The Thorndykes 1: Dispossessed (14 page)

“I don’t know you, do I?” Lucille strolled over to Nathan’s spot and gave him a winsome smile. He grinned back, adding some wickedness, and she heard Missy’s sharp intake of breath at the sheer sexuality he displayed with that one careless gesture. Lucille could feel Missy sizing him up, taking a second look. She’d never touched Missy’s mind, but in this case she didn’t need to. She knew exactly what her friend was up to.

Missy had jolted Lucille out of her timidity, encouraged her to play, to enjoy. Keeping her secret had held Lucille back, stopped her exploring all she could be.

Nathan held out his hand. “Nathan Springer, at your service,” he said. “Until last week I was traveling with a rodeo, but they laid me off.” He shrugged. “No matter. I’ll find something else.”

“Times are hard,” said Lucille, sympathy oozing from her soft voice. “Even here.”

“Yep.” Nathan took a sip of his beer, his every move demonstrating he was eking it out. “Any good inexpensive motels around?”

“The Green Door, just down the street.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” He glanced at his beer and took another considered sip. “I guess you don’t know if there’s any work?”

Everyone in the bar looked at Ryan and then Jay. The owners of the two biggest ranches around, though Jay was emphatically a hands-off owner. Still, he managed the place, and he could recommend someone if he wanted to. Nobody said anything.

“You’re in the right spot,” Lucille said.

“Bars usually are, ma’am.”

She wished he’d slow down with the “ma’ams.” Unlike his usual understated Midwest one, his accent was Texan. Near perfect. She hadn’t realized Nathan was such a good mimic. He gave her a sideways glance. “I appreciate it. Nice little town.” The look he sent her told her he wasn’t talking about Taken. He ignored Jay’s low growl. His first warning salvo. “Guess I’ll move on, but I’d prefer to stay over a few days.”

“Any reason?” She was feeding him all his lines, and she hadn’t even opened her mind to him.

“I like the scenery.” He gave her an appreciative smile.

Jay had shifted position, almost silently coming to stand by Nathan’s side. “So do I.”

Nathan pivoted to face him. “You don’t say? Well, a man can look. And surely it’s the lady’s choice.” He smiled at her. “I’d like to ask you out one evening. Maybe you can give me some hints about the place. Is there a good place to eat around here?”

Before she could answer, Jay got in his face, the epitome of the jealous lover. Ryan wouldn’t appreciate that, and both men must know that. “She eats at my house. Not that I’m inviting you. I told you. Lay off.”

“I don’t appreciate being talked to like that,” was Nathan’s response. “You’re an arrogant fool, aren’t you?”

Without warning Nathan swung a fist up in a punch that Jay blocked and countered. It landed on Nathan’s chin, but it didn’t stop him ducking the next punch and landing one of his own.

Jay gave a strangled “Oof,” and then it was on.

Everyone in the bar was on their feet. At the back, two women stood on their bench seat to get a better view, and the men surged forward to either side, to lay bets or break up the fight.

Ryan got there first. He watched the fight carefully until he could get between them, something Lucille gave him grudging respect for. Even though she knew the combatants were faking it, she couldn’t see how they’d fought around Ryan, so as not to strike him. Placing his hands on their chests, Ryan eased them apart.

Neither man appeared to take any notice, but pressed closer, glaring, their arms flexing as they brought up their fists for another round.

Lucille turned, grabbed Missy’s wrist, and dragged her to the other end of the bar. “Let them get on with it. Machismo doesn’t do it for me.”

“It doesn’t?” Missy licked her lips. “Live a little, girl. They’re fighting over you. Women dream about this happening to them.”

“Not me,” she said firmly. “Especially when it’s in my bar. If they break, they pay.” Just as she said this, the sound of shattering glass tore through the air, along with yells from the crowd. The noise would fetch more people in, even on this quiet night.

Stupid ploy. She’d said so from the start, but she couldn’t deny that the sight of the two men squaring up against each other sparked something inside her. She didn’t like to call it arousal, but her pussy had sensitized. Her gaze lingered on the biceps so obviously bunching under the sleeves of the men’s shirts.

No. It wouldn’t work. At least, she thought that way until Jay’s punch hit Ryan squarely in the gut. An “accident” to give Nathan a better chance to ingratiate himself with Ryan.

