Chapter 5
As they neared the door of The Club, Jenna discovered she was having trouble walking in a straight line, even with Colt’s hand firmly locked around her upper arm, she felt like a willow in a strong breeze.Damn, what did Rissa put in my drinks anyway? Wow!She looked down at her bare feet, “I need shoes. Look at my snazzy pedicure, it’s going to be wrecked by the cobblestone walk.”
Colt didn’t bother to answer her, he just looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. When they were at the doors, he scooped her up into his arms and pushed through, heading to the passenger side of his truck. He opened the door, set her inside, and reached across her to secure her seat belt. When Jenna started to lean forward, his growled “Stay where I put you, Jenna” made her freeze in place. She watched with wide eyes as he moved around the front of the truck and got behind the steering wheel, then turned to face her. “When I place you somewhere, I will expect you to stay exactly there. When I set you in or help you into any vehicle, I will always see to your safety belt, and you will remain in the vehicle when we arrive at our destination until I have come for you. Do you understand this?” Colt knew that the ever-analytical Ms. Lamont would need a continuous flow of information in the beginning of her training. Her mind was so very sharp. Her thirst for knowledge would be a constant distraction unless it was fed.
“Yes, that’s pretty basic. I do believe I can remember that, but thanks for checking.” Jenna knew her voice was dripping with sarcasm, but damn, what did he think she was, some kind of dimwit? Well, okay, so she was a bit toasted, but geez.
“Watch your tone, princess. You have already earned a punishment becoming inebriated this afternoon. I’m fairly certain you don’t want to go for another before we even leave the parking lot, now do you?”
“Inebriated? I’m just tipsy, that’s all, geez you don’t need to be such a drama queen, Matthews. Damn, I just had a couple of mimosas. Orange juice is good for you, ya know.” Jenna knew she was poking the bear, but just couldn’t seem to help herself. She really was going to have to find out what was in those drinks.
“You had three, and you skipped breakfast and lunch. And…that’s two.” Colt started the truck and headed down the drive. “Not taking proper care of your body is a punishable offense in Ds relationships, pet, as is lying about how many drinks you had.”
“Wait, how do you know how many drinks I had? Were you spying on us?” Jenna had a sinking feeling she already knew the answer. Neither Colt nor her brothers would see a thing wrong with monitoring every inch of the ShadowDance property, and God knew they would consider the inside of The Club fair game.Oh dandy, I don’t even want to think about the peep show they got this morning with the full wax job I got. Bet they were thrilled with the conversations, too.Jenna just wished she could remember what all was said, but the warm sunshine streaming in through the window, the gentle movement of truck as they drove, and the soft leather seats, on top of too much alcohol were combining to make her too sleepy to worry about it right at that moment.
Colt hadn’t even bothered to answer her questions. She already knew the answers, even if she hadn’t really liked thinking about all they might have given away during their discussions. Right now, he’d let silence work for him. She was fading fast, and with any luck, she’d sleep all the way to the cabin. He’d get a chance to mentally prepare for the week to come, and she wouldn’t know exactly where they were when she woke up. That might make it a little less tempting for her to try to bolt when the going got tough, and it was going to have to get pretty intense if he had any hope of bringing down all the barriers his little princess had spent years erecting around her heart.
There had been several years he’d been as adamant in denying their mutual attraction as she still was, but for the past couple years he’d known she was the one he’d been searching for, but he wasn’t foolish enough to believe convincing her of that fact was going to be anything but the biggest challenge he’d ever faced. Pausing when he reached the highway, Colt looked over at the woman sitting next to him. He’d never been one to back away from a good fight, and he wouldn’t start now. Colt reached over and reclined her seat back, then pulled a throw from behind his seat and covered up the sleeping beauty beside him. Then he pulled away from the stop sign at the bottom of the ShadowDance drive and headed west on the highway.
Even though the cabin he shared with Mitch Grayson and Bryant Davis was still on ShadowDance Mountain, the only vehicle access was from the opposite side of the river, so they’d need to make the twenty-minute drive that would take them to one of the few bridges spanning the water that was flowing at near capacity from last winter’s record snowfalls. Colt couldn’t wait to show Jenna how crystal clear the water flowing beneath their overhanging deck was and how the rocks that lined the riverbed formed a natural mural displaying the beautiful local geology. And it was going to be fun to see her shock when he dropped her into the frigid water the first time she got out of hand.Yes indeed, it’s going to be an interesting week for sure.