Rain (Gimme 3)

I straighten myself, set my beer on the table, and move toward them with determination. There’s nothing going to stop me. Not even common sense comes into play. I haven’t even spoken to her. She could be everything that I find annoying or be no brighter than a rock, but damn my heart is doing the jig. Did you ever feel the air in the room change because someone walked in? I’m not talking about the smell, but the thickness, the energy shift.

My body aches to know hers, and my mind wants to learn every hope and dream and make them happen. First to get rid of my competition. A feral need to destroy my hardest and most dedicated employee takes over me. Fuck, I wouldn’t give a shit if he was my brother. I want her and nothing can stop my hunt now that it’s on.

“Owen, hey, man, didn’t know you’d be here,” Mike exclaims, clapping his hand on my shoulder.

“I said I was coming tonight,” I respond smiling at my woman with intent in my eyes. “What’s your name?” I ask without skipping a beat, stepping into her space. I don’t want to know who she is because any answer other than “yours” is the wrong one.

“Casey,” she says just above the din of the room.

“My cousin is visiting from Texas,” Mike interjects, emphasizing cousin. My head turns to the beast in front of me, smiling and nodding.

“Cousin. Good,” I mutter aloud. “I’m Owen Parker.”

“Hello, Owen.” I take her hand and bring it to my lips. She gasps and her pulse picks up as I get my first taste of her skin, and her eyes reveal how much she likes it.

I pull her closer, giving no fucks that Mike stood right there, and I whisper, “Have dinner with me.”

“When?” she pants out as if she’s as equally affected.

“Now,” I demand inches from her lips. I can’t stop this insane urge to toss her over my shoulder and carry her out of this place. The only thing stopping me is it would give people a shot of her ass. Her coat is short, and those yoga pants are painted on. Peeling them off is going to be a pleasure.

“Yes, but…”

I press my finger to her soft, glossy lips. “No buts. Michael, I’ll take good care of her. Goodnight.” I pull them back immediately as her breath grazes my hand. Damn, my cock dug into my zipper with just the slightest touch.

“Um…goodnight,” Michael stutters while appraising Casey’s face for agreement.

“I’ll call you later,” Casey tells her cousin, stepping into his arms for a quick hug. Maybe tomorrow after she screams my name at least ten times. She freezes as if she heard what I said. “Wait, hold up. I can’t leave like that. I don’t know you.”

I intertwine our fingers and stare into her pretty light brown eyes and give her all the important details. “I’m your cousin’s boss, and I’m thirty-two, single, no kids, two loving parents, non-smoker and fucking willing to do whatever it takes to get your sole attention.”

“Mikey, I’m good. I’ll call you.” That’s my girl.

“Fine. Take care of her or boss or not, I’ll cut your balls off,” he warns me, snatching a beer out of the bucket.

“Don’t worry. She’s safe with me.” I cup her waist and lead her out of the bar. I don’t care that she didn’t get to meet the rest of the guys. In fact, I’m glad she didn’t. There’s no way I’m not above firing every single one of them if they got a shot at ogling my woman.

She stops just as we step outside of the bar. We’re alone on the street right now, but I have a feeling there’s a reason for it. As I breathe in her scent, I smell the air around us. It’s about to rain. “Am I safe with you? Something tells me you could ruin me.”

“The only thing we’ll be ruining is the sheets, Casey. I’m not going to lie. I want you naked and in my bed, but first I want to get to know you.”

“Then take me to dinner,” she demands, looking up at that sky as the first raindrops fall.

I bend down and scoop her into my arms and run to my car. She giggles as the rain picks up, drenching us. I hit the unlock and sit her in the passenger seat and then dash around to the driver’s side.

“Fuck, it’s coming down hard.”

“That came out of nowhere,” she laughs, brushing back her wet hair and sending her scent wafting right to me. The look of pure joy on her face hit me straight in the gut.

“Yes, it did. And don’t worry. You still look breathtakingly beautiful,” I panted, pushing my hair back.

“You look pretty hot too,” she confesses. A blush steals over her face, so she ducks her head.