Emma glanced at both her men, a twinkle in her eyes just for them that Judith never noticed. “I see. So if there wasn’t any preparation, or foreplay or kissing, and they didn’t even make sure you were safe and comfortable, like in a bed—”
“Nope. Just wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.” Judith looked at Emma like she was a bit touched, assuming those things would be required in a ménage.
Maya leaned forward in her seat and said, “Then I take it that the four of you weren’t in love?”
“Love has nothing to do with what they were doing. I told you, that’s not what ménages are about in the real world.”
Grace whispered, “Did she just call herself a slut?”
Emma raised an eyebrow as Duke and Gage closed in behind her seat and she reached up to clasp hands with both men so that her wedding bands sparkled in the club lighting. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same thing?” Duke gave Judith a wide smile as he kissed Emma’s neck on one side and then she tilted her head so that Gage could kiss her lips.
Judith gawked at Emma and then turned to Maya as if to ask her if her eyes were playing tricks on her, only to find that all three of Maya’s men had made similar body contact with her.
Emma sighed happily and then sipped from her margarita. “You’ve been talking to me surrounded by six ménage groupings, four of which are committed.” She pointed at the wedding bands on Duke’s and Gage’s hands where they rested on her shoulders. “You may know something about a fast and dirty quickie, but you know nothing about ménage love, probably because of a poor choice in partners.”
It was obvious Judith wasn’t paying attention to a word Emma said as she looked around the table trying to figure out the groupings, until her eyes came to rest on Gwen and her men.
“Oh, it’s you.”
Not one to hide behind others, Gwen approached. “If you’re done, I’d like my chair back.”
Judith wobbled as she rose from the seat and curled her lip as if she were a queen looking down at a peasant. “Well look at you all dressed up like a girl for a change.” She hiccupped and burped, then squinted down at the dress. “Honey, you’d look really cute in that outfit if you dropped about fifteen or twenty pounds.” She stood to her full height and looked beyond Gwen, who was seething, to Chris, who stood directly behind her. “But then again, standing next to Shrek, your fat probably isn’t as noticeable.” Red clouded Gwen’s vision but she felt strangely paralyzed. She knew this was Judith’s usual tactic, going straight for the most vulnerable point. Every woman’s issues with her own body.
Summer gasped and rose from her seat, only to be held back by both Ace and Kemp. “I was starting to feel sorry for her until she said that.”
“Kitten, I think Gwen’s got this.” All Ace got in the way of response was a growl.
Judith started to speak again but Julián held his hand up as he deftly placed himself in front of Gwen, separating the two of them, obviously concerned that Gwen might lose it. She was a little surprised she hadn’t. All she felt was tired of dealing with shit like that.
And I have a year of this same shit to look forward to. She suddenly felt very, very weary.
Julián leveled his gaze at Judith. “I’m curious about something.”
Judith put her hand on her hip and wrinkled her nose, making herself look even more unattractive. “What?”
“Why are you still here in Divine? Why haven’t you moved on?”
“I’m staying with Hatch Dunlap at his ranch.”
Gwen shuddered that this creature had been in such close proximity to her for a month. “You mean his Aunt Gladys’s ranch.”
“It’s as good as his. He said once the old bitch kicks it, the place is his. I like it here in Divine and he and I have an ‘open’ relationship.”
Summer gagged. “Ew. By open do you mean you use each other and fuck whoever you want?”
Judith glanced at Summer and shrugged. Gwen thought she was a sad excuse for women everywhere. “It means whatever I want it to mean. Fuck off.”
When all the women reacted, Julián put his hand up. “Judith, you’re outnumbered and you’re about to get your ass kicked. I can only hold so many of them back.” He reached behind him and patted Gwen’s side but didn’t restrain her. The thought swirled through her mind that he trusted her not to make a spectacle out of this situation.
