Her Gentle Giant: No Regrets (13 page)

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“Oh, lunch is getting cold. I got us all sandwiches at Rudy’s.” Rachel opened the takeout bag and began handing out sandwiches. The men didn’t stay in the duplex long because the smell of soot and ash permeated their clothing and boots. They ate on the front porch and the girls joined them.

They drove out to her parents’ ranch to pick up some furniture. Back at the duplex, they unloaded everything and she showed them where she wanted everything placed, smiling as Eli assembled a pretty oak bed for her.

They unwrapped the mattress and box spring, and she groaned when she realized that she’d forgotten to buy pillows.

“Rachel, you can borrow one of mine tonight,” Eli offered.

Rachel remembered that tonight he’d be sleeping alone, most likely.

That thought didn’t exactly sit well with her.

Kelly sat in Rachel’s rocker with Matthew and said, “I could sleep over here tonight with the baby and give the two of you some privacy. It’s the
least
I can do.” She winked at Rachel. “That way you won’t have to make a special trip for pillows. I’ll even help you get settled tonight before you go in to the club.”

“All right, Kelly, you’ve convinced me. Be my houseguest.”

Eli had to go in at six o’clock that evening, along with Mike and Rogelio. Rachel made arrangements for Grace and Jack to swing by and pick her up on their way to the club later that night, and then she’d simply ride home with Eli at the end of the evening. Doing this would give her time to unpack everything and begin getting settled. She hung her clothing in the walk-in closet, grimacing as she thought of all the ruined clothing in the boxes in the garage. She smiled again, though, remembering Eli’s boyish grin as he’d jumped down from the truck bed earlier.

Eli got cleaned up and offered to take the girls for an early supper. They took him up on the invitation, and after they ate, he dropped them back off at the duplex and headed to The Dancing Pony.

Rachel made up the bed and hung her new shower curtain, which was perfect in contrast to the dark blue towels. The quilt Kelly had chosen for her was beautiful on the bed, and she was right about the size issue. After everything she’d saved Thursday night and all her new things were put away, she started getting ready for the evening.

She decided to go all out and surprise Eli now that she had more clothing options. It was time to climb out of the denim jeans rut and live a
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little. Kelly had talked her into a little black dress she had spotted earlier at Stigall’s, along with a rather expensive pair of strappy four-inch black high heels. Grace would definitely approve when she saw the outfit.

The dress reached to just above her knees and had a deep V neckline with a gathered bodice. Underneath, she wore the black satin plunging neckline bra and a black satin G-string, both courtesy of Grace Warner and her excellent taste in men and lingerie. Rachel slipped the strappy heels on, inspected herself in the mirror, and liked what she saw.

She rolled her hair and applied foundation and light eye makeup. Her coloring was dramatic enough, and all she needed was a little extra sparkle.

She was styling her wavy brown hair when the doorbell rang. She applied perfume and listened, smiling, as Kelly introduced herself. Rachel smiled at the fuss Grace made over meeting Kelly and admiring Matthew. Rachel emerged from the bedroom and made her way down the hall and watched them, hoping to gauge the effect she’d have on Eli in this outfit.

Grace’s eyes popped wide open at the sight of her, and Jack’s jaw dropped for a split second before he recovered himself. That was all she needed to know, and she smiled happily at them, hugging both. They chatted for a few minutes with Kelly while Rachel transferred the items she’d need that night to her evening bag, which had been one of the inexplicable things she’d grabbed in her mad last-minute dash through her apartment.

“Ready to go?” Grace’s eyes twinkled as she took in Rachel’s fresh new look.

“More than ready.” Rachel hugged Kelly and patted Matthew. Kelly had her pillow and a good book and was going to settle down for the night after she bathed the baby.

“You look stunning, Rachel!” Grace said as Jack walked them out to the SUV. “Doesn’t she, Jack?”

“Absolutely gorgeous,” he replied with a twinkle in his eyes. “I want to see Eli’s jaw hit the floor when he gets a look at you tonight.”

“You think he’ll react that strongly?”

