Lincoln Shaw: a book in the Cotton Creek Saga (Heartbreakers & Heroes 8) Read online

  Copyright 2018, Ciana Stone

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, businesses, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 Ciana Stone

  Cover by Syneca Featherstone

  All rights reserved.

  Lincoln Shaw

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Lincoln Shaw Copyright © 2018 Ciana Stone

  Cover art by Syneca

  Electronic book publication Nov. 12, 2018

  Print book publication Oct 31, 2018

  This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Syneca Featherstone

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Dedication:

  For my honeyman – I’m gonna love you forever...

  Chapter One

  So, here's where it all begins. Or ends.

  Either way, life was never going to be the same again. If there was life after what happened next. There were two ways she could play this. The first: pretend to be weak and beg, or the second: the way her mama had raised her. Hands on her hips and ready to rumble.

  Tallulah, or Lula as she was most often called, chose her mama's way because she wasn't about to beg this sorry sack of shit for anything. "I'll tell you what." Her hands went onto her hips. "If you don't put that gun away your buddies are going to see you get your ass kicked by a girl."

  That probably wasn't the smartest challenge. Men hate to be called down by a woman, particularly in front of their friends. But this one had crossed a line when he shoved that five-dollar bill into the band of her thong and then tried to pull the thong clean off her body.

  As if he hadn't seen darn near all there was to see of her. Not to mention there was a strict no-touch rule. That's one of the reasons she took the job. She wasn't a bit ashamed of what nature had blessed her with and didn't give a hoot about men watching her do a silly pole dance, but she was a "touch when invited" kind of girl and she rarely invited anyone to touch.

  She didn't go into her personal policy with the offender but did point out the "no touching" rule clearly posted. He called her a whore and jerked her off the stage. That's when she slugged him. The way his eyes rolled around she thought that might be the end of it.

  Luck wasn't with her, though. As soon as his head whipped back into normal position he pulled the gun.

  Now they stared at one another like the gunslingers of old, sizing each other up and looking for weakness. Lula wasn't at all sure he would back down. "I tell you what, cunt." He looked around at the crowd that'd gathered and grinned before returning his attention to her. "You drop to your knees and suck my dick and maybe I won't blow your fucking brains out."

  Just as the thought crossed her mind that she'd take a bullet rather than suck anything of his, a deep male voice from the edge of the crowd brought silence to the place.

  "Or..." The people parted to make way. "...you hand over the gun and leave before I get angry."

  Lula was as surprised as her nemesis when a man emerged from the crowd. Well, hellooooo Thor.

  Holy Asgardians, what a man. Well over six feet, with a mane of blond hair, eyes the color of frost and a body built for either fighting or sinning, maybe a whole lot of both. She'd opt for the latter if given a choice.

  That, however, was a fantasy for another day because right now she saw the uncertainty on her opponent's face and inwardly cheered. Apparently, so did his friends because one of them egged him on. "Shoot that fucker, Earl. Go on, shoot'im."

  Earl didn't have a chance to turn the gun on Thor before the gun was in Thor's hand and Earl's eyes were rolling back in his head from a punch that had him doing an award-winning imitation of a felled tree. Lula wanted to cheer, but instead, tripped one of Earl's friends who decided he was brave enough to go after Thor.

  Many times, in her life she'd heard tales of people "mopping up the floor" with those who stood against them. This time she saw for herself the expression come to life. Thor mowed through those rednecks like a god, even taking time to give her a wink when she yelled a warning about someone behind him.

  All in all, from start to finish, the fight lasted about two minutes, but by gosh it was an exciting two minutes. When the bouncers finally shouldered their way through the throng of people, Thor handed them the gun, turned and stuck out his hand, palm up, to Lula.

  Lula was many things, but one thing she was not, was fool enough to say no to the mighty god of the Asgardians. Thor was her savior and, okay, so he wasn't really Thor, but a gal could dream and she'd yet to see anything in real life that had come close to what she was looking at now.

  So, naturally, she put her hand in his. He led her to the back of the crowd. "Are you all right?"

  Lula whipped off the lace mask she used to conceal her identity. "Of course, I am. You saved me, Thor."

  He laughed. "My name's not Thor, it's Lincoln."

  "Tonight, it's Thor."

  "Is that so?"

  "Absolutely. And thank you. I'm Tallulah Christmas Duval, but you can call me Lula and I owe you."

  "You're welcome, Lula, but you don't owe me anything."

  "Oh, I'm quite sure I do. You see, I knew that either my life was going to end or begin, depending on what Buttwipe did with that gun. And thanks to you, the first night of the rest of my life begins now, and I feel that deserves a special thank you."

  "Ah, well, when you put it that way, what did you have in mind?"

  She smiled up at him. "Let me get dressed and I'll show you."

  "Okay, I'll wait for you right here."

