"But—"
I almost smirked at her confused expression as she watched my brothers storm off to claim their old ladies. JoJo and Ellie, who were new mothers, hadn't made it that night, so that just left Raven, Annie, and Bobbie. My brothers were extremely possessive over their women, and the fact that the girls had sent Jolene over to check in with them proved they knew it and expected their men to react accordingly. In fact, I suspected that the women would have been disappointed if their men hadn't. I'd witnessed my brothers going all cavemen on their old ladies on more than one occasion, and their women ate that shit up.
I knew that Jolene was still standing next to me, and it was fucking hard to ignore her. Her warm, light, floral scent enveloped me in a cocoon of pure, fucking lust. I reached for my third or fourth drink. I'd lost count. I could see her inching closer, cautiously, as if she were afraid. She should be. I grew stiff when I felt the warmth of her body next to mine. Hell, I was stone-cold afraid. Mostly because I was barely holding on when it came to her and what I wanted. My dick was hard as fucking stone, and the urge to grab her and take her out back was almost overpowering.
Fuck. Forget taking her out back. We'd never make it that far.
"That's close enough," I snarled low out of the corner of my mouth. She took a breath, and I turned my head enough to meet the curiosity in her eyes.
Those sexy, full lips turned up even more into a smile, trying to coax me into returning her friendliness. Hell, she should know by now that I wasn't a friendly man; she'd been around the club for almost a year. I'd never spoken a single word to her until now. I hadn't trusted myself. Looking into those witchy, spellbinding eyes and seeing that she was even more beautiful up close did nothing to weaken my resolve to keep my distance from her.
"You don't like me, do you LD?" she surprised me by asking. She began to pluck nervously at a clean napkin that was on the counter.
"No." My response was hard and abrupt, and left little for interpretation.
Her light colored brows arched. It was clear that she hadn't expected me to admit it. I wondered if she had the courage to ask me why. The smile all but faded from her face, leaving just the tiniest curl at the corners of her pink lips. And then she tilted her little chin while keeping those eyes pinned on me.
"Your loss," came her husky drawl before she turned and sashayed away, leaving me in a fog of her pleasant scent.
That may be, but keeping my distance was better for her health.
I watched the swing of her hips and luscious ass as she walked back to the table she'd been sharing with the old ladies. By now, said old ladies were sitting on their men's laps, and all were lost in conversation and laughter. My brothers had played right into their hands, but only because they'd wanted to. It was a game with them.
I smirked, and then nearly swallowed my fucking tongue when Jolene bent over the table and reached for something. Her short dress rode up, showing more of her milky thighs. My blood ignited, and with the amount of alcohol in my system it was a miracle I didn't combust. All I could visualize was my hands wrapped around all that soft flesh while I pounded my dick into her.
I closed my eyes and groaned.
Jesus, give me the fucking strength to stay away from her.
When I opened them again, Jolene was walking toward the door to leave.
Thank fuck.
Chapter 2
Jolene
I had no idea what time it was when the sound of voices began to reach me all the way from the kitchen. Muted sounds that suggested that Raven and Cole must have company, because I could make out more than one male voice. I was staying the weekend in their guest room. The women of Desert Rebels had talked me into closing my store and taking three days off since Monday was a holiday. It hadn't taken much persuasion on their part. I hadn't taken a vacation in three years.
Thanks to my lazy-ass brother who refused to work regular hours, if at all.
Our parents had opened Illuminations twenty years ago but had passed the reins off to me and Danny when they'd retired and moved to--where else--Florida. At that point I'd already worked for them for seven years, but I’d suddenly found myself working the business all alone. If Danny continued to be unreliable I would let Mom and Dad deal with him. He couldn't expect me to run the business with just one employee, Teresa, for help, especially now that we'd picked up the contract with the Desert Rebels. They were building houses in a new development right outside of Vegas, and it was a huge project.
The deep voices faded away behind the sound of a door closing, and I supposed that whoever had been visiting had left. I pulled back the covers and rolled from bed, hitting the bathroom first to take care of business. I paused by the mirror on my way out, deciding that my sleep clothes were decent enough to wear out to the kitchen. Raven had said that Cole had club business early this morning, and I assumed that he'd just left.
I padded down the hallway, yawning behind my hand as I followed the enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee. A grin spread across my face when I entered the kitchen and found Raven leaning against the counter, eyes closed as she sleepily sipped the steaming brew.
"What time did you guys get in?" I asked.
She jumped and let out a little squeak, almost spilling her coffee. Her eyes rounded before she realized that it was me who’d spoken, and then she sank against the counter again, sighing heavily. "Around two," she said with something close to regret. "I'm so tired."
"Then why are you up?" I laughed, fixing myself a cup of coffee.
"Cole had to get up early."
"So you had to, too?"
"Well, he, ah, woke me up." A sheepish look came over her face, causing me to grin. Raven smiled in return. "We kind of have a morning ritual."
"Is it called making love?" I took a sip of my coffee, moaning with pleasure as the roasted goodness coated my tongue and the warmth traveled to my stomach.
"I think what we do can be considered a little more than making love," she said, drawing my interest. "Sex with Cole is raw, primal, rough, fuck—"
I laughed. "Okay! Okay! I get the idea." For some reason my thoughts went to LD, and my body responded just like it always did when the moody biker came to mind.
Why didn't the blasted man like me? We’d run into each other several times since the Desert Rebels’ construction office had opened next door to my business, and every time he’d completely ignored me. He’d barely even looked at me, and he certainly didn't talk to me, which I suspected was because he was afraid that I would get too close.
I didn't think the man was gay. Everything about his big, rugged appearance screamed tough and dangerous, and I suspected that he kept talking to a minimum due to the damage that had been done to his vocal cords. His beard almost hid the scar across his throat. He carried himself with the confidence that came from age and experience, and he closely watched everything that went on around him.
His weather-beaten, craggy features and streaked blonde hair were more sun kissed than caused by age. I guessed him to be in his early forties, and looking into his brown eyes was like peering into the muddy waters of the Mississippi. But they were anything but warm. LD had secrets, and intuition warned me that I should probably ignore him just as he ignored me. Find a man who wasn’t so serious and scary looking.