Big Country grumbled a warning and London looked up, frowned, then glared, trying to back him up. Snorting, Big Country stepped to the side of the couple and placed a gentle hand on Sienna Red’s shoulder.
“Hey there darlin’, you mind if a big country boy has a dance with a beautiful lady?” He smiled, oozing charm.
Her breath hitched as she took in his greatness.
Scents of cinnamon and cedar ghosted her body, tantalizing his nose. He inhaled deeply. Damned woman even smelled like home; that fact alone should’ve made him beat a quick retreat to the woods and join Zeus and Cizan.
Instead, he continued to gaze down at her.
“Hell, woman, you’re prettier than moonlight dancing through the bayou.”
She smiled, a big, pretty,dimpledsmile, and for a moment the worm of unrest eating at him for the past few weeks stilled.
“Moonlight on the bayou…sounds enchanting,” she drawled, her voice easing through him like aged bourbon. He planned on getting sloppy drunk on her lovin’ tonight.
Thanking London for the dance, Sienna Red took Big Country’s proffered hand and stepped closer. His Brood mate smirked. Big Country pulled the woman into his arms and waved goodbye to London using his middle finger, refusing to think on the relief he felt seeing his friend walk away.
He gave Sienna Red a lopsided grin. “You may not know this, sugar, but I just saved you from a world of heartache.”
“Thanks for your effort, but my heart won’t ever break over something as simple as a dance…sugar.”
She spoke the endearment with a half-smile that liked to ignite him on the spot. He pulled her closer, fusing their bodies so seamlessly air couldn’t pass between them. Bubba lengthened against her abdomen in his own leisurely look-forward-to-getting-to-know-you dance and she didn’t pull away. No, no, not his Sienna Red; like a pro, she leaned in, her hands gliding up his thick arms. She stroked his biceps and triceps before taking hold of his shoulders and squeezing, trying to figure out his worth with her hands, determining how much she could get from him, both sexually and monetarily.
Leaning down, he ran his nose up the side of her neck where her scent was strongest, more than willing to fill her lady purses until they overflowed with his bounty. He brushed his lips over the lobe of her ear, and she leaned her head to the side, granting him permission to learn what made her body hum with pleasure.
He’d never forget the words of Ms. Juno, the first woman he’d ever paid to have sex with almost two decades ago:Any John can put money on the table, boy, but you get me off in the process and I’ll always smile and make a place for you when you call. You can bank on that all day long. And he had. He wouldn’t hesitate to show Sienna Red all his assets, especially when each moment in her arms had him descending into a well of lust he hadn’t been able to sample for too damned long.
Reaching through his mass of unruly hair, she stroked his nape, her fingers rose-petal soft, her caress light and soothing, yet he winced as if her nails had scraped against a raw nerve. He started to pull away, but she pressed into Bubba and undulated against him.
Big Country damned near lost the ability to stand upright. Taking a deep breath, he rested his forehead against her crown and he prayed right there, to God and the Devil, for the strength to resist bringing her legs around his hips, pushing her dress up her thighs, and taking her hard in a shadowed corner of the bar, uncaring if his ass pumped furiously for all to see.
Sienna Red raked her fingernails against his scalp and he nearly lost it and he had no fucking idea why. It wasn’t like she’d reached down and tweaked his tip or sheltered his balls in her grip, but her touch had that effect just the same.
“How much you asking for, darlin’?” he managed to get out. Right then, he was willing to break another cardinal rule and have sex with a professional he hadn’t had physically tested or even done a cursory background check on.
She pulled back and looked him in the eye. “I want it all, andthen…I want some more.”
Well, good Lord and goddamn.
“So, you tell me,” she whispered. “How much are you willing to give?”
Yeah,buddy, if they had reached the point of negotiation, he’d won.
Sliding his hands lower, Big Country gripped and squeezed her ass. He hummed low in his throat. “Sweetness, I’m willing to give you damn near all I got. Money, clothes, cars. You name it and it’s yours for the duration of time you allow me to make use of you.”
He felt her tense, his generosity a gracious and surprising thing. Her hand slid free from his hair and stroked his jaw in a reassuring motion. Leaning in, she stretched up on her tiptoes and nuzzled his neck, her full lips so soft against his hard jaw.
Big Country couldn’t maintain the gentle sway of the dance. The heel of his foot bounced spastically against the floor, as if he were a hound dog having his belly rubbed just the right way.
“Stormy, turn him loose before you hurt him!” a woman hollered out, followed by raucous laughter from the other women.
Sienna Red…no,Stormy…pulled away, continuing to smile. She caressed the side of his face again and he would’ve felt like a fucking king had her eyes not been filled with an emotion that resembled downright disappointment.
“All I really needed to know was how much of yourself you were willing to give, but based on your response, I’d say not much at all. Shame, really. I have a feeling I would have had your sexy ass speaking in tongues before I was done. Now you have a good night…sugar.” She winked, pulled completely out of his arms, turned her back on him, and walked away.
He grinned, suppressing his fury behind a veneer of unaffected ease as he crossed his arms over his chest, and watched the sway of her luscious ass as she abandoned him. Bubba was half hard and he was ready to grab the throat of the first motherfucker foolish enough to stray within his reach. He wanted to bash in the face of every man watching her beat a sensual path away from him.
Sitting on the bar, Mama watched him like a hawk eyeing newly-emerged prey. Big Country nodded and gave her a two-fingered salute before his eyes returned to the woman who’d rejected him. Lynx had joined her and her friends, and was twerking against Stormy’s groin while she laughed and pretended to smack his ass in playful domination.
