What She Wants Tonight

by Jillian Neal

  “No, you only deny yourself that.”

  “Would you like me to stop denying myself that, honey?”

  “I’d like you to do a lot of things.”

  “I’m listening.”

  She gripped his thigh under the table. Heat spilled from the zipper line of his designer jeans. “Sometimes it’s fun to be a little rough, a little bit naughty.” The whiskey she’d consumed robbed her of some of her practiced inhibition.

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Jack whispered kisses on her cheek. “Grab me,” he ordered. Meridian’s heart fluttered in her chest. Using the table for cover, she obeyed, palming her hand over the distinct bulge in his jeans. A needy groan sounded in her ear. “Good girl,” his tone dripped with hunger. “Did you wear this dress because you know how hard it makes me?” She was wearing one of her favorite short dresses that she often wore to work.

  “Maybe.” She definitely knew but wasn’t quite ready to reveal all of her cards just yet either.

  “Then things are going to get very, very naughty, honey. I hope you’re ready.”

  She smirked at him, certain that the fire ignited in his eyes matched the heat in her own. “Try me,” she challenged.

  Electricity sizzled between them. They stared each other down, all of the questions they still didn’t quite have answers to penned in their eyes. “How long do we need to stay here?” That particular question ached with her need.

  His eyes closed in an extended blink. “I can’t leave them here with Greer,” he choked. “As badly as I’d like to.”

  That brought Meridian up short. Despite her desperation to keep doing more of what she was doing, she pulled her hand away from his fierce erection. “Do you think he’s lying about keeping Sophie and Sloan’s relationship a secret?”

  Jack swallowed hard. He downed another sip of whiskey as if that might cool the burn between them. “I don’t know,” he sighed out the answer. “My brother is a peacemaker at his core, and while that might be a positive attribute in some cases….” He shook his head.

  “If you don’t stand for something…” Meridian offered.

  “You’ll fall by the might of the Denton strong-arm.”

  “Damn.”

  Jack grinned at that. “Damned, remember? Everything the Bastards have worked so hard to put together could be destroyed by him running his mouth. I can’t have him thinking he can play both ends against the middle here. There is no peace that can come from him trying to please us and my parents.”

  Meridian glanced over at Greer who was awkwardly trying to play pool with Drew. “He seemed sincere. How did he know where we were?”

  “I’m sure my mother mentioned that I was coming to see Finn tonight. Greer came here with us right after Finn came out to us. He made some…unappreciated comments that night and then went radio silent about it all. I brushed it off as shock at the time, but he never apologized, never really reversed course. I hope he does have guilt over that. But trusting him would be incredibly stupid on my part, and I’m only supposed to be making bad decisions when it comes to you.” He winked at her.

  Before Meridian could comment on that, Drew appeared at the table. He lifted his highball and turned around to give Greer a distinctly fake grin. Spinning back, he begged Jack, “Please, for the love of god, come play pool with us and make this slightly less awkward.”

  “Sure.” Jack nodded as he lifted his eyebrows to Meridian. “We’ll be right there.”

  “Thank you.” Drew begrudgingly headed back to the table.

  “How well do they know each other?” Meridian asked.

  “He surfaced right before Finn came out. He’s only six months younger than Finn, and his mother petitioned my father for tuition money when Drew wanted to go to college. So, they don’t know each other well. Do you mind if we join them for a game?”

  “You go ahead,” Meridian offered.

  Jack chuckled and shook his head at her. “Do you not play well, cowgirl?”

  “I’ve only played once, and I mean, you grew up with a billiard room in your house, so you obviously have an unfair advantage.”

  “Look at me,” he demanded. Meridian’s eyes found his again. “You know, you could ask me for my help.”

  He had her there, she supposed. “I’m not good at that either,” she admitted.

  “Two things you could improve at once, then.”

  Glancing at his brothers waiting on them expectantly, she gave in. “All right, fine—Jack, would you teach me how to not suck at pool?”

