Chapter 5
5
SERENITY
R anger slips his free hand in mine and Bernie's eyes shoot daggers where we're connected as we make our way through the bar to the big table where Bernadine and a younger woman are waiting on our group.
Several shot glasses of amber liquid are already on the table and they get emptied one by one as the group of men we rode over with start claiming chairs as well as drinks.
A woman who looks like she could arm wrestle Thor-- and win-- brings another round of shots to the table.
"Ya must be the girl Ranger brought home to keep his mama from meddling." The woman gives me a hard look that has me feeling uncomfortable.
"Virgie, this is my girl, Seri," Ranger drops into one of the heavy, wooden chairs and pulls me into his lap as he introduces me to the woman. "She's a historian. I'm sure she'd love to hear what you know about Slow River while she's in town."
Virgie gives me another glare, this one more curious than scrutinizing, then she looks across the table at Bernie and back to Ranger.
"Your mama had different plans for you, Ranger O'Leary. If you're gonna fuck with those, you better be sure you don't break her heart. That woman's had a rough enough go of it between your father and the lot of you boys."
"Nice to meet you there, Seri. I'm sure today's not the best time to get to know each other. Maybe you can come by later this week-- Range'll likely be happy to bring you by when he's had a chance to recover from tonight."
The Pereira brothers have already downed more than one round, and Flint is telling a story about Ranger's dad, a rodeo clown, and a bet that involved a naked horse ride into a bar in another town.
The men around the table erupt in laughter while I try to follow along without getting distracted by the hard muscle of Ranger's thighs under my ass, or the way he keeps one arm wrapped around my waist while he joins his brothers and the other men in sharing stories about the man who raised him while they down the endless supply of whiskey that Virgie keeps delivering to the table.
I sip the drink Virgie brought for me and meet Bernie's eyes across the table. She's staring at me with the same cat-like grin she's been giving me since she first spotted me with Ranger's arm wrapped possessively around my shoulder at the chapel this morning.
"So, y'all have been awful clingy." Bernie sips from a long neck bottle, swallowing the beer and leveling Ranger with a grin that's downright malevolent.
I can't help myself. I tighten the arm I have wrapped around the back of Ranger's neck like he's actually mine and glare back at the grinning blonde across the table.
"What's your point, Bern?" Ranger drawls back at her.
For a man who's three shots deep, there's not a trace of slur in his speech. Although I have a feeling that's going to change before long, since Virgie just dropped another round off at the table and the reminiscing hasn't slowed down.
Although, talk about Ranger's father seems to have been put on hold for a few minutes while everyone clues in to Bernie's observation about me and Ranger.
She shrugs at Ranger's terse tone, like she didn't even notice.
"Just sayin' is all," she tells him. "You haven't let go of the poor girl since you got off the plane but I don't think I've seen you kiss her not one time, Range."
Ranger shifts uncomfortably, his entire body going stiff beneath me, while Bernie smirks from across the table.
I know what she's doing. She's calling our bluff, which means she obviously thinks we're bluffing. Which just reminds me that she knows Ranger better than I do...which might be exactly what she's trying to point out.
Well fuck that.
Maybe it's the honkytonk feel of the bar, or letting loose with Ranger's brothers and friends after the funeral.
Maybe it's the fact that shots of top-shelf whiskey have been showing up in front of me all night, or the smug little smirk on Bernie's face as she keeps watching me and Ranger like she's looking for something to use against us.
Ranger wanted a fake girlfriend who would make sure his ex-real one believed he was off the market-- and he's the one with the impossibly hard cock digging into my ass that won't let me get off his lap so I can get some space and catch a fucking breath.
The man wants to convince them? I'll convince them.
Ranger
It was just supposed to be a couple of rounds in honor of the old man, while we shared a few of the stories about him that aren't appropriate for the fancy eulogies.
Somehow, the table that was supposed to just be my brothers and a few of our closest buddies has expanded into a group of a dozen or more of us and I'm in danger of losing count of how many drinks I've knocked back, seein' as how Virgie isn't letting the glasses stay empty.
Now that we're all a few rounds in, suit jackets tossed aside, music's playing, and lips are as loose as our ties, tellin' stories my old man wouldn't have wanted us passing around, all punctuated with laughter and curse words.
