~ 3 ~
I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her all night.
She was damn near seducing me without evening trying to. Weirdest fucking thing I’d experienced. Normally my type was the quiet, do-as-I-say type, but that was the opposite of what this woman was about. She didn’t seem afraid of anything or anyone, and I fucking loved it.
“Told you she didn’t put out,” Skate laughed, bringing his beer to his lips and swallowing a mouthful down. “Damn shame though, right? All that beauty in an untouchable package.” He sucked on his teeth. “It’s like looking through the window at a cake but not being able to get a taste. Fucking unfair.”
“Real damn shame,” I replied, my dark eyes still on her, watching every move of her body as she danced around the floor with her girlfriend, I presumed. The other guy was still with them, but he was standing by the table, his heated gaze on her the whole time.
Pissed me off, him looking at her like that. Really wanted to go over there and pull out his eyeballs out with my bare hands.
“What’s her name?” I asked Skate, hating that he knew more about her than I did. Hating more the thought that he’d tried to hit on her at some point, but also really wishing I’d been there when she’d fucked him off.
“Nancy California,” he replied, and I turned to look at him. He shrugged, a knowing look on his face. “I know, I know, but that’s her name. My kid brother used to go to high school with her a few years back. She was always hot, but she had this holier-than-thou vibe going on apparently,” he laughed. “One day she dropped out and skipped town. No one saw her for five or six years until her mom got sick and she came back to look after her. And that,” he said, pointing toward Nancy, “is what she looked like when she came back. Ain’t nothing fucking holy about that crazy bitch.”
“Crazy, sexy bitch,” I replied.
“I’ll drink to that,” Skate chuckled and picked up his beer. “Other thing that changed was that she came back with a girlfriend.”
“She wasn’t into chicks before?” I asked, my gaze still glued to her.
“She was dating the school quarterback before she left,” he replied with a knowing look. “Apparently she put out more times than one of our sweetbutts, took on the whole football team or some shit. Guessing none of them gave her what she wanted, though, since she’s been with that other woman ever since.” He smirked and downed the rest of his beer.
“Damn, well, wherever she ended up it did her good,” Crank said, sucking in his bottom lip.
“Reel it in,” I barked, and Crank and Skate laughed loud enough to let me know he was fucking with me. “What happened to her mom?”
“No idea, but I think she needs help with day-to-day shit since Nancy’s stuck around. She works in INKslingers now.”
“Tatting people or making coffee?”
“Tatting,” Skate said.
“Well shit,” I replied. Seemed like Nancy was all but made for me. My perfect woman, if ever there were such a thing.
INKslingers was the only place, other than with me, that you could get a tattoo or a piercing in Miles City. As if overhearing us, Nancy slid off her leather jacket, revealing arms full of colorful tattoos. She dragged her girl away from the dance floor and toward their table where she picked up her beer and downed it in one. She slammed the empty glass on the table and laughed, one arm wrapping around her girl and pulling her in close to her body so she could press a kiss to her mouth.
All the time the fuckwad friend of hers stared on, lust and envy rolling from him in waves. It was probably the same look I had on my face.
She said something to her girlfriend and turned, heading for the bar, and I took that as my cue to introduce myself to her. Had to be done. Even if I had no chance with her. I never say never.
“You really gonna try and tap that? After everything I’ve just told you?” Skate laughed, and I gave him the middle finger as I stepped out of the booth.
I waited at the bar to be served and Nancy arrived seconds later. There was one other person between us and I discreetly looked around them to get a better look at her.
Fuck me, she was even hotter close up. Her skin was smooth and clear, a light glistening of sweat across her forehead. She pulled out her red lipstick and started to reapply it while looking in the mirror in the bar. Never wanted to be a lipstick so much in all my damned life. Satisfied, she put the lid on the tube and slipped it into her pocket before putting one finger in her mouth and sucking on it, hard.
I was going to come in my jeans if I didn’t look away, but there was also no way I could look away as she slowly pulled the finger free of her mouth. My dick twitched, a warning of its intentions.
“It’s rude to stare,” she said, finally turning to look at me. She gave me a wink and my jeans tightened even more. Her eyes connected with mine and her tongue darted out across her mouth. Damn, her eyes were so light that they were almost clear. Like glass, with just the faintest of blue in them.
The guy between us looked between her and me, his eyes going wide when he saw the size of me compared to her. I was easily twice her size. I could pick her up with one arm and carry her around like a little puppy if I wanted.
“Not sure how that’s supposed to work,” he slurred, and both of our gazes fell to him. He held his hands up in surrender and chuckled, no idea of the imminent danger he was in. And not just from me kicking his ass, but from her too. “Sorry, just saying.”
“Move,” I barked, and he slid backwards off his stool and stumbled away.
The barman came to stand in front of Nancy. “What’ll it be?”
“A pitcher and three fireballs,” she said, tearing her gaze away from mine and leaving me practically panting for one more look from her. What the fuck was happening to me?
“Make it four and a beer for me,” I said, cutting in.
“Presumptuous,” she replied. Her gaze moved over my body like she was marking me with her stare, cutting and pasting parts of me and putting them into the boxes that fit her world perfectly. Or maybe making a point as to why I didn’t fit in her world. Either way, I was unperturbed.
