He skillfully waited for her body to soften against his before he pressed her harder against the wall as he lured her into responding to him. His hand went to her gown, tugging it downward so his fingers could find a nipple, brushing it with the tips of his fingers, teasing it with soft touches.
A tell-tale soft whimper passed her lips, and his mouth left hers to trace the line of her jaw until he felt her abruptly stiffen as she pushed herself away from him.
“Don’t try to freakin’ seduce me when you smell like another woman.”
“If I was trying to seduce you, you would be lying on the bed, and I would be fucking you by now,” Cash snapped back.
“Get out!”
“I’m going. I think I made my point.”
“The only point you made is that you’re good at playing with a woman’s body. You should be; you have enough experience,” she bitterly remarked.
“Experience I plan to use until you’re underneath me again. I’m giving you fair warning, Rachel; I’m done trying to make up for embarrassing you. It’s time to move on. I’ve got a news flash for you: most of those people sitting in church next to you do engage in sexual activities.” His voice dropped to a seductive whisper. “They may even enjoy fucking as much as I do.”
While she gaped at him, Cash couldn’t resist smiling at her expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy on you until you can accept we’re together.”
“We’ll be together over my dead body. My brothers will kick your ass.”
Cash had a sudden idea that could save him a lot of aggravation. It wasn’t the brightest idea he had ever had, but he was willing to do anything to reach the stubborn woman staring up at him defiantly.
“If I can get your brothers’ permission to date you, will you go out with me?”
She laughed in his face. “If you can get my brothers’ permission for me to go out with you, then yes, I’ll go out with you.” She kept laughing at him unwisely. “Hell, Cash, I’ll even give you a blowjob to top the night off.”
“Really?” Cash gave her a sinister smile, which she failed to recognize.
“Really,” she mocked.
“Goodnight, then. If I’m going to be dealing with your brothers, I’m going to need my rest.”
“If you’re going to be dealing with my brothers, you’re going to be needing a bulletproof vest.”
Cash opened the door, pausing before he left. “Don’t forget, I was in the military. I’ve dealt with terrorists, sneak attacks, and snipers. I have all the skills I need to deal with your brothers.”
“If you’ve got a death wish, I can’t stop you.”
“I’ve handled worse. They’ll be a piece of cake.” Cash went out the bedroom door, laughing softly when it slammed behind him. He loved riling her temper.
He whistled all the way to his bedroom, stripping off his clothes before stepping naked into the shower, washing the bar whore’s scent off his skin. Drying off, he lay down naked on his bed.
Rachel thought he was joking. She would find out just how serious he was when she was planting her ass on the back of his bike. He was willing to put up with her brothers long enough to get their permission. Hell, her promise was enough to put up with a lot of shit. How bad could it be?
Chapter 18
It was bad, really bad. Cash wanted to kick the Porters’ asses so bad he was ready to do a stint in the jailhouse just for the pleasure of doing it.
The brothers had been sitting in Rosie’s, having a beer, when he had gone in with Shade. He had psyched himself up to walk over to their table to greet them. Their hate-filled expressions and lack of response had him gritting his teeth, though. He felt the silent amusement of Shade by his side.
“Mind if we join you?” Silence met Shade’s request.
They didn’t wait for acquiescence, both of them taking a seat at the table. The brothers might hate Cash, but Shade was a regular customer and he would be harder to piss off.
The men looked like the beer in their stomachs was turning sour as Cash and Shade both ordered their drinks.
“What do you want, Cash?” Tate didn’t hesitate to bring out in the open why Cash would be willing to sit down at the table with them.
He decided to be honest with the Porters. He wanted a relationship with Rachel, and to accomplish that goal, he was going to have to get along with these three yahoos.
“We need to come to an understanding and cut out this bullshit between us.”
“Why? It works for us.” An evil grin came to Tate’s face. “This has to do with Rachel, doesn’t it?”
The smug bastard was going to be picking his teeth up off the floor if he wasn’t careful.
“Why does his talking to us have anything to do with Rachel?” Dustin confirmed Cash’s opinion that he was the slowest of the group. His two older brothers rolled their eyes at the question. Realization slowly hit Rachel’s youngest brother. “Hell, no.” Dustin’s reaction mirrored his brothers’.
“We can keep fighting between us and we’ll all lose Rachel, or we can pretend to get along and keep Rachel in Treepoint; it’s up to you. I’m willing to tolerate you three for Rachel.”
Without another word, the three brothers got up from the table, leaving him and Shade staring at their backs as they left the bar.
“That went well,” Cash said drily.
“Did you expect any different? You four have spent years pissing each other off. It’s going to take more than a meet to change that.”
Cash studied Shade speculatively. “I gave Lily my vote for your marker.”
Shade’s amusement died. “Yes, you did. So?”
“I want your help to bring those assholes around,” Cash laid out his terms.
“I promised you my marker, not a fucking miracle.”
“Shade, you’re the most manipulative bastard I know. If anyone can get those assholes to tolerate me, it’s you. Can you think of a bigger challenge for your skills?”
“Actually, no.”
* * *
Rachel opened the door to Pastor Patterson and his wife.
“Good morning, Rachel.” Pastor Merrick led Brooke inside the small house. Rachel closed the door behind them; she had dreaded this day.
Once a month, the pastor visited Mag. He ritualistically visited all his homebound parishioners to talk and pray with them.
Rachel led them into the kitchen where she had already prepared sandwiches and ice tea for them.
“Afternoon, Pastor.” Mag’s jovial greeting lightened the atmosphere as Brooke’s superior gaze lit on the simple food.
“Good afternoon, Mag. How are you feeling?”
“Right as I can be.”
Rachel had to keep her temper under control at Brooke’s slight wince.
They sat at the table, the pastor graciously eating a few of the sandwiches while Brooke refused. To give Mag credit, she ignored the cold reception of Brooke, concentrating her attention on the pastor.
“May I use the restroom?” Brooke interrupted the conversation.
“It’s around the corner. The door’s open,” Mag directed her.
Brooke rose from the table and the conversation resumed. Rachel enjoyed listening to Pastor Merrick discuss the Bible so much she became lost in the conversation. It took several minutes for her to realize that Brooke had not returned to the table. She was about to go check on her when she returned, retaking her seat.
Rachel took another sandwich and had just taken a bite of the roasted chicken salad when the front door opened and Cash walked into the kitchen. He was shirtless and his jeans clung low on his lean hips. Why was he showing so much flesh when the weather outside was frigid?
While Rachel almost choked on her sandwich at his appearance, Brooke’s veiled eyes did little to hide her appreciation of his masculine appeal.
Mag introduced the Pastor and Brooke.
“Want to join us?” Mag invited.
Rachel expected him to refuse and had to hide her surprise when
he accepted.
“Let me get cleaned up; I’ve been working on my truck.”
Cash left, returning within minutes, freshly showered and having changed his clothes. He sat down next to her, grabbing several sandwiches and pouring himself a glass of tea.
“You don’t attend church, Cash?” Brooke spoke for the first time, actually trying to participate in the conversation.
“Afraid not. It’s still standing, isn’t it? I would hate for the pastor to have to rebuild just because I walked through the door,” Cash joked.