Colorado 01 The Gamble (67 page)

“Well, if that’s true, it’s not my
fault.”

“Gotta put some meat on you, Duchess. No
one’s lookin’ at Kami’s ass,” Max lifted his chin to the bartender
to keep the change, flipped his wallet closed and shoved it in his
pocket.

“She’s sitting down.”

“They were checkin’ you out when you were
sittin’ down too.”

“My behind?”

He looked at me and stated, “Nope, your
hair, face and, sometimes, tits.”

I gasped then breathed, “They were
not.
”

He grinned. “Babe, they were.”

“You’re full of it.”

He shook his head and his eyes went over my
shoulder then he grabbed two of the beer bottles from the bar and
handed them to a passing Steve who was making his way back to the
pool table. Steve smiled at me but said no more before he moved off
to join Brody.

Max handed me a beer and took the other one.
Then his arm slid around my waist and he pulled me to his
front.

“Why d’you find that hard to believe?”

I explained it to him, “They’re just looking
at me because they’re curious because I’m with you.”

“Maybe that’s why some of the women are
lookin’ at you. The men are lookin’ at you because you got a pretty
face, great hair and nice tits.”

“Max!” I snapped.

“It’s true.”

“You just like me.”

He shook his head and his arm got tighter.
“Shockin’, Nina Sheridan fishin’ for compliments.”

His comment annoyed me for it was patently
untrue therefore I pulled back from his arm but it just got tighter
so I gave up and snapped, “I’m not doing that.”

He was grinning again before he remarked,
“Christ, you go from sweet to pissed faster ‘n lightnin’.”

“Only because five minutes ago I was in the
mood to be sweet then you were annoying.”

His brows went up. “Tellin’ you you’re hot
is annoying?”

“Telling me all the guys are checking me out
when they aren’t is annoying.”

“Babe.”

“Max.”

We seemed to be at a stalemate then he
sighed.

Then he said, “I’ll tell you somethin’,
whether you believe they’re lookin’ or not, you gotta know, I don’t
care they look. They can only guess what that ass, tits and hair
promises but I
know
.”

I rolled my eyes even though my stomach
pitched in a good way. Max started laughing and I hoped, since I
knew now that he could read my face, that what my stomach did
wasn’t written there.

“I’m going to go talk to Harry now,” I
informed him when he’d controlled his amusement.

“Yeah, you can do that after you kiss
me.”

I decided to give in and avoid the
inevitable argument so I leaned up, placed a hand on his bicep and
touched my mouth to his. Then I pulled back several inches but Max
jerked me forward again so I was plastered to him.

“That’s a kiss?” he asked.

“Um… yes,” I answered surprised to find
myself plastered against him.

“Honey, not even close.”

My eyes got wide as I understood his
meaning. “I’m not making out with you in a bar.”

“Why not?”

“Why?”

His face again dipped closer. “Because,
first, I want you to. And second, whether you believe it or not,
guys are checkin’ you out and that’d be me stakin’ my claim.”

“Staking your claim?”

“It’s a guy thing.”

“It’s a Macho Mountain Man thing.”

“Same thing.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You gonna kiss me or what?”

“If I don’t, you’re just going to kiss me
anyway, aren’t you?”

Again, he gave me a grin. “You finally got
that?”

“Impossible,” I muttered.

“Kiss me, Duchess.”

With nothing for it, I did with (possibly)
my mother watching, his mother watching and my stepdad watching.
Not to mention his sister, best friend, Arlene and half of Gnaw
Bone. However, when he released my mouth, I didn’t have it in me to
care.

“See you’re back to sweet,” he muttered, his
eyes moving over my face.

“You’re a good kisser,” I muttered back.

His forehead touched mine before he said
words that changed my world.

“You’re better,” he whispered, I melted
deeper into him and he finished. “Best I ever had and I mean that
with everything you do with your mouth, even when you’re usin’ it
to tell me I’m annoying.”

My arms, which had gone around him during
our kiss, tightened in a spasm.

“Really?” I breathed.

“Absolutely.” He was still whispering.

Suddenly I felt like crying and to hide it I
tipped my chin down and tried to pull away.

Unfortunately during our kiss, Max’s arms
had both gone around me too so this effort was moot.

