by M. Mabie
I looked behind me and Vaughn was already stretching his other hand out to shake hers.
“I’m Vaughn. I’m taking over for Dr. Carver when he retires at the end of the year.”
“Oh, the new, hot dentist everyone is creaming over. Nice to meet ‘cha.” She was a bartender and didn’t even pretend to give a shit what anyone thought.
I heard him chuckle a little before he said, “Well, I’m the new dentist anyway.”
“What are you drinking?”
“Two Newcastles,” I said and reached for the money I’d shoved into my back pocket earlier.
When Vaughn saw what I was doing he tried to push my hand away.
“No, you’re not buying my drink. Let me.” He looked serious, but hell if I cared. He was about to help me get my drunk dad home, he’d made an awesome steak, and suffered through me talking about fishing for what could have been thirty miles.
“Shut up,” I told him quietly, hoping to convey my gratitude. “You can get the next round.”
I placed my hand on his chest, just briefly. I wasn’t sure why, it just went there on its own.
Then as I turned back around to hand Sally the money, he said low in my ear, “Tammy? Wendy?” He was close enough to me that the rumble of his chest vibrated against my back as he spoke.
Come hell or high water, I was kissing him by the end of the night.
Before too long, he’d bought the next round—and the next and the next—and we’d found two stools at the bar when a few people cleared out. It was kind of slow for a Friday night. The other bar around the corner probably had a band or something going on, must be why there were so many cars in town.
In Wynne, there were enough people to fill a bar, but it was a much better place for having two. If you didn’t want to see someone, just head for the other. I wasn’t much of a barfly, Sunny could be at times, but I did like going out every now and then. It was nice being at—what I was guessing was—the quieter watering hole that night.
It allowed Vaughn and me to keep talking, which let me look at him all I wanted. Had it been louder in there, preventing conversation, I would have defaulted to staring and looked more desperate than I probably did anyway.
Because I was desperate.
With every breath, my chest drew to his. We faced each other on the stools and our legs mingled and bumped, sporadically at first, then my foot was on his chair and our thighs met denim to denim in between us.
“So that’s what my first extraction was like,” he admitted at the end of his story about the first time he’d pulled someone’s tooth. He took a drink from his bottle and, like I was learning he did often after a swig, did this sexy pucker with his lips, reminding me of a kiss.
Fucking beer bottles have all the fun.
“I don’t think I could do it. I’d be too afraid I was going to hurt someone.”
“You get used to that part. You start to trust the medicine—most of the time. After you see how numb someone would have to be, getting their teeth ripped out and still looking at you like are you going to start yet, but not feeling a thing, you begin to worry less.”
I needed to change the topic. With beer bottles getting to touch him and talking about mouths, I was finding it hard to focus on what he was saying. Only that his lips were moving.
As close as we were sitting, I could smell him and see how long his eyelashes were. On his chiseled, clean-shaven face, with all the power in his jaw, the lashes added something of a gentleness to his otherwise very masculine features.
“One more?” he asked, but he already held his hand up, showing two fingers to Sally down the bar.
One more? How was time going that fast? Looking at my phone I saw that it was already eleven thirty.
Suddenly a rush of apprehension warned me—it could all end before it got good. I needed a minute to get my shit together.
“I’ll be right back.” I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I needed to have a moment. It was hard to think when he was that close.
I wasn’t some flaky girl. I was a woman. And I wanted him. I could wait for him all night, all month—if I had to. But I didn’t want to. I wasn’t that patient.
In the one-person bathroom, I looked in the mirror and gave myself a little pep talk.
You look good tonight.
You’re both having fun.
He likes you. Stop wasting time.
Go out there and just tell him your damn name.
I washed my hands and cockily ripped the paper towel from the dispenser.
“That’s right,” I cheered myself on, giving myself one last quick look in the mirror.
I could have used more lip gloss, but—being optimistic—I thought he probably wouldn’t want that all over him in a few minutes.
When I walked out of the ladies’ room, I heard before I saw Randy and Seth, town buffoons, trying to get Sally to sell them a few beers. But since bar time was always fast, it was already last call and I must have missed it in the bathroom.
“I already called it, boys. Besides, Les called from down the street and said he had to ask you two to leave. Can’t you guys just go out and not cause trouble?” She teased, since what she said was true, because they were generally okay guys, but assholes when they were drunk. They never picked on me much, but when they did I always wanted to knock their skulls together.
They claimed it was harmless. They were always just joking. But on more than one occasion, I’d seen people snap after too much. And when they had bellies full of too much beer, too much could happen.
“Sally, his beer’s full. We’ll take our last call, too,” Randy hollered down the bar from Vaughn. “Hey, you’re that dentist,” he added as Sally caved and handed over a pair of bottles.
“Nice to meet you.” Vaughn lifted his beer in introduction.
Seth slapped Randy playfully in the arm as I walked up to them.
“I don’t know why you’d ever want to move here. I heard your wife dumped ya because you were moving here. Smart girl.”
