Betrayed (Whiskey Nights #4)

by Suzannah Daniels

  “You have nothing to worry about,” Jess told Rachel. “There’s absolutely nothing going on between Pax and me. He’s all yours.”

  “Well, that explains why your things are in his house!” Rachel screeched, picking up a small box of clothes and launching them into the hallway, where they landed with a loud thud and knocked a photo from the wall, the glass shattering as it hit the hardwood floors.

  She hurled herself at me, her fists flailing, and since I had a longer reach than she did, I easily shoved her back with one hand while clinging to my towel with the other. “You need to calm down, Rachel. Let me get dressed, and we’ll talk.”

  A high-pitched wail sounded from the bedroom, and I groaned, realizing that the one thing we didn’t need, a crying baby, was now added to the mix.

  “She has a baby?” Rachel screamed dramatically. “You hate babies! You broke up with me because you didn’t want babies.”

  “I never said I hated babies. I said I didn’t want children, and that wasn’t the only reason I felt it better if we didn’t see each other,” I reminded her.

  She turned toward Jessica, her hands clenched in fists by her sides, her jaw tensed. “You do know he hates babies, right?”

  “That’s enough, Rachel,” I thundered, furious that she was bringing Jess into this debacle.

  “I’m well aware,” Jess said softly, giving Rachel a hard look. “Like I said, I’m not with Paxton.”

  A gurgling cry erupted from the bedroom, and Jessica tried to step around Rachel and go to him.

  “You’re a liar!” Rachel screamed. “How does it feel to be the other woman?” Rachel lunged for Jessica, tackling her to the ground and rearing her fist back. I didn’t know how many hits Rachel had gotten in before I yanked her off Jessica.

  Squeezing her arm, I shoved her around to face me. “You need to leave. Now! She told you there was nothing going on between us.”

  “You cheated on me!”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did!”

  I walked Rachel to the door. “You need to calm down. Wait for me outside. I’ll put some clothes on, and we’ll talk.” I didn’t wait for her to answer. I pushed her backward out the door, closed it, and locked it.

  She immediately pounded on it.

  Exasperated, I turned to help Jessica up, but she was already gone. Dodging the broken glass, I walked toward the bedroom and paused outside the door.

  “Shh,” she whispered. “It’s okay. Mommy’s got you.”

  Her voice shook, and I stepped inside and pointed toward my chest of drawers. “I’m just going to grab some clothes.”

  She said nothing as I quickly snatched a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a tee out of the drawer and headed toward the bathroom. I threw on my clothes and raced toward the front door, where Rachel was still banging furiously.

  I flung the door open and stepped outside, shutting the door behind me. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” I motioned to the doors of other apartments. “Do you want someone to call the police?”

  “I don’t give a damn,” she screamed, tossing a wave of disheveled blonde hair over her shoulder. Her face crumpled as tears streamed down her face. “How could you, Pax? How could you do me that way?”

  “Jess has nothing to do with this, Rachel. If you’re going to be mad, then be mad at me. Leave her out of it.”

  “You have the nerve to take up for her?”

  “I’m taking up for her because she’s innocent. There’s nothing going on between the two of us, just like she said.” I grabbed Rachel’s arm and ushered her away from the front door. We walked down the sidewalk to a common area and sat on one of several concrete benches that surrounded a fire pit.

  “I know you were angry at the restaurant the other night, and it’s pretty damn clear that you’re still upset, but Jessica and I are not together.” I shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d shown up, but I’d been busy with Jess the last couple of days. In all honesty, I’d barely had time to even think of Rachel.

  “I want the truth. Did you break up with me, so you could be with her?”

  “No.”

  She raised delicately plucked eyebrows in disbelief. “No? So she just happened to move into your apartment right after you told me you didn’t want to see me anymore?”

  I could tell by the pitch of her voice that she was getting distressed again. “It’s purely coincidental.” I tried to keep my voice soft and even in hopes of calming her. “She called me after you left Friday because she needed help and Cade and Seren are out of town. Believe me, if they’d been around, I would have never agreed to help her.”

