“I’m not het up, Addie. I’m just not interested in doing this with you.”
“Doing what?” What the hell did that mean?
“This whole fucking thing.”
“Hey, you’re the one that put in a second sink. I didn’t ask you for it. I got a place to stay.” And if it wasn’t her house, well so what? Maddie’d let her stay ‘til the end of never, and not have to ask.
“I know you didn’t ask. Goddamn it, girl. All I’m saying is…..What I want is…” She looked at him, eyebrow raised, and he stopped. “I just don’t want complications.”
“No. Good thing for you I’m easy.” Addie picked up her phone, slid it in her back pocket. “You know what, I’m not in the mood for this. The pie’s in the fridge. I’m just going to head out. You have a good one.”
She didn’t offer to do his dishes, she just slipped on her flip flops and grabbed her keys. She wasn’t Suzie Fucking Homemaker.
“Addie.” Bodie followed her, but he didn’t reach for her, which she figured was pretty telling. “I’m sorry, honey. I am.”
“I know. It’s cool. I promise, no babies, no long-term, no commitments. Just a nice fuck when we’re lonely. Give me a holler, huh?” She kissed his cheek, lips barely touching his skin, and hopped in her car, her phone ringing before she got all the way out of the driveway, before the tears could even start.
“Want a beer?”
She nodded, chuckled. “God, yes, Maddie. I love you.”
“I know. Meet you at the club.”
Maddie always knew, and always made it better. She gunned it, heading for the club, knowing she just needed to wash away her bad mood.
Bodie was a jackass. If he’d played his cards right, they’d be in that big bathtub, fucking like bunnies. As it was, he could just worry about eating cherry pie by himself.
Hell, the paint probably needed twenty-four hours to dry.
Chapter Seven
Bodie glanced over at his brother, trying to summon up a smile. “Thanks for bringing me along, man.” Ty hadn’t taken no for an answer when he’d stopped by to see if Bodie wanted to go to the club.
“Yep. Come on. Beer. Brewski. Take the fucking edge off.” His baby brother was looking at him like he was going to blow a gasket.
“What’s got your undies in a wad, man?” He knew Ty had to get back to work soon, but Ty had always liked being in the military.
“Just trying to get out of the house with the baby having an ear infection.”
Yeah. Lyla had called, told him about the little one being sick. Lord knew that got loud. He made a mental note to text her when he got to the club, though, just to see if she needed help, if Ty was bailing.
“Well, I needed out, too,” Bodie said. “So it’s good.”
“Yeah? Trouble in paradise?”
“What’s that mean?” His shoulders tightened and so did his jaw.
“Whoa. I was joking. You and Addie fight, man?”
“Not so much fight as disagree. Happens at some point to everyone, right?” Bodie knew it was his fault. He’d totally overreacted. The problem had been that the idea of Addie having his baby gave him a happy, and that was scary.
“How the fuck would I know, man? I’m a one-night stand type.”
“You’re a tomcat.” He relaxed enough to grin. “I freaked out on her. I just can’t let it get too serious, you know?”
“Man, you know that ain’t real, right? That whole ‘dude you’re cursed’ thing?” Ty looked at him like he was a bug. “Carla got hit by a drunk asshole and Lena…shit, everyone in her fucking family got some weird cancer thing. I think they grew up on a nuclear testing site or something.”
Ty wasn’t helping.
He wasn’t going to snarl, though. “Thanks. I think.”
They pulled into the parking lot and tumbled out. The lot was damn busy, George Strait pouring from the front door. Shit, Old Lady Pecina was sitting on her stool, taking the cover charge.
Bodie pulled out his wallet and paid, even if he wasn’t sure he should even go in. Maybe he wasn’t fit company.
People waved and greeted them as they walked up to the bar, Carl pulling two beers for them. John, the town sheriff and Bodie’s best friend from high school, got up and came to clap him on the back in a man-hug. “Hey, Bode. How’s it hangin’? Hey, Ty.”
Ty grinned. “He’s having a rough day.”
“No shit?” John said. “What’s happening?”
“Well, not that you need to know, but Addie and I had a disagreement.”
John laughed, gray eyes lighting up. “Well, women are trouble, for sure.”
“She’s not trouble.” Bodie tried not to snarl. “I was an ass, and she got mad.”
“So apologize,” Ty murmured.
