Every Which Way

by Annabel Joseph et al.

  Yeah, she’d liked that for sure.

  “We simply need some boundaries to start with. And nothing is ever set in stone, babe. Remember that.”

  Their gazes locked, and her heart thumped against her ribs, hard. The moment passed when her phone pinged loudly in the quiet room, signaling a text message.

  Ian glanced to where her phone sat facedown on the counter top. “You going to check that?”

  Ronnie snatched up the phone, eager to have something to look at other than Ian for just a moment. She glanced at the message on top and bit back a laugh.

  Scarlet: Well? How was your first real night at the club? Did you get tied up and fucked?

  Ian quirked an eyebrow when she put the phone back on the counter. “It’s my friend Scarlet, checking in to see how last night went at the club.”

  “You should answer her.”

  “It’s rude to text someone when you’re in the middle of a conversation with someone else.”

  Ian laughed. “Yes, I agree. But we’re done talking about the important stuff, and she’s probably worried about you. You should answer her.”

  Ronnie picked up the phone, keyed it open, and showed the message to Ian. “She’s not worried. She wants details.”

  He read the message and laughed. God, he had a great laugh.

  Then he took the phone from her hands and started typing. Ronnie leaned in, reading what he sent.

  Ronnie: Not tied up.

  Scarlet: Fucked? You got fucked? Yes! Tell me it was Ian, It was Ian, right?

  “You told her about me?”

  “I might’ve said something about knowing you before and seeing you again.”

  Yes, it was Ian, he typed. He’s amazing. Best lay ever. And, tonight, he’s going to tie me up and beat my ass red for the fun of it.

  Her jaw dropped, and she stared at him. “What?”

  Ian ignored her, laughing at whatever Scarlet had texted back. Holding the phone close, he sat back in his chair so she couldn’t read the screen anymore.

  “Ian!” she reached for the phone.

  “No,” he commanded. “You gave it to me. Now I get to play. You sit like a good sub and wait.”

  “She’s my best friend, Ian. Be careful.”

  He dropped his hands and looked at her. “You trusted me with your body, now trust me with this.”

  She sat, silent, drinking her coffee and watching him text for five solid minutes. It was fucking hell. Not because she didn’t trust him because, once she thought about it, she did. It was hell because she really wanted to know what they were saying, and it felt like it was taking forever for their conversation to end.

  Finally, he put the phone face down on the table in front of her. “Done.”

  She reached for it, and he laid his hand on top of hers. “Uh uh.”

  “Huh?”

  “She’s happy you’re safe and that you got laid. She’ll talk to you tomorrow afternoon when she gets back from her trip. You’re having an early dinner with her at your place. She’s bringing it.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “If that’s all it says, why can’t I read it?”

  “Because I said so.”

  They looked at one another, Ronnie fighting the urge to snatch up the phone, Ian watching her closely to see what she would do. She got the feeling it was some sort of test, and, suddenly, not failing that test mattered more than reading the texts.

  “Do I ever get to read them?” she asked.

  “Yes, but if you read them before I say it’s okay, I really will spank your ass red tonight, and I don’t think you’ll enjoy it.” He kissed her again before getting up and heading to the sink. “I’ve got a couple of things I have to do today, but I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

  They made plans to meet at the club around nine, and she left with a smile on her face. It was seven in the morning on a Saturday, and she was wide-awake and smiling.

  Damn, the man was magic.

  Chapter Two

  Ian sat in the restaurant, staring at nothing, trying not to think about how this was going to go. Dave Graham had been surprised to hear from him when Ian had called, but he hadn’t hesitated in agreeing to meet him for lunch that afternoon. Then again, Dave didn’t know yet that Ian had been back in the city for a few years, or that he was now seeing Ronnie. His little cousin. The same one Dave thought of as a little sister, who he was very protective of.

  Yeah, Ian thought as he saw his old high school buddy stride into the shop. This could go either way.

  “Ian, it’s great to see you!” Dave said as came toward the table. “Did you just get back into town?”

  May as well jump right in.

  “Actually, no,” he said as he stood to greet his old friend. “I’ve been back for a few years.”

  Dave gave him a what-the-fuck look, but still shook the hand Ian held out to him. When they were both sitting, Ian continued. “Yeah, I came back almost five years ago to develop some software for a local business and stayed. Sorry I never called you, man. When I first came back, it was all about work, and, well, to be honest, I felt like a jerk for not keeping in touch after I left town, so it was just easier to leave the past in the past.”

  The waitress arrived, and Dave ordered a beer. When she left, he met Ian’s gaze, and smiled the same grin that had made him so popular in high school. “It’s all good. I get how work can take over your life sometimes. I’m just glad you thought to reach out now.”

  Jesus, he was still the same old easy going Dave he’d been almost fifteen years ago.

  Ian chuckled to himself. It was pretty awesome, actually.

  Dave’s beer came, and they ordered their meals then sat quietly for a minute. “So, what kind of consulting do you do?”

  “Software. I got tired of being a developer and started my own company so I could stay here.”

  Dave frowned. “What’s the difference between a software developer and a consultant?”

