“If you think I’ll be talking about my uncle, you’ve been dating some nasty freaks, you old coot.”
And with that, they were out the door, their bickering echoing off the entryway ceiling.
“Holy shit,” Charlie breathed.
Jenny stood in the open door and waved. “Bye, kids! Have fun!”
Merry shook her head. “That. Was. Awesome.”
“And way overdue,” Grace muttered. She and Merry grinned at each other and then clinked glasses.
“What’s the story?” Charlie asked in awe.
Grace shrugged and refilled her margarita from the pitcher. “The story is exactly what you saw. They’ve been acting like that for years, playing gin rummy together, snapping at each other like irritated dogs. I think Rayleen is embarrassed that she actually likes him, and Easy isn’t sure he wants to take on a crazy woman. But they can’t stay away from each other.”
“Aw!” Charlie actually felt tears prick her eyes. “That’s so cute.”
“Ha. It’s also annoying if you have to be around it for any length of time. You just want to yell, ‘Take your clothes off and work out this damn tension already!’”
Merry snorted. “Didn’t you actually yell that a few months ago?”
“Maybe,” Grace said with an insolent smile. “She’s my aunt. I figured I owed it to the rest of you to step in.”
“Hey!” Jenny called from the doorway. “Eve is here! And there’s Walker!”
“Oh, God,” Charlie said. “Invite him in. He’ll be the perfect addition to girls’ night.”
Eve, who was introduced as Grace’s boss, came in carrying a bottle of wine and a cake. Charlie liked her immediately.
Walker got as far as the doorway, then stopped, looking over at them with a wary eye. “What’s going on here, ladies?”
“If you’re going to start with that line,” Merry drawled into her drink, “you’d better be wearing your tear-away police uniform, stud.” Then she looked at him over her shoulder and gasped. “Oh, my God, Walker, what happened to your face?”
He shook his head. “Just a little barnyard fight. It happens.” His eyes caught Charlie’s for a moment and he looked away.
“I hope the other guy looks worse than you do,” Jenny said, patting his cheek.
“He does.”
“Good. Then come in. You look like a man who needs a margarita.” She dragged him in, but he still looked doubtful.
“This looks like girls’ night.”
“It is,” Merry said. “You can be the entertainment. Are you going to dance for us, Walker?”
He waggled his eyebrows. “Come on, girls. You know you’re not ready for this jelly.”
They collapsed in snorting laughter while Walker did a pretty good imitation of resisting Jenny’s pull, but eventually he collapsed onto the couch next to Charlie. “Seriously, ladies. I need a shower. I probably smell like I’ve been pushing cattle onto a truck all day.”
Charlie nudged him with her hip. “Yeah, if there’s one thing we women hate, it’s a big dirty cowboy in our midst. Just awful.”
“Horrible,” Jenny agreed. “No one wants to see that.”
“I was more worried about the scent.”
Charlie leaned closer and breathed him in. There was a hint of hide about him, but mostly it was crisp air and...sweaty Walker. “You’ll do,” she said softly. “Have a margarita and stay awhile. At least we’ll keep you out of trouble.”
Trouble with married women was what she meant, and he seemed to understand because he cleared his throat and accepted a glass without another word. If he’d been planning a quick escape, he changed his mind when the pizza arrived. Soon enough they were all stuffed and tipsy and laughing about sex stories over their cake. There really wasn’t any other reason to have a girls’ night, in Charlie’s opinion. She didn’t know if anyone had kids, but she damn sure didn’t want to talk about them.
She’d missed this. She’d had girlfriends in Vegas, but she hadn’t seemed to assemble many in Tahoe. Her idea of a good time by then had been curling up on the couch with a bottle of wine to watch a scary movie by herself. Her boyfriend had been a workaholic, or so she’d thought. What he’d actually been was married and spending time with his family.
