“Was that your boyfriend over there?” Michael asked, and before she could respond, Sally did it for her.
“No way, are you kidding? He wouldn’t have a chance after last night.”
“Hey, Sally, I think I’m ready to go. I know Ava wants us back early,” she interrupted, making it kind of obvious she was changing the subject.
Matt stepped forward as Alexa began to flirt some more with Chad and Michael.
She began to turn away when she heard Matt’s voice. She looked at him and Tyler, who leaned against the seat on his huge Harley. She knew nothing about bikes, but she could tell it was expensive and extra large like Tyler’s personality.
“What did she mean about last night?” Matt asked.
“Nothing. She didn’t mean anything.” Paula looked back toward Alexa and Sally, hoping they were ready to leave.
“That the guy who bothered you last night?” Tyler asked with his arms still crossed in front of his chest and a mean expression on his face. He looked at her as if she were pond scum. She swallowed hard.
“It was a mistake. He drank too much.”
“What did he do to you?’ Matt asked as he reached for her face to touch her chin, but she flinched and stepped back.
He looked taken aback, but she didn’t care. Men were only after one thing—a woman’s pussy.
“She was dancing with him pretty sexy on the dance floor. That kind of flirty behavior can get a young girl in trouble,” Tyler stated from a few feet away. She wasn’t sure which part of Tyler’s comment pissed her off more. The fact that he inferred that she was to blame, or the fact that he called her a girl, not a woman. Why the hell did he always refer to her as a child? She wasn’t a child.
She stared at him. He was implying that she was to blame, but also stating that being young had something to do with it. He couldn’t seem to make up his mind and that conceited, mature expression on his face annoyed her. She stared at him, forced herself to give him the once-over and not be affected by his sexy body and biker gear. It should be illegal for him to wear black.
“I assure you that I am not a child. Nor did I cause him to grope me in the corner of the room and forcefully kiss me.”
“He did that to you?” Matt asked, looking completely wild with anger. She was scared as she took a step back.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s over with and he apologized. Alexa, Sally, let’s go. I’m leaving.” She walked away with Matt and Tyler still watching her, and Alexa and Sally trying to end their conversation and follow her.
* * * *
“That fucking guy is the second one this month to try to make a move on her, Tyler. I don’t like it one fucking bit,” Matt stated firmly to his brother as they parked their bikes in the garage back at their house.
“She’ll be fine,” Tyler replied in monotone as they began to walk out of the garage. Matt grabbed Tyler’s shoulder, abruptly turning him to face him.
“What the hell, Matt?”
“Fuck this shit, Tyler! I can’t take it anymore. You haven’t been yourself for months now. Not since that night at Dixie Chix when we had Paula sandwiched between us. You were so fucking turned on just like I was. I never felt it like that before. With the numerous women we’ve shared and even in the heat of sex, I never felt such a pull and connection just having a woman between us. Fuck, Tyler, she wasn’t even naked and we were in the middle of a fucking crowd of people, and still I got that amazing feeling.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Tyler said, but Matt was insistent.
“Not that big a deal? Who the hell are you trying to kid? I was there. We both felt the electricity, the power of three together like that. I’m telling you that Paula is the one for us. She’s the woman we’ve conjured up in our heads.”
“She is not! She’s too young and too innocent.”
“She’s twenty-five years old.”
“She’s not experienced. It’s obvious.”
“And this is a bad thing? You want a whore or do you want a woman who may be slightly experienced but needs direction and control? I think she’s what we’ve been looking for.”
“That’s kind of hypocritical isn’t it, Matt? The fact that a woman may have a lot of sex doesn’t make her a whore.”
“Who the hell are you kidding? That’s not what I meant and you know it. We’ve thought about the perfect woman and partner for us. We’ve thought about settling down and what kind of woman it would take.”
“And you seriously think it’s Paula? Did you see her flinch when you reached for her? Have you been reading her body language at all? All these years living this kind of lifestyle and you can’t see that she’s been hurt before? Look at the signs, will you, Matt? She can’t handle what we truly desire. Sure, she’s incredibly good-looking and has the body of a porn star and a face like an angel, but she’s scared.”
Matt stared at him. “I haven’t been blind to what’s there and what her body language and facial expressions show. I like the fact that she’s innocent and not experienced. What dominant man wouldn’t want a woman like her? I can’t get her out of my mind, and right there is a first. I’m willing to be patient with her and help her get over any past fears.”
They entered their house and walked into the large industrial kitchen. Tyler pulled out two bottles of beer and passed one to Matt.
“With a body like hers, of course you can’t get her out of your mind. Call Sylvia or Cindy and get those sensations out of your system.” Tyler took a slug of beer. He looked sour to Matt.
“You’re such an asshole sometimes.” Matt stood up, beginning to pace. “You have been fighting your attraction to Paula for months, and I want to know why.”
“I’m too old for her. She deserves a younger man who can give her whatever sweet fantasies of walks in the park and dates to the movies that I’m not interested in.”
“How the hell do you know that she wants those things? And you are not too old. You’re fucking thirty-one.”
Tyler was silent a moment and Matt just stared at him.
“I’ve done a lot of shit in my life, Matt. The war, being a soldier, took a lot out of me, and what I have to offer a woman isn’t going to be good enough for Paula. You’re the one with patience, not me.”
“You survived the war and you survived returning to being a civilian just like I did.”
“I’ve submerged myself in work as an arson investigator and fire inspector for Delite. At the end of the day, I feel spent.”
“You’ve been working hard just like I’ve been with the construction business. That’s why we find our release through taking control in the bedroom, since we don’t feel in control of any other part of our lives. It’s our therapy from what we experienced in the war and the horrors we witnessed.”
