A sinful goddess in a tight denim skirt and a cropped shirt that bared her toned stomach, but the high-heeled cowboy boots on her feet that highlighted the muscles of her thighs had me fucking dumbstruck. This woman was every country boy'sdream come true. Dark hair, glowing tanned skin, a knack for short denim skirts and boots that made her already long legs look infinite. In her eyes, there was a look of pure seduction the poor girl was unaware of. She was so incredibly sexy, but something about her tonight made my entire body buzz with electricity. I felt like lightning had struck, still sizzling inside me, and I’d spark a fire if I got too close.
As she slid in through the door, hoping to go unnoticed, there wasn’t a damn eye in the room that didn’t look her way.
She was a Bishop, the Bishop princess that had every man in Crossroads dying for a chance to break through the walls she had always kept in place. I knew little about her dating history, having been two years older than her in school and, frankly, not that interested when I was a stupid teen. It wouldn’t have mattered. Monty, nor any of her brothers for that matter, let any asshole get too close, but I heard what the men around town said about the wild cowgirl with a heart full of gunpowder that sparked with the smallest bit of fire. Her eyes were a shade of blue so rare you’d think they were fake, and a body built for a man to worship.
It had been quite some time since a woman had dropped me to my knees and taken me to church.
There wasn't a chance Monroe could walk in anywhere without my eyes finding her. She scanned the room, then made her way toward one of the corner booths where Billie Cole was already waiting. Those two together were trouble, always up to no good and had turned my once strait-laced sister into a brazen, unapologetic spitfire with no care in the world.
They were bold, beautiful and goddamn alluring, but she had this certain edge to her that made you want to drift along, begging to fall over.
I told myself to stay focused, but every few minutes, I caught myself glancing back at her. The way Monroe laughed atsomething Billie said, or how her hand brushed her dark hair back as she leaned forward to greet Bailey as she joined them. Too easy to watch, too goddamn hard to look away or ignore.
“Would you look at that,” Scottie Wood, a no-good son of a bitch, said as he scooted over to the edge of the bar. “Those women sure are a sight to see, wouldn’t ya say, boy.” My blood boiled as the fucker’s eyes leered toward my sister and her friends, and it wasn’t even because of the crass way he licked his lips as Bailey laughed out loud to something they’d said, but the way they drifted toward Monroe, all the while he adjusted the crotch of his jeans.
He was a fucking dead man.
“You know, Scottie,” I said, trying to keep as composed as possible, though a bit too loud, it had not only the girls turning my way, but a few other regulars sitting at a table to our right. “You’ve done some stupid shit in your fifty pathetic years on this earth, but right now,boy,” I sneered, punctuating the word. “You’re about to get your ass beat and thrown out of my bar if you say another goddamn word about any of those girls.”
His jaw ticked as his eyes blazed in my direction. Dark furrowed brows that had never been trimmed, met in the middle of his wrinkled face. Scottie was the father of an old classmate of mine, who was equally pathetic. He'd spent over three decades working in the old cotton fields down in Colton County, and the sun had been no friend of his.
With a loud huff, he spun and left, leaving his empty glass of beer I had no intention of refilling behind. I watched as the man made the smart decision of walking out the doors of my bar while he still had the chance.
A heavy hand fell against my shoulder from behind, and I spun around to find Monty hovering over me. “I’ve always hated that fucker,” he grunted, voicing exactly what I was feeling. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her when she’s here. I’m alwaysworried about her when she’s out and about, especially with those two,” he says, as he keeps his eyes focused on his sister. I didn’t answer, so he kept going. “I’m not a fucking idiot. I hear what the men around town say, what they’ve said since the moment Monroe turned eighteen and they felt they could voice every lewd opinion of her. I know you get it, having two sisters just as pretty as mine, so it’s nice to know she’s at least safe when she’s here.”
My heart sank at the reminder of how wrong his statement was. If he only knew what I’d done or the thoughts that circled through my mind all night about his pretty little sister. Here he was, telling me he trusted me to watch out for her, to keep her safe from men who wanted to use and take advantage of her, and I was the worst bastard of them all.
“Don’t mention it,” was the only thing I could reply. “What are you doing back here?” I asked desperately, trying to change the subject.
“Just dropped by to pick something up from Nash,” he explained, pointing down the hall toward the staircase leading up to my sister’s apartment, where Nash was currently staying. “I’m on my way out though. Have some business to take care of out of town. I’ll see you around, King,” he said with another pat on my shoulder.
“Later, Bishop.”
I let out a low breath I’d been holding in when I watched him disappear out of the bar. Monty Bishop was a beast of a man. Much like his brothers, he was built like a linebacker. Six foot five, with hands that were at least the size of a baseball mitt, he was a Southern cowboy through and through. He worked just as hard at his construction company as he did tending his family ranch when he was a boy.
Much like the King Ranch, the Bishop Ranch wasn’t what it once was, but Monty was working to change that. Our fathershad been at each other's throats since before we were born, but I liked them much more than I’d ever expected to. Now that I wasn't spending so much time working with my father, and blinded by everything he said, I was seeing how much time I’d wasted following his orders.
I had more than a few wrongs to right, and the Bishops were on top of that list, especially the temptress that glanced my way from across the bar.
I’d been watching her all night, and as the hours ticked by, I hadn’t even realized how much time had passed. My gaze remained glued to her as she excused herself from the booth, leaving Bailey and Billie to continue belting out the lyrics to the Carrie Underwood song they had on repeat, and walked up to the bar.
My pulse ticked harder than it should have at the sight of her in front of me, but I kept my voice casual. “What can I get you?” I asked with a wide grin.
She smiled back, looking up at me while her head hung low, though it wasn’t the bright kind she gave her friends. The way her lips quirked up slightly told me she wasn’t sure if she should be here at all.
“Diet Coke.”
I raised an eyebrow at her response, glancing at the two empty pitchers of margaritas in the middle of their table. My face hurt from how wide I smiled. “No more tequila?”
She shrugged, leaning an elbow on the counter, giving me the perfect view of her tits that had my mouth watering. I licked my lips as her gaze followed mine to the dip of her cleavage. “I don’t make the best decisions when liquor and you are concerned.”
A deep, husky sound left my throat as I poured her drink and set it in front of her, watching the way her throat moved as she swallowed. My cock twitched in my jeans as I pictured something entirely different flowing down her throat.
The funny thing is, she might be telling the truth because I haven’t seen her take a sip of anything. “You haven’t had a drink all night. What, are you pregnant or something?” I asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, but she nearly choked, splattering the dark soda all over my shirt and bar counter.
The words slipped out before I could stop them, but the way she sputtered, spitting a little of the Coke back into the glass, told me it landed differently.
Her cheeks flushed, and she laughed, too quick and forced. “God, no. Just trying to cut back. Last time I drank too much, I ended up in bed with you. Or have you forgotten?” She waved her hand as if it was nothing and took another sip, calmer this time.