Another shot of whiskey slides down the back of my throat, hot on the tip of my tongue and sweet on the back. The high-end shit that Dad liked-- that'll no doubt leave me with a bar tab that'll hurt worse than the hangover tomorrow morning.
Seri's managed to make herself right at home in my lap and I'm thinking I could get used to having Serenity wrapped around me like this. I could get used to having Serenity wrapped around my body in a lot of ways.
Something about the way Bernadine has been sitting across the table, watching me and Seri like she's trying to solve a puzzle while she sips a beer from the bottle, has me on edge.
Sure enough, just when I'm getting comfortable; with Seri's arm around my neck, and my hand resting over her thigh; just as Rowan launches into one more "that time Kevin O'Leary tried to..." stories that have been going around all evening, Bernie interrupts with what I assume is meant to be a dare; pointing out that she hasn't seen me and Seri kiss yet.
I open my mouth to tell Bernie to mind her own business, when Seri's lip crash against mine. Shutting me up damn good.
This is the point I know I'm good and buzzed, because-- God help me-- I am powerless to put together a single thought as Serenity's tongue pushes between my lips like she's on a mission.
The bar fades away, the hoots and cat-calls sounding around us barely registering through the haze of whiskey and the taste of sweet cola and heat as Seri stakes her claim on me in front of everyone in O'Hare's bar today.
Her arm tightens around my neck, pulling me into her soft curves, like she expected me to put up a fight. Then her other hand rests against my cheek, those soft fingertips lightly rubbing against the stubble that's grown in since I shaved cleaned this morning.
My hands find her body-- one gripping her round hip, the other pulling her closer to me with a firm grasp on her thigh, till she must be able to feel what she's doing to me from the thick bulge diggin' into her ass now.
I like the weight of her pressing against my erection, and the feel of her fingers sliding into my hair at the back of my neck. I can't get enough of her heat or the soft glide of her tongue against mine, and I'm desperate to have more of her sweet curves filling up my hands.
The whiskey and the relief of finally getting a taste of the lips I've been craving since I first set eyes on this girl has me forgetting where we are-- until I feel the icy cold water dripping down my back and over my shoulders.
It does the damn job, causing Seri to break away from me with a start and bringing me back to reality with a jolt that has me looking for the joker to blame, with my mind on murdering the son of a bitch.
Virgie stands just behind me, an empty beer pitcher clutched in her hand like she's expecting to swing it at me, and the fight leaves me fast enough.
I've seen Virginia Stockebrand put down men twice my size and drag their dead weight out the back door of O'Hare's to sleep it off in the alley. I know better than to mess with the woman.
"The bar's rating only goes to R, O'Leary. Might be time to call for a ride." Virgie levels her humorless tone at me with a narrowed gaze before clearing away the empty glasses scattered over the table and heading back to the bar.
"I think you just got us cut off," Beryl slurs as he stumbles to his feet. "Looks like we're headed to the Toll Booth."
"Joe's on his way." Flint slides his phone into his pocket as he picks his hat up from the table and takes a head count. "Who all's going?"
Bernadine's phone lights up in her hand, causing her to glance down at the message she just got and break the awkward stare she's had Seri fixed in since Virgie reminded us where we are.
"Not tonight, guys, I got a ride coming for me." She gets to her feet, far more stable than the rest of us after nursing a couple of beers to our multiple rounds of whiskey. "Walk me out, Range? I need to talk to you about something."
Seri's arm snakes around my waist and then she hooks her thumb into my back pocket. The feel of her knuckle pressed into my ass has me missing a step, her pressing her fingertips against my hip doesn't help steady me in the slightest.
There's nowhere for my arm to go except around her shoulders and I'm so caught up in the feel of her that I barely even notice the scowl on Bernie's face
Or maybe Bernie's face pinches at seeing my reaction to it. There's no hiding the fact that I love feeling Seri stake her claim on me in front of another woman. Even if it is just for show.
"I need to settle up with Virg." I shrug unapologetically at Bernie and lean into Seri's embrace, taking advantage of any chance I get to press against her curves while noting with smug satisfaction that she's doing exactly what I asked of her-- making sure Bernie doesn't manage to corner me off alone somewhere.
Bernie slides an unreadable look to the woman tucked under my arm before rolling her eyes and heading outside with the rest of the guys while I hunt down Virgie to take care of the bill.