by Leah Brooke
She concentrated so hard on listening to the woman on the small stage speak, that she forgot to use her tongue, her frustration in herself plain to see.
God, she was adorable. So fucking adorable and sexy that his stomach knotted every time he thought about her leaving.
Just imagining what it would be like to guide her had his cock leaking more moisture. “Fuck. How much longer is this seminar scheduled for?”
Christ, he was going to embarrass himself and come in his fucking jeans.
Rio leaned against the side of the building, crossing his arms over his chest. “Too long. Jesse’s always wound up when these things are done, and Clay and I can’t wait to get her home. Clay’s home now, breaking a horse and trying to get rid of his frustration.”
Dillon nodded. “I get it now. How the hell do you stand this? Because of their stores, Jesse and Erin are in there all the time. Hope’s constantly in there. Why don’t you just put your foot down and tell them they can’t go?”
Reese exchanged a smile with Rio and Ace.
“Uh, first, these women are no pushovers, and the last thing you want to do is piss them off unnecessarily. They know the rules. No touching.”
Rio grinned. “No touching for the ones who’ve already been claimed. You just met yours. You sure as hell haven’t had time to claim her yet.”
Ryder straightened, lifting a brow. “How long did it take you to claim Jesse when she came to town?”
Inclining his head, Rio grinned again, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Touché.”
Ace chuckled. “In another hour or so they’ll take a break. After that they have a talk about flirting and ways to seduce your man, and then Nat and Erin are going to show different lingerie for different body types.”
Dillon stepped back when Reese shoved him and took his place by the opening. Rubbing a hand over his face, Dillon grimaced, remembering all the times he’d made fun of the others for spying on the women.
“Do I even want to know what the classes scheduled for tomorrow are about?”
Ace chuckled softly. “Probably not. I know Jesse and Kelly are showing products today and tomorrow, and I think I remember something about demystifying anal sex.”
Ryder lifted his head, frowning. “What the fuck’s the mystery?”
Dillon tugged Reese’s arm to have one last look before they went to order the parts for her truck, stilling when a loud crash sounded from inside.
Ace was already moving, shoving all of them aside. He looked through the hole, turning away with a string of violent curses and took off running just as another crash sounded and the women started screaming.
“Fucking bastard!”
Not knowing what was happening, Dillon ran after Ace, the others hot on their heels. His boots skidded on the stones as he rounded the corner and smelled smoke. They got to the front just in time to see flames shooting out the window.
He fought the terror that clenched his stomach tight and kept running, hardly able to believe the sight before him. He saw a man running down the street with Devlin and Caleb in hot pursuit. Men poured out of the club across the street and ran toward them, their horrified expressions clear from even this distance.
The fire alarm inside went off just as Ace cleared the front door. Seconds later Dillon followed, his heart in his throat.
“Ace, get out of here. We’ve got this. Go get that bastard.”
Ace appeared torn as he searched the crowd, before nodding once, the anguish and fury in his eyes as they met Dillon’s edged with trust.
“Get them out of here.”
“We’ve got ’em. Go!”
Cursing soundly, Ace raced back out the front door.
Surrounded by the others, Dillon ran into the club, holding an arm over his eyes as flames licked at the curtains and raced toward the women already running for the door.
Rio’s shouts were the only thing that could be heard over the women’s screams, his deep voice barking out orders and getting the women in a single file heading out the door.
Dillon saw him scanning the room repeatedly and knew his friend was frantically searching for his wife, some of the terror easing from his face when he caught sight of her.
With his eyes burning against the smoke, Dillon helped evacuate the women, growing more terrified by the second.
He couldn’t find Alison.
He grabbed one of the fire extinguishers, while Reese grabbed another and started extinguishing the flames from what appeared to have been a Molotov cocktail.
Ryder was busy hustling the women out the door with Rio, steadying several of them who stumbled, some apparently unable to see through the smoke.
Blade Royal, Jake Langley, Beau Parrish, and Lucas Hart raced in and started tossing tables and chairs aside to make a clear path for the women to escape.
Hope came running toward the front carrying another fire extinguisher, just as King Taylor from the men’s club across the street ran in with two more.
He tossed one to Ryder, who immediately started putting out the last of the fire and yelled over the noise. “Is everyone out?”
Charity ran forward with Beau right next to her carrying Alison. “She’s the last one. Everyone else is out.”
A furious-looking Ace growled from across the room. “Beau, get Hope and Charity out of here.”
Beau strode across the room with Alison in his arms. “It’s that same son of a bitch again, isn’t it?”
Ace nodded. “Yeah, and this time we got him. Linc’s taking him in now. Is everyone all right?” His eyes raked over Hope several times as though looking for blood.
Dillon raced forward, taking Alison from Beau and started out the door with her, just as several other men ran up to the building.
He met the eyes of a terror-stricken Jared Preston as he hurried up the front steps.
Jared shot a glance over his shoulder toward where Reese held their wife, Erin, securely in his arms. “Is anyone else still in there?”
Dillon knew he referred to the women. “Hope and Charity. Ace and Beau are inside. The fire’s out.”
Jared gestured toward Alison. “Is she all right?”
