The Triple Threat (Love In Dayton Valley Book 1) Read online

  “Yeah?”

  “Hmm hmm.” I nodded and gave his hand a squeeze

  “So does every color have a meaning?” Hunter rubbed his thumb up and down my hand, drawing patterns on my skin and sending thrills over my body.

  “I think so, yeah,” I replied, barely a whisper.

  Hunter nodded, looked at the roses and then back to me. “Which color says, ‘will you come on a date with me’?”

  My breath pulled in sharply and my heart picked up a pace I looked into his brown eyes which felt like they were drawing me deeper and deeper into his soul.

  “I don’t know,” I whispered, while in my head trying to work out what to do if this was Hunter asking me on a date, but also processing the regret of knowing it was.

  Going on a date itself wasn’t a huge thing but going on one with Hunter was. If it all went to hell in a handbasket so many other people would be affected. Jefferson relied on my parents and Bronte’s parent’s friendship, but if Hunter and I suddenly started to hate each other, would Jim and Darcy feel they needed to take sides? Would my mom and dad still welcome the Delaney’s around, would Carter, would I if Hunter broke my heart?

  “Well, that’s what I’m asking, Ellie,” Hunter said breaking into my inner turmoil. “If you’ll go on a date with me.”

  His hand came up and with his forefinger, he pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear and then trailed the same finger down my cheek. We inhaled simultaneously and something more than sexual chemistry passed between us. I didn’t know what had changed, why my feelings toward him had moved on, but they had.

  “I know you’re scared, El, but you must realize that we have something here,” Hunter said, his eyes narrowed on me. “Maybe this has been brewing for a while, and maybe we’ve gone about it all the wrong way, but I’d like it if we could go on a date. I want to take you to the pre-Christmas Dance at the Memorial Buildings on Saturday.”

  My eyes widened. “You want to take me to the dance?”

  Hunter shrugged. “Well, I think we’re way past a drink in a bar, don’t you?”

  His smile was bright and made his eyes twinkle and I felt a traitorous little whoosh in my stomach.

  “I guess. But absolutely everyone will be there, my parents, your dad, Mayor Garrison. Everyone.”

  “I know,” Hunter replied, the reverberation of his deep voice filling me with unwanted excitement. “Which surely proves I’m serious. If I thought it was going to be a one off, or doomed for failure do you really think I’d take you to the most important night in the town’s social calendar?”

  He was right, it surely did, but I still couldn’t help thinking that this was not the Hunter I knew. The Hunter Delaney I knew loved them and left them and had done so many times.

  “You know that if we did and, and well things didn’t work out, it’d cause one hell of a ruckus.”

  “Who says it won’t work out?” Hunter asked, exasperation in his tone.

  Watching him carefully, the words he wanted to hear almost spilled from my mouth, but I just couldn’t. I cared too much for him to lose him as a friend, or to make life uncomfortable for everyone.

  Noticing my hesitancy, Hunter sighed. “You do, don’t you? You don’t think it’ll work.”

  “I’m sorry, Hunter. But you know, maybe a little bit of this is you wanting what you can’t have.”

  “Seriously, you think I’m that shallow?”

  I stalled again and this time his nostrils flared, and fire lit up his eyes.

  “Well you do seem to like my girls a little too much.”

  As soon as I said it, Hunter’s eyes dropped to my boobs which were pushing against the thin top of my PJs.

  “See.”

  “You were the one who pointed them out,” he argued, pointing at them. “I’m a guy, of course I’m going to look at them if you mention them.”

  “You could have fought the urge.” I put my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Ah, now you’re just doing that on purpose.” He groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. “You can’t mention titties and then push them out like that, Ellie. It’s just not damn fair.”

  “Well tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you don’t think about them more than you think about me.”

  “Of course, I don’t,” Hunter affirmed, shaking his head. “Anyway, it’s impossible. It’s like thinking of peanut butter and not jelly or thinking about Kelly Ripa and not Ryan Seacrest; you just don’t do it.”

