Boots and Roses (2 page)

The man is riot material,
Bunny added silently. Her body flushed with heat at the deputy’s nearness, and she struggled for something to say.

Jack leaned across Bunny and snagged the mug in his fist, his broad shoulders filling her vision. “Mind if I sit?” He eased onto the stool beside Bunny. “Gonna bid tonight?”

Sitting beside the handsome deputy, Bunny’s heartbeat fluttered for the second time that night. “I hadn’t planned on it.”

Jack winked. “Be a shame. I know for a fact any one of those cowboys would be proud as punch to be bought and paid for by you.” He set his mug down and tapped his chest. “Why, if I was gonna be up there, I’d hope and pray it was your paddle rising to stake a claim on me.”

Bunny’s gut knotted, and her body trembled at his softly spoken words. She reminded herself there were a lot of prettier women in the saloon, and her lips twisted. “I bet you’ve told half the women in this bar the same thing. Did Audrey put you up to advertising as well as busting up fights?”

He raised his hand Boy Scout style and shook his head. “No one put me up to it. You’re the first woman I’ve said that to and the last.” He leaned close until his lips almost brushed her ear. “You’re the only florist I buy my roses from.”

“Jack, I’m the only florist in town.” Bunny crossed her arms. “You’re in my shop at least once a week, supposedly buying flowers for your mother. How many girlfriends are you really buying for?”

A dark shadow flashed in his eyes, and his smile slipped for a second then was back in full force. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” He winked, tossed back another long swallow of water and stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.” Jack lifted her hand and gazed into her eyes. “Just for the record, you’re the prettiest woman in this joint.”

Heat rose up Bunny’s neck into her cheeks. “Liar.”

His eyes narrowed. “Another one for the record…I never lie.” He pressed his lips to her fingers and warmth spread throughout Bunny’s body.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the women on either side of her gaping, and more heat burned into her cheeks.

Jack lifted his head and brushed his lips across hers, then captured her bottom lip in between his teeth, sucking it into his warm, wet mouth. When he let go, he smiled. “That’s just a sample.”

Too stunned to form a coherent comeback, Bunny licked her lip in dumb silence, her gaze following Jack across the crowded floor until he was swallowed up in the surge of women.

Two men had flirted with her in one night. An anomaly for sure, but a great boost to her otherwise faltering ego. Maybe coming to the Ugly Stick Saloon had been a good idea after all. It was helping take her mind off the two-year anniversary of her divorce and her ex’s pending nuptials.

Cory tightened his chaps in the dressing room behind the stage, his lips still tingling from the kiss he’d given Bunny. He’d wanted to run his hand through her long, silky brown hair and tug just enough to expose the beating pulse at the base of her throat. And that was just the beginning of all the things he wanted to do with her.

“Hey, no fair on kissin’ my girl.” Jack stood at the entrance to the backstage area, his arms crossed over his uniformed chest.

“Told you I was serious about making my move.”

“Yeah, but did you have to kiss her?”

Cory grinned. “I wanted her to be certain of my intentions.” He crammed a cowboy hat on his head and stood straight. “I only have a couple weeks before I head to Dallas for med school.”

Jack shook his head. “Then why get involved now? I thought you were gonna stay single until you were through all that.”

Cory’s lips tightened. “For the first time in my life, I know what I want.”

Jack sighed. “Bunny?”

With a nod, Cory slipped a vest over his broad chest. “If I wait until I’m through med school, she could go off and marry someone else. I have to let her know how I feel now. If she’s even slightly interested, maybe she’ll wait.”

“What about me?” Jack spread his hands wide. “You and I both know I don’t buy flowers for my mother. She’s allergic.”

“Look, I know you like her.” Cory stared at his friend. “If you want her and she wants you, I’ll step back and leave it at that. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I’d want both of you to be happy. But if I have even a smidgeon of a chance with her, I’m going for it.”

“How ’bout letting her choose?”

“That’s kinda what I had in mind.” Cory grinned. “You and I have shared a woman before. But this is different. I want something long term. I want to know she’ll be there for me, to go the distance.”

“And I don’t?”

Cory shrugged. “You haven’t had a steady relationship since before I knew you.”

Jack tipped his head. “Just because I haven’t had a steady woman, doesn’t mean I don’t want one.”

“Are you tellin’ me you’re over what happened to Stacy?”

