Chapter 3
— Scout —
Lord, fuck me to tears, that woman was something else. The breathy words she whispered against my ear sent goosebumps skating across my shoulder blades. When she pulled back, and her dazzling green eyes met mine again, something stirred within me.
Like a black hole opening unexpectedly and sucking everything in close proximity into the void without rhyme or reason, Remmy Adams—C.E.O. of I don’t give a fuck—had unwittingly and wholeheartedly lured me into her orbit. She was stunning from where I stood next to the altar, but up close she was devastatingly breathtaking. My perusal over her body as I walked past her in the aisle had turned into an all-out eye-fuck, and when her eyes connected with mine and held… that moment ruined me.
Now, standing with my hand still glued to her hip and the sun radiating off her bronzed skin, I barely resisted running my nose up the side of her neck to see if she shivered when I licked the sensitive point just below her ear. As it was, her perfume hanging in the air was enough to scatter my thoughts. So far, she was a cliché. Mysteriously sexy yet blunt with a certain challenge in her assertive gaze.
Lucky for me, I thrived on a challenge, and she just became my latest.
I had to hand it to her brother—he was a smart guy. He excused himself without a word and left me to be fed to the wolves by his sister. I made a mental note to catch up with him later. For the moment, my full attention rested solely on Remmy. There was something exotic about her. Forbidden. From the long dark sheet of her glossy hair gently playing on the breeze to her blood-red lips, over the dark brown and black leopard print dress that hugged her curves, to her perfectly manicured toenails, she definitely gave fuck with me and pay the price vibes.
My voice came low and gritty, giving away how much she affected me. “Cheating wouldn’t do, would it, honey?”
Her sharp inhale inflated her chest, and I swear she leaned a little closer. “Absolutely not. It would take away all my fun.”
The sultry reply, complete with her eyelids growing heavier, sent a bolt of arousal to my dick. At least it had taken my mind off my aching elbow, but sporting a semi wasn’t my idea of keeping a low profile. The whole world already knew I’d been benched due to an injury—I sure as fuck didn’t need ‘erection-gate’ hitting the media.
In the background, there was a call for the family photos, and Remmy took a step away, breaking both our connection and standoff. “That’s my call.”
“Wait.” My left hand gently snagged her wrist. “You’re family?”
A frown puckered her eyebrows. “Yeah. Why?”
“Beckett’s or Mercedes’?” Remmy definitely didn’t grow up with us in the Falls. I’d remember her.
“Mercedes is my cousin, but me and Bastian grew up in Portland,” she explained.
My brows shot high. “Portland?” What were the chances?
“Yeah.” Remmy winked before turning on her high heels and sauntering toward her gathering family.
I plucked a champagne flute off the table and tipped it to my lips while studying the seductive sway of Remmy’s ass. What I wouldn’t give to run my hands over those curves…
Her familiarity had me perplexed. If she still lived in Portland, that was probably where I’d seen her before, though I couldn’t place exactly where.
Playing it cool on the outside while my mind raced, I rejoined the groomsmen and shot the shit while the photographer wrangled the family into a group. From the fringes, I kept one eye on Remmy and one ear on the conversations around me. Before long, it was the bridal party’s turn for photos on the field beyond the floral archway where Beck and Merce tied the knot.
After wrangling all sixteen of us into various poses and formations, the photographer dismissed the bridal party and went off with just Beckett and Mercedes. It was while I was chatting to a rancher called Jake that a full-bodied laugh rose through the chatter. Not the fake kind either. It was the type of laughter that drew attention and created smiles upon the faces of whoever had heard it.
And fuck me if my heart didn’t miss a beat when I zeroed in on the woman it came from. Remmy goddamn Adams.
“That bird’s gonna ruin you, brother,” Jake drawled with a nod in her direction.
I scoffed. “Can’t ruin what she doesn’t have, dude.”
