Hold Me Close (Bridgewater County 4)

“Yeah,” Ethan said slowly, his voice soothing. “But it didn’t look like you were having a good time.”

“How would you know?” Her eyes narrowed as her gaze moved from Ethan to me, suspicion written all over her face. “Were you watching me?”

She asked the last of me, not Ethan. I was the one she was suspicious of. Hell, every time she looked at me, she had this wariness in her eyes, as if she was afraid I was going to mock her or say something cruel. And every time I saw that wariness, my gut twisted in pain.

How the hell could I get her to see I’d been trying to protect her at the rodeo? I’d never hurt her intentionally. I’d never make fun of her. I couldn’t find the words. Everything in me wanted to go to her, crush her to me and claim her lips in a searing kiss. I’d always been better at showing than telling. Maybe I could have done some sort of epic gesture if I hadn’t fucked things up so badly two months ago. Instead, I shoved my hands in my pockets and answered honestly. “Ethan and I just came here for a beer. We didn’t know you’d be here, but we spotted you from across the bar.”

Ethan hurried to take over, probably afraid I’d lose my temper once I started talking about that dip shit Bob. “We saw you on your date and weren’t going to intrude, but it seemed like you were…uncomfortable.”

Her reaction was interesting. She flinched, like Ethan had just insulted her.

“I—I wasn’t uncomfortable.” Her protest didn’t convince anyone and she looked down at her shoes as she fidgeted with her keys. Ironically, at that moment she looked extremely uncomfortable and yet we weren’t fondling her knee under the damn table.

I took a step forward. “We were just looking out for you.”

Her head snapped up and she straightened her shoulders. Her eyes blazed. “I don’t need your protection. I’m not a child and I can make my own decisions.”

Ethan glanced at me with a question in his eyes. He was thinking the same thing I was. This wasn’t just about Bob. She wasn’t pissed we’d interrupted her date. That last comment had been aimed at me, a clear reminder of what I’d said and done at the rodeo when I’d told her she was out of her league.

Shit, would I ever live that down?

“Look,” I said. “I’m sorry if we overstepped our boundaries—”

“I know you two are my bosses,” she interrupted, holding up her hand. “But you can’t tell me what to do outside the office.”

“No one is trying to tell you what to do,” Ethan said. His voice was calming, even to me. He’d always been better at being the hero. He took another step closer and I watched as she backed away slightly.

Huh. I’d thought she liked Ethan, but she seemed wary of him, too.

“But,” Ethan continued. “If we see anyone—at work or not—who won’t take no for an answer, you better believe we’re going to get involved.”

Her mouth opened like she might protest, but she shut it just as quickly, confusion warring with her earlier anger. “You don’t have to do that. I can handle myself.”

“We know you can, baby,” I said. She turned those big hazel eyes up to me and I nearly lost my train of thought. “But you shouldn’t have to.”

She seemed taken aback by that and I found myself getting angry all over again, but this time at the nameless assholes she’d dated in the past. She shouldn’t be this confused or surprised to have men looking out for her and standing up on her behalf. Who’d hurt her so badly?

“I don’t need anyone looking out for me.” Her voice had lost its anger and she sounded like she was talking more to herself than to us.

Ethan surprised me by moving closer to Rachel. He reached out and gently tilted her chin up so she had to look at him. His voice deepened and there could be no doubting the sincerity in his tone. “You don’t need it, but you deserve it. If you were ours, our top priority would be keeping you safe. Making sure you were taken care of.”

Her eyes widened and I found myself holding my breath. He’d taken a risk laying it out there like that.

“What do you mean, if I was yours?” But even as the words came out of her mouth, I saw understanding dawn in her eyes. Ethan must have seen it too because his grin was cocky as hell.

Well, damn. Ethan got game.

Of course, she knew what he meant. Rachel had been born and raised in Bridgewater. Emmy had two husbands and I heard her other siblings did, too. She knew our ways and she knew exactly what it meant to belong to two men. She hadn’t expected it from us, but she liked it.

The heat in her gaze was fleeting but it had been there, just like back at the rodeo when I’d talked about giving her a spanking. I would bet my truck that she’d had a mental image of what it would be like to be with the two of us. Judging by the flush in her cheeks, she was picturing how it could be right now.

Well, all right. Now we were getting somewhere.

But then her eyes widened and she took a step back from Ethan, her eyes darting over to me with something close to panic.

“But I don’t,” she said quickly, her hands fumbling with the keys. “I don’t belong to you. So stay out of my business.”

Ethan and I watched her get into her car and waited until she drove off.