Dillon tightened his arms around Alison, alarmed that she trembled. So did he, for that matter. “I don’t know yet. I’m taking her to see Doc.” Unable to resist, he bent and kissed her lips, tasting chocolate and Alison.
When the soft fullness yielded beneath his mouth, he sank into her, tasting heaven. Without meaning to, he swept her sweet mouth with his tongue, the relief of having her safe and in his arms so overwhelming it almost brought him to his knees.
Lifting his head, he stared down at her, a surge of possessiveness filling him to see her lips wet and pink from his kiss, a blush slowly spreading over her cheeks. “You taste like chocolate, honey. Be still. I don’t want you hurting yourself.”
To his surprise, Alison pushed at him. “I’m fine. Put me down. I just hit my hip on a table and fell. I’m not going to any doctors.”
Dillon shot a look at Ryder, who raced over. “She fell. We’ve got to get her to Doc.”
Hope extricated herself from Ace’s hold and came toward them.
“Tell Doc Hansen to send me the bill for all of the women who were here. I have a list of names I’ll send him as soon as I get to the computer. Alison, please go get checked out. I heard you were hurt before, and I want to make sure you’re all right.”
Jared smiled and looked down at Ally. “I promise you this isn’t how we normally welcome new people to town. Let your men take care of you.” He met Dillon’s eyes again briefly and slapped him on the shoulder. “Congratulations. They’ll drive you to drink, but they’re worth it.”
* * * *
Alison struggled to come to grips with the events of the last few minutes. Still in shock, she tried again to talk Dillon out of taking her to the doctor. She’d had more than enough of them.
“It’s just my hip. I hit it on the table when I jumped up, and I fell back into the chai
r. It just took me a minute to get up again, and by then Charity was already there helping me. Beau just scooped me up and ran. You don’t have to carry me. I can walk.”
Embarrassed at being held, Alison looked around, amazed at the number of men rushing from all directions toward the club—and the number of women being carried.
“Please put me down. This is embarrassing.”
Ryder, who’d been in a heated discussion with the sheriff, joined them, his angry strides eating up the ground as he came up beside her. “Are you all right? Where are you hurt, damn it?”
Wincing at the sharp tone in Ryder’s voice, she pushed against Dillon, wanting nothing more than to get away and go back to her hotel room.
Dillon paused on the sidewalk, still holding her in his arms. “You like to run away and be alone whenever you’re upset or hurt, don’t you? Tough. Am I hurting you by carrying you?”
Touched by his concern but disconcerted that he seemed to read her so easily, Alison flattened her hand on his chest, loving the feel of hard muscle shifting beneath her palm. “No, but please put me down. I told you, I just hit my hip. I’ll feel better if I can just walk it off a little.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the sheriff coming toward them fast, his arm still wrapped securely around Hope. His eyes never stopped shifting, taking in everything. With a kiss to Hope’s tousled hair, he patted her bottom and walked away, striding toward Alison.
“How is she?”
Alison started to speak, but Dillon beat her to it.
“She hurt her hip. I’m going to take her to the hospital now for an X-ray.”
Trying unsuccessfully to push out of his arms, Alison winced. “No. No hospital. I hate hospitals. I don’t have insurance, and I know that I can walk just fine if this big lug would just put me down.”
Dillon’s brows went up. “Big lug?”
Ace nodded once and eyed Dillon and Ryder questioningly. “I assume I can count on the two of you to take care of her?”
Ryder looked offended. “Of course. You got him, huh? I’d love to have a few minutes alone with that bastard.”
The sheriff’s expression hardened. “Not a chance. Nothing’s going to get in the way of me getting this asshole convicted. I appreciate the help. I couldn’t have gone after him if all of you hadn’t gone in for the women. I’m going to have nightmares about that decision. It could easily have gone the other way.”
Dillon stared down at Alison, his eyes searching her face, smiling as he apparently found what he was looking for, before looking up at the sheriff again. “You knew you could count on us, just like we count on you. No one in this town is on their own. You knew there were plenty of others running across the street to help. Don’t second-guess yourself. By getting this asshole, you probably saved lives. His attacks were getting more violent.” Lifting his head, he clenched his jaw. “Just let us know what the hell all this was about. We’ll all be over tomorrow to clean up the club. Just tell Hope and Charity to leave it alone.”
“Neither one of them will set foot in there until I okay it.”
Alison blinked at the vehemence in the sheriff’s icy tone, but the sheriff was already walking away.
The number of people who approached Dillon and Ryder to ask if she was all right staggered her. Dillon paused several times, keeping her in his arms as Ryder ran his hands over her, apparently checking for injuries, but also sending sizzles of awareness through her.
Trying to ignore the warm, tingling feeling that lingered from Ryder’s hands, Alison laid her hand on Dillon’s chest, unable to resist such an inviting, wide chest to pillow her head against. “Please put me down. I need to walk.”
The worry in Dillon’s eyes eased, his blue eyes warming as he looked down at her hand against his chest. Moving slowly, he lowered her to her feet, his hands out as though to catch her if she stumbled.
Ryder did the same on her other side. “I still think we should take her to the hospital.”
