Jack nodded. “I think I was just waiting for the suggestion to get the guys involved.”
“Good enough. Now, if you three mother-fucking-hens are finished with your chest beating, we’re going to go dance with our woman.”
The men saluted and Hank and Travis moved back through the crowded club. As he watched, Veronica took out her phone, and frowned at the screen before sliding it back into her purse. He grew curious about whoever was bugging her, and planned to ask her until he saw what distracted her.
Her gaze was glued to Chance and Clayton Carlisle, who were cuddling Lydia. They were whispering in her ears, one in front of her and the other behind her. Judging by the twinkle in Lydia’s eyes and the way she bit her lip, it was juicy, whatever they were saying. Hank nudged Travis to get his attention and watched as a blush filled Veronica’s cheeks. Travis followed her gaze, and then grinned at him and nodded.
They moved up behind her and Hank smiled at her soft squeak as they crowded in at her sides. Travis kissed her temple and stroked her hand which was resting on the table, as Hank kissed the top of her head and stroked the cheek she’d cradled protectively earlier. Because her body was pressed between them, he felt the shudder that quivered through her.
Hank spoke in a husky whisper. “Imagine it, Veronica. Two men, both desiring you, wanting to be near you more than anything, wanting to touch you—together.”
“Oh my—” Her breathing was shaky as she turned to him, placing her lips within an inch of his.
Travis slid his hand up her forearm and then stroked her inner arm from her elbow upwards. She gasped and jolted in her seat, and Hank realized Travis must’ve caught the side of her breast with his knuckles. Her nipples peaked against the silky fabric of her dress and whatever sinful lingerie he could feel underneath it.
“They’d want to slip this sexy dress off of you, Nika.” Travis spoke so only the two of them could hear him. “So they could see and touch what’s underneath.”
She turned her gaze to Travis. “You two are potent, you know that? You could probably charm any girl out of her clothes.”
Hank stroked her lush reddish-brown locks off her shoulder and said, “The only one we’re trying to charm is you…Nika.”
Her eyelids slid closed and she bit her lip. “I love the way that sounds coming from your lips.”
“We like it, too,” Hank murmured. He glanced around at the club patrons surrounding them and happened to catch Grace’s eye. She pressed her lips together to keep from grinning from ear to ear, but her eyes twinkled and she winked at him before turning away.
Another song began to play and all the girls climbed from their chairs, with Grace leading the way. She turned and waved at Veronica and then gestured at Hank and pointed at Veronica.
Hank chuckled and said, “Travis, Veronica, I’d like to introduce you to a tradition at the Dancing Pony. It’s known as the girls’ dance, and Nika, you’ve just been invited to join the girls on the dance floor.”
A look of horror passed over Veronica’s face and she shook her head. “That’s not a good idea. I’ll pass.”
Hank had always—
always
sympathized with the exasperation that some of the men in Divine suffered over these girls’ dances. Seeing it from a law enforcement officer’s standpoint, these dances were like waving a red cape in front of a bull—it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.
When he was around for the dances, he always made sure, like the bouncers did, that each of the ladies was safely back with the man—or men—she came in the club with. It didn’t matter that he was off duty. He couldn’t stand the thought of any woman getting hurt and he’d always do whatever he could to keep that from happening. The fact that women kept running into harrowing circumstances in his fair town was the cause of the silver that had been infiltrating his formerly black hair over the last few years.
Well, that and age, Hank. You aren’t getting any younger.
But tonight, he felt differently. He wanted to see Veronica have a good time, but he should’ve known better. Not only was she not going out there, it was written all over her face—
No way, no how am I going out there
.
“That’s all right, Nika,” Hank said, his tone consoling as he brushed his lips against her temple. Her gaze followed the group as even Grandma Kate shook her tail feathers and the sad smile on her face and the way her eyes got shiny made his throat swell in empathy. She wanted to dance. Badly. But something was stopping her.
“You don’t like to dance?”
“I don’t know how. Or rather, I learned but I’m no good at it.”
“Who taught you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She chewed her lip and looked about the club, her eyes not settling anywhere in particular. She slumped her shoulders and wrapped her arms around herself, losing the connection between him and Travis.
“Fair enough. Look at me,” he said softly. Her eyes turned up to his, her expression apologetic. Her gaze immediately flitted away before turning to him and then shifting again. He stroked his thumb gently across her chin and said, “I hope sometime you’ll trust us enough to tell us why that upsets you, Nika.” He didn’t push her, just waited for her response. Her lower lip trembled under his thumb and she finally nodded.
Travis trailed a hand lightly over her hair. “You can trust us.”
Her gaze fled again. “I should go home. It’s late and I need to work on my notes from tonight.”
Hank exchanged a glance with Travis and gave him a brief nod. Moments before, she’d been trembling and aroused. Now she was stiff and near tears. “Sure. I’ll let Jack know we’re leaving.”
“I’m sorry, guys.”
She apologized several more times in the truck on the way out to the Divine Creek Ranch. They’d reassured her just as many times. With each stilted attempt at conversation by the men, she seemed more and more withdrawn. Hank became more determined to find the cause of her anxiety as the minutes past.
* * * *
Hank parked the truck in front of the house and Veronica reached into her clutch for the key. Feeling guilty for being such a baby, Veronica opened her mouth to speak but Hank cut her off. “Please don’t apologize again, Nika.”
Hearing the endearment in his husky voice made her feel worse about the emergency jettison of the evening. “Okay.”
Hank pulled the keys from the ignition and then gazed at her as he rested his arm on the seat behind her head. “Are you sorry for ending the evening or are you rethinking ending the evening?”