  Ian grinned. “A consultant does the same job as a developer, mostly, but gets paid a lot more.”

  They laughed, and Dave shook his head. “You always were a smart son of a bitch.”

  Ian relaxed a little more as they traded facts about what they were both doing now. Dave was a lawyer in his father’s law firm, married, with a son and another kid on the way.

  “You seem settled and happy with your life,” Ian said just as the waitress showed up with their food.

  “Yeah, I am. Ronnie, on the other hand, is still a bit of a wild child, though.”

  Never gonna get a better opening than that, Ian told himself.

  “Actually,” he said, “I ran into Ronnie a few weeks ago.”

  “Yeah? She never mentioned it.”

  He took a deep breath. “Maybe because it was at a club.” No need to mention what kind of club. “And because we’ve started seeing each other.”

  Dave set down his burger, staring at him. Ian met his gaze straight on, but remained silent. When Dave picked up his burger and started eating again without saying anything, Ian knew better than to relax. He did start eating himself, though, trying at least to appear relaxed.

  “Define seeing,” Dave said.

  “I’m not going to fuck her and leave her,” Ian said bluntly. “You don’t know this, but I’ve always liked Ronnie. Running into her the way I did made it impossible for me not to try and make a go of it.”

  “I’m not an idiot, Ian. I knew you had the hots for her in high school. Shit, all the guys did. Not that she ever noticed the way any of them looked at her. She’s always sort of been in her own world, thinking no one liked her because she was so different. It never occurred to her that guys tend to covet something that is different.” He glared at Ian. “That’s not what this is, right?”

  “Hell, no! I love that she’s her own woman, but she’s not a novelty to me, Dave. I promise you that.” Ian shifted in his seat, unusually unsure of himself.

  “Do you care about her?”

  �
�Of course, I care about her, and I’m serious about things with her. That’s why I reached out to you.”

  They looked at each other for another minute in silence, then Dave began eating again. A couple of seconds later Dave ordered another beer from the waitress then turned to Ian. “So how do you think the Clippers are gonna do this season?”

  Ian relaxed, settling in to talk sports with his old friend. Some things never changed.

  “Well,” Zane, the owner of the garage she worked at, drawled when Ronnie walked into the shop an hour later. “Someone had a good night.”

  Ronnie grinned at him. “Yes, I did. What about you?”

  “Tina had a slumber party,” he said, talking about his thirteen-year-old daughter. “They held a séance.”

  “Really? Did it work?” she asked before he could ask about her own night.

  He glared at her balefully, and she laughed as they walked in the back door of Sam’s Auto together. The local speedway was hosting a race-off on Sunday for their regular Thursday Night Thunder drivers, and a couple of her regulars had asked specifically for her to check their cars over the day before the race. Since Scarlet was out of town anyway, Ronnie had agreed to go in and give them a little extra attention. It was a good thing, too, otherwise she’d likely spend all day lying on the couch, driving herself nuts with thoughts of exactly how she wanted things to be between her and Ian.

  Besides, she loved what she did. Working on an engine made her feel Zen.

  Tina saw them through the window between the shop and the front office and waved. “Jesus, did she grow taller overnight?”

  “Every day,” Zane said with a small smile. “Not just taller either. She’s looking more and more like her mother every day.”

  Zane stared at his daughter, his expression slightly lost, and Ronnie’s heart clenched. Zane and Maria, Tina’s mom, had always seemed so connected to each other. They never purposefully excluded anyone, but the two of them had been so in love that, even after being together for years, they couldn’t be in the same room without touching each other constantly, and heat arched between them every time their eyes met in some silent communication. Watching them had been the first time Ronnie had actually yearned for a man in her life.

  “She’d be proud of you both, you know?”

  “I wonder sometimes…”

  “Wonder what?”

  He looked down at her, and she saw the worry in his clear blue eyes. “How Maria would feel about her working here so much, about what sort of person she’d be if her mom had been here to raise her, about how the hell I’m gonna deal when she starts being interested in boys.” He ran a hand through his spiky blond hair. “Shit, Ronnie, I have no clue what I’m doing. Her boobs are starting to grow, and she’s gonna get her first period soon, and, man, I so don’t want to have to talk to her about that.”

  She laughed at the image in her mind of this six-foot hulk of a muscled man sitting on the edge of a girly flowered bed showing his daughter how to use a tampon. Zane glared at her. “It’s not funny.”

  “It’s okay, Zane.” Swallowing her laughter, Ronnie decided not to share the mental image with her friend. She could ease his worry some, though. “Tina got her first period almost a year ago, and I helped her get sorted. If you want, I’ll take her shopping for a bra as well.”

  His jaw dropped open then snapped shut with a click of his teeth. “She already has her period?”

  “Yep.” She snickered. “Your little girl is a woman.”

  She debated telling Zane his daughter was also already interested in boys, but decided to leave that one alone. Better for everyone involved if he remained clueless a little longer.

  Just then Tina stuck her head through the door to the front and yelled at them. “Why are you guys still standing there yapping? Pete’s here with the Beast, Ronnie. I told him to head to Bay 4. And, Dad, that truck isn’t going anywhere until you finish with the brakes, and I need that bay empty in the next thirty minutes or we’re gonna be real behind. Get on it, would you?” Then she was gone again, back at the counter answering the phone.

