Unforgettable (The Dalton Gang #3) (18 page)

“You sure about the blouse being old.”

“It is, but I wouldn’t care if it wasn’t.”

“And the rest?”

“Take them off. Ruin them if you have to. Then ruin me. And hurry.”

Criminy, but he didn’t know what to say. He knew what she was asking for, but he didn’t know what was driving her need. He wanted to take the time to care, but he couldn’t. Not with the way she was looking at him, a heated expectation, a powerful need. And not after telling him just yesterday that she’d liked it when he’d lost control the last time they were in bed.

He gripped the hem of her blouse beneath the last button, gripped it hard, ground his jaw, and tore. The buttons scattered as he’d expected, pinging and clattering and bouncing across the living room, disappearing under furniture, hitting walls, rolling. He’d have to remember to look where he was stepping when he got up, but for now, nothing mattered except getting her out of her clothes.

Her chest was rising and falling when she shrugged off her top. It fell to the floor behind her, and he pulled her toward him, reaching for the hooks of her bra as he buried his face in her tits. He breathed her in, flowers and grasses and woodsy streams, and sex. Hot skin and anticipation and serious liquid lust.

She pulled her arms free from her straps, found his head, and held him while he moved from one side to the other, tonguing her nipples, biting down, sucking her into his mouth. Working at the zipper of her pants while doing that, frustration rising as quickly as his cock.
Ruin
the only word that came to mind.

He yanked at both sides of the fabric, and the zipper tore away, creating a gap between her body and her pants. He slid one hand down over her ass, finding his way around to her hip, and inside her thong, and to the lips of her pussy and her clit. She squirmed to the side, making room for him between her legs, and he pushed a finger into her, and she ground down against him, gasping, her hands on his shoulders as she tossed back her head and moaned.

It wasn’t enough, this partial touching of her, and he pulled free of her pussy and dug in his pocket for his knife. When she saw what he was doing, her eyes went wide, and her whole body went still. She held her bottom lip between her teeth, raised her arms to the top of her head and the pile she’d made of her hair, her tits bouncing in front of him.

He held her pants away from her stomach and used the tip of the blade to nick a spot he then split a bit further. Done with the knife, he grabbed tight and tore, rending the front of her pants from the waist to the crotch. He didn’t need any help ripping the fabric of her thong out of the way. That left her wearing rags on both legs, the rest of her body bare.

“Make me come,” she said, her mouth finding his, her tongue mating with his, his fingers finding her cunt and pushing deep. She kissed him, held his face with both hands, licking and stroking while he fingered her. Two fingers. Three. His thumb on her clit, rolling the nub, his free hand twisting her nipple as she rode his hand and groaned.

Her skin was flushed and salty, her pussy wet and tight. Her mouth was hungry. His mouth was hungry. His cock bound by his clothes and straining. He needed to be inside her, to pound away this infernal need gripping him by the balls.

He pulled his mouth from hers and moved to her tits, sucking one nipple, then the other, both his hands now between her legs, his fingers fucking her and rubbing her, pressing and pinching and helping her climb. She clawed at his shoulders, grinding down, tightening.

He felt her muscles contract seconds before she cried out and let go, shuddering, collapsing, her naked body beautiful, her pleasure nearly killing him. Easing his hands from her body, he wrapped one arm around her and swiveled, tumbling her to the couch. Then he stood only long enough to shove his jeans to his knees before he covered her where she waited.

Cock in hand, he found her tight hole and pushed in. All the way in. He left nothing of himself behind. None of himself bare of her. With his face buried in the tangle of hair at her neck, he breathed her in, finally moving when he couldn’t
not
move, when her fingers began to trip up and down his spine.

He rolled his hips slowly, feeling her, all of her, his cock slick with her cream. And hot. So fucking hot. The heat got to him. The suction of her cunt. Milking him. Skin on skin. Slick and swollen and like a band squeezing him from the base of his shaft to the skin of the head as he stroked.

