Page 91 of A Vine Mess
“Holy fuck,” he breathed, cutting me off. I turned to him, finding him stalled in the doorway, those bright blue eyes darkened as they raked my body head to toe.
I did a little twirl. “You like?”
“I’dlike,” he growled, stalking toward me and slipping his hand along the outside of my thigh and beneath the dress, finding I wasn’t wearing panties, “to strip you out of it and have my wicked way with you.”
I gasped as he slid a finger through my slit, toying with me. Fuck, his hands were magic. Even that single touch had my legs weak and shaking. Gathering my wits, I placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away—or tried, but the man was a wall of muscle and didn’t move until he planted a kiss on the side of my neck—then wagged a finger at him. “Down boy. We have somewhere to be. And you know someone will come looking for us if we don’t show up.”
“Damn nosy Lawlesses.”
Ignoring the comment, I nodded at the box in his hands. “What’s that? Who was at the door?”
“West was bringing me something to wear tonight.”
I frowned. “You’re already dressed.”
Unintentionally, we’d decided to match tonight, with him in his dark wash jeans and black button down shirt, and brown work boots, me in my little black dress and the cowboy boots I’d bought in Deadwood. Without answering me, he set the box on our bed and removed the lid.
The cowboy hat he withdrew was also black, the hatband a shiny strip of dark leather. Gingerly, he removed the hat from the box and set it atop his head, adjusting it until it was comfortable.
Sheepishly, he looked at me. “What do you think?”
The uncertainty in his eyes almost sent me to my knees, the knowledge that this man wasn’t always as sure of himself as he’d like me to believe—and that made him even more loveable in my eyes.
Slowly, I approached him and pressed my palms to his chest, digging my nails into his shirt and dragging him closer until we were both shielded by the brim of his hat.
“You’re giving me major Rip vibes right now.”
Liam’s eyes flared with heat. “Does that make you my Beth?”
“If that’s what you want,” I said, tilting my face and offering up my mouth.
“I want anything that ends with us together forever,” he said, leaning in, a breath away from my lips.
“Deal,” I replied, then kissed him.
The Swallow was exactlythe kind of bar you’d expect to find in a small western town like Dusk Valley. The floors were sticky, tables were a mixture of short squares and circular high tops, crammed together in the free space surrounding a large dance floor, the bar itself dominating the back wall. They didn’t serve food, and smoking indoors had been outlawed ages ago, but the scent of cigarette smoke still clung to the place. They also didn’t serve any specialty drinks that required a blender or any other frilly accouterments. They had beer, boxed wine, and the standard, staple liquors you’d find anywhere in America.
We followed West and Finn inside and toward a far corner where the rest of the Lawless men and Aria were set up. The table was already full of empty bottles and watery glasses. Liam kept me close to his side as we pushed through the crowd and gathered around the edge.
“See you got started without us,” West said, socking Trey on the shoulder.
“Punch me again and my fist is going through your face,” Trey promised his younger brother, providing a smile that was all teeth to match.
West raised his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say, Fed.”
“Don’t call me that,” Trey growled.
Liam and I shared a look, and I shrugged before he disappeared with West to get us drinks.
Aria tugged me onto the chair next to her and said, “God, it’s so nice to have another girl around.”
I snorted. “I’ve got four sisters,” I reminded her. “This is…uncharted territory.”
Aria sighed heavily, leaning closer so I could hear her over the music but no one else could. “They mean well, and I love them so much, but…sometimes, it’s a lot.”
“I can imagine.”
If there was one thing I’d picked up about the Lawless men since we’d arrived in Dusk Valley the day before, it was that they were unfailingly loyal to and extremely protective of each other. In Aria’s case, it was surely moreoverprotective than the kind they asserted over each other, and I could see how exhausting that would be.