  “Well,” I said, leaning closer and dropping my voice. “I don’t automatically think of your huge whang when I think of you.”

  Of course, it was a lie. Any mention of Hunter and memories of his beautiful big dick were forefront of my mind.

  Hunter grinned and put his hands to hips.

  “You don’t need to frame it,” I sneered. “I know it’s there.”

  “Oh, I know you do, and now I know you think of it often. Well I kind of like that.”

  I rolled my eyes and waved him away. “You’re missing the point, Hunt. I know if you and I start dating you’ll soon realize that it isn’t what you want. You’ll miss your hook-ups and being the town’s most eligible bachelor, and I don’t want to go through the pain that’d cause me.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Ellie, how many times? I wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “You might not want to, but I honestly don’t think I’ll be enough for you.”

  I chewed on my lip as Hunter watched me, his dark gaze burning into me. After a few uncomfortable minutes of silence, he nodded his head.

  “Okay, if you really think that’s how little I feel about you, Ellie, then so be it. I guess we’ll never know now though, will we.”

  He ran a hand over his head and exhaled heavily as he gave me one last look before turning to leave.

  “You know it makes sense,” I called after him, having a good look at his ass as he strode away.

  “Nope, it doesn’t Ellie,” he said without looking back. “And stop perving on my butt.”

  The only sound then was that of his boots stomping on the wood flooring and then the slam of the front door.

  “Shit,” I cursed as I dragged my hands through my hair. “Shit, shit and crap.”

  “You okay, sweetheart,” Mom asked coming up behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder at her and then back to the door, which Hunter had just exited from.

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay then. Oh, and by the way.”

  I turned to face her. “Yeah.”

  “Dad bought us all tickets to the pre-Christmas dance on Saturday. Won’t that be great, all of us going together.”

  My heart sank as Mom’s beautiful face lit up with excitement.

  “When you say all, who’d you mean?”

  “All of us. You, Carter, me and your dad. In fact, the whole gang are going.” She winced. “Well maybe except Jim, he’s in Lubbock for a few days, but we hope he’ll be back. Thanksgiving was such good fun, your dad thought it’d be good to pay for a whole table. His treat.”

  She clapped her hands and then with a quick kiss to my forehead, raced up the stairs singing to herself.

  All of us, on one table. After I’d already told Hunter I wouldn’t go with him. Well, wouldn’t that be fun. I just had to think of a way of getting out of it, or hope he didn’t go, otherwise it could turn out to be the worst Christmas party ever.

  Ellie

  Shopping alone for a dress at Middleton Ridge Mall was not what I thought of as fun. My dad feeling all warm and generous, had offered to buy me something for the dance and Bronte had agreed to come with. Then, on the eleventh hour she’d backed out with a headache of all things. Personally, I thought she had a date with a man. Bronte never gave up a day of shopping, unless there was a possibility of sex.

  At least I knew it wasn’t with Jefferson. He was at the ranch and I knew that because my dad and Jim, Bronte’s dad who was back from Lubbock, were helping him to clear out some old barn he’d been stori
ng an ancient old tractor in and had now disposed of.

  Mom had also offered, but then got a call from Darcy asking if she’d go for lunch with her. Seeing as Darcy and Jim were having problems, I insisted Mom go and spend the day with her friend.

  That was why I was flicking through the racks of dresses having no idea what on earth to buy. I wasn’t a girly girl like Bronte. Yeah, I liked nice clothes and makeup and liked to dress up from time to time, but the Pre-Christmas dance was a pretty fancy affair that most of Dayton Valley attended, so I needed something special.

  “Can I help you, miss?”

  I turned to see an assistant, probably my age, with her hair in a French braid and wearing the standard black skirt and white blouse that all the staff of Hemmingway’s Department Store wore.

  “Oh hi,” I replied, giving her a warm smile. “I’m looking for an evening dress for a dance but have no idea what to get.”

