Jordyn's Army, page 11
“Remember, good behavior tonight,” he calls after me.
I pop open the door. “I’ll be so good she’ll wonder if I was even real.”
“I meant with Blaire’s brother.”
“Eh, I’ll try.”
I shut the door behind me.
4
Delaney
“Is that supposed to be a happy face?” I sit at the bar and point to a design on the back wall. It’s a sort of circle with what could potentially be eyes and a grin, but I’m not sure. “I can’t really tell.”
Navie, Crave’s bartender, laughs. “Yup. That’s Peck’s handiwork. He changes it out every few weeks, mostly to annoy Machlan. We’ve had a giant penis, a set of lips, a duck—oh, and a giant W. No one knew what that meant.” She furrows her brows. “I’m not even sure Peck knew, to be honest.”
I grin. Peck is the boy-next-door hottie that keeps everyone on their toes. The last time I was in Crave, he was dancing on the bar until Machlan threw him out. It’s all fun between them, I think. Machlan says he can’t let his cousin ruin his bar’s reputation, but I really think their push-and-pull is good for business.
Besides, they’re both ridiculously hot.
That never hurts.
“What are you doing in here tonight, anyway?” Navie asks.
I lift my chin. “I have a date, believe it or not.”
“Oooh. With who?”
Laughing, I take the mojito she offers me. “A guy I met today. At Suds N Spins.”
“Okay.” She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Look, I’m sure you’re well-equipped to pick out a decent guy. But let me point out that you’re drinking alcohol when you’re meeting a guy you just met at a laundromat in Linton. Is this safe?”
“Yes, it’s safe.”
“Is what safe?” Peck slides into the chair beside me. His blond hair is poking out from under his hat. “How ya doin’, Delaney?”
“Good,” I say, managing not to fan my face. “How are you?”
“Great.”
Navie grins. “I was just getting the run-down on Delaney’s date tonight.”
“Do I know him?” Peck asks.
“I don’t think so. His name is Boone and he’s from … somewhere,” I say, unable to pull that bit of information from my brain. “Anyway, he’s gorgeous and funny and offered to buy me a burger. So, here I am.”
Peck laughs, catching the beer that Machlan slides down the bar from the other end. “I’d have bought you a burger.”
My heart pitter-patters in my chest. “Well, had I known that …”
“Stop it.” Navie sighs. “You can’t say stuff like that when you’re so far up Molly McCarter’s ass.”
Peck tips back his beer, watching Navie over the top. Once he sets it back down, he grins. “Because Molly’s gonna marry me someday. Until she realizes that, it doesn’t hurt to be nice to other people, now does it?”
They banter back and forth. I lose track of their conversation when every cell in my body comes alive as a hand is placed lightly on my shoulder.
“Am I interrupting anything?” A deep, southern-tinged voice rolls from behind me.
Boone steps to my side. He’s fresh from the shower. The shirt he’s changed into is tighter than the one today. The dark fabric hugs his shoulders and biceps and I think I might drool.
“No,” I say, clearing my throat. “Not at all.”
His eyes sparkle as he sits next to me. “What are you drinking?”
“A mojito. They’re Navie’s specialty.”
At the sound of her name, Navie fake coughs. I laugh as I look at her.
“Boone, this is Navie. And this is Peck. His cousin owns this place. Guys, this is Boone Mason.”
They exchange pleasantries as I try to settle myself down.
The air is filled with Boone’s cologne and presence. There’s something slightly different about him tonight—something sexier. I wonder if it’s the mojito or if he’s put in a little more effort knowing he was coming to see me.
I hope it’s the latter. It’s probably the former.
Either way, it’s fine by me.
Navie hands Boone a beer before he touches me lightly on the arm. My gaze flips to his as my body misfires.
“Do you want to sit here or find a booth?” he asks.
“Find a booth,” Navie cuts in. When we look at her, she flushes. “Sorry. You didn’t ask me.”
Boone laughs. “Well, your opinion is welcome. Is there somewhere you suggest?”
I don’t know exactly what goes through Navie’s mind, but she snorts. I bury my face in my hands.
Peck chuckles. “Take the booth in the back. It’ll be the quietest. This place will get rowdy soon.”
“Thanks.” Boone stands. “You ready?”
“Yup.” I get to my feet and lift my drink. Before I turn around, Navie catches my gaze.
He’s so hot, she mouths.
I nod but look away before I think about it too much and get nervous.
Following him to the back of the bar isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever done. His butt is round and fills out the back of his jeans like nobody’s business. I’d follow him anywhere, especially if anywhere was a bed.
He waits for me to get situated before sitting across from me. I want to stare at him, but don’t. Partly because it’s rude and partly because it’ll cause words to stop flowing to my mouth and that would make me look dumb.
There’s something about the smaller space, the more intimate quarters, that makes my heart pound a little harder in my chest.
“How’s your foot?” he asks.
“Nice ice breaker.”
He smiles. “Should I have started with … you look hot as fuck tonight?”
