Chapter One
Tanya rubbed her hands on her arms to soothe the goosepimples prickling her skin. The cool night air enveloped her as she waited to get into the club. She could almost smell fall on the breeze.
The slightly damp musky odor always made her think of pumpkin pie. But the season was still a month away judging by the warm days they were still having.
Summer had rushed by this year, more so than she ever expected, considering how slow things had been at her beauty shop. The up side was that she had become good friends with Ellen, the longtime friend and now lover of Zane.
Tanya wasn’t sure of all the particulars between the two, but she knew he helped save her sister Zoe from a shitty boyfriend connected with the Russian mafia. Even for a guy involved in the security business, that was taking a huge risk.
Things had been really tough for Tanya’s new friend. She’d had to regain the friendship of a sister who she had all but written off and then had to watch her go into a rehab center.
They all knew that it was the best step for the addict, but that didn’t really make it easier. However, the last few weeks Ellen had been able to talk to Zoe on the phone, which had been both a blessing and a curse.
Treatment was going well, but not as quickly as they had hoped. The psychiatrist suggested she stay another three months before release. Of course, no one wanted Zoe to leave until she was ready, but it seemed like the road to recovery was going to be much longer than expected.
The tension and disappointment were the main reasons Tanya had suggested going to a club on Saturday. Well that and her friend Kelly was finally back from college. Although a bit unexpected, she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Everyone needed a little relaxation and fun. What better way to enjoy the weekend than to go out and get a little funky? Or at least that was her opinion.
Tanya sighed loudly and looked down the line at the people waiting to get into the club. The bouncer was taking his sweet-ass time moving people through the door. They were supposed to be drinking, dancing, and having a good time, not waiting around being bored.
"You can relax," Ellen said with a smirk. "I don't think they're going to run out of alcohol."
Tanya rolled her eyes at her friend. She was still having trouble getting used to the blond hair, despite the fact she’d been the one to dye it back to its original color. She was still partial to the red hair her friend had been sporting before.
"No, but I may die of thirst before we get in."
The line moved down the sidewalk a little, and Tanya followed along in her ridiculously tall heels. They made her short legs look like they went on for miles. Nothing like a short sparkly dress and a pair of black matching heels to start the night off right.
Finally, the last few people in front of them moved inside, and she was relieved to finally get out of the chilly air.
The bouncer narrowed his eyes and glared down at her. "I'm going to need to see your license."
Tanya frowned at the large man with the shaved head in front of her. Maybe she would've been a little more intimidated if her brother and his friend weren’t ridiculously large as well. She’d dealt with his type before.
"Are you shitting me?" she said.
The bouncer raised his brow in challenge before smirking. "Are you sure you're old enough to be talking like that?"
"Just show him your license," Kelly whispered. “You knew this was going to happen.”
Her sweet friend wasn't one to ruffle feathers. Tanya grumbled as she searched through her very small purse and whipped out her license.
She watched as the man examined it under a black light and turned it over multiple times.
"It doesn't matter how much you look at it, man. I'm still twenty-five either way."
The bouncer flipped the card back over and handed it to her. "You can go in, kiddo," he said, and waved her to the door.
Tanya stomped inside, ignoring the chuckle of the man on the stool.
"I can't really blame him," Ellen said. "I thought you were, like, eighteen if that."
Tanya was sure that when she was forty, she would be glad to look so young, but right now it was just a pain in her ass. Not to mention a giant cock block. No man of any substance would even think of looking her way. Instead she got idiot blowhard college chuckleheads who were looking for a one-night stand at the most.
Sure, she might like to have her fun, but she was a one-man kind of gal.
One specific man kind of gal, really, but tonight wasn’t about that. The night was about knocking a few back with her girlfriends and not thinking about the muscled wall who starred in all her fantasies.
"Can we just get a fucking drink or something?" she huffed.
Ellen and Kelly followed her over to a table. They sat and waited for the waitress to make her rounds.
"Three buttered nipples and two tequila chasers,” Tanya said.
Her two friends stared at her. She shrugged.
"Who doesn’t want to start off the night with a buttered nipple?” She winked. "But the tequila is all mine."
She wasn’t driving home, so it was time for her to have a little fun.
Tanya turned to say something to Ellen when a familiar face caught her eye a few yards from the table. She opened her mouth to say something, but Ellen beat her to it.
"Oh, no you don't, Zane. Don’t even pretend like you don’t hear me.”
