Their Ex's Redrock Three

by Shirl Anders

  This book is a work of fiction. Names characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book maybe be reproduced, scanned, or printed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Copyright © 2012 by Shirl Anders. All rights reserved.

  Published by Allure Books

  The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction. Indian casinos; title only Stairway to Heaven; Cher; Redrock;

  Their Ex's Redrock Serial Release Schedule

  Their Ex's One: Redrock (Texas Alpha, Erotic Romance)

  (Thursday, December 20th, 2012)

  Their Ex's Two: Redrock (Texas Alpha, Erotic Romance)

  (Thursday, December 27th, 2012)

  Their Ex's Three: Redrock (Texas Alpha Erotic Romance)

  (Thursday, January 3rd, 2013)

  Their Ex's Four: Redrock (Texas Alpha Erotic Romance)

  (Thursday, January 10th, 2013)

  Sign up! Email Alert: Will email you when the next one is published!

  Their Ex’s Three: RedRock (Texas Alpha, Erotic Romance)

  By Shirl Anders

  ONE / NOT SWEET AND HOT LIKE YOU

  It cut Vincent Whitehorse deeply to leave Tess like he had. Without a word about how they stood … how he was fucking leading his cheating wife Luna on, to keep her viciousness away from Tess. But to leave Tess in the dark … to let her think he was using her, hurt him in a way he’d never felt for a woman before.

  Yet, he’d do it again to keep her safe. Although, her staying at Rowdie’s Motel wasn’t safe. But he couldn't deal with it right then, because he had to get on a plane and make the vote to voting Luna off the board happen.

  Luckily, after Luna went irrational, psycho-woman at his rental condo she been easily sidetracked with a few kisses that he hated to give her, but had done. Then he’d thrown a bigger wad of cash on her to buy stage outfits with, and she’d perfectly forgotten the incident. She’d easily accepted his lies about Tess and him being together. He’d further fabricated, for Luna’s crazy jealous factor times one-thousand, that he and Tess had not gone to bed together. He said he’d just told her that to get back at Luna for sleeping with Navarro.

  She’d thrown some fake tears on him about how cutthroat the rise to fame was. Never really admitting she’d been to bed with Navarro, that it was wrong, or the big one, that she wouldn’t do it again. In Luna’s fucked up world her husband’s possible cheating was criminal, because how could any man do that to the perfectly beautiful Luna, but her possible cheating wasn’t worthy of concern. Men would want her. Deal with it.

  Luna was so narcissistic he was certain she’d flown back to Navarro with the cash and forgotten about her husband. Again. Vincent discovered the only reason Luna caught him was she was looking for him to ask for more money and she’d spotted his truck out front of the condo. She knew the condo was his and she knew he usually kept spare keys hidden around his rental property. Fucking luck.

  One thing he knew for certain, Luna was never going to tell Navarro about her husband being with his wife. Luna wasn’t wired that way. She wanted all attention on her, and revealing Tess and Vincent might be together was a kick to her ego.

  Vincent grabbed his overnight satchel out of the back of his pickup, then he started across the tarmac toward the private jet he had waiting. His cell rang and he dug it out of his pocket.

  Luna. He had to deal with her continually calling now. “What’s up, babe?” he asked, while he kept walking.

  “Lover, we need some stage rehearsal time before our show and Sam is not being reasonable.” Luna’s voice got what she thought was sexier, he thought whinier. “Can you talk to him, darling?”

  “Looking forward to seeing you on stage, babe,” he lied. “I’ll see what I can do. But Sam’s in charge.”

  “You make my nipples hard when you get things for me, lover.”

  Christ, he wanted to puke. “Come home, I’ll lick them,” he rasped. A few moments later, he nodded to the flight attendant as he ducked to enter the plane.

  “Lover, I wanna give you this luscious body, but my fans need me to practice. Soon, darling.”

