Daddy’s Wild Girl (Montana Daddies #16)

Chapter 17

17

“ W ho wants to go to a pub with me?” she asked as she walked downstairs four nights later.

She had to get out of here.

There was this strange tension between her and Corbin that only seemed to grow with every day.

Ahh, by tension, do you mean sexual tension?

She didn’t want to think about it.

About how she’d told him he could do forearm porn. Or his reaction to her saying that Hayes had a good butt. It was just an observation; anyone could see that the man had buns of steel. Didn’t mean she was attracted to him.

He was more like a big brother.

A grumbly, scowly one.

But Corbin’s reaction meant he cared what she thought.

The two men were sitting in the living room. She’d finally managed to clear out enough junk that there was room to move around.

Of course, the only furniture in the room had come with the house. It was very old and kind of dainty.

So, seeing two big men sitting on the faded floral sofa was amusing.

What wasn’t funny was the way Corbin’s gaze caught on her as he took in what she was wearing.

She’d put on a skin-tight pair of fake leather pants. Bebe liked the way they gave her more of an ass. She was wearing black boots with a heel. And then she’d paired the pants with a low-cut, emerald blouse. She’d tied the ends at her waist so when she moved, you got a hint of her stomach.

He was staring at her so intently that she grew concerned that Hayes might notice. But as she forced herself to turn and look at the other man, she found him frowning too deeply at her to pay much attention to how Corbin was looking at her.

Like he wanted to grab her . . . eat her . . .

A shiver ran through her and her body heated. Yeah, she wouldn’t exactly say no to that.

“A pub?” Hayes asked. “You mean a bar?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s Irish, so it’s a pub. Callahan’s Pub.”

Corbin and Hayes shared a look.

“A bar isn’t the easiest place to keep you safe,” Hayes said with a frown.

She sighed. “Hayes, you don’t like me going anywhere. I swear you want me to stay home under lock and key.”

His frown deepened. “What’s wrong with that? Safest place for you. I’m against this outing.”

“I need to get out of here. I’m getting cabin fever. I now can’t go to the skate park thanks to Corbin scaring Frosty. And when I tried to go to salsa dancing lessons two nights ago, the instructor was more interested in what Hayes was doing than teaching me.”

“What kind of name is Frosty?” Corbin muttered.

“And I can’t help what the salsa instructor looks at,” Hayes replied. “The guy offered me a lifetime supply of free lessons. Not happening.”

“Salsa dancing is really sexy, though.”

Both of them just stared at her.

Bebe sighed. “I want to go to Callahan’s Pub; can we get out of here?”

They shared a look. What the heck? Why couldn’t they just talk out loud like normal people?

“We’ll both have to go with you,” Corbin told her. “And there will be new rules.”

Of course there would be.

“I swear you guys just enjoy making rules. Why don’t you live a little? Break a few rules. Maybe put the jelly on your toast before you put the butter. You know . . . go crazy!”

“You’ve got enough crazy for the both of us, girl,” Hayes said with a grunt. “I’ll go in first and scout out the exits.”

“No can do, buckaroo.”

Jeez. Now she was rhyming? And what the heck was a buckaroo anyway?

“What?” Hayes asked.

“You can’t get into this pub unless you have a special pass. I’ve got a pass. The two of you don’t.”

“Then how will we get in?” Corbin asked. “You’re not going without us.”

“You can come in with me, but not on your own.”

“I don’t like this,” Hayes said.

Pfft. Like that was a big surprise. Was there anything much he did like?

“A lot could go wrong,” Corbin agreed.

She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

“What level is foot tapping with your arms crossed?” Corbin asked, sounding amused.

“Four point five. Quickly heading to five,” she replied.

“What are the two of you talking about?” Hayes said.

“My waning patience. I need to go out. I usually go to Callahan’s at least twice a month. No one there is going to harm me. Only select people are even allowed in the pub. So, let’s go!” She clapped her hands together.

“Seems to think she’s in charge.” Hayes shot Corbin a look.

But Corbin was looking straight at her with hooded eyes, a sexy, stern look on his face that was making her a little crazy inside.

She managed not to shuffle around awkwardly.

Just.

“Yes, she does,” Corbin agreed. “But we know differently.”

Dear Lord.

“I don’t like the sound of this either,” Corbin said. “There are too many unknowns.”

