Sweat, soap, and Danny’s distinct scent flooded her senses, melting her like always. She wanted more, and she got it when he pulled her tight against his hard body.
“Oww,” she hissed, breaking the kiss and putting slight space between them. Shit, how quickly I forgot.
“What’s wrong?” Danny’s eyes scanned her body like a gentle touch, looking for a problem… an answer. “Jules, talk to me.”
“Nothing’s wrong, I promise.” Squeezing his hand, Julie moved to place the food on the folding table before returning to face her man. The two vertical lines pressed deep between his brows screamed that he was far from reassured.
“Start talking,” he rumbled. “Make me believe that you’re okay.”
God, that low tone turned her to mush. The dominant side of Danny Marcus had always been her weakness. Even after all their years together, that hadn’t changed.
“Um,” she hedged, “I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo—for a while now actually.”
“For real? In the past you said you liked them on me but not for you,” he recounted.
“True. But as you said, that was the past, and we’ve started fresh.” His hazel eyes twinkled as she explained. “You and I, we’ve been through so much. Happy, sad, joy, love, loss…all of it. And then we decided to start fresh.” Julie reached for Danny’s hands, laced her fingers with his, and continued. “Started fresh, baby, but not started over. You and I never needed a new beginning because what we have has always been amazing. And you were right all those years ago on our wedding night. No matter what happens, you will always be mine.” Julie brought Danny’s hands to her waist and guided them to the hem of her T-shirt.
Understanding lit Danny’s eyes as he lifted the shirt up her body, leaving nothing more than a satin bra and a gauze bandage on her torso. His mouth curled into a sexy smile as the roughened pad of his thumb stroked the skin above Julie’s left ribs.
“No matter what happens, Danny, I will always be yours.” She peeled off the bandage and revealed:
Danny’s Main
Her husband stared wordlessly at her tattoo.
“Yes, I have a vow vaporizer too,” she said. “I believe in us. Danny? Are you okay?”
Danny’s laugh rang in her ears, but not as much as the words that followed. “Welcome to Danny’s on Main, honey.” He motioned toward the unfinished bar. “What do you think?”
Her main man, her bar, on Main Street… “I love it!”
###
TO CELEBRATE THE one-year anniversary of their grand opening, they purchased the beautiful sign, hired a band—regulars that had just signed with a record label—and were hosting a huge bash. Allan and Anita were flying up to celebrate Danny and Julie’s wedding anniversary in July, so they weren’t coming up for the bar’s celebration, but Chester had refused to miss any occasion where, “beautiful women and half-priced cocktails partied together.”
And party they did—until two in the morning when the drinks were empty and the music stopped. The evening was as successful as the year had been, leaving Danny and Julie smiling as they bid their customers good night.
The only thing they hadn’t found success with was staff. In the twelve months since the doors opened, they had had too many people behind the bar and none of them were tending it. Late, lazy, free-loading, obnoxious, no-shows, inappropriate beyond control—that was what Julie and Danny had found, leaving the two of them working to exhaustion both behind the bar and behind the scenes.
“I finally understand why Chester kept that bitch Bunny around as long as he did.” Julie yawned, sitting at her desk. “That woman may have been a walking STD, but she came to work on time and loved the hell out her job.”
“She certainly loved the hell out of the customers and staff,” Danny retorted. “I remember she gave good ol’ Chester his fair share of lovin’ too. I’m thinking that’s a huge reason why he kept her around so long.”
“Whatever,” she admonished, staring at a spreadsheet. “The fact is, we need to do a better job of screening our hires. We’re wasting a ton of time and money training people only to have them leave us high and dry. I swear to God, I think most of them only want to work here so they can drink the booze.”
***
SHE WASN’T WRONG. Over the next few years, many faces wore staff shirts at Danny’s on Main. Some lasted six shifts, others six months, but in the end, the Marcuses never felt a connection with the bartenders. Hot men serving drinks were always appreciated by the ladies, but Julie noticed the revenue increased when women were behind the bar. Danny couldn’t disagree—what man wouldn’t want a sexy lady serving him drinks?
A problem occurred when one of the bartenders started crushing on him. He thought nothing of it at first. It was good for the ego to know that women still found him attractive, but the only woman who would ever have his full attention was his Julie.
“Suzette likes you,” Julie stated one afternoon while the two were in the back office—working lunches, they affectionately called the time together. She was transferring their bills over to electronic bill pay while eating strawberries, and he was writing out the shift schedules and drinking a Coke.
“Honey, Suzette likes everyone. That’s her job.” Danny popped a grape in his mouth, savoring the sweet juice as well as the prick of enjoyment he got from his wife’s possessiveness.
Shaking her head, Julie nibbled her lip. “You’re wrong. She flirts with you, Danny. It’s more than a friendly notion, and it’s escalating. I don’t like it.”
Wow, is she worried? “You realize that you’re it for me, right? I don’t care who flirts with me. I only want you.”
His dick hardened the moment his wife’s firm ass found purchase on his lap. How could she doubt for even a second that his feelings for her blew his mind? When she twisted to face him, he had no doubt the vixen used the friction of her weight against his throbbing erection to gain his attention.
“I know you love me. That isn’t the issue or the concern.”
Fuck, not sure what’s hotter: her confidence or the cleavage showing in her V-neck staff shirt.
“I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not jealous,” she said. “I’m annoyed. Girls like Suzette don’t worry about damage. She doesn’t care about boundaries, and she sure as shit won’t care about causing trouble.”
Bewilderment crested through him as Julie’s words sank in. Never had he seen her so guarded, so ready to defend what belonged to her. While it was sexy as fuck, it wasn’t something he’d ever intentionally bring out in her. “Jules—”
Her mouth met his with a kiss so claiming, so passionate, so wanton, Danny’s thoughts disintegrated on his tongue.
“I’m not saying we should fire her,” Julie whispered into his lips. “Just pay attention, okay?”
One more quick touch on the lips, and Julie’s weight was gone. The office door clicked, leaving him alone with the taste of berry on his lips, the faint smell of gardenia, and a raging hard-on as the only evidence that she was ever there.
###
AS USUAL, JULIE wasn’t wrong. Over the following weeks, Suzette’s behavior became more brazen. Her eye contact went from confident to blatant, and her flirty comments became sexual. When she started finding reasons to touch him, Danny drew the line.
Danny arranged for the bartender to come in for a chat before her shift. He was fully prepared to work her hours behind the bar when she quit. “Suzette, how do I say this nicely? You do realize I’m a happily married man, yeah?”