Weekend Fling (3 page)

Suddenly, two tornadoes came blowing into the vicinity. “Hey, girl, who’s this fine hunk sitting in my seat?” Lisa, never at a loss for words, stood next to her cowboy.

“Sorry, ma’am, I was just talking to your friend here.” He got up from the seat and motioned for her two friends to sit. At least he had good manners. “I was asking her for a dance, but wanted to wait until something that didn’t require an advanced degree in country dancing came on.”

Leave it to Heather. “Well, there’s something nice and slow playing right now. You two can go ahead and have that dance, and we’ll sit this one out.”

Kara looked at her friends, then looked at her cowboy, and shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, let’s go for it.” As they walked onto the floor, he rested his hand on her lower back and had her lead the way. Once she turned in his arms and he positioned her hands for the slow dance, she realized that he felt right, and she felt good in his arms.

They didn’t say much as the music lulled them into the rhythm. She listened to him speak slowly to her and help her with the dance, “slow, quick-quick, slow, quick-quick, slow.” His voice rolled over her like silk, and her body responded as if he was seducing her with just his words . . . right there on the dance floor in a crowded country bar.

As they got into the rhythm of the dance, she felt her mind start to drift again. There were no words to express how she felt in his arms. Kara felt safe, but she had expected she would, of that there had been no doubt. His voice was thick when he spoke to her again. “You feel so good in my arms tonight, and I don’t even know your name. My name’s Austin Delaney.”

“Hi, Austin Delaney. I’m Kara Thomas.” Ahh, she knew the word she was looking for . . .
righteous
.

Chapter Three

Austin
was having a hard time keeping his conversation casual and light. Ms. Kara Thomas felt so right. He already knew he wouldn’t want to let her go home alone tonight, but he swore to himself that he would do the right thing. He didn’t want her to have any doubts about seeing him again.

Because he was such a big man, it was hard to find a woman who was a perfect fit for him. Well, he’d found her tonight. The top of her head fit just under his chin, and the curves of her body were just what he liked to keep him warm at night. He inhaled the scent of her light perfume and knew he’d fallen under her spell.

Austin
wasn’t a soft guy, and the crap he’d seen during his time as a Navy SEAL would attest to that. He didn’t have many soft edges about him, except when it came to women and children. He would protect women and children with his life, and all of his SEAL team felt the same way.

He’d spent too many years in places that had no running water and where every man walking down the street carried a weapon. He would be glad to leave all of that behind when he retired in a few months. Then again, he wasn’t really walking away from the life altogether.

He and a good buddy were starting a personal protection company once he retired. He would once again be looking out for those who weren’t able to protect themselves, and he was okay with that. It was ingrained in him to protect others, and it always had been. Even when he was a kid, the smaller and weaker children in the neighborhood had looked to him for protection. Being that his daddy was a big barrel of a man and had always taught him to protect those smaller than him, he didn’t mind at all. Going into the Navy and becoming a SEAL had simply reinforced his protective nature.

Hearing the woman in his arms sigh, he tightened his hold on her. Yeah, he could get used to this. Just then, his attention was drawn to the table where her friends sat, and he didn’t like what he saw. Nope, not at all. Three guys were talking to the women, and they didn’t look too happy at what Kara’s friends were saying. Shit, he had known there was going to be trouble.

“Kara, it looks like your friends need some help.” He saw her turn to the table, and her eyes became extremely wide when she noticed what was going on. She turned out of his arms and was about to race up the steps when he grabbed her arm. “Hold on. I’m coming with you.”

“No, you don’t have to. We’ll handle these guys ourselves.”

“Hell no, you won’t.” He looked at his friend Jack and gave him a nod. He knew Jack would understand the message. Jack pulled away from the woman who had his attention at the moment and began making his way over to
Austin
. At the same time,
Austin
pulled Kara behind him and headed towards the table and her friends. Austin, Kara, and Jack all arrived at the table at the same time.

Austin
saw the anger on the face of her friend, the other African-American woman, and knew this was about to get ugly. “Gentlemen, is there a problem here?” He released Kara’s hand, and she walked away from him to stand next to her friend.

“Yeah, is there a problem?” Kara wasn’t holding back.
Austin
heard the venom in Kara’s voice and found that he was inexplicably proud. He was glad she didn’t back down from these guys.

A guy wearing a black Stetson with tobacco in his mouth spoke up. “Yeah, this bitch thinks she’s too good to dance with me. It ain’t like she has a better choice. Hell, she’s in our bar and has the nerve to sit her ass there and tell me no.”

