Summer Fling: Compass Girls, Book 3 (9 page)

Now…there was too much that could go wrong.

And God help him if it did.
 

Because losing her was not an option.

Chapter Four

Jade wiped the counter as the last few stragglers settled their tabs with Bruce. She frowned when she noticed her boss rubbing his stomach. He’d been doing that a lot lately.

“My gut aches tonight.”

“Did you go to the doctor yet?” she asked when Bruce walked behind the bar.

“I don’t need some hack poking and prodding at me. I’m fine.”

Jade closed her eyes and prayed for patience. She didn’t find it. She leveled a glare at her boss. “Goddammit, Bruce. Are you fucking kidding me? You’ve probably got an ulcer in there eating away at your stomach. Get some medicine or you’ll drop dead of stubbornness.”

Bruce started to argue, then winced. “Stop yelling at me, Jade.”

“I will when you go see someone and get this fixed.” She closed her mouth, realizing she was fighting a losing battle. “Why don’t you go on home? I’ll finish cleaning and lock the doors on my way out.”

Bruce nodded, a sure sign he felt bad. He never left her alone at the bar late at night. He glanced around and Jade followed his gaze. She caught sight of Liam standing outside the building, talking to Jameson. A couple of the Compass ranch hands had over-imbibed. Liam was probably making sure they had a sober driver.

Bruce walked to the front door. “Hey, Liam. You mind hanging out while Jade closes up tonight? I’m cutting out early.”

“Sure thing.” Liam said something to Jameson, then returned to the bar.

“What the hell, Bruce? I’m perfectly capable of shutting the bar down by myself.” Jade had managed to avoid Liam since his racy proposition for a sexy summer fling three days earlier. She knew he was waiting for an answer, but she still wasn’t convinced a couple months of getting laid were worth throwing away eight years of friendship. Regardless of Liam’s assurances that they would be fine, she knew better.

Sex would change everything.
 

Ultimately, if it had just come down to that, she would have said thanks but no thanks.
 

However, Liam was offering more. He’d dangled something she wanted desperately even though she feared crossing over a line that would be the equivalent of opening Pandora’s box.

Submission. She had felt that desire tugging at her since the night she’d lost her virginity, yet she’d never given in to it. Never trusted anyone enough to experiment, to explore, to submit to. She’d never allowed herself to discover if her feelings were genuine or mere curiosity.

She trusted Liam. Completely. He’d never hurt her, never take things too far. In fact, it was perfect. Jade suspected Liam would never fall in love again. He’d given his heart to Celia years ago, so she didn’t have to worry about emotions gumming up the works.
 

For three days, she’d struggled to decide. She hadn’t mentioned his proposal to her cousins because they didn’t know about her attraction to the concept of submission. It was the only secret she’d ever kept from Sienna, Hope and Sterling.

She wasn’t sure how they would respond to that admission. Would they take it in stride or see it as some sort of weakness? Deep inside, she knew they’d love her even if she sprouted an extra head. After all, Hope was in a committed relationship with Clayton
and
Wyatt, an honest to God threesome, just like Silas, Lucy and Colby. None of the cousins had blinked twice when Hope fell for two handsome cowboys.

However, she could only imagine her cousins’ faces when they discovered Miss Independence, take-no-shit-from-anyone Jade longed to submit to a man in the bedroom. Hope had never hidden her yearning to find a relationship just like her parents, so it came as little surprise when she did. Meanwhile, Jade hadn’t given her cousins any indication of how dark her desires ran.

Now she would be trapped with Liam and no closer to deciding what to do. “Are you listening to me, Bruce?” she repeated. “I’m fine doing this on my own.”

Bruce ignored Jade’s protestation. He walked behind the bar and dug into a drawer for his car keys.

Jade studied her boss’s face and took pity on the man, letting the subject drop. Bruce was pale and sweating profusely. She wondered for a moment if she should take him to the hospital.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly when Bruce turned to leave.

