Watching her ex-husband, Ridge, get married again sucked. Bobbi Jo Gerow followed the crowd out of the chapel, glad it was finally over. It was time to start living again. What better place to start than Vegas?
"Looks like you could use a drink," a male voice said from over her shoulder as the wedding guests walked into a nearby casino and headed toward the spacious lounge.
"Make mine a triple," Bobbi Jo said, and glanced back to see Tam, a close friend of her ex. He was devastatingly handsome in his western-cut tux. He wasn't as tall as Ridge or as muscular, but still looked scrumptious. He had red hair and tanned skin with a hint of freckles that made a woman naturally gravitate toward him. Dark mahogany lashes framed the twinkling blue eyes he used to his advantage. A girl could drown in those eyes.
Tam cocked a brow and looked thoughtful. "I'll buy you a triple as long as you save the last dance for me."
Bobbi Jo nearly tripped in her four-inch heels. Could Tam be interested in starting something with her? No way in hell would she ever get involved with another cowboy, especially a close friend of her ex. "I don't think I can dance in these heels."
"You look good in them." Tam stroked his chin as if he were thinking hard. "Damn good. You look good, period."
"Compared to a horse?"
Tam huffed and his eyes narrowed. "Bobbi Jo, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I thought Ridge had hit the jackpot."
"Since he just married another woman, I guess he hit the jackpot twice."
"I know this can't be easy on you. Ridge should never have married you, considering his feelings for Holly."
Bobbi Jo felt a sting at the back of her eyelids. No! She wouldn't cry. She'd already cried enough tears to last a lifetime over Ridge. "We got married here in Vegas. It was the first and the last time I overindulged in anything. I think it's fitting to tie one on tonight."
"Then you definitely need me to look out for you." Tam took hold of her elbow and steered her toward a large table with a reserved sign. "Over here," he said to someone.
Bobbie Jo turned to see Mike Kale in a tux matching Tam's.
He nodded politely. "Bobbi Jo."
"Mike," she said in return, figuring that would be the extent of her conversation with him. He was so quiet, most of the time she never knew he was around.
"You look great," he said and gave her a wide grin.
Okay. That did it. "Did Ridge tell the two of you to look out for me?"
Mike nervously looked away and Tam cleared his throat. "Not exactly."
For a second Bobbi Jo was about to protest, but then she remembered the vow she'd made. The new Bobbi Jo would keep her mouth shut if it killed her and enjoy sitting with two of the most handsome men there.
Tam extended his hand, indicating she sit down first. She shimmied around the booth until she was dead center in the large half-circle. Tam sat on one side of her and Mike the other. Not too close, but close enough.
"What're you drinking?" Tam asked.
"I'll have the same as you."
Mike laughed a little too loudly.
"We're drinking tequila shots and beer," Tam explained.
"I figured that. Haven't I known you two long enough to know what you drink when you're celebrating?" She sat back and her girdle pinched her side, making her curse her need to appear svelte. As if!
When the waitress came, Mike ordered while Tam continued to stare at her. "You look different tonight. I'm surprised you came to see Ridge married. Although I shouldn't be...you've always been a good sport."
"Holly and Ridge asked me. I didn't give it too much thought. Other than buying a dress costing a week's salary, investing in a shaper that promised to take two dress sizes off my hips, getting my nails and hair done and buying new shoes, I had to special order to get the four-inch heels. Then I had to spring for a wedding gift and a plane ticket. I figure I spent a couple of grand to see my ex get married again. No, I didn't give it too much thought at all, except to the cost of my fragile ego."
"Damn." Mike groaned and looked as uncomfortable as she felt in her tight under garment.
Tam smiled. "I'd say it was worth every penny. You're the most beautiful woman here. But I also think you should take the shaper thing off. Your curves look like calendar girl material."
Tam had managed to both shock and exhilarate her with his compliment. Only the arrival of their drinks distracted her.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tam asked. "I've never seen you drink." He moved closer until they almost touched.
"I drink," Bobbi Jo said. "I've had champagne several times...besides my first fiasco in Vegas, seven years ago. And once I had some elderberry wine my great-grandmother made."
