1
Tyler
“Another night, another cold beer at Winchester’s,” I mumble as I glance around Blue Bay’s favorite watering hole. I drain the amber liquid from my bottle and let it hit the dented, wooden table with an unnecessary thud. I give an exaggerated sigh and pick at the label, ready to call it a night until I feel a set of eyes drilling into the side of my head. I turn to my brother Jared and arch a brow. “Do you have a problem?”
“Yeah, I do. I’m tired of all your fucking moping. What the hell is the matter with you, anyway? It’s nine o’clock, and you look like you’re ready to crawl into bed…alone,” he says, his gaze sliding to the cute brunette two tables over.
A single Owens boy spending a Saturday without a woman between the sheets is unheard of, I know. I also know my little brother will be hooking up with that well-dressed cutie tonight, or any one of the other pampered rich girls who spends their summers here in Blue Bay, Connecticut. They return every year to tan and toy with the local boys, only to up and leave for their real lives come fall. I’ve been home now for two years, retired from the MMA circuit to help out in the family construction business after our father died, and I can’t deny that I’ve bedded my share of women wanting a summer fling. I also can’t deny that I knew better than to get attached, and a no-strings summer hook-up was, well…a hell of a lot of fun.
Was?
Fuck, man, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I used to love the attention in the cage, love the string of ladies waiting for a piece of me after a hard-earned fight. But lately, I don’t know… My older brothers Sean and Jamie are proving the Owens boys do have staying power. Who would have thought? Not me. Yet they’re both married with kids. Heck, Sean’s wife Summer is pregnant with their second child. I sure as hell hope it’s a girl. If not, Grandma Nellie will be after me to get settled and finally give her the great granddaughter she’s been wanting. I guess I used to be opposed to marriage, but lately I’m wondering how it would look on me. That thought brings on a bark of laughter.
My God, the eight Owens boys, five brothers and three cousins, have reputations a mile long. Apparently, we have authority issues, and the outsiders who have summer cottages here on the ocean have been warned to stay away by none other than Officer Walker. He and my late dad go way back, and the dispute between the two never ended with Dad’s death. Nope, it extended to the eight Owens boys. He just better back the fuck off and keep his hands off my nephews as they grow up.
“Are you going to answer me?” Jared asks, holding his hand up to Stacey, gesturing for another round of beers. “The last time I saw you this down was when Rock Roberts beat your ass and stole your UFC middleweight title.” I glare at my brother. Now why would he bring that up? I’d been hoping to leave the circuit with a bang, but Rock had other plans. “That girl over there is staring at you. Why aren’t you going for it?”
Oh, just that maybe I’m getting played out, and while marriage is looking better and better, I’m a well-known MMA fighter—the bad boy women like to have fun with but wouldn’t dare bring home to daddy.
Jared continues to glare at me, and I’m about to tell him to fuck off and mind his own damn business when the heavy wooden door swings open and hits the wall with an undignified thud. All eyes turn to the gorgeous blonde sporting big blue eyes the size of saucers as she jumps out of the way before the door swings back and slams shut against her small frame.
Dressed in skintight jeans that hug sweet curves, and a T-shirt that cups gorgeous tits, she glances around, almost frantically, and something niggles in the back of my brain as I take her in. Do I know her? Has she summered here before? I’m not sure, but there’s one thing I am certain of—she’s never been in my bed. That’s not something I’d forget in a hurry.
She glances over her shoulder, like she’s running from the devil himself and every protective instinct I possess roars to the surface. I push from my chair and it scrapes the floor loudly as I stand. I take a step toward her, my scuffing boots drawing her attention. Her gaze jerks to mine, and she takes one last glance over her shoulder, like she expects someone to rip the door from its hinges, before she comes running my way.
What the fuck?
Worried blue eyes latch on mine as she goes up on her toes and slides slender arms around my neck. “Please just go with this,” she says quickly, breathlessly.
“Go with what?” I ask, my gaze roaming her worried face.
The door creaks open, and she gasps as she steals a glance over her shoulder. With her eyes back on me, she says in a loud voice for all to hear, “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
What the ever-loving fuck is going on here?
Before I can ask, or even make sense of what’s happening, she quickly pulls my head down, cutting off my words, as well as the flow of blood to my brain. My mouth slams against her soft lips and one strange thought hits. It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. But holy hell, this woman is all over me—her softness snugly against my hardness in mind-fucking ways. My dick thickens, grows, jumps up for a front row seat. Okay, screw permission or forgiveness.
I go with it, hell, there’s no way my cock won’t let me, and savor the sweetness of her mouth with my tongue, a hurried exploration that I’d love to slow down. But she’s frantic, and since I’m clueless, the only thing I know is she asked me to play along, I match her pace and actions.
For now.
With my arms around her waist, I anchor her to me, and don’t miss the little tortured moan rising in her throat—as though momentarily forgetting she’s kissing a stranger. Then again, maybe I’m not. Maybe she does know me. She links her arms around my back and holds on as I lift her clear off the floor. I turn her slightly, to glance at the door in time to see my oldest brother, Sean, enter. He’s a big, bad-assed mother fucker who’d scare any woman in a dark parking lot. Wait, was she running from him? One of the lights in the lot is broken. Is it possible he’d scared her?
I break the kiss, and set her back on her feet as Sean comes our way. A strange noise, something that resembles a wounded animal caught in a trap, catches in her throat as my bro drops down into the chair next to Jared. All eyes, including Stacey’s as she brings us our beers, are on the girl clinging to me like dryer lint.
I put my hands on her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
She’s breathing fast and hard, her gaze going from me to Sean back to me. “Yeah, I just…”
My gaze narrows in on her. “Did my asshole brother frighten you or something?”
“He’s your….your brother?”
“Yeah, Sean. Did he frighten you?”
She shakes her head fast, too fast. Okay, something strange is going on here and I damn well plan to get to the bottom of it. Women don’t come running up to me, wrapping themselves around me and holding tight like two MMA fighters grappling in the ring. Not anymore, anyway.
“It’s just…” She bites down on her bottom lip, no doubt trying to come up with a plausible story—unless she goes around kissing strangers for sport. I don’t even bother entertaining that idea, though. This one has innocence written all over her. Yeah, something or someone has frightened her.