Page 20 of Rugged and Filthy

“You’re out of your mind. I didn’t break any rules,” she insisted. “A hustler. The three of you are jackasses.”

“The girl has a real mouth on her. Maybe it needs to be washed out with soap.” Hudson’s suggestion wasn’t bad at all.

“Good point, buddy,” I told him before returning my attention to the beautiful gal, walking a few inches closer just for intimidation purposes. She was tall but I towered over her. However, she puffed up as if she could really take us on. That added to the intensity of my attraction, vivid and very filthy images powering through my mind. I held out my index finger, allowing the dull light to illuminate my stern look. “That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. You did.” Yes, I was having way too much fun getting her riled up. “We can also just embarrass the hell out of you in front of all those men in there. My guess is they won’t allow you to live it down.”

“I’m not your sweetheart,” Rylee insisted, although there wasn’t much conviction in her voice.

“That’s extortion,” the other girl said.

“Take it for what you will. The three of us are going back inside so we can share the news.” I didn’t hesitate to head toward the bar once again, prepared to follow through with my evil threat. All three of us made it to the door when I sensed her directly behind me. “I’m certain your buddies will find this very interesting.”

“Goddamn them,” the other girl said. “I shouldn’t have egged you on.” She was making the statement to her friend, which caused me to smile. Maybe the girl was right.

I could feel the beautiful woman suddenly right behind me. “Wait. Stop.”

While I stopped in my tracks, I took my time turning my head slightly. “Yes? Are you agreeing to the terms?” It was almost impossible to keep a shit-eating grin off my face.

“Fine. Hold on. I’ll go with you, but this means shit. After tonight, I never want to see any of you again. Do you understand?”

I turned around slowly, glancing into her luminous eyes. “Of course it doesn’t mean a damn thing and don’t worry. We ain’t here for long. Just passing through your little town and your country. Nothing more. The four of us won’t see each other again. Ever. Your naughty deal with us will be safely tied up with a bow.”

“Where are you staying?” Her demand was laced with even more venom.

“Right across the street in room six fifty-seven.” I pointed to the building, still keeping a grin on my face, mostly from the flush of truly sadistic things I wanted to do to her. Maybe all three of us would do them together. The thought was riveting.

“You heard the bastard, Fallon. If something happens to me, contact the police. They can arrest these three boys for an assortment of crimes.” With her hand on her hip and considering her diminutive size in comparison to three rugged men, I found her even more attractive. Especially since she was doing her best not to act all hot and bothered.

Rylee was failing badly.

Jack snickered, the man obviously as turned on as I was. When the lovely Rylee heard the sound, she sauntered toward him, issuing a hard crack across his face.

“What the fuck was that for?” Jack huffed as he smacked his palm against his jaw.

“For just being you.” With that, Rylee turned toward her friend.

“You’re going to be punished for that,” I told her as I folded my arms across my chest. When she turned her head ever so slowly, I was pretty certain she’d become a fire-eating dragon.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a real asshole?”

“All the time.”

Rylee

What had I just agreed to? Oh. My. God.

As my mother would say, I’d just jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

That meant I was completely out of my mind. I’d done some crazy things in my life, skydiving being one of them. Bungee jumping had been another. But this was… this took the cat’s meow and then some.

Going to a hotel with not one but three strange men who’d won a bet had all the makings of a disaster. Or a horror movie. However, as I strode across the street, the three hunky men trailing behind me, a strange series of sensations continued to wash through me, an unusual set of vibrations I’d lost a couple of years before, never anticipating feeling this way again.

Arousal.

Excitement.

I wasn’t a stupid girl by any means. There was a real possibility of danger, but I sensed otherwise. For all the posturing I’d done, all the flirting that the four of us had engaged in together in our argumentative banter, I was more thrilled than I’d been in a long time. Fallon had tried to convince me a couple of months before that I needed one hot romantic night with a stranger. It was unlikely it would cure the blues I’d been experiencing, but I’d take even one night of reprieve.

Death.

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