She groaned and looked up to the sky for patience. “I keep telling you there is no stalker. Even if someone is sending those messages, they’re probably harmless. All talk, no action. Believe me, most people who spouted abuse online would never say that to someone’s face.” She could hear the bitterness in her voice. Not that she wanted people to get in her face and say awful things.

It was just that she wished they’d be a bit more careful with their words online.

Words could still hurt. A lot.

“Just because you think the threat isn’t real doesn’t mean you should ignore it,” Corbin told her. Standing, he walked over to her. “And we certainly won’t.”

She stared up at him, her pulse pounding. Why did he have to smell so good? And look so sexy.

Slowly, she licked her lips and reveled in the way his eyes lit up. “But I’ve got these amazing, wonderful bodyguards who will keep me safe. So why should I worry?”

“Trying to use flattery to get your way?” Corbin asked, looking slightly amused.

“Won’t work,” Hayes said.

“Please,” she begged, staring up at Corbin with her lower lip out.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever pouted in her life. But she really needed this.

And she was prepared to use whatever tools she had on hand.

Corbin sighed, leaning in closer to whisper in her ear. “Put that lip away before it gets you into more trouble than you’re ready to handle.”

“What sort of trouble are you talking about? And for your information, I can handle a lot,” she replied.

“You can’t handle this,” he warned.

She was tempted to push him. Bebe wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.

But Hayes cleared his throat, reminding them that he was there.

Oops.

It was all too easy to get caught up in Corbin’s magnetism. But she had to remember that getting involved with him was a really dumb idea.

Corbin stepped back and half-turned to Hayes. “We could make it happen.”

Hayes stared from one to the other. “You give in, and she’s gonna think that pout will always get her what she wants.”

Bebe could feel herself growing red. Why did he sound like he was talking about more than the job?

Corbin just shook his head. “I won’t allow that. But we can make this trip safe for her. Provided she follows the rules.” Corbin shot her a look. “Which she will.”

She gave him a bright smile. “Of course I will.”

Following the rules was totally her jam.

So was lying, apparently.

Hmm.

She would? He wasn’t so sure. Bebe could be a bit of a wildcard.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her what would happen if she did disobey the rules.

But that wasn’t his right, was it?

Hayes sighed and stood. “Fine. But we’re going for two hours, max.”

“Of course,” she said, bouncing up onto her toes.

Oh, that was adorable.

“I know you probably need your beauty sleep. Does your head turn into a pumpkin if you stay out after midnight?”

Dear Lord.

Why did she keep pushing Hayes?

Hayes scowled at her . . . but was that . . . it was, wasn’t it? He was trying not to smile.

Corbin gaped at the older man. Perhaps Kent had been right. Maybe this was good for him.

“You’re such a brat,” Hayes muttered.

She smiled at Hayes widely.

Hayes pointed at her. “Two hours. You stay by one of our sides at all times. I mean it. No going more than an arm’s length away.”

“One of your arm lengths or mine?” she asked.

“Yours,” Hayes barked. “You need to go anywhere, then you tell one of us and we’ll take you. You don’t go anywhere that we don’t okay first. If you feel uncomfortable or you need to leave, you tell us. If there is a situation, Corbin will grab you, and I will find our way out of there. You will do exactly as we say. No arguments, no chit chat, no hesitation. Understood?”

She nodded.

Corbin hoped she was taking all of this to heart.

Biting down on her lower lip, she suddenly looked pensive and unsure. The swing between emotions seemed unexpected. But he was slowly beginning to understand that with Bebe, you couldn’t always take her smiles at face value. There was a lot more going on in the background. She’d been emotionally abused and neglected by her parents. Then publicly rejected. Shamed and harassed online. And he thought there was something more going on with her too.

So she could sometimes swing from teasing and laughing to being worried and unsure like right now.

He knew Hayes had noticed that too.

“If it’s too much work, we don’t have to go,” she told them. “I don’t want to put you guys in any danger.”

“You won’t be,” he reassured her, hating to see her upset. “We have this handled, right, Hayes?”

“Sure,” Hayes grumbled. “Guess it’s better than sitting on that monstrosity all night while trying to watch the game on my phone screen.”

Bebe winced. “If it helps, there are TVs in the pub.”

“Well, why didn’t you lead with that, girl,” Hayes grumbled.