up at the store before he’d spotted her car and impulsively driven into the lot of Cappy’s range. After their little interlude, he’d left the garage early and headed home, taking a hot shower and fucking his fist relentlessly as he pictured a curvy, beautiful red head kneeling in front of him. He dried off and dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, black motorcycle boots, and a fitted blue t-shirt. He grabbed his keys and his wallet and drove his Hummer straight to Maria’s.
It was almost nine on a Friday night and the place was starting to fill up. He spotted Hawk and Shooter by the pool tables. After scanning the place for Abby and not seeing her, he headed toward his friends. He grabbed a chair across from Hawk and sat down facing the front door, watching it intently.
Shooter laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t just order her to show up.”
Tex took a sip of the beer Slick had brought him. “I pretty much did.”
“Then relax, cowboy. If she’s one of yours, she’ll show up,” Shooter replied.
Tex rolled his eyes. On the one hand he was grateful that his former lieutenant was cool about Tex’s sexual proclivities. At one time, Tex had thought Shooter might be more than interested when Tex’d seen the man come on strong to a tiny brunette at a bar in London once. After that, Tex had taken his lieutenant to a club he’d heard about while they had a layover in Tokyo, but Shooter hadn’t been into it. Apparently Chris Sullivan was just an alpha male.
But Shooter hadn’t judged Tex after Tex had explained that everything was consensual and he had no interest in seriously hurting women. Encouraged by Shooter’s acceptance, Tex had become more open about his interests with Hawk and Doc and neither of them had shown any real concerns over it. They hadn’t shown any interest, either, and Tex was fine with that.
But it was sometimes hard to get them to understand what BDSM actually was and how it fit into Tex’s life. Asking Abby to come tonight wasn’t the same as ordering her when she was wearing his collar. It was her choice and she could always choose not to come. Which would be disappointing to Tex because he’d decided that he needed to at least have a taste of her.
He was on his second beer when she finally showed. She stepped in through the front door wearing a little black dress and high heels, all that red hair loose and flowing about her shoulders. A slow grin spread over his face.
Hawk gave a low whistle. “I’ll admit you do know how to pick ‘em, cowboy.” All the men at the table watched as Abby headed straight for the bar. She ordered a drink from Maria. She took it, nodded appreciatively, and said something to Slick as she came back to get a round of drinks for a table.
Abby and Maria were talking when a guy in a Stetson and Tony Llama boots came up behind her. He leaned in, spoke to Abby, and she turned to him. She smiled, but shook her head. She started to turn back and he tried again. Abby again shook her head. When she turned back to Maria, the wannabe cowboy slapped her ass with his hand. Tex saw red.
He bolted out of his chair and headed across the main floor at a breakneck pace, but before he got there, Abby sent her left elbow flying into the man’s face. She turned on her heel and punched him in the nose with a right hook. He fell back and landed on his ass just as Tex made it to the two of them.
Abby looked down at the cowboy with disdain. “If you get up again, I’m just gonna put you down harder, and then I’m gonna stomp a new hole in your ass with my motherfucking Jimmy Choos,” she told him calmly.
“What the fuck is your pro-” the man started to say, but Tex had him up and was shoving him out the front door before he could finish his question.
“You don’t ever put your hands on what’s mine,” Tex growled quietly into the asshole’s ear and threw him out the front door.
As he turned
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