by Rita Sawyer
“You’re putting a lot of conviction in one kiss.” Her teasing tone brought out a need to prove he was right.
Blue caged her in with his arms against the door. Careful not to touch her, he leaned into her space. With a smile, he lowered his head a little. As he hoped, she didn’t try to back away. He waited, his whole body bristling in anticipation. Blue was ninety-nine percent sure there was music playing on the other side of the door, but they couldn’t hear it. That meant no one in the bar would be able to hear them, either.
The only sound was their breathing, which he shouldn’t have been surprised was a little heavy at the moment. He hoped she realized that it only helped prove he was right about them. Finally, Karen closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his. This kiss was even more ravenous than the first. Blue let her have complete control, growling when she grabbed the belt loops of his jeans and pulled him against her.
She moved her hips, and the friction it created ratcheted up the fire burning inside him. His cock pulsed behind his zipper, begging to be freed. Karen moaned into his mouth and pressed her hips harder.
It took everything in him to pull away from her touch. “Your ride is waiting.”
“Give me the number.” Karen held out her hand.
Blue had a little trouble getting his wallet out of his jeans in the condition he was in, but he managed to retrieve one of his business cards. “Both my cell number and the line for the bar are on there. Call me anytime.”
She tucked the card in her back pocket and turned to open the door. This time Blue let her go. He didn’t try to hide his smile as he followed her out. She walked over and bumped a woman who was talking to his sister at the bar with her hip. He couldn’t help but be happy her friend—who thankfully was a woman—had come to get Karen instead of her leaving with the tow truck driver. Seeing her drive off with another guy right then would be a ding to his confidence, even if it was innocent.
“The car’s all hooked up and ready to go,” he heard the woman say.
“Great.” Karen looked up at him as he approached. “This is Blue. He runs the bar. Blue, this is one of my very best friends, Amy.”
“Wow.” Karen gave her a very unsubtle nudge, and Amy offered him her hand. “Nice to meet you. This is a really nice place.”
“Thanks.” He watched Karen tuck her papers back into her bag. “I hope you ladies will come back sometime.”
“I’d like that,” Amy said as they headed for the door.
Blue followed them outside. He looked over at the car loaded on the flatbed tow truck. There was no driver in sight. He suddenly realized that Amy was the driver. Sure he’d noticed the work boots, jeans, and work shirt, but with his mind on Karen leaving, he hadn’t put the whole picture together. He leaned against the post and watched them walk to the truck. As they drove away, he waved, knowing deep inside it wasn’t going to be the last time he saw them.
Chapter Three
“So what have you decided to do about your car?” Lainey asked.
Though her friends, Amy’s father, and four brothers had all given Karen their opinion on what to do with it, she still hadn’t made up her mind. She agreed that she needed to do something. Every day on her half-hour ride to work she worried she might break down. Then, when she reached the exit that would take her to the school where she taught, she wanted to keep going. It was only another thirty minutes to Blue. So far she’d made it four days without calling him, but it hadn’t been easy.
After explaining everything that had happened in detail to Amy on the way home Saturday, Amy had encouraged, more like begged Karen to call him. Karen hadn’t been so sure it was a good idea. She seriously wondered if it was because he made her want to be reckless, something no one else other than her friends had ever done. So her Saturday night had been spent trying to figure out what to do. She almost called him Sunday morning, but then she considered that she might still be under the spell of his kiss and forced herself not to pick up the phone. Yet, for some reason, his card was in her wallet right then. There wasn’t any explanation she could come up with for why she took it with her everywhere she went. She should’ve tacked it on the corkboard by her desk, but for some reason she liked having it with her.
“What are you smiling for?” Dianne asked, and Karen shrugged.
“You know if you don’t figure it out soon, Amy’s going to do it for you.” Sadie wasn’t kidding.
“I know. I’ll do something soon.” Maybe she was waiting for Amy to make the decision so she didn’t have to. “Where is she?”
“She’ll be here soon.” Lainey looked at Sadie, who shook her head.
It was obvious —and had been since the second the four of them had shown up a half hour early for their monthly night out—that they were up to something. When she added it to the fact that it was Amy’s turn to pick where they were going, which already had her on alert, Karen should have been trying to get them to tell her what they had planned. Instead she decided to go with the flow. It was useless to try and talk them out of something once they set their minds to doing it.
Since they all met in school and instantly became friends, at least one of them, if not all, was coming up with some way to get them into trouble. Due to the fact that they went to an all-girl Catholic school, eventually they’d been tagged with the nickname “Sin Sisters.” They’d never done anything really bad, but they’d broken just enough rules to have people notice. Karen had learned early on that it was just easier to go along with them and be ready to deal with the aftermath.
She’d be the first to admit that the last few plans had gone pretty well. They’d worked together with Lainey and helped her pull off a surprise wedding. There hadn’t been much for them to do when Gage had blackmailed Dianne, but they all had done what they could to get her through it. And though Amy’s situation with Slade would have been a bit rough if they hadn’t believed it would turn out okay, Slade wouldn’t have had a chance. So maybe whatever her friends had up their sleeves would turn out okay.
