Sweet Revenge

Chapter 7

Laney set up the shot glasses and tried to cool her temper. While this wasn’t the first time a bouncer had driven home inebriated customers, this was the first time the bouncer was sexy as hell… and had kissed her. She wanted to be the one he was taking home—to his bed. Yet he was out with two other women.

She shouldn’t care.

She didn’t want to care.

She cared.

Matt Dean sure hadn’t wasted any time in moving on… if he had moved on. Maybe the guy was as sweet and protective as he seemed and taking drunken women home was a kind gesture.

Yeah, right.

Tipping back her head, she downed the tequila. Her second shot. She’d finished busing the tables and wiping down the bar before sending Smitty home.

Now she was drinking.

Matt had been gone for over an hour. What if he didn’t come back?

She had always approached romance with a logical mind… and she’d never gotten this upset about a man. Ever. She’d had her first boyfriend in college, and even then, she’d liked the guy enough to hang out with him. Plus, she’d been curious about sex.

But her heart had never quite been involved.

Her heart needed to remain closed even now. No matter how appealing Matt could be.

As if her imagination had conjured him, he swept inside, a massive man wearing a scowl. Slamming keys across the bar, he growled, “You get to exchange the car tomorrow.”

She took a deep breath. “Why are you so late?”

“Mainly? Your friend’s treads are worn, and her spare sucks.”

“You got a flat tire?” Laney narrowed her eyes.

“Yes. I did.” He rubbed a purple mark on his hand. “I changed it after dropping the unsecured spare on my hand.”

Relief lifted her lips as she eyed the long scratch along his arm. “Problems?”

He reached for the filled shot glass. “Yeah. Problems.”

“Is that why you’re wearing a tree in your hair and are scratched?”

“Shrubs. I was dumped into shrubs by an accountant.” He downed the liquor and held out his glass for more. “According to your friends, I have great abs and am really pretty.”

She snorted and poured them each another shot. While she liked those two women, they probably couldn’t be considered friends. Friends were something she didn’t quite do. Since she’d spent so much time avoiding friends as a child, she’d never quite learned how to make many. “Well, I can attest that you are both pretty and blessed with great abs.”

The moment heated, as did his eyes. “Is that a fact?’

His voice should be labeled and sold with how fast his tone licked through her body. “That’s not exactly a matter of opinion, so yes, it’s a fact.”

“Well, you’ve seen mine…”

Tempting. God, he was tempting. But self-preservation was a skill, and she’d spent years honing it. “I thought we agreed to keep things professional between us.”

“I’ve agreed to no such thing.” He rubbed his chin and took another shot. “Though I do need to admit, considering I’m passing through town, temporary is best.” The glass clanked when he set it down.

Warmth spilled through her followed by surprise at how tempted she was to accept. The man was correct in that temporary was probably good for her. “I’m considering it.” Good God, had she actually just said those words? “But, well, there has to be something. Tell me something you either don’t want to tell, or you’ve never told anybody.”

“What is this, a slumber party?” A wry grin took the sting out of his words. “You go first.”

When was the last time she’d trusted somebody with the full truth? Never, really. But something about Matt’s level gaze inspired confidence, and she was so damn tired of holding everything inside. Some days she feared she’d just burst. “Smitty thinks I’m going to be arrested for how I came up with the funds for my bar.”

Matt lifted his chin. “God. Tell me you’re a bank robber.”

She chuckled and tried to enjoy the moment. Sometimes there were so many layers upon layers of secrets she became lost. “Sorry to disappoint, but, ah, no. The money for this bar came from a dubious source.”

The crestfallen expression in Matt’s face lightened her mood. “I was hoping for a dramatic bank robbery, or at least a classic bait and switch.”

“No. I mean, I borrowed from somebody I shouldn’t have.” She hated telling him only half the story. “I shared with you…”

He sighed, those incredible gray eyes darkening to slate. “I don’t plan to live past the age of thirty.” Surprise elevated his eyebrows as if he hadn’t meant to confess.

