She turned to him. “Some habits are hard to unlearn. I look for the worst in my appearance and you see the best. It’s confusing when they’re one and the same.”
He kissed her there in front of the mirror as he fondled her breasts and eased the hem of the gown up so he could stroke her pussy until she was hot and slick for him. When he had her on a nice steady simmer, he released her lips and asked, “Did you eat any lunch after I called?”
She worried her lip with her teeth and he had his answer. “Well, let’s get you fed, Nika. I think since you’ve finished your book, a little celebration is in order. Get dressed while I cook supper and then I’m taking you out.”
“What if Travis calls?”
Hank shrugged. “We’ll invite him to join us.”
“Where are we going?”
“The Dancing Pony.” He smiled at her when her eyes flashed to his in the mirror’s reflection.
“Dancing? Or socializing?” Uncertainty filled her eyes. They hadn’t danced since that first night.
“Both. Do you trust me, Nika?”
“Yes, it’s just…”
“Just what?”
She let out a long breath and squared her shoulders. “Bad memories.”
He nodded. “We can deal with them. Trust me to take care of you. You’re not going to be alone.”
* * * *
“I’m sick of watching you pout, Brent. You’re going to have to get creative if you plan to get her back. Have you tried Googling her?” Phil asked, as Brent moped on the couch in the apartment he was supposed to be packing up and moving out of. He hadn’t even gone in search of cardboard boxes. Hadn’t found a place to live yet, either.
Gordon said, “I don’t understand why you want Veronica back. Look at it this way, you get all the pussy you want, without having to worry about getting caught, and you don’t have to pay your half of the rent or bills to her anymore. You can put that money into a bachelor pad with us or on your own and have it the way you want it without her up all night typing. Seems a reasonable trade to me.”
Brent scoffed but didn’t say anything. Neither of his friends knew that he didn’t pay rent, or bills, or much of anything else, except for his own entertainment. That was part of the reason he wanted her back. He liked the status quo, and she’d never complained about not having the help before. Hell, she had plenty of money from the sale of those stupid romance novels. She probably never even missed the money. He’d gotten used to spending what he made as a mechanic on himself and living with her. It was an arrangement he liked, and he’d thought she had, too.
Phil belched and said, “She was oversensitive anyway. Otherwise, why would she react like she did to that light tap you gave her? I thought Chubbs was kinky and into all that BDSM shit. Seems like she’d like a pop every now and then to let her know who the boss is. Isn’t that what it’s all about?”
Brent shrugged. “Guess she changed her mind. But I still want her back.”
“Well, then, quit your bitching, dumb-ass, and go Google her ass,” Gordon said. “Shut the fuck up, the game is back on.” Without looking, he reached back to put the Styrofoam cup filled with red soda and ice on Veronica’s end table and wound up missing by about five inches. The cup hit the floor and the lid popped off, the red soda soaking the beige carpet. He and Phil looked at each other and both let out shrill giggles before turning their attention to the game on the big screen.
Ignoring the spill, Brent fired up his smartphone and hit up good old Mr. Google. As much time as she spent online yakking with her fans, surely he could get a bead on her whereabouts.
He smiled when he saw the search results. “Well, well, well. Little Miss Meet-and-Greet.”
* * * *
At the Dancing Pony, Veronica looked up at Hank as he held his hand out to her. “Give me your hand, Nika. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. It’ll be the two of us amongst all the others.”
Don’t be a ninny. You’re already doing better than you normally would. Don’t be unreasonable.
The nightclub seemed busy for a Tuesday night but the crowd hadn’t given her sweaty palms or a palpitating heart yet. She attributed that to being there with Hank. She felt safe anytime she was with him or Travis, who had finally called. He was in the area and planned to meet them at the Pony.
On the dance floor, he closed his arms around her and said, “No dance steps needed, Nika. Just stay close to me, okay?”
She nodded and let him move them with a slow swaying rhythm into the center of the dance floor, and she snuggled against his chest.
“All right, now. Will you please tell me why it is this dance floor represents such a challenge to you?”
Hank had been so happy for her earlier, and he’d never judged her for any of her idiosyncrasies, and the trust she felt with him made it a little easier to open up. “I needed to learn to dance for a school function. Cord and Jackson were away at college, and I had a moment of sheer stupidity and asked Jesse and Barry to teach me. Mom suggested it, and that was the last time I ever asked her for a suggestion about anything. I’d never been to a dance before and had never really taken an interest in that stuff before so I didn’t know any better. They seemed like they were being really nice and taught me what they knew of all the basic steps…only they taught me how to lead.”
“Oh no.”
“Yeah, so when I went to that dance and tried to lead with anyone who asked me to dance, I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong until they told me. If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, someone mentioned it at school the next day. Phil and Gordon, who were high school seniors like Jesse and Barry, got it into their heads to tease me about it.”
Hank scowled and said, “People can’t be faulted for making mistakes with dance steps.”
“No, but they used it to fuel another, even worse rumor.”
“What did they say?”
“Phil and Gordon came up to me in front of my classmates and asked if I was a lesbian, since I wanted to lead in all the dances, and I’d never gone out on a date with any of the guys from my class. Everyone started talking about it. For the next three years, no one asked me out because they all thought I was a lesbian. It’s not so much that I’m afraid to dance. It’s that the very thought brings back painful memories of a much worse hurt.
Three years
, Hank. I couldn’t get away from it until I moved away from home.”
Hank let out a long sigh and hugged her. “I’m so sorry, Nika. I’d love to meet those jackasses someday.”
