Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by RCardello LLC. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Lone Star Burn remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of RCardello LLC, or their affiliates or licensors.
For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds
Whiskey & Women
For those who stuck by me and never left.
Acknowledgements
First I’d like to thank Nicole Kuhn for asking me to be a part of this Kindle World thing and for answering all my dumb questions. Life is better when you take risks and step outside your comfort zone.
Thank you Piper for being the awesome editor that you are. I’m so thankful we have this opportunity to work together.
Thank you to my husband, Keith, and my kids, Jaden and Emerson, for understanding that mom needs to go and be alone and write.
And lastly, thank you Charlie Hunnam for being so delicious as Jax Teller. Bad boys are hot ;) You were my inspiration for Hayes Turner.
Chapter 1
Raelyn Parker glanced at her sister and her boyfriend snuggling on the couch, giving each other tender little kisses, giggling at things she couldn’t hear them say. Barf. If she wasn’t so happy for them, she’d be gagging right now.
She downed the rest of her wine and looked at the clock. “It’s almost nine. The bar’s probably starting to get busy. Band goes on at ten, right? Should we head over?”
Laney and Sawyer exchanged glances. Not good. “We were hoping to stay in tonight. We had a busy day.”
Raelyn’s sister had recently started a new wedding flower business and it had finally taken off. Her new boyfriend was glued to her hip, so he often helped her. Apparently fall is busy season for weddings in Texas.
“But I didn’t drive all this way to sit on your love seat and watch a chick flick while you guys fall asleep in each other’s arms.”
Raelyn had been visiting Laney in Fort Mavis pretty often lately. Her sister had moved there almost a year ago and she took advantage of any opportunity to get away from Dallas and their over-critical mother. Not only did she have to sit under the scrutiny at home, but daily as well, since Raelyn worked as an office assistant for their mother’s real estate company. Her weekend trips to visit Laney were becoming her only way to claim some sanity.
“Come on. Please!” Raelyn begged. “You can sleep in tomorrow. I’ll even cook breakfast.”
“Since when do you cook?”
“I’ll get takeout from the diner.”
Raelyn could see the debate raging in Laney’s brain. Come on! Do it for your favorite sister!
“Fine. Give me a few minutes to get ready.”
“Yay!” Raelyn actually jumped and clapped her hands. “Thank you!”
Twenty minutes later, the three of them headed to the bar, a short walk from the apartment. Sawyer opened the door for them and Raelyn led the way in. It was a typical honky-tonk, a cliché small town bar filled to the brim with locals on a Saturday night, plaid as far as the eye could see. These trips to Fort Mavis were a great opportunity to spend quality time with her sister, but they were also a chance to ogle the cowboy eye-candy. Real cowboys. You didn’t get much of that in a big city like Dallas.
“I see an empty table,” Laney said and headed toward it, Sawyer in tow.
“I’ll get the first round of drinks.” Raelyn bellied up to the bar, filled with cowboys drooling over big-busted bartenders in teeny tiny tank tops and mini denim skirts. She waved at a bartender, but apparently she was invisible. “Geez. Does one need a Stetson and a penis to get a drink around here?”
“No. But it helps.”
She turned to the voice on her right. No plaid, just a black tee, but he had the hat. Also plain black. Blond hair peeked out from under the rim of his hat where it met the back of his neck, scruffy beard and mustache to match. His arms were littered with tattoos and she could see one rising up his neck, just above the crew neck of his shirt.
From the looks of it, he was one bad-ass cowboy. And that was sexy as hell.
“What do you need, sweetheart?” he asked and waved to one of the bartenders, who immediately smiled at him like she knew what he looked like naked. A surge of jealousy spiked through Raelyn’s chest.
Shaking it off, she answered, “Two glasses of chardonnay.”
“Now I definitely know you’re not from around here,” he said.
“Why do you say that?”
“No one orders shit like that in a place like this.” He then looked her up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on her cleavage before meeting her eyes once again. “Or wears clothes like that.”
Raelyn’s body ignited under his scrutiny, her belted floral shirtdress and cork wedge sandals close to incineration.
He turned his attention to the bartender and Raelyn was thankful for the opportunity to catch her breath. “Do you even have any of that crap?” he asked the blond bombshell.
“It’s not crap,” Raelyn defended, finally finding a shred of confidence. “If you had an ounce of refinement you’d know that. It’s far superior to whatever swill you’re drinking.”
“I don’t need refinement. Just whiskey. It gets the job done.” He tapped the rim of his empty glass. The bartender set two wine glasses on the bar top and filled them, then poured an amber liquid into his glass. “You know what? Pour me another.”
She obeyed by setting an empty rocks glass next to the other drinks and poured into it. He picked it up, shoved it into Raelyn’s hand, and clinked his glass to it. “Bottoms up, darlin’.” He didn’t wait for her. He downed it in one gulp then stared at her expectantly.
