Chapter 11

eleven

. . .

River

Country music nightwas the equivalent of hell for me most of the time. It was too much peopling and excitement. I preferred a few beers with the boys over a bunch of people nagging me to get on the dance floor.

I didn’t dance.

It wasn’t my thing.

But there was a bonus tonight… and she was standing behind the bar, serving drinks.

“Okay, Ruby gets to stop working in twenty minutes, so we’re all going to get out on the dance floor. Got it?” Demi asked.

“Baby, I like watching you dance. I don’t like doing it myself.” Romeo attempted to turn her down, but she smiled up at him, and I could see the shift. “But I can make an exception for you.”

“I love dancing. I swear I was born with all the moves,” Kingston said, and everyone laughed. The dude was right. He did have moves. He’d been dancing his way through life since the day he came into the fucking world.

I’d always found it so interesting that we’d been raised in the same house, but we were so completely different yet so connected at the same time.

I think the age difference played a huge role in that. Kingston barely remembered our parents. And he hadn’t been in the car the day of the accident.

Or maybe he was just a happier dude.

“I love ya, Demi, but I’m going to sit here and enjoy my beer. Dancing is not my thing.” Hayes winked at her.

He was a grumpy son of a bitch most of the time, so no one messed with him when he didn’t want to do something.

Demi smiled as if she understood him. Hell, the girl understood all of us, and she hadn’t even been around that long. She’d just fit right in from day one.

Nash wasn’t out tonight, as he was home with Cutler.

“When do you think we can get Beefcake a fake ID so he and Nash can be out with us?” I asked, taking a pull from my beer glass, my gaze moving to see Ruby walking our way.

“I think you’ve got a while before that happens,” Peyton said over her laughter.

“Yeah. And we’ll be too old to be out by the time he can come here,” Hayes said.

Ruby paused at the table, her gaze avoiding mine. It didn’t surprise me. We’d had a pretty heated conversation earlier, so I knew she’d retreat after that.

It was what I normally did, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off her tonight. I wanted to pick up where we’d left off.

“Are you officially off the clock?” Demi asked.

“I am. At least until we close, and then I’ll need to cash out and lock up. But I’ve got the next two hours to have some fun,” Ruby said. She was wearing a Whiskey Falls tee that was cut and cropped, showing off her flat stomach and feminine curves. She wore a short black skirt and her typical military boots. She was sexy as hell. Her legs were long and lean, and I had a strong vision of them being wrapped around my shoulders as I buried my face between her thighs.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

I didn’t fantasize about unattainable women.

I hooked up with women who knew the score.

Women who were down with the same thing as I was.

A one-and-done.

A good time.

No strings.

Ruby Rose was complicated. She was Lionel’s daughter, for starters. She was probably the only person I’d ever met who was more guarded than me. Hell, she didn’t even trust another person long enough to get her off.

A new song started blaring through the speakers, and Demi and Peyton both squealed. I didn’t miss the way Ruby’s eyes widened as she took them in. They reached for her hands and dragged her out to the dance floor.

“Thank God I don’t have to go out there yet,” Romeo said, his eyes on his girl like they always were.

“You’re so pussy-whipped you can’t see straight,” Kingston said over his laughter.

I took another pull from my beer and watched as Ruby tucked the hair behind her ear, and I’ll be damned if she wasn’t a fucking natural out there.

Her hips swayed perfectly to the beat, and I didn’t miss the way several dudes around her were taking notice.

“Dance with me, King,” Sophie said as she approached the table. She was a local who had been after my brother since grade school, like every other girl in this town. The guy was a magnet.

You didn’t have to ask him twice to do anything. He was always down for a good time.

He waggled his brows as she led him out to the dance floor.

Claire and Evie approached, and they both said hello. Country music night was always popular with the locals, so I wasn’t surprised to see them here. Romeo left to go get us another round of drinks, and Claire settled onto the chair beside Hayes and started chatting.

“You want to dance with me, River?” Evie slurred. She was already well past buzzed.

“I think you know I’m not much of a dancer,” I said, but my eyes were still on the sexy-ass woman who was drawing all the attention on the dance floor. A guy had moved in right behind her, a little too close forcomfort. I was ready to jump in if I needed to.

“Well, you’re staring at the dance floor, so I thought maybe tonight you’d want to give it a try.”

Evie and I had hooked up once about a year ago. She got a little clingy after that, even though I’d been very honest about what I was willing to give the night I’d gone home with her. So, I’d kept things platonic ever since. She was hot and sexy and everything that normally held my attention. But lately, I wasn’t feeling it with anyone.

Well, with anyone I could actually have.

“Thanks for asking, but I’m just going to chill here.” I kept my eyes on Ruby.

Evie wasn’t taking the rejection well, which was somewhat on par for her. She leaned close to my ear. “How about you take me into the bathroom then and fuck me senseless?”

Normally, a bar quickie, though not my favorite, would be right up my alley.

Tonight, I had zero interest.

I turned my gaze to her for the first time since she’d walked over. “How about we just keep things friendly like we’ve been doing, huh?”

“You’re seriously turning me down?” she said with a sarcastic chuckle, as if she were stunned. It wasn’t the first time I’d turned her down. Hell, it wasn’t even the first time I’d turned her down this month.

But she was drunk, so she was going to make things awkward.

“I think we’re better off as friends. We’ve talked about this.”

“Do you know how many guys in this bar want to take me home? Do you have any fucking clue?”

“I’m sure there are many. I’m just not one of them.” I wasn’t going to argue with her about it.

