“Okay,” Josiah responded as his eyes
perused the club.
“No, I mean she invited a
friend
to
hang out with
you
.”
Josiah laughed as he continued into the
bar, “I got that. I’m okay with hanging out with Tess’s friend.”
Before Josiah could take another step
further into the bar, he felt a thud against his chest. Tessa tossed herself at
him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing as hard as she possibly
could.
“Josiah, it’s about time you got back
home.”
“Hey gorgeous,” he said as he wrapped
his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground.
“Ahem, watch how you handle my wife,” Cade
piped in, laughing.
“Cade, damn, it’s been too long,” he
said as he lowered Tessa back to the floor and shook Cade’s hand.
“Yes it has. We ordered drinks for
everyone already, come on.” Cade placed a kiss on Tessa’s cheek as he motioned
to their table.
They made their way to the back of the
club, Josiah happy with the scene, the music, and the company. The Launchpad
hadn’t changed much since the last time he’d been here. In the center of the
club sat a wooden dance floor not much bigger than the size of a basketball
court. Along the edges ran a continuous tabletop cluttered with beer bottles
and glasses. Some were filled to the brim, others empty waiting to be discarded
or refilled. Scantily dressed waitresses in tight, revealing shirts tucked into
cut off shorts, scampered around trying desperately to make certain their
customers were both quenched of their thirst and enjoying themselves. The front
and rear bars buzzed with customers anticipating their drinks or waiting for
their orders to be taken, while behind the counter, a barrage of bodies dodged
each other. Tonight at least three bartenders were on duty to handle the crowd.
Josiah glanced around the club, taking
in all the eye candy laid out before him. Women of all shapes and sizes always
a temptation to his sense, sauntered around the edge of the dance floor as if
in search of the right man to sweep them off their feet. Their hips swaying an invitation
for those who would offer an eye more than to keep rhythm with the music. He
loved the variety before him -tall, short, blond, brunette. He was never one to
box himself into one type of girl. Josiah skimmed over the scene as he followed
close behind the others to their table. He liked a challenge and women dressed
as if they’d pulled clothes from a tucked away box from junior high never
appealed to him on any other level except looking and he sure as hell would
take the opportunity to look. His mouth lifted at the corners as he took in the
absurdity of his thoughts. He didn’t have an ounce of respect for them if they
weren’t properly clothed, but he wouldn’t turn an appreciative eye from them,
either. Josiah kept his eyes on the crowd enjoying the sights as they reached
their table.
Chapter 3
Susan checked the dash clock again as
she slowly drove through the parking lot of The Launchpad. It had been awhile
since she’d last been here, but damn it, she couldn’t remember it ever being so
busy she couldn’t find a place to park. She made one more pass in hopes some
lonely soul had given up on the night and would be leaving. Letting out a curse
when she saw that no one stumbled between parked cars, she resigned herself to
parking across the street.
Moments later, after a flash of her ID,
she strolled past the bouncers and through the doors. As her eyes adjusted to
the darkness of the club, she spotted Tessa and the others in their usual table
just beyond the dance floor. There were a few people she recognized as she slowly
walked through the crowd, but one person in particular she was unfamiliar with.
One, if her eyes didn’t deceive her, she would need to acquaint herself with as
soon as possible. Susan felt heat pool between her thighs as she neared the table
where Tessa and the others waited for her. Standing next to Rowan, was a tall
drink of something cool and refreshing in the form of a towering cowboy. She
couldn’t see his face yet, but what she saw of the backside was more than she
could hope to look at in one night. He wore a perfectly shaped black Stetson
that hid all but a patch of dark curls escaping from the back and peeking out
from his hat, along with a navy blue button up shirt that stretched along the
wide line of his shoulders, tucked into a pair of faded Wranglers that clung to
his flawless ass, and he finished off his outfit with a pair of black boots. Susan
swallowed the knot in her throat and relished the sight before her.
She slowed to almost a crawl, taking in
her fill before she had to show some restraint and not stare. She allowed her
eyes to travel the length of his body, soaking in as much as she could,
absently licking her lips as if she’d just had a taste of the most delicious
chocolate cake she’d ever let past her lips. She certainly wouldn’t turn down
the dessert that stood just feet from her, surrounded by her friends. Forcing
herself to focus on something other than the man tempting her from afar, she
took one last long look then headed toward Tessa with a wave.
“You made it,” Susan heard Tessa’s voice
before she reached the table.
Susan’s breathing abruptly came to a
halt when the cowboy quickly turned around at Tessa’s words. Never, never in
the twenty-six years she’d been alive had she been privy to such a sight. The
backside of said cowboy was nice, but what a sight the front offered. His dark
skin enhanced cocoa brown eyes that sparkled from the small amount of overhead
lights the suddenly overcrowded bar provided. The stretch of his shirt
confirmed Susan’s suspicions that beneath the piece of material lay muscle upon
muscle. A massive belt buckle the size of a small town drew her eyes to his
nether regions and left no room for her overactive imagination. What lie in
wait behind the denim kept her attention a little longer than she’d planned, and
only the sound Tessa’s laughter shook her from the trance this stranger put her
under. Susan felt the flush of her cheeks as her eyes traveled up to the
cowboy’s, his pearly whites flashing as the corners of his mouth lifted into a
smile as if her flustered state amused him. Susan shook off the image of her
sprawled out beneath him and tried to focus on the words Tessa spoke to her.
“I thought you would approve,” Tessa
whispered into Susan’s ear as she leaned in and hugged her.
“Well, isn’t that the understatement of
the century. Where the hell did he come from?”
“Come on I’ll introduce you,” Tessa
laughed as she pulled her by the hand toward Josiah.
“Josiah,” Tessa began. “This is Susan…Susan,
Josiah.”
