Kansas Heat Page 11

  “Trust me? Need I remind you of the terms of our agreement?”

  “No, I remember. We agreed when you are with me, you’re with me, and, look, you’re with me.”

  “Only because you have my hand locked in a death grip. Come on, let go, Cody. I don’t want to play pool.”

  “And I told you, you aren’t going to. Just because you know how to play with one type of ball doesn’t mean you know what to do with another.”

  Amanda’s mouth fell open. All the insults and curses verging on her lips were stilled by shock. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me.”

  Yes, Amanda had, and she only had one response. “I don’t watch. I play.”

  Cody didn’t take her the least bit seriously. Laughing, he gave her one of those good ol’boy looks, one that said he clearly didn’t think she knew what she was getting herself into.

  “Do you even know how?”

  “Why don’t you put some money on the table and find out?” Amanda suggested, seeing an opportunity to add to Cody’s coming humiliation.

  “I can’t take your money.”

  “Why not? It’s green. It spends.”

  “Because it ain’t right for a man to take advantage of a woman.”

  Her ears began to burn. “I’m going to kick your ass.”

  “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

  “Don’t belittle a person before you know you can beat them.”

  “Beat who at what?”

  She completely forgot where they were headed. Knox Reese’s question brought her to a sudden stop at the rim of the pool table, right beneath Knox’s penetrating glare. Like molten molasses, sweet desire trickled down her spine as she became hypnotized by his gaze. The tension vibrating in her muscles snapped as his hand engulfed hers. Little electric shocks spidered through her at the small touch, making her nipples pucker and her pussy hum.

  The way his blue eyes darkened to navy told her he felt it, too. Felt it and rejected it instantly. Jerking back his hand, he moved away. Cold despair clipped through her, and she scowled at Knox as he backed away. Instantly, her guard went up, and the tension between them shifted.

  Jace Reese stepped in to the fill the void and shocked Amanda with the sudden gentleness in his eyes. On the outside, Jace looked every bit as hard and intimidating as his older brother, but unlike Knox, his gaze was alive with warmth. She couldn’t help but relax under the protective comfort she felt radiating from him.

  “And just what kind of beating were you discussing with my brother?” Jace asked after Cody introduced them.

  “Amanda thinks she can beat me at pool.” The sound of Cody’s amusement drew her gaze back to his smug little smirk. “Apparently, the little lady fancies herself quite a shark.”

  Jace raised a curious eyebrow at her. “Is that so?”

  “Well, why don’t we let the little lady show us just how good she is at playing with sticks and balls?”

  Innocent as Knox’s question sounded, Amanda’s mind couldn’t help but to pervert its meaning. From the look in Knox’s eyes, it hadn’t been a mistake. She knew just how to handle him.

  “This show costs money, little boy.” Amanda cocked her hip in the classic challenge. “Are you sure you have enough allowance in your pocket?”

  Knox stepped back into her, shouldering Jace out of the way. “I might have a quarter or two.”

  “Is that all your dignity is worth?” Amanda smirked. “And here I thought you Reese brothers would have placed a higher value on yourselves.”

  “Okay, then,” Knox’s hand went to his back pocket, “fifty dollars a game.”

  “No.” Cody shook his head. “Put your money back in your wallet. I’m not going to let you bet—”

  “You’re not going to let?” Amanda rounded on Cody. “What do I have to do? Chew through the leash? You don’t have any say in this, Cody.”

  “I’m not going to stand by and watch you lose your money on a pool game.”

  “Then close your eyes, or better yet, go stroke yourself until you’re blind. You don’t have any right to tell me what I can or can’t do with my money.”

  “That’s not an appropriate thing for a lady to say in public.”

  Amanda almost fell over herself when Knox ventured to voice his opinion.

  “Excuse me? Just who the hell are you to tell me what I can and can’t say?” Cindy had been right—meeting Knox really broke the spell. “Why don’t you just shut up and put your money on the table, Knox?”

  Chapter 12

  “You hustled me.”

  The statement lacked hard impact because Knox sounded more confused than angry.