He turned around and gave her a weak smile. “Yeah. Got a bottle of Maalox by my bed. I’ll drink some of that before I go to sleep. If it still hurts in the morning, I’ll go to the doctor.”

Wow. He was sick. “All right. If it gets too bad tonight, call me. Okay?”

Bruce patted her on the shoulder. “You’re a good girl, Jade. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back to normal in a few days.”

Jade pretended to shudder. “Damn. Don’t know if I should root for you to get better or not? Normal’s not exactly pretty on you.”

Bruce chuckled. “Little minx.” Then he looked at Liam, who’d claimed a stool at the bar and was watching their interaction. “Keep an eye on her. Don’t like her walking through that dark parking lot alone.”

Liam nodded. “I’ll take care of her.”

Bruce walked out the back door, leaving Jade and Liam alone in the quiet bar.

“I’d tell you I don’t need a babysitter, but I know it would be wasted breath.”

Liam gave her a smile that was too charming, too handsome. While she’d always acknowledged his hotness factor, it had never taken her breath away like it did lately, which was another reason she was hesitant to accept his offer. Sexual attraction was one thing, but falling for Liam would be outright insanity. She wasn’t about to play second fiddle to a ghost. Not that there was much of a competition. Celia had been beauty incarnate, graceful, intelligent, soft-spoken. She was no doubt the ideal girlfriend.
 

Jade? Not so much.
 

“I’m not going anywhere. You need help cleaning up?”

Jade appreciated the offer. “I’ve taken care of everything out here. Just need to pop into the backroom and tidy up there.”

Liam rose from the stool and followed her to the back. They spent a few minutes picking up trash, carrying beer bottles to the recycle bins, wiping the tables. Once they had the room in order, Jade started to head back to the bar.
 

Liam stepped in front of her, blocking her exit. “What’s your hurry?”

He’d been so quiet, she’d actually started to think she would escape tonight without having to give him an answer.

“It’s late. I’m tired.”

Liam gave her a knowing smile. “You’re part vampire, Jade. I’ve seen you close here only to head over to Compass Ranch for an all-night poker game with the hands too many times to buy that excuse.”

“I don’t have an answer for you.” Maybe if she just came clean, she could get out of here quicker. Too long in Liam’s presence was hazardous to her state of mind. She could already feel her pussy growing wet, her nipples budding. Her heart was racing, her lungs tight, and if she loosened her grip on the reins even just a little bit, she’d have Liam on his back on one of those pool tables while she straddled his hips and rode him like a mustang.
 

Liam—damn him—didn’t respond. Instead, he let his gaze wander down her body slowly, then back up. She was uneasy with his uncanny ability to see things she was fighting like the devil to hide. “Then you don’t have to give me one.”

She frowned, confused. “What?”

He reached out and cupped her cheek in his large palm. “I’m not going to force you into anything you’re not comfortable with. If you haven’t decided yet, that’s fine. Just be warned that I intend to work overtime to convince you to say yes.”

Jade swallowed heavily, wishing her body didn’t go into overdrive every time he touched her. It made it too hard for her to think.

Luckily, Liam saved her from having to come up with a response. He dropped his hand back to his side. “Wanna shoot a round?”

She frowned. “Now?”

Liam crossed the room and grabbed a couple sticks from the rack hanging on the wall. “Why not? We never get this place to ourselves. We should take advantage of it.”

She accepted the pool cue from him, instinctively reaching for the blue chalk cube. Maybe a platonic game was exactly what she needed to help her get a grip. She and Liam were cutthroat competitors. The contest would be a welcome distraction. “Fine. You’re on. Should we put a wager on it to make it fun? Say, twenty bucks?”

Liam shook his head. “Not interested in taking your money.”

She laughed. “Doesn’t matter. I didn’t intend to give you any. It’s you who’s going to be forking over the pot when I wipe up this table with you.”