  “So what are you going to do with her?”

  I wanted to keep the peace, but what happened between Jessica and me was none of her concern. “I don’t know, but whatever happens, it doesn’t change the conversation that you and I had at the restaurant the other night.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Rachel hissed. “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for her. You can say whatever you want, but I find the timing extremely suspicious. You’re a lowdown lying snake, Paxton Mayfield.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but she was already marching away, giving me a one-fingered salute.

  Well, hell.

  I watched as she sped away and shot me one last death wish of a glare before she turned out of the parking lot and screeched onto the main road.

  Maybe Cade was right. Maybe Rachel was a little unhinged.

  I returned to my apartment and checked on Jess. I found her in the kitchen warming a bottle for a very upset Joseph.

  Her back was to me. “Are you okay?”

  She turned toward me, Joseph squirming in her arms.

  “Shit!” I rushed toward her, feeling completely responsible for what had happened. “She hit you in the eye.”

  “Yeah, I can tell it’s beginning to swell.” She readjusted Joseph on her hip and pressed her fingertips beneath her eye.

  “It’s going to be black.”

  She frowned. “Lovely. That won’t make a very good impression when I’m looking for a job.”

  Turning back to the bottle, she tested its warmth and offered it to Joseph.

  “I’m sorry, Jess. I had no idea she would react like that. If you need to file a report….”

  She immediately shook her head. “I’ve had enough police this week, and I don’t want to cause any problems between the two of you.”

  I shot her a half-cocked grin. “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”

  She didn’t smile. “I’m really sorry, Pax. I shouldn’t have come here.”

  “I was only teasing. If anyone’s to blame for what’s transpired between us, it’s me. Rachel’s just having a little difficulty accepting some things I said.”

  “I’ll try to call Seren in a little while. If she’s able to, I’m going to have her watch Joseph next week while I put in some applications. I imagine some places will only take them online. Do you have a computer I can use?”

  “Yeah. Just let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll set it up for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Hell, it was the least I could do since my latest romantic interest had just given her a shiner.

  Besides, the sooner Jess got a job, the sooner she would have money to get her own place and the sooner she would be out of my hair.

  Over the years, I’d built up my endurance at the gym, and I was pretty damn proud of how far I’d come since I first began working out.

  But women—dealing with them required an endurance unlike any other, and between Rachel and Jessica, I wasn’t sure I was going to survive.

  The only question I had was: Which one was going to kill me first?

  Chapter 6

  Massage

  Paxton

  Four days later, Cade and Seren had finally come back home. I hurried from the gym, so I could meet Cade and Evan at our Thursday night Mayfield meeting at Whiskey Nights.

&nbs
p; I was the last brother to arrive, but Cade and Evan had saved me a seat between them.

  I slapped Cade on the back. “Damn, you’re uglier now than you were when you left.”

  “And you’re friendlier. What has you in such a good mood?” He took off his camouflaged cap and turned the bill backward, so he could see me better.

  “I’m glad to see you, bro.”

  Cade turned his head and lifted his eyebrows as if I’d totally piqued his interest. “Spit it out. What do you need?”

  Evan took a sip of beer while Mason walked over and pointed at me. “What are you having?”

  “Beer’s good.”

  Mason tapped the edge of the bar. “Beer’s good, but whiskey’s better.”

  Knowing how much he enjoyed a good shot of Tennessee whiskey, I shot him a grin. “I’ll stick with beer.”

  “Be right back.”

  Running my palm over my shoulder, I rotated my arm.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Evan asked.

  “I think I pulled a muscle when I was working out.”

  “Ouch,” Evan said.

  “The good news is I’ll live.” It wasn’t the first time I’d pulled a shoulder muscle, and it wouldn’t be the last. “So,” I said, turning toward Cade, “I have a visitor.”