He was challenging her. A smart girl would set it down, grab the glasses of wine, and walk away. Ignore this feeling swirling in her gut. She didn’t need to impress him. Didn’t give a shit what he thought of her, her clothes, or her choice of alcoholic beverage.
But damn it, those crystal blue eyes mesmerized her. She was in a trance and suddenly sought the approval of the bad boy.
She lifted the glass to her lips, her gaze not leaving his as she did, and downed the fiery liquid. It burned as it slid down her throat, but she refused to let him see that. As he watched her, warmth spread through her body and not just from the liquor. His eyes were devouring her, undressing her, and she liked it.
A smile curled one corner of his mouth, a devilish grin that sent the warmth between her thighs. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
She debated on answering. Was this the beginning of a dangerous game that she’d undoubtedly lose? “Raelyn.”
“Raelyn…” It rolled off his tongue with a deep Texan accent. “I like it.”
And boy did she like the way it sounded coming out of him. At this point, anything he said would sound like the most delicious words she’d ever heard.
“Turner,” Sawyer said as he approached, yanking her out of her haze, and nodded at the guy sitting next to her. “How are things over at Magnolia Acres?”
“Can’t complain. You still kissin’ ass at Double C?”
“No ass-kissing necessary. I work hard and I’m rewarded for it
. You might want to consider the concept.” Apparently there was some animosity between these hot cowboys. Sawyer turned to Raelyn. “Did you order drinks?”
“I did.” She handed him one of the glasses of wine.
“Why am I not surprised?” Turner, or whatever his name was, said to Sawyer. “I shoulda known you drank girlie shit instead of a real man’s drink.”
Sawyer asked the bartender for a beer, paid, and faced Raelyn. “Laney’s waiting for you at the table.”
He walked away, but stopped and looked back, pinning her with a stare that urged her to follow. She grabbed her wine and took a step toward him.
“What? No thank you for the whiskey? That’s not very ladylike.”
“Thank you. Though I think it’s safe to assume you are no gentleman.”
“You assume correctly.”
This man was the furthest thing from a gentleman, but that didn’t stop her body from yearning for him. From wanting to taste the whiskey on his plump lips. His tongue. She didn’t even like whiskey, but she sure as hell craved it now. And she craved him. His muscled body covering hers. The scrape of his facial hair on her breasts, her stomach, her inner thigh. Raelyn had had her share of bad boys, but a bad cowboy? That was a whole different level of sexy.
*
Hayes Turner watched the sway of Raelyn’s ass as she walked away, admiring those long tan legs. Normally he liked his women like he liked his liquor—no fuss, straight up, and readily available. He wasn’t picky on the brand, didn’t care what kind of glass it came in, as long as it did its job and satisfied him. He didn’t have time for messing around. A means to an end. Both the liquor and women aided him in getting through this shit-hole called life.
But this pretty little thing had definitely caught his attention.
He watched her take a seat at a table with Sawyer Williamson and another woman who wrapped herself around him tighter than a set of furry handcuffs. He’d worked with Williamson a couple years ago at the Double C. But that damn cheapskate of a ranch manager refused to give him what he deserved, so he quit.
“You want another, baby?” Trixie the bartender asked, holding up the whiskey bottle.
“You know what I like.”
“I sure do.” She poured then flashed her bedroom eyes at him. “I’m done at midnight. I can do some other things you like.”
He appreciated the offer, and on any other night, he’d take her up on it. But he craved something a little different tonight. Something a little more refined. “I’ll let you know, sweetheart.”
He turned back to the table just as Raelyn laughed and threw her head back, her dark hair flowing down in shiny waves. He wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through it while she sucked his cock. If she’d like it if he tugged it while he fucked her from behind. His dick stirred just thinking about it.
She sipped her wine and glanced in his direction, then quickly turned away. A grin bowed those sweet little lips. Interesting. She liked that he was watching her.
“Hey, Trixie. Pour me another.” He pushed the empty glass toward her, pink lipstick on its rim. She did and he took it. A waitress walked by and he caught her attention. “Can you do me a favor and deliver this to the brunette sitting over there?”
“Sure, honey. Anything else I can do for you?” she purred.
“Not right now.”
She did as he’d asked and he sat back to watch. The waitress set it on the table in front of Raelyn and left without saying a word. She looked at it, looked at him, then drank it down. A look of smug satisfaction crossed her features that clearly said, “Challenge met.”
He watched her interact with Williamson and the other woman, the animation in her face, the way she smiled. The band started its set and she sang along to songs she knew, even got up and danced a little. She was different from the women he normally pursued, the exact opposite, actually. There was a purity to her, simplistic beauty. And it was the exact reason why he should do the right thing and leave her alone. Hook up with Trixie or one of the other women who frequented his bed. Women who knew what he wanted and didn’t ask for anything in return. Women who didn’t expect him to be anything that he wasn’t.
