At thirty-three, Bear had sown more than his share of wild oats, but he’d never met a woman who made him want more than a few hot nights. Until Crystal. She had a spark of rebellion that had captured his attention right off the bat, and a sweeter, more vulnerable side that she tried her best to hide. The combination had reeled him right in. He wanted to strip away all those layers and get to the heart of who she was. And after months of getting to know her, building a friendship that bordered on coupledom—without the physical side—he had a feeling they’d fall perfectly into sync.
“Definitely not,” he said. “Listen, Pop, I’ve got to run. I’ve got her car, and I need to get it back to her before she gets off work.” And he hoped to finally convince her to give in to the undeniable heat between them and give him a chance. He had to work at the bar tomorrow night, and he didn’t want to wait another day. Not after they’d come so close to finally crossing the line from friends to something more.
They talked for another minute, and his father wished him luck with Crystal. He knew plenty of guys who couldn’t stand their parents, and Bear considered himself lucky in that department, despite their differences. His father had always been hard on them, pushing them to be the best they could be. When you think you’re done with something, look it over again and see how you can make it better. And his mother was as straightforward as a dart. There was a no-bullshit-accepted rule in the Whiskey household. But he knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he were in trouble, they’d always be there to back him up. Just like he was in his father’s time of need. He’d never questioned their love or devotion to any of their children, including Dixie, despite his father’s old-school ways with regard to business.
He went into the shop and headed for the playroom. When Truman had shown up with Kennedy and Lincoln the morning after he’d rescued them, he’d been afraid to leave them with anyone else. They’d renovated the shop to include a playroom with a fenced-in outdoor play area, and now he and Dixie helped care for them. Eventually they’d need to hire a babysitter, as it was getting more difficult and dangerous to get their work done with curious little ones underfoot, but Bear loved having them around.
Tru had taken Kennedy out on a father-daughter dinner date, and Dixie was watching Lincoln while Gemma went to the grocery store. Dixie looked up from where she sat on the floor with Lincoln in her lap.
The adorable tyke clutched a fistful of Dixie’s flame-red locks and reached for Bear, yanking her hair. “Babababa!”
“Ow. You little rascal.” Dixie untangled his fingers from her hair and kissed his pudgy hand. “Now I understand why Bullet shaved his beard. This little man has a powerful grip.”
Bear set Harley on the floor and reached for Lincoln. Spending time with Lincoln and Kennedy had fueled his love of babies. He’d always known he wanted a family, and watching Truman, Gemma, and the babies build their lives together had amped up that desire. “He could be your son with that strawberry-blond hair.”
“Bababababa,” Lincoln babbled as Bear kissed his cheek.
“Don’t jinx me. I need a baby like I need a hole in the head.” Dixie was the youngest of his siblings, and the mouthiest. At five nine, she was tall and thin, with colorful tattoos that rivaled her brothers’. She was the only one of them to take after their mother’s side of the family. She shared her red hair and green eyes, while Bear and his brothers took after Biggs, with dark hair and brown eyes. “You should really take Harley home with you. She wants to be yours.”
“She can be mine here. I like having her at the shop with me. I’d miss her if she was at my house all day.”
“You’re such a softie,” Dixie teased, petting the kitty. “Tru told me he dropped you at Crystal’s work this morning and he was supposed to pick you up after you got her car inspected. But you still have her car…?”
Of all his siblings, he’d always been closest to Dixie. Together they’d weathered their father’s stroke, helped their mother cope, and brought both businesses to new heights. Dixie was as overprotective of him as he and his brothers were of her. “Our date got cut short last night. I’m hoping to make it up to her tonight.”
“Did she know it was a date? Tru said you absconded with her.”
He tickled Lincoln’s belly and handed the giggling boy back to Dixie.
“You worry too much, and Tru knows me better than that. You’ve seen her with me, Dix. You know how she feels about me.”
“You two do always look like you’re going to rip each other’s clothes off, but that doesn’t mean you’re a couple. You know I freaking love Crystal, but it’s been months of this flirtatious game you’re playing. I worry you’re going to smother her and get your brawny heart broken.”
“If I get lucky, I’ll smother her all right.” He made kissing sounds and went for the door, waving as he walked out.
He thought about what Dixie had said as he drove through town, but no matter how he turned it in his head, he couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever this was between him and Crystal, it was worth the wait.
The door to the boutique was locked. The lights in the front of the store were off, but the back was lit up. He peered through the glass door and saw Crystal bent over a table. The skirt of her cheerleading outfit barely covered her ass, and her thigh-high stockings took his mind to dark places. He imagined a black lace thong riding high on her hips underneath that sexy little skirt, and taking it off with his teeth. His mouth watered at the thought.
Crystal stretched, arching her back and thrusting her magnificent breasts forward. Her red and black cropped cheerleading top lifted, exposing a few inches of taut flesh. His fingers itched to touch her. He longed to feel her hot naked flesh beneath him, to see her hair fanned out on his pillow while she cried out his name in the throes of passion. Fuck. He was hard as steel. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could take this.
Who was he kidding? He hadn’t gotten a hard-on for another woman in months.
As if she felt his presence, Crystal glanced up at the door, and his body thrummed. Jesus, what was he? A horny teenager?
No, jackass. A guy who has gone without for too fucking long and knows there’s only one woman to satisfy him.
Crystal strutted up the center of the store with the confidence of a model on a catwalk. Her hips swayed, her shoulders squared, and that long black hair he wanted to wind around his fingers cascaded behind her, as if she were walking into the wind. Or maybe that was just his sex-starved mind working overtime, because he also imagined her completely naked, save for those sexy stockings and heels, beckoning him forward with a come-hither stare. Come, baby, come.
The sound of the locks turning snapped his brain into gear. He shook his head to clear his dirty thoughts as she pushed the door open.