Romeo: A Payne Brothers Romance Page 19

  What the hell did this woman do to me?

  “We’re already late for the dance,” she said. “And, after all the fuss about the Butter Monger and Mistress announcement, we can’t be late for our own coronation.”

  “They can’t start without us.”

  “That’s not the point. It’s a blessing that the historical society convinced the square dancers to donate five minutes so we could do the ceremony.”

  What convincing? I’d slipped the dance caller a fifty-dollar bill. He’d do-si-doed himself into a coffee break just in time for us to reunite our families with a pathetically sappy sermon.

  “We have time,” I said. “Come with me to the farm, I’ll grab the speech, and we’ll go to the dance together. Hell, after the coronation, I’ll swap the music for something more exciting than square dancing.”

  Lady arched an eyebrow. “Last time you tried to Cha Cha Slide into the square, they nearly ran you out of town.”

  “Big risk, big reward.”

  “How big of a cowboy boot do you want lodged up your butt?”

  I patted the back of the four-wheeler once more. “Someone has to save this town from feuds and terrible dances. Why shouldn’t it be us?”

  “I’m not going with you.”

  This woman broke my balls without even touching them.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “If my family sees me riding with you…”

  “And you think I wouldn’t get disowned?”

  “All the more reason to stick to the plan,” she said.

  “I wrote the plan on the back of the speech…” I curled a finger, beckoning her closer to the quad. “You better help me retrieve it so I know what to do next.”

  She planted her feet. “This is what happens when you don’t study.”

  “This might be the only time I get to feel you snuggling up against me…you know, when I’m not on the verge of a coma.”

  She huffed. “You’re not allowed to use the diabetes to guilt me.”

  “Too late. Get on.”

  “But I’m not wearing pants,” she said.

  And the possibilities drove me crazy. “That’s what makes this even more fun.”

  “Maybe for you.”

  “Are you afraid that I’ll see your panties?”

  “It’s a valid concern.”

  I gave her a sly smile. “So…take them off.”

  “You mistake me for one of my sisters.”

  I sighed. “If only you were as corruptible as them…or as brave.”

  That did it.

  Lady bundled her dress and approached the quad. “If I’m riding on that thing, I’m not just brave, I’m suicidal.”

  “Or desperate for a little fun.” I grinned. “And I’m glad I can deliver.”

  Lady did her best to remain dignified as she settled over the seat and took her place behind me. She dug her heels into the wheel well, and used her hands to grip the handles so tight her arms shook.

  “You’re gonna want to hold on to me, little girl.”

  Such a scandalous thought. She shook her head so hard she bounced the quad.

  Too bad. No matter how strong she thought she was, she’d bounce off the quad as soon as we hit the first hole.

  I didn’t ask if she was ready. I gunned it, shooting forward ten feet. Lady squealed and released the handles, ducking forward and wrapping her arms around my midsection. She buried her face in my shoulder blades. One quick stop, and her body slipped forward.

  Her legs wrapped around me.

  And I’d thought the four-wheeler ran hot.

  Nothing prepared me for the scorch of her thighs against the small of my back. Christ, what sort of perfect heat did she kindle between those legs?

  She smacked me. “That wasn’t fair.”

  “I told you to hold on to me,” I said. “Don’t be afraid to squeeze.”

  The engine drowned out her next shriek, but she did as she was told, clutching my chest as I stole her from her home and raced into the woods.

  Her voice rose over the whipping wind. “This better be one hell of a speech.”

  What harm was a little lie?

  There was no speech.

  Who the hell would waste their valuable time crafting some sentimental drivel to honor the most ridiculous of Butterpond’s honors? The only thing I needed to say was what everybody in town should’ve heard years ago.

  Man up.

  Get over yourself.

  Deal with this bullshit so I can sleep with Lady guilt-free.

  Fuck the speech.

  The real problem was that I’d forgotten my shot of insulin.