If not, she’d find a way to deal with it. Still, she’d like to know where Amy had chosen for them to go. Since they were all wearing jeans, it obviously wasn’t someplace expensive. Then again, she looked at Sadie’s four-inch, hot-pink, sparkly heels, and Lainey and Jillian had on matching knee-high, black leather boots with killer heels. They weren’t going to be catching the romantic comedy playing at the Cineplex. Her friends were dressed to be seen, not for sitting in a dark room eating popcorn.
“So have we decided who’s riding with whom?” Karen knew none of them would offer to ride with her if she offered to drive, so she didn’t.
“We’re all riding together.” Sadie shook her head and chuckled. “I figured someday one of us would have kids and venture into the land of minivans, but it seems Amy has decided we need one for tonight so we can all ride together. She’s borrowing her brother’s.”
“What?” Jillian’s surprised screech made them all laugh.
“What’s wrong?” Sadie asked. “You’re a dance teacher, around children all the time.”
“And I love them, but a minivan.” Jillian opened her mouth and stuck her finger in and made a gagging sound.
They were all still laughing when Amy walked in. “Hey, it seems like you all got started without me.”
“Never.” Lainey flashed her a wink and a smile.
“Are we ready to go?” The loud chorus of yeses bounced off the walls of her small house.
The vivid image of Blue’s huge, open studio popped into her mind. Her thoughts quickly moved on to the kiss they shared. She shook her head, trying to physically remove the pictures. It didn’t take them long to load into the minivan. Somehow she and Sadie got wedged into the third row seat. Dianne and Jillian had the middle row, while Amy and Lainey claimed the front.
Between the music and the constantly changing topics of conversation, Karen didn’t take notice of their surroundings. When she glanced out the window, she wasn’t surprised
to find them on the highway. It was the easiest way to get anywhere outside of town. They drove past the exit she took to go to work, which led her to one conclusion. Amy was taking her—no, them all—to see Blue. She realized instantly that it was too late to try to talk her friends out of it. Besides, after the way Amy talked about Blue the other day, her friends weren’t going to skip a chance to check him out.
Sadie gave her a little nudge with her elbow. “Don’t look so worried. I promise I won’t let any of them embarrass you…too much.”
“I’m more concerned I may embarrass myself.” She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but her brain obviously failed to send her mouth the message to stay shut.
“He must be even hotter than Amy said.”
Though Sadie was just teasing, she had no idea how right she was. “He’s—”
“Tall?” Jillian asked.
“Handsome?” Dianne asked before Karen finished nodding.
“Has a deep, velvety voice.” Amy hit the nail on the head with that one.
She couldn’t know how much Karen wanted to just sit and listen to him talk. It wouldn’t be enough, but it would be a damn fine place to start. The question that kept her from calling him was, where would it end? And how?
“Blue has all those qualities,” Karen admitted in a soft sigh.
When Karen didn’t respond right away to her friend’s questioning looks, Sadie came to her rescue, or so she thought. “Maybe he smokes? I’d hate to kiss an ashtray.”
“No, he doesn’t smoke.” At least, Karen didn’t think so.
“Does he have crooked teeth?” Sadie cringed dramatically.
Karen laughed. “Straight and gleaming white.”
“Okay, then I don’t get it either.” Sadie gave a shrug of her shoulders. “What is keeping you from finding out if he’s as good in bed as he is out of it?”
What was stopping her? They were both single. If his inclination to explore things between them was still there, then he’d probably be more than willing. Though she’d never confess it, she got wet just thinking about the way her body tingled when he kissed her. The way she felt just standing next to him made her really nervous, but with one look, he had the ability to calm her. Something about that made her think it would probably be best to keep her distance.
“I’m not the type to hop in the sack with a guy I just met.” Yet she’d let him kiss her until she almost turned into that kind of girl.
“We’re not saying you should. We just think if you’re interested, then why not give yourself the chance to relax and have a little fun?” Lainey made it sound so easy.
“Yeah, you could give it a try, and then you’d be free of the dare. It might be your only chance.” Jillian was the only one brave enough to bring the stupid dare up. “What? We’re thinking it.”
She wasn’t trying to be mean, just honest. Karen knew exactly what she meant, too. As a teacher, her behavior was something she needed to constantly be aware of. The principal of the school where she taught kept a close eye on all of the faculty members. They were held to high standards since he expected them to set good examples for the student body. Having a wild fling would be bad enough, but flaunting it in front of everyone would make it even worse. In a world filled with people who loved to gossip, keeping it a secret would be damn near impossible.
On the other hand, if she was sure there might be a chance this zing that arced between her and Blue would grow into a real relationship, then the whole scenario would be different. In order for that to happen, they’d need to take things slow. Maybe date for a while. Spend time really getting to know one another before they got into the deep stickiness a physical connection would bring. Karen was smart enough to realize after just a few kisses that she wouldn’t be able to hold back, and she didn’t want to, either.
If she did this, and that was a huge if, it was going to be an all-or-nothing type of tryst.