“Oh, I don’t think, I
know
he will,” Jack said with feeling and reached for Grace’s hand. “You both are real stunners tonight. I love that pink on you, darlin’,” Jack murmured as he stroked Grace’s hand.

“I love that slinky, sexy dress, Grace. Pink is your best color.”

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“Thank you, it’s very comfortable,” Grace said. As she turned to look at Rachel, she added, “The print is
very
camouflaging so no one can tell what I have on underneath it, or not.” She giggled and gave Jack a sideways glance as he tried to keep his eyes on the road. Rachel heard a small groan from the driver’s seat.

“Where is Adam tonight?”

Grace replied, “It’s his grandmother’s birthday today, and he wanted to take her out to eat.”

“Aw, that’s so nice of him. I’ll bet she loves all that attention.”

“She does.” Grace said, then giggled. “I think she was going to try and talk him into taking her to a movie afterward. She’s wants to go see the new Nicholas Cage movie.”

“But isn’t her eyesight failing?”

“Uh-huh, but she’s a big Nicholas Cage fan.”

“I see. You never know, huh?”

Rachel climbed from the cool SUV and stepped onto the still-hot asphalt of the parking lot. Jack walked them both up the sidewalk, one on each arm, and made a show of escorting them through the door of the club.

Ethan stood right in the entryway, blocking their progress. He had a big grin on his face as he looked his lovely bride over. Grace did a sassy turn for him then hugged him and gave him a long kiss. Once again, Rachel heard that barely audible groan from one of Grace’s men and knew there was more than met the eye in tonight’s outfit. She’d find out at a bathroom-buddy break. Grace was the owner of lots of delightfully wicked lingerie, and there was no telling what was under that dress.

With a hand resting on Grace’s hip, Ethan gave Rachel a friendly hug and said, “You look lovely tonight. Eli is going to have heart failure when he sees you in that pretty dress. I wanted to warn you. Dinah Cooper is here tonight and about as weirdly tenacious as she’s ever been. He’s doing his best, and I was about to step in myself when you walked in. Want me to peel her off of him, or would you like to do the honors?”

“Let me try first, but thank you for the thought. I trust Eli to not allow her to take liberties.”

“He’s trying, anyway. She’s planted herself in your chair. I’ll give it a few more minutes for you to help her understand, and then I’ll try and
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distract her if I can,” Ethan added, patting her shoulder. Grace kissed his cheek and left him to his work and followed Jack to a table.

Rachel walked into the entryway of the club and was greeted by a loud wolf whistle from Mike, of all people.

“Get a load of the supermodel! Rachel, you are hot stuff tonight,” he said as she approached. As she hugged Mike, he quietly said, “Dinah is in rare form. Go easy on him. He’s done his best.”

She nodded and smiled at Rogelio, who grinned and gave her a favorable once-over. Then she walked over to a very distracted Eli. He hadn’t even turned at Mike’s loud whistle.

He hadn’t seen her entrance because he was too busy keeping an eye on Dinah’s hands. Rachel knew he had to move faster than she did, or her hands would be on his thighs, in his hair, or worse, his front pocket. She had not been in the club the night before and would need to be educated firsthand like all the ladies last night.

Rachel smoothed her hand down Eli’s shoulder and biceps. He jumped and cringed without looking over at her. Wow, this
had
been a rough night for him when his reactions were that reflexive and abrupt. She wondered what exactly Dinah had been up to tonight and stepped around Eli’s massive form, slipping her hand gently into his. He glanced down at her and had an instantaneous reaction to her appearance.

“Hot, holy hell, angel, you look amazing!” He looked both relieved to see her and surprised at her fresh look. He reached an arm out and wrapped it around her and pressed his lips to her forehead, still very distracted.

“Honey, you look beautiful. I could eat you up.” She felt her cheeks heat up.

From the chair which had been placed there for Rachel, a sultry, deep woman’s voice said, “Why don’t you start with me and let’s see how far we get. Who needs an
appetizer
, anyway.”

Eli rolled his eyes and jerked reflexively again, and Rachel watched as long red fingernails curled around his other biceps and slid up into his snug shirtsleeve.