“Duchess?” he called and when I continued to
avoid his eyes, one of his arms kept me locked to him while his
other hand came to my chin and forced me to meet his gaze. When his
caught mine, he murmured, “What is it, baby?”

What it was was a lot, including the fact
that maybe, just maybe, I was going to be special in some way to
him too.

And that meant the world to me.

I didn’t tell him that, instead, I said,
“That was just a nice thing to say.”

“I like that,” he replied as his hand left
my chin and curled around my neck.

I blinked in confusion then I asked, “You
like what?”

“I like that you don’t believe guys are
checkin’ you out, you won’t accept that compliment, but you get
soft when I tell you I like somethin’ you do for me.”

I bit my lip and tried to look away but
Max’s hand at my neck tensed so I kept my eyes on his and demanded,
“Stop being nice.”

He grinned yet again and his fingers gave me
a squeeze. “Duchess, you best get used to that. I know you haven’t
had a lot of experience with it but you should know, I intend to be
nice to you on a regular basis.”

“Now you’re being nicer,” I informed him and
it came out as an accusation.

“Yeah, babe, like I said, you better get
used to it.”

I wasn’t sure that was possible. However, I
was sure that I wouldn’t mind trying.

I decided to change the subject. “Can I talk
to Harry now?”

He looked at Harry and replied, “Yeah.”

“
Max?” I called and he looked back at me, I
got up on my toes to get close and I whispered, “You’re the best
I’ve ever had too, not just with your mouth, with everything. And
when I say that, I mean
everything.
”

Then before I could witness his full
reaction for what I saw with his face softening but his eyes
getting dark and intense was enough, I pulled free from his arms
and hurried to Harry.

Told you that you were selling
yourself short,
Charlie
said in my head.

Oh be quiet,
I said back.

I walked along the bar toward Harry, not
looking back at Max and I felt my mouth smiling slightly but inside
I was smiling a whole lot bigger.

I noticed that Harry was being given a wide
berth. Both of the stools beside him were empty and no one was
standing close.

I slid on a stool next to him, his neck
twisted so he could look at me and I realized why he was being
avoided. His eyes were red-rimmed with drink and maybe sleepless
nights for his face was haggard and, up close, he looked even less
happy.

“Hi, Harry,” I said softly.

“Nina,” he muttered and looked back down at
his drink.

“You doing okay?”

“Nope,” he answered instantly then put the
glass to his lips and threw back the contents in one gulp.

When he dropped his hand, the bottom of the
glass crashed against the bar and I jumped.

Suddenly, and loudly, he shouted,
“Jake!”

The bartender’s eyes came to Harry and Harry
rapped his glass against the bar indicating he wanted another. Jake
nodded and turned to the bottles of liquor behind him.

“Harry –” I started.

He cut me off. “Heard you’re movin’ to
town.”

“Um… yes,” I affirmed.

“Figures,” he muttered strangely and Jake
was there.

I watched him pour bourbon into Harry’s
glass, Harry’s hand still wrapped around it and I looked up at Jake
to see his eyes come to me. I shook my head slightly. He nodded his
indicating he understood.

“Dude, you want another one after this, you
gotta give me your keys,” Jake told Harry.

Without hesitation Harry reached into his
jeans pocket, yanked out his keys and slapped them on the bar. Jake
snatched them up and walked away. Harry took a sip of bourbon.

“Max and I’ll take you home.” I offered and
Harry’s bloodshot eyes came to me.

“You know, I don’t get it,” he stated.

“Get what?” I asked.

He looked from my face to my lap then up
again. “You live in fuckin’ England.
England,
” he spat out his last word and I jumped again,
the venom in his tone surprising me. “You come to town, drive
straight fuckin’ through, straight to Max’s. Now you’re sittin’
with his Ma and his sister at The Dog, laughin’ and bein’ loud.
Then you’re pressin’ up tight to Max and makin’ out with him. I
mean, what is that?”

I didn’t know where he was going with this
or why he was even talking about it or, most of all, why he seemed
so angry about it, so gently I said, “Harry, I don’t
understand.”

“It’s just him,” Harry told me. “Been that
way as long’s I can remember,” Harry’s eyes went across the bar to
Max and his unhappy face went tight, “always.”

I was getting uncomfortable with the
conversation and not knowing what to say I watched him take another
sip.

