’re fresh from Ireland.”
“You’d lose that bet if you made it. I was born here. My siblings were born in Dublin, though. We summer there each year. Our accents come from our parents. Theirs are truly awful.” Her hand moved to rest on her hip as she said, “Jessica is my full name. But everyone calls me Jess. So, thanks again for the beer. It was nice meeting you. Bye.” With that, she turned and walked away, slightly shaking her rounded bottom, making Griffin drool a little.
He was met with a napkin that Ethan held to his chin. “Watch out, lover boy.”
“She’s hot!” was all Griffin could say.
“Go after her, stud,” Phoenix said as he caught Cait’s eyes. “I’m reeling mine in next.” With a wiggle of his finger, he found the adorable redhead getting up and coming his way as Griff vacated his chair, going after Jess.
Phoenix patted the empty seat near him. “Have a seat, gorgeous.”
Cait gave him a smile and took the seat. “So. Did you like the Superman I sent you?” Her Irish accent was obvious.
He nodded. “What did you think of the Rob Roy I sent you, Cait?”
“It was sweet in more than one way,” she said as she found herself falling into the dark depths of his milk-chocolate-colored eyes. “You have a distinctive look, Phoenix.”
He scooted his chair closer and leaned in close to whisper, “I have a lot of distinctive features. I’d love to show you them all.”
A giggle erupted from her, and she found herself blushing, a thing it was hard for anyone to get her to do. Cait was a woman who wasn’t easily impressed. But the man in front of her was the most impressive man she’d ever seen in her life.
“You’re probably a man I should run away from. Sure to be a heartbreaker.”
“Nah, I could never break your heart, Caity-cat.” He ran one finger along her collarbone, making chills flow through her.
“Where’re you from?” she asked him as she found herself allowing him to touch her—and she never allowed such a thing.
“Texas. A little city called Corpus Christi. But I have some land in a little place called Karnes County too.” He leaned in even closer, taking in a sniff of her perfume. “Is that cloves I’m smelling?”
“It might be. It’s a new perfume my mom gave me for my birthday last week.” Cait moved back a little as he was so close and the heat between them was growing intense.
“Birthday?” he asked as he closed the distance between them again, feeling the connection that was forming quickly. “And how old is my Caity-cat?”
“I’m twenty-three,” she answered. “And you are?”
He moved his fingers up the side of her neck as he said, “Thirty-five. I love the dark shade of auburn your hair is. It’s amazing.”
“Thanks. I get that a lot.” She settled back in her chair, making his hand leave her neck as it was making her want to kiss the man she’d barely met.
“I bet you do.” Phoenix wasted no time touching her again as he ran his finger across the bridge of her nose. His eyes went from her pale green eyes to the freckles on her nose and upper cheeks. “The dusting of light freckles is adorable. You’re utterly adorable. How’ve you not been snatched up yet?”
“Maybe because I’m not looking to get snatched up. I’m busy with work and college. I go to MIT. I’m majoring in food engineering. You’ll probably think a lot differently of me when I tell you this part. I’m into making meals out of insects.”
“Nope, I still find you fascinating,” he said, then let his finger move over her plump red lips. “So, a few bugs have passed through those lips, huh?”
“A few,” she said as she fought not to suck his finger into her mouth, which was watering for the inexplicable man.
The sound of her sister’s voice broke the spell she was under as Phoenix held her eyes with his. “Cait! What the hell are you doing?”
Cait looked away from Phoenix, finding her older sister standing with her hand on her hip, glaring at her. “What? This is Phoenix, by the way, Miss Rude. Phoenix, this is Kellie. A nosy person.”
“Nice to meet you, Kellie,” Phoenix said as he sat back a bit with the ar
rival of the protective woman.
Relieved to hear another Irish accent for him too, Ethan watered at the mouth. “Leave them be, gorgeous,” Ethan said as he got up, taking Kellie’s hand and leading her to the bar. “I gestured for you to come over here for a very different reason than for you to come and chastise my friend’s new acquaintance.”
Kellie looked over her shoulder, giving her younger sister the eye that told her not to go too far with the man no one knew a thing about. Then she turned her attention to the handsome Scot who towered over her. “I can tell you now, Ethan Southern; there will be nothing that you think might happen that will happen. Not with me.”