  Yeah, fucking right. Vincent stowed his bag and took his seat. “I’m going to fuck that famous pussy,” he uttered, then he disconnected, not able to take any more. She wouldn’t care, probably barely notice. How Navarro could stand her was anyone's guess. Sam said Navarro was hooked up with the mob guys circling the Red Rock.

  They’d been trying to find a way in for several years, but Vincent didn’t scare and further he wasn’t interested. At all. He knew some tribes across the nation had mafia underpinnings. Wasn’t happening on his watch. However, he had a bad feeling those guys might think if they could get control of his wife, they could get control of him.

  Surprise. They were fucked. But so was he, because while he could cut Luna loose after the vote, he still had no way, he knew of, to keep her crazy ass away from Tess should he try to publically hookup with Tess.

  That messed with him. Bad. So bad he did stupid things like breaking into Tess’ motel room to have her five ways and make her come as many. And, he knew he’d do it again. But as long as Tess could be a target for Luna, he had to keep it out of the public’s eyes.

  Vincent pulled his cell out of his pocket and texted Tess because he knew she’d not answer his cell call. “Still taste you. Keep that with me. Free night, see you the next. Be naked and ready.”

  Yeah, he was a fool but he couldn’t stop, and he fooled himself the most that he could keep it secret.

  Tess’ gaze lifted from the text she’d just read from Vincent, to look at Finn sitting across the table from her. Finn had invited her to breakfast.

  “Chiquita, I made you look like that we’d be in bed.”

  Tess immediately tried to stop looking like “that.” But it was hard not to be pissed off and turned on in the same moment. She nearly opened her mouth to tell Finn about Vincent and his miraculously getting into her room, even knowing it was her room, and disappearing by leaving the door locked from the outside. She figured Vincent picked the lock ... except leaving it locked when he left, and how could he possibly do that, made her jittery. More jittery than blowout sex … no, but amazed.

  Wisely, she didn’t blurt her innermost messed up life events to Finn, who looked seriously badass that morning, in black jeans, a black tee, and a really worn motorcycle jacket. But better his hair was a sexy mess and his intense green eyes were just for her. Not the gallery of women in the corner booth to their right, in the diner where they were catching breakfast. Five women, varying ages from twenty to mid-thirties had clocked Finn’s arrival on a chrome-studded motorcycle, when he’d pulled up front.

  Tess didn’t know a thing about motorcycles, but Finn’s looked impressive. More impressive was Finn’s lack of acknowledging the women ogling him, while he kept his attention centered on her.

  So she blushed, and quickly changed his subject. “You could get it five times, varying ages,” she informed him, nodding toward the corner booth.

  Finn’s green eyes cut that way. The ladies took notice and started crossing and uncrossing legs, pouting lips, and one winked. Finn growled beneath his breath and turned his gaze back to her. “All bitches,” he announced. “Take a man’s balls and twist them. Not sweet and hot like you.”

  Tess’ eye
s widened as she asked incredulously, while secretly pleased at the “sweet, hot” comment. “How could you possibly know?”

  “Made it my business to train my eye after mine went frigid.”

  Tess sat forward. This sounded interesting. “So the lady on the end, red dress, mid twenty’s, what about her screams … well, I’m not calling her that.”

  “See,” he responded with a gleam in his eyes. “Fucking, sweet.” Then he tilted his head to the red dress as Tess experience warmth from head to toe. “Her, she’s trying too hard. Desperate. I bet she gives it out but cuts it off even before the ring’s on her finger.”

  Tess shook her head. “Babe, that does not say how you know she is like that.”

  Finn’s gaze jetted to her, with his look zeroing in on her mouth. “Called me babe.”

  “What?” she questioned.

  He looked up to her eyes. “You. Called me babe.”

  Tess did blush then. “No I didn’t,” she lied.

  “Did,” he uttered. “Going to get you to do it again, too.”

  Then he let her off the hook by looking back to the woman in the red dress. What was the matter with her? Flirting with Finn during the day and going to bed with Vincent at night. Not tonight, a little devil in her mind reminded her.