  I wouldn’t make it very far onto the stage without it. No sense reuniting with families and fixing the town if I’d pass out before taking a victory lap in bed with the beautiful woman clutching my chest.

  But this was only asking for trouble. I should’ve met her at the dance. The last thing I wanted was for Lady to realize that I needed the correcting shot of insulin. But I often thought with my cock when I should’ve planned shit out with my pancreas.

  Then again, the opportunity to steal her away for a few minutes in the dark—trapping her on the quad with no other option but to squeeze tight against me—was one hell of a good reason to risk her witnessing me taking the meds.

  Not that it mattered. I usually kept the diabetes a secret. If I didn’t acknowledge it, it wouldn’t bug me until my head ached and hands shook. But Lady already knew the dirty truth.

  I hated that.

  Hated even more that I wanted these few hidden minutes with her, even if it meant bringing her to the farm.

  I doubted she’d appreciate how lucky she was. I’d never taken any woman home. And a lot of girls had tried to get there. They called. Offered second dates. Promised every sort of filthy, disgusting sexual act that, in the past, would have delighted me.

  I never accepted their offers. Once was enough. Twice, and I’d have to actually give a damn and remember their names. No woman was worth that trouble.

  Except Lady.

  I’d never had a conversation with a woman that hadn’t ended with hotel rooms and safe words, with her ankles behind her ears and an UBER waiting to pick her up afterwards. Never met a woman who made me comfortable enough to share my thoughts, to talk about my family. Never knew a woman who was tough enough to resist me but sweet enough to care.

  Lady redefined sweetness. She lived and breathed kindness. And naivety had never been so sexy.

  She was the one woman who would care that I’d missed an insulin injection. And if she knew I had a headache, and that my sugar ran a little too high, she would’ve jumped into the driver’s seat of the four-wheeler and raced my ass back to the farm.

  It was amazing.

  And it was a problem.

  Lady had a habit of trying to offer guidance and support and all that other bullshit I didn’t want to worry about now. Before her, I’d only ever cared about having a good time, trying to fix the fucking town, and doing whatever shit I could to keep my family together.

  Now all I could think about was…her.

  Her smile. Her laugh. She teased me with mischief, kissed with pure passion, and refused my every advance with the promise that she could take more than I was willing to give.

  And if I took her home…

  I’d never want her to leave.

  The quad cut through the woods, into the darkness, over mud puddles, and through torn grasses. The wheels kicked up broken branches and fallen leaves. Fortunately, it hadn’t rained. The past few times I’d traveled to her house, I’d ended up covered in mud. And when I’d offered to remove my shoes…and the rest of my clothes…to enter the guesthouse, Lady had declined. Politely, of course, but with that tempting twitch of her eyebrow and regretted second glance.

  I parked next to the barn, but Lady hid behind me as I helped her off the quad.

  “Everyone went to the dance.” I plucked a leaf from her hair. “We’re all alone, Ladybug…”<
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  “And now I see your true intentions.”

  Was it me, or did she sound hopeful?

  She would’ve been right had my sugar not been thoroughly fucked up. My headache blistered my brain, and I was already seeing her in double vision. Wasn’t that much of a problem. Twice as nice.

  “I don’t think tonight’s the right time to relieve you of your virtue.” I winked. “Wait here. I’ll be real quick.”

  For such a polite, refined woman, Lady didn’t listen well. She hooked her arm in mine and offered a wicked smile. “If no one is at home…maybe I should get a tour.”

  “I’ll show you right to my bed.”

  She pinched me. “I meant a tour of the entire house. I don’t think any Barlow has ever seen inside.”

  Fuck.

  I rubbed my throbbing head. “I don’t think we have time for the full experience.”

  “What about a quick look?”

  Now I was being fucking stupid. This wasn’t like taking Lady to the apartment above the mechanic’s garage I occasionally shared with Tidus. I had an opportunity to lure this woman into my house, show off my old bedroom, and demonstrate just how squeaky my mattress could get.

