Page 15 of Never Fear (Whiskey Ridge)
With her name a strained plea on my lips.
Chapter 7
McKenna
Two days after Austin left a goddamn ice cube melting in my ass, I walked into his house wearing the shortest skirt I could find in my closet, paired with a top that gave a tease of my cleavage. It wasn’t my waitress outfit, but it was pretty damn close.
Technically speaking, though, I was enteringmy best friend’shouse. Who was dating Austin’s best friend. Who actually owned the house.
All that aside, I wore this to fuck with the man who left me bent over in a fucking freezer with my skirt draped over my back, my ass exposed, and my skin fucking freezing. He did it to tease me. To piss me off. To show me just how vulnerable I really was.
And all I had to say in response was,game on, cowboy.
I checked myself in the wall mirror and popped a fresh piece of gum in my mouth before walking into the kitchen where the others were. Not a speck of hair was out of place. My ponytail was pulled tight, with only two locks framing my face. I’d wrapped some longer strands around the hairtie, the rest curling flawlessly past my shoulder blades. For a brief second, my wandering thoughts got the best of me, and I wondered if Austin ever looked at my hair and thought of wrapping his fist around it. He pissed me off as much as I did him, and I had to admit, I was curious when he’d lose control and enact his punishment. A little ass play wasn’t going to make me stand down, though.
He’d have to do better than that.
“There you are,” Brynne announced, coming down the stairs with her brunette hair loose around her shoulders. The blonde tips brushed her exposed cleavage, her white V-neck T-shirt leaving them on display. She’d paired the shirt with black leggings and brown slippers. It was cold outside, being the middle of November, but the fire was always roaring in this house. That meant my attire was appropriate, since Booker was cooking for all of us here at their house.
I set my purse on the front entry table and faced her as she reached the bottom step. “I thought you were in the kitchen.”
She waved a hand at the open doorway down the hall. “Booker’s dealing with the food tonight. He told me, and I quote, ‘I’m cooking for you and your friend tonight, so stay the fuck upstairs,’ then proceeded to give me an orgasm from hell for talking back and?—”
“Brynne.” She was good at going on and on about the man she accidentally fell for.
She shot me an apologetic grin. “Right. Sorry. Anyway, Henley went out with Aubree tonight, so it’s just you, me, and the guys.”
I sucked on my teeth. “That’s too bad. I really would’veliked some of Henley’s half-ass comedic relief.” We all knew it was a lie. I wasn’t particularly fond of the man.
“I guess you’ll just have to settle for us. How sad.”
I fought a smile. “Tragic, really.” Then my memory sparked. “Speaking of tragedy, do you think Grace might be able to join us for our Friendsgiving dinner? She broke up with her boyfriend the other night and I feel bad she’ll be alone for the holidays.”
Sympathy filled Brynne’s gaze. “Of course. The more the merrier.”
“I know I didn’t just hear you inviting more people into my house,” Booker grumbled from the kitchen, his voice carrying down the hall as the rhythmic thump of a knife hitting a cutting board filtered down along with it.
Brynne rolled her eyes, a smile playing at the corners of her lips as she looped her arm through mine and led me down the hall. We came around the corner, entering the kitchen to find Booker standing at the island slicing mushrooms. Austin’s back was to us, his hands busy with something I couldn’t see from this angle.
“McKenna’s cousin is going through a breakup, so she’s invited,” Brynne stated, leaving no room for debate. Booker barely glanced up at her before he continued chopping. He’d let her invite the whole goddamn world over if she wanted, but that didn’t stop him from being a grump about it. Brynne liked seeing that side of him, so I could only assume she did everything in her power to bring it out in him as often as she could.
Austin set whatever was in his hands down and started to turn. “As long as she’s not the one?—”
But his words ceased as he took me in, his eyes droppingto my beige skirt. There was a faint plaid detailing on it, and the waistband sat just below my belly button. My white halter top left an inch of skin on display, and the style somehow made my breasts look bigger. There was a hole in the center, letting my cleavage peek through. And with it, I wore my white platform boots that stopped right below my knee.
I was the perfect picture of pure innocence, and there Austin was, thinking the most non-innocent thoughts. He didn’t hide his boner now pressing against his jeans. Or the way he cleared his throat and forced himself out of his trance, continuing over to the island.
“She’s not the one, what?” I asked curiously, cocking my head slightly. The act made the end of my ponytail fall over my shoulder.
His skeptical eyes narrowed on me slowly. He knew exactly what I was doing.
“Sending you death threats,” he went on.
I clasped my hands in front of me, my upper arms pressing my breasts together more. “My dearest cousin would never.”
Booker tossed the knife on the island and grabbed the cutting board, turning for the oven. He grumbled something about a long night, but it only made fighting my smile harder. It’d be a long night, indeed.
“So, McKenna,” Brynne started, taking a seat at the island, “doyouwant to go to the rodeo this weekend?”