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“Your hand is on my boyfriend,” Rachel said firmly, making direct and unmistakable eye contact with Dinah Cooper. She was dressed in a red spandex dress that barely covered her ass and her boobs. Her red hooker heels had to be at least six inches high.

“In that getup, Dinah, I’d say you have an excellent chance of finding someone who is interested in you, but Eli is off the market.” Each word from Rachel’s mouth only seemed to spur Dinah on, and she grinned at Rachel in challenge.

“It didn’t seem that way before you got here, Rachel, when he let me sit down in
your
chair. Maybe you need to get here earlier in the evening if you want to stake a claim. Early bird gets the
worm
, so to speak.” Yet again, Eli jumped and reached for her hand that had slid behind him.

Eli’s eyebrows drew together in irritation. “Dammit, Dinah, I asked you not to do that, and I did not invite you to sit in my girlfriend’s seat. You helped yourself.”

“Baby, you were so much
friendlier
before she showed up,” Dinah said through pouty red lips. “What? Are you afraid of her?”

Rachel tried one more time. “Dinah, I’d appreciate it if you would get the hell up out of my seat and get your damn hands off of my boyfriend.”

“No. When I see something I want, I don’t give up,” Dinah said proudly as she lifted her mixed drink to her lips.

If her demeanor were different, she could probably pull off the getup she was wearing quite well. Dinah had an abrasive, hardened personality and was rather intimidating to a lot of the men in the club. She was tall, thin, and muscular for a woman, probably two inches taller than Rachel in her bare feet. In tonight’s outfit, she was almost eye level with Eli. Rather than play down the more androgynous and unfeminine aspects of her image, she seemed to capitalize on them with her choice of revealing clothing. Why she
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came into a country and western nightclub instead of one of the more urban clubs in Morehead where she would fit in better was lost on Rachel.

“Dinah, why is it that you are so determined to get with Eli? Why are you so fascinated with him?”

“In strength and build, he’s my equal, Rachel,” Dinah said, using her name condescendingly. “We’d be incredible in the sack. The question in my mind is why he has this passing fancy for a chubby thing like you?”

Foolishly, she didn’t lower her voice when she said it.

Ethan placed a comforting hand on Rachel’s shoulder blade. “Hey, Eli.

Things are quiet right now, so why don’t you and Rachel take a break?”

He’d heard the entire conversation. “Dinah and I are going to have a talk.

I’ll help watch the front. You go ahead,” Ethan said, giving Eli a communicative glance then smiling sympathetically at Rachel.

Eli took Rachel’s hand and led her away to the dance floor. Rachel could see the tension in the rigid set of his shoulders, but he was gentle as he led her away. He turned to her, and his face was unreadable. She coasted into his embrace, her torso pressed against his, his thigh between hers as he quietly guided her around the dance floor. She placed her cheek against his pectorals and smiled softly when his warm, heavily muscled arms slid around her shoulders and down her back, his hands coming to rest at her hips. He felt so powerful and immense wrapped around her like this.

She could hear the frustration in his voice when he spoke. “I’m sorry she said that to you, Rachel. You’re not chubby. You’re perfect.” He kissed her temple.

“I had a feeling she would be very difficult to deal with once she got wind that we had gotten together, and I suppose I’m not surprised she wouldn’t back off. There was no graceful way for either you or me to handle her, and I probably should have let Ethan deal with her before I even walked up. Did you notice how she tried to manipulate you into getting mad at me?

That’s her style. Divide and conquer.”

“Emphasis on the conquer. She’s pretty scary.”

“Sex with her must be like a competition,” she said, giggling at last when Eli had a full-body shudder.

“I did not need that image burned into my brain. Thank you very much.”

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“I love that we can see the humor in this situation. She’s definitely the worst of them, though.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry she hurt your feelings, Rachel. All I can think about now is how right and beautiful and sweet you felt in my arms last night before I laid you on my bed. You’re not chubby. You’re voluptuous and womanly, and you feel perfect in my arms.” He looked into her eyes with such adoration it took her breath away and made her heart pound.

