Owen
Iregistered Lila’s presence the moment I walked into the bar. Keeping my eyes off her while she laughed and joked with her friends was pure torture.
For two days, I’d been out in the woods with Gus and Jude, driving between camps, taking inventory of what we had, and making plans to close out our last orders.
My dad had been arrested more than a year and a half ago, and despite the fallout, Gus had kept our customers happy and the trucks on the road. I knew this was bittersweet for him.
Our new lawyers were burying us in document requests and scheduled virtual meetings almost daily to discuss projections, and Lila had handled everything with ease. God, she was going to kick ass in graduate school.
She had the makings of an incredible leader. I’d be shocked if she wasn’t running a major foundation in five years.
And she looked so pretty in the booth. Her hair was down and her eyes were sparkling as she laughed on the other side of the crowded bar. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to my cabin so I could ravage her.
But I was here for Jude tonight.
Generally, I avoided the Moose, since it was busy and loud and filled with people who didn’t like me. Plus, I should be working. But it had been years since I’d seen Jude play.
He’d always loved music. Mom had bought him his first guitar from a second-hand shop in Bangor when he was seven, and he’d quickly taught himself just about all he needed to know.
If things had been different, if there had been money or opportunity, and if he’d been interested, he could have studied music, and maybe he could have made a go of things professionally.
He’d never publicly considered it, but he wasn’t the kind to ruffle feathers or push too hard against either of our parents’ wishes.
Like Gus, he’d earned all his licenses and certifications quickly and had come back to work for Dad.
He never stopped playing guitar, though. Noah used to talk about the songs he wrote, but he was the only one who’d ever heard them.
A few years ago, Jude had started playing with a local band, fronted by Jasper Hawkins, a full-time lumberjack and part-time small-town rock star. My mom had pushed Jude to officially join the band, but he insisted on only filling in on occasion.
But he was slowly coming out of his shell, and tonight, he was playing lead guitar for the first time. According to Gus, Jude still wasn’t sharing any songs he’d written, but it was a start.
After years of never showing up for my brothers, I hoped I could make up for lost time.
At least while I was here. So I was nursing a beer and doing my best to ignore scrutinizing looks from folks I hadn’t seen in decades.
Thankfully, I was decent at pool, which was a good distraction.
And it was the one activity where Gus wouldn’t mop the floor with me.
Eventually, every person in the place had gotten into the music, which was a mix of indie and country covers with a few originals mixed in.
These guys were really good. And shit, my brother was talented.
He barely even looked out at the crowd, instead putting every ounce of focus into what he was doing, playing with his entire body as the music flowed through him.
I was bursting with pride. I was caught up in it when Gus elbowed me and handed me another beer.
“Good, ayuh?” He lifted his chin, gesturing to our little brother.
I nodded. “How did he get this good?”
He shrugged. “Beats me. The kid works hard and spends most of his time wandering around the woods with his dog, but this is his true love. I can feel it.”
On the other side of the dance floor, a tall, willowy woman with thick bangs and a hipster vibe had her hands clasped in front of her and was focused intently on Jude.
“He’s got fans,” I said to Gus.
“Don’t know her.” He took a long pull of his beer and nodded at the redhead who’d come up to talk to my brothers. “Think she’s friends with Liv. There are a lot of them. Every time he plays here, the women line up. It’s the quiet ones, you know?”
I turned, needing another hit of Lila, but her seat was empty. A sadness far too acute for the situation hit me. More than anything, I wished she’d walk over here and kiss me in front of the whole bar. Claim me the way I wanted to claim her. This sneaking around shit was getting old.
Frustration had just pushed aside the sadness when there was a tap on my shoulder.
One glance back, and all those negative emotions dissipated. She was standing behind me wearing an innocent smile.
I wanted to reach out and pull her in close and press my lips to hers, but I gripped my beer bottle instead, squeezing so hard I worried it would explode in my hand.
“L-Lila,” I choked out over the music.
