Acceptable Risk (2 page)

Bethany’s head barely came to this man’s
collarbone, and she was certain his biceps were bigger around than
her thighs. Most white men built like him couldn’t dance, but she
was pleasantly surprised to discover he could hold his own on the
dance floor.

They danced three fast eighties metal songs
before a slow country song played, and he almost made her feel like
a child again when he pulled her into his strong arms. She hadn’t
expected this huge, muscled man to be so gentle and
affectionate.

He also wasn’t pawing all over her, but keeping
his hands where they belonged. It made her want to let her hands
roam, if only to see how he reacted, but she didn’t. The
adventurous imp in her took a backseat to his embrace.

“I’m David MacNeill, but my friends call me
Mac.”

“Hi, Mac. I’m Bethany. It’s nice to meet
you.”

He brushed her hair back from her face, leaned
his face towards her, and seemed to smell her. His eyes had an odd
look for a split second, but then were normal. He put his mouth to
her ear and asked, “If your friends’ll be okay without you a little
while, would you like to come back to my table and talk?”

The slow dance was starting to get to her, and a
cool down would be ideal right about now — before she made the
first move on him. She had a feeling this man was used to being in
control, and she wanted to give it to him.

“Sure, Mac. I’ll follow you.”

His smile was deliciously wicked as he said,
“And deprive me of watching you walk in front of me? I think not.
Lead the way, my beautiful little fiery vixen.”

“Yours?”

“Mmmm, so it’s not the fiery vixen you have a
problem with, but the idea I’d like to make you mine?”

“Possession goes both ways, Mac. You know this,
right?” Time to back him off, and reminding guys they can’t own you
unless you own them works so much better than telling them you
aren’t interested in belonging to anyone. Why did guys always take
the latter as a challenge?

“Yeah, it does, but I don’t believe for a second
you want to own me.” He pulled his mouth away from her ear and
said, “Come on, time to meet my friends.”

One of Rolling Thunder’s bouncers had been close
to Bethany since she’d stepped onto the dance floor with Mac, and
now he followed not far behind. She turned to look at him, but he
only smiled and didn’t alter his pace.

“This is Ranger,” Mac said as they reached his
friends, “and Jonathan. Let’s get you a drink and then maybe you
can dance with one of them? Did I see you with a margarita?”

The VIP seats had a waitress close at all times,
and Mac let her know they wanted three more beers and a margarita
on the rocks.

“Three obviously high-class girls in the VIP
seats of a biker bar, I’m sure there’s a story,” Ranger said. “And
more to the point, why’s one of RTMC’s enforcers shadowing
you?”

Bethany’s brow wrinkled as she asked,
“Enforcers?” Her head followed the direction Ranger was looking,
and she said, “Oh, you mean Gonzo? He’s one of the bouncers, but
I’m not sure why he followed me. As for who I know, my best friend
is dating one of the guys who owns the bar.”

“The motorcycle club owns the bar.”

Bethany nodded. “Yeah, and she’s dating one of
them. Who do you guys know? You’re sitting in the VIP section,
too.”

“Duke made the arrangements for us.”

The waitress brought their drinks, and Bethany
turned to Mac, gave him a smile and said, “Thanks,” as she licked
the rim and took her first drink.

Mac leaned forward with what sounded like a low,
animalistic growl, and his lips met hers as she swallowed the sweet
liquor. He caught her off guard, and instead of pushing him away
with a laugh, her lips molded to his, and opened as his tongue
teased its way into her mouth.

As soon as she put her hand to the front of his
chest, he backed off with a mischievous, happy smile. “Been wanting
to do that since I first saw you.”

“I can see now, I’m going to have to keep an eye
on you,” Bethany said with a grin as she tried to bring her
breathing and heartbeat back to some semblance of normal. She
reached for her drink and downed half of it, then realized perhaps
more alcohol wasn’t the way to go right now.

“I can’t place your accent,” she told Mac.
“Where are you from?”

“I’m originally from Florida, but I’ve lived all
over the world and my accent is kind of fucked. Your accent says
you’ve lived in the south your whole life, though. Am I right?”

“Yeah. I even stayed in town for school, but my
life’s here, so I’m good with it.”