  “It would be my distinct pleasure.” He stood and offered her his hand.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Still hard up and aching from her affections to his crotch, Jack tried to focus on the task before him. The truth of it was that pool was a sexy game if you knew how to play. If he played with even half of his skill set, he could appease Drew, try to figure out what the hell Greer was up to, and indulge a little of the wildfire sparking in Meridian’s eyes.

  He, of all people, knew Meridian was as multifaceted as ten other women combined. She was a hundred-sided die, and one had to know how to roll to determine which side of her she chose to reveal. He’d been hopelessly devoted to the study of her for years. He knew how to roll the dice and win.

  Instinctively, he sized up the table, his familial opponents, and then watched Meridian approach the cue stand and reach for the first one she saw. Jack rushed to her and shook his head. “We’re playing teams,” he informed his brothers. “Go ahead and rack them up.” Then he spoke so only she could hear him. “Not that one.”

  “Why not?”

  “It has no tip, for one thing. Just try trusting me on this, would you?”

  “All right, fine,” she goaded.

  He grabbed the only cue remaining that had a decent tip. It appeared to be slightly warped to the left, but he could compensate for that. He was certain Greer and Drew had selected the straighter cues.

  Chalking the tip, he dragged it between two fingers to remove the excess dust. Meridian stared at him. “Wow.” She shook her head. “I have no idea why that’s so sexy, but couldn’t I just watch you play?”

  Pleased with her request, he shook his head. “It’ll be much sexier if we play as one. Trust me, remember?”

  “Okay, fine.” She shrugged. “Teach me.”

  Greer slid the rack back and forth on the table and then lifted it like he’d done in the thousands of games they’d played together growing up.

  “Your break,” he offered Jack.

  Jack chuckled at that as he led Meridian to the opposite side of the table. “Do you seriously think I can’t play as well with her?” He knew why his brother had offered to let him break.

  “I think this might be the only chance I ever have of beating you,” Greer harassed.

  “See.” Meridian looked wounded. “Just let me watch you.”

  “He’s full of shit,” Jack stated loud enough for Greer to hear him. “Trust me.” He’d say it until she finally took the action without prompting. “Pool is geometry and nothing more,” he explained as he lined up the cue ball. “Three-fourths of the game is lining up the shot.”

  “I wasn’t that great at geometry either,” she huffed.

  “Then we’ll make up for it with chemistry.” Jack stood directly behind her and leaned her low over the table. The quick change of her breath only served to make him harder. She pressed back against him. “I love having your ass up against me,” he whispered as he aligned the cue with the ball using her fingers as his slide. “We’re shooting low on the ball to spin it back so we can pocket the balls that break to this side of the table first.”

  She wiggled her hips ever so slightly, playing a game all her own. He growled low in her ear. “If you keep that up, I’ll find somewhere in this bar to fuck you, honey.” She repeated the motion in a friction-induced challenge directly to his groin. “Be still for just one minute, but after I win this game you can do that all you like while I drill into you from behind.�
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  A quick catch of her breath and a stilling of her body preceded him breaking the balls in a perfect split.

  They joined Drew as Greer lined up his first shot. “If you want to escape this game, there’s a young lady at the bar who seems interested in you,” Jack informed his youngest brother.

  Drew glanced that way discreetly. “Yeah, I saw her. I somehow bet she wouldn’t let me teach her to play pool like that.” He gestured to where Jack had bent Meridian over the table.

  Jack laughed. “Maybe try buying her a drink first.”

  “Does she look familiar to you?” Drew asked.

  Jack hadn’t paid that much attention to the blonde. She’d been in direct lineup of his shot, and he’d noticed that she was overtly staring at Drew. Trying to be more discreet now, he studied her more closely.

  His blood ran ice cold, and the boner he’d been certain he wouldn’t rid himself of until he unloaded deep in Meridian wilted. “That’s Farrah Fitzgerald,” he spat. “What the hell is she doing out here?” Watershed held so much appeal because Bourbon Country steadfastly ignored its existence.