“You’re all putting way too much thought into this.” Dianne’s smile wasn’t exactly calming her nerves. “We’re going to have a few drinks and dance. If this Blue guy is there, good. If he makes a move, even better. And if nothing happens, at least we’ll all have a good time.”
“So if Blue is there, and he drags me off somewhere, you’ll just let him?” Karen wasn’t really suggesting he’d do it, but Blue ran the place, so where else would he be?
“Of course not.” Amy turned off the highway and headed toward the bar. “If you don’t want to go with him, all you have to do is say so.”
“And if you’re not interested, maybe one of us will be.” Jillian’s taunt was enforced by Sadie’s nod, since she was the only other single woman in the car.
Even with the music coming from the speakers, the car got a little too quiet for Karen. “He’s not a leftover piece of cake.”
“No, but he sounds just as delicious.” Sadie always did know how to push her buttons.
Sometimes the best thing to say was nothing. Karen decided she was just going to have to sit back and wait to see what happened next.
* * * *
Blue was ready to throw everyone out and lock the doors. He figured Tanya would agree with him right about then. Though his youngest sister, Paula, had come down with a bug, he figured they’d be okay. Tanya could run the bar, Debbie could handle the kitchen, and he’d help them both as needed. He hadn’t planned on Debbie getting sick two hours after opening. She’d tried not to let it show, but her greenish complexion gave her away. Against her will, Blue sent her home.
He couldn’t have her working with food and serving it to people. It shouldn’t have been hard for him to help Tanya and work the kitchen, considering that after six p.m., orders for food usually slowed down, and the kitchen closed at ten on the dot. Tonight the place was so busy he’d closed it at quarter of eight just to keep up with the demand on the bar. Tanya looked about ready to drop, and though he felt guilty for just thinking it, he hoped to hell she wasn’t getting sick, too.
They’d handled crowds that big before, but always with a full crew. Usually he had a hint when it might be a busy night if there was a ballgame on TV or some other local event happening. He couldn’t think of a reason for it tonight. Blue refilled drinks and took orders at the bar, all the while keeping an eye on Tanya as she weaved her way through the tables.
Even though he knew she could handle herself in a tight spot, he couldn’t help himself from making sure she had someone watching her back, especially when they were that busy. Along with their other sisters, she might resent the fact he was so overprotective. Blue truthfully didn’t care. It was his right and duty to protect them all. And on nights like that, he found it really hard not watch every guy in the place and make sure none of them came on too strong.
Blue gave a whistle, and Tanya turned his way. He motioned to the kitchen, and she headed toward the bar. Once she slipped behind the counter, he hefted the first of three large plastic trays loaded with dirty glasses in six rows of six. He carried it into the kitchen, put it on the counter, and slid it into the large washer unit. Before going back to the bar, he went into the walk-in fridge and got a tray of clean, chilled glasses.
He repeated the process twice more like he’d done a million times before. As he came out the last time, he spotted Karen walking in the door. His surprise made him bobble the tray, almost dropping it, which would have created one hell of a mess. He wouldn’t have cared. It had been four days, and she hadn’t called. He’d started to doubt the impact of their connection. Now he wanted to crow, because she had come back. Hopefully she would give him another chance to fan that flame he was sure she felt just as much as he did.
Tanya rushed over to him. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” He carried the glasses over to the cart behind the bar.
“Sure you are.” She followed. “She came back just to see you. You know that, right?”
“No, I don’t.” God, he hoped his sister was right, but her friend could be the one who wanted to come back. “
They could be here for a few drinks like everyone else.”
Tanya snorted. “Fine, I’ll just go find out.”
Before he could stop her, and he wasn’t sure he could have, she was gone. Blue resumed his duties behind the bar, doing his damnedest to pretend he wasn’t interested in what his sister was doing when he really wished it was him over there. He made small talk with a couple of guys who were talking about their kids upcoming high school baseball game. Blue was a big supporter of local youth activities. He and his brother and sisters donated time and money when they could, so he always paid attention when someone talked about what was going on.
When he looked over to where Karen was sitting, he saw that Tanya was headed back to the bar. He didn’t know if her smile should have calmed him down or not, but it only made his nerves grow tighter. The closer she got, the more he wanted to know exactly what she had said to Karen and her friends.
“I need a round of light beers and a root beer.” She laid the tray on the counter and started talking to the young woman next to her.
Blue popped the tops of five bottles, put them on her serving tray, and filled a huge frosted glass mug with root beer, careful to make sure the foamy head wasn’t too big, and added it to the tray, but when she reached for the tray, he grabbed it, too. “Tell me.”
“Tell you what?” Her feigned innocence didn’t fool him a bit.
The little witch was going to make him ask. “Did she mention me at all?”
“If you are the really hot bartender, then yeah, you might have come up in the conversation.” If she only knew how close to snapping he was, she wouldn’t be teasing him.
Who was he kidding? She’d be going all out to push his every button. “Whatever.”
“Wait.” She covered his hand with hers. “Seriously, all kidding aside, Karen asked that you stop by the table if you have a second. Her friends would all like to thank you for coming to her rescue.”