  “Red’s been making eye contact with about three guys in here. Still, she’s not picked one to center on. Makes me think she’s flighty. How could a woman like the looks of me, then that trucker over there, and last the professor in the back?” Finn turned back to her, while she was seriously impressed. “Too different, all of us. Desperate, see?”

  Impulsively, Tess grabbed his hand from the top of the table and held it. “Just hoping you’re not jaded by your situation.”

  His hand curled over hers. “Might have been, but sweetness came along.”

  He meant it. He really meant it. God, she shouldn’t be doing this, because she was getting divorced and she didn’t know what was happening with Vincent.

  She opened her mouth to tell him that, when a man’s voice over Finn’s shoulder barked, “Wise guy, get your fucking hands off her. That’s Navarro’s woman.”

  Finn dropped her hand. Tess heard the chair he was sitting scrape hard on the floor as her heart started pounding. She jerked her gaze upward to see the voice behind the harsh words was Victor Torenni. He was one of the bad men her husband hung out with and she knew he was bad because he’d helped beat up that guy who tried to flirt with her, just because Steven complained.

  Finn surged to his feet nearly toppling over his chair, and Tess realized Finn might be going to defend her. She stood too, exclaiming, “Finn, don’t.” Then toward Torenni, she exclaimed, “I’m getting a divorce, and what I do is none of your business.”

  Torenni and Finn were squared off, nose to nose, both with black hair but there the similarities ended. Both totally ignoring her comments.

  “You think this is any of your business, Victor?” Finn uttered, with barely suppressed ferocity.

  Finn knew Victor, Tess thought looking between them. How else would Finn know Victor’s name.

  Victor leaned in with a fierce scowl toward Finn’s ear, a totally threatening gesture. “I think our boss has an interest in her you better be finding out about.”

  Their. Boss? Oh god, well she’d known Finn was living on the edge. She’d been ignoring what that could be. She’d thought the rumors must be wrong. And, who the hell was Victor’s boss and what interest did he have in her? Finn looked as if he wanted to climb down Torenni’s throat. Tess scooted next to him and grasped his bicep. He was tensed like steel. She glared up at Torenni, as she whispered Finn’s name.

  “You got a man,” Torenni said stubbornly to her, as if it was his freaking business. “You’s shouldn’t be touching another.”

  Finn backed up carrying her, with her hand still attached, with him several steps.

  “You need to get out of my business,” she hissed at Torenni. Then she felt Finn unlatching her hand from his upper arm.

  “Mrs. Navarro, it was nice for breakfast cuz I helped you move.” Her gaze turned to Finn, looking at him like she thought he was crazy. Which she did. He looked blank, tightly blank, as he continued. “Maybe I’ll see you around, and keep that shit you helped me with about my wife in mind.”

  Then, Finn O’Neil stepped back as if they barely knew each other, glared at Torenni, who looked thoughtful, but smug. Finn turned and walked away from them.

  Tess was pretty much blown away, then she tossed her head and looked up at Torenni. “Who’s your damn boss,” she demanded.

  He looked across the diner, watching Finn leave, then back down at her, as he said softly, “Someone you better be careful of, cara.”

  Tess had enough — she walked closer and poked his solid chest. “Do you tell my soon to be ex-husband the same thing, while he’s screwing and running around with Luna Whitehorse? Do you tell him ‘you got a woman, don’t touch others?” Victor’s rugged features, with his obviously once broken nose looked amused and that pissed her off more, as she whispered fiercely, “Stay away from me or I’ll...”

  Victor grabbed her finger, and she exclaimed under her breath trying to pull it away. “Cara, you need a strong man to take your back,” he said lowly with his gaze intense. “For a woman like you, I might stand against my boss.”

  “Oh!” Tess exclaimed incensed, and finally getting her finger free. She did not give Victor a response to his crazy talk — she just turned, grabbed her purse and stalked away.

  Then she drove straight to her lawyer’s office, but on the way she texted Vincent. “So sorry I let out I knew about our spouses’ affair.”

