Valerie hung out with Brett and Logan for the rest of the wedding reception, but the moment the newly married couple left the party, the three of them headed back to Granite. The two-hour drive wasn’t nearly as painful as she’d imagined it, though her brother couldn’t seem to wipe the stupid smirk off his face.
He kept bringing up how funny it was when Logan had thrown her over his shoulder and carried her away from Max. But if Brett had any idea of the things Logan had done to her while they were alone in the shadows, his smile would’ve surely evaporated hours ago.
They pulled into the bar’s parking lot, all of them still dressed in their wedding attire. Valerie didn’t mind. The pale pink dress she wore was flirty and feminine, and she was bound to get a lot of tips tonight because of it.
But as she stood outside the vehicle watching Logan remove his black jacket and tie, she realized that he might not be as keen on the idea of wearing a suit in the bar. “Do you want to run home and change your clothes?”
He rolled up the sleeves on his white dress shirt, displaying his spectacular, nicely toned forearms. “Nah. I’m fine like this.”
Yeah, no kidding. She licked her lips and resisted the urge to fan herself.
Logan tossed the jacket and tie on the backseat, while Valerie considered shoving him in there, removing the rest of his clothes, and crawling on top of him.
But she didn’t. Couldn’t, actually.
It was Brett’s truck, and her older brother was still sitting in the driver’s seat staring at them through the open window. Since they’d both been drinking, Brett had refused to drop either of them off at home to get their own vehicles.
In Logan’s case, that way of thinking made perfect sense. He wasn’t slurring or falling down drunk or anything even close to that. But if him holding her hand in the dark cab of the truck while Brett drove them back was any indication, Logan definitely wasn’t thinking with a clear mind.
Valerie was completely sober though. It had been nearly four hours since she’d drunk only half a glass of champagne during her maid of honor toast, and then immediately switched to sparkling water for the duration of the reception. Not only that, but she’d eaten plenty in the meantime, stuffing herself with mushroom pinwheels and shrimp canapés, as well as two pieces of wedding cake.
But she didn’t blame Brett. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
“Thanks for the lift, Brett. If you don’t want to come back later, I’m sure James won’t mind giving us a ride home after closing,” Logan told him.
“It’s okay. I’ll be back in a bit to hang out for a while anyway. I just want to go home, get out of this monkey suit, and find something normal to eat. The wedding cake was the only thing edible at that damn reception.”
Valerie giggled. It wasn’t at all true, but leave it to the guy who lived off a diet of macaroni and cheese to snub his nose at gourmet appetizers. “Okay, then we’ll see you in a bit.”
She sashayed past the long line of customers waiting to get into the bar and headed inside with Logan on her heels. “So what are you going to be doing tonight, Mr. I Don’t Drink on the Job?”
Logan grinned. “I’m going to go finish up a little bit of paperwork on my desk, and then I’m going to stand around the rest of the night looking pretty.” As they reached the bar, he grasped her arm and pulled her toward him. “You sure you want to work tonight? I know it’s been a long day for you. You can always go on home and get some rest.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mind. I like to stay busy. Besides, I thought I’d be spending the night with you tonight.”
“I know. That’s why I’m suggesting you go home and rest.” His eyes gleamed with a predatory intensity. “I plan on keeping you very busy later.”
Valerie nearly fainted from the heat wave that washed over her. “That sounds like a threat.”
“It is.”
“Good, then be prepared. And by that, I mean naked. Because the moment Brett drops me off at home, I’m jumping in my car and heading straight over.” She started to move back behind the bar but paused and smiled at him. “And you might be interested in knowing that I’ll be taking off one article of clothing at every stoplight between my place and yours.”
An amused grin lit up his face. “Normally a comment like that would make me as hard as a rock. But this isn’t a big town, baby. We’re talking two stoplights max.”
She lifted her shoulder casually. “Well, since I’m not wearing anything under this dress, I guess I’ll only need one of them.”
Logan groaned and pulled her around a thick support beam running from the floor to the ceiling, concealing them from most of the bar. Then he grasped her hand and placed it on the stiff ridge in his pants, grinding fully against her palm. “God. Do you see what you do to me?”
“Hmm. No, but I definitely feel it. If you’d like to show it to me, we could always take this to the storeroom and finish this discussion.”
“Don’t tempt me. I’ve drunk just enough tonight to impair my thinking. I might not be able to say no.”
“Oh, well, in that case—”
“Valerie.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Okay, fine, you big baby. I won’t make any more indecent proposals tonight.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You don’t know what’s coming later.”
His fingers dug into her waist, gripping her tightly. “Maybe not, but I know who is. And she’s going to be screaming my name when she does.”
“Oh, that poor girl,” Valerie said with mock surprise, lifting one eyebrow. “You plan on jackhammering her forehead into your headboard all night long?”
Logan shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Mmm. If you keep talking like that, I’m going to forget my promise about not luring you into the storeroom.”