The moment held truth, and she breathed it in. After his time in the service, had he given up? “How close are you?”

“About six weeks.”

“It seems like a short time to give up, Mattie.”

His head jerked back, and his eyes narrowed. Emotion flashed across the hard angles of his face. “Very few people in the world call me that.”

She’d put no conscious thought into it. Yet the intensity pouring off the soldier caught her breath in her throat as a thrill swept through her. “Oh, ah, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” An unidentifiable light entered his eyes. The air in the room thickened. “I like my nickname on your lips.”

The man issued one hell of an innuendo. Need flooded through her, softening her thighs. “This is a bad idea.”

“I know.” His direct gaze held blatant male hunger.

She liked that he didn’t pretend to misunderstand her train of thought. Nobody had ever studied her so closely. A quivering warmth started beneath her breasts and spread down to her abdomen. So she poured them another shot. The night was hazing, and she needed to get out of her head. “Why aren’t you going to live long?”

He tipped back the glass, muscled neck moving as he drank. Her toes curled in response. The glass clanked as he set it down. “I can’t reveal all of my secrets in one night, darlin’.”

“That’s fair.” She sipped hers, and her eyes teared from the potent brew. The shot heated her desire into lava. “Um, are you dying of something contagious?”

“No. I promise, it’s nothing you can catch.”

“What is it?” Curiosity battled with the need roaring through her.

He shook his head. “Let’s just say the wrong people are after me.”

She could relate to that. Thank goodness he was physically healthy. “I’m sorry. That’s why you’re a loner?”

“Yeah. I rarely make connections, but when I do, they mean something.”

Sweet and probably a line. But sweet nonetheless. Her heart thumped. Hard. “How long has it been for you?”

His grin promised sin. “Too long. Way too long. You?”

“Quite a while.” They weren’t seriously talking about this, were they? She pressed her legs together and fought a groan of need.

“So, the pharmacist?”

“No way.” She shuddered. “Not even close.” A peck on the cheek at the end of the boring date was all she’d allowed. “I wish I could say differently, but temporary works for me right now.”

“Temporary is all I have.”

“I understand.” She had her own ghosts haunting her, and she couldn’t commit herself to anybody right now, and probably not ever. So she nodded and reached for the bottle, only to have him capture her hand and press it against the bar. His palm heated her skin and held with just enough pressure to show his impressive strength.

He leaned in. “I’m not one of the good guys, baby, but I’d prefer you somewhat in control of your faculties if this is going where I think it is.”

Her gaze dropped to his full lips. “You’re closer to a good guy than you believe.”

For answer, he curled his free hand around her neck and drew her over the bar. “Don’t look for traits I don’t have. I know exactly who I am.”

“Who are you?” she whispered.

“The guy who’s going to have you screaming his name within the next hour.” His lips took hers.

Raw fire burst through her so quickly the ground shifted beneath her feet. Heat zipped along her nerve endings, rippling fire into her veins and softening her sex. Her eyelids fluttered shut as she fell into the storm.

He angled his mouth more firmly over hers, his tongue sweeping inside. The hand at her nape tightened, the fingers long and strong.

Demanding.

The kiss was many things… but mostly demanding.

She’d known. Instinct had whispered he was a force of his own, an uncontainable male.

For the first time in her life, she wanted to get lost. Taken over.

Maybe because she was ready… most likely because that’s the only way she could get Matt Dean.

And she’d never wanted anyone more.

Giving in to her own needs, she wandered her hands over his broad shoulders as his mouth worked hers.

With a low growl, he leaned down and wrapped an arm around her waist, smoothly lifting. Her knees hit the top of the bar, and she leaned into his strength.

He released her neck and skimmed both hands around to cup her ass. Heat rippled along her nerve endings.

Slowly, he drew back. His eyes had turned the color of storm clouds in a face stamped even harder than normal with desire. His hands flexed. “Are you sure?”

Oh, this was definitely a mistake. No question. She could barely breathe. “I’m sure.”