Ryan doubled up, coughing, and Lucille raced forward.

“Enough!” she yelled into what threatened to become a riot. “Get out, all of you!” Bending, she laid a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, pressing him down, adding a bit of extra vampire strength, to prevent him getting to his feet and starting again.

Nathan knelt opposite her. “I’m sorry, that shouldn’t have happened.” He shot Lucille a stricken look. “I shouldn’t have come in here. I’ll leave. After I’ve helped this man.”

Smooth
. At Jay’s touch, she got to her feet and left them to it. “As for you,” she said. “You can go. I don’t want to see you again.”

He caught her chin, pressed a swift kiss to her lips. “You will.”

How women could sigh at that kind of arrogance beat Lucille’s understanding, but she definitely heard a few murmurs of “wow,” and even one, “I wouldn’t throw him out. I’d show him my back door.”

Jay gave her a slight smile and strolled through the crowd to the exit, taking his time. “See you.”

“Not if I see you first,” she replied. One of her mother’s favorite sayings.

He laughed as he left. If this had been real, she’d have meant what she said.

Nathan assisted Ryan to his feet and stood close, his arm around Ryan’s waist in a manful gesture of support.

“That was stupid,” she said.

“Yes it was. I’m sorry, ma’am. I guess being laid off affected my mood. I’ve wanted to hit somebody all day, and pardon me, but that man was the most stuck-up bastard I’ve ever met.”

Ryan’s smile was approving. He caught his breath a couple of times more; then he put his hand over his stomach where it was bound to bruise. “I’m fine now.”

Immediately, Nathan released him but didn’t move away. “Who was he?”

A round of chuckles. “He’s the owner of the biggest ranch around here,” someone said. “Not that he usually gets his hands dirty.”

Nathan groaned and covered his eyes. “Guess I’ll be moving on, then.”

“Not necessarily,” Ryan said. He gave Nathan a good look this time, taking in the clean but shabby appearance. “I could use a good worker. Trevino doesn’t own the only working ranch in these parts. My family has a spread, and we have a guest ranch too. We have a bunch of bookings for the next few months. If you worked in a rodeo, you’ll have experience with the public.”

“Yes, indeed,” Nathan said.

Lucille felt a tingle, warmth not directed at her, and she glanced away to hide her smile. Nathan had used a little gentle persuasion to prove his point. Not that he needed it, Lucille thought, but perhaps it was habit.

“I don’t want to drive back with this bruise. You can do that, and we’ll talk terms on the way.” Ryan nodded to Nathan, and Lucille realized he was also infusing liking into the naturally suspicious Ryan. Nathan didn’t show any of the triumph he must be feeling. Lucille kept her mind firmly closed, so she couldn’t have told from his appearance. Instead, he grinned. “Yes, boss.”

Ryan would like that. He had an inflated sense of his own importance, so while he didn’t appreciate yes-men, he did accept what he considered the proper degree of respect.

Missy arrived, brush and dustpan in hand, and swept up the fragments of glass. She chose to brush Ryan’s feet, for which she apologized prettily, and he responded with an easy smile. Maybe they’d get it together. It would stop her feeling so guilty about not liking Ryan enough to date him.

She poured free drinks for anyone who wanted them, and said it was by way of an apology for the disruption. The patrons graciously accepted the offering and went back to their seats in order to drink. Liquid apologies worked well around here.

Drama over, Lucille worked the rest of the night until only three people remained. Missy assured her she’d be fine looking after the final stragglers, and with a sigh of relief, Lucille went to feed Digger. Plan achieved, though her heart was heavy when she considered deceiving the steady Ryan that way.

As she crossed the yard to go back into the kitchen, a large shadow came out from behind the door. Her heart missed a beat.

She stayed where she was, letting the light from the kitchen give her the advantage. As soon as the person—a man, from his size—stepped across the beam of light, she’d have him.

She still didn’t open her mind, always aware it could be a trick to make her do just that. Her parents, her dad in particular, had put her in lockdown, and she remained that way. She didn’t need to use mind attacks to defeat a mortal.

Except it wasn’t a mortal. When he moved, she knew exactly who it was.

When Jay walked up to her and laid his hands on her shoulders, she leaned forward, expecting his kiss.

Instead, she got a furious, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing out here?”