God, she wasn’t drunk, why was she oversharing?
Looking to Jonathan, she said, “I know Ranger has a Texas accent,
but I haven’t heard you say more than ‘nice to meet ya,’ which
tells me southern, but not what part of the south. Don’t tell me
though, I want to guess, but I need you to talk, please.”

Jonathan’s smile made him go from red headed
boy-next-door to
bad boy who could do things to you in bed to
make you come unglued
, and his words backed up the look as he
said, “Dance with me and I’ll talk for you, Raggedy Ann.”

Bethany’s hands involuntarily went to her hair,
and her mouth opened to accept his offer when she remembered Mac.
Her head swiveled to him, and he smiled and said, “I don’t mind
sharing with my friends, and I think it’d be hot to watch ya’ll
kiss on the dance floor. Go, have fun.”

Unsure of what to do or say, she completely
forgot to call Jonathan
Raggedy Andy
back, but let him lead
her to the dance floor.

Gonzo stayed put this time and didn’t follow
them, though Gen and Cassie gave her huge smiles as she and
Jonathan walked by their table.

Where Mac had danced in his own space —
with
her, but not touching her the entire time — Jonathan’s
hands never left her body as he moved her with him,
against
him. The dance floor was packed and he’d shifted them to the middle
so no one gawked, but this was down and dirty dancing. She took Mac
at his word, though, and had fun with it.

Bethany had been right about Jonathan’s muscles,
he was wiry and strong, and he moved like a cat — all smooth and
graceful, with a coiled power he carefully controlled.

When a slow song finally played, Jonathan pulled
her to him and she soon discovered he kissed as well as he danced.
She also realized things were getting too hot and heavy for the
dance floor, though, and tried to pull back with a laugh.

“No, Bethany,” Jonathan said, his mouth at her
ear. “Mac wants to see us kiss. Do you know how hard he’s gotta be
right now, watching this?” His lips wrapped around the cartilage of
her ear, his teeth bit with enough pressure to hold, and his tongue
caressed the edge.

Bethany shivered, her skin erupted in goose
bumps, and her clit throbbed as she leaned into him and moaned.

“That’s it,” Jonathan practically purred into
her ear. “Ranger’s gonna come dance with you, now. Let you get to
know all of us one-on-one before we hit you up three-on-one.”

Jonathan literally handed her to Ranger as he
stepped away, and Bethany’s world imploded as one of Ranger’s arms
went around the small of her back, the other to the back of her
head, and his lips took her, owned her,
possessed
her.

The music faded, the people around them
disappeared, and nothing existed except Ranger’s arms, his lips,
his tongue as he kissed her with a sensual passion as if she were
the only woman on the planet. Her arms already around him, she
stroked his back through his super-soft shirt, traced muscles with
her fingers. He was pure heat and sensation, and her body pressed
closer.

Time ceased to exist, but the magic spell broke
when someone bumped into them. Bethany was embarrassed to realize a
fast song was now playing, and they’d just been standing there,
kissing.

When she backed off, he let her pull away. With
a smile, he led her back to their table, and as they entered the
VIP section, Bethany saw Duke sitting with Gen, now, and Cassie in
Isaac’s arms. Ranger slowed, then stopped, tugging her to him. He
put his arms around her, his mouth at her ear, and asked, “Your
friend is Duke’s woman?”

Bethany nodded, and Ranger looked dismayed.
“Okay. Go on back to the table with Mac and Jonathan. I’m gonna
stop and talk to Duke a minute.”

“I can go with you. I want to talk to Gen,
anyway.”

He looked at her a few seconds before
nodding.

“Apologies,” Ranger said to Duke as they
approached. “I wasn’t aware she was your woman’s friend.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Bethany asked Ranger,
then put her hands on her hips as she looked at Duke and raised her
voice to ask, “Why is he apologizing! Please tell me you haven’t
done something asinine like make me off limits in your bar!”

Duke had been seated between Gen and Cassie, and
now he stood and walked behind Gen to pull Bethany into his embrace
as he said, “Of course not, Bee, but as Gen’s best friend, everyone
knows you’re under my protection.” He put his mouth to her ear and
said, “No judgment from me, but he’s probably worried I’ll object
to the three of them taking you to their bed at once, which I’m
guessing is where this is headed. I’ve heard you say you want a
harem — if you’re serious, this is your chance. Say the word and
I’ll give you an easy out, or tell me to butt out and I will.”

