Page 15 of Rugged and Filthy

CHAPTER 5

Rylee

The beast named Cormac tried to take that very moment to best me, managing to throw my arm down by several inches.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” I hissed, immediately righting both arms. The rush of adrenaline was stronger than normal. At least that had managed to keep the tears at bay.

So far.

Did that mean I was successfully winning this game for once and I didn’t mean arm wrestling? I meant the challenging game of life.

“Damn it,” one of his buddies said. That prompted me to throw him a nasty look as well.

“She ain’t gonna best me,” Cormac huffed.

“We shall see.” I yawned and winked at the huge man, doing my best not to glance toward the newcomers again.

The momentary distraction was lovely, but I was already looking forward to the stupid game being over with. I flexed my hand and blew my opponent a kiss, which prompted him to growl. This time, he seemed better prepared, baring his teeth for me on purpose as he took it slowly. Thirty seconds turned into two minutes and the sweat on the guy’s forehead was already starting to roll down his face.

I couldn’t deny Cormac was a damn good opponent, coming close to getting the better of me this time out. When I noticed the three mystery men coming over to see what all the commotion was about, it was impossible not to enjoy their stunning good looks for a second time.

Or to have additional lurid thoughts racing through my mind. Fallon’s suggestions had started an engine I thought dead and rusty.

They had muscles and then some, all three built as if they’d walked off a body-building competition. Maybe I was a very naughty girl to be thinking such filthy things about not one but three men, but I just couldn’t help myself.

One of them was standing with his arms folded, staring at me with a look of amusement on his face. For some crazy reason, I wanted to allow the wrestling match to continue so I could enjoy my feast of eye candy a little while longer.

So I allowed Cormac to slowly take my arm to the table.

“Woo hoo, boys. We got a real competition going here,” Rory shouted. “Do you guys want to get in on the game?” he asked the newcomers.

All three of them glanced at each other, the one standing in front pulling out his wallet first. I couldn’t help but notice he had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. They shimmered like sapphires, which caught me off guard.

“Sure. Why not?” Mr. Blue Eyes did the talking for all three of them. When he pulled out a couple of twenties, I gave him a dour look. The men were Americans, which I couldn’t help but be intrigued by.

He laughed softly, pulling out another twenty, the two men matching what he’d put down. Now we were talking.

I took three huge gulps of my beer, almost finishing the glass before planting my elbow on the table again. Now I planned on winning. Cormac wanted the win as well, not struggling nearly as much as he had before. It would seem the bruiser had more technique than he’d let on.

During the next five minutes, we both struggled, one almost overpowering the other at least three times. However, I kept my cool where Cormac was getting red in the face, finally panting from exertion.

In the next few seconds, he lost his cool completely even though there didn’t seem to be a guy in the joint who wasn’t cheering him on.

“Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.”

More money had been tossed onto the pile, decent euro that I could really use right about now. Since taking over my father’s business operations for him, things had tumbled south, leaving me stretching to pay the bills. The Americans inched ever closer, Mr. Blue Eyes more intrigued than ever. That’s when I’d reached my limit, powering down Cormac’s arm with a hard thud.

“No!” several men shouted.

“And that’s how you do it, boys,” I said as Fallon whistled from behind me. As I started scooping up the bills, Cormac shoved himself away from the table, obviously disgusted. I couldn’t help myself but to grin like a kid. “Another round, double or nothing?” I asked in a mischievous voice, which prompted Fallon to smack me on my arm.

The locals grumbled, leaving me to my spoils of war. That left only the Americans remaining where they were standing, the leader of the alpha pack staring at me intently.

“Take a picture, bubba. It’ll last longer for ya,” I said in passing to the group.

“That all you got?” Mr. Blue Eyes finally asked.

I folded the bills neatly, finally lifting my heated gaze, glancing from one to the other. Yep. They were stunning even with their surly expressions. The filthy images running through my mind were sinful, maybe even against the law. “Oh, I got a lot more, but I doubt a few US boys could handle me.”

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