"This ought to be interesting," Mike quipped. He then chuckled.
"Happy to entertain you," she fired back.
Tam shot him a frown before turning his blue eyes back to her. "I've never seen this side of you." He licked the back of his hand between his thumb and index finger. His long, thick fingers distracted her--a man's hands. Hands that could hold a woman tight. After Tam shook salt onto the wet spot, he handed the shaker to her. She followed his example.
"Don't drink it slowly." Tam licked the salt off his hand and then tossed the tequila back before sticking a lime in his mouth for just a second. Then he stuffed the lime into his beer bottle and took a strong pull.
It looked easy enough. No problem.
Nothing could have prepared Bobbi Jo for the burning taste when she tipped her head back and poured the tequila into her mouth. She didn't have a choice--swallow or spit it out. She swallowed. Tam held the lime to her lips and she couldn't get it into her mouth fast enough. Remarkably, the oily taste began to ease away. The burn in her throat, however, raged on. She grabbed the beer and literally poured it down her throat.
"Easy!" Tam pulled the bottle down.
"You've done this before, I see," Mike said and laughed again.
"Smart ass."
At the same time, a mob of beautiful women dressed in their rodeo finest walked by.
"This cowboy says he can drink you girls under the table," Bobbi Jo said to them, pointing at Mike.
One of them stopped and looked at Mike, so they all stopped and waited expectantly. Bobbi Jo recognized her as leader of the pack from the way they all took her cue.
"Is that so?" the striking woman asked Mike.
"I'd never call a lady a liar." He was still smiling.
"I accept your challenge. You buy the first round." The woman slipped into the booth next to him. Her friends hesitated at first and then scrambled for position. Suddenly, Bobbi Jo was squished between two handsome men.
The woman looked at her and smiled before reaching her hand across Mike in Bobbi Jo's direction. "It's nice of you to share. I'm Kresley."
Bobbi Jo shook her hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Bobbi Jo."
What did I just do? No wonder she had such a hard time with romance. This stupid stunt was a clear testimony to what a loser she'd become. As the last two women pulled up chairs at the end of the table, Bobbi Jo mentally kicked herself in her over-sized ass. Why in the world had she invited six beautiful women to sit with them?
Right then and there she made a silent vow. She was going to keep her mouth shut and do what they did. If only she didn't feel so dizzy.
"Take it off," one of the women encouraged.
Tam was in over his head. For more years than he could remember, he'd carried a torch for Bobbi Jo. She didn't have a clue then--or now--if she thought she could lift her skirt up to her waist in front of him. It was tantamount to waving a red flag in front of a raging bull.
His cock was hard enough to crack nuts, but Bobbi Jo had already done it just by revealing the black silk stockings anchored with black, lacy garters. He wanted to run his hand under the garter and give it a little snap. Instead, he reached up to her waist where she struggled with her shaper to give her a hand.
"Maybe I should do this in the ladies room?" She tossed her head, sending her shining brown curls flying across his face.
Tam agreed.
"Let me help," said the woman on his right as she leaned over his lap. When her arm brushed over his hard-on, she stopped to look up at him with expressive eyes.
Tam shrugged and held his hands in the air. In seconds, she both unzipped and unsnapped Bobbi Jo. What would happen next was anybody's guess. Tam prayed she wouldn't make it harder on him by taking it completely off.
"I can breathe again." Bobbi Jo began to work the offending garment downward. "I thought I was going to die."
"You're killing me," he muttered and finished his beer.
"Rigor mortis has already set in," quipped the woman who'd groped him.
Bobbi Jo stopped struggling and wiggling. Thank God she's stopped wiggling. She looked over with her sparkling brown-golden eyes, her sumptuous red lips pulled into a pout. All he had to do was lean forward to have those lips pressed against his. It took all his willpower to stop himself.
"Are you sick?" Bobbi Jo patted his hand. "You are s-so nice-shh."
Tam smiled, despite his painful predicament. "You're nice too. Very nice."
"Why don't you two get a room?" one of the women at the end of the table suggested.
Bobbi Jo hiccupped. "I have a room." With that she began to wiggle down her undergarment again.