  Taking a sip of beer, Cade nodded as he pulled the bottle away from his lips. “So I heard.”

  “You did?”

  He motioned to Evan. “We were just talking about that. Since Flanagan doesn’t have to be back at work until Monday, she watched Joseph today while Jessica put in an application.” Cade shook his head in disbelief. “I got to say, out of all the things I thought could happen while I was gone, Jessica moving in to your place wasn’t one of them.”

  My brother had referred to his wife, Seren, as Flanagan ever since we were in high school, and I supposed if their marriage didn’t make him change that habit, nothing would. “Did Seren fill you in on all the details?”

  “Nope. When I left to come here, Flanagan was still at your place with Jessica.”

  Mason whisked by, planting an open beer on the coaster in front of me before he scurried off to help other customers. I took a long pull of the beer.

  “And how exactly did you wind up living with your ex-girlfriend?” Evan asked, leaning on the bar.

  I shook my head. “I’m still trying to figure that one out.” I turned toward Cade. “Which brings me back to your earlier question about what I need.”

  “I knew it,” Cade said, leaning back in his seat. “All this buttering up you’re doing, I knew you wanted something.”

  “The only thing I want is a good night’s sleep. I haven’t had one damn night of peace since Jess and Joseph moved in.”

  Cade frowned at me. “Have you tried helping her with Joseph?”

  “Do I look like a mother to you?” I stared at him, wondering what the hell he’d been smoking. “I don’t know the first thing about babies, and as you well know, I have no desire to.”

  “I just thought if you heard him getting restless, maybe you could fix a bottle while she tended to him. The faster he gets fed, the faster he goes back to sleep. Have you ever tried to fix a bottle with a baby in one hand?”

  I dropped my chin and glared at him. “Did you really just ask me that?”

  “Shoot,” Evan said, “the baby’s probably better off if Pax doesn’t get anywhere near it.”

  “Exactly,” I said, agreeing with my youngest brother.

  “First of all,” Cade countered, “the baby’s a he, not an it. And Joseph’s fun if you give him half a chance.”

  “He poops in a diaper,” I said in an attempt to negate his last comment.

  Cade’s mouth tugged into a crooked grin. “Most babies do.”

  “Maybe you could convince Seren to take him for a night. Just one night, so I can get some sleep.”

  Cade motioned toward Evan. “Why don’t you just stay at his place?”

  “Because I have my own place.”

  “You can crash at my place if you want to,” Evan offered.

  “You have a studio apartment,” I reminded him. “I’m not listening to you snore all night.”

  Evan snorted. “Suit yourself.”

  “It’s too late for that,” I grumbled.

  Cade texted something, and when he finished, he said, “There. It’s done. I told Flanagan to volunteer to watch him Saturday night since neither of us has to work on Sunday. Now, we need to stop breaking our own rules and talk about something besides women.”

  Saturday night. If Jess agreed, that meant I was three nights away from blissful sleep.

  ***

  When I arrived home, the house was quiet, and Jess was sleeping on the couch. I assumed Joseph was napping in the bedroom, so I closed the door behind me softly and leaned my computer bag against the wall.

  I headed toward the kitchen to find a couple of ibuprofen. After shaking a couple of capsules in my hand, I popped them in my mouth while I grabbed a glass of water.

  “How was your day?”

  Surprised to hear Jessica’s soft voice, I set the glass down and turned toward her. “I pulled a muscle in my shoulder, but other than that, not too bad.” Her black eye had now faded into a myriad of yellows, which only added to her look of extreme exhaustion. “You look tired.”

  She smiled and crossed her arms, covering the faded words on the front of her T-shirt. “I am. Joseph’s teething, and I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to live through it.”

  “Damn, Jess. I’m really sorry about the whole Rachel thing.”

  She reached up to glide her fingertips beneath her eye. “It looks worse than it is. It’s getting better, though.” She walked over to the fridge and opened the door. “Seren and I fixed some stew and cornbread today. Do you want me to heat some up for you?”