  “Who?” Meridian and Drew asked simultaneously.

  “Tiffany’s little sister,” Jack spoke low and kept his back to Farrah.

  Meridian pretended to be sizing up the position of the balls on the table, but Jack saw her study Farrah. She returned to his side. “She looks like she got stood up.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “She keeps glancing from Drew to the door. She’s obviously interested in him, but hasn’t made a move yet. Plus, she looks pissed.”

  Drew rolled his eyes. “She’s probably slumming it down here to piss her parents off or something.”

  Jack flipped back through a few memories of Farrah. She was several years younger than Tiffany. He hadn’t interacted with her much growing up. In fact, he only remembered seeing her twice, but he did recall her being defiant on numerous occasions to gain her parents’ attention, which Tiffany tended to dominate. Her outlandish stunts had led to her parents shipping her off to boarding school for most of her life. Drew was likely correct. She was probably here to infuriate her father.

  “She’s coming over,” Meridian alerted them.

  “It’s your shot,” Greer urged impatiently.

  “Right.” Jack wasn’t certain how to proceed.

  He slowly guided Meridian to an easy corner pocket shot while trying to eavesdrop.

  “You look so familiar,” Farrah cooed flirtatiously to Drew. “Have we met before?”

  “I’d remember meeting you,” Drew informed her. “Do you come here often?” The clichés became that way for a reason.

  “No, I’ve never been here before. I was supposed to meet my sister here, but she hasn’t shown.” Jack and Meridian shared a quick uncomfortable glance. Just how many people knew where they were? “What’s your name?” Farrah inquired.

  “Drew.” He provided no last name. Smart kid.

  “I’m Farrah.” She grinned at him as Jack once again lined up the shot and leaned Meridian low over the table. As long as he lined up the shots correctly, he could play blindfolded, so there was no real need for him to pay much attention to the game. “Do you want to get a drink or something?” She gestured back to the bar.

  “Don’t let us hold you up,” Greer encouraged him.

  Farrah’s head jerked to the side as Jack sank the three in the side pocket and knocked the five to the center. “Aren’t you the Denton brothers?”

  “Guilty as charged,” Jack allowed. “How are you, Farrah? It’s been a few years.”

  “Jack, oh my gosh. You’re…uh…older.”

  Meridian choked back laughter as Jack nodded. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  Farrah cringed. “Well, we all are. I didn’t mean it like that. You look great. Really, really great.”

  Meridian’s eyes narrowed. “Jealous, honey?” Jack got her back for laughing a moment earlier.

  “What brings you out here tonight?” Drew picked up where he’d left off.

  “Like I said, I was supposed to meet Tiffany and Brent here. I have no idea why they wanted to come all the way out here. Were they supposed to play pool with you guys or something?” she asked Greer. “Couldn’t you do this at our house?”

  Greer shook his head. “No. Not to my knowledge.” He turned to Jack. “Did you know Tiff was coming?” Something in his brother’s question irked Jack.

  “I had no idea,” he assured everyone.

  “Weird,” Farrah shrugged. “I’ll call her later. So, do you want to get that drink?”

  “Why not?” Drew returned his cue to the cabinet and followed her to the bar.

  “Guess it’s just us.” Greer shrugged.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jack demanded.

  Looking surprised at the question, Greer gestured to the table. “I’m planning to sink the four in the side.”

  “Not with the game. How is it that you and Tiffany and Brenton were all planning to be here tonight? That’s entirely too much coincidence.”

  Greer bristled. “What? Do you think we were planning an intervention for you or something?”

  “Were you?”

  “No,” he scoffed. “I want to start coming here to see Finn with you. I told you that. I had no idea Tiff was supposed to be here. How would I know that?”

  Jack made mental note of Drew leaning closer to Farrah, of Sloan and Sophie climbing the stairs up from the dance floor, of Finn giving his impish grin to the man with the beer bottle, and to Lila sitting quietly back at their booth watching them all. “You knew Mom and Dad were going out to the Fitzgeralds’ tonight.”

