Tawny talking to me like she was above me pissed me off. But even though it angered me, I'm more than surprised at how much I enjoy her talking back to me. And the more and more she shows she won't allow me to boss her around, the more drawn in I am towards her. Of course, I like a good challenge now and then, but Tawny, however, is one hell of a challenge that I never saw coming. And now I need to figure out how to make her succumb to me.

The longer I sit at my desk, thinking of Tawny and what she does to me, the angrier I get with myself for how I've treated her within the last year or so. And as much as I'm still upset at myself for admitting how I feel about Tawny to her, I've come to realize I can't be upset with her kicking me out. And the more I stare at my over-filled drink, the more I think about everything I've done and said to Tawny. I've given her every damn reason not to be around me. And the entire reason she insisted I leave the other night.

All my mind can do right now is focus on Tawny and her luxurious ass when she bent over again, asking that I kiss it.

So fucking tempting.

Actually. It's very fucking tempting.

But because she's mentioned kissing her ass on numerous occasions and has bent over for me a few times asking that I kiss it. So I'm now wondering if she's taunting me on purpose.

She's testing me.

And she's testing to see how far she can go with me.

I looked down at the full glass of scotch and the plate filled with pineapple Tawny brought me. And as I stared at the pineapple, my eyes narrowed into slits, wondering what the hell she's up to. I reached for a chunk of pineapple, popped it into my mouth, and the second I started chewing it, my mind began wondering if she added some sort of poison to it, hoping it'd kill me. Thinking she did poison me, I spit the pineapple into the palm of my hand, then brought it up to my nose and smelled it. Not smelling anything abnormal, I popped the chewed-up chunk back into my mouth, swallowed it, then popped another piece into my mouth, washing each piece down with scotch until I realized I ate the entire plate of pineapple Tawny had given me.

I don't even know why I ate it, and it's not that I'm hungry or anything. But what makes it even more strange is that my entire life, I've never liked pineapple. And I'm sure it's because of her-little Miss Tawny Piper Kincaid. And the only possible reason I can come up with is that she placed a spell on me. A spell...

That'll explain everything...

Tawny placing a wicked spell on me only clarifies how she's on my mind: twenty-four-seven. And how I can't stop thinking about her gorgeous face and her beautiful-looking body. I also wonder every day what she'd feel like lying beneath me as I move my cock inside her—taking her to a land of milk and honey where the streets are paved with gold—an idealized place of idyllic magnificence and beauty-paradise. A stunning, magnificent world she never knew existed.

Hoping to rid my thoughts and erase the visions of Tawny's long legs in her shorts, I shook my head.

I closed my eyes, squeezed them tight, then I looked at the door.

Fuck.

She's still there.

The only way to get her out of my head is to drink more scotch. So I stood, wrapped my hand around the tumbler, picked up the empty plate, then rushed to the bar to see Jemma.

Only... it wasn't Jemma. It was Tawny working behind the bar.

I scanned the room, saw Hannah wiping and table down, and walked over to her. "Where's Jemma," I groaned, trying to avoid looking at Tawny.

"She had a family emergency to attend to," Hannah said, not looking up.

"And Tawny was the only one willing to work?"

She finished washing the table, then stood straight, crossing her arms against her chest with a mean look in her eye. "She needs the money, dipshit. Did you forget that you're paying her damn near nothing?"

"I know what I'm paying her."

"Then keep your mouth shut when I have her cover someone's shift." Hannah stepped closer, giving me the death stare. "Because you're such a jerk towards her, she refrained from telling you everything about her money situation." She pressed her finger to her chest. "I at least care about the employees who work for us. And since you're too damn stubborn to pay Tawny fully, I'll give her any damn shift that becomes available in the bar or restaurant."

She looked down at the plate in my hand and laughed.

My brows drew to one. "What's so funny?"

"Did you eat the pineapple?"

"Unfortunately."

"I thought you hated pineapple?"

"I do. I can't stand it."

Her lips twitched, and then she giggled. "Why did you eat it then?"

"Fuck if I know," I muttered. "Probably because it was there, and I was hungry," I lied, knowing damn well I wasn't.

"Liar," she snorted. "You ate it because she gave them to you..."