“I’m starting to think I should let you,” he said seriously. “So now would be a good time for you to turn around and walk your sweet ass behind that bar.”
She sighed. “Okay, okay, but at least think about me while I’m gone.”
“I always do.”
As she walked away, Logan’s hand reached out in a frisky move and patted her on the ass. She kept moving forward but glanced over her shoulder with a delirious grin and watched him head toward his office. When her gaze shifted forward again, her eyes landed directly on James, who was grinning like crazy. Apparently he’d witnessed the cheeky pat to her behind. Shit.
James nodded at her. “What’s new, Val?”
“Um, that wasn’t what it looked like.”
He passed a beer to one of the customers. “Doesn’t matter whether it was or not. You’re an adult. What you do is not my business.”
Valerie blinked. She’d never had a man tell her that before and wasn’t sure how to respond. “No, I mean, it was innocent. Nothing is going on between Logan and me. Seriously.”
“Still not my business,” he replied.
“Yeah, I know. But I just didn’t want you to think Logan and I were, uh…you know.” God, stop talking already, Val.
James shook his head and then leaned on the counter with one hand, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Sweetheart, do you want some friendly advice?”
Obviously, he hadn’t believed a word that had come out of her lying mouth. “Let me guess,” she said with a sigh. “Learn to shut up while I’m behind?”
“No. Buy yourself a helmet. Because the way that boy was looking at you just now? You’re bound to have one hell of a headache by morning.”
Heat rose into her cheeks so quickly that it was as if someone had detonated a nuclear missile inside her body. She had never been the type of person to get easily embarrassed, but she and James had gotten close since she’d been working there, and it was a little awkward knowing that he overheard what Logan had said. Jesus. “You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?”
James laughed. “Who is left to tell? Everyone who works here already knows.”
Her jaw dropped to the floor. “What?”
“We all figured it out the day you started working here. You two think you’re being slick, but Logan can’t keep his eyes off you behind the bar any more than you can keep your hands off of him in the storeroom.”
“Oh God.”
A laugh rumbled out of him. “Look, if it’s any consolation, I think you and Logan are great together. Just have fun and enjoy it.”
“Um, thanks.”
A customer hailed James from the end of the bar, and he went right back to work, as if the idea of Valerie fraternizing with their boss didn’t bother him one bit. And maybe it didn’t. But she’d have to check with the other employees to make sure no one was uncomfortable with her and…
Wait a minute. Valerie instantly recalled the night that the waitresses had made sexual remarks about Logan and then stared at her like they’d expected her to join in. But she hadn’t done so. At the time, she’d been a little annoyed and had cringed at the things they were saying. Then she remembered that they laughed at the faces she’d made, and she couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled out of her now.
Those two little wenches. That night, they’d goaded her for a reaction to find out if their suspicions about Valerie and Logan were true. They actually hadn’t been involved at the time, but the move on the waitresses’ part was smart, if you asked her.
“Val, you working tonight or what?” James called out, throwing some bills into the tip bucket and serving another customer.
“What?” She glanced down the bar and noticed they were getting busier by the second. “Oh yeah. Sorry. I’m on it.”
After an hour of spinning and flipping bottles, Valerie’s arms felt like they were going to fall off. So she slowed things down by putting on a little show and entertaining the crowd with some good-natured but naughty fun.
Valerie had six women lined up side by side at the bar as she poured a mixture of Kahlúa and Baileys into six shot glasses and topped each with a spray of whipped cream. Then she slid one in front of each of them. “Okay, ladies,” she hollered out. “You must keep your hands behind your back and use only your mouth to take the shot. This one’s called a Blow Job.”
The women giggled while the men in the room cheered and even sounded a few wolf whistles. All at once, the women lowered their heads and wrapped their lips around the shot glass before lifting back up and letting the liquid pour down their throats. Then they removed their shot glasses from their mouths and licked the whipped cream from their lips.
“I’ll take one of those,” a man’s voice said, chuckling. “And I’m not referring to the drink.”
Crap. She recognized that slimy voice.
Valerie’s head snapped up to see Paul standing to her right on the opposite side of the counter. She immediately glanced around to make sure Logan was nowhere in sight. If he caught Paul in his bar, much less talking to her, he was going to flip his lid. She leaned on the counter and lowered her voice. “What the hell are you doing in here?”
Paul grinned. “What? Not happy to see me?”
“No. Now get out.”
He shook his head. “Nope. I came in for a quick drink. I’ll leave afterward.”
“Well, I have the right to refuse service to anyone, including you.” Valerie crossed her arms. “Go away or I’m going to have you thrown out.”
“I’m a paying customer,” he said, pulling out a ten-dollar bill. “You want to get rid of me, then give me a shot of tequila.”
James stepped up beside her and glared at Paul. “Is there a problem here?”