Jack’s lips tightened and he glanced to the far corner.

“Sorry.” Cory laid a hand on his arm. “I know it hurts to talk about her.”

Stacy had been Jack’s girlfriend in college. They’d been inseparable from the moment they’d met. She’d died in a senseless accident that almost cost Jack his own life. When he’d woken up a week later, he’d missed the funeral. He’d also missed any opportunity for closure or goodbyes.

Jack had dropped out of school and gone to work. Stripping. He’d been on a collision course with hell until he met Cory.

Jack shook off Cory’s hand and stepped away. “I don’t really think I’ll ever be over her. But that doesn’t mean I can’t get on with my life.”

Cory slung an arm over Jack’s shoulder. “There’s not much I won’t share with you, man, but Bunny is special.”

“Don’t I know it.” Jack glanced across at Cory. “Since Stacy died, Bunny’s the first woman I can’t forget about when I close my eyes at night. I’m one kick in the pants short of falling in love with her, if I haven’t already.”

Cory nodded. “Then we have a problem.”

Jack frowned. “Yeah, both of us want her, but only one of us can have her—if the woman is amenable.”

Cory stared straight ahead. “You and I have been pretty close, gone through a lot together and been there for each other, right?”

With a nod, Jack answered, “Yup.”

“You taught me how to defend myself.”

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “And you kicked my ass until I went back to school and finished my degree.”

“We’re so close we’re joined at the hip in investments, and we’re goin’ in half on the same piece of property.”

“Yeah. So?”

“What do you say we give Bunny the choice? If she’s willing, she can have either one of us…or both.”

His frown deepening, Jack seemed to chew on Cory’s words before he responded. “I know we shared Maxy Palmer last year when we went to Fiesta in San Antonio. It was fun and all, but this is Bunny we’re talkin’ about, not a one-night stand.”

“I know that.” God, he knew that. “And I don’t want to scare her off any more than you do.”

“Then how’s this gonna work?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but Mark and Luke Gray Wolf share Libby and she seems more than happy with the arrangement,” Cory said. “I don’t see why we can’t share Bunny.”

Jack’s lips twisted. “From what I’ve seen of Bunny, she’s not as free-spirited or streetwise as Libby. I don’t think she’ll go for it.”

Cory let his arm drop from Jack’s shoulders and turned to face his friend, the idea blossoming. “It only makes sense. We’re both interested in her, right?”

Jack nodded. “Looks that way.”

“We’re as close as two men can get.” Cory grinned. “Hell, you’re family, like my brother Nick.”

“Same to you, man.” Jack’s lips lifted in a half-cocked smile. “So you think we can share Bunny and not jack up our friendship?”

“I can, if you can.” Cory stuck out his hand. “But it’s still up to Bunny.”

Jack stared at Cory’s hand, then gripped it in a firm handshake. “Deal.” He pulled Cory into a bear hug.

Cory pulled back and clapped his hands together. “We got us a woman to court.”

“How are we gonna do that?” Jack asked.

A slow smile slid across Cory’s face. “It’s all part of my plan.”

Jack frowned. “I was afraid of that.”

For forty-five minutes, Bunny left the paddle on the bar, refusing to give in to her loneliness and bid on a paid-for pity date. One by one the men paraded around the stage, women bid and the gavel banged. One by one the chance for a date passed and Bunny slipped deeper into a blue funk.

Her lips still tingled from the contact with Cory’s and Jack’s, and she raised her hand to touch her mouth. No vibrator had affected her as much as those earth-shaking kisses. Once again, Bunny considered Audrey’s words. Maybe it was time for her to get out in the dating pool again and give love a second chance.

“Hold on to your belt buckles, ladies,” Charli said with a flourish. “Here to introduce the final act, the woman who made the Cowboy Auction possible, Audrey Anderson.”

Audrey stepped up on the stage with Deputy Monahan holding her arm. The owner of the Ugly Stick Saloon took the microphone from Charli and faced the crowd, her face straight, serious. “Ladies, it’s been brought to my attention that we’ve had several instances of sexual misconduct against our own Deputy Jack Monahan. I ask you to please keep your hands to yourself and respect the man who was brought here to keep the peace.”

One woman yelled, “Boo!”

The room full of women joined her, all shouting, “Boo!”

