Before Asher could make another move, Greer was there, jerking Asher away from Tate and Sutton. It took two seconds before the men began laying into each other. At the same time, Asher had gathered enough air in his oxygen-deprived lungs to come back for more. The two men fell onto the table next to the bar, knocking the customers and drinks out of the way.
Tate felt Asher land a lucky punch on his eye before he could put him in a stranglehold.
“That’s enough!” Mick yelled out, coming from behind the counter.
A couple of The Last Riders pulled Greer off Holt, who was steadily gaining momentum and was threatening to twist Greer’s arm off. Greer swung his arm back, trying to knock Rider off him.
“I’m trying to help your drunk ass.” Rider barely managed to let go of Greer before he succeeded in hitting him.
“I don’t need your help.”
“That isn’t what it looked like to me,” Rider mocked Greer, angering Tate.
“We can handle this ourselves.” Tate kicked Asher in the balls, forcing him to his knees.
“No skin off my nose. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight tonight, anyway.” Rider and Train moved away, leaving them alone to deal with the Hayeses.
Tate reached down, jerking Asher’s head up with his hand in his hair. “I’m getting tired of you two fucking with us. Do it again and Jessie is going to be looking for your bodies for the rest of her life.”
Holt wiped the blood from his mouth with his hand. “Big talk from a man who hid behind a woman to keep from going to jail.”
Tate went for him, but stopped when Sutton tugged on his T-shirt. “I’m ready to go home.”
Tate stopped, seeing the concern she didn’t try to hide. He turned back to Holt. “Next time,” he promised.
“I’m shitting my pants,” Holt mocked.
Tate waited until Greer found Diane so they could leave together. Diane got behind the wheel of Greer’s truck after he climbed in.
His brother hung out the window as he said, “We whipped their asses.”
“Drive him into town with you, Diane, and keep him overnight. He’ll wake Logan up going into the house.”
She gave him a seductive smile. “You two want to come and have a drink at my place?”
“We’ll pass.” Sutton tugged him away from the truck.
“I wasn’t going to accept,” Tate said as they watched Greer’s truck pull onto the road. “Who were you trying to get away from?”
“It was a tie,” Sutton answered as he opened the truck door.
He climbed in the truck, taking her hand back in his and linking their fingers together. He tugged her closer until she sat next to him. Then Tate drove out of the parking lot, but instead of turning in the direction of home, he made a right, turning back toward town.
“Where are we going now?”
“I thought we would take a detour before going home.”
She started giggling when he made a left a mile down the road.
He expertly guided the truck up the mountain until they reached the top. Tate parked the truck, looking out over the mountains.
“I haven’t been up here in years.” He shifted until he could look at her. “Not since I was here with you. I remember coming up here after we went to Rosie’s. Every time we came, I hoped to get past first base with you.”
Sutton reached out, unbuttoning his shirt. “Get ready. You’re about to hit a homerun.”
Chapter 21
Sutton smoothed her hands over Tate’s chest. God, she loved touching him. Every touch reminded her she was with him, that it wasn’t a dream.
She placed a kiss at the base of his throat, her tongue exploring the salty taste of him. “When you used to touch me, it was everything I could do not to give in to you. Now I can’t imagine not having you inside me.”
His hand went to the hem of her dress, shoving it out of the way before sliding his hand up her thigh and going to her pussy. “If I could go back in time, I would beat the shit out of Cash and drag you into my truck. You would have broken and told me the truth. You never could hold back with me.”
“That isn’t true. I didn’t have sex with you.”
“Only because I didn’t push you.”
Sutton had to admit to the truth in that statement. Tate had always let her make up her own mind.
A tear ran down her cheek at the thought. He had set an example for what she should have seen was a flaw in Scott’s behavior before they were married. It always had to be Scott’s way. Even when they were picking out the decorations for their wedding, he had done the choosing. She had ignored the warning signs and had paid the price, and so had Valentine. That was what she had found was the hardest to deal with.