Although he’d only spoken for a few seconds, Austin and Jack had heard enough. Never would they ever call a woman out of her name, and this guy had dared open his mouth and insult one of Kara’s friends. When Kara’s friend started to rise out of her seat, he stepped in front of her to block her from the asshole. All three guys had to back up a step as
Austin
came up real close to the man who apparently had a death wish.

“If I were you, I would stop while I’m ahead. Now, these lovely ladies have told you no, and probably had to do it more than once. If you don’t walk away from their table right now, me and my friend here are going to show you what happens when you disrespect a lady. Do I make myself clear?”

The guy had the good sense to know when he should leave well enough alone. “Fine, man, I’m leaving. I didn’t want to dance with her anyhow.” As he and his friends walked away,
Austin
almost felt disappointed. He almost wished the son of a bitch hadn’t given up so easily and walked away. Turning to Kara and her friends, he forced himself to calm down.

“You ladies all right? Sorry you had to deal with that.” Taking a deep breath, he saw Jack looking quietly at the trio of women. “By the way, this ugly-looking dude standing off to the side is my friend Jack Pittman. We work together.” He waited while Jack introduced himself and pulled up another chair to sit down. Interestingly enough, he sat next to Lisa, not Heather.

Austin
hadn’t looked up at Kara during this entire situation. He had just met her tonight and was already riding to the rescue for her friends. He hoped he hadn’t made her nervous. When pushed, he knew he could come on rather strong. Then again, she didn’t know that it was in his nature to protect. God willing, she’d learn soon enough.

* * * *

Kara was in awe. Where did this cowboy come from, and where was his white hat? She couldn’t believe he had rushed to the rescue of her friends so quickly. Her cowboy was unlike anyone she had ever met before. She leaned over to him and whispered low enough for his ears only.

“Thank you for that. I mean, we could have taken them ourselves if something had jumped off, but thank you nonetheless.” She gave him a huge smile and placed her hand on his shoulder.

At that simple touch, she felt the muscles in his shoulders bunch and realized those guys had gotten off easy. She wanted to run her hand down his arm to test the thickness of his bicep muscle, but knew this was neither the time nor the place.

She glanced at her friend Lisa and noticed
Austin
’s friend talking with her. Lisa’s face was completely bland, but she wasn’t pushing him away or trying to move. That alone was quite interesting. For a moment, Kara wondered what Jack was saying to her, but that thought was quickly gone when
Austin
spoke again.

“Do you ladies want to stay here any longer?” She heard the steel in his voice and was glad he was on her side.

“You know, I think it may be time to call it a night.” Kara wasn’t happy about it. It was too bad those stupid motherfuckers had ruined their night. She and her girls had been having a great time, and she’d really needed that. All things considered, she was glad that she had met
Austin
. He had turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

“
Austin
, will you and Jack walk us out?” She was hoping he’d say yes. She didn’t necessarily want the night to end, but wasn’t up for anything else at this point.

“Sure, we’d be glad to.”
Austin
stood up from his chair and made way for Kara and her friends to exit the table. Kara, Lisa, and Heather made their way outside with Austin and Jack following close behind.

When they got outside the bar, Lisa turned to Kara and gave her a hug. “Hey, girl, I think I’ve had enough excitement tonight to last me a few weeks. I’m going to take this crazy girl home and head on to sleep. Let’s all meet for lunch tomorrow at Mackie’s.”

“Okay, I’ll be there at noon sharp. You know, there’s never a dull moment with you two. I love you guys.” She laughed as Lisa and Heather turned away from her with Jack close behind.

As Jack walked away, he yelled back to
Austin
. “I’ll be back in a second, Delaney. I’m going to walk them to the car.”

As Kara walked in the opposite direction to her car with
Austin
close on her heels, she knew she should say something. She had never been shy before, but something about this man threw her off guard. He was overwhelming her senses and made her knees weak when he spoke to her in that sexy-ass voice.

“Thanks for helping my friends in there.” She got to her car and turned around with her back against the driver door. Tilting her head back to look up at him, she noticed his green eyes had turned a deep, dark evergreen color.

“No problem. I’m glad I was there.”

“I am too.” Licking her suddenly dry lips, she tried not to let him see how nervous she was. “So, are you and your friend going to head back inside and finish your night?” For some reason, she hoped his answer would be no.