“Fuck you.”

“Have a good night.” I took the beer from Romeo when he came back to the table.

“That looked—heated.” He laughed.

“She’s drunk. I’m not interested. Not a good mix.”

“What’s up with you? You’ve been staring at that dance floor like you’re ready to go out there and beat the shit out of someone,” he said.

“I don’t like how close to Ruby that dude is getting. I told Lionel I’d keep an eye on her.”

Romeo barked out a laugh. “Sure, you did.”

The song changed, and the girls came walking over to the table, and I was relieved that the clingy asshole had taken the hint and gone back to his own table.

Romeo passed out drinks, and Demi hugged him because they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.

“Thanks for the beer,” Ruby said to Romeo as she settled onto the barstool beside me.

She glanced over at me before putting the bottle against her lips and tipping her head back. I watched the way the liquid slid down her throat. Peyton was deep in conversation with some friends at the next table, and Hayes was chatting with Claire. Well, Claire was chatting, and Hayes was just listening and nodding the way he usually did.

“It looked like Evie was pretty pissed off at you,” Ruby said.

Yeah, Ruby had been watching me just the way I’d been watching her.

“She wanted to dance. She’s drunk. She’ll get over it.”

“That’s right. You aren’t a joiner, are you?” Her voice was all smooth and sexy.

“I thought you weren’t either.”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. “I didn’t think I was. But that was actually fun.”

“Look at you out there, trying new things.”

One of my favorite Luke Bryan songs came through the speakers, and Demi pulled Romeo out to the dance floor. It was a slower song, and couples were heading out there now.

“I’m full of surprises.” She shrugged and took another pull from her bottle.

“Well, my offer still stands, if you want to try something else.”

Her gaze locked with mine. “And you just get to call all the shots? How about you try something new first?”

That was all I needed. I was on my feet and tugging her off her stool, leading her to the dance floor. I pulled her against me and wrapped my arms around her as we swayed to the music.

Slow and sexy.

Her head tipped back, and she raised a brow. “You could have asked first.”

“You want to dance?” I said against her ear.

Her body shook a little, and I knew she was laughing, but she tucked her head beneath my chin, and we continued moving together. The scent of jasmine and orange flooded my senses.

I’d never wanted a woman more than I wanted Ruby right now.

In this moment.

My hand moved to the nape of her neck, and I ran my fingers through her silky, long hair. The other hand rested on her lower back, fingers grazing the exposed skin there. I tugged her closer. My dick was threatening to break through the denim of my jeans, and I wanted her to know the way she affected me. Her head tipped back again, and she looked up at me, eyes wide. “You really are happy to see me.”

“I am.”

“Why?” she asked, her hips moving right in sync with mine.

“I don’t have a fucking clue.”

“I’m not going to have sex with you, if that’s what this is about.”

“Who said anything about sex? All I asked for was sixty seconds. And I promise you, Queenie, if you and I ever have sex, it would be for a hell of a lot longer than sixty seconds.”

“I have to close tonight, and I’m not going home with you.” Her chest was rising and falling again, I could feel the excitement coming off her in waves.

She was actually considering this.

“I never said anything about going home with me. If you did that, it would be a whole different story. You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself. I’d make you feel so good.”

She raised a brow, tongue swiping out to wet her bottom lip. “So, what? You’re going to make me orgasm right here on the dance floor in sixty seconds? Tell me how you plan to pull this off.”

I leaned down close to her ear. “No fucking way. I wouldn’t let any of these fuckers see you fall apart. It would be just for you and me.”

She cleared her throat. “Go on.”

“If you’re only giving me sixty seconds, I’ll walk you straight to the bathroom. I’ll lock the door, drop to my knees, and hike this skirt up to your waist. I’ll slide your panties to the side and spread your legs wide before I bury my face there. And I can promise you, I’ll enjoy every goddamn second that I’m there.”

“Impressive answer. Those are some steep goals you’re setting, seeing as no one’s ever pulled that off before. I’d hate for you to be setting yourself up for failure,” she said against my ear, her lips grazing along the bottom of my earlobe.

I leaned back down; we were taking turns whispering to one another. “You’ve gotten yourself there. You’ve just been with the wrong guys.”

“You’re awfully sure of yourself. You know this would be a one-time thing, right?” She pulled her head back to study my gaze.

I chuckled. “I’m good with whatever you want. It’s no secret I don’t do relationships. But I would consider bending the rules to give you a little pleasure while you’re home.”

“One. Time. That’s the deal.”

“One time. Sixty seconds. I can live with that.”

The song came to an end, and I waited for her to make the next move. She found my hand and led me through the crowd, into the back hallway, and down the stairs. I guess we weren’t going to the bathroom.

She pushed open the door to the office and led me inside before locking it behind her. “I’m not going into that bathroom where everyone is waiting in line. This is no one’s business. It stays between us.”

“I’ll do it wherever you want me to.” I pressed her up against the wall, my hand finding the side of her neck.

“Aside from the dance floor, right?” She chuckled before pulling her phone from her back pocket and setting the timer to one minute.

“Damn straight. No one else gets to see this.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“I get to feel you come against my lips. Doesn’t get any better, Queenie.”

“Holy shit,” she whispered. “You have a filthy mouth.”

“My mind is even filthier.” I took the phone from her hand. “Are you ready?”

“I guess so. Sixty seconds. Have your way with me.”

God damn, was I ready.

I hit start on the timer and tossed her phone onto the chair beside us.