When she tried to step back, his hold on her tightened. “I could have been anyone.”

She glanced toward the padlocked gate. “I’d have known. Anyway, I can fight.”

“I saw that. Just as well. You might have had to.” He didn’t let her go, but turned them so they stood close to the kitchen, and he could see her face. His gaze roamed over her, and she sensed his anxiety.

“How do you do that?”

“How do I do what?”

With an exasperated sound, she dragged him inside the house, into the bar’s kitchen. The utilitarian area was the last place she wanted him, with its big old refrigerator and freezer and the scarred table, but she had little choice. “Get inside my mind when I’ve closed my barriers.”

He smiled wryly. “You’ve forgotten already? Fuck and suck, sweetheart.”

She hid her burning cheek against his chest. “Oh, yes, that.”

“Yes,
that
.” When he tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it so she had to look at him, he was smiling. “You slay me,” he said softly and kissed her. Like a flash of lightning, arousal surged through her, and their kiss turned incendiary. He felt it as she did. Whoever started the spark, it soon raged through them both, and they lost themselves in each other. He broke the kiss and glanced wildly around before maneuvering them toward the heavy table in the middle of the room. He leaned her against it and kissed her again as if he couldn’t stop. That was fine by her. His eyes darkened even more as his pupils expanded.

He fumbled her waistband, managed to get the snap and zipper undone, but couldn’t get his hand inside. So with a growl he got her jeans off in the most expedient way. He extended a claw and sliced them off her. She shuddered, expecting that at any moment he’d cut her skin. She didn’t care if he did, but he barely brushed it before he retracted it, its work done. “I’ll get you a new pair. I’ll get you ten new pairs,” he muttered against her mouth before he sealed their mouths together. When they parted, he stared at her wildly. “Christ, what you do to me!”

He spun her around, pressed the center of her back, propelling her toward the clean, worn surface of the table the cook used to prepare the snacks and meals. During the day this room was hot and frantically busy, but tonight they had it to themselves. His zipper rasped. He got out his cock and nudged it against her pussy.

Sensitive, she moaned his name. “Don’t stop,” she implored.

“Don’t worry.” He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her against him as he entered her. She was so wet he didn’t have to make her ready. He slid in, filling her with hot male need, and drew nearly all the way out. Opening his mind, he shared his emotions with her. So forbidden and erotic, the mental connection forced her higher, toward the level where she didn’t know if she could stand it anymore.

“It’s wrong, it’s un-PC, it’s everything. But when I fought, and I saw you, I went a bit insane,” he said, punctuating every other word with a hard thrust into her passage. Their bodies slapped together, his balls bouncing off her flesh when he withdrew only to return in an insistent, vigorous rhythm. Unstoppable. “I wanted my reward for protecting you like some kind of primitive caveman. Oh, fuck!” That because she rose fast toward orgasm, and minds locked, he felt it and pushed back, desperately holding off. “I want more. I want this to last.”

The click of the door sounded, and someone gasped. Then an “Oh my God, sorry!” before the door closed again. Missy.

A surge of extra arousal, a thread of something new, and he growled. “You like that? Being watched?”

“Yes.” Something had happened with Missy’s interruption, however brief, to push Lucille’s arousal impossibly higher. “Fuck that. Fuck
me
!” She gasped when her whole body went rigid, possessed by him in every way possible. Waves of convulsive joy slammed through her with the force of a tidal wave. If she hadn’t had the table to support her, she’d have collapsed in a heap on the cold tile floor.

He gave a wordless cry, heartfelt, and then it was his turn. Jets of semen flooded her in agonizing, exquisite spurts. He let her feel it all, everything. His helplessness at the urge to fuck her gripped him. His vulnerability where she was concerned. She accepted it, returned it, but didn’t dare open more of her mind to him. The level she was already exposed to him scared her with its intensity. She couldn’t take any more.

He grabbed a nearby roll of paper towels and used some sheets to roughly clean them before he gently folded her into his arms. He laughed shakily. “I meant to talk to you. I guess we talked.”

Deliciously exhausted, she let him do the work of holding both of them up. “I guess we did.” She swallowed. “It was Missy who came in just then, wasn’t it?”

“It was. I should have shielded us or something like that. Put a compulsion on the door, given anyone wanting to come in a dread.”