I look down at my shirt mostly to avoid his eyes for a second. “I’m glad you like this shirt. I’ve had it for years.”
“The shirt is great. But I really meant that you look great in it.” He grins. “I think you’d probably look great in anything though.”
“Stop charming me,” I say with a laugh.
“Why?”
“It’s not necessary.”
He takes a long draw of his beer. Watching me over the bottle, his brows are pulled tight.
“Being charming is a lot of work,” I say.
His bottle rests on the table. “Maybe for some. It comes quite natural to me.”
“Oh.” I nod like I’m humoring him.
“It does,” he insists. “I mean, I managed to get dinner with you based on about thirty minutes of charm.”
“You managed to get dinner with me because I enjoy not having to buy my meals and I haven’t had anyone ask me out in a while. I need practice.”
He falls back in his seat. “You haven’t dated in a long time? I find that so hard to believe.”
“Are you saying I’m irresistible?”
He laughs. “Something like that.”
“Well … thanks. But, no, I don’t date a lot. I think I’ve dated everyone that’s not my cousin or a friend’s ex in this county.”
“That sounds … like a cesspool.”
I take a sip of my mojito.
Music begins to play over the speakers. It’s the signal that the night at Crave is about to begin. The entire town that’s of drinking and going out age will filter through here at some point tonight. It’s a fun atmosphere. Usually. Tonight, I’m afraid it’s going to be a giant distraction.
He leans forward out of necessity. Our words would be drowned out if not. But the closeness of his body to mine—our legs nearly touching beneath the table and our hands this close on top—makes it hard to keep everything straight.
He reaches for his drink. His knuckles brush against mine. My eyes flip to his to see a playful, yet mischievous glimmer swimming in the green orbs.
“What about you?” I ask, forcing a swallow. “Do you date much?”
“Honestly? When I have time, I like to see a movie or baseball game or something, yeah. But I’ve been working a lot lately and have had to slow it down. That really makes my brothers happy.”
“What is it you guys do?”
“For the most part, we invest in real estate. One of my brothers—I have four—is an architect. Otherwise, we work in various branches of the family company.”
“Got it.”
He spins the beer bottle between his fingers. “What about you? What do you do?”
“Nothing as fancy as you,” I say with a laugh. “My parents own an organic dairy farm. I work there. I know it sounds like I trek around in cow poop all day, but I don’t. Not all the time.” I grin. “But I really like it, as unglamorous as it is.”
I wait for his reaction. It takes longer than I expect.
A slow smile breaks out across his handsome face. “That’s actually really cool.”
“I don’t know about cool, but it’s enjoyable.”
“No, that’s what I mean. It’s something productive. Something that makes a difference to people, you know? And you work with your family which I really respect.”
My heart skips a beat. Most men think my working on a farm is either disgusting or a way for me to kill time before I find someone to marry. It’s neither. I think Boone gets that.
I shift in my chair. My leg brushes against his beneath the table. His brows shoot to the ceiling before he quickly recovers.
The contact leaves me a little breathless. The look he gives me steals what air is left.
“You better stop looking at me like that,” I warn.
“Like what?”
He grins the most devilish grin. My legs ache as I feel the pressure of his attention settling in the bottom of my stomach.
As I sort the look he’s delivering my way, one thing becomes abundantly clear: he wants what I want. And it’s not a burger.
“I’m leaving in the morning,” he says carefully.
“Okay.”
He chuckles to himself. “Okay.”
“It’s probably a good thing you’re leaving so soon,” I say.
“Really?”
“Yup. Because I’m going to go out on a limb here—maybe too far but it wouldn’t be the first time—and say we’re going to sleep together tonight. I least I hope so. And, if that happens, you’re going to fall in love with me and I don’t really need all that noise.”
His jaw drops open. I’m not sure if he’s going to laugh or argue. I’m not sure if he knows either.
My temperature rises as I feel the power of bringing a guy like this to his knees. The ball is in his court now. A ball I purposefully put there because it’s what I wanted and I owned it. It’s so much easier than to tiptoe around a topic or let a man call the shots.
To Hell with that.
He blows out a breath, a smile stretches across his cheeks. “Let me just say before I get sidetracked that I most definitely hope we sleep together tonight.”
“Good.” I squeeze my thighs together in an attempt to quell the ache in my belly. “That solves that.”
He grins. “But, also, there’s a bigger chance of you falling in love with me than vice versa. I’m kind of anti-long-term anything.”
“That makes two of us.”
A look of satisfaction paints itself on his face. “This might work out better than I imagined.”
“Same.”
I look around the bar. Bodies fill most of the space, having come in at some point in the midst of my conversation with Boone. I have no intention whatsoever of engaging any of them in small talk or dancing or even ordering another drink.
“What time do you leave tomorrow?” I ask.
“Flight goes out at nine.”
“How bad do you want that burger?”
“Much less than I want your body.”
I grab my purse. “Let’s go then.”
He laughs as he swipes his wallet from his pocket. Jamming down a handful of bills, the number of which I don’t think he considers, he stands.