“Maybe. Or maybe I just know what I like, and I like what I see.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Whatever, glory boy.”
The barman put four shots on the bar, looking between us before shaking his head and starting to pour the beers. I looked down at my knuckles, curling my hands into fists.
“Not just glory, anger too,” I said with a wink, showing the words tattooed across both hands.
“Well, aren’t you the masculine one?” She laughed again, her blond curls bouncing around her face. “I guess I better be careful you don’t just throw me over your shoulder and take me back to your cave, huh?”
“Oh, you have no idea,” I replied sucking my bottom lip into my mouth. She was teasing, no doubt, but I didn’t miss the way she watched my mouth carefully.
“After you,” Nancy said with a small grin, nodding toward the shots and pushing one toward me.
“How about we go together? I never like to finish before my woman,” I replied, pushing a shot toward her. I cocked an eyebrow, my dick hardening as she let out a small laugh. I picked up my shot and she did the same.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she said, “I always make sure I come first.” It was her turn to wink now and I practically came in my Levi’s as I barked out a loud laugh. “On one?”
“How about on three? I don’t like to dive straight into the good stuff, you know.” I let a smile lift at the corner of my mouth, and if I didn’t know any better I wouldn’t have sworn that she blushed. “I prefer the slow buildup.”
“I just bet you do.” She licked her lips again. “Fine, on three. One, two—”
“Three,” I finished.
The barman put down two beers and turned to pour the other two as Nancy and I threw the shots to the backs of our throats at the same time, our gazes never leaving one another. I pushed the other one toward her.
“Another?”
“Sure.” It was her turn to cock an eyebrow at me. “What’s your name then, Mister Glory and Anger?”
I chuckled. “Sketch.”
“Just Sketch?”
“Yeah, just Sketch.” I nodded. “And you’re Nancy, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Just Nancy?” I smarted.
She laughed and it was stunning. “Well, just Sketch, if you must know, my name is Nancy Judith Evie Alexandrea California. Name’s a little longer than yours.” She lifted another shot glass to her lips and threw it back as I did the same and then we both slammed our glasses down at the same time.
“Fuck me, that’s a mouthful,” I laughed.
“Yeah, my mom was indecisive.” She grinned with a shrug. “I like your ink,” she said, nodding toward my tattoos. My arms were covered, as were my neck, chest, and back. Still had room for a couple more though. “Though the knuckles are a little much, dontcha think?”
“Fuck no.” I grinned. “I like people to know exactly what they’re getting with me.”
“I’m not even getting into that discussion,” she laughed again. “I need to get back.” She nodded toward her table. “But whoever did your tats is good.” She started to turn away and I felt my muscles tighten, like my arms wanted to reach out and grab her, to keep her there with me.
“Did most of them myself,” I replied quickly.
I watched the almost imperceptible shift in her stance, knowing I’d gotten her attention finally. I nodded toward her arms. “What about those? Where’d you get those?”
She looked away from me, tucking one of her blond curls behind her ear. “INKslingers, mostly, but some are from…” She stopped talking, a smile rising on her face. “Around.”
“They’re good,” I replied, leaving her sentence hanging between us. “I could do better though. I mean, some of them are a little juvenile, if I’m being honest.”
Her eyes hardened, and I knew I’d hit my mark. I almost laughed out loud as she tried to keep her cool composure. If anything, she looked even hotter when she was angry. Would have given anything to run my hands along up and down her hips right then, feeling her heated skin under my touch.
“Well, in the vein of being honest, I should probably tell you that I’m not interested.” She picked up the pitcher of beer and I wondered how the fuck her little hands could grip it so well. Wondered if she could grip other things as tightly too. My dick was wondering the same thing. She turned and started to walk away. “Thanks for the drinks, Mister Glory and Anger.”
I threw some cash on the bar and watched her strut away. Her ass sashayed across the room, every set of male eyes on it as she passed by them. Wanted to kill every one of those fuckers just for looking at her. Gouge their eyes out so they couldn’t look at her ever again.
“Yeah, keep looking, fuckers,” I muttered angrily under my breath.
Nancy reached her table and put the beer down. The guy she was with was watching me, completely unperturbed by the fact that I could snap him like a twig if I wanted to. Cocky little fucker didn’t know who the fuck he was looking at, but I was more than happy to show him if need be. I raised my glass to him and he sneered and turned away, his arm snaking around Nancy’s waist.
I was going to rip his dick off and feed it to him if he didn’t take his hands off her. I downed half my beer, watching him and thinking of ways I was going to hurt him.
Thankfully, at least for him, Nancy shrugged out from under his grip, pretty much like I’d seen her do all night long. Whoever he was to her, he definitely wasn’t her boyfriend and never would be. Her girlfriend leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips and Nancy pulled her in close, their bodies pressed against one another’s hard enough to make every man pause and watch them like this was a free peep show.
Nancy’s eyes were closed, but as I raised my beer to my lips, my heated gaze still on her, she opened them and looked at me. Our gazes connected and my nostrils flared as she reached down and grabbed the other woman’s ass, squeezing it firmly.
I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to show me that she wasn’t interested, or if that was merely showing me what I was missing out on. Either way, it didn’t do either of those things. It only made me more determined to have her.
I lifted my beer, a silent cheers to her. “Game on,” I muttered. “Game fucking on.”