Judith scowled at him and said, “I’d like to see them try. My daddy is a lawyer in—”
Ace Webster spoke up. “The same daddy who told you that you couldn’t come home until you straightened up and stopped acting like a bitch in heat spreading your legs all over the rodeo circuit? The same one who cut off your allowance about a month ago?”
Judith looked so shocked it was comical. Her mouth formed a big o and her eyes bulged. Then her cheeks blazed.
Ace smiled at her but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s not all I know. Now why don’t you run along and stop pestering decent folks.”
Pursing her lips, Judith glared at Julián and then Gwen and said, “Well, enjoy my ‘leavins,’ whore. You can have him. He wasn’t all that great in the sack anyway.” There was a collective gasp at her brazen insult. Looking satisfied, she turned like a queen leaving the throne room and promptly got twisted up in her feet and toppled to the floor.
The cowboys she’d come into the club with must’ve been looking for her because they appeared at that moment, in time to see her trip herself. They tried to help her up but she slapped away their hands and stomped off with them following in her wake.
Gwen was relieved that all three were gone. She turned to both of her men and said, “I’ve been insulted before by women but I’ve never seen one insult a man like that.”
“That’s because she’s really drunk, love,” Julián murmured as he kissed her temple. “Normally women like her wouldn’t do that because they don’t want to burn bridges with men. I’m really sorry I ever set eyes, much less hands, on her. I’m really sorry, Gwen.”
“Stop apologizing.” Pointing at Hatch across the room, she said, “Poor choices are in my past too. When you know better, you do better. Six feet deep. Remember?”
He squeezed her and then murmured, “Six feet deep.”
Gwen reached for Chris and pulled him down so he was at eye level, a maneuver he seemed to enjoy as he grinned at her. “Yes, little darlin’?”
“I hate that bitch. I think you’re one of the sexiest men I ever met. That is all.” She clammed up because nothing else needed to be said. She’d already said it before. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her what felt like three feet off the floor to kiss her. A blush heated her cheeks, but all she could focus on was the need simmering inside of her for him, and for Julián. She had to fight the urge to wrap her legs around him, knowing it would reveal her bare butt to the whole room.
Once he set her down, she turned to Ace and Kemp. “How come you know so much about her?”
Ace and Kemp sat back down as Summer took her seat once again, both men looking at their hands before Ace finally replied, “Angel and Joaquin mentioned her and I got a little curious. I’ve been doing a little investigation work.”
Not wanting to place them in an uncomfortable position, because it was called private investigation for a reason, Gwen said nothing further.
Rachel raised her hand from the other side of the table, with Eli’s arms around her like always. “I wasn’t involved with her falling down this time. I was over here, being innocent. Although, if I had been over there I would’ve tripped a bitch.”
Everyone laughed and the DJ chose that moment to speak to the crowd.
“This song was requested for a few of the men in the room who all have a deep, dark, dirty secret. That’s right, ladies, two-steppin’s not the only dance they know. Get out there, men!”
The throbbing techno-beat was out of character for The Dancing Pony, and the jaws of half the people in the club dropped.
“Opa, Gangnam style!”
“You’re shitting me!” Rachel and Charity both said at the same time. Duke and Gage started the familiar movements to the opening verse of the song, even lip-synching the Korean lyrics to “Gangnam Style” as they grinned like total geeks and put on dark sunglasses.
Duke and Gage braved the gaping throng on the dance floor to do their thing. Gwen started giggling when a couple of the other guys started dancing at the table and then moved toward the dance floor too. She felt Chris bump her from behind and she turned in time to see him waving his imaginary lasso over his head. He tried to act innocent and she laughed harder.
“You’d better get out there and show me whatcha got, Cowboy!”
Chris grinned like a kid set loose in a candy store and kissed her soundly before he followed Eli, Ethan, and Justin to the dance floor.
The girls stood there stunned, watching their men dance. The song was odd and unfamiliar to many people in the club but everyone was watching. By the second verse the men had paired off, one on the floor on his belly and the other standing over him doing his goofy thing. The dance steps were fairly easy and repetitive and soon others joined the throng on the dance floor. The girls watched their men hip-thrusting and moving very light on their feet, especially considering how freaking big some of them were.