Travis leaned in on her other side. “Good question, Hank, because I’m flexible here.”
Smiling in appreciation that Hank was that intuitive, and Travis’s attempt at humor, she decided truth—or at least as much as she felt comfortable sharing—was the best thing to offer.
“Rethinking ending the evening, but I am feeling bad about both. I made you leave the post-reception party when all your friends were there.”
Hank’s masculine scent, combined with Travis’s warmth at her side in the close confines of the truck, was weaving a spell of seduction over her. Normally, she’d have begun to feel claustrophobic by this point, closed in on both sides by them in the darkness. Just thinking about it should’ve been enough to bring on the cold chills of panic but their presence seemed to provide a buffer for those feelings.
“Would you like to come in for a bit? I can make coffee.”
Hank said, “We’d like that.”
Travis stroked her upper arms, inspiring gooseflesh and tightening nipples. “As long as it doesn’t keep you from your work, we’d love to.”
“It’s quiet in the house. The nightclub is nice but the loud music and press of people was becoming overwhelming. I’d love to talk some more with both of you. I’ll be writing later tonight.”
Hank nodded, looking like he had an opinion about that, but didn’t say anything else. They opened their doors and Travis held out his hand to help her down. She scooted over and the upholstery on the bench seat made her dress slide up a bit, revealing more leg than she intended. The smile on his face sent the butterflies fluttering in her stomach again but he made no remark as he helped her down.
She looked up into his eyes and the sound of her heartbeat filled her ears as he gently stroked her cheek. His lips fascinated her as they bowed into another smile. She wanted to touch them and feel their supple warmth.
Hank waited on the first porch step, his cowboy hat shading his eyes from the porch light as he watched them. His smile matched Travis’s, making her feel as though she was in an alternate reality.
Travis gestured for her to lead the way and she could sense his body heat as she passed him. She gladly took Hank’s hand as she negotiated the steps. She didn’t wear high heels often enough to feel confident walking in them, but loved the way they made her feel. Sexy. It was an altogether foreign sensation. Maybe Grace’s womanly sexiness was rubbing off on her. The thought made her smile. She’d love to have more in common with Grace than just a dress and shoe size.
A cool wind blew across the porch, carrying the scent of fall rain and a tinge of wood smoke with it. Back home it was already snowing. She refused to imagine what Billings, Montana, must be like right now. Grace had extended the invitation to stay in Divine through Christmas and she smiled as she imagined this charming little house with a Christmas tree decorated and standing in the corner.
She turned on lamps in the living room and the men followed her into the kitchen area.
After laying his cowboy hat aside on the bar, Hank stayed her hands as she reached in the cupboard and said, “I like the smile on your face. What are you thinking of right now?”
Biting her lip, Veronica chuckled and said, “Christmas. And wondering what it’s like here in Divine.”
Hank grinned. “It’s nice. We have a big Christmas tree lighting downtown, and they decorate all the old oak trees in Central Park with white lights. There’s a charity event early in December in Central Park that’s new this year. To draw a large crowd for it, I’ve heard that the businesses downtown are all inviting the public to go door to door for a wassail fest. Ben and Ethan are throwing a big Christmas party at the Dancing Pony this year, too. Of course, that’s a pretty busy time for my department.”
“I can imagine.”
Travis seemed a little pensive as he listened to them talk, and he finally said, “Veronica, think you might be interested in staying long enough to experience any of that?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I guess it depends on how much work I can get done. This trip has already been so valuable to me.”
Hank said, “And from a relaxation standpoint, Nika?”
With a chuckle, Veronica said, “Well, I haven’t done as much sleeping as you might hope for, Hank, but I’ve gotten more than I normally do, and the sleep I do get is great. The ranch is so quiet, and what noise I hear is nice, ranch-life sorts of noises.”
“Is it noisy where you live?”
“I live in an urban area, so yeah. Lots of traffic noise, horns, sirens, and my neighbors above me and beside me. The first night or two here I couldn’t sleep because of the lack of noise.”
Hank nodded as she put a pot of coffee on to brew. She slipped her phone from her clutch and powered it off. He took her hand as the coffee machine started gurgling and led her into the living room.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked as Hank directed her to sit on the leather couch in front of the fireplace, which Travis had lit.
He toyed with his lower lip for a second and then said, “I think it’s great that you’re staying here, in this house, since you’re a romance author.”
“Because?”
Hank sat down beside her, not crowding her, but close enough she could feel his warmth as Travis sat down on her other side.
“Because at least two ménage happily-ever-afters that I know of started in this house.”
That drew a happy gasp from her. “Really?” She knew several people had lived in the house recently but hadn’t talked much with Grace yet. Her days on the ranch had been consumed with writing…and she’d been reluctant to bother Grace because she had deadlines, too.
“Yes. Have you met Angel and Joaquin?”
“Briefly. They came by one day and offered to take me riding if I wanted. I haven’t had a chance to take them up on it yet. Michael was with them. He’s a cutie-pie.”
“Their relationship with Teresa started right here,” Hank said, gesturing around the room. “And Maya, Kendall, Boone, and Richard Warner had their start here, too. You asked about them at the reception, remember?”
“Oh, okay! I haven’t met Teresa yet. I didn’t realize they were in a ménage.”
Hank’s eyebrows rose minutely. “You didn’t? Haven’t you wandered around the ranch yet?”
She shook her head. “No. I have a deadline to see to first. Once I meet it, my plan was to take some time and get to know everyone.” A sense of guilt surfaced and she bit her lip.
Hank tilted his head. “And?”
Shoot. Is he a mind reader?
“And…I don’t want to distract anyone from their work. They always seem so busy around this ranch, with so many people coming and going.”