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~Dixon~
BLACK.
Black hair. Black dress. Black shoes.
She looked like any other woman in the place. But then she turned toward her friend, her face in full view. A smile. Round, rosy cheeks.
It was the smoldering look in her eyes that made my heart stop. And my feet.
“Hey, what the—”
Ryan bumped into me, and my beer sloshed over his arm. I guess that’s what happens when you come to a dead stop in the middle of a crowded country bar on a Friday night. He caught where my gaze was stuck and laughed.
“Yeah, keep dreaming. She’s outta your league, Dixon. Come on, the game’s on. Let’s grab a seat and watch your team lose. You’re gonna owe me some big bucks, buddy.”
I was too busy trying to remember how to breathe to give him any shit back about the game. And then I was too busy thinking about how to approach her without looking like your typical barhopping jerk looking for a one-night stand. Although, I wouldn’t object to it. I’d just have to try not to be a jerk. Emphasis on try.
I didn’t have a reputation as a steady guy...unless it was a steady flow of ladies, one right after the other. I just wasn’t into relationships. A good time? You bet. An hour or two of stress relief? Sign me up. But getting to know someone...letting someone in? Nope.
I wanted to know her. My mouth on her mouth, my hands on her body, her cry of satisfaction—my dick was totally in for that. Something about those eyes caught my attention. It tugged at my heart...something that hadn’t stirred in years.
This was the last thing I expected...or wanted.
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~Cora~
BLACK.
That’s what caught my eye when I turned toward Wendy.
Black leather jacket. Black jeans. Black hair.
But those piercing eyes...they watched me, captured me.
It took Wendy’s snapping fingers in my face to break the spell.
“Hey, you there? What do you want this fine gentleman to buy for you? A margarita? Or are you ready to kick it up a notch and do some shots?”
“What? What gentleman? Oh.” The guy behind Wendy was clearly checking out her ass as she leaned against the bar. He swung his gaze to me...and then he proceeded to check out my front. Jerk.
“No, nothing for me. I think I’m ready to head out.”
“Come on, Cora. Stay for a drink...a real drink this time, not a club soda.” Wendy glanced back at her admirer before returning her gaze to me. “Please, don’t leave me. He’s probably harmless, but...”
Guilt. She gets me with it every time. “Okay. But, seriously, just a club soda for me. I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow.”
Wendy wiggled her fingers at the bartender, Jake. When he got within shouting distance, she ordered her margarita and my soda, with a pointed look to Mr. Jerk.
“Here, let me get that for you beautiful ladies. Another Coors for me, too.” He slapped a twenty on the bar. Mr. Jerk smiled, apparently gearing up to show us his best stuff. Although, I had to admit, when he smiled and looked you in the eyes, he was almost bearable. Almost.
That was ruined when he opened his mouth again. “So, what are you two doing later tonight? Maybe we can all find a room and—”
Wendy pushed away from the bar, her voice rising with each sentence. “What? Are you thinking that just because you bought us a drink—one of them a damn club soda, for Christ’s sake—that we’re gonna fall all over you and do you in some sleazy fleabag hotel? You think a soda and a margarita and a smile is gonna get you two women who have standards? Think again, pal!”
Typical Wendy answer. I admired her ability to have a comeback for just about every situation. A skill I lacked.
Jake showed up at the bar with the drinks. “Problem here?”
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~Dixon~
THE ENCHANTRESS AND her friend were waiting for their drinks, probably courtesy of the scumbag checking them out at the bar. Jake, my stepbrother, took the order and walked away to make the drinks.
Jake owned the bar, which was convenient because it gave me a place to crash after a night of drinking, which was every night these days. He had a few rooms upstairs and let me couch-surf there while I was figuring out what the hell to do with my life. Right now, I was working construction with Ryan Chatfield, my old high school buddy, back in Tyler Mountain Valley in Connecticut, where we’d grown up. Better than the hourly temp jobs and warehouse jobs I’d been doing for the past six years after high school but definitely not what I wanted to do forever. It got me enough dough to pay the bills and buy some beers. Hey, I’ve got priorities.
And right now, my priority was still figuring out how to introduce myself to the beauty at the bar without being a schmuck. Actually, my priority was making sure that asshole at the bar wasn’t going to beat me to the punch. It sure looked as if he were trying. Her friend pushed away from the bar and her voice rose, although the jukebox distorted her exact words. Was that Do you in a sleazy fleabag hotel? What the hell?
