FUEL (DirtSlap Series Book 1) (9 page)

She tasted sweet with little a bit of whiskey…and that same slow burn.

There was no hesitation on her part. She opened for him, melded her body to his and turned him inside out. He wanted more of this crazy girl who made her own rules. Within moments, the slow kiss turned into a fire threatening to burn down every single reason he had for keeping his distance.

Hot and needy, he cupped her neck and feasted on her hungry lips. Her moan mixed with his groan shot him right past the limits he’d tried so hard to maintain.

Her hands crawled under his shirt, scraped across his lower back along the edge of his jeans. This girl had no inhibitions and held nothing back. He coiled her hair in his hand and pushed her to the floor. Need overriding sense, he wanted to bury himself in her.

Get lost in all that was wild about her.

O
h lord. Thrand
was kissing her and she couldn’t get enough. Cassie gave into all her pent up hunger, and when he pushed her back against the floor, she hooked a leg around his. No way was she letting him get away again. His body was flush against her, his weight pressing her into the carpet, and she was as close to heaven as she’d ever been. She raked her nails up his back, the muscles there bunching under her touch. His heat surrounded her and she arched her hips feeling just how much he wanted her.

His lips traveled down her neck, making her body shudder. She was beyond thinking. His hands skimmed up her shirt and cupped her breast, sending her right over the edge.

“Thrand.” She gasped against his ear.

His body immediately stiffened and he jerked back.

She clutched his shirt when she saw warring emotions flicker across his face. “No. Don’t you dare stop.”

“But—” He tried to push himself off of her.

“Dammit, Thrand.” She tried to pull him down for a hard kiss, but he wouldn’t budge.

“You’re high.” He shook his head and scrambled off her and to his feet.

She launched herself up to stand toe-to-toe with him. “Seriously? Now, it’s cause I’m high? For the record, I’m not that high. I know exactly what I’m doing. What will it be next time? I’m tipsy, or I’m wearing purple.”

She didn’t care that she wasn’t making sense. The man was being absurd. He wanted her, but his so-called morals were getting in the way.

He glared at her. “I try to respect you and you throw it in my face?”

She laughed bitterly. “Right. If it was just respect, I could deal with it. But that’s not all that’s going on here. You and I both know it.”

He took a step back and the muscles in his jaw worked. “I’m not talking to you when you’re like this.”

“Like what? Like when I’m wanting you?” She flung her hands out wide then planted them on her hips. “And you haven’t been talking to me at all.”

He didn’t respond but turned on his heel and went upstairs to his room.

“That’s right. Walk away.” She was so mad she grabbed a couch pillow and screamed into it.

Five days later,
Cassie stood in Lila’s apartment. She’d had all she could take and she was pulling out all the stops. He’d gone from barely talking to her, to flat out ignoring her. She’d tried talking, reasoning and flat-out yelling. Her patience was gone. Nothing was getting through his thickheaded skull.

She looked into the full-length mirror and bit her lip, then glanced at a grinning Lila.

“It’s perfect.” Lila folded her arms over her chest and nodded her head in triumph.

“You think?” Cassie wasn’t sure about that. She wore low-rise tight jeans, which were fine, but the top was a black, cropped, skintight, off the shoulder shirt. Her boobs weren’t hanging out or anything, but her mid-drift was bare, it was more revealing than what she normally wore.

She was a bit self-conscious, because even though she was tall, she wasn’t skinny. Wearing her pajamas around Thrand’s house seemed a lot safer than wearing this into town.

“I don’t think I have the body for this.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re curvy, and trust me, you’re hot.”

Thrand was playing a gig tonight at Booseys, and Cassie had the night off. Lila assured her getting gussied up was a fabulous idea and thought Cassie should take advantage of it. Let him see exactly what he was missing. Cassie, on the other hand, had second thoughts. This wasn’t how she wanted to go about things, but she’d tried everything else.

“Here.” Lila shoved a shot glass in her hand.

“What? Why?”

“Liquid courage.”

Cassie sighed, then downed it, letting the burn settle into her toes.

“The boots. You gotta change those. I got some great heeled boots—”

“Oh, no. No heels.” Cassie glanced at her worn, punk-style, combat boots. “These are fine.”

“All right, but only ‘cause you’re tall anyway. Now, let’s go. I can’t wait to see his face.” Lila dragged her out the door, giggling the whole way.

The shot was doing its job with Cassie’s tension, until they stood at the entrance.

“Well, well, Jailbait. Look at you.” Dooley let out a whistle.

“Thanks.” There wasn’t anything intimidating about him now and she gave him a hug. She pointed at Lila. “Her idea.”

Lila’s blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Drastic measures were called for.”

Dooley narrowed his eyes and bellowed with laughter, his large frame shaking with the deep sound. “Let me guess. This is for Thrand.”

Heat hit her face at the mention of his name.

“That boy ain’t gonna know what hit him.”

“That’s the plan.” Lila snickered and pulled her inside.