  "Be back in a flash, Thor." Lula didn't believe for a moment that he would be waiting when she returned, but she still hurried to the dressing room to change.

  Chapter Two

  Lincoln hadn't gone to the strip club located just outside of town in Rock Ridge with any expectations. He'd been there once, right after he moved to Cotton Creek. That visit had netted him a lot of phone numbers from the dancers, a list he'd just recently depleted.

  He didn't think he'd be accepting dates from any of the names on the list again. Lincoln was always surprised at how quickly women could make the leap between a date and a relationship. Maybe he was simply dating the wrong women, or women in the wrong age bracket.

  The latter might be closer to the truth. Since he'd been in Cotton Creek he'd dated exactly two women over the age of thirty, and those were two who were bi-sexual and liked threesomes, so maybe they didn't count. Although they had suggested they would make a good permanent threesome.

  He politely declined. Not that it wasn't entertaining, and he'd enjo
yed his fair share of multiple sex partners at once, but of late he felt one woman at a time was enough. And as odd as it might be to some men, he didn't really get off watching women pleasure one another. Color him strange.

  The problem with dating when you hit your mid-forties is women your own age were either divorced with children, or they'd never been married and were quite desperate to do so. He wasn't much interested in either type.

  Which left him with younger women.

  Not all of it was bad, but he was honest enough to know that all too often the younger ones were simply looking for a sugar-daddy or a temporary relationship where they didn't have to pay the bills, could have sex whenever they wanted and generally could relax.

  Sadly, that didn't much appeal to him anymore either, which brought him to this moment in time. Ending one of the most unusual nights he'd spent in a very long time, with a woman who was anything but ordinary.

  "More?" She lifted the Mason jar of moonshine.

  "I'm good, thanks. That fish was fantastic. I don't meet many women willing to catch, clean and cook them."

  "Mama always said you shouldn't expect others to do things you wouldn't do yourself. Besides, my Papa taught me to do all that before I was eight years old. Oh, look, the sky is starting to change. It's almost a new day."

  "It's pretty here," Lincoln commented as he looked out over the expanse of water and the land bordering it.

  "Isn't it? I was so lucky to find this place to rent and honestly, I have those ladies at the Honky Tonk to thank. I'd just gotten to town and was staying at that motel off the highway. The desk clerk—well one of them, said that the Honky Tonk was a great place to eat and meet people so I headed over on a Wednesday night.

  "Sure enough the place was rocking, and the owners were the friendliest gals I've ever had the pleasure to meet. I told them I was looking for a place to rent and they put me in touch with their Daddy, Mr. Billy Sweet. Honey, he must know everyone in this county and inside of two days, he called and said he'd found the perfect place."

  Lula raised her arms and turned in her chair, looking for all the world like the pretty woman in a game show who gestures to the prizes. "And look. It's the cutest place, isn't it? And right here on the lake. Bonus, baby. Plus, there's a nice canoe and a kayak, the fishing poles and enough privacy that I can go skinny dipping any time I want."

  "I'd say you scored, Lula." Lincoln raised his glass to polish off the last swallow of moonshine.

  "Amen to that. Say, do you want to take a swim?"

  "Sure."

  "Last one in's a rotten egg!"

  With that, she bounded up and off the deck. Lincoln chuckled as he watched. She first shed her hair, which surprised him. That must be one hell of an expensive wig because until now he thought she was a blonde, albeit not a natural one.

  Next, her shorts were left behind, then her top. Clad only in a pair of thong panties, she hit the water at a run, splashed several steps and dove.

  Lincoln stripped down to his boxer briefs and followed, but at a leisurely pace. He waded out into the cool water, feeling a hint of a shiver dance across his skin. Just as he reached waist deep she rose up in front of him.

  Maybe it was the moonshine, or the predawn light that had mist rising from the lake and giving everything an otherworldly feel. Whatever the case, at that moment he thought he'd never seen a more beautiful woman.

  Blessed with the most unusual violet eyes, sitting beneath elegantly arched brows and rimmed with thick dark eyelashes, her skin bore testimony to a mixed heritage. Too dark for Caucasian, too light for African American, and with a touch of something else that seemed clear in her high cheekbones and long neck, she was an eclectic blend.

  Her nearly waist length dark hair clung to her full and obviously real breasts. She seemed unconcerned with her nudity and he wondered if that was a result of what she did, or she was just naturally uninhibited.

  "Wow, Thor, you're really something." She smiled up at him.

  "I'm not—"

  "Sure, you are. Until the sun is up and the magic is over and you're back to being plain ol' sexy as sin, Lincoln Shaw, Army Ranger and farrier. But until then, you're Thor, my hero."

  Lincoln chuckled and lowered himself into the water. "I somehow get the idea that you'd have done quite well on your own. You seem pretty self-sufficient."

  "Thanks to my family and a life filled with good teachers."