My feet hit the ground and before that jerk knew it—hell, before I knew it—I got up in his face. “Hey. You need to learn some manners, dude. That’s no way—”
A hand on my arm stopped me. My brain short-circuited at the electric touch.
Jake was behind the bar, watching me. Clearly, he’d already been ready to take care of the situation. I suppose, being a bar owner, he’d seen his share of sleazy come-ons and knew how to get a lady out of a jam with a drunk asshole.
But my gaze was stuck on that hand. Delicate. Fair skin. Manicured. I followed it up until I looked straight into gorgeous green eyes.
“Thanks. I think we are leaving.” Green Eyes glared at her friend.
“Yeah, I think I’ve had enough of this...this gentleman’s attention.” The friend gave the death stare to the dumbass who now stood—well, wobbled—and attempted to reach for the ladies.
“Andrew, sit your ass down. You’re gonna have a real problem if you try anything but picking up this coffee. The ladies are off-limits.” Jake’s commanding tone had the drunk flopping back into the barstool.
“And you, Dixon. Why don’t you take Wendy and Cora here out to their cars? I’ll make sure lover boy here keeps his ass right here.”
And with that, my dreams started to come true. I had a chance to talk to my enchantress. And I almost had her name, too. I just had to figure out which name belonged to who.
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~Cora~
“YOU’RE SHAKING. I’M so sorry, Cora. I didn’t think he’d get so ballsy.”
“I know. Look, I’m ready to go.” Getting walked to my car by this man in black had me shaking, not the idiot in the bar. Jake knew him—he wouldn’t have suggested a perfect stranger should walk me to my car, right? But something about this man’s penetrating gaze had my heart stuttering and my head spinning. He took wide steps, with a steady gait to keep any would-be harasser at arm’s length.
And he was right behind us, listening to every word. I couldn’t tell Wendy the real reason I was shaking. The heat of his stare burned through my dress; I wanted to feel the heat of his hand at the small of my back. And somewhere else, too.
“Hey, I parked right out front. Where are you?” Wendy had her keys out and beeped her doors. The headlights flicked on and the interior lights lit up.
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~Dixon~
CORA. HER NAME WAS Cora.
Cora and Wendy walked out of the bar and to the parking lot, me two steps behind. I had to hand it to Jake for getting me in the door and giving me the excuse to watch Cora from the back. That knee-length black dress hugged her every curve and had me itching to put my hand on her back, to lead her somewhere besides her car.
I listened to the friends talk—I couldn’t help it, being so close—and let the soft tones of Cora’s voice wash over me. I could listen to her voice forever...soft, lilting, tender—until her words garbled and became moans, calling my name as she came. Shit. I had to stop drifting off into the fantasy of her and pay attention to the real her, the right-here-and-now her.
Cora said her car was parked at the back of the lot. Right where there weren’t any lights. Jake needed to take care of that little detail.
“I’ll make sure you get there safely.” The words were out of my mouth before my brain could stop them. Hopefully my brain could do a better job keeping my mouth shut in the future. But it sure as shit seemed to be out to lunch right now.
And after Wendy instructed Cora not to do anything she wouldn’t do, my mouth beat my brain again: “And what does that limit us to, Cora?” I smiled at her, hoping my dirty thoughts weren’t leaking out of my gaze. A drunk at a bar had basically propositioned her, or her friend...or maybe both; I didn’t think she’d appreciate another pass from a stranger. I wanted to sleep with her, sure, but I didn’t want to be a stranger.
“Well, Wendy’s always been more of an adventure junkie than me, so I’m afraid that bar is pretty low.” Her smile lit up her face, and some of the stress of the past half-hour seemed to fade from her features.
We still stood under the parking lot lights. I was about a head taller than her; a tendril or two of her straight, midnight-black hair lifted in the spring breeze. Her face flushed—whether from thoughts of Wendy’s exploits or from something else, I couldn’t tell—and she looked down, tucking some hair behind her ear.
“Hey, I just realized we never got introduced. My name’s Dixon. Dixon Reed.” I offered my hand to her. When her hand came up, so did her gaze. Her smooth, smaller hand was enveloped in my callused palm. That electric tingle shot up my arm again, zapping the few brain cells I’d managed to hold on to.
“Cora. Cora Stetson. Yes, like the hat.” She blushed.
“Well, Cora Stetson, like the hat, it’s nice to meet you.”
