“Yes, we are.” Jackson pulled her in tighter.
“Sounds good to me, lil’ bro,” Denver said, putting his cell away.
“Rack ’em up, Phoenix.” Jackson guided her over to a table and chairs. He placed the bottle, limes, shaker, and glasses on it, then poured two more shots.
As Phoenix set up the table for their game, Jessica’s head spun. She was being really foolish and reckless. But it was her birthday, damn it. Flirting with four sexy cowboys had lifted her spirits. She didn’t want to be sensible tonight. Wasn’t that what she’d always been? Yes, and look where that got her.
Jessica slammed her third tequila shot, shoving aside her common sense. When in Wilde... “I want to break.”
“You heard the lady. Hand her a stick.”
Chapter Two
“She’ll never make that bank shot. We’re still in this,” Dallas told Phoenix and Denver, then shot her a heavenly grin. “Do your best, sexy lady.”
Jessica’s body buzzed warm from the three shots of tequila and the four brothers’ unabashed flirtations. She’d not had so much attention, ever. Back in Manhattan, only the really hot women got such treatment. She didn’t really understand these cowboys’ unrelenting come-ons. Had to be the tequila working on them or lack of women in the bar. Whatever. She wasn’t arguing.
She looked down at the table devoid of all the solids. She grinned, enjoying their shocked looks as she ran the table once again. Now, one shot to go and she’d win another game. The eight was behind the thirteen, so she didn’t have a clear shot.
“Watch and learn, boys.” She hit the cue ball against the rail for the next-to-impossible bank shot. It connected perfectly with the black sphere, sending it into the side pocket. She jumped up, thrilled with her success. “That makes three games to zero. We win!”
“Haven’t played in a long time, my ass.” Dallas shot her a wide grin.
“Great job, partner.” Jackson leaned into her, pulled her close, and kissed her hair. She took in a whiff of his scent. Leather and pine. So good.
“You, too.” She wiggled free of his grasp, stepped to the table with her half-eaten burger and the tequila. She poured two shots, leaving the others’ glasses empty. She handed Jackson his glass. “Let’s toast our victory over your brothers.”
His eyes narrowed. “Last one.”
“Are you worried about me? That’s so sweet.” She looked at the other three brothers. “To our triumph.”
She slammed the shot. Surrounded by hot men brimming with testosterone and looking like they had wicked intentions, her mind whirled, and she felt fuzzy around the edges. She liked the feeling, stupid or not. From age thirteen, Jessica had grown up fast, given what was happening at home. Even then, she only had Michael, her then-boyfriend, now ex-fiancé, to talk to. He’d always been good that way.
“She hustled all of us.” Phoenix glared, then poured the tequila in his shot glass. “Even you, Jackson.” He raised his glass to her, then downed it.
“Yep, she did.” Grabbing her hands, Jackson dark, fixed stare flustered her. “What are we going to do about that?”
Jessica gulped. She looked at the Horseshoe’s clock. One-fifteen. “Well, let me pay my part of the bill. I need to get at least a couple hours of sleep. I’ve got an important meeting in a few hours.”
“You do?” Phoenix muttered from behind her.
Crap. She’d said too much. Keeping her arrival a surprise for the top brass of the mine was important for her investigation. The likelihood that these guys worked at the mine was high. Where else would they be employed out here? “Just meeting a few people.”
“I already took care of the bill, Jessica.” Dallas grinned.
“You shouldn’t have done that, but thank you.” She wasn’t sure if it was the tequila or her twenty-five-year dry spell, but she really didn’t want the evening to end. “I’ve had fun, guys.”
Jackson coiled his arm around her waist and pulled her in tight. Being so close to h
im felt heavenly. “We’ll make sure you get back to your room.”
“The Hotel Cactus is only across the street.”
His eyes darkened. “You may have street smarts for most places, but out here, a gorgeous woman like you shouldn’t be walking without an escort. No sense arguing.”
Gorgeous woman? She felt foggy, warm, and unable to argue with him. If his eyesight was compromised, who was she to tell him? She shrugged. “Okay.”
The brothers surrounded her like her own personal battalion of bodyguards, then walked her out of the Horseshoe, toward the Cactus.