  “I asked Frank to be sure they weren’t going to be around. I swear to you, I didn’t know about Tiffany. Do you really think Finn and Drew would be in on some kind of meeting where we try to talk you into coming back to Kentucky? They love you. They hate me.”

  That punctured a little of the fury that filled Jack. “They don’t hate you.”

  “Maybe they should.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m the holdout, right? I’m the brother that goes along with what Dad wants. I’m the one who won’t stand up to him.”

  “And why is that?” Jack cornered his brother.

  Greer folded his hands on top of his cue. “I don’t know.”

  Meridian touched Jack’s tensed shoulders. “I imagine it can be difficult to know who you are outside of the world your family has built. It would take a really strong person to rebuild their life in a different way all over again.”

  Greer gestured to Jack. “You’ve always been stronger than me. It bothers me when they’re angry. It bothers me that my family is split. I want to be a part of both, but if you don’t want me here, I’ll leave.”

  Jack considered his offer. “I don’t want you to leave, but I do want your loyalty. In fact, I’m going to demand it.”

  Greer held up his hand. “I will never discuss what I’ve seen here tonight with anyone but the people who are here. What do you call yourselves? The douchebags or something?” He tried for a joke and significantly missed the mark.

  “The Bastards,” Jack corrected. “For very obvious reasons.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  They were down to the last three balls on the table. Greer and Jack had gone shot for shot, until Greer had missed one that had bounced back and forth in front of the pocket. Jack had nailed his next shot, and Meridian was as impressed as she was turned on. The way Jack had confronted his brother immediately placed him on a pedestal in her mind. Jesus, if she wasn’t careful she was going to fall head over boots and there’d be no turning back.

  Before Greer could attempt to sink two balls with one shot, Lila made her way over to them. “Looks like your former teammate is busy with Farrah Fitzgerald,” she commented.

  They all directed their attention to Farrah and Drew. They were slowly edging closer to one another and sharing a flight of whiskey shots. Greer shrugged. “I’m
glad he’s enjoying himself.”

  “Let me take this last shot,” Lila pressed him.

  He stared at her like she was crazy. “Not a chance.”

  “Come on. We both know you tend to choke under pressure.”

  “I do not.”

  Jack drew Meridian to his chest while they waited. She wrapped her arms around him, and in the midst of all the crazy this night had provided she found peace. He whispered in her ear, “Lila is not wrong.”

  Meridian didn’t really care who won this game. She wanted to be alone with Jack anywhere else.

  “Come on, Greer,” Lila continued.

  “Fine, but if you miss, I never want to hear anything else about me buckling under pressure from either of you.”

  Meridian felt Jack nod against her head. Lila must have also agreed. Meridian begrudgingly turned and, to her shock, watched Lila’s perfect trick shot. She hit the cue ball off the side. It shot toward the side pocket, knocked in the ball there, and somehow ricocheted to sink the other ball as well.

  “I don’t miss,” Lila informed her cousins.

  Jack laughed. “I never said you did.”

  “Rematch,” Greer urged. “I’ll let you beat me this time.”

  “I can beat you anytime you don’t have Lila’s help, but not tonight.” Jack wrapped his arm around Meridian. “We can play at River Chase. I want to dance with my fiancée.”

  “You can buy me a drink to toast our win,” Lila offered Greer.

  “Fine,” Greer grumbled.

  As Meridian let Jack guide her toward the staircase, she wondered, “Do you think Farrah knows who Drew is?”

  “I doubt she did before she came over, but she might now. I’m not sure how open he is about his parentage.”

  “I get that.”

  “Me too.”

  “Are you as good at dancing as you are at pool?” The idea of being pressed against him swaying to the music was highly appealing, although not quite as intriguing as his threat to find somewhere to fuck her in this bar.

  “No.” Jack laughed as he pulled her even closer. “But at least if I’m against you, the effect you have on me will be somewhat concealed.”