Fine. He wasn’t the only guy in the place. She turned and hit on another, who politely declined. So did another. And another. And she saw a round of hands cupped to ears and whispers and fingers pointing to her.
Irritation set her foot tapping, and it wasn’t in time to the hard-driving beat of the music.
She faced all the guys leaning against the wall, her hands on her hips. “Okay, look. I’m a reasonably attractive woman who can hold a decent conversation. And trust me, I’m a great dancer. So what the hell is so wrong with me that has you all running in the opposite direction whenever I come near?”
“They think you belong to me.”
Oh. Now it all made sense.
She turned to face her ex-husband with murder on her mind.
five
mason fought a smile as valerie leveled a murderous expression in his direction. Oh yeah, she was pissed. He’d seen it coming as one guy after another shot her down.
But hey, it wasn’t his fault that nearly every cowboy in town still thought of her as his wife. And to the cowboy code of honor, that meant hands off. They weren’t going to step in his territory.
“You did this on purpose.”
He shook his head. “I had nothing to do with it.”
“Tell them it’s not true.”
“What’s not true?”
“I’m not your wife anymore. We don’t have a connection.”
“Don’t we?”
Her gaze narrowed. “Mason.”
“Valerie.”
She poked his chest. “Now you’re deliberately trying to piss me off.”
“Would I do that?” He turned and walked away, and even over the deafening noise and music he heard her squeal of outrage. He grinned and picked up a pool cue, leaned over the table and took his shot, then grabbed his bottle of beer and took a long swallow
“She’s pissed at you.”
Mason slanted his gaze to Walker Morgan, one of his best friends. “Yeah.”
“You intending to do something about it?”
“Nope.”
“Man, that’s a hornet’s nest you’re stepping into.”
“Maybe.”
“Speaking of hornets,” Walker said, motioning behind Mason.
Someone tapped Mason on the shoulder. He turned, already knowing who it was. Valerie never was one to back down.
“If none of these other guys have the balls”—and she’d said “balls” loud enough for every person in Dirk’s to hear it—“to dance with me, then you’re going to have to do it.”
Mason laid his cue across the table, turned and grabbed her hand, dragging her onto the dance floor. “Fine. Let’s dance.”
valerie’s eyes widened as mason wrapped his arms around her and drew her against him. The heat from his body soaked into her. Disoriented, she missed a step, while he stayed steady.
What the hell? She’d thrown that out as a challenge, knowing he wouldn’t take her up on it. Mason didn’t dance. Not once during all the years she’d known him had he ever danced with her, including their wedding day.
But as he held firm to the small of her back, he was relaxed and moved against her with an easy rhythm.
She cocked a brow. “You son of a bitch. You can dance.”
“Never said I couldn’t. Just don’t like to.”
“So what the hell are you doing dancing with me now?”
He gazed down at her and smiled. “I feel kind of bad that no one else will.”
She tried to pull away from him, away from the butterflies flitting in her stomach. She wasn’t used to being this close to him. It threw her off balance and she didn’t like it one bit. Distance gave her clarity, but Mason didn’t let go. “I don’t need a pity dance.”
He laughed. “You think I pity you?” He laughed, then shocked the hell out of her when he bent her over, dipped her and planted his lips on hers.
Her entire body combusted into flames as Mason slid his lips over hers right there in front of God and her sisters and practically the entire town. Their past, all the arguments and hurts, disappeared, and she was once again the sixteen-year-old girl madly in love with the hot cowboy. She was the eighteen-year-old girl who wanted to marry the man of her dreams. She was in her bedroom, getting naked with Mason, his mouth and hands all over her body, awakening her desires, taking her to screaming heights she’d never known before, or since.
When he lifted her upright again, she was panting, her nipples tight points of need throbbing against her bra. Her panties, moist with desire, clung to her skin.
But most of all, she was confused.
“Why don’t you hate me?” she asked.
“I don’t hate you, darlin’. I don’t feel anything at all for you.”
That was a downright lie, because as he continued to lead her around the dance floor, the hard ridge of his cock rode against her hip. She glanced down between them, then back up at him with a smile. “I beg to differ.”
“You make me hard. Doesn’t mean I still love you. Or even that I want you.”
She laughed. “That makes no damn sense. Of course you still want me.”
“First you don’t want to have anything to do with me. Now you’re trying to get me to admit that I want you? What do you want, Val?”
At the moment, she had no idea. As always, being with Mason confused her, made her feel things she didn’t want to feel—things she shouldn’t feel.
The song ended, and Mason took a step back, tipped his hat. “Thanks for the dance.”
He headed back to his friends and grabbed his beer, took a long swill and didn’t even bother looking back at her. He’d just left her standing there like she’d been dumped.
Asshole.
She went back to the table where both her sisters smirked at her.
“Guess he was the one who walked away this time,” Jolene said, looking way too amused.
“Bite me.” Valerie grabbed the shot in front of her and downed it in one swallow, then chugged her beer. Dancing with Mason had gotten her hot in more ways than one.
“You should just jump him and get it over with.”
Valerie’s gaze shot to Jolene. “That would be the worst thing in the world. I’ve been gone two years. Things between us are finally settled.”
Brea snorted. “Yeah, things looked real settled between you.”
“Uh huh. You totally behaved like a divorced couple out there on the dance floor,” Jolene added.
“It was one dance. It didn’t mean anything.”
“You kissed him,” Jolene said.
“I did not. He kissed me. It didn’t mean anything. It was just for fun.”
“Are you trying to convince us, or yourself?” Brea asked. “Because it looked meaningful as hell from where I’m sitting.”
Her sisters could be so irritating at times. “Look. Nothing’s going to happen between us. I don’t want to give Mason false encouragement, or let him believe there could ever be anything resurrected between us. It wouldn’t be right. It would hurt him, and I’ve hurt him enough.”
“Right, because he’s just pining away without you. One word from you and he might just curl up and die.” Jolene motioned with her head toward the other side of the bar.