  But if she went inside, she’d watch me take the insulin.

  Hell no.

  “If we go in…” I grabbed her hand and called her bluff. “We’re not coming out. Feeling brave, Ladybug?”

  “Is that the deal?” she asked.

  “Make your choice.”

  She pouted and crossed her arms.

  “You stay here and think about what you’re missing.” I winked. “I’ll only be a minute.”

  She shooed me away, but her smile lingered.

  Christ, I was really good at this. The art of seduction wasn’t exactly a noble superpower, but I was slowly wearing down her resistance. If I could score with her, no woman would stand a chance. This amount of raw sex appeal shouldn’t have been unleashed upon the world.

  My past conquests never afforded me much pride. But a night with Lady would be greater than any of the times I’d wasted on the nameless women I thought would offer me happiness. Just kissing Lady was a life-changing experience. I had no idea a man could connect with a woman like that—with meaning and emotion behind every last nibble of her lips.

  She was the first woman I’d ever wanted to hold in my arms just to keep her close.

  But she was right about me. I was a player. A womanizer. Someone who treated sex so inconsiderately and casual that the action had lost all meaning.

  Until her. Until I realized what sex was meant to be.

  Which was exactly why I couldn’t sleep with her.

  She wasn’t just a Barlow, she was a virgin.

  I’d made strict rules for myself long ago. No virgins. No good girls. No nights with any woman who didn’t know what they were getting into the instant the panties came off and the worst decisions were made.

  But Lady wanted me just as badly as I wanted her. And that made my behavior even more reprehensible since I could hardly stand to be away from her for five goddamned minutes just to get my insulin.

  Was I pathetic, or was I just incapable of making good choices?

  I hurried into the house and raided the fridge. Half a dozen peanut butter cups obscured the box of insulin, and an IOU was tacked to the shelf. Julian had stolen my only Snickers. That was fine. I could part with a candy.

  Unfortunately, only one insulin pen remained in the box.

  Fuck.

  I hunted through the fridge, peeking under the shelf filled with freshly harvested lettuce and tomatoes from the fields. I didn’t have another box stashed away.

  Damn it. I’d forgotten to reorder the meds.

  At least I had enough for now. That would postpone death for another three days if I was careful…

  But I was never careful.

  I probably had enough fast-acting insulin for two days. The long-acting shit I injected in the morning and evening wasn’t enough to control my sugar after I ate. Hopefully, I could get an overnight shipment. If not…

  I’d deal with it later.

  I ripped open the alcohol swab, lifted my shirt, and felt around for a part of my abdomen that wasn’t already pricked to hell. Seemed like I needed more and more shots lately.

  Why did I need a correction this badly?

  My sugar fucking spiked. Was I getting sloppy, or was something wrong? What the hell had I eaten today? Eggs and toast. A sandwich. Leftover pork chops for dinner. A cookie. I’d counted my carbs like a good boy and refused everything too sugary like a damned wimp.

  …Had I taken my injection this morning?

  Christ, I didn’t even know anymore. The whole disease existed just to be a pain in my ass, distracting me from everything important in my life.

  But I’d survived this long. How much worse could it get?

  It was a question I’d refused to answer for the past six months.

  I pocketed the pen and checked the time. We were late for the dance, but I doubted anyone would notice. Just meant that I had a few spare minutes to lead her on a tour of the house.

  Though I doubted we’d get any further than my bedroom.

  But then I heard Lady’s scream…

  …And the echo of an enraged, blood-lusting hell-beast.

  I burst out of the house, but Lady’s cries came from inside the barn.

  Holy Christ. Didn’t she know what we kept in there?

  The barn wasn’t used for equipment and hay storage anymore. Its purpose had been perverted, corrupted by the deviant fiend who’d destroyed our peaceful life and opened a conduit straight to hell.

  Lady had unleashed the alpaca.

  And she called for me to save her.

  “Quint!” Lady scaled a bale of hay. It wouldn’t do any good. Alicia hungered for flesh, and nothing had ever sated the beast’s appetite. “She’s really mad!”

