Risk (Gentry Boys #2)(5)

That wiseass brother of mine just grinned. “Just looking out for your health. Want to make sure you’re getting enough exercise.”

“Hmmm,” I grumbled, my eyes still glued to a blue dress and all the things waiting underneath it.

Chase realized where I was looking and he let out a low whistle. “We know her, don’t we?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. Her name was Truly and she was Saylor’s friend. She worked at Cluck This and I’d taken notice of her a few times before but she hadn’t returned the favor. I didn’t mind; she seemed a mouthy type itching to give a guy a hard time in a way I didn’t want to deal with. But just then, staring at her all bound up in that dress, her lips bright red and her body shifting around, it seemed like she’d come out tonight asking for it.

She hadn’t seen us yet, or if she did she was pretending not to. Saylor went to the bar and returned with what looked like a pair of sodas. Truly grinned and took a small sip, her dark eyes skimming the crowd as Say yammered in her ear.

“I don’t know, man.” Cord was shaking his head as he read my mind. “Saylor won’t like it.”

I nearly snapped at that boy to put some ointment on his goddamn * whip but I bit my tongue. Cordero Gentry was in love. Who the hell was I to crap all over that? I changed the subject.

“How’s work going?”

Chase swiveled around to listen and Cord relaxed.

“Surprisingly awesome,” he smiled.

Cord was done with street fighting and I was glad. Our cousin Deck had gotten him a job at a local tattoo joint. Cord had always been a gifted artist. I could remember being all of three years old and watching him scratch a picture of a diamondback rattler into the sand with a mesquite branch. It might have been the only talent any of us got from our mother.

Cord nodded to me. “You work out today?”

I used the patio equipment for lifting but I had to go out if I wanted a bag to pound on. I was bulking up more every day but I didn’t know if it would be enough.

“For a little while,” I answered smoothly and Cord drew closer, his eyes growing worried as if he suddenly remembered why it was a big deal for me to work out. It was a big deal because any day I could get a call that might mean a fight for my life.

“I’ll go with you tomorrow,” he said.

I appreciated the offer. Cord was a damn good fighter and a sparring workout with him was always useful. But I couldn’t keep sucking his time away from his job and his girl. I might not even be called on for a fight for months.

Or the phone might ring in ten minutes.

“Nah, that’s all right,” I told him.

This was my shit to deal with. I knew the boys figured we could find a way out together, but I was the one who had raised my hand. And I would be the one to walk into the ring to take the consequences when the time came.

When I happened to look up I saw Truly staring straight at me. It wasn’t a casual glance. It was full of potential. I stared back with deliberate intensity. She held my gaze for a few seconds and then whipped her head in the opposite direction, shaking herself slightly as if she couldn’t deal with the fact that she’d just been eye-f*cked.

I forgot about fighting and blood vengeance. I forgot about all the garbage infecting my head for the past two months. I was thinking about the string of rubbers in my wallet and how badly I wanted to use every single goddamn one before sunrise.

Despite the thickness of the crowd people began dancing in pairs when a slower song started up. Saylor sauntered over and Cord was out of his chair and all over her in a heartbeat.

I saw Truly had left her glass on the bar and was fidgeting among the couples. She looked a little uncertain and I was afraid she was going to take off. I stood up sharply and Chase glanced at me with curiosity.

I slapped him on the shoulder. “See you later, little brother.”

Chase smiled. “Found what you were looking for, huh?”

“Hell yes.”

Saylor was in Cord’s arms. Her head rested on his chest and her eyes were closed as they swayed together. Cord looked at me, then at Truly, and then back at me. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

Truly had paused when I stood up. She bit her lip and watched me approach. Even though I could clearly read the meaning behind her dress and the look in her eyes, she also seemed a little nervous, like maybe this wasn’t something she did regularly. I held her eye the whole time.

Jesus, I was so into this shit I could barely walk. Those lush tits were fairly screaming for attention and I was hard to the point of busting a zipper. Truly just stood there and waited for me to get to her. She looked down at herself briefly and then right back at me, smiling a little timidly.

Oh yeah, this was happening tonight.

This was absolutely f*cking happening.





CHAPTER THREE


Truly



I’d seen enough of Creed Gentry to know he might be the worst thing I could do. Yet one lustful glance from him scrambled every piece of sanity I owned.

The bar was crowded. Most of these people weren’t really country types. They were just throwing themselves into the gimmick. A big group up front was screeching the lyrics to ‘Friends in Low Places’.

After having a word with Saylor, Cord headed to a table in the back where Creed and Chase waited. I blinked hard when I saw the three of them together. They fiercely resembled one another yet it was easy to tell them apart. It was really a wonder, what varieties there were among siblings. Sometimes there was no mistaking the blood connection. Other times there was no likeness at all. It had always been tough for people to believe my three sisters and I were even related because none of us looked anything like the other. There was a reason for that though. Our mother had been wild and indiscriminate about the men she laid down with.