He pinned her wrist between their bodies again, and she felt her bra wrap around it. Then he groped around for the other. Damn, he was going to bind her with her own clothing. Hell, no. Never!Not caring if he broke her arm or slipped it from its socket, she reached back. He had her face turned right, and her left hand was free, so she couldn’t see. She’d have one chance to score on this. Thank God she kept her fingernails sharp.She reached back, aiming high and dead center. On the first try, she grabbed his balls. And squeezed mercilessly.He grunted and tried to back off, but she held tight, edged off the desk, and turned to him.“You bitch! I’ll fucking hurt you for that.”Alyssa stood over his crouched form, anger pounding her. “I’ll hurt you first.”She jammed her heel into his instep. Though he wore tennis shoes, she figured she’d made a bull’s-eye when he howled and began hopping on one foot. Then, just for fun, she twisted his balls.He screamed like a little girl. And she sm
Luc laughed bitterly. “No. I’m the last thing she needs.” He spotted Kimber’s brother returning with a tray filled with coffees. “Ask him. He’ll tell you.”Clapping his cousin on the back, Luc turned and spotted a triage nurse leaving her post to help a woman in labor. He sneaked in the door just before it closed, then wandered down the hall. Temporary rooms were set up in a circle all around the nurses’ station. A whiteboard in the middle of the room listed all the patients and their room numbers. Finding Alyssa’s room in the corner was easy enough. So was ducking in.Inside, the thin drape had been drawn. He could see her outline, but nothing more. She didn’t want to see him, and he respected that, so he didn’t tear it away, as he yearned to. Damn hard. Luc wanted to see for himself that she was okay, unharmed. But she’d made her wishes clear. Now would be his only chance to say good-bye.Behind the drape, he heard the beep of monitors, the pump of oxygen into her system. An IV stan
Ouch! “No comment. Please stop.”As they neared the car, the photographer followed, and Luc cursed and ran, urging Alyssa along.“I should follow you so you don’t have to drive me back here . . . after,” she suggested, keeping pace with him.“I don’t mind,” he insisted.She sent him a brittle smile. “You will.”What did that mean? Had Peter started misbehaving now that he was out on bail and awaiting his trial? Jack hadn’t said a word, damn it! He’d talked to Deke’s business partner nearly every day.“If we want to make a quick exit, it would be best if you just hopped in the car,” he pressed, unlocking it with his key fob.“I insist.”Stubborn to a fault. “Okay . . . Two blocks east there’s a quiet little Italian place. I don’t think the photographer will follow us there if we’re quick.”“They hound you like that a lot now?”He winced. “Just since I started doing the talk shows. I keep hoping they’ll go away. Does Italian sound good?”“Sure.” The word itself was enthusiastic, but the
“Yes. I want to be part of the whole experience. I’m ready to be a father. A great father.” Understatement of the millennium. “I will not let you down.”Luc hesitated before saying more. Would his enthusiasm lure her in? Or make her run in the other direction? A calculated risk. She was afraid, and he had to be careful.“Okay.” She nodded, looking slightly shocked. “Thanks. That would be . . . helpful.”He planned to be far more than helpful.“You know, there are advantages to being married,” he pointed out. “Financial, of course. But children are a lot of work. Having another set of hands would lighten your load, especially when they’re sick or up all night, or you need to work late. And what about safety? It’s been a concern for you lately. Having a husband around would add protection for you and the baby. You’d rest easier. The baby would have the stability of a two-parent family, a last name. The love of both a mom and a dad.”Alyssa froze. “You want me to marry Tyler?”Damn it! T
Alyssa took a deep breath and met his gaze. Her usually self-assured expression was gone. She looked shaken, anxious. Was she worried he’d discover her lie?Tamping down the ironic smile, he took her hands in his at the justice’s prompting. The older man paused and sent him a weighty stare.“Kiss your bride.”Now, this was something he’d been waiting for since she’d suddenly reappeared in his life last Saturday. Since that moment, they’d talked wedding details by phone and e-mail, the tone infuriatingly businesslike. Earlier this week, he’d had to take a damn PR trip to New York and hadn’t returned to Lafayette until yesterday. The simple ceremony hadn’t required a rehearsal, so he’d arranged a quiet dinner with his parents last night so they could meet her. He hadn’t been alone with Alyssa for a single minute this week. He hadn’t touched her since that disastrous night in her bedroom above the club.He was dying to kiss her.Luc cupped her face and leaned in. Alyssa clamped her hands
Luc frowned. “Aunts, uncles, cousins?”She shook her head. In truth, she hadn’t thought about them in years. She hadn’t dared contact them. Her cousins were likely married, had children. Her aunt Anna was probably retired from teaching school.“None. Could we drop it?”He looked ready to say something, then closed his mouth. A long, silent minute passed before he finally said, “If you ever want to tell me about your family, I’d love to listen.”“You said yourself we needed to look forward, not back. I think that’s an excellent suggestion.”Sighing, Luc gripped the wheel. “Are you hungry? You didn’t eat much lunch.”No, but she was starting to feel weak. Since becoming pregnant, she’d noticed that she couldn’t skip meals the way she used to. And most days until about two, she lived on crackers and apple juice.“I should eat.”He smiled. “I’ll take care of it.”Like he’d taken care of things this week. Most men would simply have asked when to show up. Instead, he’d arranged the invitati
