“Wait for it,” he mumbled as he turned back to the brunette and pointed to the two open chairs. He even pulled one out gesturing to her to come and sit down. A smile teased her lips until she finally stood and made her way over to our table. “Told ya,” he bragged as we both stood up to greet her.
“Dakota, this is Reggie,” Romeo said as he placed one hand on her lower back making his claim. “Reggie, Dakota.” I took the hand she extended as she said, “Nice to meet you.”
“Same here,” I responded as we all sat down. She was much prettier up close with bright blue eyes and a dimple in her left cheek. She had curves in all the right places and dressed to play them up. She sat across from me as Romeo took his seat to my left. I always faced the entrance of a place. It was a quirk of mine that Romeo got over trying to get me out of. Tonight was no different.
“She is waiting for her friend Ryan,” Romeo stated. Greeeaaat. Instead of playing wingman and getting stuck with an ugly chick, I was it for a fucking dude. Just wonderful.
“You know Dakota here would probably be interested in Ryan,” he said and he covered his laughter with a cough into his fist.
“Here let me help you with that,” I barked as I slapped him on his back. That earned a beautiful laugh from Reggie. “We’ll see,” was all she said as Romeo handed her a beer.
Little fucker. He thought he was so funny running his mouth all the time. I did a quick scan of the bar one more time before I started to get up to go take a leak. There was nothing worth waiting for at the table. Ryan! What a joke.
The bar’s front door opened and I naturally looked to see who was coming through when I saw the most attractive woman I had ever laid eyes on. Damn. It was lust at first sight. My whole body tightened in anticipation, including my cock which stood to attention. Holy shit. She was perfect. She said something to the bouncer as she handed him her cover. Just damn. Her tight body was completely covered but I could see every curve. She was wearing black leggings with knee high black boots with heels so tall it added four or five inches to her height. They made her legs look like they went on forever. I suspected that her head would rest right under my chin if I were to bring her body against mine. Her light blonde hair was parted to the side and flowed in soft curls down the front of the sparkly sleeveless top that hung off one shoulder.
Look at me. I shouted in my head as she eyed the bar. I wanted to see her face and the color of her eyes but she was being stubborn with her attention. She was obviously meeting someone as she craned her neck to try and see every face. Was she looking for someone? Did she have a boyfriend? Why did I care? Women like that did not come to a bar alone. I bet her boyfriend was waiting for her, probably drooling like me. Finally! She was heading straight towards me but still no eye contact. Before I knew it she passed us but did not get far when Reggie called out, “Ryan.”
Ryan’s a chick? A hot-ass chick.
Ryan
Reggie was going to kill me. I was always late but this was even bad for me. She hated to sit at a bar alone and was going to be so pissed that I was later than late. I ran across Main Street and dashed into O’Malley’s Pub only to be stopped at the door.
“ID and three bucks,” said the oversized bald bouncer with gauges in his ear lobes. I think I could fit at least three fingers, maybe four through there. “Band tonight,” he finished as I tried to pull my attention back to his face and not his freaky-ass ears.
“No worries,” I assured him as I fished in my back pocket pulling out my driver’s license that was wrapped in cash. I pulled the license out and handed it to him as I counted off three ones. He exchanged my license for the three bucks. “Happy belated birthday,” he said with a smile, revealing two gold front teeth. “Thanks,” I murmured as I slid past him and into the dimly lit pub.
This was by far my favorite bar in Santa Ana for its authentic Irish look. The traditional wooden bar reminded me of all the pubs Reggie and I visited while in Dublin. A sense of longing hit me as I thought of our time there. I was living the life away from my crazy ass family and their drama, but now I was home and I was being drawn back into the nightmare that was my life. My new car was proof. I could keep it as long as I accepted my invitation to join USC’s Gould School of Law. Reggie was my only salvation through all of this; my next door neighbor and best friend since kindergarten. She kept me sane when my parents went crazy.
And yet I could not find her. Where in the hell are you Reggie? My eyes went straight to the bar stools as my gaze traveled up and down the length of the bar. None of the patrons even resembled Reggie. Maybe she escaped to the bathroom? I started to make my way into the bar when I heard my name being called. It came from behind me so I quickly turned around to find Reggie sitting at a table with two rather good-looking guys, correction one good-looking guy hanging on Reggie and one hot-ass mofo of a friend. Stop drooling.
“Oh my God, Reggie,” I said as I walked up to her, “I am so sorry that I am late.” She stood up and we embraced in a quick hug. I kept my hands on her shoulders as we separated. “Please don’t be mad. I lost track of time and then I could not find anywhere to park.”
“Sketching or sewing this time?” She asked playfully as I released her and knew she was not mad. The guys definitely saved me.
“Sketching,” I admitted sheepishly as I tucked some hair behind my ear.
“Well, hello there,” came from next to me along with some throat clearing as I realized we had a captive audience. I turned to find that both guys were standing, which was pretty comical at first glance. It was like looking at Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil and his mini-me with their identical brown haircuts and blue eyes. Definitely military with their high and tight buzz cuts.
“Dakota, Romeo,” said Reggie, “this is my best friend Ryan Wethers.”
