Chapter Five

Galveston, May 2010

 

 

“So, then I yelled, ‘Come on in!’” David’s father, John, shook his head and ran the flat of his palm across his throat. I looked over at David and Elizabeth, but the two of them looked like they were preparing for a bomb to go off.

I belatedly noticed David’s grandparents in the crowd and realized that, while my speech had been great for the bachelor party, it was not going to go over well in a wedding toast where children were present.

I cleared my throat and the microphone gave a little scream of protest. “When I first met Elizabeth, I was far from being my best, but that’s the thing about her. She came into my life at a low-point, but never once judged me for it. She has a way of always finding the best in people—hell, if it weren’t for her, I’m not sure David would’ve stuck with me. We all need a partner in our lives who sees the good when we can’t. David is lucky enough to have found it in Elizabeth. And, if he ever forgets that; well, you have my number. Raise your glasses to Mr. and Mrs. Greene!” I tipped the champagne back amid cheers and clapping.

Well, I’d pulled that speech out of my ass.

Thank god it had worked.

“Boy, I swear you’re going to get your ass beat with that story,” John noted dryly as I stepped up to the bar.

I shook my head and sighed dramatically before ordering a beer. I had to keep myself away from the liquor for the rest of the evening; the three shots before the ceremony had apparently been more than enough. “Tough crowd we got here tonight. If they were expecting hearts and shit, they should’ve picked a different best man, yeah?”

John laughed heartily. “Damn, son, you should write greeting cards. You’re so fucking poetic.”

I tipped my beer in his direction. “Thank you, good sir. I always knew you had good taste.”

A squeaking sound drew our attention back to the center of the ballroom. Jess, Elizabeth’s matron of honor, was attempting to give her speech, but kept dissolving into unintelligible blubbering mid-sentence. She pointed to a picture of David and Elizabeth that was on the projector before making some more squeaking noises and tears.

“C’mon now. They can’t be falling for this shit.” I looked over at Elizabeth, who was nodding her head and crying along with her. David looked to be on the verge of tears himself.

“Looks like you’re not the master of ceremonies tonight, Mike,” John observed before winking at me. “I liked your speech though. It showed a lot of heart for a self-proclaimed man-whore.”

As if on cue, an older woman sidled up next to me at the bar. “Nice speech. Although, I think I would’ve preferred to hear the original version. Care to enlighten me?”

She had to be pushing forty, but she’d had her tits and face done, giving the illusion she wasn’t a day over thirty-five. I could’ve committed to her, but the night was young and I was at a wedding—the one event where women were made painfully aware of their singleness and were reckless enough to pounce on the first guy that looked their way.

That was where I came in.

The woman in front of me was a solid seven, but at an event like this, I wasn’t whipping out my cock for anything less than a ten. Last night, I’d had the waitress from the rehearsal dinner on top of the ice machine on the second floor. I’d waited until she was busy cleaning up before telling her how hard weddings were since my wife had left me. I’d slipped my room key into her hand and that was it.

At home, I stuck with the cop script. But here, I was looking to change things up. So, what if I was feeding them a line? These women were desperate and eager to please. Who was I to deny them their fantasy? Tonight, I was Jack, depressed widower.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear,” The woman purred before slipping her hand beneath the waistband of my linen pants, her voice dropping to a whisper, “I want to be fucked.”

“Whoa there, Sandra. Okay, I’m cutting you off.” I looked up and locked eyes with my ten. She was stunning and a red head—I’d never had a red head before. I wondered if the carpet matched the drapes before she removed Sandra’s hand from my pants. “I’m so sorry.”

John shook his head, laughing, and moved away from the bar as I turned on the charm. “Don’t be sorry, Darlin’. It led to me meeting you. I’d say it’s been a good night.”

“You hear that?” Sandra slurred, “He wants me. You can go, Lauren. I’ll take it from here.”

She moved to step back, but I grabbed onto a lock of her hair, holding her in place. “I meant you, Darlin’. Think you can get this one to bed and come back to me?”

I watched in amusement as her chest flushed red before the color moved up into her cheeks. Thank god for pale skin. It was a great barometer.