But Vegas... Yeah, that had been good for a few years. Of course, Vegas had set a very high bar for girls’ nights, but you couldn’t go watch male strippers every weekend. Even that had gotten old. Or Charlie had gotten bored. But this...this was nice. And immediately comfortable, despite the fact that she hadn’t known any of these women more than a week.
A few minutes later, Merry was telling a hilarious story about a dirty talker that had half of them in tears.
“But come on!” Charlie protested. “Dirty talk is fun!”
“Oh, I know. But this wasn’t the right kind of dirty talk.”
Walker leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “What’s the right kind?”
“You know.” Merry blushed and waved him away, but she couldn’t resist. “It’s supposed to be interactive. And hopefully have something to do with the person you’re with. Not just some weird running monologue you trot out every time.”
Charlie screeched, “Like what?”
“Well... It was like a pep talk. ‘Oh, yeah, you like that, don’t you, you dirty whore? Oh, God, yes, you love it. You always love it. You love it just like this.’ He never paused for a response or anything. It was just the same thing every time.”
“Oh, no!”
“He never even opened his eyes. It was like he had to turn me into a bad girl in his mind.”
Charlie wiped tears from her eyes. “Really? Did he spank you, too?”
“Oh, God, no!”
“What?” Charlie protested with a giggle. “There’s nothing wrong with a good spanking every now and then.”
Walker leaned even farther forward. “There’s not?”
Charlie turned to grin at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes. I really, truly would.”
“Aw!” Jenny interrupted. “Don’t tease Walker!”
“If he can’t handle girls’ night, then he should leave.” Charlie aimed a sly smile in his direction.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he countered, crossing his arms and leaning back into the couch.
“Maybe he can learn something,” Grace said as she cut herself another piece of cake. “So many men seem to be under the impression that we want to be treasured in bed.”
Merry stuck her lip out. “There’s nothing wrong with being treasured.”
Charlie nodded. “True. But when you meet a very special man, and you have very special feelings for him...sometimes it’s okay if he wants to use you like a little whore.” They all erupted in screams of laughter. Grace shoved Merry so hard that Merry nearly fell out of her chair.
Charlie’s eyes were too full of tears to see Walker clearly for a moment, but when she finally looked at him, he was staring intently at her. Her amusement suddenly flamed into hot awareness. Thank God her cheeks were red from the margaritas, or everyone would think she was blushing.
“Fine,” Merry said. “That might be true. Sometimes. But Shane’s the only one who knows for sure.”
“And me,” Grace said. “You did tell me about that one time he made you get on your knees and—”
“Stop!” Merry shrieked. “You’re the worst best friend ever!”
“Oh, right. Like the rest of us have never done that.”
Merry giggled and covered her mouth. “I know you have. But I’ve never been a dirty girl before.”
Grace poked her with a toe. “It’s fun, isn’t it?”
None of them needed any answer except Merry’s ridiculously wide grin.
Yeah. It was fun being a dirty girl. Charlie snugged her hip a little closer to Walker’s.
He was blushing now, too, but he maintained his stubborn posture on the couch, determined not to be ousted from the party.
“Are you
a dirty girl, Walker?” she cooed.
He shook his head. “I don’t even know how to answer that.”
They moved on to teasing Grace about how she was shacking up with her boyfriend out on an actual ranch, and the dirty talk died down into laughter about which of the women was going to get married first. But Charlie was still more than aware of Walker at her side. Eventually he dropped his hand and slipped it between them so he could rub his thumb along her thigh.
Fun girlfriends or not, Charlie suddenly wished them all gone. She wanted to be with Walker. In the biblical sense.
But just as Grace was declaring she would only be a ranch partner and never a ranch wife, Walker pushed to his feet. “Now that all the pizza’s gone, I’d better make my escape. I’ve got an early day tomorrow. And I still smell like cow.”
They all called out in dismay and tried to talk him into staying, but he waved them off with thanks for the pizza and drinks.
“Charlie,” Jenny said slyly as he made his way to the door. “Do you have something going on with Walker?”
“I wish,” she said as he opened the door and tossed her a wink.
