Chapter Three

They were barely inside the door of the Two-Step when Colton nudged Tyler with his elbow. “I get the blonde.”

Tyler’s brows drew low. “Why do you always want the blondes?”

Colton shrugged. “I don’t know. I like ’em. I guess I have a type.”

“Fine. You get the blonde.” Tyler rolled his eyes. A type. What bullshit. Tyler’s type was any pretty young thing with the potential to make his evening more fun.

There had to be a dozen women in the bar, all enjoying, in volume, the ladies’ night dollar drinks. There were all colors, shapes, and sizes. Far too many for Tyler to even have gotten a good look at in the short time since he’d walked in.

The evening was still young. There was no need to make a choice as quickly as Colton had. Tyler wasn’t even sure which blonde it was that Colton had his eye on since he’d spotted at least three, but it didn’t matter. There were more than enough to choose from. If his friend really wanted to limit himself to this one girl—whoever she was—Tyler wasn’t about to argue. That still left all the brunettes and the redheads for him.

“Come on. Let’s go get a beer.” Apparently satisfied that his claim had been staked, Colton led the way to the far end of the bar.

When they arrived, there was indeed a blonde. She was leaning up against the wooden rail, posed for maximum impact and displaying a good amount of skin. More importantly, and what caught Tyler’s attention, was the fact she also had a friend—a dark-haired friend who was fair game for him to pursue.

The girls turned at their approach.

“Ladies.” Tyler tipped his hat at them. The brunette followed the move with her eyes and smiled.

Colton moved around to the other side, closer to the one he’d called dibs on, and leaned in to signal the bartender. “We’ll have two drafts, and two more of whatever they’re drinking.”

“Sex on the Beach.” With a fingertip, the blonde slid her nearly empty glass across the surface of the bar top. “Thanks.”

“Two more Sex on the Beach it is.” Colton nodded with a smile, looking as amused at the name of the drink as Tyler.

He met Colton’s gaze and grinned. This night was getting better with every moment.

“I got first round.” Tyler tossed cash on the bar and then turned to the brunette. “So tell me, what exactly is in that drink?”

“I don’t know, but it sure tastes good.”

Maybe it didn’t matter what the ingredients were. He liked it already just judging by the name. He extended his hand to her. “I’m Tyler.”

“I’m Libby.” Her fingers felt cool against his from the ice-filled glass she’d been holding. He shook her hand, lingering for a bit longer than necessary before he released his grip.

“Well, Libby, I sure hope to get a taste of this Sex on the Beach of yours sometime.” He’d fully intended the suggestion behind his words.

“Here. You can have a sip now.” She pushed her half-empty glass closer to him, but he shook his head.

“Nuh-uh. There are far nicer ways for me to take a taste than out of that there plastic straw.” His focus moved from the drink in question to her plump, pink lips.

By the time he dragged his gaze back up to her eyes, she was smiling at him. “All right.”

She fisted the front of his shirt and pulled him closer before she crashed her mouth into his.

Oh, yeah. Coming to the Two-Step had been a good decision. He’d achieved lip-to-lip contact in less than five minutes. That had to be some sort of record, even for him.

Libby thrust her tongue between his lips and he tasted the remains of the sweet drink inside the heat of her mouth. She stayed right there, French-kissing him like a woman on a mission.

Never one to deny a lady what she wanted, Tyler reciprocated wholeheartedly. He rested his hands on her hips, slid his thigh between her legs, and leaned back against the bar, settling in for a nice long make-out session.

This was going to be a very good night, and all for the bargain price of a dollar a drink. That would no doubt be the least expensive sex on the beach or sex anywhere that he’d ever gotten.

Tyler was aware of the bartender planting the two beers and two drinks on the bar, and of him taking the cash and delivering change. All of that action seemed far off in the corner of his consciousness as he enjoyed some attention from the lovely Libby. He didn’t know how Colton was faring with his blonde, and he really couldn’t rally the concern to care all that much.

Libby pulled away from his mouth and raised her gaze to his. “How about we take this outside?”

“Sounds good to me.” He grabbed his beer and downed a few gulps. He had a feeling he’d be working up a thirst shortly. As he set the glass bottle down, Tyler shot Colton a look. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

His friend raised a brow, but dipped his head in a nod. “A’ight.”

Right about now Colton was probably second-guessing his spur-of-the-moment decision to go for the blonde. In this situation, it sure looked as if brunettes had more fun.