She gasped quietly when he pressed against her, and she noticed his hardened shaft against her belly. A low ache began in her pussy and her panties became damp. She closed her eyes and experienced the slow burn that was so much a part of being in close proximity to him.

“You, too?” He smiled knowingly at her.

“So much, Eli,” Rachel replied with feeling, pressing herself to him, tightening her arms and gripping his broad, hard back with her hands. “I feel like I could combust right on this dance floor.” Rachel smiled as Eli begin to relax under her hands. The next song began to play, one of her new favorites by Chuck Wicks, called “Hold That Thought.” Rachel smiled at Eli seductively, thinking the DJ had excellent instincts picking music.

“Close your eyes and picture this

Lying in bed in the candlelight

We start to kiss”

“I love this little dress on you. Very sexy.” He slid his hands on the clingy knit fabric over her hips. “Other men in the club are watching you right now. Did you know that?”

She didn’t bother looking around, just gazed into his eyes. “Well, I hope they know I’m yours.”

“Pulling your body in close to mine

Now picture us

That moment before we make love”

She held on to him more closely and gasped as his big hands slowly, purposefully slid down over her ass, squeezing gently as Mr. Wicks continued to croon.

“Now hold that thought

Hold it right there”

“Oh,” she uttered softly as her cunt contracted suddenly. Her panties grew even damper as his hands lingered there for a moment. He dipped his
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head and kissed her, inhaling her panting breaths. His hands slid back over her hips, coming to rest again on her lower back, but this time one of his long fingers settled into the cleft at the top of her ass in a clear mark of possession.

“You do that again and I might make a fool of myself right on this dance floor,” she said shakily, wondering if that had been a mini-orgasm she’d just experienced.

A wolfish grin spread across Eli’s face. “Oh? Wouldn’t that be something?”

Rachel felt her cheeks flush and whispered, “I think I just came…a little.”

Eli smiled tenderly as he nuzzled her temple. “And the evening has only just begun.”

“Mmm, I know. I wish there was something I could do for you, to return the favor,” she said with a giggle.

He groaned softly. “I’ll have to look forward to when I get you home. I need to check the restrooms while I’m on this side of the club. Need to slip in the ladies’ room for a few minutes?” He maneuvered to the edge of the dance floor closest to the restrooms.

As they approached the doors he said, “Take your time. I’ll wait outside the door for you and walk you back. Ace Webster is here again. He must have come in while we were on the dance floor.”

“I’ll see you in a few minutes. Don’t rush,” she replied as he kissed her gently on the cheek and pushed open the door for her before stepping down the hall.

As she entered one of the stalls, the restroom door opened and clicking heels tapped on the restroom tiles. She grinned, guessing correctly who had joined her in the restroom.

“Grace, is that you?” Rachel asked.

“Yep, we’re alone, for now. Are you okay? You looked a little shaky when Eli brought you to the door.”

“I’m fine. Is Eli waiting outside for me?”

“No, not yet. Ethan told me that Dinah warned to allow the bouncers to do their jobs and leave them alone. He told her specifically to leave Eli alone. He’s so thoughtful to do that.”

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Rachel exited to stall. “I know. I should have let him deal with Dinah from the very beginning. I probably only aggravated her.”

Grace shrugged. “I’m anxious to see how you do with all the other groupies. Ace Webster was asking how long you’ve been an item. I think he wants to dance with you.”

Rachel shook her head. “I’m not dancing with anyone but Eli tonight or any other night. He seems very nice, but I’m here with Eli. I would be very upset to watch Eli dance with another woman, and I know he’d feel the same.”

“If the opportunity comes up, I’ll mention of that. The one thing I can tell you is that he is a decent guy. Persistent maybe, but decent. If you tell him flat-out no, he’ll back off, I’m sure.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.” Rachel fluffed her hair and opened her evening bag to fix her lipstick as she eyed Grace. “All right, time for show and tell.”

“Hmm?” Grace asked innocently as she ran her fingers in her hair, rumpling it.

“You said earlier your dress is very camouflaging so no one knows what you do
or don’t
have on under there.” Rachel arched an eyebrow. “I have to see. I’m dying of curiosity.”