Bunny smiled. If she wasn’t mistaken, Audrey had something up her sleeve and she was playing the audience.

Audrey winked. “Oh, so you like playing dirty?”

As one, the women yelled, “Hell, yeah!”

“Then let’s raise the stakes. For the first time in Cowboy Auction history, we’re offering up a two-fer.”

The ladies roared their approval.

Despite her resolve to remain unaffected by the goings on in the saloon, Bunny leaned forward, a tingle of anticipation rippling through her body. Cory hadn’t been offered up for auction yet and he’d hinted at a surprise. Was this it?

“All our cowboys have been fabulous sports about this auction, but the last bidding opportunity we’re offering tonight is special and near and dear to my heart. Please welcome the two-fer deal of Cory ‘The stripper so hot you’ll singe your fingers’ McBride…”

Cory danced out on the stage, wearing a vest, boots and leather chaps over a black G-string. The only thing not showing was his package, and it was swelled enough to give every woman enough information to go on. The man was hung.

Bunny sucked in a breath and held it while her pulse pounded so loud she could barely hear herself think. Her deliveryman had been in her sex dreams and fantasies more and more often lately. Now this… Holy smokin’ cowboys!

Audrey continued, “The other half of this dynamic duo is our very own man of peace, Deputy ‘Pull over and let me frisk you’ Jack Monahan!” Audrey handed the microphone back to Charli.

Deputy Monahan joined Cory center stage, slipping his uniform shirt off, exposing shoulders as broad as Cory’s and equally tanned and gleaming with a fine layer of oil.

Holy rock stars!
Between the Adonis blond beauty that was Cory and the dark, rugged sex appeal of Jack, Bunny could barely breathe.

The crowd exploded in a frenzy, all the paddles raising in the air as the bidding started.

Bunny perched on the edge of her stool, her body trembling.

The two men danced around the stage in sync to bump-and-grind music barely audible over the cacophony of women yelling and whistling.

Bidding started at five hundred dollars and shot up from there.

Not that I’m interested in bidding
. Bunny mentally calculated what she had in her bank account.

Audrey handed the numbered paddle to Bunny. “I’ll match you dollar for dollar.” She shrugged. “I won’t keep one of them, but I want to contribute to the cause. This way I can, and Jackson won’t have heartburn about it.”

“I can’t bid on those two. I wouldn’t know what to do with one man, much less two!”

Audrey’s brows rose. “Seriously? Oh, honey, you really do need to get out more often. Did I ever tell you about the day I danced for Jackson, Mark and Luke on Jackson’s thirtieth birthday?” She tugged at the front of her shirt. “And I don’t mean two-stepping.” Audrey fanned herself. “Making me hot just thinkin’ about it.”

“Audrey, you’re much more free-spirited. I’m…I’m…” Bunny glanced down at the paddle in her hand. “Not.”

A soft hand rested on Bunny’s shoulder and Audrey leaned close. “How do you know if you’ve never tried to be?”

Bunny shrugged. “I’ve always focused on getting my business going, getting my finances straight—”

“Puttin’ your lousy ex-husband through school. Yeah, I can see where that gotcha.” Audrey shook her head. “That’s all well and good when it comes to running a business, but what about givin’ yourself a second chance at love?”

“I don’t need a second chance. Once was bad enough. I don’t think I’m ready to float that boat again.” Although the two men on the stage could more than set her sails. Holy hell, they were built like brick houses, all muscle—hard, finely chiseled muscle.

“If not for love, then date for fun or a release from stress.” Audrey threw her hand in the air. “Why not satisfy your sexual fantasies? Anything to get you out of your shell, girlfriend.”

“One thousand dollars!” Charli shouted into the microphone. “Ladies, this is twice the spice for the money. Don’t stop now.” She nodded toward the throng. “One thousand one hundred from number forty-one.”

“A thousand dollars?” Bunny did the math in her head. “I’d have to sell a lot of roses to afford those two.”

“Raise your paddle. Remember, I’ll double whatever you can afford.”

Even as Bunny shook her head, her fingers tightened around the paddle’s wooden stick. “I can’t.”

“Yes. You can. It’s just a date,” Audrey insisted. “Think about what Cory can do with that whip. And Jack has handcuffs.”

Cory cracked the whip, and number thirty-seven raised her paddle, bumping the bid up another one hundred dollars.