A COUPLE OF weeks later, John and I were three-quarters of the way through our pitcher and a few games of pool into the evening. Once again the Dog House was packed: the two of us, three random guys at the bar, and Olaf. Another wild Thursday night during the dark months on the island.
“Last call. You don’t have to go to your own house, but you can’t stay here,” Olaf announced. The clock said we still had a half-hour until eleven, his typical weeknight closing time.
“What’s up with closing early?” I asked as the three guys put on their jackets.
“My back’s bugging me and y’all are boring. Go home or call one of your booties,” he grumbled and turned off the old neon sign outside.
“I’m heading out,” John said. “Gotta drive up to Anacortes tomorrow morning.”
“We’re not finished with our game.”
He studied the table. “You’ll win.”
The double doors hadn’t stopped swinging when the front door opened again and a cold wind blew into the bar.
“What’d you forget?” I asked, expecting him to be standing there. Instead of John, a windswept Idaho greeted me with a stare. She swept her hair away from her face and growled.
When she walked toward me, I was ninety-percent certain she wanted to slap me. I spread my stance and tensed for the impact. Sadly, she wouldn’t be the first woman to smack me or attempt to. Good thing I was pretty fast at dodging and weaving.
I held her gaze as she got closer. Part of me wanted to close my eyes and turn the other cheek . . . literally. Or back down the hall and hide in the men’s room. Ah, the men’s bathroom. A place no woman dared to go unless absolutely necessary. Urinals freaked them out.
I took a big step and then another until the darkness of the hall to the back room enveloped me. I wasn’t running. Far from it. I moved slowly and kept my eyes on my assailant stalking toward me.
I probably should have asked myself why she wanted to slap me. Had I stopped to think, I might have realized unlike most women with the same expression on their face, I hadn’t actually given her a reason to be mad at me. At least none I knew about.
Her eyes narrowed and she cut the distance between us in half with two long strides. To my left was the door to the bathroom and potential salvation. Further behind me stood the backdoor and freedom. While I debated hiding or fleeing, she made the decision for me by grabbing the front of my shirt.
“Hey, Idaho. What’s up?” Always act innocent. In this case, I didn’t have to act.
“I’ve been looking all over for you tonight.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You have?”
She stared at my mouth and pressed her lips together. “I have. Why is a good man hard to find when you need him?”
Her words rearranged themselves in my head after she’d spoken them. “Don’t you mean a hard man is good to find when you need him?”
She snorted out a laugh. “Exactly. You read my mind.” Her hand not clutching my shirt touched the bared skin above my belt.
“Hey, whoa, Idaho. Where you going with that hand?” I jerked my hips back to escape her wandering fingers.
“I need a good man. And since I don’t know any good men, I decided I needed a hard man tonight.”
“Okay.” I grabbed her hands in mine to protect myself from her assault. “Can I ask you one thing?”
“Sssure.”
The subtle slur answered my question, but I asked it anyway. “Have you been drinking?”
“Tommm, don’t be mean. You sleep with everyone on the island. I need you to sleep with me. Now.” The slight rasp to her voice had strengthened into a sultry purr.
Definitely not sober. “What happened to your own man? Have sex with him.”
She wiggled her left hand out of my grasp. “No more boyfriend. No more ring.”
“What happened?”
She pressed a finger to my lips. “No talking, more sex.”
“More implies there’s some sex to begin with.” I couldn’t figure out why I bothered to argue. Sex without strings was my thing.
But could I have stringless sex with Hailey? I had rules. She was my kid sister’s best friend, and engaged.
While I was lost in some sort of moral debate, she kissed me.
Shit.
Worse, my body responded, and I liked it. A lot.
She was an amazing kisser—even buzzed and with grabby hands, her lips and tongue teased mine with a balance of aggression and skill.
When she bit my bottom lip, I did the smart thing. I kissed her back.
Our bodies met and I forced hers against the far side of the hallway. We bumped into the wall and I pinned her with my hips. With her height, I didn’t have to lean down. One of her long legs wrapped around my thigh like I’d imagined when I first saw them at Lori’s shower.
Shit.
Lori would kill me. I’d always respected the code of not fucking my sisters’ friends.
Idaho reached between us and stroked my hardening erection through my jeans.
To hell with my rules.
I waved the white flag. Smart idea or not, I surrendered. If she wanted a one-night stand, who was I to let her have it with someone else? That would be like catching a King and throwing it in another man’s boat.
I chuckled at the unintentional pun of her name and the king of salmons.
She shifted and kissed my neck. “What’s so funny?”
Like an idiot, I told her.
“You’re making out with me, grinding your erection into my hip while thinking of me as a fish?” She pinched my nipple. Hard. She had perfect aim.
“Ouch.” I jerked away, giving her enough room to escape down the hall toward the bar. “Hey, where are you going?” I grabbed her hand and halted her. How did this go from her attacking me to me chasing her?
“For years I’ve heard how amazing you are in bed, all about your great moves and talents. I figured you were a sure thing. Instead I get fish talk. If I wanted a limp fish, there’s plenty of men on this island to choose from who don’t know what they’re doing.” Fire lit her green eyes. Her cheeks were flushed with emotion and perhaps a little beard burn. Her bottom lip appeared stung and swollen from our kiss.
A noise to my left reminded me we had an audience. Olaf tipped his head and met my gaze.
“Nothing to see here.” I answered his silent question. “I think Hailey needs a ride home.”
“I don’t need anything from you.” Her tone edged belligerence.
“Yes, you do. You need me to take you home.” I stared at her. “And you need to remember I haven’t said no.”
Her mouth opened to speak, shut and opened again, and then clamped closed.
“We good? I’ll drive you home and we’ll go from there?”
Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. She was either mulling over my offer or about to charge me with her horns. I hadn’t seen them yet, but I was certain she had them.
I bet she would be amazing in bed.
If I had any say in it, that’s where we were heading now.
“I have a confession,” I said when we reached my truck.
She buckled herself in and faced me. “Yes?”
“I have no idea where you live.”
Her laughter filled the small space. “I thought you were going to confess something serious. I’m renting a place on Goss Lake.”
I joined her in laughing. “Maybe we should keep the questions and conversation to yes/no for now so you don’t end up wanting to punch me like you did back there.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Great.”