Rough Rider (Hot Cowboy Nights, #2)(15)

Grady grabbed her by the arm. “I don’t think so. You came with me. You’ll leave with me.”

“Let go of me, Grady.” She tried to shake his hand off, but he held her. She looked to Dirk.

“Let loose, Grady,” he said quietly. “She doesn’t want to stay.”

“Keep out of this, Pretty Boy.” Grady’s gaze narrowed, his threat clear. “She’s with me.”

Maybe it was the whiskey, but Grady seemed to be itching for a brawl. He was unpredictable on a good day—add alcohol to the mix and he became volatile as hell—friendship be damned. On any other night Dirk might have indulged the impulse to mix it up but tonight he was in no shape for it.

“Dirk’s right,” Janice replied, tight-lipped. “I don’t want to stay. I promised I’d have one drink with you and I did. That’s as far as it goes. Thanks for the drink.” She jerked her arm free and made a swift exit.

For a second or two Grady looked as if he’d go after her, but then he visibly relaxed. He took up his drink, raising it to his lips with a shrug. “I’m not likely to get any from her tonight, so why waste the effort?”

Dirk breathed a sigh of relief that Grady had abandoned his designs on her. But by the look of things, he’d either get his brawl, or just pass out shit-faced before the night was out. Seconds later, a third option presented itself in the form of a brunette Dirk recognized as Rachel’s friend, Mary Jane.

She edged up to the bar, eyeing Grady up and down until her gaze rested on his crotch, her red lips curving into a seductive smile. “Impressive…buckle.”

“Mary Jane.” Grady tipped his hat with a wolfish grin. “Been a long time.”

“It has.” She acknowledged Dirk with barely a nod and then took up Janice’s vacated seat. “I’m thinkin’ maybe too long. Buy me a drink, cowboy?”

Grady’s smile widened. “Sure thing.”

“I watched you tonight.” Gazing up through lowered lashes, Mary Jane scored a painted fingernail up his forearm. “Do you always ride so hard?”

“Depends on what I’m ridin’, sweetheart…and how much they can tolerate. Some can take a whole lot more of me than others.” He placed his hand on the small of her back.

“Oh yeah?” Her brows arched. “Lotsa cowboys talk a good ride, but put to the test, most of ’em ain’t worth their salt.”

“Then you’ve been hanging with the wrong cowboy. Whatcha havin’?”

“I dunno.” She pursed her lips and then one side of her mouth curved up. “Think maybe I’m in the mood for a Suck Bang and Blow.”

Grady’s brows shot up. He slid his hand down to her ass, his fingers reaching into the gap of her waistband to stroke the bare skin. “Maybe you’d like to chase that down with a Multiple Screaming Orgasm?”

“That’s a real tall order, cowboy.”

“I can fill it.”

“That so?” She reached into her purse for her card key and slipped it into his hand. “Number two twenty. Just give me fifteen minutes to get rid of my pain-in-the-ass roommate.” She slid off the stool with a wink. “Guess I don’t need the drink after all.”

Grady stuck the card key in his shirt pocket and watched her walk away, his eyes glued to her denim-clad ass. “As I recall, back in high school MJ gave a helluva BJ. Wonder what other tricks she’s learned?” A moment later, the DJ gave them a nod and began playing “Sittin’ at a Bar” by Rehab.

Shit! Dirk had forgotten all about Grady’s request, but the music had started. It was too late to back down now.

Grady threw his head back with a guffaw. “Showtime, cowboy.”

With drinks in hand, Dirk and Grady made their way a bit unsteadily toward the stage where Grady picked up the mic to join the song mid verse, “‘I’m sittin’ at a bar on the inside, waitin’ for my ride on the outside. She broke my heart in the trailer park, so I jacked the keys to her f*ckin’ car. Crashed that piece of shit and then stepped away…’”

They barely made it through the chorus before the speakers went dead. Seconds later, the deafening silence was broken by a chorus of boos and hisses from a handful of drunken cowboys.

Wade appeared at Dirk’s elbow, hissing under his breath, “What the f*ck was that performance?”

“Long story that begins with your own performance with Rachel,” Dirk slurred.

“Look, you ungrateful *, I was helping you out.”

“Helping me?” Dirk repeated. “How the hell do you figure that?”

“She said you wanted me to stand in for you. Told me you weren’t up to all the PR stuff since you got busted up.”

“The hell she did!”

“Whatever.” Wade shrugged. “I’m not going to argue with a drunk.” He looked to Grady who eyed him back with close-fisted belligerence. “And I’m sure as hell not going to pick a fight with one. Start anything with me, Grady, and I guarantee you’ll spend tonight in the county jail. ’Course you might be sleeping there anyway, since Carson’s asked you both to leave the hotel. Now. If you go quietly you’ll be saved the embarrassment of an escort by hotel security.”

“Rachel wouldn’t let him do that,” Dirk argued.