Chapter 1
Tanner
Lindsey Scott seemed to be bored out of her mind, sitting at the table we had procured in the busy club.
“Do you want another drink?” I asked her.
I wasn’t trying to get her drunk, but I wanted to prove to her I wasn’t a jackass. I knew she thought I was more than a little self-absorbed. Shit, she had told me enough times.
She smiled at me. “That’d be great. Rum and Coke, please.”
God, she was fucking hot. I had known her forever and literally watched her blossom practically overnight. My best friend, Brian, was a little overprotective of his little sister, but even he could acknowledge she was very pretty.
I brought her drink back. “Here ya go,” I said, delivering it to her.
“Thank you. I swear, this is going to be my last one.” She giggled, talking loud to be heard over the thumping music.
I winked. “Sure it is. It’s okay to let loose once in a while.”
She rolled those beautiful brown eyes. “Yeah, yeah, Mr. Big Shot, best trainer in the state,” she teased.
I leaned in close to her, our shoulders touching. “You know I’m the best—at everything.”
Her head went back, and she opened that perfect mouth and laughed. Her long, bleached-blond hair cascaded down the back of the chair, and her slender neck was exposed. I fought the urge to dive in and lick all that tanned skin.
“You’re—”
“Don’t you dare say it!” I held up a hand. “Who just bought you a drink?”
Another sweet laugh revealed all those perfectly straight white teeth, “You’re right. You have grown, Tanner Brown. Look at you, all gentlemanlike, getting a lady a drink, knowing damn well there’s no hope you’ll get laid later.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Are you sure about that?”
Brian glared at me. “I’m sure about that,” he snarled, only half-joking.
“He doesn’t fool me, Brian,” Lindsey assured her big brother. “Tanner is the world’s biggest flirt who has this idea women will fall at his feet if he flashes that sexy little smile and turns those smoldering green eyes on them. I’ve seen this guy cry when he fell off his bike. His tricks don’t have the same effect on me.”
Brian nodded but looked at me. “Back off my sister, dude. There are about a million girls in here. Go flirt with them.”
I laughed, pretending it was all a joke, but deep down, I knew different. Lindsey was gorgeous, smart, and a kick-ass swimmer. Her body was rocking, and I could see myself getting to know her much better than I already did. It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed how attractive she was, inside and out.
“I gotta take a piss. I’ll be back.” Brian scanned the room before standing and leaving our small table.
“Have you seen Brittany?” Lindsey asked, scanning the room for her wayward best friend.
I shook my head. I’d been a little too absorbed in my best friend’s sister. “Nope, not since she hit the dance floor with that dude.”
She nodded, looked only a little concerned, and took another drink from her straw.
“How’s training going?” I asked, genuinely interested.
She put a hand to her forehead. “It isn’t.”
“What? Aren’t you trying out for the Olympics this year? You’ve been busting your ass for this for too long to give up,” I began lecturing.
She shrugged, “My trainer gave up and moved last week. No warning, no nothing. Just gone. I am so screwed.”
“I’ll train you,” I said without thinking. Could I handle it? I was beyond attracted to her and seeing her parade around in the typical one-piece bathing suit of a professional swimmer would probably leave me with a constant erection, but I wanted to do this for her. I could handle it, and she deserved a shot at making it to the top.
She smirked. “Yeah right.”
“I could. You know I could. I’m the best, after all. I’ll bust your ass into shape and make sure you get your spot on the team.”
She looked serious for a second before she waved a hand in the air, essentially waving away my offer. I knew she could afford my rates. Well, her family could. They were very wealthy, and because of them, I had found a way to make myself quite comfortable as well.
“Uh-oh,” she muttered, staring over my shoulder.
I turned to see Brian and another guy I didn’t recognize. Their noses were almost touching. I waited to see if it was going to erupt into a fight or if they would posture a bit before cooling their jets. The two men separated, and Brian made his way toward us.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“That dude is a douche. I bumped into him, and he wanted to fight me,” he said with disgust.