"Whatever," I groaned, walking away and towards the bar.

Whatever spell Tawny put on me tonight is working. Because now I'm doing something I never do. I'm sitting on the barstool at the bar, in my bar, waiting to be served... by none other, Tawny.

I didn't realize I was watching Tawny as intently as I was until I heard my sister snickering and gloating behind me when she walked by. I also hadn't realized I had been waiting to be served for fifteen minutes, either. I looked down at my empty glass and began rocking it back and forth, thinking about some things my mother had said.

Eat humble pie... Show her you're this wonderful person to work for... Show us you care, and if you don't, that'll prove to me you're not this caring person I raised you to be.

Then there's Hannah with her; you're just like our father...

"Did you want another glass of scotch?"

I stopped rocking my tumbler, shot my eyes up to hers, then pushed my glass towards her. "Yes, please."

She walked over to the wall, and as she stood on her tippy toes to grab the bottle of my scotch, I couldn't help but look at her ass and the cheeks that snuck out from under her shorts.

God, I'm such an asshole.

My eyes quickly diverted away from her, and to my empty glass the second she spun around.

"I see you ate the pineapple. How was it?"

"Terrible."

"Oh? If they were terrible, why did you eat them?" She asked, her lips curving upward as she filled my glass, filling it to where she should have the first time.

"Because." It was all I could say. "Why did you give me pineapple, anyway? Was it because Hannah told you I hated it?"

She shook her head, smiling. "No, she never mentioned that."

"Then why did you?"

"Well, since you're such a prune all the time, I figured you needed something sweet to help make you more tolerable to deal with." She paused, studied me for a moment, then smirked. "I see it worked. You're actually talking to me like a decent human being for once."

I wrapped my hand around the tumbler, then lifted it. As I looked at the caramel-colored liquid, I said, "You may have forgotten this, but I tried talking nice to you the other night, and I was immediately kicked out," I reminded, resting the glass to my lips and taking a long-needed sip.

"I didn't forget. I just didn't believe a word you said. And... I still don't," she admitted before walking away to help the one guy I'm despising right now. Brett.

I rested my elbow on the bar, then closed my eyes and lowered my forehead in my hand, massaging my temples. The next thing I heard was a chair sliding out beside me. "Damn it, Hannah, can't you ever leave me alone?"

"I'd be in heaven to be twenty-two again."

My hand fell as I snapped my head up. "Sorry. I thought you were Hannah. She's been on my ass all week."

"As she should," my mother said, grinning beautifully as always. She opened her purse, removed a book, then set it in front of me. "As promised, I'm borrowing you my book now that I've finished it."

I slid it her way. "I already said I wouldn't read it."

She pushed the book back. "Read it, Ian," she demanded. "You've been acting like a fool for far too long. It's time you see things from a different view."

I chuckled. "It's a romance book that's nothing but fiction."

"So? The novels like these give us women something to dream about. Read it, learn from it, and make the next and final woman in your life a happy woman. So happy that she'll never have to dream about wishing a man from a novel was hers." She pointed her finger at me. "Be that dream, man."

I pulled the book closer to me and sighed. "Well, isn't this embarrassing?"

"Not as much as you've been. I hate to say it, Ian. But you've been quite the embarrassment lately. Acting like a man that I didn't raise."

Wow. Tawny must have put a spell on her too... a couple of weeks ago, my mother never would have said I was an embarrassment.

"I'll read the book," I said, hoping to bring that frown of hers back into a smile.

And there's the smile I needed to see. "Thank you. Now, I need a damn drink."

I extended my hand in the air, and just before I snapped my fingers to get Tawny's attention, I caught myself getting ready to do something that would have pissed off my mother. But, instead, when she looked at us, I pointed my finger towards my mother. "Whatever she wants, it's on the house."

Watching Tawny work behind my bar, bending over and reaching for bottles inside the beer cooler, her breasts bouncing as she hustles around to help guests, her over-the-top beautiful smile while talking to patrons, had my mind spinning. And my dick was on the alert-warning me I'd better knock my shit off so we could get some action.