Lucy giggled at something Patrick Owen said and then hesitantly danced a couple of the steps right where she stood with him before giggling and blushing.
“No way in hell you’re getting me out there,” Beck O’Malley muttered. If he hunched down any lower in his seat, his beard, which had really grown out, would be floating in his mug. He’d changed since the first time she’d met him the previous fall. Gwen hazarded a guess that something was weighing on him.
Kemp said, “This might explain why we saw the surveillance van bouncing and swaying around that day Duke and Gage were working on it at the house.”
“Damned unmasculine, if you ask me,” Ace groused as Kemp nodded beside him. Summer whapped both of her men gently on the arm.
Rachel said, “Yet, undeniably sexy. He’s teaching me this later tonight.” Rachel and Charity were practically drooling as they watched Eli and Justin.
Charity left her seat. “I need a closer look. Later, y’all.” She walked right out onto the dance floor in her snug leathers and stood opposite of Justin and Eli and learned the steps right there in front of everyone.
“She don’t let much stop her, does she?” Jack asked Grace as they watched.
“Never, ever,” Grace murmured as she watched her friends.
Duke and Gage danced out the whole song, seeming to know all the moves. Gwen giggled as she asked Emma, “Have they been practicing at home with the video?”
Emma grinned, happiness obvious in her face, and nodded. “We all have. I’ve heard this song so much I dance to it in my sleep. I ‘purple-alligatored’ Duke and Gage a few minutes ago right after I requested this for them. I hope they get even with me tonight.”
Emma giggled when Duke and Gage both pointed at her from the dance floor as they lip-synched, “Hey, sexy lady!…”
“What’s ‘purple alligator’?”
Emma explained to her that to keep each other trying new things, stretching out of their comfort zones, they occasionally called “purple alligator” on each other. Whoever called it was in complete control of the scene and how it played out. Duke and Gage had evidently known what Emma wanted without much explanation.
Ogling Duke and Gage as they shook their hips and moved to the music, Emma said, “Yeah, I’m hitting that.”
All the girls remaining at the table laughed and Gwen asked, “Is that even something a woman would say about her two hot men?”
Emma laughed and replied, “I’m not sure about the gender specifics of that phrase. I’m a dork. But yeah, I’m totally hitting that.”
Grace said, “Quinten Parks will be so disappointed he wasn’t here tonight. I can picture him going out there with the guys.”
Jack and Adam nodded. “I can picture him out there too. I’d get out there, darlin’, but you know my hip has been—”
Grace patted Jack’s chest and chided, “Oh, don’t give me that, Mr. Warner. You’re in perfect condition. It’s okay. I know this is not yours or Adam’s thing, but I still love it.” She turned and watched Ethan dance from the security of Jack’s embrace and Gwen smiled when she saw Grace snake her hand into Adam’s grasp. They made it look so easy, even though all four of them were different from each other.
Adam sipped from his beer then said, “I’d be afraid of hurting somebody or breaking something, swinging my arms and jumping around like that.”
Understanding Adam’s self-consciousness, Gwen thought back to Judith’s insults about her appearance. She could let that stop her from having a good time or she could give in and learn something new. Even if it was only a silly dance. A silly dance that Chris was moving really well to. Of all the things she’d thought she might find sexy about him, watching him dance to “Gangnam Style” hadn’t been one of them.
She looked back at Julián and he kissed her temple and said, “You’d better hurry. The song is half over.”
Gwen and Chris were both laughing when she came back to the table with him and took a sip of the fresh margarita that had been placed at her spot. The chatter tuned up a little louder as the others rejoined them and ordered refills on all their drinks. Julián, Patrick, and Beck were involved in a conversation when Beck suddenly grasped his front pocket and pulled his phone out. With one glance at the screen, his entire demeanor changed. He put the phone to his ear and frowned and it was obvious he couldn’t hear the caller.