He was done. All in and done. He shoved into her, lifted his head and his upper body, his abs contracting, cum shooting in bursts like gunshots triggered from the base of his spine. And then it hit him.

For the first time in sixteen years, the first time since the night he’d sworn his dick would never touch a pussy unsheathed, he hadn’t used a condom.

He was fucked in so many ways he didn’t know what to do.

NINETEEN

“K
NOCK, KNOCK,”
F
AITH
said, her knuckles rapping on Everly’s open door. “Got a minute?”

Everly looked back at her screen. It was Saturday. Her day off. Her day to do whatever she wanted, even if that meant nothing but drinking wine on her back porch and reading a book. Instead, she’d come into the office because all she’d been doing at home was pacing and staying mad, at herself and at Casper, and thinking Boone had ruined her. Just like she’d asked. Her clothes. Her body. Possibly her heart.

At least at the office she had work to keep her mind off all of those things. Or so had been the plan. “Not if it’s about Casper.”

“It’s about Casper,” Faith said, coming in anyway, having obviously seen Everly’s SUV in the rear lot.

“Leave the door open,” Everly said, before Faith shut it all the way. And then it hit her how she sounded. It wasn’t even her being defensive. It was her being rude. It was her being the bitch Boone had refused to call her. What in the world was wrong with her? “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bark.”

“Ev, listen to me. I don’t want you to think twice about anything he said, or take it to heart, because it was just Casper being Casper and blowing off steam. Now,” she said, stopping to take a deep breath. “Can you take off the rest of the day and let me buy you a drink or five?”

Five sounded good. She liked the number five. And she liked no-nonsense Faith because she made it impossible to stay mad. “Only if we drink someplace where we won’t have to worry about getting home after.”

“Like my place? Or your place? Or Arwen’s?”

“I vote for Kendall’s store.”

“Perfect. When I was there last night with Clay, Kendall mentioned having nothing on tonight’s calendar. I’ll make sure she’s okay with all of us descending on the store. And I’ll call Arwen and tell her to meet us.”

“That gives me time to wrap up here.” Not that she had anything to wrap up. She’d been shopping at Amazon. Not working. “I’ll meet you there in . . . twenty minutes?”

“Make it thirty. I’ll run by the house and grab a blender, and I should have plenty of margarita mix in the freezer. I’ll see if Arwen can supply the booze.”

“And maybe nachos?”

“Sounds like a party to me.”

Faith flounced out of the office, looking happier than Everly had ever seen her. Whether that newfound joy was the result of the other woman’s relationship with Casper, or finally walking away from a career she’d never wanted, Everly didn’t know.

What she did know was that she wanted to feel that carefree, her past in the past and not bouncing up when she wasn’t looking to mess with what was a pretty perfect present. Would Faith have found herself without first finding Casper? Or were the two events dependent on each other?

And was Everly missing out on something equally life changing by keeping her affair with Boone emotion free?

She’d sworn when leaving Austin she would never be a victim again, and being with Boone, she hadn’t once gotten the sense she was anything but cherished. That she was important to him. That he wanted to be with her and do for her because he enjoyed her.

Even early in her relationship with Toby, she hadn’t felt as important to him as she already felt to Boone. She wasn’t particularly proud of what that said of her choice to stay with Toby as long as she had, but dwelling on it only made her miserable.

She was damn tired of letting Toby make her miserable.

Pushing aside thoughts that were hurting more than helping, she shut down her computer and packed up her things, ready for a night on the town—or at least a night in the bookstore’s comfy reading room with her friends. Locking up and leaving her SUV parked behind the newspaper office, she set off to walk the few short blocks through downtown, loving the peace and quiet.

At the far end of Main Street she could see the flash of red taillights as vehicles braked to pull into the Hellcat Saloon. It would be the same behind her, she knew; though the Blackbird Diner was smaller and closed earlier, it would still be full, as would the Dairy Barn out near the high school.