She wedged herself in front of me, boxing out the redheaded woman friend of the Gagnons.
My heart flipped over in my chest at her proximity. We were in public, yet she was standing so close I could feel her warmth. Huh.
“The band is great,” she said, already swaying to the music. “I love Zach Bryan.”
We stood facing each other awkwardly for a few moments before she stood up on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear. “A flannel shirt? Are you trying to kill me?”
I snorted, and when she dropped back to the balls of her feet, I gave her a wink. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with the boys out in the woods. I’m embracing my inner lumberjack.”
I’d ordered a dozen online last week after she’d made an offhand comment about how I’d look hot in one, but she didn’t need to know that.
Her eyes were dancing, even as she rolled them at me. “Not fair.”
I chuckled to myself. Hell no, I wasn’t playing fair. She should know that by now. I knew what I wanted, and I’d do what I could to get it. I wanted her to be mine. Now and always. Officially and publicly. So if I had to grow out my beard and embrace the flannel, then so be it.
When the band took a break, she gave me a pointed look, then sauntered toward the back door. Halfway there, she peeked over her shoulder and winked.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the screen, like I’d gotten a call I needed to answer, then made my way through the crowd, heading out the front.
Once I hit the sidewalk, I rounded the large building.
The parking lot was down the hill and well lit, but this side of the bar backed up against the forest.
“This isn’t sketchy at all,” I said, striding right up to her. “You miss me?”
In response to my question, she splayed her hands on either side of my face and pulled my face down to kiss the hell out of me.
I braced one hand against the side of the building and let her go wild.
God, I’d missed her. We’d texted and spoken on the phone, but the relief of being able to touch her was palpable.
She gripped my hair as she slid her tongue into my mouth, and I temporarily forgot that we were making out like teenagers behind a dive bar off Highway 16.
I pulled back. “Good to see you too.”
“You’re an asshole. Coming in here, looking like that,” she teased, pulling her lip between her teeth. “How am I supposed to keep my panties on?”
Desire stirred inside me as I zeroed in on her mouth. Damn, I loved her sass, and I loved that she was comfortable enough to be her true self when she was with me.
“I still have beard burn everywhere,” she said.
I squeezed her ass hard. “Good. Evidence that I did my job.” I bit down on her earlobe.
She arched her back and my mind was flooded with the need to taste her. Right here and now.
“Were you trying to make me jealous?” She moaned.
My laugh bounced off the wall behind her. “Jealous? Because I came to a bar and drank a beer while my brother played music?”
“You were flirting with those women.” Her tone was light, but she couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes.
I shook my head. “I exchanged pleasantries with a few members of the opposite sex. Hardly flirting. But,” I bent down and kissed her neck, “jealousy looks good on you. I think I like you like this.”
She pushed me back. “Really? Angry and horny?”
“Oh yes. I love it.” And I had the hard dick to prove it.
I picked her up and pushed her against the wall, relishing the way she wrapped her legs around my waist. God, I could get lost in her all night.
She let out a needy whimper that shot straight to my cock. Shit, I needed to get myself under control.
I put her down gently and smoothed my hands down her arms. “I’m not fucking you next to a dumpster outside the Moose.”
She glared up at me. “Then take me home and fuck me.”
Jesus. That sounded good. No, perfect. I would trade a kidney if it meant she’d say that to me every single night.
But… “I’m here to support Jude,” I said. “And my brothers. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with them.”
I dug my keys out of my pocket and slid the one to the cabin off the ring.
“I’m going to stay for the next set. Go to my cabin. Take a bubble bath, have a glass of wine, and wait for me.”
She nodded and took the key. “Okay. Stay as long as you want. It’s important.”
The smile she gave me was genuine, but disappointment flashed in her eyes.
“When the band wraps up, I’m out of here. And then you’re all mine for the entire night.” I gave her ass a hard squeeze. “Rest up now. If you’re a good girl and listen, I’ll make you come at least ten times.”