“You two seem awfully cozy.”
Charlie laughed. “Come on. You know how it is with Walker.”
He closed the door on their laughter, while Charlie fought the urge to call him back. Please stay. Stay all night.
She wanted him like that. In her bed. Big and strong and so close she could touch him anytime she wanted. So warm that she knew he was there even in her sleep. She wanted to wake up to the feel of him behind her, already sliding into her wet body before she’d even opened her eyes.
God. She wanted that.
“That’s weird,” Grace said. “Charlie is staring at her front door like she wants to eat it up. I wonder what that’s about.”
She blushed while they all laughed, but there was really nothing to be ashamed of. Who wouldn’t want to eat Walker up? He was one big, lickable treat. She’d consider it a privilege.
* * *
WALKER WAS GETTING more sensitive with age. Or maybe he had some sort of chemical imbalance. Every time Charlie implied that he was only built for temporary fun, he bristled. Ridiculous, considering how often he’d said it himself. Oh, he’d had the occasional girlfriend here and there, but it had never lasted more than a couple of months. And that had never been a problem.
So why did Charlie’s words keep hurting his feelings?
“My feelings.” He sneered as he got out of the shower and towel-dried his hair. He felt stupid even thinking it.
He’d forgotten about his bruises, and winced when the towel caught his cheek. After wiping the steam from the mirror, he stared down at his own tired face.
God. He was getting too old for this shit. He’d been itching for a fight last night, but he’d tried to mitigate that by going to visit Roosevelt instead of heading out to a bar. He’d tried to be smart. Sure, a good bar fight was a hell of a lot of fun, but it was more geared toward younger men who never thought about expensive dental work or the danger of being arrested for drunk and disorderly.
So he’d driven out to the ranch, and everything had been good for a few minutes. Roosevelt had jumped in wild circles of excitement, and Walker’s mood had improved within seconds. Then a couple of friends had invited him to sit by the campfire for a beer. It’d been perfect. His dog at his side, a beer in hand, thousands of stars above.
Until that bastard stable manager had happened by.
Walker pressed a hand to his ribs and pushed. They were hardly sore at all tonight. The guy had gotten in a few good punches, but they’d only pissed Walker off. Like everything else these days.
But he couldn’t stay mad at Charlie. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She couldn’t understand, and he didn’t want her to.
He heard a faint shriek of laughter from the hallway and shook his head. Those women were crazy. And cute. And very, very bad.
He pulled on sweatpants and a T-shirt and was heading to the kitchen to wash the breakfast dishes when someone knocked on his door. Expecting more teasing, he opened it to find Charlie standing there alone.
“You left quickly,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?” he drawled. “Did you want me to stay?”
He’d said it automatically, and wasn’t expecting her quick “Yes.” The jolt of happiness caught him by surprise.
“We were going to talk, remember?” she said.
“Ah. Right. I’m sorry. I guess I’m not much in the mood for talking.”
“Me, either.”
Her steady gaze sent a prickling of awareness over his skin, and he suddenly remembered how torturous it had been to sit next to her and not touch her. “Do you want to come in?”
She smiled and swept into his apartment, the tumbling waves of her hair trailing the already familiar scent of her shampoo. His pulse went wild.
“I’m sorry about last night,” she said as she took a seat on his couch. “I really didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry. The job search and everything else has me stressed. But that’s all over. I accepted that winter job. It’s done. So I’m right as rain again.”
Her lips parted as if she meant to say something, but then her eyebrows drew together and she shook her head. “Okay. Sure. But will you at least think about what I said?”
“Charlie,” he moaned, sprawling onto the couch beside her. “No.”
“Why not?” She stretched out over him, her head against his shoulder and her hand on his chest.
“Because.”
“But, Walker...” Her fingers spread. “You’re so good with people.”
“Charlie.”
She kissed his neck. “And you like working with them.”
He shook his head.
“And you’re so damn big and amazing.”
“Okay, I’ll take that.”