“I did. I’ll do it again later.”
John nodded to the corner. “Do it now.”
Carl nodded from behind the bar. “Your lady’s sitting under the Bud Lite sign, man, with her sister.”
“What?” Sure enough, when he looked, Addie and Maddie were sitting together, bottles in hand. Damn. She looked amazing.
She was still in the little tank top, her hair piled up on top of her head. Her bright blue eyes were damn near wiped clean of makeup, too, which he sure as shit hoped didn’t mean she’d been crying.
Bodie had a feeling he wasn’t that lucky. He never was.
“I could go ask her sister to dance.”
He slanted a look at Ty, barely managing to avoid a hard-core eye roll. “You would do that for me? Take one for the team? What a horror.”
“I would. I’m like…a hero and shit.”
“You are, man. Bona fide.” He grinned. “Okay, Bro. Show me your moves.”
John snorted. “He is so getting shot down.”
Tyler sauntered over to the girls, said something, and to his utter fucking shock, Maddie nodded and took his hand. He’d be goddamned.
“Holy shit.” John nudged him. “Did you see that?”
Addie’s pretty eyes looked around the room, caught his. Oh, now how could anyone resist that girl? He saw Maddie and Ty cross to the other side of the floor out of the corner of his eye, but it was Addie he focused on.
“Got to go, John.”
“I know. Go buy her a beer.”
Bodie could do that. He headed over, seeing nothing but her blue eyes. “Can I apologize with good beer, honey?”
She looked up at him, and the little half-smile grew, just enough that he didn’t feel so bad. “I think you can, yeah. Have a seat.”
“Thanks.” He pulled out a chair, staring down young Buster Crealy, who’d been on his way over, probably to ask Addie go dance. This one was his, no matter whether they were fighting or not.
Addie chuckled softly, fingers touching his as he passed the beer over. “Hey, stranger.”
“Hey.” Another apology tried to force its way out, but he’d apologized more than once, and she wasn’t one to belabor a point. Besides, they both knew he’d been an ass, so why bring it up again. “So, hoppin’ in here, huh?”
“Yeah. Lots of folks. Everyone under forty on this side of Texarkana is here.” She sipped her beer. “I don’t suppose… don’t suppose you’d like to dance a minute?”
“If you’re willing I’ll cut a rug.” Thank God, she was a practical, good-natured type. Just his type, in fact, but he was trying not to dwell on that.
“I’m willing, cowboy.” She stood, took his hand, and gave him a smile, a real one, this time. “Possibly even ready and able.”
“Come on, then.” He pulled her out on the floor, perfectly happy to press against her.
She fit against him, her head on his chest, hands around him and suddenly he couldn’t believe that he’d snarled at her, couldn’t believe that he’d let himself get so wound up. Bodie figured it was time to get over it, though. “What did Ty say to Maddie?”
“He told her that you and I needed to make up, that he’d buy her a beer.”
“Well, he was right.” Bodie sidestepped a couple barreling around like a cannonball.
“Yeah.” She moved with him, trusting his hands. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.” His belly hurt with how good he felt, with how close he could have come to fucking this up.
“Good.” She snuggled in, just cuddling into his body, his cock. She wasn’t shy about how she liked him, touching him, one hand in his, the other on his chest. She was soft, round, all female.
And mine,
a tiny little voice in the base of his skull whispered.
He swung her around when the tempo changed, getting them going. She laughed, the flashing lights dancing in her hair. Bodie wanted to kiss her, wanted to tell her everything that was in his head. She pushed up, brought their lips together, taking what he wanted to give.
Bodie moaned, stopping right there on the dance floor to kiss her back. Hard.
Her little moan made his balls ache, the way she let him in was the hottest thing ever.
The hooting and hollering around them brought him back to earth, and he blinked, chuckling. “We’re in the club.”
“You noticed that.” She was blinking, too, staring at him.
“I did. Wanna get out of here?” He did. Badly.
“Please.” The back of her hand brushed his cock, teasing through his jeans.
Bodie’s breath caught in his throat, and he coughed a bit, a tiny contraction of muscles. “I’ll tell Ty. Maddie can drive him home, yeah?”
“She can. She has the keys to my car.”
“That’s what I want to hear.” He put an arm around her, shouldering past a few jeering cowboys. “Ty! We’re out. See you tomorrow.”
