Ride Me Sweetheart

I’m not.

I don’t care if Heavy has a claim on her. I want her and I’m not going to stop until she belongs to me.

I go in the kitchen and fill up a plate, all while understanding exactly why Red cooked so much now. The men are grabbing the food like they’re a bunch of vultures. I also notice that Red doesn’t even sit with Heavy. She helps get them settled and then slides her very fine ass up on the counter with a small paper plate of chicken and potatoes beside her. I grab two beers and hand her one. Standing beside her.

“Thanks,” she murmurs, opening it and taking a drink and ending it with an “ah” noise.

“I’m not sure I’ve been around a woman who likes beer like you do,” I tell her, trying to pull my gaze away from her throat and how fucking sexy it is.

Who in the hell knew that throats could be sexy on a woman? Sure as hell not me. Although to be fair, I usually stopped looking once I got to the chest area. What can I say? I’m a tit man.

“Then maybe you’ve been around the wrong women,” she says, barely sparing me a glance.

“Probably. So, how serious are things between you and Heavy?”

“Pretty serious, I guess. Why do you ask?”

“You’re not sitting with him,” I point out.

“I don’t have to be up a man’s ass to love him, Stud,” she laughs.

Her words annoy the piss out of me. “You love him?” I laugh.

“You don’t believe in love?” she asks, and I swear her eyes are dancing. She’s enjoying this. She knows I’m dancing on her string and she likes it. Hell, I can’t even pretend I’m not. That’s how bad I want her.

“I believe in lust and instant attraction,” I respond. “I got that for you in spades, Red.”

“Don’t you think a man should sound a tad bit romantic if he’s trying to win a woman over?” she asks, sounding mildly curious.

“I think he should be honest. If you’re looking for flowery words and hearts and candy, I’m never going to be that guy. It’d be bullshit of me to pretend I am just to get between your legs. I am who I am and I’m not about to change now, Red.”

“So, you see me and ten minutes later decide you’re so deep in lust you’re going to lay claim to me? What do I do in this scenario, Stud? Throw everything aside for a chance of having you in my bed? Is your shit going to be so much better than anything another man could offer me that I should just go along for the ride?”

“Pretty much, although ten minutes is probably stretching it. It was more like five,” I tell her, giving her a wink.

That makes her laugh again. Fuck, if I’m not beginning to love the way she laughs.

“Finn, get your ass over here. I want you over here. You need to quit ignoring me. You’re going to hurt my feelings.”

“You look really crushed,” she laughs, leaving me without so much as a backwards glance.

That damn jealousy burns in my gut again. I push my food away in disgust. It’s probably some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life, but Red’s given me damn heartburn.

I want her, but it sure as hell is looking like I’m not going to get my shot at her.

Too bad I can’t accept that.

5

Finley

“You need me, you call me. Got it, Finn?”

“I got it,” I murmur, hugging Larry. He kisses my cheek and ruffles my hair—mostly because he knows I hate it. Larry hates all signs of public displays of affection, so his kiss on my cheek means everything and reminds me how much leaving Sweetheart will hurt.

“We’ll talk soon.”

“Larry—”

“I’ve seen that look in your eye, Finn. I know what you’re thinking—don’t bother lying.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I mutter defensively, when we both know I’m lying out of my ass.

“We’ll talk soon,” he grumps. This time I just nod. I’m going to leave Sweetheart and maybe Colorado altogether. That’s not a talk I look forward to having with him.

“Let’s load em’ boys,” Larry yells, and the guys all call their goodbyes to me. I wave and turn to go back inside when the door is grabbed, preventing me from closing it.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to me?”

“I thought we already did that, Stud,” I murmur, suddenly feeling nervous around him. There’s something reflected in his eyes that has me on edge.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Red. The choice is going to be yours.”

“Keys! You ready or not?” Heavy growls.

“You’re being paged,” I tell him, trying not to laugh.

“This ain’t over.”

“It never began, Stud.”

“See you soon, Red.”

“Damn it, Keys, I’ve got shit to do. Get away from Finn!”