“Harry, maybe –” I began but Harry looked
back to me and what he said shut me up.

“Knew Anna,” he informed me, “knew her for
forever. She was a sweet little thing. Wasn’t pretty though. Sweet
as hell, always. Funny, Jesus, so fuckin’ funny. But not
pretty.”

I stared at him, having seen pictures of
Anna I couldn’t believe he didn’t think she was pretty. She was
beautiful.

Harry continued, “Then, she got pretty.
Like the ugly duckling story, in high school, she turns into a
swan. She’d had a crush on Max for fuckin’ years.
Years
. He didn’t
notice her, didn’t know she fuckin’ existed until she got pretty.
Then he noticed her all right. Everyone did.”

I didn’t want to hear this, not from
Harry.

“Harry, Max and I haven’t –” I started but
he kept talking.

“
He asked her out and that was it, she was
his. The whole town thought them bein’ together was so sweet, so
fuckin’ sweet. Everyone thought it was like Cinderella. Anna
wantin’ him for so long, watchin’ him from afar, never had a
boyfriend, no one but Max. Max bein’ Max, every girl wantin’ a
piece of him. Anna’s impossible dream bein’ possible and them
hookin’ up, gettin’ so tight, fallin’ in love.” He shook his head
and downed another healthy sip before continuing, “Even when he
went off to CU, got that scholarship to play ball but got her
pregnant his sophomore year. He quit school and came home and
married her. Everyone thought it was so
romantic
. He was such a good fuckin’ guy, givin’ up his
dream of bein’ an architect, doin’ the right thing by Anna.
Jesus.”

As this information pummeled me, I was
beginning to breathe heavily and my heart was skipping in my chest.
I wanted to run away, slide off my stool and run back to the safety
of Max’s arms, to the time when I didn’t know this. I realized,
after all that time thinking I wanted to know that, actually,
I
didn’t
want to
know.

“Please, Harry, listen to me a second –” I
begged but he kept talking.

“
And you know what? He was never pissed
about it. Never thought about what coulda been. Never angry that
she derailed his life, gettin’ knocked up. He was fuckin’
happy
about that baby, thrilled to
put a ring on her finger. Over the fuckin’
moon.
She was happy too. They were so fuckin’ happy.
Even when she lost the kid. And the next one. And the one after
that.”

I was no longer breathing heavily, I wasn’t
breathing at all.

“They quit tryin’ but hey,” he threw his
hand out, “that’s okay. They had each other and for the Great Max
and the Beautiful Swan Anna, that was enough. It was everything.
Fuck,” he muttered and took another sip.

I forced air into my lungs but didn’t get a
word in before Harry spoke again.

“Then Curt kills her.”

The breath I’d pulled in squeezed out as my
chest froze but Harry kept right on going.

“
Jesus, tore the whole town apart. Thought
they’d hunt Curt down, hell, thought Max’d do it. Max was un…
fuckin’…
done
. Never seen
a man like that. Never. Fuckin’ shit, he was wild. All anyone could
think about was Anna bein’ dead and Max losin’ her and, finally,
Max mannin’ up and not seekin’ retribution. And wasn’t Max
so
great
that he
didn’t lose it and whale on Curt? Wasn’t he so fuckin’
wonderful
that, when his world came
crashin’ down, in the end he kept his shit together? No one thought
about Curt takin’ Bitsy’s legs, leavin’ her in that chair and Curt
walkin’ away unscathed. All anyone could think about was the end of
Max and Anna, the death of a damned fairytale.”

“Maybe I should –” I whispered, wanting to
get away, desperate to get away but somehow glued to my stool.

Harry kept right on talking. “Then
everyone talks, they see him playin’ the field, they know he ain’t
serious with no one. Never again. Anna was everything to him.
How
sad,
” Harry
hissed. “How
tragic.
” Harry
shook his head and took another sip before he continued his
diatribe. “Such a good man, losin’ everythin’ at the age of
twenty-fuckin’-seven, heartbreakin’. Max is untouchable, his
heart’s so broken, they said, no one’ll ever get in again. No one
noticed he was fuckin’ everything that moved, leavin’ ‘em high and
dry, never lettin’ ‘em get a piece of him. Everyone knew he did it
everywhere, takin’ jobs outta town, had women here, had women at
his jobs, had fuckin’ women
everywhere.
”