A mere second later she was cradled in strong arms, being swept from the bar. “Man, you’re fast,” she breathed.

His cheek creased. “I’m hoping to revise your opinion on that score.”

Humor bubbled up, giving her a brief reprieve from the painful desire, which still ebbed right beneath the surface. “Your place or mine?”

“I like your bed.” His chest shifted nicely against her as he moved. “The colors are sensual and gave me ideas right off the bat.”

She moved her hand up his chest to caress the hard cords in his neck. Only tough guys had necks like this. “What kind of ideas?” Was that her? Playing the flirt? Or perhaps not. She really wanted to know what kind of ideas a man like Matt had. The need to be inside his head, inside his heart, flashed warning through her desire.

His stride hitched as he maneuvered the steps. “Some you probably wouldn’t like.”

“You have no idea what I like.”

“No, but I know the kind of woman you are.” He tucked his nose in her hair and inhaled. “Soft and sweet. You need to understand, I haven’t known much of soft or sweet in my life. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Her heart thumped at such uncertainty from a guy who’d knocked her into oblivion with one kiss. “You should know, I’m neither soft nor sweet.”

“Ah, baby. You’re both.” He dipped his head to take her lips again.

He turned the knob as they arrived at her door, and he broke the kiss. “Keys?”

Courage somehow filled her. “My back pocket.”

She expected him to reach under her and should’ve known he’d do the opposite. The air moved, and she found herself upside down over an incredibly hard shoulder. Her ribs instantly protested.

He coasted his hand up the back of her thigh, igniting intrigue on the way until he drew the keys free. She plunged her hands into his back pockets and flexed her fingers on hard muscle. Her head swam. Her fingers dragged on something smooth, and she drew out… a business card. “Um, Matt?”

“Yeah?” he asked as he unlocked the door.

“Why do I think I’m not the only woman who’s been over your shoulder tonight?”

The world tilted, and she regained her footing, facing him.

He grinned. “You’re the only woman who matters.”

Words like that from a man like this shouldn’t make her heart leap against her ribs. But even so, flutters cascaded along her abdomen. “What exactly happened when you drove my patrons home?”

He reached behind her to shut and lock the door. “Until a few minutes ago, my night sucked and included shrubbery, Jon Bon Jovi, and drunken women I don’t want.”

She licked her lips. “And now?”

He focused totally and absolutely on her, and the world silenced. “A world of possibilities and a woman I’ve never wanted more.”

Desire had claws. “You overwhelm me.”

He threaded his hand through her hair. “You scare the hell out of me.”

She blinked even as her thighs dampened. “How so?”

“I’ve lived a dark life, and you’re all light. I’d break my own arm before I’d hurt you.”

The man might be smart as hell, but he had her wrong. For the briefest of seconds, she wished she could be who he thought she was. “It’s not going to happen—it can’t—so don’t freak out… but you’d be an easy man to love.”

His upper lip twisted. “You need to read people better.”

If he had any clue. “You might be right.” But her heart secretly tried to hold him tight, to keep him. Years from now, she’d remember this night… She’d remember him. Even so, she tugged his shirt free of his jeans and ran her hands up those incredible abs. “Rumor has it these are classic.” Of course, she’d seen them for herself, and they were beyond real. So she traced them with her fingers, gratified when his muscles shifted.

“Your bedroom.”

It was an order she’d be happy to obey. But something kept her still. Defying him, she drew his shirt over his head, pleased when he ducked his chin to assist. Leaning forward, she kissed the tattoo above his heart. Freedom. He dug both hands into her hair.

She nipped his skin, biting hard enough it had to sting.

Drawing back her head, he lowered his face toward hers. “I like you playing, and I like you brave, but don’t think for a second you’re directing this.”

Her eyebrow rose in challenge, feminine intrigue sweeping through her. “Prove it.”

Dangerous words to say to such a man. But why not?