“I really don’t want you to. They’re idiots. Part of getting Brent out of my life means getting them out permanently, too. Speaking of which…” She might as well share her suspicion with him.
“Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Yeah. I contacted my landlord to check for me to see if Brent has moved out of the apartment.”
“And?”
“The landlord said that not only are there no signs that he’s moved out, it looks as though he’s been having parties there, too. I’m a little worried what that means, as far as the rest of my belongings and damage to the apartment.”
He palmed her cheek and said, “You’ve had to deal with him and the others on your own all this time, Nika. I know it’s your decision to make, but I don’t want you dealing with him or those other two jerks on your own anymore.” He tilted her face up so she was looking him in the eye again. The furrow between his brows was gone almost before she saw it. “What options are you considering at this point?”
“If his stuff is still in there, I need to go to Montana to take care of the situation.”
Hank’s frown returned for a second. “Does that mean cutting your visit here short?”
She sighed. “I don’t want that. This has been so good for me, both personally and professionally, and if you’re still interested in me staying—”
“If it was up to me, Nika, I’d drive to Montana right now, pack you up and bring you back to Divine. Would you ever consider moving here?”
After telling him that horror story, she felt guilty. “I don’t want you asking me that because you feel sorry for me.”
He stilled and there was a distinct chill in his tone. “For that, you’ve earned yourself another spanking, Nika.”
“Hank—”
“Answer my question.”
Oh boy.
“Yes, Hank. I would move here.”
“Because there’s less snow and it’s farther away from that poor excuse of a family of yours?”
“There are many reasons I’d move here.”
“Answer me.”
“You’re asking me to declare myself, Hank, when I haven’t heard a declaration from either of—”
“May I cut in?”
She turned and gave a mighty sigh of relief as she looked up at Travis. Her heart was beating hard for two reasons, afraid she’d nearly given Hank an ultimatum, and afraid he’d shut her down if she’d gotten it out. No one gave that man an ultimatum. Without letting go of Hank, she wrapped her other arm around Travis and held on hard.
“I’m so happy you’re home.”
She looked up at him, falling a little deeper for him as he smiled down at her and kissed her, his lips a warm greeting to her right before the emergency breaks began squealing in her head.
She jerked her arm back and pulled away a few inches. She looked up at Hank, “Oh, no. Oh, no.”
Hank said, “What’s the matter?”
Hank and Travis both frowned as she darted glances around the club. “That was stupid of me. Supremely stupid.”
“That’s not the warm welcome I’ve been looking forward to,” Travis murmured, his disappointed tone making her heart shrivel.
Hank whispered to Travis and they led her from the dance floor. When they were back at their table, Hank put his hands on her shoulders and said, “We have several things to discuss, and none of them should happen here at the club.”
“I know. I’m so sorry, Hank. I can’t believe I did that. I’m so sorry. I knew I was going to do something stupid like that eventually. See? You can’t even take me out in public without me acting like an overdramatic drama queen. I should go back to the foreman’s house. I’m sure it’s safe. It’s been a week and nothing’s happened.”
Tears welled in her eyes as each word grew huskier and her voice cracked as a cold chill swept over her skin and that hateful weakness bloomed in her chest.
Hank and Travis crowded in around her, blocking her view of the entire club. Hank growled. “You will stop berating yourself, Nika. Breathe in slowly.”
Looking into his gray eyes, she did as he requested while he whispered to Travis, telling him about Brent’s refusal to move and their near confrontation.
Travis’s foremost concern was apparent as he kept his eyes on her but he said, “Sounds like we need to make a trip.”
“But you just got home, Travis.” Those words only reminded her that Divine might not be his permanent home. He might have made a decision about the job he was on the short list for by that point.
Both men were smiling at her and Hank said, “That’s the second time you’ve referred to Divine as home.”
She frowned, wondering what he was talking about as she allowed them to lead her from the club. They seemed to not care that people could see them both holding her hands and their arms casually draped around her. On the way out the door, she realized how assumptive she’d sounded, referring to Hank’s house as home, and Divine as home. With Travis following them in his truck, the ride back to Hank’s house was a blur as myriad thoughts crowded Veronica’s mind.
As Hank helped her from the truck, Veronica said, “Hank, I’m so sorry.”
“Stop apologizing for what comes naturally to you, Nika.”
“What I did was dumb. You have an election coming up.”
“That remains to be determined.”
“But you’re a good sheriff. They need you in this town.”
“Thanks, Nika. I think I do a good job, too, but there’s more to me than a uniform and a badge. And if having you in my life and being sheriff are mutually exclusive then it’s time I made some choices.”
His words barely registering, Veronica rattled on as she hung up her coat and plopped down on the couch. “And then I go and practically deliver an ultimatum to you, when you’re already risking your position by being seen in a threesome situation, and I don’t even know if Travis plans to stay in Divine. So I’m basically making demands all over the place when I can’t even decide what to do about my own situation. I don’t know what to do.”
“You were right, Nika,” Hank said. “I was asking you to make a declaration when I hadn’t made one.”
“And now you feel forced into making a declaration because I jumped the gun. I’ve ruined everything, haven’t I? I’m so sorry.”
Hank sat on one side of her and placed a hand on her thigh. “Veronica, slow down. Breathe for me. And stop talking because you’re just earning licks right now.”
Travis sat down on her other side. “Nika, I know I’m in the running for that job but they won’t decide until after Thanksgiving, and I haven’t decided if I’ll take it if they offer it to me.”
“Either way, you’ll be leaving Divine, won’t you?”