He took the chalk from her with a cocky grin. “You’ve never beaten me. What makes you think tonight will be any different?”

She didn’t confess that she’d been practicing. A lot. If there was one thing Jade hated, it was losing. After her last defeat at Liam’s hands, she’d started coming in to Spurs a half hour or so before they opened to run through some drills and trick shots. Bruce—a former hustler himself—had given her some pointers as well.

“Just put the cash on the table.”

“No. I want something else when I win.”

Jade tilted her head, intent on continuing the trash-talking, but Liam cut her off.

“After I win, I pull down those tight jeans of yours, bend you over the table and fuck you from behind.”

Jade blinked several times, then jerked away from Liam when he reached over to close her open mouth with a strong finger on her chin.
 

“Is that your idea of convincing me?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“Fine,” she said when she was finally able to speak. The static roaring in her ears was almost deafening. “And when I win, you...”
 

What the hell was she supposed to ask for? The list of sexual things she wanted to try with Liam rolled through her brain like the credits at the end of a movie—only in fast-forward. It occurred to her there were too damn many things she desired, every single act kinkier than the one before it.

Liam grasped a handful of her T-shirt and pulled her closer. “I what?”

She wasn’t ready to give in just yet. “You owe me twenty dollars.” Jade held out her hand and she and Liam shook on the bet.
 

“Deal.” Liam racked the balls, then looked at her. “You want to break?”

She nodded, approaching the end of the table. Just as she bent over to line up her shot, Liam stepped behind her. His crotch rested firmly against her ass. She started to rise, but Liam’s hand landed on her upper back, holding her close to the table.

“What the hell are you—?”

“Just giving you some incentive...” Liam gripped her hips tightly, rubbing his obvious erection against her. He leaned over her upper body, caging her beneath him until she could feel his hot breath. “…to lose.”

The bastard swept her hair to one side before placing the sexiest kiss on her neck. Jade’s pussy clenched with need. She pressed closer to his cock, wishing there weren’t so many clothes between them.
 

Liam was fighting dirty. And winning.
 

If he kept this up, the game would end before it even started. Jade forced air into her lungs, tried to beat down her desires. “You finished?” Somehow she managed to put just the right amount of boredom in her tone.

Liam chuckled. “You’re not fooling me, gorgeous. But yeah, I think I’m good for now.”

He stood, the air on her back suddenly cool without his presence. Jade pushed herself upright, the effort almost painful. She was hornier than she’d ever been in her life. Her body was telling her to stop fucking around, give in to what she wanted. However, her brain insisted she’d be smarter to call off the game, drive home at the speed of light and take care of business with her vibrator. Unfortunately her libido rejected the idea of another night of lackluster orgasms brought on by a lousy piece of plastic.

“Jade?”

Liam pulled her out of her thoughts. How stupid must she look standing there while her brain and body battled out exactly how she was going to get lucky tonight? Sterling was right. She was overthinking all of this. Denying herself wasn’t part of her chemical makeup and yet, with Liam, she couldn’t channel the impulsive, throw-caution-to-the-wind woman who’d always reigned supreme.

Why couldn’t she?

Pushing her needs aside, she glared at Liam over her shoulder. “You’re a cheating bastard.”

His shit-eating grin was less than contrite. “Break the balls, Jade.”

“Oh, I’d like to break a couple balls,” she muttered as she resumed her previous position. This time, Liam left her unmolested, walking to the side to watch her shot, chuckling over her quiet threat.

Jade knocked the cue solidly, managing to place a stripe in the corner pocket. Pleased, she moved around the table and sank two more balls before missing on her third shot.

Liam was clearly surprised by her improvement. “You been practicing?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. For the next few minutes, neither of them spoke as the spirit of competition did indeed begin to overpower the sexual tension. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Jade felt a strange sense of comfort in that. Despite this newfound—and not entirely wanted—attraction to Liam, deep down, they were essentially the same people.