His smile showed both amusement and the confidence of a predator. “With pleasure.” With superfast reflexes, he twirled her around to face the couch. Yanking her shirt over her head, he caged her with his body. Heated breath brushed her ear. “You ever begged, baby?”

“Never.” She pressed back into the hard length of his erection. “Why? Are you planning to beg?” Yeah, she was pushing him. Something propelled her face-first into danger… Sometimes the reward was worth the risk.

Nimble fingers flicked open her bra. “If I were ever to beg, you’d be worth it.” Calloused hands caressed her breasts. “But I think you’re a woman who needs to be taken… and hard.”

The words exploded through her veins, while the sentiment landed in her stomach with a fireball of desire. “You think you’re up to the task?”

For answer, he pressed his impossibly hard erection against her buttocks. “You tell me.” Those dangerous lips dropped to wander along the shell of her ear at the same time he tweaked both nipples, tugging strong enough to send electrical sparks to her clit.

As if he knew, he slipped one hand beneath the waistband of her jeans, caressing down tortuously slow, to press inside her panties.

Her body reacted without conscious thought, her butt pressing into his groin.

“Spread your legs,” he whispered into her ear, the crass suggestion nearly throwing her into an early orgasm.

“I, ah…”

His other hand tethered in her hair and tugged her head to the side. Hot and firm, his lips traced her jugular until he spoke against her skin. “I believe the words were clear. Spread. Your. Legs.”

A long shiver shook her body from the dominant tone. She wanted to refuse, to challenge him… but she wanted to continue far more. So she slid her feet farther apart.

“Good girl.” She was rewarded by him delving deeper and slipping one finger inside her. Her eyes fluttered shut again at the exquisite sensation. So much need shot through her she would’ve swayed had he not caged her from behind. He started to play, exploring her, his thumb pressing against her clit. An unwilling whimper rippled up her throat.

He bent over her, his mouth at her ear. “That’s a lovely sound, one just for me, and I will hear it again.”

“Please, Matt…”

“You’re right. I like that even better.” He removed his hand and swung her around. “Take off your clothes.”

She lifted her chin. “Take off yours.”

He seized her hand and pressed her palm against the hard bulge vibrating in his jeans. “Why don’t you take them off?”

He filled her palm with heat and promise. Swallowing loudly, she felt along his length. The sound he made defied description, yet infused her with power. So she released his zipper and tugged his pants down his muscled legs. Seconds later, he’d kicked off his boots and jeans after retrieving a condom from his front pocket.

“So, commando, huh?” she asked, her voice beyond husky.

His eyes somehow darkening more, he reached for the clasp of her jeans. They disappeared soon after.

Once she was fully nude, reality began to return to her brain.

“No.” He pressed her against the couch, his hard length sliding along hers. “No thinking.”

It was too late for thinking… too late for caution. So she stretched up on her tiptoes, manacled his shoulder-length hair, and yanked his lips down to hers.

He returned the kiss, taking over, his mouth destroying hers. His tongue stroked hers, and she moaned, tipping her head to take him deeper, to give more. A new desire, dark and with an edge, burned through her.

Finally, he lifted his head. “Bedroom. Now.”

Now, that was an idea she could get behind. She reached forward to take his hand only to have him lift her once again and stride through the apartment to the bedroom. She expected a smooth lying down… and yelped when he tossed her across the room to bounce on the plush bedspread. Her laugh was genuine and filled with fun.

Who was this guy?

His smile warmed his face with amusement. “Your laugh both warms and arouses me.”

Don’t be sweet. Sexy, she could handle. Well, probably. Sweet? Not a chance. “You’re too far away.”

Most men were awkward walking naked. Not Matt. All male, all predator, he prowled forward with grace like the primal animal she suspected him to be. Hell. The animal she hoped he would be.

The entire time, he kept his gaze on hers. Confident, masculine, dangerous. Even relaxed and playing, an edge lived in him she hadn’t seen for quite a while. If ever.

Was it happenstance he’d arrived in Charmed, Idaho? For the first time, she wondered.

Then he was on her.