“S-sure,” she stuttered, “Just give me a few minutes.”

I was waiting by the front entrance with a bucket of beer when she got off the elevator. She looked around the lobby and once she spotted me, I swore she jumped up to a twelve.

“Hey there. What’s the plan?” The breeze coming off the ocean lifted her hair up around her face as she approached me.

I had an uncontrollable urge to wrap it around my fist and kiss the hell out of her. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I needed to stay in control. So, I offered her a beer. “Thought we’d grab a few drinks and take a walk on the beach. How’s that sound?”

She looked back toward the reception hall. “Won’t they wonder where we are?”

Ah, a wedding virgin.

“Darlin’, they’re surrounded by family members who want to discuss the most boring of wedding details. I doubt they’ve even noticed we’ve snuck out.” I held my hand out and she didn’t hesitate before taking it.

I led her across Seawall and down to the beach. There were still a few chairs left from the ceremony and we made our way over to them. “So, Red. Tell me about yourself. What brings you to Galveston? And you can’t tell the truth.”

She set her beer down in the sand and kicked off her sandals. “I can’t tell the truth?”

I nodded. “Nope. Make it up. Bonus points for creativity.”

She grinned again and bit the corner of her lip in concentration. Damn, I was rock hard.

She cleared her throat. “Okay, my name is Charlotte. I’m an art dealer in Dallas. I was told that I had to get down to Galveston and check out Salvadore Goya. He’s a young painter that’s generating a lot of buzz in the art world. He could be the next van Gogh. His work is exquisite; you can see his passion in every stroke of the brush. Your turn.”

My mouth went dry. She was good.

I wanted her to stroke my brush.

I nodded, “That was okay, Red. Now, watch a pro. My name is Jack and I’m originally from California. I grew up on the water with a board in my hand. People said I had to get down to Galveston and try tanker surfing,” An image of Patrick falling toward the curb crept in and I stopped mid-sentence.

Charlotte prodded my thigh with her hand. “C’mon, don’t stop in the middle. Remember? Bonus points for creativity.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and nodded, trying to play it off like I was just trying to think of good material. “Right, where was I? Oh yeah, so I’m here and ready to try tanker surfing tomorrow. Care to join me?”

Where the hell had that come from?

First, I thought of Patrick, who hadn’t crossed my mind once in the last nine years. Then, I invited her out for tomorrow? I was a one and done kinda guy; there were no second dates.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, well, I’m actually leaving in the morning. Gotta get back to work—unless you weren’t really asking me and it’s part of the game—never mind, I’ll shut up now.”

I chugged the rest of my beer and cracked open another one before responding, “Yeah, I was just getting into character. I’ve actually got to head home early tomorrow too.”

Charlotte extended her hand. “I win. Pay up.”

I smirked. “And what makes you think that, Red? Maybe I’m not done yet.”

She shook her head, keeping her palm open in front of me. “You said you’re originally from California, but I gotta be honest here, that Texas accent is way too thick for me to believe you. My story was better…ergo, I’m the winner.”

I scratched at my beard and settled in deeper on my chair, letting my toes dig into the sand a little more. “Is that so? Well, Darlin’, I guess it’s time to give you your prize.”

She bit down on her lower lip and smiled expectantly. God damn, this woman would be my undoing tonight. “I’m ready,” she whispered before closing her eyes, while continuing to hold out her hands.

I was out of my chair and on my knees in front of her so fast that I kicked over my beer in the sand. Then I bypassed her open hands and went straight for her mouth. I balanced my arms on either side of her and dove in headfirst. She exhaled a little sound of surprise before her hands went around my back and took hold of my shirt. Her lips tasted like the beer we’d been drinking, along with a hint of salt, coming off the ocean.

I slipped my tongue past her lips and she moaned, before tightening her hold on me. I didn’t usually waste a lot of time kissing, didn’t really see the point to it, but her mouth just begged for attention. I bit down lightly on her lower lip and she moaned again, encouraging me to continue. It was like a game of hot or cold. The warmer I got, the more vocal she got.

