Chapter 4 #2
I damn near choke on my tongue because Jules most definitely didn’t mention this to me.
Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I read a book, but your girl is in a enough of a dry spell that reading about hot sex with a group of pearl-clutching women like Sally actually sounds like a fun time.
Probably why Jules didn’t mention it. She was worried I might agree to attend.
“I’m in. When’s the next meeting?”
“Sunday night at seven. Come through the back door and follow the stairs down to the basement. There’ll be signs.
” I almost snort at the picture that pops into my head—a print-out of an eggplant and an arrow pointing to a pair of devil horns.
“We’ll be picking our next book, so you won’t be behind at all. ”
“Got it. Jules and I will be there. Probably Iris too.”
She nods, then slides her chair back and pretends we weren’t just talking about dirty books. “See you Sunday.”
I head for the door, fighting a smile. Finally, the woman is good for something. Pulling out my phone, I tap Jules’ name.
“Hey, girl. What’s up? How’d the presentation go?”
With a sigh, I run through the horrid meeting, slightly raising my voice to speak above the growl that comes from her end.
“Those old bastards aren’t worth a hill of beans. How they’ve maintained their positions for so long when they can barely wipe their own asses and have to wear adult diapers is a mystery.”
“Yeah, well, all we can do at this point is just hope and pray for the best. But that isn’t why I called.”
“It isn’t?”
I smirk. “Seems someone forgot to tell me about the Dirty Darlings and our open invitation to join them.”
She curses. “That woman really is a cunt, but don’t tell Charlotte I said that. She doesn’t need any more ammo where that woman is concerned.”
My laughter rings out as I head down the street toward the saloon. “I’m just curious why you kept such a juicy secret from me, Jules. I thought we were friends.”
Her scoff rings through the speakers. “You mean like you’re friends with Ridge?”
Rolling my eyes, I pass the diner, slowing when the smell of homemade apple pie hits my nose. At the reminder that I haven’t eaten since dinner last night, my stomach rumbles. “Not this again.”
“When are you gonna invite him to girls’ night? He’s one of us now, so it only seems fair.”
“You are a menace. You know that, right?”
Her giggles force a smile I’m struggling to bury. “Think he’d want to join the book club too?”
I consider it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did, but no, I’m not inviting him to a super secret dirty book club. That’s one boundary that seems like a bad idea to break.
“No. But back to that, guess where we’re going Sunday night?”
She gasps. “You didn’t!”
“I did. We’re draggin’ Iris along to this circus too. Hopefully they’ll have booze.”
“Doubtful if Sally is the one runnin’ it. We’ll just spike our water bottles. They won’t even know.”
“Sounds like a plan. Meet me at the bar at six, and we’ll pregame.”
“Like your style, Bennett. Those ladies won’t know what hit ‘em. See you then!”
Chuckling, I end the call, immediately scrolling to find Iris’ number to give her the news. Before I can click the button, I run face first into a brick wall—if a brick wall had arms, that is. Two massive hands grip my biceps to steady me and save me from fallin’ on my ass.
“Sorry, ma’am. You okay?”
When I finally manage to drag my eyes up, Memphis Young is staring down at me. His bright blue eyes are full of concern, and they widen just as recognition flashes across his face.
“Shay?” His scent has infiltrated my nostrils, a heady dose of apple brandy that makes my mouth water.
I’ve caught hints of it on Ridge from time to time, but I’ve rarely experienced the full, unfiltered power of it. This close, the man is potent.
I’ve heard stories about Memphis Young. This is Darling, after all. The life of any party. Ladies’ man. Respected business owner. He’s someone everyone likes, and even the women who form a line in his wake have nothing but good things to say. That’s odd, in and of itself, right?
“S-sorry, Memphis. I wasn’t watchin’ where I was going. Totally my fault.”
His hands feel like they’re branding me, and his nostrils flare, no doubt picking up on my perfume that’s leaking out like air from a punctured tire.