  The easiest way to placate Alicia was usually a sacrifice. I hesitated at the barn door. Would the Barlows really miss one of their women? They had four of them wandering around town.

  “Alicia is always mad…” I searched for a weapon…or an escape. We’d parked the tractor outside, but the little hell spawn had gnawed through a back tire. It was like she planned this shit. “You fucked up, Lady. Why didn’t you stay on the quad?”

  “Help me!”

  Hell no.

  I was lucky to be alive this close to Alicia.

  “She hates me more than she hates you,” I said.

  Too late. She’d heard my voice. The alpaca’s leathery, wrinkled ears twitched.

  Always listening.

  Always waiting.

  Always eager to take a bite out of my leg…

  …Or mount me.

  But that was a new, thoroughly unwelcomed behavior.

  The stark white, thin-skinned, grizzled monstrosity stared me down, as if I were the source of her utter desolation and the cause of her tormented being. Her soulless, red eyes bulged. Her neck flap clapped louder than the hooves on the wooden floor.

  The udders twitched.

  And I’d thought the alopecia was her worst trait. But ever since she gave birth, the alpaca had left a trail of tears and milk wherever she hunted.

  Why the fuck did we keep this thing on the farm?

  And why did we let the kids near it?

  Alicia roared, spittle flaring from her pink gums. She clapped her hooves against the hard packed dirt and threatened a charge.

  The asshole loved fucking with me. She’d treed me three times, trapped me inside the barn twice, and nearly killed me in the fields when she refused to let me pass through the corn to get my lunch.

  My family didn’t believe me, but she wanted me dead. Alicia would race my pancreas to finish the job.

  “Quick, get away from her…” I braced myself with an outstretched hand, prepared to smack away loose folds of skin if she leapt for my neck. “She’s after me now…”

  But Alicia growled as Lady attem
pted her escape. She cracked her hooves against the floorboards and dared her to make a move. I bolted to Lady and pushed her behind me.

  The albino alpaca blocked the exit.

  Her teeth bared. Her wrinkled skin quivered. Her teats…just swung out from under her. Back and forth. Right there in the open.

  Lady grabbed hold of me. “What does she want?”

  If we knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t have lived in perpetual fear for the last year and a half.

  I searched the barn and spied the ladder to the hayloft. That was good enough for me. I didn’t explain, only grabbed Lady and pushed her toward the rails. A bucket and fistful of hay distracted the beast while she climbed to safety.

  I swung the bucket.

  It only pissed Alicia off.

  She lunged for my throat.

  “Fuck!” I jumped for the ladder and forced Lady to shimmy upward. “She’s really pissed. What did you do?”

  “I just looked at her!”

  “Jesus Christ. Are you crazy? She’s like Medusa! You don’t look at her!”

  Lady did her best to scale the ladder while in her dress and heels. She smacked hard against the floor of the loft. My feet tripped over the rungs, and I fell over her, pinning her to the dusty floor with a grin.

  “How’s that tour treating you now?” I didn’t move, savoring our bodies pressed so closely together. “After this, I’ll trap us in the root cellar.”

  Lady squirmed beneath me, nervously laughing. “She’s so angry.”

  Angry. Terrifying. Demonic.

  The alpaca was many things, but none of them meant tame.

  The adrenaline surged through me. Alicia stalked the barn, her hooves clicking, clumping, and Morse-coding a dire threat that only I could understand.

  She’d trapped us.

  Not that I would complain. Lady rested beneath me, my hips grinding into that beautiful bubble butt. The woman fit perfectly against me. Slim waist. Plump ass. Just a hint of curves. She pulled her arms under her, but she’d yet to move her legs. It was as if I straddled an utter fantasy.

  I hardened. I shouldn’t have, but hell if I could help it. My fingers teased a path over her hips.

  She didn’t pull away.

  Was she trying to be brave? She knew better than that.