Ellen’s eyebrows knitted together in irritation, and Tanya could see he was about to get his ass handed to him on a silver platter.
Tanya nearly choked on her drink when a pair of dimples peered out behind Zane.
“What the fuck, Reece?” Tanya said. She wasn’t pleased to see her brother there. Another form came from behind, and she couldn’t stop her heart from leaping into her chest. “Bryce.”
The large man turned to stare at her. His eyes briefly swept over her body, and for a moment, she was sure that he liked what he saw before he turned away.
The three men made their way over to the women’s table. Zane stared sheepishly at his girlfriend.
"Girls’ night," Ellen said, pointing to the three women. "Not ‘have your boyfriend sulk in the corner with his friends’ night."
Tanya smirked as she watched Zane dangle in the wind by his balls. He ran a hand through his hair, which gave him a boyish quality not often seen with a man his size.
"It's still dangerous," he said gruffly. "I just want to make sure you're okay."
The resolve on Ellen’s face vanished, and she dissolved into a pile of mush.
"I think we would be fine," she said softly. "But it's nice that you care."
Zane stepped forward and took her hands into his. “I always care about your safety. That’s my job.”
Tanya stifled a sigh. With those few words, she knew girls’ night was now officially over. Maybe she would have been a little more irritated if it weren’t for the hunk of man lingering on the outskirts of the group.
Her gaze flicked over to where he stood with his jeans, gray t-shirt, and slightly too long hair that only made her want to run her fingers through it during some really dirty sex.
“Why are you making that face?” Reece said to her.
Tanya closed her mouth and frowned at her brother. He was always intruding on her private moments.
He smirked at her, probably already sure he knew what she was thinking about. There were times she really wished her parents had just waited a few more years between them. One year wasn’t nearly enough time.
“Fuck off and just sit down,” she mumbled.
The men moved a few chairs from other tables and sat with them. She had hoped Bryce might sit next to her, but he sat between her brother and Zane.
She kicked her brother under the table for good measure.
Damn cock-blocking jerk.
Reece might have frowned if his eyes weren’t fixed on Kelly. Tanya could practically smell the pheromones oozing off him.
She glanced around her brother to where Bryce sat. He never looked directly at her, but sometimes she would spot his eyes shift her way.
Something about the lack of eye contact annoyed the ever-living hell out of her. Tanya didn't wear her damn get up for the fun of it. She put the “girls” on display for a reason, and it was a rare opportunity for him to see them in their glory. He should just look where he was supposed to look.
Tanya leaned on the table a little, her breasts out slightly as she turned to stare at Bryce.
"Did he rope you into this?"
Bryce turned his hazel eyes to her. They dipped down briefly before looking back up. He shrugged. "It's not really safe for any of you to be out like this," he said, and turned forward again.
The waitress came and set down the five shots, three of them in front of her. Zane ordered beers for the three men.
Bryce looked down at the shots and then back up to her. That same stern look across his brow that made her go crazy was firmly planted in place. When he did that, Bryce reminded her of a teacher she once had a crush on. Only now she was old enough to understand just how truly sexy that look could be.
"It’s important not to drink too much in case an enemy comes,” Bryce said.
Tanya picked up the two shots of tequila and slammed them back quickly. She then followed it up with a buttered nipple, making sure to lick the rim with her tongue.
“Well, then, it’s a good thing you’re here to protect me.”
She could see the fire as it lit up his eyes at her suggestive tone.
That spark was always there between them, waiting for the right moment to ignite into the flame she knew they both shared. But she could never get him to act on it. Not even a little. She just didn’t understand what was holding him back.
Tanya leaned forward and whispered dramatically to him, "The drinking is the whole point of going out." She turned back to the two other women. "Drinking and dancing."
She watched as her horn-dog brother stood and sidled up to Kelly. He’d put his game face on: a blinding ray of teeth and dimples.
"Speaking of dancing," he said. "I thought your new friend and I might go hit the floor. I’m Reece."
Tanya nearly choked on her tongue at his words. The look Kelly was giving her pretty much said everything she was thinking: what the hell?
She stood and made her way between her two friends. She gripped them both by the hand and stuck her tongue out at her brother like a child.
"We're going to go dancing," she said. "You boys stay here and watch out for all that trouble that should be following us around. After all, you’re here to protect us and not have fun, right?”
Tanya gave one last wink to Bryce, whose eyes seemed to burn right through her, but she didn’t care at that moment. The alcohol had made her warm and giggly. All she wanted now was to hit the floor and work out some sexual frustration.