  It sounded good, but I’d already grabbed a sandwich at the bar. “I’ve already eaten. Maybe later.”

  “Oh.” She looked almost disappointed as she gently shut the door. “Okay.”

  Gritting my teeth, I rubbed my shoulder, testing the level of pain as I moved my arm.

  “Does it hurt?”

  I dropped my hand to my side. “A little.” I turned back toward the cabinet that held the ibuprofen. “I think I have some cream in here that will help.” With my good arm, I rearranged bottles of medicine until I pulled out a thick tube.

  “Here,” Jessica approached me with her palm held out. “Let me put it on for you.” She pulled a kitchen chair out from the table. “Take your shirt off and have a seat.”

  After handing her the tube, I removed my shirt and scooted the chair out, turning it toward her. I swung my leg over the seat and straddled it, facing the back of the chair, so that nothing would impede her access to my shoulder.

  The cream was cold when it first made contact with my skin, but as she massaged it in, the temperature quickly warmed. Her fingers smoothed the length of my shoulder, and then she rubbed it in with small circular motions. “Damn, that hurts so good.”

  She applied pressure to my skin, the sensation damn near orgasmic. “Do you have a massage therapist at the gym?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve thought about going to school to be one. It wouldn’t take too long to get licensed, and I could make a decent living.”

  That confession caught me by surprise. “You’ve thought about being a massage therapist?”

  “Yeah, you should think about offering massage services. Your shoulder is the perfect example. I’m sure you’re not the only one who suffers from pulled muscles.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “See. Don’t you think your clients would like it?”

  She made a good point, and I couldn’t think of any other massage therapists in Creekview. There wouldn’t be a lot of competition. “I can definitely see our clients enjoying a massage.”

  Her fingers glided farther down my back, and I didn’t complain.

  “It’s something to th
ink about,” she said. “I think I’ll check and see where the closest school is around here.”

  The image of her massaging guys at the gym wearing nothing but towels didn’t sit well with me. Shit, we hadn’t been together in seven years. Why the hell were these feelings of jealousy surfacing?

  Closing my eyes, I blocked out the unwelcome thoughts and concentrated on her touch. Something about the way she stroked my skin soothed me. My shoulder wasn’t bothering me, not so much that it didn’t still hurt as that my attention was now solely on Jessica and the seductive way her touch called to me.

  The pressure of her fingertips spanned out along the width of my back. My brain tried to tell me that I shouldn’t let this continue, but my body begged for her touch. It reminded me of happier times, when her touch was accompanied by peals of laughter, when her arms held the power to fill me with strength. The same arms that eventually shattered me into a thousand pieces of sorrow and hopelessness when they held another.

  When they held my brother.

  She traced my spine down to the waistband of my gym shorts, the fabric yielding easily when her thumbs dipped just below the boundary as they followed the length of my spine all the way to the base.

  “Turn around and I’ll massage the front of your shoulder,” she said softly, as if she were afraid of breaking the comfortable silence between us.

  I did as she asked, my knees fanning outward to accommodate her slender body between them. I studied her face, but she dared not look at me, concentrating instead on the movement of her fingers as she worked tiny circles along the front of my shoulder.

  Her brow creased in concentration, and her lips pressed together. She smelled like shampoo mingled with a hint of baby formula, but oddly enough, I didn’t find it unpleasant. She squeezed my shoulder, and I winced.

  Her lips parted in surprise as her eyes lifted to my face. “Oh! I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” I told her, my voice sounding deeper and gruffer than normal. “It’s a good hurt.”

  She gave me the slightest nod and focused her attention back on her hands, their movement creating havoc in my mind and body. I shouldn’t have been enjoying it nearly as much as I did. She repositioned herself, leaving only one leg planted firmly between my thighs as she straddled my knee. Her legs brushed against mine, causing blood to flow to my member. Damn, I could reach out and touch her, run my fingers up her thigh until they dipped into the legs of her shorts.