Chapter Two – Man Down #2
She inhaled sharply and shot me a glare. “Since when is it your job to decide who ends up in my bed?”
Tejas chuckled, and my stomach turned to pure acid. “Trust me, Maise, you don’t want Tejas anywhere near you. You know that saying about an ego writing checks a dick can’t cash? That’s him.”
“That isn’t the quote at all, Captain, and I’ve never had one complaint lodged against my dick or my ego.” Tejas looked over Maisey’s head at me with a raised brow. “You offering Maisey an alternative?”
Maisey choked and turned a delightful shade of red that made me want to chase the color with fingers and tongue—What the actual fuck?
What was wrong with me tonight?
There’d been a brief period, after Maisey’s mom had died and before I’d graduated high school, where my teen hormones had tempted me to make something more of our friendship.
But that had been a temporary pubescent insanity that had lasted no more than a handful of months, ending abruptly after the one horrible night that had solidified every belief I’d ever had about myself and relationships.
Maisey was my friend.
An attractive, sweet, caring friend.
I wouldn’t ruin twenty years of friendship to appease my dick for a single night.
When neither Maisey nor I responded, Tejas’s smile grew wider. He leaned in, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, and the intimacy of the move made me long to punch him in the face.
“If Romeo won’t man up tonight, Maisey, just remember, my door and my bed are always open to you.”
“Get out of here before I fire your ass,” I snapped.
Tejas’s expression grew smug and knowing as he picked up the pint Dee had slid in front of him and sauntered away.
“You’re taking the protective-best-friend gig too far tonight, Fireball. I can field my own offers,” she said.
“You want forever after, darlin’, and he isn’t someone who’ll give it to you. He’s got years before he settles down.”
I softly rubbed her arm, in way of apology for overstepping, and watched with sick delight as her skin pebbled. The goosebumps were completely at odds with the heat of the room, and the reason for it—the attraction it insinuated—landed yet another fierce blow to my chest. Sharp and fast and brutal.
“Sometimes, while waiting for forever after to finally show up, a woman deserves a fast, fiery moment of passion to tide her over.” Her eyes met mine, and the fire I saw there tore right through me, all the way down to my overactive libido.
I hadn’t seen that look in a long time. Definitely not since she’d come back to Swift Rivers.
The Maisey who’d returned home wore a bit of a mask, giving me a blank face more often than she showed her cards.
She’d earned more scars while away at college, internal ones instead of the almost invisible one that lingered on her jawline, so I hadn’t taken it personally.
But I’d also be kidding if I said I didn’t miss the Maisey who’d once worn her heart on her sleeve.
I tore my gaze from her heated one and ordered more drinks for the group.
I needed to cool off, to cool us both off and put aside this unwelcome barrage of thoughts and feelings.
While I didn’t want to think about Maisey sleeping with anyone, it was obvious I needed to get laid—and soon.
In an effort to clean up my player image with the town’s bigwigs before it prevented me from getting my next promotion, I’d abstained for too long.
That was the problem tonight. It had nothing to do with my friend and everything to do with my dick begging for action.
As the trivia round ended, Maisey slid off her barstool and headed for the restroom.
I kept an eye glued to the hallway she’d disappeared through, waiting to ensure she made it back unmolested.
But when she finally returned, my discomfort only grew as I watched Leon, Tejas, and even a couple of tourists try to make their move on her.
Every time one of them scanned her body in that flirty dress or even smiled at her, the viselike grip on my gut ratcheted tighter.
By the time she made it back to us and Sweeney shot her another flirtatious tease, touching her shoulder as she went by him, I was ready to start a fight. To pound a few faces into the ground.
And I simply didn’t understand it.
Protecting her wasn’t anything new, but what I felt tonight, the uncontrollable anger at any man who even looked at her, was absolutely new. New and uncomfortable.
I needed to get the hell out of here.
When the trivia game ended an hour later, relief coasted over me, even with the men losing. I needed to walk Maisey home, have a long talk with my dick, and get my head on straight.
As Maisey leaned around me to whisper to Fallon, “You owe me. I get naming rights now,” I got another whiff of that uniquely Maisey scent. The normal comfort I got from it was replaced with a different reaction. One I felt all the way down to my balls.
Before Fallon could reply, Parker stood, grabbed his wife off the stool, and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Time I pay my debt, Wife.”
Fallon laughed, pounding him playfully on the ass.
“Have fun, you two,” Sweeney bellowed as they made their way through the crowd to the door.
“And with that sickening display of love, I’m out,” Andie said, gathering her belongings.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Sweeney told her.
“I’ll come with you,” Maisey said. As she reached for her bag, the look of hope that crossed Sweeney’s face had me grinding my teeth.
Two seconds ago, I was ready to duck and run, but now there was no way I was letting her walk out with him. I grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
“Nope. Not leaving yet, darlin’. You owe me one more drink.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t owe you anything.”
“Fair is fair. I asked you to come out first, and you turned me down only to show up for Fallon. You owe me a drink to soothe my hurt feelings.”
“As if that dead muscle in your chest could actually be wounded,” she huffed.
Even though my heart did have a thick layer of scar tissue built up around it, I could tell she immediately felt sorry for saying it.
She’d witnessed firsthand how that stupid muscle had received most of its scars.
Still, I wasn’t above using the guilt against her if it meant I could get her to stay, rather than walking out that door with a man who wanted nothing more than to take her to bed.
