Zane (Alluring Indulgence) (9 page)

The
only two V didn’t know much about were Travis and Ethan. People didn’t talk
about Travis Walker, and she didn’t know if it were because they didn’t know
about his sexual preferences or if they just chose not to poke the bear so to
speak. As for Ethan, he was too quiet, and no one actually knew much about him.
She knew he’d had a couple of relationships, but they usually were short lived
and never discussed.

In
fact, the tales that were spun through the years were so common that V hadn’t
even considered what might be happening behind closed doors where her best
friend was concerned. Never would she have imagined sweet little Zoey Stranford
in a threesome. To have heard from her best friend’s mouth had been shocking.
It was even more surprising that there weren’t any rumors going around about
the trio. V was also surprised that there weren’t any other rumors circulating.

Like
ones including her and Zane.

And
Beau.

V
hadn’t told a soul about the encounter she’d had with Zane and his best friend,
nor did she intend to. The first time that it happened, V had been a little out
of sorts. Being pinned beneath Zane Walker was a unique form of sensual
pleasure, but being sandwiched between both Beau and Zane was almost more than
she could handle. It’d changed her. Indefinitely.

Not
that Zoey knew that, but V got the impression her friend had picked up on
something. Especially considering the way Beau came to her side after Zane’s
attack. It had been unexpected, to say the least.

“Are
y’all planning a reunion?” V pushed Zoey for more information. It’s what she
did. And yes, her best friend pushed back just as hard, and she knew at some
point, her friend was going to insist that she talk about things better kept to
herself.

Zoey’s
face turned pink, visible even in the dim lights of the bar, and her grin said
more than words ever could.

V
laughed. “You’re looking forward to being the cream filling in that little
sandwich, aren’t you?”

Zoey
didn’t answer, but she laughed, and then turned her attention to the door, and
V’s eyes followed.

Holy
shit.

V
didn’t know what it was about the sight of all that masculinity as the Walker
brothers piled in one after the other, but it gave her goose bumps to see it.
There were four of them walking their way.

Women
of all ages swooned over the Walker brothers, but V couldn’t necessarily blame
them. Every one of them was over six feet tall, packed with muscle and wildly charming.
On the days they were decked out in jeans and cowboy hats, like today, V was
pretty sure they left women fainting in their path. She almost expected to see
it now.

“What’s
up ladies?” Braydon greeted the two of them with a seductive, crooked smile as
he grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the end of the booth she and Zoey were
sitting in.

Braydon
and Brendon were identical twins and even at twenty nine years old, it was
still difficult to tell them apart. The easiest way was when Braydon spoke to
one of his brothers. He referred to each of them as “Bubba”, but aside from
that V hadn’t figured out another easy way to decipher between the two.

They
were usually attached at the hip, and, according to the rumors, many of the
women in town said they gave a whole new meaning to the old jingle from that
gum commercial,
double your pleasure, double your fun
. Considering the
twins were notorious for their trail of heartbreak, the women they left behind
were always known to have experienced a taste of them both at the same time.
That’s the way they did things and although V had no idea why, she didn’t question
it.

Of
course, there was Kaleb, who V knew probably better than most of the other
brothers, except for Zane, but that was thanks to Zoey’s friendship with him
throughout their life. V had made it a point not to get too close to anyone,
including Zoey’s friends, and she sometimes wondered exactly what she had
missed out on. Kaleb was a good guy. Better than most actually.

When
Zane’s hulking body folded into the booth beside her, V was forced to move
over. She glared at him, but was unable to be angry with him. Having him close
was beginning to be a familiar thing, even though he’d been away for several
months. Despite her better judgment, V wasn’t crazy enough to push him away.
Although she should. She really should.

His
arm came to rest on the back of the booth, barely grazing the tops of her
shoulders and V had to suppress the shiver that raced down her spine. That’s
what happened when he touched her, even in the slightest, most innocent of
ways. When he leveled those blazing blue-gray eyes on her, V met his stare head
on. If she weren’t mistaken, there was an odd twinkle in the heated way he was
looking at her. God she had missed him.

The
instant that thought plowed through her brain V jerked her eyes away. She was
the reason he’d been gone for so long, and she’d be smart to remember that.

“How’re
you?” Zoey asked Braydon, breaking V from her weighted thoughts.

V
focused on the looks passing back and forth between everyone at the table. The way
the twins smiled at Zoey was so benevolent that V would have probably mistaken
her for family if she didn’t know better. The way the twins had stepped up to protect
Zoey all those years ago when her loser of a husband had up and gotten some
girl pregnant, V was pretty sure that’s how they saw her anyway. Like a little
sister.

But
there was nothing sisterly about the way Kaleb pulled Zoey against him when he
dropped into the seat beside her. For two people who lived together, no one
would’ve known it by the way they acted when they saw one another. It was like
they hadn’t seen each other for months, not hours. The amatory way Kaleb
embraced Zoey, pulling her against his side and kissing her forehead made V turn
away. She felt as though she were intruding on a private moment.

For
a brief, irrational second, her brain wandered down an unfamiliar trail,
wondering whether she ever would have that sort of love in her life. She was
pretty sure she knew the answer to that, and it was a monumental, resounding
no. The most she had to look forward to was an affair with Zane Walker. One
that was based on extraordinary sex and nothing more.

Brendon
returned to the table a minute later with four beers, handing one to each off
his brothers and keeping one for himself. Then he grabbed a chair and flipped
it around the way Braydon had, and dropped into it.