  TWO / I NOTICE SWEET JUST AS WELL AS THE NEXT MAN

  Vincent read Tess’ text and he wondered what the hell was going on. He needed one more night to make the board vote happen because he’d just secured the last single vote. He swore looking at the text. He needed details, but just then his cell rang from an unlikely number.

  “Yeah,” he answered. “Strange, you being in my ear.”

  Finn O’Neil’s voice was low and measured on the other end. “I’m breaking all kinds of protocol making this call and a fucking year undercover, so listen up.”

  Vincent stood from his seat in the jet, looked over his shoulder and marked the hostess in the rear so he walked up to the pilot’s door and the furthest point from prying ears. He was blown away to hear Finn could be an agent of some kind, but determined to keep his cool.

  “Yeah, bud, listening with all ears.”

  “Know it’s a strange question but I need you to answer. You just do a one nighter on Tess Navarro or you set your sights?”

  Vincent replied without delay. “Sights.”

  “Shit,” Finn uttered. “Figures, but as much as it pains me, it’s going to be a good thing.”

  “You’re losing me, bud,” Vincent advised him, however he got the vibe that Finn might have a personal interest in Tess.

  “Coronado's tagged Tess. Got an interest, his man Torenni says.”

  “Fucking A,” Vincent hissed. Then he released some of his own intelligence. “My work up on Navarro showed the mob connection. It’s not lost on me their interest in Navarro, his in Luna, and Coronado’s in Red Rock.”

  “We need to get Tess out of the headlights,” Finn said.

  “Why is it we?” Vincent demanded.

  “I notice fucking sweet just as well as the next man, Vin,” Finn responded.

  Shit, Vincent thought, he did not like Finn O’Neil tagging his woman. And the woman he had a hard time claiming in public.

  “Tell you something that goes no further, bud. Couple of things going down shortly should take me off Coronado’s to do list through Luna. We will become irrelevant.”

  Finn whistled, then said. “Can’t say it’s not unexpected, since you’re claiming Tess.”

  Vincent knew Finn guessed, as he wanted him too, that thing happening was him divorcing Luna and he should tell Finn t
hat he couldn’t let that out. But he was stubborn, not wanting a man interested in Tess to know that shit.

  As Vincent remained doggedly quiet, Finn continued, “We will talk after you make happen what you got. See if it gets her out of Coronado's sights. But heads up, amigo, deeper shit going on than Coronado wanting a cut of Red Rock. Be good if Tess dumps her fucking husband and gets clear.”

  “I hear you,” Vincent replied.

  “Good you get clear too,” Finn added.

  “Thanks for taking the risk,” Vincent offered. “Later.”

  “Definitely, later,” Finn said.

  Vincent thumbed off the call and returned to his seat. He’d had plans before that call to make the vote happen when Luna was on stage at Red Rock. Making it impossible for her to get in on it. He wondered who Tess had told and if they’d spill it. Luna was so convinced she had him wrapped around her pussy that he’d not guess she was still fucking another man.

  But someone coming up and telling her, she’d know he was playing her.

  He called Tess this time with his gut tightening the second he heard her soft voice. “I’m so sorry, Vincent. I wasn’t thinking, just mad.”

  “Who, beautiful?” he asked as quietly.

  She made a sound of not wanting to tell him. “It doesn’t matter, just that he might tell Luna or definitely Steven.”

  Vincent held his temper, picturing how sweet she was when she wasn’t being stubborn. “Need to know who.”

  He heard her sigh. A sound that had places on him thinking about rising. He quelled those urges. “Okay, Torenni, Victor Torenni. Do you know who that is?”

  Vincent grimaced — he did not like Tess being around Torenni at all. “I know he’s mob and up your husband’s ass,” Vincent muttered, and maybe he should have held back at little.

  “Mob?” Tess expelled. “So it’s the real mob?” she exclaimed.

  “Yeah, beautiful, and I do not like you on his radar.”

  “Torenni said his boss was interested in me,” she whispered. “He … God, Vincent, he came on to me, saying maybe I was worth standing up to his boss for.”