“Aww, come on,” he said as he let her hand go and ran his arm around her narrow waist. “I don’t want a thing more than to hear your sweet voice as you tell me all about yourself and what makes a darling woman like yourself tick.”
“Please,” came her sarcastic reply. “I’m no fool, Mr. Southern. Your accent won’t sweep me off my feet. I’m Irish. I’ve heard plenty of accents like yours. So, what has you in our small town?”
He took a seat at the bar and lifted her up to sit on the stool next to his, facing him. She was tiny—just the right size for him. Her hair was shoulder length, straightened, showing off the caramel highlights in her light blonde hair. The blue of her eyes was so dark, he could swear he’d never seen that exact shade before.
“First, call me Ethan. Mr. Southern is my father. And I don’t expect my voice, no matter how smooth and charming it might be, to sweep you off your dainty feet, my dear, Kel.” He placed his hands on her upper thighs, making her eyes grow large.
“Now you need to understand this about me,” she said as she moved his hands. “While I’m interested in talking to you, Ethan, that’s all I’m interested in. So keep your hands to yourself, or I’ll be forced to leave your company.”
“Noted,” he said with a sly grin. “So the basics, then. How old are you; what do you do with your time; and how long do you think you need to know someone before you tell them you love them?”
She laughed with his obvious joke, then answered, “I’m 25. An old 25 I’ve been told. An ancient soul, if you will. I’m in my last semester of business technology at MIT in Cambridge. And I work when I’m not in classes. And you?”
“Well, first let me say that I think there should be no particular length of time before two people exchange I love yous. That said, I’m 32 and a salesman for Red Head Scotch. And I’d also like to say that I think you’re gorgeous and you and I would make lovely children together. I mean that.”
Kel couldn’t help but laugh at the way the man talked. He was charismatic; she had to give him that. “Tell me. Do these lines usually get you what you’re looking for from women?”
“Every single time, my love,” he said, then picked up her hand and kissed the top of it. “Now, tell me. What it is you do for fun?”
“I don’t have time for fun, if you must know. This evening is a rarity for me. A night off work and no homework for the weekend have allowed me to come out, but that usually doesn’t happen.”
“So you’re a hermit,” he said with a deep chuckle that made his wide chest jiggle, taking Kel’s attention. He was a monster of a man.
“I wouldn’t say a hermit. I am inside of one building or another most times, though. And home the rest of the time. But it’s not self-imposed as much as it’s necessary to get me to where I want to be.”
Griffin walking behind Jess to what looked like the exit, had Ethan looking over Kel’s head. He stopped breathing until he saw the two take a seat at a small table for two instead of heading out.
Jess was wondering what the hell the totally cool dude was coming on to her for. She was about as cultured as an alley cat. “So you’re from Montana and a salesman for a cattle company?”
“Yes. And what do you do?” he asked her as he couldn’t take his eyes off the emerald pools hers were.
“I go to college in Amherst at the University of Massachusetts. I’m studying animal biology.” She glanced to the side of him as one of her old boyfriends from high school came through the door, smiling at her. She shook her head to let him know she was busy and he took the hint when he looked at the man she was sitting with.
“How old are you, Jess?” Griff asked, then waved at the waitress, gesturing for two more beers.
“I turned 21 last month. And you?” she asked and took the beer that was placed in front of her. “Thanks, Bonnie.”
“I’m 30,” Griff said, then took a drink.
When she looked kind of freaked out by his age, he frowned as she said, “Damn!”
“It’s no big deal,” he argued.
“For you, maybe. For me … well, damn!” She took another drink of the beer then set the mug down on the small round table that had more than a few names chiseled into its dark surface. Then she reminded herself that the man who sat across from her wasn’t going to be in town for long, so she shouldn’t be worried about their age difference. It wasn’t like he was asking her to marry him or anything. “Yeah, it’s not a big deal, Griff. Sorry for overreacting about that.”
He nodded and felt the tiniest bit of relief. “So how about that? We both are in fields where animals are involved. That’s kind of cool, huh?”