Saturday night in ranching country was a far cry from what she’d known in Austin, she mused, stopping at the corner as a tow truck cruised Main Street in front of her. Camino’s, the only real bar in town, was more of a beer joint and pool hall, and from what she’d been able to tell, it did less business than Arwen’s. There were no clubs for dancing, no lounges for wine or cigars, no sofa rooms for casual hookups.

Having drinks with her girlfriends at Kendall’s store was the closest thing to a girls’ night out she could get in Crow Hill. And she didn’t mind at all. In fact, she could probably live the rest of her life and never miss the lights or the noise or the crush of bodies Saturday nights brought to Austin’s 6th Street.

She glanced the other direction, checking for traffic, then looked back and went completely still. A shiver ran through her as she realized what she’d just seen—and whom the tow truck belonged to. It was too far away now to make out the driver, but even from this distance the sign across the back window clearly said
Upton’s Garage
.

Was this a coincidence? His driving by while she was walking to Kendall’s? He couldn’t have known where she was going; she hadn’t known until a half hour ago. Had he been circling the block, stalking her, waiting for her to leave the
Reporter
’s office? Surely not. What reason would he have to harass her?

Hurrying across the street to the alley behind the buildings, she ran as fast as her stupid shoes would allow to the bookstore’s back door. Kendall answered her frantic knock and drew her into a hug, then stepped free to close the door. Faith stood at the back room’s counter, assembling her blender and lining up glasses.

“Is Arwen going to make it?” Everly asked as she crossed to the corner bathroom, needing a moment to catch her breath, though pretending what she needed was a mirror to straighten her blouse and her hair. “Her parking lot looks like she’s got a full house.”
Deep breath. Deep breath. Deep breath.

“She said she’d be down soon,” Faith called in answer. “She’s got extra staff on for the evening so didn’t think she’d have a problem getting away.”

And yet months ago, before Dax had come into Arwen’s life, Everly mused, leaning forward to clear away a smear of mascara, the other woman wouldn’t have left the saloon in the hands of anyone else on a Saturday night. Talk about the changes a man could make in a girl’s life . . .

“I’m so glad y’all were in the mood to do this,” Kendall said. “I was not looking forward to going upstairs to spend another Saturday night alone. It sucks being single in a town where the only meat market really is a meat market.”

“You know,” Faith said, glancing over her shoulder as Everly switched off the bathroom light, “I think tonight would be the perfect night for you to tell us what in the world made you open a bookstore in Crow Hill. Because really. Crow Hill?”

Kendall laughed. “It’s not that big a deal. I’m happy to tell you. I’m surprised I
haven’t
told you.”

“I’m surprised, too, but wait for Arwen. She’ll want to hear the story.”

“If you’re expecting a tale of intrigue and deceit, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”

“Someone’s been reading too many of her own books,” Faith said to Everly in an aside, as a knock on the back door sounded.

Everly jumped. Faith frowned. Kendall looked from one to the other then went to open it, quickly relieving Arwen of one of the boxes she held. “Thank you. I should’ve just made two trips instead of trying to get everything inside in one.”

Lifting the box to her face, Kendall breathed deep of the spicy aromas. “I don’t know what this is, but I want it now. I’m starving.”

“It’s the makings for nachos. Faith placed the order. And this,” she said, setting the other box on the floor and coming up with two bottles. “Tequila and ice for four.”

Faith grabbed one and went to work mixing drinks, while Everly laid out four plates on the countertop, and Kendall did the same with the food. Minutes later, all four women were laughing their way through the nacho assembly line.

Balancing plates and glasses, and Faith the pitcher of margaritas, they left the private back room for the public reading area—a large square in one corner of the store lit by low-burning lamps on end tables piled high with books. The fringed shades cast a golden glow over the hardwood floor and the braided rag rug centered in the circle of sofas and chairs.