I moved my hand up and cupped her jaw, drawing her in even closer. She reciprocated by wrapping her legs around my waist and pulling my body up against hers. I caught a flash of underwear as her dress rode up. Was it a thong? Boy shorts? Were they green like her dress? Why wasn’t there more moonlight so that I could solve this argument in my head?

Fuck me. This was going to be a one-night stand for the books.

She broke away, panting. “Um, should we? I mean, do you want to dance with me?”

Wait. What?

I thought we were moving to the bedroom, not the ballroom.

She exhaled shakily. “I just mean that I came all this way—it’d be a shame if I didn’t get to dance at least once in this dress.”

I thought about the repercussions of taking her back inside. With my luck, she’d end up being one of David’s most cherished cousins and then I’d end the night with his fist in my face—which was par for the course with us, but still, I kinda wanted to try leaving my face intact for the night.

I pulled out my iPhone and logged into my iTunes account. “I’ve got an idea…”

A guitar began playing on my phone, followed by Dierks Bentley crooning, ‘Come a Little Closer.’

I put the phone down on a chair and crooked two fingers at her. She stood up and came over with a big smile, pulling her dress back down in the process. “Now, you’ve completely blown your cover.”

I pulled her up against me and whispered in her ear, “Is that so? You’ll have to let me know where I went wrong.”

We swayed back and forth on the sand, some half-assed version of dancing, yet neither one of us seemed to care. She tilted her face up toward mine and whispered back, “You’re playing country music. Now, I know you’re not a California boy, Tex.”

Her green eyes sparkled with amusement and I wondered if I would ever meet anyone as beautiful as her again. It didn’t make a damn bit of sense, but it was as if she looked past every ounce of bullshit and saw me.

It was completely unnerving.

I pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and then tucked her head against my shoulder, choosing to softly sing a few bars from the song instead of staring at her any longer. Those green eyes were hypnotizing; I didn’t know what I might confess to if I stared into them any longer.

She sighed happily against my chest. “I like you, Jack. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun doing nothing with someone.”

I stopped moving, painfully aware of just how little give these pants had. “Oh, yeah? Let me take you back to my room and show you how much fun we could have doing something.”

Charlotte stepped back and I was treated to watching her skin change from white to red again. “Don’t you want to get to know each other a little more?”

I shook my head and closed the gap between us. “You know what I wanna know?”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

“I wanna know how you feel wrapped around me…I wanna know how wet I can get you,” I touched her lips. “I wanna know how loud you’ll moan when I hit all the right spots.”

She stuttered through another breath before nodding in agreement. “I want…I want you to have a drink with me first. And then, then I want all of those other things.”

Damn this woman. Just when I thought I had her figured out, she threw me for a loop.

I cleared my throat. “You want a drink? You sure about that?”

She looked back over her shoulder at the event center. “Yeah—I know it’s silly, but I just met you. And I’ve uh- I’ve never done ‘this’ before. I just need a minute.”

Whoa. Back the motherfucking bus up.

This time it was my mouth that fell open in shock. “You’ve never done this before? So, you’re a—”

She waved her hand erratically. “No, not that. I just meant that I’ve never slept with someone I just met…not that we’d necessarily be doing a lot of sleeping, but you know what I mean. Oh god, I’m rambling again…”

Her voice trailed off and I surprised her by reaching for her hand. “Hey, it’s okay, Red. Let’s grab that drink and you can tell me more about the art world. Do you own any phallic sculptures?”

She snorted with laughter. “Wow, I was not expecting you to go there. I am a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to phallic sculptures, but really—what single girl isn’t?”

I bit the inside of my cheek. She was something else—quick, witty, and cute as hell. I gathered up the empty beer bottles and threw them away, while she grabbed her sandals and began walking back toward the event center.

“Hey, look at this!” She was stopped in front of a beach bulletin board. “Horseback riding on the beach. I didn’t know that they did this. I love horses.”

I looked over her shoulder at the ad and shrugged. “Horses are cool, but have you ever ridden a beard?” Then I bit down lightly at the point where her neck met her shoulder, eliciting another giggle from her.

By the time we reached the event center, we were hanging onto each other as if we were drunk, but I’d never been more sober in my life.