“Hi guys,” I replied, giving a short wave as I bit my bottom lip to keep from giggling. The one named Dakota was really tall where Romeo was pretty short. I knew I was taller than Romeo barefoot. Poor thing. I bet Reggie loved it since she was barely five foot one.
“Please join us,” Dakota said as he pulled out the chair next to him waiting for me to sit down. Lordy lordy. My early assessment of hot-ass mofo was on the mark. He was straight-up gorgeous. The red t-shirt he wore hugged his body just right, showing off his broad shoulders and muscular build. Without the military hair cut I would have pegged him for a surfer boy with all that tanned skin and tight body. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I took the seat he offered. A deep breath did nothing but cause them to take flight as I inhaled the distant scent of man; a unique blend of soap and cologne. It enveloped me making me feel warm and fuzzy all over. He smelled amazing and all male.
“Thanks,” I said as I took the offered seat and found a beer already waiting for me. “And for this,” I said as Reggie and I clanked our bottle necks together. The cold, amber liquid helped dampen the butterflies as I drank it down. I could feel Dakota’s eyes on me as I heard Reggie’s laughter at something Romeo was murmuring to her. I glanced over and found them huddled together. Another pull on the bottle and then my eyes followed it to the table as I peeked over at Dakota who was tearing at the corner of his beer label.
“So,” he said pulling my gaze to his . . . WOW . . . the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. Correction - they were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. I got that compliment a lot with my weird eyes but his were stunning. They had the thickest, darkest lashes I had ever seen surrounding them. My eyes had a mind of their own as they started to peruse his face. High cheekbones, check. Straight nose, check. And totally kissable, full lips, double check. Just wow. A small smirk appeared on his lips as I was sure my gaze had wandered on for longer than what was socially acceptable. My cheeks flamed red.
“So,” I responded, my eyes back to his.
“You are definitely not the type of Ryan I was expecting,” he said as he leaned forward with both elbows on the table. The movement brought another whiff of his scent so I took a deep breath and held
it. Like a moth to a flame I felt drawn to him; leaning towards him trying to get closer.
“Yeah, well, I am an only child and my father refused to even consider that I might be a girl, so he only picked out boys’ names. So Ryan was my mother’s best choice,” I replied. “Are you from one of the Dakotas or do your parents have a weird obsession with gigantic carved heads in the side of a mountain?”
He chuckled, causing those butterflies to become active once again. “I will go with A,” he laughed. “I am from there. But they did have a weird obsession now that you mentioned it. We went every summer when I was a kid.”
“North or South?” I asked, resting my chin on my hand while the other hand turned my bottle in circles.
“South,” he answered. “What about you? Where are you from?” The lighter sparks in his eyes glowed, showing his genuine interest.
“This great state of California. Born and raised the next town over.” His smile grew and I felt myself responding with one of my own. “What?” I asked, feeling a blush creep into my cheeks.
“You are absolutely lovely,” he said as he reached over and grazed his index finger over the back of my hand. His touch sent sparks up my arm straight to my heart, causing it to beat erratically.
“Thank you,” I whispered, lifting the hand he was touching to run it through my hair as I tried to hide my reaction to him. Our eyes never left one another as I took another drink of my beer. “So,” I mimicked him from earlier trying to calm my racing heart. “The hair is either a major fashion statement or are you in the military?”
“Definitely military.” His smile was gorgeous. “Army Ranger to be exact.”
“And Dakota is your nickname obviously,” I said, drawing out the last word. My body shuddered at his deep chuckle as heat raced down my spine and into my core.
“You would be correct,” he said, giving me a panty-melting smile. “My name is Flint, Flint Emerson,” he paused as he brought my hand to his lips. “And it’s very nice to meet you Ryan Wethers.” Oh boy
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
Table of ContentsDEDICATIONPROLOGUECHAPTER ONECHAPTER TWO
PROLOGUEGunnerEmma.
CHAPTER ONEEmma
CHAPTER TWOEmma
CHAPTER THREEEmma
CHAPTER FOUREmma
CHAPTER FIVEEmma
CHAPTER SIXEmma
CHAPTER SEVENEmma
CHAPTER EIGHTGunnerEmma.
CHAPTER NINEEmma
CHAPTER TENEmma
CHAPTER ELEVENEmmaHOLY SHIT.
CHAPTER TWELVEGunnerEmma!
CHAPTER THIRTEENGunnerEmma.
CHAPTER FOURTEENEmma
CHAPTER FIFTEENEmma
CHAPTER SIXTEENEmma
CHAPTER SEVENTEENGunnerEmma.
CHAPTER EIGHTEENGunner
CHAPTER NINETEENGunner
CHAPTER TWENTYEmma
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONEGunner
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOGunner
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREEEmma
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUREmma
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEGunnerEmma.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXGunner
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENEmma
EPILOGUEEmma
OTHER WORKS BY J.D. LOWRANCEALL BOOKS ON SALE AT AMAZON.COM·Logan’s Reaper (Soul Reapers #1)
Emma's Reaper: Soul Reapers #4 Page 12