“It’s a very sexy teddy with a built-in underwire bra. It’s very sheer and matches my skin tone, so at first glance, I look naked in it. The sexy thing about it is that it’s a thong, and the entire torso is dozens of little tiny strips of the sheer fabric all crisscrossing. I’m not sure I should show you because it’s like I’m
nekkid
.”

“Oh, come on! I’m like another sister. You’d show Charity, wouldn’t you?”

Grace snickered. “She’d give me no choice!”

“Please? I wanna see.”

So Grace showed her. Giggling, she stepped into the handicapped stall and motioned Rachel to come in, too, and she closed the door in case someone came in. The sheer fabric had a slight sheen to it, and it did match her skin tone perfectly.

“Do they know this is what you have on underneath your dress?”

Grace smiled and nodded with a naughty twinkle in her eyes. “Yeah, I hinted to Jack, and Ethan figured it out when we came in and he put his
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arms around me. Adam should be here any minute, and I told him earlier I was going to wear it tonight.”

“It’s beautiful on you, Grace.”

“I think you would look pretty in it in black with your dark hair and lashes. Maybe I’ll get it for you for a bridal shower gift.”

“Grace, he hasn’t proposed. Do you know something I don’t?” Rachel asked, surprised by Grace’s comment.

“Only what I see, Rachel. He is so in love with you. I’ll bet you’re hitched by Christmas!” Grace predicted.

“Kelly said the same thing today when we were shopping.”

“Oh, isn’t she the cutest little thing you ever saw? And that baby boy with jet-black hair. He’s as sweet as he could be, like a little sack of sugar!

Maybe you would have black-haired babies, too! The two of you would make gorgeous babies!”

“Well, let him propose first before you start planning baby showers, okay?” Rachel laughed and let Grace get her dress straightened out before they exited the restroom stall.

“Ethan and Jack are probably looking for me. I’ll see you out there, okay, sweetie?”

“Sure. Grace?” Rachel called out. When Grace turned to look at her, she said, “Thanks for looking out for me. I appreciate it.”

“What are friends for? Love ya, babe!” She sashayed through the door, smiling. Rachel returned her lipstick to her bag and washed her hands.

Slipping out of the door into the dark hallway, Rachel bumped into a tall, hard body. In the dark, she thought it was Eli and relaxed, putting out her hands to steady herself. She made contact with a hard chest and washboard abs as strong, warm hands grasped her upper arms and kept her from stumbling.

A second later, she knew it wasn’t him because his scent was totally different, a dark, spicy fragrance mixed with the clean smell of an unfamiliar soap. Her hand brushed a butter-soft leather blazer, and she knew instantly whom she was holding on to. Ace Webster. She released her hands straight away and tried to back up, expecting him to do the same. Instead, his hands remained, gently holding her upper arms, and he leaned in closer, effectively pinning her to the wall in the dark, narrow hallway.

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His voice was soft and husky. “Miss Lopez, how nice to see you again. I noticed you dancing earlier, and hoped I might talk you into dancing with me this evening.” He leaned in close to her. “Your scent is beautiful, womanly.” He dipped his head to nuzzle her hair. Her heart pounded, and she shrank from him but backed into the solid wall.

Grace had assured her he was a decent guy. Rachel felt like
intense
might be a better description at the moment. Before Eli had come into her life, she probably would’ve enjoyed this attention, his spicy, clean scent and the solid strength that he emanated. Right now, she did
not
enjoy his close proximity and certainly not the way he inhaled her fragrance. Good gracious, would he be able to detect her recent arousal? She vehemently hoped not because that felt like an invasion of something sacred between her and Eli.

She breathlessly placed a hand on his chest to stop him and spoke quickly. By her tone, she made sure to leave nothing to his imagination concerning what she thought about his offer and advances. “Mr. Webster, I thank you for your kind invitation, but I can’t dance with you. I am very deeply in love with Eli Wolf. Grace and Jack brought me in so I could be with him tonight, and I’ll only dance with Eli. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”