Dallas [Wolfe Brothers 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

“I just need to go.” She wouldn’t even look at him.

“She’ll be back in a minute, boys.” Dallas took her arm and dragged her through the bar. He was glad that it was early yet because he’d hate for his customers to see him manhandling another patron.

“What are you doing? I’m trying to leave!” She dug her heels in, but the hiking boots she used for work weren’t helping her on the slick tile floors of the bar.

“Shut up before I turn you over my knee and paddle your ass.” He hoped to hell she’d mouth off. Just one little word and he’d have her luscious ass bare before him.

He slammed the office door and locked it. He was going to find out what the hell her problem was before he let her out. “Have a seat and tell me why you’re trying to run out of my bar.”

She stood in the corner of the room farthest from him. “I didn’t know it was your bar. I’m sorry, Dee—had I known, I would have refused to come.” She pushed back some of the honey-brown hair that had fallen from her bun.

“You’re welcome to come here anytime. Why does it matter?”

He’s lost his freaking mind, she thought as she stared at him with her mouth hanging open. Had he forgotten his warning from seven years ago? She’d spent the last several years staying the hell away from him. If he was invited to a family party, she didn’t attend. If someone told her he was coming to eat dinner with them on Sunday, she developed a sudden migraine.

“Aren’t you the same bastard who told me to stay away from you seven years ago?” Her hands were fisted at her hips. “I’ve done my best to follow directions, and now you want to question me?”

“I didn’t mean for the rest of your life!” He moved closer to her. “Is that why you haven’t been there for your nephew’s birthday parties?”

“Let me out of here.” She slowly enunciated each word to make sure that he didn’t have any chance of misunderstanding her anger.

“Hell no! I want to know the truth!”

“Fuck you, Dallas! I don’t owe you shit.” She angrily stormed across the room, ready to get the hell out of there before she said or did something that she shouldn’t. She was unlocking a dead bolt when he caught her. His big body was plastered against her back. His hands held both of hers suspended over her head.

“We’re going to talk.”

“I don’t have a fucking thing to say to you.”

“Even better.” She felt his head in the crook of her neck, and his lips sucked at her flesh. Her breathing stopped and her pulse quickened. “Why talk when we can do other things?”

“I don’t want to do other things with you either.” She gasped as she wiggled against him, trying to force him to let her go before she embarrassed herself in front of him.

“CC, you can’t lie to me.” One hand now gripped hers above her head while the other slid down her body and under her shirt. “See how hard your nipples are for me?” He shuddered against her as he felt the metal around her nipples. “You’re pierced?” he asked before nipping at her neck. “That’s hot as hell, sweetness.”

She closed her eyes and bit back a moan. After ten years of fantasies and dreams, he was touching her. How was she supposed to stay away from him? She didn’t want to, that was for damn sure, but she had to. He wouldn’t get the chance to reject her again.

“I’m not interested, Dallas. I’m seeing someone else.”

All at once, she was free. “Fine,” he spat out as he swung the door open. “Go play with your friends and leave me the hell alone.”

Work hadn’t gone so well today. She had had to work with Craig Ledbetter. They’d been arguing over samples that she wanted to take at the Fieldstone site when he lost it and slugged her. He’d been written up, and she’d been sent home with an ice pack on her right eye. Too damned bad it had been so close to quitting time.

Cristal hauled in the last of her groceries from the small store off of Chrysler Avenue and carried them through the sliding glass door to the kitchen. The previous owner of the little white house had changed his garage into a kitchen for his wife. From her understanding, the old kitchen had been smaller than a closet. The only drawback she could think of was that come winter, she would have to trek across the snow and ice to get from the unattached three-car garage behind the house to get into her humble abode.

The house was in a quiet, older neighborhood. Most of the neighbors were already retired. She’d moved out of Kansas City and into the smaller town of Independence to ensure that she didn’t have any chance encounters with Dallas after she returned home from college.

After putting the last of the groceries into the cabinets, she found the only cold drink left in her refrigerator. With a soda in hand, she walked up a short ramp into the living-room-office combo.

She had a stack of reports that were due Monday, most of which were already completed. She was an environmental engineer with the state. She loved being able to work outside in the field. With a quick flick of her wrist, she turned the television on and settled in to watch her favorite cooking show.

Some idiot was banging on her front door. “Hold your damned horses!” she demanded as she stumbled for the door, but first she had to peek outside the window. A big, green monster motorcycle was parked near her front door, but she couldn’t see the owner.

“Cristal Candice McGuire, I need to talk to you. Open up.”

Dallas Wolfe was demanding entry? Why? What in the bloody hell was Dallas Wolfe doing on her doorstep? Dammit, she didn’t need him here. “Go away, Dee, cause I’m not in the mood to deal with your crap tonight.” There, I’ve told him, she thought as she sat back down on the green-and-red floral sofa.

One minute he was outside, the next he was slamming her front door closed. “Why didn’t you let me in?”

“Why are you in my house, you bastard?” Because he was towering over her, she decided to stand. If only she had a ladder, she could be closer to his height. As it was, when they stood next to each other, he was almost a foot taller than she was. “I had the door locked for a reason.”

“Apparently, the damned lock on your door sucks!” He flashed an innocent credit card in her face. “If I can bust in here with this, you’re screwed.” Dallas planted himself down in a chair directly across from her. “What the fuck happened to your eye, CC?”

“Don’t call me that. I haven’t been that person since I was eighteen years old. I won’t be again.”

“Who did that to you, CC?” His hand was holding her head still as he looked at her big black eye.

If only she had a baseball bat, she might be able to get him to listen to her. “One of the guys from work and I had a difference of opinion. When he couldn’t make me see his point of view with words, he did this. It’s nothing to worry about.” She set her feet on top of the coffee table.