“You’ve hit me dead center several times tonight,” I said. “I’m not sure my ego can stand it.”
Seeing our debate was just getting started, Andie and Sweeney waved and made their way out of the bar before Maisey had even realized they’d left.
“Your ego could use a bit of trimming.”
I waggled my brows, lowered my voice, and said, “I promise, there’s nothing on me that needs trimming.”
She flushed, her pale skin turning a fiery red in that delightful way that suddenly tempted me to chase it with fingers and tongue.
“It’s always the ones who talk up their penises who are the biggest disappointment.”
I leaned over the bar, grabbed one of the plastic swords Dee used for cocktails, and plunged it at my heart. Dee growled at me to get my hands off her supplies while Maisey laughed.
The delightful sound was still reverberating through the air when Delilah slid into the stool Fallon had vacated beside me. I barely bit back a groan.
Del’s Saturday night outfit was the complete opposite of the business wear she wore during the week.
The slouchy blue tank put her cleavage on display, tight black shorts barely covered the curve of her ass, and spiked cowboy boots added a few more inches to her height, putting her at nearly six feet.
Her makeup was perfect, if a bit overdone for my taste, and her dark hair, dyed a deep mahogany, was teased and styled to accentuate her best feature—a pair of royal-blue eyes.
She was classically pretty, and once upon a time, I’d fallen for it.
But I wasn’t a thirteen-year-old boy with hormones raging any longer, regardless of the lack of self-control I’d had around Maisey tonight.
Well over a decade had passed since I’d allowed myself to actually date Delilah, but the way she talked and acted, you’d think we’d just broken up last week.
I always handled her cautiously because I’d seen in brutal clarity what my rejection could do to her, which meant I was continually walking a fine line, keeping her at bay while trying not to wound her further.
“If you’d needed a third person for trivia, I would have happily played,” Delilah said, a small pout forming over her heavily glossed lips. “You didn’t need to pull Cornlette from her senior-citizen bedtime.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Maisey stiffen, and when I turned my head slightly, I watched all the lightness disappear from her.
“You know, funnily enough, Delilah,” Maisey replied dryly, “most senior citizens sleep less than the average adult, which means midnight is pretty normal for them. You must have meant to say toddler bedtime. But then again, you were never known for your ability to land an insult.”
My dick went semi-hard all over again. I loved it when Maisey defended herself. The rarity of it happening didn’t make it any less powerful.
Delilah’s mouth popped open before snapping shut again, and I had to fight back my laugh.
Maisey slid off the stool. “And with that, I really will call it a night.”
I reached into my pocket, grabbed some cash, and threw it on the counter to cover our tab. I called after Maisey, “Hold on. I’ll walk you home.”
“I’m good. No need for you to leave.”
As I started after her, Delilah put a hand on my arm, halting me. “Let her go. I have important news to share. News you’ve been waiting for.”
“I’m not letting her walk home alone.”
“What about me? Who’s going to walk me home?”
My stomach clenched, and that line I balanced on warred with me. “I don’t know, Del. Maybe your boyfriend.”
“Carter isn’t my boyfriend. You know that. We just use each other to scratch an itch now and then.”
She paused, as if waiting for a reaction she’d never get from me. I couldn't care less who she scratched her itches with, as long as it wasn’t me.
My eyes were still on Maisey, who was already at the door. I’d have to sprint to catch up with her, but there was no way I was letting her walk home alone in the dark with a few drinks in her and the tourists flooding the streets.
“Daddy is retiring.” Delilah’s words did precisely what she’d hoped, ripping my gaze away from Maisey and back to her.
“What? When?”
She smiled coyly. “Well, that is what I wanted to talk to you about.” She patted the stool I’d vacated. “Come on. I’ll buy you another shot.”
For two seconds, indecision warred. Fire Chief Nattingly's decision to finally step down from his post after nearly four decades was breaking news. It proved at least one of the rumors circulating through the town about the city’s leaders was true.
After decades of service, the chatter was that the chief, mayor, and sheriff might all be ready to pass the baton to the next generation.
I’d been chomping at the bit for this moment to become a reality.
In my eight years with the Swift Rivers Fire Department, I’d earned my bachelor’s and master’s, aced every fire service exam I could, and packed my resume with experience.
I’d put in extra hours with the county fire marshal and even used vacation time to train at the CAL FIRE schools.
I’d done everything I could to prove I wasn’t just hungry for the job, but that I was ready for it.
If it was true, if Nattingly was retiring, sitting next to Delilah might get me information I needed, but it would be at the cost of her thinking she’d gotten her hooks into me, and that wasn’t something I could afford. I’d played that game once and lost. We’d both lost.
When I glanced toward the exit, Maisey had already disappeared. My need to protect her overcame any remaining temptation to stay with Del.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I said, starting for the door again.
“They’re not going to hire you,” she called after me, and her words halted me once more. “And I know why.”
My chest tightened, the alcohol in my stomach turning sour. She would know. Not only because she still lived at home with her parents, but because she had an ear for gossip. An ear and a mouth that could spread news like a wildfire burning through dry brush.
I was also smart enough to know she was using this not just to get me to sit back down, but specifically to keep me from going after Maisey. Delilah’s beef with the Campbell sisters would likely live until she took her last breath.
“I’m not up for your games tonight, Del. If you got news you feel like sharing, I’ll hear about it tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll figure it out myself.”
I didn’t wait for her response. I just jogged through the crowd and onto the street, determined to catch Maisey before she wandered too far on her own.