Double Inferno (The Sinful 7 of Delite, Texas 2)

“That’s kind of hypocritical isn’t it, Matt? The fact that a woman may have a lot of sex doesn’t make her a whore.”

“Who the hell are you kidding? That’s not what I meant and you know it. We’ve thought about the perfect woman and partner for us. We’ve thought about settling down and what kind of woman it would take.”

“And you seriously think it’s Paula? Did you see her flinch when you reached for her? Have you been reading her body language at all? All these years living this kind of lifestyle and you can’t see that she’s been hurt before? Look at the signs, will you, Matt? She can’t handle what we truly desire. Sure, she’s incredibly good-looking and has the body of a porn star and a face like an angel, but she’s scared.”

Matt stared at him. “I haven’t been blind to what’s there and what her body language and facial expressions show. I like the fact that she’s innocent and not experienced. What dominant man wouldn’t want a woman like her? I can’t get her out of my mind, and right there is a first. I’m willing to be patient with her and help her get over any past fears.”

They entered their house and walked into the large industrial kitchen. Tyler pulled out two bottles of beer and passed one to Matt.

“With a body like hers, of course you can’t get her out of your mind. Call Sylvia or Cindy and get those sensations out of your system.” Tyler took a slug of beer. He looked sour to Matt.

“You’re such an asshole sometimes.” Matt stood up, beginning to pace. “You have been fighting your attraction to Paula for months, and I want to know why.”

“I’m too old for her. She deserves a younger man who can g

ive her whatever sweet fantasies of walks in the park and dates to the movies that I’m not interested in.”

“How the hell do you know that she wants those things? And you are not too old. You’re fucking thirty-one.”

Tyler was silent a moment and Matt just stared at him.

“I’ve done a lot of shit in my life, Matt. The war, being a soldier, took a lot out of me, and what I have to offer a woman isn’t going to be good enough for Paula. You’re the one with patience, not me.”

“You survived the war and you survived returning to being a civilian just like I did.”

“I’ve submerged myself in work as an arson investigator and fire inspector for Delite. At the end of the day, I feel spent.”

“You’ve been working hard just like I’ve been with the construction business. That’s why we find our release through taking control in the bedroom, since we don’t feel in control of any other part of our lives. It’s our therapy from what we experienced in the war and the horrors we witnessed.”

Tyler licked his lips then took another slug of beer. He stared at Matt over the long neck of the bottle.

“I don’t want to hurt her.”

Matt took a deep breath and released it.

“Let’s just see what happens. Don’t be so close-minded when it comes to her. I’m worried about Paula and about these guys that keep trying things.”

“I’m worried about her, too. We’ll keep an eye on her.”

Chapter 3

It was Thursday night, ladies’ night at Dixie Chix, and Elise was monitoring the electric bull along with Ben. He was the technical person who ran the bull and made sure that Quinn, his cousin, knew when to stop it and when to make it go faster. So far no female seemed up to the challenge to give the electric bull a ride. The DJ tried to entice them and get more people to come over from the bar nearby.

Elise shook her head at Ben as Gus, the DJ, spoke. “Come on now, ladies, one of y’all women better get on up there and ride that beast. We’re giving away cash prizes tonight for the best times on the electric bull.” To Elise it looked like someone might jump in to give it a try.

“Y’all need a little demonstration?” Gus called out, and the small crowd beginning to form started cheering. Elise immediately noticed some blonde woman standing between Deputies Tommy and Vic Ollsen, who happened to be there tonight off duty. Boy, do they look delicious, she thought as she watched carefully. The blonde had a few friends with her and they were egging her on to give the bull a try. Elise watched. Those women were a wild bunch. She’d seen them here every Thursday night, and they always left with cowboys, and not the same ones, either. She couldn’t help but wonder if the Ollsen brothers were interested in that type of woman. Whatever, she thought as she watched the blonde make her way onto the mats and the bull.

“We’ve got ourselves a courageous female. Come on up, honey, and give it a try.” The crowd roared with encouragement as Ben explained how to ride and what to do.

“You watch me now. I’m gonna show y’all how to ride a bull really well.” She wiggled her ass at the crowd. The men roared and Elise laughed.

“Whoo hoo, we got ourselves a real sexy rider, fellas. You might want to come on over and see this,” Gus stated on the mike, and of course more people came over. There was a nice crowd as the blonde got onto the saddle and grabbed hold. The contraption slowly began to move and the blonde nearly slipped off.

“Now hold on nice and tight, honey, and feel that bull between your legs,” Gus fed the crowd, and they went crazy. Elise knew that they needed to get more people to ride the bull. They were hosting a riding challenge in two weeks, but they really needed to promote the bull riding or it would start costing them money.

Quinn increased the speed just a hair, and suddenly the blonde began to move around a little wildly before the bull turned the other way then caused her to fall off.

The crowd cheered, but the blonde wasn’t very happy.