  Cody understood. He, too, was still stuck on shock. Amanda hadn’t just won, she’d conned Knox. Losing three games in a row to start, mouthing off enough to keep Knox indulgently upping the bet to “help her out”, all part of the classic hustle Amanda had just pulled on Knox. Hell, Cody had even offered her pointers.

  “Tell it to the judge, my friend.” Amanda dropped her stick on the table and came around with a hand open. “I believe that’s seven hundred dollars you owe me, Knox.”

  Cody couldn’t keep his chuckle to himself anymore. He’d been waiting for a day to say something like this to Knox, and finally it had come. “You got beat by a girl.”

  “The offer is still open, little boy.” Amanda threw the challenge at Cody. “I’ll take your last fifty cents. I ain’t got a problem with robbing the cradle.

  “I’m a year older than you.” Amanda had better watch her words because in a few hours she’d be the one at Cody’s mercy. “That’s why nobody will say crap when I leave you crying for your candy money back.”

  “I don’t cry, little lady.” Cody grinned. “I get even.”

  “Name the game and the time.”

  Jace jutted into the conversation, actually stepping into block Cody’s view of Amanda. “You play poker?”

  Amanda rolled her shoulders in a slow motion. “I’m sure I could learn.”

  “I’ll take that smile as a yes.”

  Cody could also see Jace just accepted the challenge Amanda knowingly or unknowingly laid down before him. Jace knew how to play about every game Cody had ever heard of, so it didn’t shock him when his brother started going down the list.

  “What about chess?”

  “What?” Amanda’s smirk dipped as her brow wrinkled. “Chess?”

  “Yes, chess,” Jace repeated with a touch of annoyance. “You know the game that’s kind of like checkers?”

  “Yes, I know,” Amanda snapped. “And I haven’t played in a long time.”

  “Sunday afternoon,” Jace retorted just as sharply. “We’ll play for Knox’s seven hundred dollars back.”

  “All right.” Amanda nodded and then flashed Jace a true grin. “I’ll take your bet. You’re gonna regret it ’cause I’m the best that’s ever been.”

  The words struck Cody as familiar, and he mouthed over them, trying to remember where they came from. Apparently, Jace didn’t need to put much thought into it because he stepped up to tower over Amanda.

  “This ain’t Georgia, little lady, and sometimes the devil does win.”

  Amanda snorted in response. “I guess I know what I’ll be praying for in church this Sunday.”

  “Prayers won’t save you, baby girl.” Knox delivered his warning, stepping up to trap Amanda between him and Jace. As usual, Amanda’s arrogance made her too rash to see the danger closing in around her. Brazenly, she smiled and cocked a hip.

  “How about a chair and a whip? Will that save me, or do I need to go buy a bottle of Jack to put you to bed, big boy?”

  Cody saw Knox’s jaw roll with tension as his lips parted. Blind panic and fear hit him. Before he could respond, Cody was already in action.

  “Let’s dance.”

  Cody grabbed Amanda’s arm and whisked her quickly away from his oldest brother.

  * * * *

  Knox watched Cody spirit
his little lover to the safety of the dance floor. The farther away she went, the smaller she got until she once again only looked five foot two. It was an amazing transformation, because before him, he’d have sworn Amanda was six feet tall. She certainly acted like she was six feet tall.

  And a man. Men didn’t have those curves, though, and they didn’t smell half as sweet. Knox certainly never got a hard-on from watching a man bend over a pool table before. He couldn’t decide which fate would be worse, discovering he was gay or falling in love with Amanda Johnson.

  “I like her.”

  Knox’s eyes cut to Jace. His brother didn’t notice, too fixated on Amanda. Knox wasn’t half as drunk as his brothers thought. Certainly, his head was clear enough to put the obvious pieces together.

  “Yeah? And when did you decide that? Tonight or some time ago?”

  “I don’t see anything wrong with Amanda,” Jace retorted, his gaze finally locking on Knox’s.

  Knox snorted, noticing how neatly Jace ducked his question. “I’m not sure you’re really seeing the girl at all.”