“Real nice, Seth,” I said as I sat on the stool. Vaughn half coughed, half laughed. I gave him a sideways glance and he looked like he was just going to let it roll off of him.
“Oh my God,” Randy shouted. “Is that Mutt? You’ve been to the groomers!” He laughed, as did Seth, and, all of a sudden, I didn’t really feel like that last beer. They were harmless, but they were also pricks and it had been a really great night.
I rolled my eyes and turned to Vaughn.
His face was serious and his eyes were raging, a ticking in his jaw told me he hadn’t appreciated the slam.
“Let’s go,” I said quietly, hoping they’d stop after I didn’t come back with anything. Vaughn’s eyes met mine and I tried to convey that it didn’t bother me, and that I was okay. He looked deep into me, and with that one look, made me feel more protected than I’d ever felt in my life.
Over my shoulder I heard Seth say, “Hell, I’d even walk her around town if she wore those jeans.”
Vaughn peered behind me and his jaw ticked. The serious look he shot them was almost menacing.
I’d seen the two assholes get into fights before, but that wasn’t what they were after. They were just townies who got their rocks off making others feel as shitty as they did. Both of them were divorced, and both of them had kids they never saw. Compared to most, they were the two biggest jokes within twenty miles.
He ran a hand through his hair a few times and scooted his stool back as he stood. He appeared inches taller than before, and his chest was puffed. Sexy as it was, I had no time for the altercation I knew was brewing.
I had only one card.
I leaned in, pressing my hand against his chest once again, and whispered, “My name is Hannah.”
What I confessed stole his attention, just like I hoped it would. He looked from them to me and back to them, like he was trying to decide which statement to address first. Their dickhead comments, or the key to turning this night from great to
... well ... kissing.
Quickly, he pulled a bill from his wallet and tossed it on the bar, tipping Sally for the service and paying for our last beers, which unfortunately, went to waste. Then he grabbed my hand and led me toward the door. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel the power of his presence as we walked past the pair of knuckle draggers.
“You know I’ve heard that advice too, Seth,” Randy said as we hit the door. “If a woman breaks your heart, you’re better off just getting a dog. And look, he went and found himself a mutt, good for him.”
It was all so fast, and I spun with the force as Vaughn turned on his heel and punched Randy right in the mouth.
He didn’t even let go of my hand.
Seth howled with laughter. “He fucking knocked you one!”
Randy bent over, holding his mouth. Then smiled and wiggled his tooth with first his tongue and then his finger. “What the hell. You damn near knocked my tooth out.”
Then Vaughn spoke, his voice rich with promise and threat. “If I ever hear you talking about her like that again, I’ll knock them all out.” Then he turned us back toward the door, saying on the way through it, “Come in on Monday and I’ll fix that tooth.”
I was impressed.
I was surprised.
I was turned on like I’d never been before.
My mind raced as he briskly walked us around the building in the direction of where we’d parked his SUV. I wondered if he’d kiss me good night now since he knew my name.
Then I wondered if, with all that happened, if maybe he forgot I’d told him.
I didn’t have to think about it anymore because he was wrapping his arms around me and walking us backward to the brick wall, almost carrying me.
I paddled like hell to the top of my consciousness so that I could fully appreciate what was happening.
“What are you doing?”
We stopped when his hand stopped my back from slamming into the surface of the brick. With his other hand he pulled me closer, and he lowered himself just enough to press himself against my middle.
“I don’t like it when people call you Mutt.”
“I don’t like it when you know my name but aren’t kissing me yet.”
“Your name’s Hannah?”
I had to think a second to remember, my heart beating so loud he might have caught that it answered yes in Morse code for me.
“I think so.”
“Hannah,” he said, his face nearing, closer and closer our lips got. “I’ve wanted to kiss you so damn bad.” Face to face, his nose brushed mine and I could already taste him.
“Then shut up and do it.”
They pressed. They parted. Our lips enjoyed their first delicious conversation, pleased to make their acquaintance.
My chest caved and my knees failed. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and my hands found their way to his short hair. Then I ran my fingers down his warm neck and I squeezed, needing another outlet to apply myself to him.
A moan danced from his mouth to mine, and I was lost to the moment.
It was furious and graceful. The best kiss of my life, up until that point, and in awe of the moment, I let him lead it.
He was a born kissing leader I learned, and it was worth all of the waiting. All of the cat and mouse. All of the holding back and being patient. It was worth that and so much more.
As I caught my breath, a bittersweet reprieve, he made his way across my jaw, to my neck, and the tip of his tongue lightly licked me before his lips were on mine again.
“We should get out of this alley,” he said, raggedly, but pressed himself against me, again proving that he was just as affected by it as I was.
“Okay,” I said. But I would have agreed to just about any-fucking-thing he said. “But I don’t want to go home yet.”
He pulled away from the wall and me and I didn’t like the way my body felt, not having him close anymore. He cupped my face, his eyes dreamy and glazed over with a need that I knew mirrored my own.