Josiah placed his index finger at the
tip of his black Stetson and tipped it towards Susan. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Susan responded, trying to
keep her legs from going out from underneath her, his deep hypnotic voice
vibrating through her veins, sending heat coursing to every inch of her body
and resting at the tips of her fingers and toes.
Josiah stepped aside, revealing an empty
stool, which he offered to Susan. A seat was exactly what she needed before the
weakness overtaking her body hit her full force landing her flat on her ass. She
stumbled to the table like a newborn colt trying to find its legs and slid onto
the vacant stool. From her reaction to Josiah, one would think she’d been
hitting the bottle before even entering the bar. As she sat down, she silently
wished she’d had taken a few sips prior and now could use some liquid courage
to steady her nerves. Dear god, when he opened his mouth his voice vibrated off
the inner walls of her hot core. And hot it certainly was. She’d never throbbed
between her thighs just from the sound of a man’s voice, until now. Susan
looked around and realized she’d been the only one affected by the man standing
inches from her. The only one dazed by the tip of his black cowboy hat and
southern twang. She needed a drink and quick to suppress the burning coursing
through her body.
Susan twisted on the stool in search of
a waitress and found herself staring right into the muscled chest of Josiah. Her
fingers twitched, itching to reach out and trace the outline of each muscle
that pushed against the thin blue material clinging to his skin. A thunderous laugh
reached her ears as she lifted her hand without thought. Realization that she
was seconds away from making that desire a reality hit her quickly and she
lifted her arm a little higher as if waving over a waitress she’d been
searching for. Thankfully Josiah didn’t turn his gaze from her, because in fact
there wasn’t a waitress in sight.
What the hell is wrong with you girl
, she thought to
herself.
You have seen many a hot men in your time. You need to get it
together.
“What will you be drinking tonight?” Josiah asked with a wink.
“I’ll see if I can’t find that waitress
that so rudely disregarded your request for her presence.”
“Right? You’d think they would be on top
of things what with tips being their source of income and all,” Susan responded
nervously. She shook her head as if in disbelief that some waitress had truly brushed
her off. “I can just walk to the bar and get…”
“Not on my watch,” he said. “Let me
guess. Jack and Coke?”
“Not tonight. I think I’ll just stick
with a Corona.”
“You got it. Lime? Nah, I think you’re a
no lime kind of girl.”
Susan shook her head. “Nope, no lime.”
Chapter 4
Susan watched while Josiah’s long
strides parted the crowd as he made his way to the bar. Reluctantly pulling her
gaze from him, she smiled as Tessa scooted her stool closer to hers so that the
two could talk without the boys hearing. Madison came up on her left side,
evidently not wanting to miss the girl talk.
“Well, what do you think?” Tessa asked
as Susan swung back around to the table.
“Do you have to ask? Where did he come
from?”
“He just got out of the Marines three
months ago and decided to come out to visit for a while. He attended medical
school with Rowan and Cade.”
“How long of a visit?” Susan asked
hopeful that it would be an extended visit.
Madison laughed. “From what Rowan says,
he and Cade are hoping to talk him into staying. Rowan said he doesn’t have a
job lined up back in Texas so they’re hoping he’ll join their practice.”
Susan started to respond to that tidbit
of information, but before she could, an ice cold Corona appeared in front of
her with long slender fingers wrapped around the bottle’s neck. She reached to
grab the cold drink from Josiah’s hand, brushing her fingers against his. Madison
slid from the bar stool she’d been occupying and returned to Rowan’s side, as
Josiah lowered himself next to Susan. She thanked him for the beer then pressed
the bottle to her lips. The cold liquid slid down her throat, settling in her
belly, quenching the thirst she’d been dealing with since walking into the
place. Susan placed the bottle down in front of her, letting her fingers drift
along the slender neck then down the width of the glass vessel as if the feel
of it against her skin would tilt her world back into some kind of balance.
The music filling The Launchpad wasn’t
in Susan’s repertoire. She’d never been one for lying and cheating, tear in my
beer, my dog ran off with the neighbor kind of music, but tonight they could be
playing Mozart and she wouldn’t care. As a matter of fact, the man sitting next
to her made it difficult to even focus on anything, including tonight’s choice
of music. The sounds pumping from the speakers made it difficult to hear, but
the nearness of Josiah made it even more difficult to talk. He leaned his body
in so close to hers, that she felt the heat radiate off him. Susan loved The Launchpad,
but coming here was more about the dancing and drinking than sitting down and
having a conversation. And since the music tonight did not call for her
dancing, she’d be happy sitting and drinking.
Josiah tapped her gently on the arm and
she nodded enthusiastically when he mouthed something to her. Susan knew he
spoke words out loud, yet all she’d seen was his lips moving. She felt like an
idiot because she didn’t have a clue what he said, so she just nodded as in
agreement to some truth he’d just revealed. Unfortunately, as he slid from his
seat holding out his hand, she realized he’d just asked her to dance. Not only
did she not like country music, she’d never taken a stroll on the dance floor
to it in her life. She no doubt would look as if she’d lost all use of her fine
motor skills and leave him wishing he’d asked someone else.
Susan leaned in closer to Josiah. “I’m
sorry, I didn’t realize you were asking me to dance. No offense, but I can’t dance
to this kind of music.” She lifted her drink. “Drinking, no dancing.”
“Not on my watch. We drink, we dance,
then we drink some more. Come on, it’ll be fine.”
“No really, I can’t dance... to this,”
she gave her wrist a flick to some invisible band in the sky. Fear grabbed hold
of her like a junkie not able to get her next fix as his eyes stayed trained on
her. There was no way in hell she would be out on that dance floor making a
complete fool of herself, and especially not with the likes of Josiah. At least
that’s what she kept telling herself as he pulled her from her seat.