She dusted bits of sand off of her dress and then looked over at me with a small grin. “You just have a little something right here. Let me help you.” Her fingertips grazed my jaw and I kept my eyes locked on hers, not wanting to miss a thing.

“Are we ready for that drink now?” I arched my eyebrows up and down suggestively and she bit down on her lip to keep from laughing again.

“Just give me a minute. I just want to freshen up in my room. It won’t take long. I’ll meet you back down here in five.” Then she was gone, before I’d even had a chance to respond.

Five minutes.

She better not suddenly end up with cold feet or I, sure as shit, would comb every inch of this place to find her.

 

I scanned my card against the door and stepped into my dark hotel room. If Lauren was going to freshen up, then hell, I’d give my boys a once over and make sure they were up for tonight.

I flicked the light switch and jumped back in fright. Grey was sitting on the upholstered chair in the corner with a cigar hanging out of his mouth.

“Holy fuck, Grey! Who let you in here?” I clutched my chest and moved around the room until I was within arm’s reach of my gun.

He looked over at the nightstand and then back at me. “Don’t bother, kid. I already got that one.” My eyes darted over to the closet and he shook his head, “’Fraid I got that one too. I came here to talk some sense into you—if that’s even possible anymore. Have you fucking seen yourself? You’re getting sloppy.”

I ignored his question and grabbed a bottle from the minibar. I didn’t even bother checking to see what it was before upending it into my waiting mouth.

With a little liquid courage running through my veins, I unleashed on him. “You think I’m getting sloppy? Then start doing your own fucking dirty work. Oh, yeah, you think you’re a big guy running an empire from underground. You know what me and the rest of the goddamn world think? That you’re a fucking pussy. You’ll hide behind the club walls and let the world think you’re dead so that you get off scot free and the club’s left holding the smoking gun. You wanna talk about me? Well, guess what, mother fucker? I wanna talk about you. Where the fuck do you get off?”

Grey was out of his chair and in my face before I’d even finished talking. He grabbed me by the lapels and shoved me back into the wall, snarling, “Only one of us in this room has any motherfucking sense when it comes to running a club and that sure as fuck ain’t you, boy. No, you’re too damn preoccupied with where your next lay and drink are coming from to see the big picture. Now, I’m shelling out a lot of cash to someone who isn’t putting the club first. You care to remind me why?”

I shoved him off of me, ready for the fist that I knew was inevitably coming. Hell, I’d just barely avoided it with David after my speech at the reception. Instead of coming back at me though, he adjusted his shirt and rubbed his face.

I straightened my own shirt and stood up straight. I’d learned to stand like a man thanks to my father’s ‘guidance’ as a kid. “You’re damn right I’m not putting the club first. Wanna know why? Because I work for the City of Lubbock, asshole. My loyalty lies with the police department, first and foremost. If your club goes against that; well, then guess what, fucker? You’re going against me too. You’re gonna need more than one detective to keep all that illegal shit buried. Damn, I don’t know that even an entire police force could help you now.”

Grey ran a hand over his face again before cracking his knuckles. “Is that right? So, as long as the club was keeping your illegal shit buried it was fine, but you’re not willing to return the favor?”

I grabbed another bottle from the minibar and downed it. That one was vodka. I still wasn’t sure what the first one was. “I’m out, Grey. I’ve got no interest in covering up for you anymore.”

He nodded and sank back down into the chair. Looked like the old man was finally coming around to the voice of reason. It made no fucking sense for a cop to keep covering his ass. He had the entire club to manage that just nicely for him.

“You’re done? No talking you into staying?”

I shook my head and laughed. “Nope. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a redhead waiting for me downstairs. And I’d really like it if you weren’t here by the time we make it back upstairs.”

Grey crossed his legs and smiled at me. “Already found yourself another one. Well, it never takes long with you, does it? Imagine how good you could be if you didn’t think with your dick all the time?”

I walked over to the mirror and checked my hair and shirt before curtly responding with, “Fuck you, Grey.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that’s about what I expected. Just remember, I came here as a warning and I’m not known for repeating myself.”

I rolled my eyes as I walked out the door, muttering, “Whatever you say, Grey. Whatever you say.”