  “Nope, not a little girl anymore,” Ronnie slapped Zane on the shoulder and walked away, leaving him there with a stunned look on his face.

  She moved fast and slipped her coveralls on over her shorts and, by the time Pete had his Chevelle in the bay, she was ready for him. She lost herself in the work for a few hours, helping Pete get his car ready for race day. They changed the oil and the filter, pulled the plugs, and Ronnie was glad to see the dark soot of a well-run engine on them. She put the new ones in, checked the fluids, and finished the service before checking the engine compression. Everything on the Beast checked out, and she gave him a grin as she closed the hood. “You’ve been working on her some, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” The kid nodded. “Dad always told me it wasn’t enough to know how to change your oil. If you want to race, you have to know how to make the car perform. Still, I wanted you to look her over for me because no one can make her purr like you can.”

  Not even twenty yet, he was young to be racing a car like this one, but he’d inherited the classic muscle car years earlier when his dad didn’t make it home from Iraq. It had become his prized possession, and Ronnie thought racing it made him feel closer to his father now.

  Ronnie knew what it was like to lose a parent. Hell, she’d lost both of hers when she was ten, and she treasured the few things she had from her life with them. “It’s good to do it yourself when you can,” she said. “Helps you get a good feel for the car and makes a person a better driver I think. But you know I’m always here if you need me.”

  “Thanks.” He nodded as he opened the driver’s door to climb in.

  “And you know if I find out you’re racing her on the street like a fucking idiot, I won’t work on her, right?” she said before he was actually in the car.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned. “I’m no idiot.”

  She grinned back and waved him away. “Good luck at the track!”

  She watched him drive away and wondered at the way he’d called her ma’am. She was no Ma’am or Mistress. Sure, she was strong and independent, and proud of it, but, man, there was nothing she craved more than giving herself over to someone she could trust. The question was how much of herself did she want to give over, and how often, she thought as she became hyperaware of the unread texts on the phone in her back pocket.

  She definitely had some thinking to do.

  Chapter Three

  Ronnie arrived at the club early. Ian was supposed to meet her there around nine, but she walked in the doors right after it opened at eight. It had been a tough choice, but, instead of driving, she’d left Delilah at home and taken the bus. Ian was the man, and the Dominant, so she figured it was only right that she let him drive and be in charge. Still, there was no way in hell she was going to leave her deep-purple 1970 Barracuda in the club parking lot overnight. Nope, her baby was tucked up safe and sound in the underground parking at home.

  After signing in, Ronnie stepped through the last set of doors into the main club room, and a thrill ran down her spine. She was a full-on member now. And she had a Dom of her own. Probably. Maybe. Hell, she was still unsure of exactly how this all worked. Could she call him her Dom if he hadn’t given her a collar? One of the many stupid questions that filled her mind at the moment.

  Which was another reason she was there early. She’d called Adam, the club’s owner, earlier that day and arranged to meet him right after they opened. He wasn’t on the main floor, and she didn’t see him up on the observation deck, so she walked through the mostly empty club to the bar. Eden Morgan, the manager was behind the bar. A tall brunette with a model’s body and penchant for fetish clothes, she was so sexy even Ronnie kinda wanted to serve her. And Ronnie had never been into women.

  “Hi, Eden. Is Adam around?”

  “Not yet,” she said. “He doesn’t always come down on Saturday nights since even he needs a night off now and then.
Is there something I can help you with, sweetie?”

  Eden was really nice. She’d been one of the trainers, and the woman certainly knew her stuff, but Ronnie’d prefer Adam. She sat on one of the barstools and smiled. “No, thanks. I’ll have a tequila and water though, please.”

  “There you are, Veronica,” she said, setting the drink in front of Ronnie with a smile. “Ian called and asked me to mediate for you guys tonight. You excited?”

  Ronnie smiled, the butterflies in her stomach flitting about at the thought of Ian. “Yeah, I am. Nervous, too.”

  “Nervous is okay,” A deep voice said from behind her, making Ronnie jump in her seat. “As long as it’s excitement and not fear that’s causing it.”

  Ronnie turned and grinned at the total badass who stood behind her. “Definitely not fear,” she told Adam.

  If anyone scared her, it would be him. Not in a bad way, though, because she knew instinctively he would never hurt her. He could be intimidating with all his tatted-up muscles and the hint of barely restrained violence surrounding him, but she was one of his, and, as he’d told her the first night she set foot into Overwatch, that meant he would always be there for her.

  “Let’s go sit and talk, Veronica,” Adam said, guiding her off her stool while giving Eden a telling look. “Let me know when Ian gets here, would you?”

  Adam led her away from the bar to where there were four club chairs pulled together for a conversation corner. Once they were settled, she looked at him and spoke first. “I don’t want you to think I don’t want this relationship with Ian just because I wanted to talk to you first.”

  “That’s not what I think,” he said with a small smile. “I’m aware you knew each other years ago, and I watched you during your training classes.”

  “I just wanted to talk to someone a bit first, to see what my options are.”