  She looked me up and down and then walked around me, until she was right back in front of me. One more glance and then she nodded.

  “Size eight, but you need a ten for your top half, right?”

  “Woah, yes.” I was surprised as I looked down at my jean and t-shirt clad body.

  “If you’d like to take a seat, I’ll go and find you something suitable.”

  She nodded to a brown leather sofa that was positioned right next to the dressing rooms. Without another word, she wandered off leaving me to go and sit and wait.

  Having checked my phone, I knew I’d only been waiting for ten minutes when she appeared, pushing a rail with four or five dresses on it.

  “Here you go. These should all suit your figure. I’ve gone for the size ten to accommodate your larger top section. But because of the style, the skirts won’t look too big.”

  Well that was a first, having my boobs called a top section, but I didn’t care if the dresses fitted and suited me. There were a mixture of fabrics and colors, so I was pretty sure one of them would.

  “That’s great, thanks so much.”

  “No problem,” she replied. “Now, I have to go and help out another customer, but just ring the bell in the dressing room if you need me.”

  She pushed the rail into a dressing room and indicated for me to follow. Once the rail was in place, she smiled and left. Quick, no nonsense, efficiency. I liked it.

  I looked at each dress in turn, wondering which one to try first and decided on a red one which was my least favorite of her choices. It wasn’t long, which I’d really wanted, and it looked like it might be real tight and uncomfortable, particularly as there was going to be a four course dinner.

  Not sure about the dress, but feeling I ought to try it anyway, I took off my jeans and t-shirt and threw them onto a stool in the corner.

  Taking the dress from the hanger, I checked it for a zipper or buttons but when I couldn’t find either, figured it must just pull on. I lifted my arms and pulled it over my head. It was real tight, as I’d guessed, and troublesome to get on; the stretchy fabric wasn’t exactly, well, stretchy. The skirt part wouldn’t go over my boobs, which meant my head was stuck in the bodice and no matter how much I wiggled the dress wouldn’t move. I could barely move my arms which were pretty much trapped in the armholes by the fabric that had bunched around my head. I felt like damn sausage meat being piped into the skin.,

  “Shit,” I hissed as I tried once more to wriggle free, without success.

  I couldn’t even get a hold of a tiny bit of fabric to yank it off, and I was beginning to panic. I was literally trapped and if I didn’t get out of it soon, I knew I’d probably pass out through lack of air. The only thing to do was to call for the assistant, but I hadn’t taken note of where the bell was to call her. So, my only hope was to feel around the room to find it.

  Staggering to what I thought was the wall, I waved my hands around and prayed that the bell was at the right height. Twisting and wiggling in the dress, must have disoriented me though because instead of a wall, I found myself patting at the drape.

  “God damnit,” I cursed.

  Taking small sideways steps, I moved along trying to get back to the wall. Things couldn’t get any worse. I kept on patting and groping, I didn’t find the wall, but I did find a gap in the drape and stumbled through it.

  Staggering forward I tried to keep my balance, but top-heavy from the weight of my arms above my head, and unable to put my hands out to regain my balance, the momentum took me forward and I careered out into the store.

  I ricocheted off the side of something, a counter or display cabinet possibly judging by the wobble, and span around, banging into what I thought was the leather sofa and then bouncing back into another spin. The sight that met the other shoppers must have been both hilarious and scary; a pair of hands attached to a headless body and showing a practically bare ass – why the hell had I chosen to wear a thong - batting around like pinball.

  “What the…”

  A hard body stopped my path and it was a voice I recognized. I had never been gladder to hear it than I was then.

  “Hunter? Is that you?”

  My voice was muffled and when he didn’t answer immediately, I panicked that he hadn’t heard me and had carried on walking, or maybe it wasn’t even him. Who would blame whomever it was for passing on talking to some weird red body? They were probably scared to death.

  “Hunter.” His name was a desperate plea.

  For a few seconds there was no reply, but then finally.

  “El?”