“Uh, Brian, he’s coming this way,” Lindsey interrupted.
I turned, and sure enough, big meathead followed by a couple of his buddies was headed to our table. Fucking awesome.
One of the guys stood directly behind me, effectively locking me in my seat at the table. His chest was pressing into my back. The guy Brian had squared off with was standing in front of him. Brian stood and got back in his face. Mr. Tough Guy’s buddy was standing behind Brian.
“Get the fuck off me,” I said, throwing an elbow back, landing it in the guy’s solar plexus.
He didn’t move.
I shoved back and spun around as I jumped off the barstool. I wasn’t a pussy, and no dumbass meathead was going to push me around.
“Guys, back off,” Lindsey said in a voice full of warning.
Before I knew what was coming, Tough Guy took a swing and hit Brian in the jaw. Brian swung into action and pushed the guy before throwing a punch and landing it in the center of the dude’s face. Blood erupted from what was probably a broken nose. Before I got the chance to do anything, the bouncers were on our table, surrounding Brian and the bleeding tough guy, dragging them both out of the bar.
I looked at Lindsey. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I think we better get out of here.”
When I looked around, I could see Tough Guy’s buddies were hanging out and looking mad as hell. They were eyeballing me. Sure, I was always up for a good fight, but Brian would kick my ass if I got kicked out and left Lindsey in here alone.
“Finish your drink. They aren’t going to run us out of here.”
She picked up her glass and swallowed the contents in a long guzzle. That was going to go straight to her head and give her a nice buzz.
“Not exactly what I meant, but it works.”
I picked up my beer and took a long drink before putting the bottle down.
“We better make sure Brian isn’t getting jumped out there by himself,” I said, realizing the bouncers wouldn’t do anything once the men were outside.
“I need to find Brittany,” Lindsey said, jumping off the stool.
The tiny, tight pink skirt she was wearing had ridden up her thighs, revealing those perfectly shaped, muscular legs. I watched as she tugged it down before tugging down the fitted black shirt she was wearing. It, too, had ridden up, and her flat tummy was exposed just a hint. More tanned flesh. She looked up, her eyes met mine, and I knew she could see the desire. I couldn’t hide it.
“Stop,” she said, shooting me down.
“You’re hot, and you know it,” I told her with a grin.
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s find her.”
“Text her and tell her to get her ass outside. I don’t want to try and find her in this mess.”
She nodded, and we made our way to the door. I placed my hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her through the crowd.
Once outside, we looked around and found Brian leaning up against the wall of the bar. “Took you long enough,” he grumbled.
“How’s your face?” I asked.
“Guy barely touched me, but we need to get out of here before his buddies come out and want to start more shit,” he grumbled.
Just then an obviously drunk Brittany walked out the door with a guy pressed behind her, his arms around her waist and his head buried in her neck. She was giggling and clearly enjoying the attention.
“We need to go, Brit,” Lindsey said.
“Go ahead, I’m going to hang out with—” she looked up at the guy draped on her back, “What’s your name again?”
“Dustin,” he mumbled, his mouth still on her neck.
“Dustin. Dustin and I are going across the street to get a drink,” she laughed.
“Whatever,” Lindsey said. “Be careful. Text me later. Dustin?”
The guy removed his face from Brittany’s neck, looked at Lindsey and gave her a lecherous grin that nearly made me hit him, “Huh?” he asked.
“Don’t do anything that makes me sick,” she threatened, “or I, because I can, and I will kick your ass. Got it?”
Dustin grinned, his eyes slightly glazed from copious amounts of alcohol. “We’re just having fun. I promise I’m a nice guy.”
“Whatever.” She turned to me and then looked at Brian. “Let’s go.”
We all watched Brittany stumble across the street to the other bar.
“You sure she’s going to be okay?” I asked Lindsey, feeling like I should somehow be the hero that saved the girl but not really caring all that much to step in tonight.
“She’s fine. It’s a typical Saturday night for Brittany, trust me.”