Her mouth whispered against him. Her fingers found his nipple and circled it. “Walker—”
“Stop, Charlie. Just stop. How about we talk about you instead?”
Her fingers froze. “What about me?”
“I don’t know. I guess we could start with how naughty you are.”
“Oh.” He could feel her smile against his neck. “That.”
“Are you a dirty girl, Charlie?” he asked, repeating her earlier question.
She giggled as he spread his hand over her back. “I don’t know. Would you like it if I was?”
He smiled and let himself slide farther down the cushions until his head came to rest on the arm of the couch and Charlie was sprawled across him. “I’m not sure. I wonder if there’s a way we could find out.”
“Mm. Maybe.” Her teeth bit into him, making him hiss. “I already found a clue.” Her hand slid down his belly and curved around the shape of his cock through his sweatpants. He was already half-hard, and about to get much harder. “You like that, Walker?”
“I do. Yes. Definitely.”
“Mm. But it’s not really naughty, is it? That’s just touching.”
“Yeah. Just...” She squeezed his cock and it sure as hell felt naughty. “I suppose.”
She let go of him and his fingers tightened on her back. “Wait—”
But now her hand slid his shirt up in very slow inches. He sucked in his belly as her hand dragged over his skin. She slid her body down, until her head met up with the skin she’d exposed, and she put her mouth on his stomach, just above his navel. “Does that feel naughty?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation this time.
“Really?” Her wet tongue touched him, then retreated. “But...that’s just a little kiss.”
“Yes, but...”
“And here, on your poor side.” She kissed one of the bruises. “And here.” Her tongue traced his navel, and he sucked in a breath. He looked down to see her watching him, her tongue darting past her smile to taste his skin again. When his muscles jumped, she laughed.
Walker’s eyes narrowed. His h
eart beat harder. “You’re right,” he said. “That’s not really very naughty. I thought you had something to show me, Charlie. I guess I was wrong.”
Her smile faded and her eyes went a little wide. She didn’t look so playful anymore. Now she looked...serious. “You want a dirty girl, Walker?”
He didn’t answer. He just met her challenging gaze and watched as her fingers hooked into the waistband of his sweatpants. She tugged. And tugged again. His cock sprang free, and they both watched as Charlie wrapped her fist around the base. He wanted to groan. He didn’t.
She gave a little hum of approval as she slid lower down his body. He kept an eye on her mouth, counting the inches as it drew closer to the head of his cock.
“Look at you,” she breathed. “So hard for me.”
Yeah, he was. Hell yeah. She held him so firmly he could feel the beat of his pulse beneath her fingers.
“You want me to kiss it, Walker? Is that what dirty girls do?”
Oh, shit, she was so damn sexy, looking up at him past her lashes, her mouth only an inch away. She licked her lips. His heart skipped and stammered.
“Yes,” he managed to say.
And then she kissed him.
Just her lips at first. Just one gentle kiss, and then two, and three. Her lips parted, and he watched as her tongue swirled around the head of his cock.
“Yes,” he said again. Her mouth opened, and heat engulfed him. “Yes, like that.”
“Mmm.” This time when she hummed, he felt it. A little vibration of approval that made him shudder. He forgot that he was supposed to be playing this game, and all he could do was watch as she took him deeper. As wet heat took him in and broke him down. And then she sucked.
“Charlie,” he groaned.
She hummed again and took more of him. It was pure heaven. The best thing he’d ever felt. Charlie’s mouth around him and her gray eyes flashing up and her tongue pressing. God.
And then she did something he’d never expected, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to react.
Charlie took his hand and pressed it to the back of her head.
“Oh, shit,” he breathed. Her fingers splayed over his so that he was cupping her skull. His brain stopped working.
When she took him deeper, his hand followed her movement. The next time she did it, he urged her on with a light touch that grew firmer when she moaned her pleasure around him. “God, yes,” he murmured. “Take more, Charlie. Like that.”
So Tough to Tame Page 18