“Hannah, I just learned your name. We just kissed. There’s no way in hell I could take you home yet.”
That was all I needed to know.
Chapter Fourteen
Vaughn
The way she felt in my arms. The way she leaned into me when I lost the battle with my cock to rub it against her. The way her eyes were on fire. She’d never looked more beautiful to me than in that moment.
There was no way I was taking her back.
Not yet.
I knew I wouldn’t let things go too far—at least not that night. However, I was nowhere near finished touching and kissing her.
I took her slender hand and walked her around to the passenger side of the Escalade; thankful I’d parked behind the bar and not in front. Not that I was worried about anyone seeing us. I was just glad that, for at least that first time, it was just us. Private.
I really wanted to guess her name. That had been my plan all night.
But as I was repeatedly learning—plans changed.
I’d never in a million years think I’d end up punching someone in the mouth the first time I went to a bar in Wynne. Especially since everyone in town had been so nice, up until that point.
I’d fix his tooth, if he came in Monday, but there was no way I was going to let someone talk to her like that. She already took too much shit from people. It was like she never noticed. It was like she was so used to it that it didn’t even register to her as being rude.
That was all going to change.
Her heart was too big to let people treat her like that. Treat her like she was less than the wonderful, beautiful, kind woman she was.
I opened the door and helped her as she lifted up into the seat.
When she was in, she ran a hand across my cheek and said, “Thank you.”
It could have been for helping her in the SUV, which she didn’t really need. It could have been because she’d had a good night. It could have been for dinner or for the beers. But something inside of me knew, without her being specific, that it was about decking that guy.
“You’re worth it,” I answered.
She sighed and leaned back in the seat with a smile. I may not have earned our first kiss the way I would have liked, but earning that contented smile was just as good.
I closed her door and rounded the front of the vehicle, thinking about where we should go. My place seemed so forward, and I didn’t want her to think that was all I was about.
I was about that, Christ, I so was, but it wasn’t right yet. And I’d be damned if I didn’t want to wait until it was totally right. For her.
I’d leave where we went up to O’Fallon ... Hannah.
“Which way we headed?”
Her knee bounced and she took her time thinking. “We could go anywhere,” she said, but her voice was quiet, unsure.
“Is that to the right or the left?” I teased, not wanting her to be so nervous.
She looked at me, and I could tell she was biting her tongue not to say something, as her hazel eyes grew wide and she gave me a fake smile. She didn’t know what to do or say and it was apparent, as if she’d never been on a date that had gotten a little heated.
I knew that was wrong, though, because we’d already confessed our losing our virginity stories by the fire at her cabin the other night.
“Hannah,” I began, but was interrupted.
“Thank you for calling me Hannah.” Then she leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on my cheek, repeating, “Thank you, Vaughn.” My name on her lips sounded so sweet.
“That’s your name.” At least it was the name people should call her. The more I heard everyone call her Mutt the more pissed it made me.
“I know, it’s just that nobody calls me that and no one has ever really cared to. I think they all know my real name, but it’s a nickname and sometimes those stick. I don’t think they mean it in poor taste. Well, except for Randy, but I doubt he’ll act like that again. I can’t believe you swung at him
. I can’t get over it.”
And I’d do it again. It was in that moment I wondered if I’d scared her. She was so rough and tumble. So quick to joke and she swore as much as any man I’d ever met. But, I needed her to know I wasn’t a violent guy.
Hell, the last guy I punched was in junior high. I looked down at my fist on the wheel and saw that his tooth had caught a piece of my knuckle. Blood had smeared and dried, making it look worse than it was, but I was a bit of a mess.
As I studied my hand, I thought of a way to explain myself, without sounding like a classic asshole. You know? The kind that says they usually don’t hit people, all the while having just hit someone.
“I’m sorry I hit him in front of you. I’ve never done that before,” I admitted. “Never got into a bar fight.”
She laughed. “That wasn’t a bar fight. It was just a punch.”
I supposed she was right, but that was just semantics.
“Well, it wasn’t a very good first impression. Probably not that great for business either.”
“First impression? Fuck, Randy and Seth were being jerks. He’s fine and you said you’d fix his tooth. It was nothing.”
Nothing?
“I couldn’t allow him to talk to you like that.”
She beamed. “You know how you said you didn’t have any roots and that you thought this was a place you could grow some?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I think you just broke ground tonight.”
She was visibly more relaxed than a few seconds ago, and I hoped it wasn’t the kiss that had shaken her up instead of my temper. That wasn’t how I wanted people to think I was.
Fuck that. It wasn’t how I wanted her to think I was.
“Well, I like the way your mind works, but I don’t want you to assume I act like that normally.”
“Vaughn, seriously. That was nothing. I saw Snapper Jones pull a gun on a guy in there before over a game of cards. That one punch just said, hey, Wynne, I’m here. And I’m not taking your shit. How’s your hand?”
She pulled my right hand from the wheel to examine it under the dome light she’d clicked on.
“It’s fine, just looks messy.”