“I guess so. What is it you do with the cattle?” she asked him as she noticed his eyes were a mixture of greens and blues with touches of browns in them too. “You have really cool eyes, Griff. They’re kind of freaking awesome, you know?”
“Thanks,” he said, then reached out to stroke her cheek. “Your eyes happen to be my favorite color. You’re a real knockout, baby.”
“So are you, if we’re telling the truth here,” she said, then found herself sighing as his touch was kind of melting her heart a bit.
Everyone was getting along so well; the men were pretty pumped about their chances to score. A little more time and they’d have the women right where they wanted them.
On the way to a no-tell motel!
Chapter 6
Finding all their women retreating to the bathroom at the same time, the men took advantage of being left alone and congregated at the bar to learn how each was doing. They all took seats, and the bartender asked if they wanted anything to drink, to which all told him, no.
“We’re getting close to the wire here boys,” Ethan said. The bartender turned to leave them alone. “I think I nearly have Kel right where I want her.” The bartender stopped and found a spot on the bar that urgently needed to be cleaned. Plus, he could listen in on the conversation that involved his cousins.
“Jess is putty in my hands. I’m sure to win this bet, my friends,” Griffin boasted.
“Cait’s been taking me with her eyes for the last hour,” Phoenix said. “I got this one in the bag. Hang it up, guys. I’ll have her screwed in the cab.”
The bartender’s ears were on fire. Were they talking about some kind of bet they’d made about screwing his cousins?
“That Kel is a feisty one, but I can see it in her eyes. One more drink and she’ll be coming with me wherever I tell her to,” Ethan added. “Get ready to pay up, men. I think I know when a woman is into me, and Kel is into me bigtime!”
“First one to get the deed done has to post the time on the others’ phones with a text,” Phoenix said. “It’s obvious we’re all going to get some tail tonight. But it’s who gets it first that matters. So the plan is set, and all we have to do is see who gets their girl to give it up first.”
The bartender hurried away to let his cousins know what the men had planned for them. He was pretty sure not one of them really was going to be going home with any of those men anyway. They were good girls, after all. But he felt compelled to let them know about the bet.
Slipping into the ladies’ room where he’d seen them go, he covered his eyes and called out, “Kel, Cait, and Jess Flannigan, are you all still in here?”
“What the hell are you doing in here, Marty?” Kel shouted a
t him.
“I have news you three need to know,” he told her.
“Let’s go to the back office,” Kel said as she grabbed their cousin by the arm, tugging him with her as they all left the ladies’ restroom. “You can uncover your eyes now, Marty.”
He pulled his hand away from his eyes and looked Kel in hers as they went into the small back office where no one was. “Those men you three girls are talking to have a bet. A terrible bet.”
“About what?” Jess asked as she leaned on the old desk that was dusty from no use. She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting to hear what her cousin had to say.
“About sex and you three and who can get who to give it to him first,” he said quickly.
All three women’s jaws dropped. Kel went red in the face. Cait went pink, and Jess went pale as she whispered, “No. Griff seems so sweet!”
“Mine too,” Cait said with an air of disbelief. “Phoenix seemed so genuine. So real. And he didn’t say a thing about wanting that from me.”
“They all think they have you all in the bag. It’s not a matter of who will get laid; it’s a matter of who will get laid first. They’re all that confident that you three will be giving them what they all want. And it’s all to win a stupid bet.” Marty gave them all nods of his head as he shook his finger at them. “You three must’ve been putting out some signs that you’d be picking up what they were putting down. If you get my drift?”
“I was more flirty than usual,” Cait said. “But only because Phoenix looks like a demigod from a time long ago when people rode around shirtless on the backs of wild stallions in the middle of tall grass the color of sand.”
“Dear Lord,” Kel said as she rolled her eyes. “You’ve been sniffing the glue again, haven’t ya, Cait?”
With a slap to her sister’s arm, Cait retorted, “I was five. Will you ever let me forget that?”
“For the love of all that’s holy. Ethan looks like a Viking king. And I was falling for his bullshit because of it,” Kel said. “Well, I should’ve known better. No man with those fantastic looks and that build who tells a woman he could really take charge of her if he so desired is looking for a girl like me. What a fool I feel like!”
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