In addition to my dick demanding I be the first to quit this wrangling with Tawny, I had my mother, Hannah, and Arnie insisting I do the same thing. I don't even know why I've been so hard on Tawny, either, to tell you the truth. And I'm still trying to figure that one out myself because out of every woman I've ever dated, besides my mother, Tawny's the most gorgeous woman I've ever met in my life.

The more Tawny and I bicker, and the more she calls me out on my over-the-top demanding and ridiculous ways, the more I want her. I never had a woman talk to me the way Tawny does or had a woman try putting me in my place. Nor have I ever had a woman so determined to make sure I was angry all damn day long, and where all I could think about was how the woman pissed me off yet excited me at the same time, all day, every day.

As my eyes remained on Tawny, my mind became a race-car track-every dirty thought I wished to do to Tawny raced around in circles. Then my heart started acting weird, causing my breathing to stop each time it skipped a beat. The next thing I knew, my eyes were seeing double. And before I said something that would upset my mother, I decided to call it a night. I stood, removed my wallet from my back pocket, and did something that surprised me. I pulled a hundred-dollar bill out, set it underneath my glass, and shoved it to the bar ledge. Next, I grabbed the Vision In White book my mother insisted I read, placed it underneath the pit of my arm so nobody could see, then lowered my mouth to the top of my mother's head and kissed it.

"I'm taking off. Have a good rest of your night."

"Leaving so soon?" my mother asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah, it's been a long day, and I have to get up early to head back to the cities. I have a date with a bunch of middle schoolers in St. Paul."

She lifted her martini to her lips, took a small sip, then smiled. "It makes my night knowing my son still has a heart hiding behind that rock-hard chest of his. You know Stevie's looking down at you, smiling proudly for teaching kids the dangers of what drugs can do to someone's life, their families, and their friends."

God, I miss him. After fifteen years of Stevie being gone, one would think I'd be over his death.

My chest tightened, and then my heart started aching, feeling as if someone was holding a knife to my heart and repeatedly stabbing it. I clutched my chest and said, "I'm sure he is." I patted my mother's shoulder. "I'll see you Saturday."

Without saying a word to Tawny, I left. Hopefully, leaving her the tip I did will be the start needed for us to get along.

Even though I never mentioned to Arnie or Hannah how I feel about Tawny, they know. And they both saw it before I figured it out myself. And they're both right. If Tawny is the woman I wish to have in my life, I need to stop being this angry, demanding, jackass, and asshole I've been with her.

I hurried home, threw the book my mother gave me on my nightstand, then as I laid in bed while staring at the ceiling, thinking about how I failed my best friend Stevie and how mean and disrespectful I've been acting towards Tawny, my mother invaded my mind. Telling me, I better knock my shit off before I lose the one woman who drives me fucking crazy-a woman I never wished to have in my life and to make her mine. A woman I've been trying to push away for reasons unknown. And a woman I've insisted to my entire family was the enemy.

I rolled my head towards the nightstand and stared at the novel my mother kept insisting I read. As I reached for the book, my eyes rolled. I can't believe I'm even thinking about putting my nose into a woman's romance novel...

What the hell is wrong with me?

Tawny. That's who. She's what's wrong with me...

Frustrated, I dropped the book on my chest, then raised my hands to my face and scrubbed it hard. What is this woman to me? Actually, a better question to ask is. What are all the females in my life doing to me?

Evidently, they're hoping to turn me into a softy. Something I've never been.

'You're a cold-hearted, heartless son of a bitch' are the last words I heard from Alexandra. The funny thing about her telling me I was that special of a guy is that I never once raised my voice to her. Never once did I raise a hand to her, nor did I ever say anything harsh to her. Never once did I cheat on her; she was the one cheating on me-cheating on me during our entire relationship. So after five years of not squawking once to giving her everything she ever wanted and asked for, including the whole world with a blind eye, Alexandra repaid me with a huge fuck you; I found someone better-a week before we said our I do's.

I guess one way of looking at it, at least Alexandra saved me the embarrassment by not breaking it off with me in front of our family, friends, and guests.

What I've come to realize these past few days, finally, is that if I continue pushing Tawny away as I have been doing, and for no reason at all, other than to get her all riled up and hot. I'll end up pushing her into the arms of another man-one who'll never let her go, especially to me.