  Yeah, Knox knew Jace’s little secret even if his brother held it in a silent fist all these years. Jace didn’t have to say anything. The way he watched Amanda said it all. It was Knox’s first worry when they’d started putting names on the list, which is why he’d buried Amanda’s name at the bottom of the list. Knox just hadn’t anticipated getting to her number.

  “Maybe it just scares you because you see it, too,” Jace shot back.

  “All I see is trouble with a tight ass and a nice set of tits.”

  “All I see is a list with very few names on it. Come on, Knox, give the girl a chance.”

  “So she wins by default?” Knox glared at the woman in question. He didn’t like the feel of Amanda at all. From the moment she’d stepped into their circle, he’d felt the electric sparks showering all around him. The whole thing made him tense with pent-up aggression. “I don’t want to get stuck with the wrong woman just because we’re too lazy to find the right one.”

  “What do you suggest then?” Jace asked.

  “Maybe we need to reconsider some of the women who we didn’t put on the list.”

  Jace snorted, looking back at Amanda and Cody dancing. “Next thing you’ll suggest is we have a party and invite them all at once for a speed dating competition.”

  Knox didn’t get the part about speed dating, but the party idea he liked. “The Fourth of July is coming up next weekend. It would be the perfect excuse to have a large scale event.”

  “You hate large scale events,” Jace reminded him, as if a reminder was needed.

  “I’ll suffer through it,” Knox grumbled.

  “You’re an idiot.” Jace straightened up. “I’m going to go dance with the perfectly good woman we have.”

  “He really needs to get the shit beat out of him on a regular basis,” Knox muttered to himself. Silently, he wagered the odds Cody would say no to letting Jace take the woman molded to his front out of his arms. He wouldn’t let her out of his arms.

  Best not to ever have her there in the first place.

  * * * *

  “Come on.” Jace grinned at Cody’s scowl.

  He knew his brother wanted to hit him. Jace also knew Cody wouldn’t. Not here. Not now. Later, maybe, but for a chance to feel Amanda plastered along his length, Jace would take the pain. He’d waited his turn, letting Cody have her all week and Knox play pool with her. Jace was due.

  “Why don’t you find your own woman to dance with?” Cody snarled.

  “Why go through the trouble when you have a perfectly good one right here?”

  “I’m not a piece of beef, you jackasses,” Amanda snapped, showing her own teeth and making Jace’s cock pulse with need. He liked her spunk and was betting she was a real wildcat in bed. Hell, he knew she’d be one. He saw the scratches on Cody’s shoulders and envied each and every one.

  Knox could search all he wanted. Jace had always known what he wanted—Amanda in his bed, where he had all the time to devour the full banquet of her body.

  “Amanda,” Cody growled, “he’s just trying to irritate me.”

  “Actually, I’m trying to hit on your date.” Jace smirked. “It’d go a lot better if you weren’t around. So do you mind?”

  “Amanda is not interested.”

  “I might be.” Amanda’s little chin rose up. “It’s hard to tell the difference between the two of you at this moment. Besides, I can always do with more friends.”

  Jace didn’t get the friend comment, but obviously Cody did. Cody’s eyes narrowed on Amanda, and he growled at her. “Best you watch yourself, Amanda. You might get what you wish for.”

  She jumped at Cody’s bait, giving him a hard look. “Just what are you threatening, Cody?”

  “Nothing.” Cody backed down and Jace smirked. “Fine, dance with Jace, but don’t think I’ll forget this attitude later.”

  “Who said there’d be a later?” Amanda tossed the loaded question at Cody, but he’d already shrugged his way through the crowd.

  Turning her dark look on him, Jace knew better than to say a word. He simply took her in his arms as he’d dreamed of doing for too long. Soft and perfectly rounded, Amada fit against his body as if they’d been crafted as one. They were one, moving in perfect rhythm.

  The only thing Jace could imagine loving more would be fitting together like this without clothes on. Nothing but skin to skin, and he’d be buried deep inside her…right now he had to cope with the frustration.