Tyson waved at him, a bunch of cowboys and their girls around him and Maddie.
He tugged Addie out of the club, the quiet outside almost shocking. His ears rang a little with it. Addie cuddled into his side, her curves snuggling right up against his ribs. She was sweet and giving, and he kissed the top of her head, needing to touch her, to reassure himself.
He put her into his truck, hand sliding on her thigh, stroking her a little. Then he leaned in and kissed her, tasting her good and deep. Addie opened right up for him, turning to wrap her legs around his waist.
Oh, God, she rocked his world. She was so responsive, so warm. She still tasted a little like cumin and chili. He’d almost fucked this up, bad.
He let the caress trail off, holding her close. “You okay with my place, honey?”
“More than okay.”
“Good.” Bodie nestled her back in the truck and shut the door before he did something stupid like make love to her right there.
She slipped right up next to him, tucking herself in close. Hot little number. He put a hand on her leg, letting her know he was right there with her. That he wanted her, too. He loved how her thigh shuddered for him, how she spread.
He didn’t know what to say, so he stayed quiet. Bodie hated that there was even that hint of awkwardness between them, so he cleared his throat. “I bet Maddie and Ty get into trouble before they go home.”
“Maddie’s the good twin. She never gets into trouble. It’s always me.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, Ty is the evil one in my bunch. He’s enough trouble for two.”
Addie smiled at him. “You’re enough trouble for me, cowboy, and me and Maddie? We don’t share.”
“No?” He squeezed her leg. “Me either. So, good thing it’s just you and me.”
She smiled at him, then pressed closer, lips near his ear. “If you want, cowboy, we can pretend like it was a huge, break-up worthy fight, so that the make-up sex is out of your mind wild.”
“Mmm. I like it. We could just do it right in the truck once we make it home.”
“First round in the truck. Second round on the kitchen table?” Her tongue traced the edge of his ear. “I’m assuming we don’t count the pre-burrito rounds.”
“Nope. We have a clean slate. Make-up sex, remember?” His hand clenched on the wheel, and he tried hard to keep it on the road.
“Excellent.” She was going to kill him, just make him explode. “That means I can suck cherry pie filling off your fingers after round two.”
Oh, God. He moaned, the sound shocking him a little.
“Oh, or maybe you’ll let me suck it off somewhere else? Just a little smear, so I can taste you too.”
He was going to tear her up. Just take her to every room in the house, making sure they didn’t even miss the laundry.
“Are we there yet?” Her lips were leaving burning little kisses on his throat.
“Almost.” They bumped across the cattle guard, then down his road.
“Good. I want you to make me come.”
“I do, too.” He wanted that more than his next breath right now.
He pulled up in front of the house, threw the truck into park and grabbed her. He didn’t want to bend her spine on the steering wheel, but he needed a kiss.
She slipped right into his lap, fingers framing his face.
“Hey, honey.” He kissed her, his hand behind her head, his lips searching out hers.
Her hair curtained him, the scent like peaches and sex. She was so soft, her breasts brushing his chest, nipples teasing him, through both their shirts. He lifted one hand to press against her breast, pushing up under it. His cock battered against his zipper, almost painful.
She leaned into his touch, her eyes closing as their tongues tangled, both of them groaning.
He pulled her up closer, his free hand under her curvy ass, so he could rub up on her a little, touch her. She was hot for him, moaning into his lips, and he gave thanks, that she was so easy to forgive, to trust him.
They rocked together, and Bodie tried hard to get his damned clothes open, to get to her, too. The space was just too small.
“Does the seat go back?” She tugged at his shirt.
“Oh, smart girl.” Yes. He let the seat back as far as it would go, and bingo, they had room to move.
She was stretched out over him, now, snuggled right against him. “Better.”
“Much, much better.” He was able to get her jeans undone and slid them down her thighs, giving him access.
She was soft and silky smooth, slick for him, and he loved how his fingers made her lips part. The scent of her teased him unmercifully, the feel of her against him making him so damned hard.
He made himself focus on touching her, on making those little moans get louder, wilder. His fingers rubbed circles around her clit before pressing it, giving her some good friction.
“Cowboy.” She arched, rubbing down, moaning for him, sweet and low.
“So hot and wet for me, honey. I want you so bad.”
“Right here. Fuck, Bodie, I’m on fire for you. Don’t stop.”