Tyler looped his arm around the girl’s shoulders and led her out the back door. For one, it was closer to where they stood than the front door. More important, it conveniently led directly to the parking lot. They’d arrived at sunset, so it was beginning to get dark out. There weren’t as many lights out back as there were in the front of the building. That would provide them with some privacy. Not to mention they’d left Colton’s truck parked in the back lot and the doors were unlocked. He and Libby could crawl in there for some added privacy for their fun.

The quiet of outside replaced the noise of the bar as the heavy door slammed shut behind them.

“So, you wanna—” Tyler didn’t get to finish asking if she wanted to get comfortable in the truck. He couldn’t as she slammed him up against the wall of the building.

With her hands on his belt buckle and her mouth covering his, the time for talking was apparently over. He guessed doing whatever it was they were going to do right there against the building was fine with her since it seemed she was driving this bus, not him. He was simply along for the ride.

She broke away for a moment and Tyler used it as an opportunity to breathe and get a few words in. “You’re sure . . . enthusiastic tonight.”

“I’m mad.”

Libby concentrated on his buckle as she struggled to open it. It gave him a second more to ask, “Who are you mad at?”

“My fiancé.”

“Fiancé? Whoa, wait a minute.” He would have taken a step back from her if he weren’t already pressed against the wall. He made do with grabbing her hands to stop her from stripping him further.

Having already conquered his buckle and the top button of his jeans, she was in the process of lowering his zipper. He held her still to stop her progress before she got her hands inside his underwear.

Ironic, that. Usually Tyler was all for a girl getting into his pants, and vice versa, but not when there was a fiancé in the picture.

“Why are you so mad at him?” He figured it had to be pretty bad to get her angry enough to be doing what she was with him, a total stranger.

A frown creased the brow above her eyes. “He was staring at some girl’s tits. I saw him doing it. Right there inside the front door, plain as day.”

He started to suspect that the drink he’d seen her with wasn’t her first one of the evening. Her speech was a little slurred, her eyes a bit unfocused. Her reasoning was definitely off, too. Even if her guy had been eyeballing a girl, that was nowhere near equal to what Libby was trying to do now with him.

“Maybe you were mistaken. Did you ask him about it?” Tyler tried to talk some sense into the girl, even though odds were she was past hearing him.

“I can’t. I’m not allowed to talk to him when he’s working. He’s too busy.” She wrinkled her nose and did an unflattering imitation of a man’s voice, clearly showing her displeasure. “But you can bet I will later, as soon as the other bouncer gets here and he can take a break. Until then, I figure I’m free to do whatever I want, and I intend to.”

She stepped closer and pressed her pelvis against his as tidbits of what she’d said began to penetrate Tyler’s brain. Like puzzle pieces, they started to fit together, and the resulting image was not a pretty one. While she moved both of their hands down the front of his jeans to connect with the tip of his burgeoning length, he managed to picture the bruiser who’d been manning the front door of the bar and checking IDs as they’d walked in.

“Wait. Libby, hold up. Are you saying he works here? Jesus, please tell me he’s not the guy out front tonight.” He could only pray he’d misinterpreted her drunken babbling.

The back door flew open, smashing against the wall and bouncing back to where it was intercepted by the beefy forearm belonging to one hell of a big—not to mention angry-looking—guy.

Tyler didn’t have to wait around for Libby’s answer. One look at the murderous expression on the man in the doorway and he figured he had all the information he needed. He wasn’t about to risk bodily injury by sticking around any longer.

There were times when a man should stay and fight, and there were times when it was wiser to cut and run. It was clear to Tyler that this was the latter.

Shoving the woman he’d been kissing just moments before out of the way, he clamped his hat lower on his head and took off at a sprint as her bruiser of a fiancé followed him.

Cowboy boots weren’t meant for running, but Tyler managed it. He sure had incentive. Avoiding being pummeled into the ground by a jealous fiancé served as fine inspiration. He knew the truck was unlocked, but he didn’t have the keys to start the engine. Colton had those with him inside the bar. Tyler wasn’t about to lock himself inside a truck when he couldn’t flee, not with an angry lunatic hot on his tail, so he kept running.

The terrain worked in his favor, as did the darkness while Tyler crashed into the woods off the side of the parking lot. Branches whacked into him as he dodged between them. He twisted an ankle when one foot landed on a rock, but he kept going, limping in a half run. A pine bough caught him across the face, blinding him as he squeezed the injured eye tight and the tears began to flow. Still, he forged ahead. His life depended on it.