“Do you know them? Are they safe?”

“We have a mutual friend, which is who they went
through to get the table tonight. I’ve asked around and found out
Ranger’s a hard-ass Dom, but he’ll respect a safeword. They all
work for a security company, and two of them have top level
clearance with the government. You should be safe if you go with
them, and I’ll make it clear I expect to have eyes on you tomorrow,
and there’ll be hell to pay if you aren’t still in one piece.”

“Gen’s brother says protection doesn’t come
free. What do you want from me, for keeping me safe?”

Duke laughed and tousled her hair. “You’re Gen’s
best friend, which makes you part of the family. It’s all good,
Bee.” He turned her towards Ranger, put his hands on her shoulders,
and said, “You have my blessing, but either I or my woman expect to
see her in person tomorrow. He’s good for seven weeks, and I’m
impressed, but she’d better be in one piece tomorrow. Tired is
good, hurt isn’t. Catch me?”

The plan had been for Isaac to drive her drunk
ass home tonight, so Bethany didn’t have her car. This meant riding
with the men back to their place was easier, but it also meant
she’d be dependent on them to get her home in time for work,
tomorrow.

In reality, as she walked to their car holding
Mac and Jonathan’s hands, she was stressing over the lack of a car
instead of thinking too much about going home with three men, with
the understanding she’d be
doing it
with all three.

They were in a big, black, SUV, and Mac got into
the backseat with her, while Ranger drove and Jonathan talked to
them from the passenger seat.

Mac was kissing her, overwhelming her, when she
pulled away and asked, “Whose house are we going to?”

“We all live together,” Mac murmured as he took
control of her lips again, but she once again backed away.

“Do ya’ll do this a lot?” she asked. “Take one
girl back and share her?”

Mac looked to the front of the vehicle, and
Bethany saw his eyes meet Ranger’s in the rear view mirror.

“Mac and I’ve worked together on some
assignments in Europe,” Ranger said, “and we’ve shared more than a
couple of times. Jonathan’s new to town. This’ll be the first time
the three of us have shared.”

“So, I’m not the first person who hasn’t done
this?”

“Sorry, Raggedy,” Jonathan said as he turned in
is seat to look at her. “It’s only you. Just because I haven’t
shared with these guys doesn’t mean I haven’t shared with anyone.
We’ll use condoms, we’ll be safe. I know you want it, but if you’re
getting cold feet we won’t be mad.”

She didn’t want to back out, she just wanted to
know a little more of how this worked, and how they made
decisions.

“How did ya’ll decide Mac would be back here
with me? It feels like you’ve done it before, the three of you. It
doesn’t feel like anyone is jockeying for position. I guess I’m
just trying to understand.”

“Mac’s in the backseat because you seem the
calmest with him,” Jonathan said, still turned so he could look at
her while he talked. “Ranger turns you on more, but he also
intimidates you. I started to get in the backseat, with you in the
middle, but I was afraid we’d all be mostly undressed before we got
home, and I want to sink into you in a bed, not a backseat. So,
it’s Mac with you now because we know you want it, but we know
you’re also nervous. It’s about what
you
need right now, not
us.”

Mac chuckled and rubbed her thigh. “Focusing on
what
we
need comes later. I can’t
wait
to watch you
please three men at once, but this is about taking care of each
other. You need calming right now, so you get me. It won’t always
be me when we think you’re nervous, but right now, it is.”

“You all live together? Are ya’ll…” She was
pretty sure they weren’t bisexual, but needed to ask, but then lost
her nerve.

“No, we’re straight,” Mac said, threading his
fingers through hers to hold her hand as he sat up. She missed his
warmth, but was glad he was answering her questions. “Our jobs send
us out of town on assignment a lot. I haven’t lived in-country for
years, and most of my stuff is still overseas until I arrange to
either go get it, or have someone box it up and ship it to me. I’m
kind of in limbo right now, waiting for my release papers from my
former job so I can accept a position here. Ranger’s been in and
out of the country a while, and had been mostly staying in
long-term hotels when not on assignment. Jonathan just moved here
from South Carolina, but bought a big house up on Lookout Mountain.
He had spare bedrooms and offered to let us pay him rent for
them.”