“Didn’t recognize you for a second there. You look…different.”
His eyes take another leisurely stroll down the length of my body, and I have to fight back the need to step into him and rub myself along the hard ridges of muscles I can see outlined underneath his tight band tee.
Shaking myself out of whatever the hell this is, I take a step back. His hands fall from my skin that’s still tingling from his touch. My eyes hit the ground in a lame attempt to not check out his long, lean legs or the bulge I briefly caught sight of behind his zipper.
I clear my throat. “Had a meeting with the council today and wanted to make sure they took me seriously.”
“How’d that work out for ya?”
The amusement in his tone makes me risk a glance at his face.
His grin has lines appearing at the corners of his eyes—probably because the dude is always smiling—and his normal five o’clock shadow is pretty much a full beard at this point, but it looks damn good on him.
At close to six-and-a-half feet tall, he towers over me, large and looming, which should have the typical annoyance flaring bright and hot, but instead, my instincts are fluttering around in my belly like butterflies.
When I try to pin the damn things to a metaphorical board to get myself back under control, they titter away, making me feel even more off balance.
Rolling my eyes to cover up my insane reaction, I sigh. “It didn’t. But who knows? Maybe the ol’ buzzards will surprise me.”
“We could put in a good word for you. References always help, right?”
He says it so casually, that genuine smile still plastered on his face, and the serious look in his eyes tells me he’s not trying to do anything but be a nice guy.
Why can’t I just accept this? I curse Miles yet again for ruining something that isn’t even a thing to begin with.
My inherent mistrust of Alphas is his fault after all.
What can I say? Torture is a favorite pastime of mine. Apparently, I’m a masochist.
“Ridge offered the same thing, but I really want to do this on my own. Thank you for the offer though.”
He looks like he wants to say something else, but then his gaze drops to the ground and he simply nods before once again meeting my eyes. “No worries. You change your mind, you know where to find us. We’d be happy to help.”
“Thanks,” I murmur, that feeling in my belly picking up strength.
Just when I think I’m about to make a really bad decision and do something really stupid like ask him if he’d like to join me for dinner—because where in the hell did that thought come from?—he pulls his hands out of his pockets and motions toward his truck.
“I should go. Gotta meet Lyon over at Horses for Healing. He’s got a trailer full of goats we’re donating so they can offer goat yoga classes, and he’ll beat my ass if he has to wrangle them all on his own.”
“Oh, that’s awesome. Jules and the guys will appreciate that, I’m sure.”
He lifts his baseball cap, running his hands through the long brown strands of his hair. “It’s for a good cause, what can I say?”
Without thinking, my hand lands on his forearm, and I swear he stops breathing.
His scent, which had been readily flowing around me, suddenly dissipates like someone shut off the tap.
Somehow, he’s managed to shut it down, as if he’s trying to hide something from me, and now that it’s gone, I miss it.
Which is insane. I’ve never spent any time with the guy—he’s not and can never be mine—so why do I feel so forlorn?
“Y’all are amazing for helping them. Seriously.”
His stare feels like it’s penetrating every barrier I have except the one between my legs that would really appreciate a little penetration right about now.
The silence goes on for so long that it isn’t until a bell chimes somewhere down the street that I realize how close we’ve gotten. I jump back like I just got zapped with a hefty dose of electricity—though, to be fair, the shock of the situation does have my heart pumping erratically.
“I gotta get to work. See you later.”
I rush past him, not daring to look behind me to see if that was as embarrassing as I’m damn well sure it was.
What the actual fuck were you thinking, Shay?
Clearly, I’m frazzled from all of the excitement this afternoon, and my brain is malfunctioning.
Just need to change out of these clothes, get some food in my belly, and put the safety of the bar between me and anyone that crosses my path.
Then the world will realign itself and my hormones will once again be in check.
Simple.
Easy.
No problem at all.