Tyler licked his lips then took another slug of beer. He stared at Matt over the long neck of the bottle.
“I don’t want to hurt her.”
Matt took a deep breath and released it.
“Let’s just see what happens. Don’t be so close-minded when it comes to her. I’m worried about Paula and about these guys that keep trying things.”
“I’m worried about her, too. We’ll keep an eye on her.”
It was Thursday night, ladies’ night at Dixie Chix, and Elise was monitoring the electric bull along with Ben. He was the technical person who ran the bull and made sure that Quinn, his cousin, knew when to stop it and when to make it go faster. So far no female seemed up to the challenge to give the electric bull a ride. The DJ tried to entice them and get more people to come over from the bar nearby.
Elise shook her head at Ben as Gus, the DJ, spoke. “Come on now, ladies, one of y’all women better get on up there and ride that beast. We’re giving away cash prizes tonight for the best times on the electric bull.” To Elise it looked like someone might jump in to give it a try.
“Y’all need a little demonstration?” Gus called out, and the small crowd beginning to form started cheering. Elise immediately noticed some blonde woman standing between Deputies Tommy and Vic Ollsen, who happened to be there tonight off duty. Boy, do they look delicious, she thought as she watched carefully. The blonde had a few friends with her and they were egging her on to give the bull a try. Elise watched. Those women were a wild bunch. She’d seen them here every Thursday night, and they always left with cowboys, and not the same ones, either. She couldn’t help but wonder if the Ollsen brothers were interested in that type of woman. Whatever, she thought as she watched the blonde make her way onto the mats and the bull.
“We’ve got ourselves a courageous female. Come on up, honey, and give it a try.” The crowd roared with encouragement as Ben explained how to ride and what to do.
“You watch me now. I’m gonna show y’all how to ride a bull really well.” She wiggled her ass at the crowd. The men roared and Elise laughed.
“Whoo hoo, we got ourselves a real sexy rider, fellas. You might want to come on over and see this,” Gus stated on the mike, and of course more people came over. There was a nice crowd as the blonde got onto the saddle and grabbed hold. The contraption slowly began to move and the blonde nearly slipped off.
“Now hold on nice and tight, honey, and feel that bull between your legs,” Gus fed the crowd, and they went crazy. Elise knew that they needed to get more people to ride the bull. They were hosting a riding challenge in two weeks, but they really needed to promote the bull riding or it would start costing them money.
Quinn increased the speed just a hair, and suddenly the blonde began to move around a little wildly before the bull turned the other way then caused her to fall off.
The crowd cheered, but the blonde wasn’t very happy.
“There ain’t nothing wrong with the bull, darling, you did well. It was just that gyrating move that messed things up for ya,” Gus teased, and the crowd whistled and hollered as she made her way over to her friends. Elise laughed and hoped that someone else would give it a try. A few guys went on up, but they didn’t do too well. Then Tommy Ollsen went up. She felt her heart rate increase, and the women screamed as the sexy young deputy approached the bull. His muscles flexed on his forearms and his brother and a few other guys cheered him on. She could see them betting some money on the ride, and she chuckled. It was so typical.
Tommy got on the bull and began to ride. He held his own as the clock continued to tick by. Quinn started to make the ride more difficult and Tommy eventually fell off, but not before breaking the record.
His brother Vic went up next. Tall, dark, and handsome was the only way to describe Vic. His hair was black and crew cut, his skin tan from what she guessed was a Native American bloodline, and his facial features were etched like stone. He was a gladiator, and boy, did she find him sexy as damn hell.
Vic rode the bull well, too. His muscles flexed, and his thighs looked toned and sexy. She had to fan herself as she watched the intensity of his concentration while he rode the bull. She imagined him naked, and as she glanced toward Tommy, she found him watching her. She felt her cheeks warm the moment he smiled then winked.
Fuck, I’m busted.
She didn’t want him thinking that she was interested or was flirting. She didn’t flirt with men. She did nothing to gain their attention, and that suited her well. Her self-confidence had grown so much over the years, and she was very competitive and overly ready to defend her capabilities, but right now she didn’t feel confident. She felt exposed. Glancing at Tommy, he still watched her, and he looked her over from head to toe then lifted his hand to wave.
Like a moron, she gave a small wave then heard Gus cheer that Vic was the new winner.
She clapped along with the crowd when she heard Quinn state over the microphone, “Looks like we have our top-two time winners, Tommy and Vic Ollsen.”
The crowd cheered as Elise watched Tommy and Vic celebrate as the blonde and her friends surrounded them. She thought Tommy and Vic were a bunch of jerks, allowing those women to touch them and crowd all over them like that, and tomorrow she would work on her bull riding skills and her high score. She could already beat a lot of these people, but she didn’t want anyone asking questions about where she learned to ride or where she came from. If she revealed too much, it could lead to trouble. She felt better knowing that her past was behind her and her troubles were nonexistent because she got the hell out of Tennessee.
With one last glance over her shoulder she went and did her rounds.
Susanna was up in her office working when Monte arrived and totally ruined her concentration.
After making love on the small leather couch, Monte collapsed underneath her, his mouth pressed up against the crook of her neck as they both waited for their breathing to calm. She sat up, straddling his waist with his cock still inside her. She drew circles on his chest with her fingers and held his gaze as he held her hips.
“You and your brother can’t keep doing this to me.”
He instantly had a scowl on his face.
“Do what? Make love to our woman?”
She released an annoyed sigh and went to get up off of him, but he held her firmly by her hips.
“What is it, Susanna?”
“I can’t concentrate. Every time I’m up here trying to get more work done, either you or BJ show up. It’s always on nights when I’m working the floor for a few hours. I’ve even tried switching the nights I do this, but somehow the two of you know and you show up. Why? What is the problem?”