  It wasn’t bad at first. Three songs went by in a fast pace that kept their bodies separated for most of the time. Finally, though, a slow song wound its way around the dance floor, and it figured Amanda would stall out on him.

  “I think I’ve had enough dancing.”

  Jace could read through Amanda’s lie easily enough. She radiated apprehension. He understood. Just because he’d been dealt a stack of fast dances didn’t mean he hadn’t used every opportunity to touch Amanda in subtly suggestive ways. Inappropriate ways, given she was dating Cody. Though Jace had a feeling the not-so-innocent touches would have made Amanda skittish no matter what.

  He might unnerve her, but she didn’t reject them. It was just the opposite, if the darkening of her eyes and the licking of her lips were any indication.

  Jace would have bet money Amanda was wet already. He knew women well enough to know the look on her face. He turned her on, but she didn’t want to be the type of woman lusting after her boyfriend’s brother. A noble trait, but totally wasted on his family.

  “Ah, come on, Amanda.” Jace wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Just one more dance.”

  “Really,” she breathed out in a rush, “I’m getting tired.”

  “Then step on my feet, and I’ll carry your weight,” Jace retorted, tightening his arms until he felt every soft curve of her body settle into his own hard angles.

  “I don’t think this is appropriate,” Amanda murmured into his shirt, even as she shifted and adjusted their position so no gap existed anywhere between them.

  Melded like one, there was no way she could miss the size of his erection indenting into the soft flesh of her stomach. Just to be sure, he slid his hand down her back and over the gentle rise of her ass and pressed. She didn’t resist.

  Just the opposite. She rubbed, and he almost groaned aloud with the pleasure the small motion gave him. What an absolutely delicious move. Now he knew why Cody had chased after her that first night. If she kept her teasing motions up, he’d come right there in his jeans in the middle of the dance floor.

  In retaliation, he bent his head and nuzzled through her sweet-smelling hair to whisper in her ear. “Relax, Amanda. It’s just a dance.”

  Then he bit her just lightly on the neck, scraping his teeth over the sensitive skin as his tongue snaked out to chase after the shiver he could feel racing down her body. He knew where those trembles pooled and would love to take a nibble there, too
. She told him with her husky moan.

  “Jace.”

  “Mmm, saying my name like that only gets you bitten harder.” He matched his actions to his words.

  “You shouldn’t…” Even as Amanda’s breathless words denied him, her head tilted, offering more of her neck to his tasting.

  Jace couldn’t resist the temptation. He took another bite, this one hard enough to leave a mark his tongue slipped out to soothe, making her rub against him in ways that returned his seductive caress tenfold.

  “You taste so good, like sweetened apples.” Jace nibbled on her earlobe between words. “I want to taste more. I want to take you back to the ranch, strip you bare, and discover every sweet spot from here all the way down to that delectable pussy I can smell already dripping for me.”

  Jace’s hand dipped below her waist to fan out over the plump cheeks of her ass. With his strength, he helped Amanda grind her pelvis even harder against his.

  “It’s going to happen, too,” Jace groaned, giving up dancing to just sway with her in his arms. “One day, Amanda, you’ll spread those legs for my tasting. I’ll devour every inch of your tasty little cunt until you fall apart under my tongue.”

  Jace panted just thinking about tucking his head up between her legs. The rough drags of breaths matched the heaving press of Amanda’s breasts against his chest. The pointed tips of her tits rubbed against him with a pace fast enough to assure Jace that she dreamed the same thing as he in the moment.

  “I’m going to make you come so many times,” he growled, needing her to believe him. “You’ll be weak from pleasure, crying and begging for just a moment to catch your breath. I’m not going to give it to you.”

  “You’re not?”

  Amanda’s soft whisper held so much longing, Jace’s gut clenched with need. She was there, in the moment, with him, and he wanted it to be special.

  “No.” Jace pulled his head back slightly to capture her gaze. “I’m not going to stop. I’m going to fuck you so good, sweet thing. I’m going to bury myself deep inside you and make scream with pleasure. It’s going to be hard, rough, and all night, Amanda. When I’m done with you, your cunt will pant at just the sound of my name.”