“I have a hotel room but I’m sharing it with my brother,” he says.
“It’s your lucky day then. You can see my body and our farm.”
He takes my hand as I start through the crowd. His palm is heavy and large and the thought of it touching my bare skin makes me shiver.
“Where ya going?” Peck hollers as we walk by.
“My house,” I call back.
“I’ll check on you in the morning in case he’s a serial killer,” Peck says.
“By then it would be too late.” Boone laughs.
I stop and look at Boone’s face before looking at Peck. “Don’t you dare bother me tonight. I’ll take my chances.”
Boone places a hand on each of my shoulders and spins me toward the door. “Nice to meet you, Peck,” he says as he taps me on the butt. “Now go.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ooh, I like that.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I say as I step outside. “I’m not very submissive.”
The air whips around us as if to hurry us along. I head down the sidewalk and stop at my car.
Boone looks down at me. “I’d kiss you here, but I’m not sure if I’d be able to stop and I sure as hell don’t want to fuck you in the middle of town.”
My stomach drops. “Where are you parked?”
“Four cars down.”
“Follow me.” I move around the front of my car. “I hope you can drive fast.”
“I can drive it however you want.”
“We’ll see about that.”
5
Boone
My headlights shine across a small cabin nestled in a grove of trees. It sits at the end of a gravel lane that felt like it went on forever. I pull my car in beside Delaney’s and cut my engine.
I watch her gather her things before exiting her vehicle. There’s something about her that just draws me in like a moth to a flame. I don’t know if it’s her quick wit or ability to knock me off my game with one look, but the woman possesses an innate quality that most don’t.
Grinning, I climb out of my car. The night sky is dark blue and dotted with bright silver stars.
Delaney comes around the front of the car. I hold my breath as I take her in, hoping that the ride over didn’t dissuade her from her earlier plans.
I want her. Damn, I want her. And as I watch her move with a confidence that’s so fucking sexy, I realize that I want her to want me.
“You kept up,” she says with a grin. “Good work.”
“You haven’t seen how good I can work yet.”
Her cheeks turn a faint shade of pink as I approach. She doesn’t say a word. She just turns toward the porch.
To our right is a row of rose bushes. I stop and touch a bud that’s closed tight.
“I love those,” she says softly. “My grandmother planted them years and years ago. She used to say that they would bloom when something beautiful happens.”
“Does one bloom every morning when you open your eyes?”
She shakes her head. “No to the charming. It’ll make you leaving harder on you.” She laughs. “Besides, while sweet, that was a little lame.”
“True. Sounds like something one of my brothers would say.”
She flashes me a huge smile and makes her way onto the porch. A key is swiped from under a planter and I almost point out that she might as well leave it sitting on the railing because any delinquent would look under the planter first. But I don’t. I have a feeling that would be a long-drawn-out conversation and I don’t want anything distracting us from the reason we’re here.
To fuck.
We step inside. The cabin is exactly what I’d expect it to be. Orderly and warm with hints of levity here and there. The couch is a classic brown leather piece with a handful of pillows across it. The blanket draped over the back is covered with rainbows. It makes me laugh.
“What?” she asks as she closes the door behind me.
“I like the blanket.” I motion toward the sofa. “Nice touch.”
“Well, I could explain to you the significance of the rainbow, but I won’t. I don’t think you deserve those little details yet.”
“Ooh. Does that mean I can earn them?”
She bats her eyelashes, making me laugh again. She walks down a little hallway that opens into a cozy kitchen. A breath is released in one hefty blow before she turns and looks at me.
Her eyes are filled with anticipation. Ripe with expectation. Overflowing with need—a need I’m ready and willing to meet.
I watch her, unsure as to whether to make the first move. This is new to me. There’s a protocol for these types of things—dinner, a movie, a nightcap. A little cuddling on the couch to ease the transition and then the finale. Delaney has completely tossed that out the window and now I don’t know what to do. I know what I want to do—get her naked as soon as possible. But I don’t want to make it uncomfortable or weird or come across as weak either.
She leans against the counter. “So, how do you want to do this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do I offer you a drink? Do we need to talk about the weather? Or do you just want to forgo all that jazz?”
I blink once. Twice. Three times before forcing a swallow down my throat. “You’re here for this, huh?”
“If you’re having second thoughts …”
“Ha.”
I walk slowly across the room. The air between us grows thicker. The room seems to shrink. The energy in the middle of us sizzles with what’s to come.
Her eyes grow wide as I near. I stop just inches from her.
I can’t remember being this excited to touch a woman. My fingers itch, almost burn, to feel her skin. I have to fight myself from wrapping her in my arms and smothering her with my lips.
Before I can, she reaches up and dangles her arms over my shoulders. Then, slowly, so slowly, in fact, that I think my cock might explode, she reaches her lips to mine.
They’re soft and silky. Like pillows against my mouth, she works them against mine like she has all the time in the world.
Her nails bite into my back as she pulls me closer. I wrap my arms around her, crossing them at the small of her back. Her skin is warm against my palms as I let her take the lead.