“No.” Alison stepped away from Dillon, gingerly putting her weight on her right leg to find her hip only slightly tender.
The men on the sidewalk parted, making a path for her, most offering advice to Dillon and Ryder about how to take care of her.
“Get her to Doc’s so he can take a look at her.”
“Get some ice on that hip as soon as possible.”
“Make sure you get her legs up.”
Alison headed across the street toward the parking lot of the hotel, relieved that they didn’t try to stop her.
“It doesn’t look like I’m going to get those seminars I came for.”
Ryder grinned, taking her arm to help her cross the street, while Dillon took her hand on the other side.
“Doesn’t look like it. I’m not quite sure what you’re trying to learn, but I’m willing to teach you.”
Alison didn’t answer, the surge of heat at his words making it nearly impossible to speak. Once they got to the parking lot, they led her in the direction of a shiny red pickup truck and paused beside it.
Dillon’s arm came around her from behind, carefully now as though afraid he might hurt her. “We both are. We want you, Alison. I’ve made that clear from the beginning that I wanted you.”
Ryder grinned. “And you won’t even have to pay for it. You can still work at the garage to save money, and in the meantime we’ll teach you all you want to know about sex…and pleasure.”
God, even after what had just happened, his devilish smile and slow drawl had the ability to dampen her panties. Swallowing heavily, she straightened, crossing her arms over her chest to hide the fact that her nipples poked at the front of her sweater, and shivered against the chill. Touched when Dillon removed his own jacket and draped it around her shoulders, she cuddled into its warmth, her surprise at the way men in Desire cared for women growing with every gesture.
Gathering her courage, she faced Ryder, allowing the word she wanted to say to tumble out before she could stop it and ruin her chance to experience something she may never get the chance to experience again.
“Okay.”
Chapter Seven
Not quite sure what she’d expected, she certainly hadn’t anticipated being hustled into their truck and driven to the doctor’s office.
Sitting out front of the small building, she pulled Dillon’s jacket tighter around her and stared at the sign to the doctor’s office. “Why are we here? I told you I didn’t want to go to the doctor’s, and I offered to have sex with you. What’s your problem? Decide you didn’t want it after all?”
Ryder shocked the hell out of her by sliding a hand over her thigh and leaning close, brushing his lips over her temple, the gesture of affection a sharp contrast to the steel in his tone.
“Oh, I want it all right. Now, behave yourself. You’re hurt, and my hand’s just itching to connect with that fine ass for all the trouble you caused me. Don’t think for one minute I’m not going to get even for your teasing.”
Sucking in a breath as Dillon turned toward her, she lifted her face to his, feeling small and fragile against his size and strength. She stared at his lips, her own tingling with anticipation.
“I don’t tease.”
Her words came out in a strangled whisper, her body stiff as Dillon’s eyes held hers and he licked his lips. She held her breath as he moved steadily closer, the warmth of his breath caressing her lips as he spoke.
“Our problem is that you were hurt before you even got here, and before we could even find out the extent of that injury, you got hurt again. I’m sure as hell not going to take you—”
Alison bit back a groan, as every erogenous zone sprang to life. “Take me?”
God, the way he said it made it sound sexier, more intimate than anything she’d ever heard.
Dillon nodded, rubbing his nose against hers. “Take you. That’s what a man does with a woman he wants to possess. Strips away her defenses and draws everything from her—her passion, her fantasies, her softness, her ca
ring—because he wants them, needs them from her. I need those things from you, and I’ll have them, but not until I know for sure that you can take the lovin’ we’re going to give you in return. I have a feeling, Alison, that you’re going to take us just as thoroughly as we take you.”
His lips covered hers, even more demanding and firm than before but with a gentleness that tore through her defenses, some deeply feminine need she’d buried for far too long breaking free and demanding she yield to him.
On a moan, she melted against him, her lips softening and parting beneath his, opening more as his tongue slid against hers, silently coaxing her to follow him.
The underlying demand in his kiss told her more than words ever could that he would accept nothing less than her complete surrender.
A surrender she gave eagerly.
His hands slid around to her back, hot and gentle against her bare skin as he steadily pulled her closer.
She didn’t realize she’d wrapped her arms around his neck until she felt the cool strands of his hair slide through her fingers. Her stomach muscles quivered beneath the warm hands that circled her waist and began an upward journey, her breath quickening with each inch they travelled higher. When they reached her breasts, pausing, she sucked in a breath, letting it out in a whimper when his hands closed over them.
Danny’s words rang in her head, chilling her as effectively as having cold water thrown on her. Yanking her hands from around his neck, she held them in front of her, pressing her forearms over his arms to push his hands away.
She could practically feel his confusion as he stilled and slowly raised his head, his eyes hooded and glittering as they held hers.
Swallowing heavily, she lowered her eyes. “My breasts aren’t firm enough. Please don’t look at me there.”
The tense silence in the confines of the truck seemed to last forever. She could feel Dillon’s gaze on her face, but was too embarrassed to meet it. Remembering Charlene’s voluptuous curves, she could only imagine what the other women who went to the men’s club looked like and knew she would be found lacking.