Arwen and Everly claimed the two ends of one sofa. Kendall curled up in a huge wingback chair. Faith stretched out on a wickedly plush chaise lounge. They spent the next two hours discussing everything under the sun—Everly’s shoes, and Faith’s plans for Casper’s home-theater room, and Arwen’s new kitchen table ordered from a furniture builder in Hope Springs, and Kendall’s decision to open a store in Crow Hill.

Halfway through their second batch of margaritas, with the plates of nachos decimated, Arwen tucked her feet beneath her and turned into the corner of the sofa to face Everly. “Darcy mentioned to Dax that Les Upton’s been causing Boone some grief.”

“What?” Faith’s gaze swung from Arwen to Everly. “Is that right?”

Everly shrugged, thinking it interesting that they all turned to her when she and Boone weren’t an official couple. “Darcy saw his tow truck a couple weeks back. He was parked off the road outside the Rainsong Cafe. But he was gone by the time Boone and I left, so if he’s been giving Boone grief, I’m not aware.”

“Someone needs to burn down his garage, run him out of town.”

Arwen gasped. “Faith!”

“Oh, I’m not going to do it.” Faith fluttered a hand. “Or even pay someone to do it, though on this side of two pitchers of drinks, doing so sounds like a very good idea.”

“I saw him earlier,” Everly said, and all three women turned to look at her, grilling her with shouted
what
s and
when
s and
what did you do
s. “When I was walking over from the paper. His truck was on Main Street. I was waiting at the corner to cross the street, and he drove by.”

“Did he say anything?” Arwen asked.

“What did
you
say?” Faith asked.

“I didn’t do or say anything,” she said with a shrug, glancing at Kendall whose eyelids kept drifting closed. “He was already past when I realized it was a truck from his garage. And I don’t even know if he was driving.”

“I can’t believe he’s still in business,” Arwen said. “And he would’ve been driving. He doesn’t employ anyone else anymore.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t get a shiv to the throat in prison,” Faith said. “After what he put his family and my brother through, he deserved it.”

Arwen slid from the couch to the floor and reached for the pitcher to refill her glass. “Did you ever hear what happened to Lucinda and Penny?”

Faith was the one to answer. “I think Lucinda went to stay with relatives after she was released from the hospital. I imagine Penny went with her. I thought I’d heard she’d come back to town, but that was a while ago, and if she did, I haven’t seen her.”

Everly wasn’t sure why she found that interesting, but she made a mental note to find out what Penny had been up to, and if it might hurt Boone. Though why the other woman would want to cause him trouble all these years later . . . “I think I’ve had too much to drink.”

“And I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing,” Kendall said, joining Arwen, prone on the floor.

There was when her thoughts were going crazy places. “Then maybe I should have one more margarita,” she said, upending the rest of the pitcher into her glass. “In case you’re right.”

“She’s right,” Faith said, and that was that.

*   *   *

B
OONE HAD JUST
stepped into the ranch house kitchen Saturday night when the phone rang. Thinking it might be Everly, he grabbed it without looking at the display and said, “My place or yours?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna be sticking close to the house tonight.”

“Casper. What’s up?” And how the hell was he already back in town?

“You got anything going on tonight?”

“Since you turned down my offer, not a thing but feeding my face and a shower,” he said, staring at the lone stick of butter occupying the space in his fridge. Tomorrow, after Sunday supper, he had to buy groceries.

“Why don’t you skip the food and come to town?”

Criminy.
Gas money did not grow on trees. “I don’t want—”

“Dax is on his way. We’ll be at Sheppard’s Books.”

Boone shook his head, trying to make sense out of Casper’s lack. “I don’t need anything to read—”

“Everly’s here. Drunk off her ass along with Kendall, Arwen, and Faith.”

Boone straightened, slamming his head into the freezer door that had magically come open. “What the hell?”

“They had some kind of girlfriend drink-along or something. Must’ve killed a pitcher of margaritas apiece, judging by the tequila empties. The reading room at the back of the store looks like, well, some kind of brothel. Who knows what madness went on here, though I’m goddamn sorry I missed it.”