Getting a hard-on in the middle of a crowded dance floor was a bad idea, but a man could only handle so much torture, and Teresa rubbing her butt back and forth across straining denim was doing a number on him. He gritted his teeth, grabbed her hips and whipped her around to face him, taking her arm and placing it around his neck.
“You’re doing a little dirty dancing here,” he said, rocking his pelvis against hers.
She arched a brow. “You complaining?”
“Hell no. But you’re going to be embarrassed when you have to walk out of this crowd and your partner has a hard-on.”
She shimmied in, pressing closer to said hard-on. “I’m not embarrassed at all. As long as you don’t use it on anyone else.”
He sucked in a deep breath and tried to remember to keep things light and easy with Teresa. He backed off a little, but she only moved in again, raised her leg and draped it over his hip to rock against him.
“I’m tired of being treated like I’m fragile, Pax. Don’t back away.”
“I’m trying to respect where you’ve been and what you went through, Teresa.”
“I appreciate that. Now I just want to be treated like I’m a normal woman.” She moved in, wrapped both arms around his neck. “A normal woman you might want to take to bed.”
He pulled her tighter against him. “You know that’s exactly what I want to do. But you also know the deal.”
She tilted her head back, her green eyes sparkling under the lights of the dance floor. “Yes, I know the deal.”
A deal he knew she wasn’t ready for. Yet. Pax lifted his gaze to the fringes of the dance floor. “AJ’s scored us a table. Let’s go have a drink.”
He took her hand and led her off the floor and toward the table. Okay, so maybe he’d chickened out, but the way she looked at him—the way she made him feel—he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. And he was damn sure she wasn’t ready for him and AJ, no matter what she said.
“Who’d you have to kill to get this table?” Teresa asked as she took a seat and the beer AJ slid her way.
AJ grinned. “I can be charming if I need to be.”
Pax snorted, and AJ slanted a dirty look in his direction.
“Okay, so I might have muscled a couple of puny guys who thought they could take the table.”
“That’s what I thought.” Teresa put her feet up on AJ’s lap and took a long swallow from the bottle of beer. “It’s hot out there on the dance floor.”
“Yeah, you looked pretty hot when you were out there,” AJ said. “For a minute I thought you and Pax were going to get down and dirty right there in front of everyone.”
She laughed. “The thought had crossed my mind. But Pax is too much of a gentleman.”
Now it was AJ’s turn to snort out a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Pax referred to as a gentleman.”
Pax looked affronted. “Hey. I’m not without chivalrous qualities.”
“Please. I’ve seen you in public with women. I know what you’re capable of.”
“Really,” Teresa said. “Do tell.”
“I don’t think you want to hear those stories,” AJ said.
“I do. Tell me.”
AJ shrugged. “Okay. There was that time in Louisville with that cocktail waitress . . .”
Pax frowned, then nodded. “Oh yeah. Fucked her against the wall outside the bar while she was on her break. And don’t forget the two girls in Milwaukee.”
AJ laughed. “Oh yeah. The one who did me under the table in the back of the restaurant.”
Teresa’s eyes widened. “Under the table?”
“Yeah,” AJ said. “That was a memorable night. I nearly choked on my steak.”
“You sure do meet interesting women.”
“We tend to hang out with women who like to have a good time, who enjoy partying and pleasure,” Pax said.
“With no expectation of love and commitment, of course,” Teresa added.
“Of course. It’s all just fun and games,” AJ said.
“Until someone falls in love with one of you. Or both of you.”
AJ picked up Teresa’s hand, slid his fingers in hers. “Now, who would go and do a dumb thing like that?”
TERESA SCANNED PAX AND AJ, HER PULSE POUNDING DOUBLE time. Who indeed? Her body swelled with heat and need, the desire to take on both these men and prove to herself she was still a sexual being.
And maybe that was just libido conjured up by the dancing. Besides, she wasn’t here to satisfy her own carnal desires. She was here with a job to do.
“Any sign of the Fists?”
AJ shook his head. “Not yet.”
She sighed and took a long swallow of beer. “Chasing around looking for them seems like a colossal waste of time.”
“Agreed,” Pax said. “If they’re here—and that’s a big if—we need to plant ourselves somewhere and wait to see if they show up.”
AJ nodded. “Which means either here on Main Street or up at the campground. Those are the two hot spots. If the Fists are here, they’ll hit one of those two places.”
Teresa looked around. “How popular is this place?”
“You don’t come to Sturgis without stopping in here at least once,” Pax said. “Most people come in several times. It’s legendary.”
That’s what she thought. Which gave her an idea.
“Any idea who owns or runs this place?”
AJ leaned over her shoulder and pointed. “Steve Flyton. Heavy-set dude over in the corner bar.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“We’ll go with you.”
She turned and placed a hand on each of their chests. “Then we’ll lose these prime seats and I like it here. I’m going over to talk to Steve.”
“About?” AJ asked.
Teresa lifted her lips. “About a job.”
Pax’s brow lifted. “Why?”
“Because if this is the place to be, what better spot to watch for the Fists? Rather than looking for them, let them come to us. Besides, you guys can be out riding and I can be here working.”
AJ shook his head. “Don’t like that idea. You’d be left unguarded.”
She rolled her eyes. “I hardly need a bodyguard.”