  "Indeed. Which begs a question. Why are you here? So far from your family, whom you obviously adore?"

  The sudden change in her expression and tension in her body had him hurrying to apologize. "Lula, I'm—"

  Before he could finish his apology, she turned and dove. Lincoln watched and waited for her to surface. What the hell had just happened?

  He felt her hands on his sides a moment before she appeared. Lula looped her arms around his neck and hoisted herself up to wrap her legs around him. Her skin was cool, her nipples hard from the chill of the water.

  "Before the magic ends," she said and kissed him.

  She still tasted of apple shine. Her lips were full and soft against his, parting to allow the kiss to deepen.

  Lincoln had to give her credit. Lula knew how to kiss. Five seconds into it he was at attention and ready to take things to the next level. His hand moved beneath her, to cup her ass. When he moved his hand and his fingers brushed the side of her sex, she ended the kiss.

  "We haven't gotten there yet."

  "No?"

  She smiled at him and pushed away. "Oh Thor, I hope you're not one of those men that thinks just because a girl dances in next to nothing, she's automatically going to agree to sex."

  "No, I'm not."

  "Good. And look, the sun's up. Time for you to go and me to sleep."

  She headed for the shore and with no other options available, he followed. When she reached the deck, she stopped on the step, wrung out her hair and then disappeared inside. By the time he'd reached the deck, she'd returned with two towels, offered him one and wrapped the other around herself.

  Lincoln dried and dressed, noticing that she did nothing but lean against the railing and watch. When he finished putting on his socks and boots, Lula walked over to him. "I enjoyed spending the night with you, Lincoln Shaw and hope I see you again."

  "No more Thor?"

  She smiled. "Perhaps, the next time magic happens. But for now, thank you for coming to my rescue, for being a gentleman and not pressing for more."

  He reached for her hand, lifted it and kissed the knuckles. "In all honesty, this is the most enjoyable night I've spent with anyone in a long time, so thank you, Tallulah Christmas Duval. I hope I'll see you again soon. Any chance you'd give me your phone number?"

  "Oh, I think I can see my way clear to do that, as long as you give me yours."

  "Are you going to call me, Lula?"

  "I just might. Come on inside. My phone's in the kitchen."

  It didn't take long to exchange phone numbers and when that was done, she walked him out to his truck. "Be safe, Lincoln. I'll be talking to you."

  "You bet. Sleep well."

  She smiled and stepped back. Lincoln noticed that she watched until he'd backed up and turned around. Then she raised her hand and waved before turning to head back to the house.

  He waved and drove away, thinking that this had, without a doubt been the most unique night he'd ever spent with a woman. He didn't know much about the facts of Lula's life, but he definitely wanted to learn more.

  Dating suddenly seemed interesting again.

  Chapter Three

  "Whoa." Lula stopped dead in her tracks and watched the two women sparring in the ring. "That is so totally bad-ass."

  The gym manager, Dan Wilson, who was showing her around, smiled. "That's Deputy Charli Judd and Dr. Reese Quinn. They're regulars."

  "Wow, Deputies and Doctors don't look like that where I come from." She watched for a few more seconds then turned her attention back to Dan. "Okay, so, where were w
e? Oh yes, you have free weights, weight machines, peg boards on the wall for climbing, ropes for climbing, battle ropes, cardio machines and a sparring ring. And what about stuff for women not really into a lot of heavy-duty weight workouts?"

  "You look pretty fit and defined. You don't do weights?"

  "No, poles."

  "Pardon?"

  "Poles. As in pole dance?"

  "Seriously?"

  "Yeah, it's a great workout."

  "Can you do any of it on a climbing rope?" He gestured toward the thick rope hanging from the ceiling.

  "Sure. It's called rope dancing."

  "Could you show me? And before you think I'm being a creep, I ask because we have women come in all the time who walk away without joining because we don't have anything that appeals to them."

  "Oh. Okay sure. Can I put my bag somewhere?"

  "Right over here." He led the way to a long bench along the wall. Lula put her shoulder-bag on the bench, took off her shoes and stripped off her sweat pants. She'd worn biking shorts, just in case she decided to join, that way she'd be ready to work out.

  "What do you want me to do?" She walked over to the rope.

  "Just show me what can be done with a rope."

  Lula showed him some basic moves, explaining as she performed. "You can see that a lot of the moves require you to wind the rope around an ankle, wrist or leg. It's how you move up and down the rope."

  She demonstrated and after a few minutes, descended to the floor to find that nearly everyone in the place was watching. And clapping. Lula smiled and lowered her head in a nod of appreciation.

  "That's incredible," Dan said. "You wouldn't by chance, be interested in teaching a class, would you?"

  "Maybe. What does it pay?"

  "Free membership and twenty-five a class if we can get at least ten people signed up?"

  "You have two," one of the women from the ring called out.

  "Really?" Lula looked over at them.