  “Oh my God,” I gasped, my relief almost making me burst into tears. “You have to help me.”

  The moment two big hands landed on my hips, my knees buckled, and I whimpered.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Hunter asked, his voice cracking.

  “Are you laughing at me?” I asked.

  “Well, it is kind of funny. Do you know you’re standing in the middle of the dress section with your butt on show?”

  He started a low chuckle from deep within his chest and I almost wished he’d disappear, but… yeah, my ass was on display, and I was trussed up like half-made Christmas cracker.

  “Just get me back to the dressing room and get this damn dress off me.”

  “And what’s the magic word,” he whispered somewhere around the vicinity of my ear.

  I let out a long and frustrated breath. “Please.”

  His thumb swept along my skin and his voice softened, all laughter gone from it.

  “Of course, I will, baby.”

  Immediately my body tingled, and I felt myself get wet, just from his voice, which had to prove I really was gone for him. I looked like an idiot and undoubtedly every eye in the store was on me, but all I could think about was how sexy Hunter’s voice was.

  There was no hope left for me. Maybe it was time I pushed my stupid insecurities to one side and let myself have what I really wanted – Hunter Delaney.

  Hunter

  “Seriously, El,” I groaned as I guided her into the dressing room. “How the hell did you get in this thing.”

  “I pulled it over my head.” Her reply was muffled and came with a little stamp of her foot. “The stupid thing has no fasteners.”

  “Stand still, let me size up the situation.”

  “If by that you mean you’ll size up my ass, then you can forget it.”

  I rolled my eyes, though she couldn’t see me, and let out a sigh. “You want me to help or not? Because if you do, I suggest you quit moaning and stand still, like I asked.”

  “Fine.”

  With my hands resting on my hips, I did a slow walk around Ellie to see if there was any easy way to get the dress off. Problem was, there didn’t look to be any other way than taking it back the way it came.

  “I’m gonna have to pull it back over your head,” I said as I grabbed a hold of some of the material around her arms. “You ready?”

  “Yes, and hurry. I’m losing oxygen here.”

  “I doubt that because—”

  �
��Hunter, I do not want some science lecture on the breathability of elastane fabric. Just damn well get me out of it, please.”

  I took a step back and crossed my arms over my chest. “If you’re going to be a spoilt princess about it.”

  “I’m not,” Ellie said, her voice cracking. “I’m really starting to panic that I might have to live in this dress forever. I might have to get married in it, give birth in it and then fucking die in it.”

  Laughing, I moved back and took a hold of the dress again. “Dramatic some.”

  I heard Ellie take a sharp breath, but she didn’t speak, evidently thinking better of it.

  “Right, I’m gonna pull as hard as I can, okay?”

  “Okay.” Her voice was a little timid, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. “Here we go. One, two…”

  I pulled as hard as I could, but the dress must have moved about an inch.

  “Ahhh, no stop,” Ellie squealed. “My nose, my nose.”

  “What?” I asked and pulled again.

  “No, you’ve got my nose. Shit, damn and hell fire.” She stamped her foot and wiggled around, squealing like a little girl. “Oh no, I think I got boogers on it.”

  Stooping down to look, I couldn’t help the belly laugh when I saw that the dress was wet right where Ellie’s nose was. Also, if I wasn’t mistaken, I could see the slight outline of her nostrils.

  “Shit, you’re right.”

  “This isn’t funny, Hunter. I’m going to have to pay for it now and it doesn’t even fit.”

  There was that stamp again, only this time it was double footed.

  Trying to dampen down my laughter, I bent over and slapped a hand to my mouth. Aside from the fact that she was starting to panic, she looked fucking hilarious. Just two arms sticking straight in the air with her hands waving around, and a bare ass. At least her pussy was covered with the pink lace of her thong, imagine how much worse it could have been, her wandering around the store with most of what she had to offer on show.

  “I’m going to have to cut it,” I thought out loud.

  “No!”

  “I have no damn clue how else to get you out of it,” I groaned.