A low, rolling chuckle flowed from the tough rancher’s mouth. “Considering she’s already got your balls in that itty-bitty purse of hers, I’d put a month’s wages on her having your ass by midnight.”
“And if I was a betting on a woman kind of man , I would double you.”
Jake eyed Remmy through the crowd. “Women like that are hardened, brother. I don’t need nobody tellin’ me she’s got street smarts; you can tell just by lookin’ at ’er.”
I squinted in consideration from behind my sunglasses. “How exactly?”
He hummed. “Nothin’ outright or physical… it’s just somethin’ in the way she holds herself.”
“Speaking from personal experience, I’m assuming?”
The big Black dude smirked. “Somethin’ like that, baseball hotshot.”
I shook my head, though not offended. “Here I’m not.”
Jake grinned a grin that told me he understood. “And here I’m not a felon that’s done time.”
Raising my next beverage, a beer, I tapped it against his. “Amen to that, bro.”
“Ain’t nothin’ sweeter,” he murmured before taking a long swig. “Speakin’ of sweet…” he added when the bridesmaid I was paired with hurried in our direction.
“Scout, come over, we’re all going to the photo booth for candids.”
“Sounds fun, Ella.” I nodded my farewell to Jake, then tucked against Ella’s side when she linked arms with me.
“What type of candids are we talkin’ about here?” I asked, strolling slowly in step with her so she wouldn’t rush in her high heels.
“With props and a Polaroid camera. We’re gonna get some funny ones for Beck and Merce’s memory book.”
Sure enough, the wedding party drew a crowd once we’d paired up in front of the backdrop, sporting a random assortment of glasses, hats, signs, and beverages.
I had Ella’s calf held at my hip where she’d wrapped her leg around me when my gaze snagged with Remmy’s. I felt my laughter falter and the urge to hurl Ella twenty yards across the lawn. Instead, I smirked and lifted her leg a little higher. Once the last photo had been taken, I shifted to the side to watch other guests take their selfies and fun photos.
Within a minute, a wash of perfume I’d recognize anywhere caught on the breeze. I felt her at my side before she spoke.
“Figured it out yet?”
I chuckled and tilted my head closer, still watching the guests taking candids. “I’m not normally this slow.”
Remmy laughed lightly. “I don’t believe you. Besides, I’m not normally this patient.”
A low snicker left my smirk. “Now that, I do believe. G’me a hint, Remmy.” I briefly touched her shoulder and enjoyed the nervous press of her lips before she let free a mega-watt smile.
“Not in a million years.”
“Hundred bucks per hint.”
She scoffed. “Trust me, I don’t need or want your money.”
“Fair. You’re an independent woman—good thing, not bad,” I added. “Name your price. I’m open to anything from coffee to sexual favors.”
Her green eyes flared, then she graced me with a front row ticket to the laugh that had captivated me from across the lawn earlier.
She set a hand on my bicep, friendly yet intimate. “Sexual favors are meant to be for my benefit, not yours.”
I grinned from ear to ear and rocked back on my heels. “I can assure you, it would be a mutually beneficial exchange.”
“I don’t expect anything less.” Despite the heat in her gaze, she added, “But we’ll see—your hands appear full with your bridesmaid.”
A chuckle escaped as I took a sip of beer. “She’s a wild one, that’s for sure.”
“She is. Have fun with that.”
I snagged Remmy’s inner elbow as she stepped off to leave. “Where are you going?”
“To socialize.”
The smallest of tugs brought her closer again. “You’re avoiding the issue at hand.”
Her face became a picture of innocence, complete with batting eyelashes, and goddamn if my chest didn’t react. “What’s the issue, Ace?”
“I want a hint,” I demanded gruffly.
She looked up at me from under those long lashes, purposely toying with me. “You can’t always get what you want.” With a departing smirk, she tugged out of my grasp and sauntered away for the second time that afternoon.
“I’m gonna figure this out, Remmy,” I called to her departing back.
Soul-boosting laughter flowed over her shoulder. “Good luck with that.”