But damn it, he was drawn to Raelyn. Like an itch that demanded scratching. And luckily for him, he didn’t care about doing the right thing.
Williamson, and who he assumed was his girlfriend, stood and Raelyn followed behind. They passed by him at the bar and neither of the first two gave him a second of attention. But Raelyn offered him a sideways glance and a sly smile that both took his breath away and hardened his cock.
No way was he letting her walk away.
He grabbed a napkin from the holder and the pen that had been left on the bar top. Crossing the floor in just a few strides, he trotted after her.
He reached for her arm and she stopped, casting a questioning gaze at him. He shoved the napkin into her palm and her fingers curled around it. “When you’re ready for a little un-supervised fun, give me a call.”
He walked away without looking back.
*
“Is that what I think it is?” Sawyer asked Raelyn as they stood in the bar parking lot.
She looked down at the napkin in her hand, seven digits in chicken scratch.
“Throw it away,” he demanded.
“Why?”
“Hayes Turner is not the kind of man you want in your life.”
Raelyn wondered what Sawyer knew. She was intrigued by this bad boy. Was it totally cliché that Sawyer’s warning just made her want him more?
She’d noticed Hayes watching her at the bar. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t liked it. He was surrounded by backwoods bimbos showing off their assets, but his eyes were on her. She hadn’t wanted to leave, but she didn’t have much choice in the matter.
“I mean it. Tangling with him will only cause you misery.”
“Got it. I’ll toss it when we get home.”
They walked toward the apartment, Sawyer and Laney hand-in-hand in front of her. Ugh. Easy for him to tell her to throw away Hayes’ number. He had someone. He wasn’t alone. And she wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what type of guy Hayes was. But he may be exactly what she needed. It’s not like she was looking to get married or anything. Some hot sex with an even hotter cowboy sounded like a mighty fine idea.
“I’m beat,” Laney said as she opened the door to the apartment. Sawyer followed her to the bedroom. “Good night,” she yelled before closing the door.
Raelyn opened her fist, the napkin from Hayes still crumpled in her palm. She walked to the garbage can in the kitchen and stepped on the pedal. The lid popped open. She just stood there. Sawyer wasn’t her keeper. She was an adult and could do whatever the hell she wanted. It was barely even eleven o’clock. She wasn’t tired. She wanted to have some fun.
She let go of the pedal and the lid slammed shut.
Grabbing her phone, she plopped down on the couch and typed a text message to Hayes.
My sister’s boyfriend told me to stay away from you.
She hit send and waited, anticipation swirling through her gut.
Who is this? I seem to piss off a lot of sisters, boyfriends, dads, husbands
The comment should have sent her running, as it played right into Sawyer’s warning, but it just intrigued her even more.
A wine connoisseur with a sudden craving for whiskey.
He replied almost immediately.
I knew it was you darlin.
She could hear the words rolling off his tongue. Never had a cliché term of endearment been more of a turn-on.
Her phone dinged again.
What can I do for you?
That was certainly a loaded question.
Depends. Do you know how to show a city girl a good time?
I can think of at least a dozen things I want to do with you.
Raelyn knew exactly what that meant. Or at least she hoped. Her hand shook as she replied.
Right now?
Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard of her phone. She could be a good girl and put her phone down. Change into her pajamas and go to bed. Or she could reply and have an adventure with probably the hottest guy she’d ever seen. An adventure that promised to fulfill a few sexual fantasies. How could she say no to that?
Main street. Apartment above the hardware store.
She hit send. Done.
I’ll text you when I’m out front. I assume you don’t want me ringin the doorbell and waking up your sister and Williamson.
You assume correctly.
A sexy little secret adventure. Just what she needed.
Chapter 2
Raelyn fixed her makeup, her hair. Spritzed on a little more perfume. Her phone buzzed on the bathroom counter.
Get that sexy ass out here.
She headed for the street and found Hayes, leaned against an old pickup truck, hands shoved into his jeans pockets. The hat was gone, his blond hair slicked back, curling up just a bit at the nape of his neck.
He pushed off as she approached and before she could say a word, he grabbed her hand, tugging her to his body. On instinct, her hands braced for impact. It was like she’d landed against a brick wall. Taut muscle bulged beneath her fingertips. The faint scent of whiskey hung on his breath and she salivated.
Without asking, he claimed her mouth with his, her head tilting back in submission. No gentle parting of the lips, no seductive dance between tongues. This was rough, full-on, and nothing less than what she’d wanted and expected from him.
His beard scraped at the tender skin around her mouth, but she didn’t care. She wanted more. One of his hands pressed on her back, the other tangled in her hair. Hers grasped at the only thing she could: the cotton of his tee shirt. She balled it in her fists as his hand slid down her back, then under her dress, cupping her bare ass. He groaned against her mouth as he squeezed her cheek, and she’d never been so thankful for thongs in her life.
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