Watching
the twins together was still a spectacle as far as V was concerned. If a man
could be described as beautiful, the twins would hold that honor. It was hard
to think that two rough and tumble cowboys could be anything but rugged, but
there was so much charisma and grace with the twins, V understood exactly why
women flocked to them when they walked in a room.

Tearing
her gaze away from them when Braydon sent her a knowing wink, V found herself
looking over at Zane. Now, this guy was rugged in every sense of the word. With
a day’s worth of stubble on his strong jaw, and his black Stetson low on his
forehead, hiding his beautiful eyes, he exuded that mysterious charm he was
known for. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. The man was delicious.

“You’re
beautiful when you smile,” Zane whispered in her ear, low enough that only she
could hear. Another chill raced down her spine at the words. She couldn’t even
say thank you, she was so taken aback. Zane wasn’t quite as much of a player
like most of the Walker brothers, but he did have his fair share of women in
his past. As far as she knew, there was never anything serious though.

“How’s
the bachelorette party planning going?” Braydon’s question shook V back to the
present.

“It’s
coming along nicely.” V returned his conspiratorial wink. She and the twins
were devising a plan to have the bachelor and bachelorette parties in Vegas,
although she was getting a considerable amount of resistance from Zoey, but she
knew it was only for Kaleb’s benefit. “How’s the bachelor party coming?”

“As
long as grumpy over here doesn’t overrule us, we’re set.”

V
looked at Kaleb, waiting for his response.

“Oh,
hell no. We are not doing this in Vegas. Are you in on this too?”

Before
V could answer Kaleb’s question, Brendon chimed in, “Vegas would be kick ass,
and you know it. Seriously, bro, we’re doing this in Vegas.”

Kaleb
looked at Zoey, and she just smiled. V knew for a fact that Zoey was all about
partying it up in Vegas. Neither of them had ever been, and they figured now
was the perfect time.

“You’re
in on this too, aren’t you?” V watched as Kaleb’s eyes sparkled when he looked
down at Zoey who was answering his question with a guilty smile.

“What
about you? What do you think?” V asked Zane, hoping to distract herself from
the longing that was still churning deep in her stomach.

“I
think it’s a great plan,” Zane offered, glancing from V then over to Kaleb.
“Come on, bro. We need some excitement in our lives.”

The
table was quiet for a bit as they all stared back at Zane like he had lost his
mind. He might’ve been out of it for a while, but surely he knew that they had
all had more excitement than they cared to have when he was attacked.

“Oh,
let it go,” he barked, the blue of shaded his eyes turning dark with anger.
“Let’s put it behind us and move on.”

Easier
said than done, V thought to herself. They’d lived the horror of not knowing
whether Zane was going to live or die for six long days. Then, when the
doctor’s said that he would wake from the coma, it would just be a matter of
time, they’d all held on to hope. And yes, here he was, just like nothing had
ever happened. Well, except for the subtle changes she had noticed in recent
days. There was something different about Zane. Something darker, angrier, but
he was managing to cover it up with a new, more than positive, outlook on life.

V
wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

♂♀

Zane
watched his brothers, and he took note of their irritation with him. He was
well aware of the hell his family had been put through for the last few months,
and if he could go back and change it, he would. Since he couldn’t, he just
wanted to put it all behind him. It was time to move forward. With a new
outlook on life, Zane wanted nothing more than to spend each, and every day
going after what he wanted.

He’d
get his revenge on Jake when the time was right. For now, he couldn’t sit
around with a black cloud of fear or anger looming over him, or wondering what
was waiting around the corner. He’d had a couple of nightmares since the attack,
and he was pretty sure those were what made the anger burn brighter. There
would be payback, he didn’t doubt that. Zane just wasn’t going to waste his
time looking for Jake. He’d wait until Jake came to him.

Right
now, he was too busy wanting the woman sitting next to him –in a bad way – for
anything else to matter.

When
the table grew quiet, in true twin fashion, Braydon and Brendon busied
themselves by checking out the women in the bar, and within a minute or two,
they were up and off. There was a group of women in the corner flirting
dangerously with the twins, and Zane knew his brothers wouldn’t be able to
resist.

A
second after that, Kaleb was dragging Zoey from the booth, saying something
about dancing. Zane had to laugh as the two of them moved expeditiously to the
small dance floor in the corner of the room. It was apparent that they had all
abandoned Zane and V for a reason, and part of him was grateful to them. He
hadn’t spent nearly enough time with her lately and having her all to himself
had become one of his priorities.

“So...,”
V began, spinning her beer bottle in her hands, picking at the label.

“So?”
Zane dropped his arm around V, pulling her into his side and leaning down close
to her. He knew his cowboy hat shielded their faces from any prying eyes in the
room. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

“Missed
me?” V laughed.

“Yes,
missed you,” he confirmed, keeping his voice low. “So much that I’m ready to
sneak you into the bathroom and have my wicked way with you.”

“Such
a sweet talker you are,” V replied, a smile tilting her supple lips.

God,
he missed those lips. He wanted to feel them wrapped around his dick. For
months, Zane had spent day and night with his memories, and most of them were
flooded with visions of V doing naughty, wanton things to him.

Turning
so he fully blocked her from anyone else’s view, Zane tilted her chin until she
had no choice but to look up at him. “Yesterday was just a tease for me, V. I
want to bury my tongue in your pussy and make you scream my name.”

He
felt her body shudder, recognized the flash of excitement in her warm brown
eyes. She liked when he talked to her like that, he knew she did. V might
pretend to be prim and proper while they were out in public, but he had learned
just how naughty she really was.

Sliding
his hand down the front of her neck, he continued until he brushed the back of
his fingers over her nipple, feeling it pebble beneath his touch. “You like
that idea, don’t you, baby.”