“My car’s over there.” She looked over at the edge of the parking lot and then back to me. Her eyes, as deep green as a sparkling gem, brightened under the lights.
“Well, let’s get you there.” How could I drag out the sixty-second walk across this parking lot? I needed more time...and to step up my game. Any second now, she’d be in her car and out of my life. The click-clack of her heels echoed in my head as I followed her.
Then: “Ouch! Damn!”
If I hadn’t been mesmerized by the sway of her hips, I would have seen why she twisted her ankle and dropped to the ground.
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~Cora~
I WALKED AWAY FROM his stare and that rumbly voice that bounced around my head. All I needed to do was get to my car, and then I wouldn’t feel overheated and the fluttering in my stomach would settle down. Dixon was sending my system into overdrive or something. I tried to concentrate on closing the distance to my car as quick as possible. But the heat of his stare was still there, and I still wanted to feel his hands there.
That was why I wasn’t looking at my feet or the chewed-up pavement in the parking lot. “Ouch! Damn!” My body was flailing, right until it smacked into the hard dirt—no pavement anymore—and my left ankle twisted. On a three-inch heel, a twisted ankle was a bitch. This hurt...and would hurt for more than a few minutes. There were some minor scrapes on my hands from trying to break the fall, but my damn heel was broken.
The only light now was from the almost-full moon; we were too far out of the streetlight lamp’s reach. My ankle was at a bit of an angle, and it was swelling. This night was too much, and another curse slipped out. “Motherfucker, that hurts!”
Dixon knelt and tenderly lifted my leg.
I jumped at the contact, but not because it hurt. Well, there was my hurt pride and my hurt ankle, but the reaction was pure attraction. He caressed my calf to my ankle, as his fingers ghosted their way down, fluttering softly and at a leisurely pace. His warm hand was callused, but not too rough. A tingle skittered over my body.
“Looks like a sprain. Can you wiggle those little piggies?”
My eyes were fixed on his fingers, watching them dance on my skin. I drew in a sharp breath and wiggled my toes—all ten of my Summer Reign-painted toes—inside my heels.
“Yup. A sprain. You need to elevate and ice that before it really gets bad. You live nearby?”
No. No way was he going to find out where I lived. Much less take me there. “Not really.” I gulped back my nerves. “Do you live close by?”
A smile took over his face. “Why, Ms. Stetson, are you trying to get invited to my place? You know, you didn’t have to fall to have a reason to visit.” His grin grew larger, and a laugh escaped. “I’d be happy to take you back to my place, Cora.” His eyes sparked at his words as he watched for my reaction.
There was that heat again, and I was certain it was in my eyes, too.
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~Dixon~
BY SOME TWIST OF FATE—OR rather, by twist of the ankle—I now had Cora in my arms as I walked back toward the bar.
“Umm...Dixon, I know I might need ice, and maybe the bourbon to go with it, but you do realize you are taking me back to the bar, right?”
Cora’s teasing words had me tightening my arms under her to hold her closer. “I live over the bar. Well, live might be a stretch. I’ve got a room there...a temporary thing while I figure some stuff out. The stairs are on the other side of the front doors—you’d hardly see them if you weren’t looking for them.”
“Oh.” She thought about that for a second. “What do you do? I mean, if you’re just living here temporarily?”
“Right now, I rescue ladies in distress.” I tried to keep her steady as I approached the front doors to the bar. A spring scent, like fresh-cut grass, swirled around. She was as light as a flower petal falling to the ground. The entire experience was like the day after the first rain of spring, full of promise of what was to come.
The bouncer, Dave, sat on his stool, keeping an eye on the inside from the propped-open door. The closer I got, the more sure I was that Jake would hear about this by the time I got to the upstairs door. Me carrying a lady across the parking lot was bound to catch Dave’s eye; about two seconds after that, Jake would get the news from him. I nodded to Dave as we passed by. “Tell Jake it’s just a sprain—no big deal.”
“No big deal? Hey, this is going to make things difficult for me. I’ve got—”
“I don’t want Dave here thinking you were trying to worm your way into my apartment. Or worse, Jake thinking it.” What I meant was I was covering my interest in getting her into my bed—apartment, I mean.
“Oh. I see your point, I guess.” Her nose scrunched. “Maybe I should go to a walk-in clinic or something. You really don’t need to take care of me.”
But, to my surprise, I’d be damned if that wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do.