“You wouldn’t know romance if it came up behind you and bit you on the ass.”

Cash burst out laughing. “I know romance, and I can prove it.”

“There’s no need. I’m not interested.”

“I think you’re the one who has trouble dealing with romance, not me,” he mocked her frightened expression.

“You think romance is wham, bam, and telling everyone in town you fucked the girl.” Her tart reply had him laughing again.

“No, that was stupidity. I let your brothers piss me off into opening my big mouth. I’m not sorry, though.” Cash saw the wounded look in her eyes and continued, “It was a hard way for your brothers to find out about us, like ripping a band-aid off, but now they know.” He shrugged.

“There isn’t an us!”

“There will be. Right now, you’re still mad, but I can wait until you cool down. At least a little longer,” he qualified his words.

“You’re the most egotistical man to ever exist.”

“Not really, just confident. If I can get in your panties once, I can do it again.” Cash stared down into her eyes.

Her face flushed red, and her bottom lip trembled as she shook her head at him.

Cash softened his voice. “You’re mad as hell at me, but you still want me.”

“No, I don’t,” she denied.

“Yes, you do. I can prove it.” As his lips swooped down on hers, Rachel pressed her hands against his chest. Cash’s tongue licked her lips, but didn’t try to enter her mouth; instead, he learned the contours of her lips as his other hand reached out to slide against her neck to hold her in place. His thumb traced the delicate lines of her face as he gradually increased the pressure against her lips, sliding his tongue inside to explore the warmth of her mouth. He went from seductive to demanding, breaching the defenses she had built against him, trying to turn the fire of her hatred to one of passion.

He skillfully waited for her body to soften against his before he pressed her harder against the wall as he lured her into responding to him. His hand went to her gown, tugging it downward so his fingers could find a nipple, brushing it with the tips of his fingers, teasing it with soft touches.

A tell-tale soft whimper passed her lips, and his mouth left hers to trace the line of her jaw until he felt her abruptly stiffen as she pushed herself away from him.

“Don’t try to freakin’ seduce me when you smell like another woman.”

“If I was trying to seduce you, you would be lying on the bed, and I would be fucking you by now,” Cash snapped back.

“Get out!”

“I’m going. I think I made my point.”

“The only point you made is that you’re good at playing with a woman’s body. You should be; you have enough experience,” she bitterly remarked.

“Experience I plan to use until you’re underneath me again. I’m giving you fair warning, Rachel; I’m done trying to make up for embarrassing you. It’s time to move on. I’ve got a news flash for you: most of those people sitting in church next to you do engage in sexual activities.” His voice dropped to a seductive whisper. “They may even enjoy fucking as much as I do.”

While she gaped at him, Cash couldn’t resist smiling at her expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy on you until you can accept we’re together.”

“We’ll be together over my dead body. My brothers will kick your ass.”

Cash had a sudden idea that could save him a lot of aggravation. It wasn’t the brightest idea he had ever had, but he was willing to do anything to reach the stubborn woman staring up at him defiantly.

“If I can get your brothers’ permission to date you, will you go out with me?”

She laughed in his face. “If you can get my brothers’ permission for me to go out with you, then yes, I’ll go out with you.” She kept laughing at him unwisely. “Hell, Cash, I’ll even give you a blowjob to top the night off.”

“Really?” Cash gave her a sinister smile, which she failed to recognize.

“Really,” she mocked.

“Goodnight, then. If I’m going to be dealing with your brothers, I’m going to need my rest.”

“If you’re going to be dealing with my brothers, you’re going to be needing a bulletproof vest.”

Cash opened the door, pausing before he left. “Don’t forget, I was in the military. I’ve dealt with terrorists, sneak attacks, and snipers. I have all the skills I need to deal with your brothers.”

“If you’ve got a death wish, I can’t stop you.”

“I’ve handled worse. They’ll be a piece of cake.” Cash went out the bedroom door, laughing softly when it slammed behind him. He loved riling her temper.

He whistled all the way to his bedroom, stripping off his clothes before stepping naked into the shower, washing the bar whore’s scent off his skin. Drying off, he lay down naked on his bed.

Rachel thought he was joking. She would find out just how serious he was when she was planting her ass on the back of his bike. He was willing to put up with her brothers long enough to get their permission. Hell, her promise was enough to put up with a lot of shit. How bad could it be?

Chapter 18

It was bad, really bad. Cash wanted to kick the Porters’ asses so bad he was ready to do a stint in the jailhouse just for the pleasure of doing it.

The brothers had been sitting in Rosie’s, having a beer, when he had gone in with Shade. He had psyched himself up to walk over to their table to greet them. Their hate-filled expressions and lack of response had him gritting his teeth, though. He felt the silent amusement of Shade by his side.

“Mind if we join you?” Silence met Shade’s request.

They didn’t wait for acquiescence, both of them taking a seat at the table. The brothers might hate Cash, but Shade was a regular customer and he would be harder to piss off.

The men looked like the beer in their stomachs was turning sour as Cash and Shade both ordered their drinks.

“What do you want, Cash?” Tate didn’t hesitate to bring out in the open why Cash would be willing to sit down at the table with them.

He decided to be honest with the Porters. He wanted a relationship with Rachel, and to accomplish that goal, he was going to have to get along with these three yahoos.

“We need to come to an understanding and cut out this bullshit between us.”

“Why? It works for us.” An evil grin came to Tate’s face. “This has to do with Rachel, doesn’t it?”

The smug bastard was going to be picking his teeth up off the floor if he wasn’t careful.

“Why does his talking to us have anything to do with Rachel?” Dustin confirmed Cash’s opinion that he was the slowest of the group. His two older brothers rolled their eyes at the question. Realization slowly hit Rachel’s youngest brother. “Hell, no.” Dustin’s reaction mirrored his brothers’.

“We can keep fighting between us and we’ll all lose Rachel, or we can pretend to get along and keep Rachel in Treepoint; it’s up to you. I’m willing to tolerate you three for Rachel.”

Without another word, the three brothers got up from the table, leaving him and Shade staring at their backs as they left the bar.