Pushing my mind back to the here and now, I watched as Theo headed back from the bar with beers for the three of us. We were sitting at a high-top table in the corner by the main entrance, and my back was leaning against the wall. Basically, just shootin’ the shit and trash-talking to each other.
“There is a very fine chick up at the bar with Ivy Tinsley, who I’ve never seen before, but would definitely like to again if you catch my drift.” Theo had a huge grin on his face that just spelled trouble, with a capital T.
I chuckled as I shook my head at him. Theo was all about the ladies, but he never stuck around for more than one night, and remembering their names wasn’t his strong suit in life either. The kid had commitment issues with anything that wasn’t his career in the army, which also felt rocky given how long he’d been home now. Not that I had much room to talk in the women’s department, I wasn’t much different.
I don’t think he’s had real feelings for a girl since he was twelve years old, and the little girl he had a crush on at the time moved out of town—leaving behind a broken pre-teen Theo.
“She just moved here from somewhere down south. She works with Ivy over at The Roadhouse,” Wyatt said. “I’ve seen her a couple of times when I’ve stopped in for lunch meetings.”
I glanced over at the bar to see this girl that my brothers were so keen to talk about over beers this evening. Ivy was easy to find. Her long blonde hair and sundress were always the same when she came out to dance. She was the typical sunshine girl next door; beautiful, sure, but not my type. However, the woman next to her? Not what I expected to be sitting next to Ivy, let alone here at The Raven.
This woman was all curves in all the right places. She had long, dark brown hair that fell halfway down her back and soft curls that would look amazing wrapped around my fist. I scolded myself mentally because that shouldn’t be my first thought about a total stranger in the bar. However, her outfit was what truly stuck out, especially in a country bar like The Raven.
There were no boots or sundresses, no bright colors, or florals. She was in all black with cut-off jean shorts and some type of black t-shirt that seemed as if she cut it short herself. Payton, my youngest sister, had a phase where she cut all her clothes herself in high school. My mother hated it, but I’d grown to know the look of DIY clothes well throughout the years.
I was getting ready to look away, but then she laughed and looked over toward Ivy. I’d swear for the rest of my life that the room stood still the moment I laid eyes on her.
She was stunning. Beautiful creamy skin, warm smile, little nose. Everything about her screamed, “I’d look great on my knees begging for you” and fuck me, did I want to enjoy that view.
The fact that even my cock was already semi-hard just looking at her smile was a problem. I was usually the definition of control—at least when it came to women. It wasn’t as if she was half undressed on her knees before me. I took a deepbreath and forced myself to look down at my beer. Absolutely not happening. I couldn’t even think about wandering down that road, not if those were the ground zero feelings.
A subtle cough brought me back to the table. I looked up and they were both wearing their typical shit eating grins. The ones that said, “I saw the entire thing as it went down.” Just what I needed. Brotherly interference in what they thought was my love life.
They couldn’t be more wrong. Love life plus my life didn’t equal anything good. So, we didn’t go there. I’d spent most of my teen years watching my mother struggle after my dad passed away, trying to take care of my four other siblings and me, while also repairing her broken heart. I swore off love then and there at the ripe old age of twelve.
Some may say that’s ridiculous, and that was fine. But I knew I couldn’t handle heartbreak like that, so I stayed away from anything requiring commitment. I didn’t even have a dog. I did the occasional one-night stand when the itch hit bad, but other than that, it was all about my family and the ranch. I didn’t have room for anything else.
On the note of my brothers, though, I was going to choose the higher route in this situation. I ignored them. Looking away from them both, I took a swig of my beer and changed the conversation away from women entirely. It was probably safer that way.
“So, Wyatt, how’s work? Anything fun?” Wyatt was some type of computer analyst. He’d explained it to me before, but honestly, any type of technology wasn’t my strong point. He worked for a few big tech companies along the West Coast as a Security Analyst. Thankfully, he could do it remotely, so he still lived in town with us and would help out on the ranch when Oliver and I needed him. Plus, I think he enjoyed that it kept him active.
Wyatt smirked, but he was clearly letting me have this. “Oh yeah, all types of fun digging up dirt on my company’s competitors while also making sure their security is up to par so no one else can do the same to us.” He winked at me with a chuckle. Wyatt seemed to thrive off the chaos he could create while getting paid to do it.
He was my identical twin. While we were both headstrong and driven, he was the quieter of the two of us. He tended to think things through, whereas I acted…well, impulsively. But the man loved to cause mayhem wherever he went, and because he was the quiet one, no one ever suspected him. We called him our family’s mastermind, because if anyone had a plan, it was Wyatt.
The chaos in his blood made him the best at what he did. It was always the quiet ones you had to watch out for in the end.
My brothersand I had been at The Raven for about an hour whensheslid out onto the dance floor with Ivy. I had told myself I was going to ignore her existence. She felt like trouble wrapped in a pretty shimmering black bow.
I had done a great job of it, honestly. Damien had come over to our table for a bit when the bar slowed down, which helped occupy my mind for at least twenty-five seconds. He was Oliver’s best friend, but we’d all gotten to know him over the last few years, so he was basically part of the brotherly squad, as Theo called it.
We were shootin’ the shit, and I was doing my best to stay present with my brothers.
But of course, my dick had a brain of his own. Especially since every song or two, she was looking across the bar floor at me. Once another guy started dancing with her though, I had toforce myself to take a breath. Maybe she had a boyfriend after all, and she wasn’t actually looking over at me. She was just keeping an eye out for him. I don’t know why, but the thought made me want to hit something. I looked down and realized I was gripping my beer bottle so hard, I was shocked it hadn’t shattered in my bare hand.
Fuck me.
I was in trouble.
“You good over there, Rowan? Upset someone beat you to her?” Theo had a beer in his hand, trying to somewhat hide the smirk clearly gracing his face.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Theo. That’s probably her boyfriend anyway.” I took another swig of my beer, only to be disappointed when I realized it was empty.
Sighing, I stood up and walked over to the bar to grab another. I was going to need it if this was how the night was going to go—me, bent out of shape over a woman I’d never even spoken to. I leaned against the bar, waiting for one of the bartenders to come over to me, but my eyes kept instinctively finding her curvy body swaying on the dance floor. As if they truly had a mind of their own and maybe her swinging hips controlled said mind.
Trying to force my mind elsewhere, I let my gaze wander around the rest of the dance floor. Ivy was dancing with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Todd. I couldn’t stand the guy, and honestly, everyone in town knew Ivy could do better. But the dark-haired angel was dancing with a man I didn’t know. Maybe there were guys in town for the rodeo this weekend. I let out a sigh as I realized I’d let my gaze fall back to her. Again.
I was about to head back to my table when I watched her trying to push his hand away, but he didn’t seem to be taking the hint. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, trying to pullher back in, while she pressed her hands to his chest and pushed hard. It’s when I clearly saw her mouth move to yell the word “no” in his face that I found myself stalking toward them.
