“We’re taking her to Bad Brews tonight,” Jordan called to him from where she was brushing Alpacalypse, the alpaca she was grooming next to Caroline and Alpacapella.
“No, you’re not,” he said. He shifted his truck into park and opened the door.
Caroline and Jordan looked at one another. Jordan gave her a grin. Caroline felt her stomach flip. She didn’t even really know why.
After Ellie’s, Max and Spencer had headed back to New Orleans with plans to meet tomorrow night at Octavia’s to check into these possible “acquaintances” of Brantley’s. Zander had gone back to work and Caroline had come to the petting zoo with Jordan. They’d tended to goats, guinea pigs, rabbits, ducks, and now alpacas. She’d found it all strangely relaxing and fun.
But she and Jordan had not talked about going out tonight. To Bad Brews or anywhere else. Though a girls’ night out with the Autre women sounded like a great time.
Caroline didn’t really have girlfriends. Not real girlfriends. Other than Max. And when they hung out, it was at Max’s townhouse or occasionally at the neighborhood bar around the corner from her place where no one knew who Caroline was. But they didn’t want too many people in New Orleans to connect them and there were just too many places where someone who knew who Caroline was could show up.
Zander strode toward her, stopping on the other side of the fence. He propped a booted foot on the bottom slat of the fence and leaned onto the top, looking very much the hot country boy. He was dressed in blue jeans and a button down plaid shirt.
“Remember all that fun outside, moonlight stuff you’ve never done?” he asked Caroline.
Fishing. Skinny dipping. Crawfish. Fucking in his truck bed. Yep, she remembered. Her skin flushed and she nodded.
“You’re doin’ that tonight. With me.”
Jordan laughed. “Did you mean to phrase that as a question. As in, ‘would you like to do that tonight with me?’,” she asked.
“Nope,” he said simply, eyes still on Caroline.
“We’ve got burgers, beer, karaoke, and lots of great Zander stories to offer,” Jordan said. “I’ve only told you a few so far.”
Caroline glanced at her. She’d love to hear some more Zander stories. But she had this niggling feeling that her time with Zander might be winding down. From day one, he’d made it clear he didn’t want her to stick around. She’d made it clear that the reason she was still here was because she wanted to make sure Brantley and the lion cub were being investigated. Now they were. She knew Zander expected her to be getting on with her life. And she should probably be expecting that of herself as well.
If she only had another night in Autre, and Zander was willing to spend it with her…doing all of that…then it was a no-brainer.
“I’ve had burgers before,” she told Jordan. “I’ve never been to a crawfish boil.”
Jordan looked at Zander. “Crawfish boils are Fridays.”
Caroline knew that Ellie’s had a crawfish boil every Friday that was attended by most of the town as well as lots of tourists and people from the surrounding area. It was a huge event with live music, lots of food and drink, and an event the whole family pitched in to make happen.
He nodded. “Special occasion.”
“We’re having a crawfish boil tonight for Caroline?” Jordan asked.
Caroline felt her eyes widen. They’d do that? For her? That was sweet. And, of course, meant that he definitely didn’t expect her to still be here on Friday.
“We’re not having a crawfish boil,” Zander told Jordan. “We are.” He moved his finger back and forth to indicate himself and Caroline.
Her eyes widened even further. And her heart kicked against her ribs. And her body got warmer.
He was going to make a private crawfish boil just for her?
“Ah,” Jordan said. “Got it.” She looked at Caroline. “Bad Brews can wait.”
Caroline gave her a grin. “Thanks for understanding.”
Jordan laughed. “I married a Landry boy in a Vegas wedding chapel the morning after I’d been dumped by my boyfriend of eleven years. I totally understand invitations you just can’t turn down.”
Caroline felt her cheeks heat, but she handed her brush over to Jordan. “I’ll see you later.”
She met Zander at the fence. He held out a hand. She put her palm in his and he helped her climb over, grasping her waist when she got to the top and swinging her over and lowering her to the ground in a swoony move that made her heart and stomach flip.
She kept her hands on his arms as she looked up into his eyes. “I’ve been hanging out here all afternoon. I should go change.”
He looked her up and down and the corner of his mouth curled up. “You look gorgeous.”
“I’m dirty.”
“You’re only going to get more so,” he told her, his voice gruff.
The hot jab of desire hit her low in her belly. “My clothes are dirty though.”
He gave a husky laugh. “Good thing you’re not gonna have them on long then.”
She felt her mouth curve. She loved the sexy, flirty side of Zander Landry. “Thought we were going fishing? Wasn’t that on that list?”
“Yeah, but when a guy puts fishing on that particular list, it’s just the excuse to get down to the bayou.”
“And the skinny dipping?”
“Just the way to get you out of your clothes. You don’t want to be skinny dipping in the bayou.” He leaned in. “There are things that wanna take a bite of you that aren’t nearly as pleasant as the thing that wants a taste of you in that truck bed.”
The hot shivers that elicited were very welcome.
“Are there at least really crawfish to eat?” she asked with a grin. “Because I really am hungry.”
“That and the moonshine are real,” he said with a nod.
“And the bayou boy fucking better be real.”
She saw the effect her words had on him. His body tightened and his eyes heated. “If I fuck you in the back of my truck, I'm not going to be able to have any other woman there ever again.”
She lifted onto tiptoe and pressed her lips against his. “Good,” she said against his mouth.
The next thing she knew she was backed up against the side of the truck and Zander was devouring her mouth as if he was starving. He cupped the back of her head, his hand cushioning the spot where her head would have pressed into the hot metal. He opened his mouth, sliding his tongue along hers and groaning when she met him thrust for thrust.
When he finally lifted his head, he just stared down at her for a few seconds. “I wanted to give you a bayou date night before we had a New Orleans date night.”
She nodded, her lips still tingling. “Love that.”
“You sure?”
“Zander, I want this. I…want you.” She wet her lips. “So much. And neither of us really knows what’s going to happen tomorrow night. I want to have tonight with you.”
He reached up and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “The chances that anything major is going to happen tomorrow night are slim, Caroline,” he said gently. “If you’re expecting a mass arrest or a raid of a facility where a bunch of animals are being held or something, I need you to adjust those expectations. The chances are that nothing is going to be that different tomorrow night.”