“Have you told Ry?”

“I’m not telling my brother about this and neither are you! He has three kids to worry about and bills to pay and a wife to take care of. This was a one-time incident. It won’t happen again.”

“You think he won’t hit you again? You need to find a better lover!” He wasn’t falling for that shit. He knew a lot of men who got off on beating their women, but he’d just never thought she would have been screwing one of them. Ry must not know about it, he thought, or the other man wouldn’t be alive.

“I told you, it was a coworker not a boyfriend.” She flipped through some channels while hoping that if she ignored him, he’d get the hell out.

“You could have called me. I would have taken care of him for you.”

“Like hell!” Her honey-brown hair was loose, and the curls tangled wildly about her head as she spoke. “I don’t need you for anything.” Her aqua eyes held his. “I have
all
my needs taken care of.” She gave him a taunting smile. Let him deal with that.

“You’ve turned into a real bitch, CC,” Dallas muttered. He looked as angry as she felt.

She took a deep breath. Didn’t the so-called experts say that helped? Damned liars. She tried again. “I know, Dallas. I’ve worked real hard at it. Thanks for stopping by, and I’m so sorry that you have to be leaving now, but I need to take a shower.” Or something, anything at this point to get the testosterone bundle out of her home!

“Go ahead. I can wait until you get done.”

Damn, damn, damn! Couldn’t he take a freaking hint! “How did you find out where I live? I didn’t think you’d come to this part of town.”

“Ry told me.”

She needed to have a little chat with her brother. He had to know why she had avoided any possible contact with Dallas over the years.

“Did you ever think that the asshole that did this to you might come after you again?” He sat across from her looking as if he owned this place. This was just peachy! Why was he making himself at home?

“No. It was a one-time thing. He doesn’t know where I live—blah, blah, blah.” She was beginning to feel like a broken record.

“If he has Internet access, he will know where you live.”

“Oh well! It’s not your problem, Dallas.”

“Bullshit. Go pack yourself a bag. You can come to my place until we can make sure this all blows over.”

“Not no, but
hell
no! I’m staying here.”

“Fine, we’ll do it your way.” He sat there playing with his cell phone. She tried to pretend that he wasn’t there. They sat in silence watching the television as minutes ticked by. She tried to find the most boring program she could to torture him.

A knock on the door pulled her attention away, but Dallas didn’t even give her a chance to open the door. He checked out the window then opened the door as one of his giant brothers entered.

“You called the cops on me?” Her eyes flashed angrily at Dallas before she turned her attention back to his oldest brother. “Hi, Reno.” Reno’s black eyes didn’t hold the same smile his lips did.

“Did you call the cops about this?” His huge hand tilted her chin up while he looked at her ever-darkening shiner.

“Work wrote him up, and I was told not to worry the police with it.”

“Why didn’t you call one of us? I’m with the police station, and Yuma is an attorney. Either one of us would have been happy to help you out.”

“Because she’s stubborn as a damned mule?” Dallas suggested.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” she replied as she glared at Dallas. “I didn’t figure the police needed to be involved.” She shrugged.

Reno nodded to his brother but gave his attention to Cristal. “CC, where did this happen?”

“Not here.” She smiled up at him with her sweetest, most difficult smile. Dallas wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him. His other hand was busy behind. He was sliding his hands into the back of her pants as if to give her a wedgie. “We were working a suspicious dumping site in Kansas City.”

“And he’s one of your coworkers? What’s his name?” Dallas questioned her.

The Wolfe brothers both watched her. They’d known her since she was little so it was hard for them to think of anyone hurting her. Hell, while all Wolfe brothers were involved in some forms of BDSM, none of them had ever slugged a woman.

She wondered what it would be like to have Dallas using that voice while he fucked her. His big cock pounding into her as he ordered her to milk his cock with her pussy. She shivered and shook herself out of fantasy land. He’d once told her she wasn’t woman enough to handle him, and she didn’t see any point in trying to find out now.

“CC, you need to be careful. If he’s as much of a damned hothead as he sounds, he could do it again or something worse. Do you have my number?”

She felt Dallas’s hands on her ass as he pulled her phone out of her pocket. He started tapping buttons. “I’m putting both our numbers in your phone. If you can’t reach one, try the other.”

“Okay. Well, it was great seeing you both, but I’ve got to get settled in for the evening. I don’t want to keep you from, well, whatever you’ve got planned for tonight.”

Reno laughed, but she wasn’t sure why. All that made her want to do was kick him in the shins. Dammit, men acted so damned sure of themselves. “Make sure you lock up, and be careful, CC.” After putting a chaste kiss on the top of her head, he took a walk out to his truck. Within two minutes, he was back with a camouflage overnight bag that he gave to Dallas before leaving again.

“I’d love to say it was nice seeing you again, but…” She cleared her throat lightly. “Well, it’s been great seeing you after all these years. Next time, let’s make it longer.” The bag fell with a loud thump. His massive arms crossed over his big chest, and his legs were spread apart as if daring her to try to make him leave.

“Where’s the bedroom?”

“Why? It’s not like you’re going to need to use it. According to the Internet, you live maybe five minutes from here. Get your ass out of my house.”

“Make me.”

Damn, damn, damn. She’d need a forklift to get his happy ass out of there. She could rip his balls off, but that would be a disappointment to women everywhere. Decisions, decisions.

“Fine, let’s tour my lovely abode. This is the living room, and my office is over there in that corner.” She led him to the ramp that went down slightly. “That’s the kitchen. Over this way is a short hall. Master bedroom is right there, and the only bathroom is directly in front of you, and the guest room is on the other side.” She led him back to the ramp. “Oh, there’s the laundry room, and the door near my office area leads to the basement stairs.” She glared at him. “Anything else you need before I go take a shower?”