“What is it?” Patrick asked as Beck practically leapt from his chair. Gwen hadn’t known he was that agile.
“Important call. I have to take this. Damn it, move!” he growled as Lucy stepped into his path on her way back from the ladies’ room. He dodged her, not even seeing the hurt in her eyes as she watched him practically run for the main entry to the club.
Patrick slid an arm around Lucy’s shoulders so she stood side by side with him. “He said it was an important call. Maybe it was an emergency.”
Lucy looked like she was struggling with her emotions as she looked up at him with what Gwen recognized as a stiff upper lip. “Doesn’t matter. And you shouldn’t make excuses for him. He’s just a rude jerk that stomps all over people. I hear all the time about what a great guy he is, how wonderful he is, how he worked so hard on his beekeeping business, how caring he is. Well, to me, he’s just a jerk. A big, stupid…” Her chin trembled and Patrick tilted her head to his shoulder. “Jerk.”
“I know,” Patrick replied softly.
Lucy looked up at him. “Do you think he’s okay?”
Gwen covered her response by turning to reach for her margarita. Boy, talk about a mood shift.
“He’s had several beers. I’ll go check.”
Lucy looked even more worried. “We should take his keys.”
Patrick nodded consolingly, evidently used to these exchanges. “You stay in here. I don’t want you out in the wind and rain.”
Lucy took her seat and watched the tall man as he stalked toward the front entryway. She continued watching even after he disappeared from sight.
Gwen patted Lucy’s shoulder comfortingly. “Maybe he was waiting on a business call or a family member called. It’s probably nothing major.”
Lucy let out an exasperated sigh. “I just wish I knew what was bothering him.” She looked at Gwen and smiled. “Thank you.”
Gwen nodded and the conversations continued on around them but Lucy still kept an eye on the door.
Julián invited Gwen out onto the dance floor as Gloriana’s “Can’t Shake You” began to play.
Julián kissed her forehead as he pulled her close and said, “Now this is more my speed.”
“Mine too.”
She breathed in the combination of his aftershave and his own unique masculine fragrance as she rested her h
ead on his chest. Warmth pulsed inside her and the heat spread in a languorous wave to her pussy as his cock hardened against her. She rubbed lightly against him. “Julián?”
“Yes, love?” He gazed down at her, his handsome face framed by his black felt Stetson.
“Thank you for my Valentine’s Day gift. I love this dress, and the boots are…it’s so much.” She wondered how much of his savings he’d had to exhaust to buy it all but wouldn’t have messed up his gift by asking. “My greeting cards for the two of you seem paltry by comparison.”
Julián shook his head and the serious look in his eyes told her that he didn’t see it that way at all. “I didn’t expect a gift in return. I wanted to give you something that you’d love, and when Rosemary showed me those boots, I wanted to give them to you, no strings attached. The look on your face when you opened the box was priceless. Worth every penny I spent. And you can stop worrying about the cost.”
“Why? Did you rob a bank? Win the lottery?”
He shook his head. “Nope. You just stop worrying. And you’re very welcome. I’ll always treasure my first Valentine from you.”
“First? You’re thinking it’s not the only one?” They hadn’t discussed her leaving in March hardly at all in the last month.
“I hope it’s not the only one.” The sincerity in his voice sent a wave of longing to pierce her heart.
Her eyes went a little blurry as she looked up at him and offered him what she could. “No matter where I am, Julián, I’ll send you a Valentine every year.” In her heels, she didn’t have to stand on tiptoe to receive his kiss as they danced. She wished the dance could go on forever but the song finally ended and Julián walked her back to the table.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask her handsome cowboys to take her home and celebrate Valentine’s Day with her between them when her attention was drawn to Lucy and Patrick.
Lucy blotted at Patrick’s drenched shirtsleeves with a bar napkin. “What do you mean he won’t come back inside? This night out was all his idea.”
Tangled in Divine [Divine Creek Ranch 14] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 29