******

"Why does it look like you lost your best friend?" Arnie asked while sliding into the passenger seat.

"Probably because I did," I muttered.

"Another one?" Arnie asked, surprised. "Wow, man. I'm so sorry."

"I didn't lose another friend, you idiot," I groaned. "I was only referring to Steve."

"Then, why do you look so depressed?"

"I'm not depressed," I heavily assured. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately, and the last place I want to be is at a wedding."

"Like what?"

I snapped my head Arnie's way, scowling, "What the hell, Arnie? Did Hannah put you up to interrogate me? To cross-examine everything you're all wishing to get out of me?"

He shook his head. "No. I haven't talked to her in weeks. I'm talking to you brother to brother, man to man. What's so wrong with trying to figure out what's going on with you?"

"Nothing," I breathed. "I'm just in no mood to be attending a wedding all day and night. That's all."

Arnie leaned over, rested his head on my shoulder, and chuckled as he poked my side. "If you're worried about not having a dancing partner, look no further... I've got you covered."

I shrugged him away. "Get off me."

He bellowed a laugh, irking me as it echoed the car.

"What do you mean by covered? Who are you trying to set me up with this time?" The last time Arnie tried setting me up with a woman, it backfired on both of us. The woman lied to Arnie about breaking up with her boyfriend, and while he was introducing me to the woman, my face met her boyfriend's fist, and the next thing I knew, we found ourselves in the middle of a bar brawl.

"I'm not trying to set you up with anyone. All I was trying to say is that you've got me to dance with. It'd be like old times."

I scoffed. "We were kids trying to be funny, hoping to get everyone in the room to laugh. We're not kids anymore. We're grown adults, and if we did anything like that again, everyone would look at us as if we've got some screws loose in our heads."

Arnie laughed, shaking his head, then reached over and gave me a playful shove. "And your point is? We're Lockwoods. We all have screws loose."

"No. We're not dancing together like old times. I have businesses to run. And I don't need someone snapping pictures of me acting like a fool, then posting them all over social media."

"You need to pull that lead pipe out of your ass and lighten up. We're going to be around family, who will all be having fun. So who cares what you and I do?"

It's because you're my brother. That's why.

"I care," I groaned.

Arnie got quiet for a moment, and then he rattled my nerves when he smarted off with his following comment. "You know. Maybe if you'd quit acting like a jerk to a certain woman, you'd get laid finally. Mom mentioned to me the other day what you've been putting Tawny through, and from what I remember of her that night at the club, she's one gorgeous woman... Hell, I wouldn't mind having her as my girlfriend. So, if you don't want her like I thought you did, then, if you don't mind, the next time I see her, I'm going to work my charm on her."

The hell you are...

The next thing I knew, my blood was hot and boiling, my hands were white-knuckling the steering wheel, my foot had pressed the gas pedal down to the floor, and we were flying past cars like I was invisible. "Slow down, man!" Arnie snapped, his hands holding the dash firm and looking as if we're about to crash. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"Do me a favor tonight and don't bring up Tawny's name, all right? It's bad enough I've got mom and Hannah talking about her daily. I don't need you talking about her either."

"Fine," he growled. "Now, will you please slow down? I want to live a few more years."

I wanted to live a few more years as well, so I let off the gas, slowed down, and to refrain myself from becoming any angrier at my brother and punching his lights out, I remained quiet the rest of the way to the cathedral.

Arnie never said another word either, not until we were walking towards the cathedral and he saw a group of girls huddled in a circle outside the doors, talking and laughing. He whacked my arm with the back of his hand a couple of times, pointing and asking, "Is that Tawny standing next to Hannah?"

I stopped walking, snapped my head in the direction of Arnie's finger, and when my eyes locked on the stunning, dressed to impress beautiful bombshell, my beating heart gained speed, and my entire body went numb. The only thing I could feel was my dick twitching, and it was about to embarrass me by rising at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Why the hell is she here? She doesn't know anyone...

"That's her, isn't it?"

Tawny's eyes locked with mine, and then the corner of her lip slowly curved upward, smirking like the little devil that she was. "Yeah, that's her."

Tonight's going to be a long damn night.

I just know it.

I hope the chapter was okay!🤞🤞