The air whooshed right out of her when she saw Thrand leaning against the bar with a pretty brunette hovering and giggling at something he’d said. Cassie had no rights on him. No holds or promises or anything at all, but the urge to knock that girl flat on her ass was enticing.

“Oh, this is gonna be good,” Lila said.

When the girl laid a hand on Thrand’s arm and got closer, Cassie’s blood pounded in her ears and she halted in her tracks. She was too enraged to let her tears fall, but two could play his game.

“To hell with him.” Cassie turned to Lila. “I think it’s obvious where I stand with him and I’m tired of chasing. He can do whoever the fuck he wants.”

With that, she sauntered toward bar, gave her hips a little more swing and made sure she turned every male head. She tapped her nails on the bar and grinned at Mick when he walked up.

“Looking good, Jailbait.”

“Set ‘em up, Mick. I’m celebrating,” she said then finally met Thrand’s eyes.

He stared at her, his expression blank. The girl who had her arm curled around his never noticed. She was too busy whispering something in his ear.

Mick glanced at Thrand then shook his head and chuckled.

“You got it, baby girl. What are you celebrating?” he asked as he set up two shot glasses and poured the amber liquid.

“Being…free.” She lifted a glass in Thrand’s direction, downed it, then picked up the other one. “Hey, I can’t drink alone. Mick set Lila up, too.”

Lila smirked and wiggled her eyebrows as they clinked glasses then downed them at the same time. Cassie didn’t look at Thrand again.

To hell with him.

*

When Thrand saw
Cassie, it was all he could do not to gape. Her tanned shoulders were bare, revealing the little indent at her collarbone. How many nights had he spent awake imaging his lips right there? Her laugh was carefree, but when she swung her head he recognized the storm brewing in her eyes. She was on a mission to make his night a living hell, and he had a feeling it had something to do with the girl beside him and the past few weeks of tension.

The only reason he’d even approached the girl was to drive out thoughts of Cassie. But from the moment the girl opened her mouth, he realized it wouldn’t work. Her hair was wrong, her eyes the wrong color, and that surgery sweet voice grated on his nerves. He was about to walk away, when Cassie showed up.

His luck sucked ass.

He jerked himself away from the woman and jumped on stage to finishing setting up and ignored Ryan’s amused expression.

Over halfway through the set, Thrand thought his head might explode. Cassie had danced with every guy in the place, and it seemed she had finally settled on one—some blond cowboy who wouldn’t keep his hands to himself. On the verge of violence, Thrand kept breaking his sticks.

Her hair curled down her back and her hips swayed to the beat of the music.
His beat.
She held a beer high above her head, danced, and completely ignored him. How could she do that when she was dancing to
his
beat?

The song they played wasn’t even over when he stood up behind his set, making the rest of the band stop and turn in surprise. He banged his sticks together three times and the noise in the bar quieted a bit.

Cassie turned to look at him, he pointed at her with one stick, then banged them together three more times. Her smile reached him from across the room. She hopped off the cowboys lap and took a few steps toward him through the crowd.

Then he started playing her favorite song. Hard rock all the way. Not suited for Honky Tonk Row at all. He didn’t give two shits what he was supposed to be playing. Bedlam was lose and there was only one thing he wanted.

Her attention.

The guys in the band said something to him. He didn’t listen. They didn’t know the tune. But Cas did. She’d climbed on a chair, rocked it out, and her hair flew wild as she sang at the top of her lungs. The entire bar watched her and she didn’t care. Just kept right on doing her thing. Being everything that drew him in.

But the best part? She kept shoving handsy cowboy away.

Ryan caught on and joined in with some guitar riffs that made Cassie squeal with joy. Thrand didn’t know why she loved the song so much, but now, she was dancing to his beat and his beat alone.

Adding fuel to his fire.

He’d gotten exactly what he wanted…her focus on him.

People poured into the bar from the streets, filling it to capacity as he played wildly and dumped all his feeling into the song. The crowd jammed with her, Lila included, but he ignored them. Cassie pumped her fist in the air as part of the crowd joined in with the chorus. Her face was flushed, her green eyes flashing bright as they bored into him.

Sweat slid down his spine and the fire she created roared out of control. From the day he found her in Nashville, he knew she was going to be trouble.

She wanted him?

Let’s see if she could really handle him.

*

Cassie had done
a good job pretending to ignore Thrand, but there was no way she could overlook the heat from his eyes as they followed her around the bar. She was still pissy about the girl, but when he knocked those sticks together right in the middle of a song, she couldn’t contain her excitement.

He played her song. Not caring that all the band members, except for Ryan, were ticked. This was Bedlam. A part of him she hadn’t seen in a long time. The crazy, fuck-em-all, guy she knew so well was back.

She was breathing hard when Thrand hit the last note and broke another stick. He stood, sweat sliding down his arms, his black cap on backwards. He hopped off the stage in one smooth move, the intensity on his face had her swallowing hard. He took only a couple of steps then stopped and cocked his head. His lips tugged into a smirk that sent her pulse racing.