Mike looked at Tam over her head. "Think we should cut her off?"
"Cut her loose," one of the women said and blew Tam a kiss.
"I don't need to cut it," Bobbi Jo said, holding both hands high in the air like she'd just performed a magic trick. "See, I'm free."
Tam looked down. Sure enough the shaper was no longer in sight, however, he had a clear view of brown curls under a triangular patch of black lace against her white skin. "Let's get this skirt back down before you start a riot."
"You're so nice-shh," Bobbi Jo slurred and leaned into him, her generous breast snug against his arm.
"And you're going to hate yourself in the morning if you remember this, sweetheart."
"Are you two an item?" the woman next to him asked pointedly. "Or is your hardware public domain?"
Bobbi Jo smiled and waved her hand. "Tam is my friend. Are you a computer tech? It surprises me to hear a cowgirl talk computers."
"A girl has to earn a living, but I wasn't exactly talking computer components."
Mike's eyes narrowed as he stared at Tam over her head. "Tell Bobbi Jo how you feel about her. It might be the only chance you get."
Tam took a deep breath. Hell, why not? As drunk as Bobbi Jo was becoming, she probably wouldn't remember anyway. "I've been in love with her since she took care of my grandma when she was still in nursing school. Then she married Ridge, so I never had a chance with her."
One of the women let loose a sob.
Bobbi Jo smiled and snuggled closer to him until the length of her side was tight against him. "I loved your grandma. I wanted her to be mine, too."
Tam sighed. "I know. She was so nice."
"Nice-shh."
"That's the saddest thing I've ever heard," one of the women said with an exaggerated sigh.
"What's sad?" Bobbi Jo asked her.
"He's in love with you," Mike said a little too loudly. People nearby turned to stare.
"With me? Why?"
Everyone seemed to be waiting expectantly on his answer, except the one who mattered most--Bobbi Jo. The waitress delivered another round of drinks and still they all stared at him.
"Here's to love," Bobbi Jo said before tossing back her tequila and missing her mouth with at least half. She tried to capture the remnants with her tongue.
Tam's cock was ready to explode.
"Here's to good sex," someone else said.
"Damn," Bobbi Jo huffed. "Does that mean I don't get any sex because I drank to love instead? I haven't had sex for three years."
"I have the feeling your luck has changed," the cowgirl on Tam's right said. "You just might be getting the big one."
Bobbi Jo's eyes widened and her moist lips formed an "O." "You are so nice-shh. Thank you."
"Don't thank me. I had nothing to do with it. If it was up to me, I'd be at the head of the line, but you're already taking home the trophy in this competition."
Tam shifted uncomfortably. "Let's get some fresh air," he told Bobbi Jo.
She smiled seductively, making his cock throb. To make matters worse, she didn't have a clue what she did to him.
"I'm not sure if I can walk." She sighed and then looked up at him with her big, brown eyes.
"Then it's definitely time for you to call it a night. And you--" He pointed at Mike. "--have your work cut out for you. Not a single one of these women is under the table yet. It's up to you show them not to take a Cave Creek cowboy lightly."
"It's just a matter of time," Mike said. "It's the safest bet in Vegas."
Tam excused himself and the women started to move so he could get out of the booth. At the same time, some of them were giving him hell for leaving. He knew he could probably get lucky with one of them. But a chance with Bobbi Jo was worth giving up getting laid by all six of them at the same time.
Bobbi Jo stood after she wiggled to the end of the booth and then tumbled forward. Tam caught her. She responded by wrapping both arms around his neck and kissing him.
At first her lips just brushed his, but he'd waited so damned long to kiss her, he wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away. He didn't care if the entire population of Vegas watched them.
He flicked his tongue over the seam of her soft, full lips until she opened to him and then entered her mouth with all the passion he'd held in check for so long. She tasted of lime and beer and a taste he knew had to be uniquely her own. It was a wild mixture of sweetness and the promise of sex.
The cowgirls began to root him on.
Somebody at a nearby table shouted, "Get a room!"
"Yes," Bobbi Jo whispered into his mouth.
He did the only thing he could do. Sweeping her up into his arms, he headed for the door while everyone cheered.