She wanted to say yes, but knew that if she did, James would immediately alert Logan to a situation…and that was the last thing she wanted. So she shook her head and poured the shot of tequila, sliding it across the bar to Paul. “Nope. No problem.”
James immediately moved on and went to help another customer.
Paul lifted the shot, swigged it back, and then smacked the glass back down on the bar. “How about one more?”
Valerie’s eyes narrowed. “No. You had the only drink you’re getting in here. Now get out before I have the doorman escort you to the nearest exit.”
“Steve?” Paul laughed. “Who do you think let me in to begin with?”
“That’s only because he doesn’t know what you did the night you quit. But if I ask him to remove you from the premises, trust me when I say that he will.”
“Why? Are you fucking him too? What happened to your boyfriend in the storeroom that night?”
Ignoring him, she rolled her eyes and reached for the empty shot glass.
Paul caught her hand in his, pulling her face close. “What’s wrong? Don’t like my dirty language?”
“The language isn’t a problem for me, asshole. You’re the problem. Now let go of me, or this time I’ll rip your balls off and shove them down your fucking throat.”
But it was too late. Only seconds after the words were spoken, a growl came from behind her, snaring her attention.
* * *
The moment Logan saw Paul’s hands on Valerie, a growl had ripped from his throat that sounded more animal than human. Her head snapped to him, her face pale and her eyes wide. Anger lashed at his insides, and fire shot through his lungs. He moved swiftly, lunging over the bar like a pouncing tiger.
Paul released Valerie immediately, but that didn’t stop Logan from pulling him away from her and shoving him back against the bar. People scattered out of the way, and a couple of women shrieked. The whole bar came to a standstill. The only sound was his own heavy breathing ringing in his ears, which drowned out the rock music blaring in the background.
“Logan, don’t!” Valerie cried out.
But he wasn’t about to let it go. Not this time.
He leaned into Paul’s face, his fingers tightening onto the guy’s shirt. “You’re not welcome here. Get out of my fucking bar.”
He shook his head. “Make me, asshole.”
Great. Another idiot who had the fighting mentality of a thirteen-year-old. “You’re a stupid bastard for coming back into my place. Not only were you stealing from me, but I hear you get off on threatening women.”
Some females were covering their mouths in shock while the men in the back were peering around one another, trying to get a better view.
But Paul only laughed. “I didn’t have to threaten her. That girl was all over me in the hallway. You saw it for yourself. She even had my balls in her hand.” He glanced at Valerie. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
Logan threw Paul across the floor, and he rolled into a couple of chairs, knocking them over with a loud bang. “Don’t talk to her. Don’t even fucking look at her. In fact, if you ever come near her again, you won’t be able to see or talk to anyone ever again.”
Paul scrambled to his feet, his breathing rapid. “Ah, so now I see how it is. You have something going with her, don’t you?” He chuckled again. “Man, that bitch really likes to spread her legs.”
The words barely made it past his lips before Logan grabbed Paul by his shirt collar, held him up against a support beam, and threw the first punch. Paul took a swing back at him, and his fist connected with Logan’s jaw, snapping his head back a little. But the only thing it succeeded in doing was pissing him off even more.
Another hit from Logan split Paul’s lip. Bright red blood poured out, trickling down onto Logan’s white shirt. Paul tried to smash his hand into Logan’s throat, but Logan managed to duck to the side just in the nick of time. Then he reared back and popped Paul again.
Valerie ran around the bar and grabbed his arm. “Logan, stop! That’s enough. Someone’s going to get hurt.”
Logan gazed back at Paul, who was semi-limp and looking like he’d had about all he could take. His breaths wheezed out of him, and his lip was swelling something fierce. So Logan let him go. “Fine. Get the hell out of my bar and don’t come back.”
Paul dropped to his knees, gasping for a breath.
Logan turned toward Valerie, the relief evident on her face. He touched her cheek. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“I’m fine.”
But as they started to walk away, a hard arm wrapped around Logan’s neck from behind, yanking his head back and cutting off his airway. The struggle knocked Valerie off her feet, and Logan shoved his body back into the one behind him to keep them both from landing on top of her.
Logan twisted around to face in the opposite direction and then bent at the waist quickly to thrust the body behind him forward. Paul flew over his head and landed on his back on a table in front of them. The table didn’t hold his weight though, and it broke, crashing to the ground. Glass shattered in every direction, barely missing a couple of patrons who scrambled to get out of the way.
Logan turned to Valerie, who had risen to her feet. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, but her hands were shaking. Then she gazed over at Paul and blinked. “Logan,” she whispered, covering her mouth.
He turned back to Paul, and his eyes widened. The guy was still lying on the floor flat on his back, his body lax, but suddenly a red pool of blood had formed around him.
“Shit.” Logan sprinted toward him and knelt down to assess the damage. Not only was Paul knocked out cold, but a huge chunk of glass from a broken beer bottle had embedded itself into his side. “Valerie, call 911 and get an ambulance here. Now.”