As she chewed the chocolaty fruit, he tossed back the last of the champagne. The moment she swallowed, he consumed her mouth in a greedy kiss, tasting the sharp swirl of flavors, savoring the way she opened to him, accepted him deep inside her mouth. He wanted to be deeper.Clutching her hips in his hands, he probed her slick, creamy folds with his cock, then began to push his way in, straight to the haven he’d missed and yearned for over the past seven weeks.Tight. So damn tight. He always had to fight his way in, and tonight was no exception. One shallow thrust, another, a third . . . Each time he eased in a bit farther, her snug walls created a sinful friction that had him hissing in a breath. Teeth-gritting patience and destructive pleasure—both nearly undid him.Finally, he sheathed himself completely inside her. With an eager moan, Alyssa rose up to meet both his tongue and his cock. What was it about her? So lush, so perfect, so . . . whatever that he could never get enough?U
That, and barely surviving the ultimate betrayal of her feelings and trust. But he didn’t need those gory details.“Don’t be surprised if I ask you a lot of questions. I like knowing what’s going on with you and being involved in Bonheur or anything else you have going on. I’ll help however I can. You have only to ask. I won’t step in the middle of your business unless something seems dangerous or wrong. I know you’ve managed just fine for many years without me, and I’d never presume to think that’s changed.”God, just when she thought the walls around her heart couldn’t crumble anymore . . . “Thank you.”“If you think I’ve overstepped, we’ll talk. In return, I’ll ask only three things of you.”Was this the catch she’d been looking for? “What?”“First, no more stripping. The male population of Louisiana doesn’t need to see my wife naked anymore.”“Done.” The last thing she wanted to do was take her clothes off for a bunch of drunk, slobbering strangers again. The fact he cared about w
“The camera showed you that?”“Ava. I don’t need to look through a viewfinder to see you’re upset.”Damn intuitive man.“The camera is off. Talk to me.”“My grandfather commissioned a necklace for my sixteenth birthday. A tiny beautiful Swarovski crystal rose with a gold stem artfully twisted into an ‘A’. The one time I didn’t take it off before I jumped into the ocean? I lost it. I don’t know if the chain broke or what, but I was devastated because it happened about a month after he died.”“Aw, sugar, I’m so sorry.”Evidently Chase had enough taping. He returned the camera to the case and faced forward, wiggling to get comfortable.“Before you nod off, tell me why we’re backtracking. You planned a route through Montana and now we’re back in Cornhusker territory.”He rolled his eyes. “South Dakota is not Cornhusker territory. The reason I’m not goin’ to the event in Billings is because Ryan told me a former PBR bull rider who switched to the PRCA circuit will be competing. I don’t wan
He’d known the second he touched her he was done for. Ava needed him in a way no other woman ever had. He was a different man when he was with her, regardless if they were naked. So maybe that’s why he couldn’t freakin’ wait to get naked with her again, day after day after day.Seemed to take forever to check-in. He ditched the bags in the corner of the room. In the mirror above the sink, he saw Ava flop on the bed and heave a huge sigh.“Before you get too comfy, maybe you oughta see if you got the door shut.”She popped to her feet and resituated her skirt as she crossed the room, those fucking sexy little pleats teasing the back of her legs.When he’d gotten a look at her outfit this morning—short plaid skirt, plain white blouse, black ballet shoes—his cock had been hard all day as his head conjured up bad-schoolgirl-needing-a-spanking scenarios.Ava tested the door by pushing on it. “I don’t know why you were worried it wasn’t shut—”“Lock it.” He put his mouth below her ear and p
He stirred, moaning as his cock hardened. Lengthened.When Ava started sliding his shaft over her tongue, his hand landed on her head.Immediately it snapped back and Chase scrambled upright. “Ava? What the devil are you doin’?” He inhaled a sharp breath through his teeth when she tongued the tip. “Hell. I thought it was a dream.”She pulled off his shaft long enough to say, “Nope. I want to make this buff body to squirm.” She licked him like a lollipop.“Oh, I’ve no doubt you can make me squirm. You probably could get me to beg.” He brushed her hair back from where it’d fallen in her face. “But—”Again, Ava eased off and met his gaze in the near darkness. “But nothing. You don’t get to direct this.”If she thought he’d lovingly pet her, agree, and murmur encouragement, she was mistaken. Chase’s big hands were on her face, gripping her jaw. “Yes, I do.”His answer turned her panties damp. As did his explicit command, “On the floor. On your knees.”As Ava moved, so did Chase. He perche
She loved his reaction to the scrape of her teeth, the sucking kisses, the feather light placement of her lips in random spots on his neck. Goose bumps spread across his arms and up his nape. He shifted on the bed, not thrashing, but wiggling enough she knew he liked what she was doing to him. She reveled in this immense power of worshipping rather than being worshipped.Ava immersed herself in him. The scent of his skin. The tangy taste of his sweat. The way his muscles strained beneath her tongue. She kissed, licked and nibbled her way down the center of his throat, from his square jaw to his breastbone. And could she get a halleluiah that he had chest hair? Talk about manly, masculine goodness. She rubbed her face over the dark patch of hair, breathing him in, listening to the pounding of his heart, warmed by the heat from his skin, and knowing his body’s response to her was echoed in her body.Bracing herself on all fours above him, she watched his face as she tongued his nipple.
She pushed her hips back, meeting his every hard thrust with a soft grunt. The fringe on his chaps swung forward, the leather connecting with her skin.Even as his cock plunged into her fully, even as his balls drew up, aching for release, even as his legs shook and sweat coated his skin, he planned for the next time he fucked her. The next hundred times.Chase closed his eyes; his hands yanking her body back to meet his escalating thrusts. Faster, harder, deeper, the only words echoed in his head as primal need roared. Impossible to hold off his orgasm, no matter how much he wanted to prolong the sensation of sinking into her soft, wet, flesh.He threw back his head, groaning as his cock emptied in hot pulses. Groaning louder when he felt Ava’s pussy contracting around his dick as she came again.Heart thumping, mouth dry, lungs lacking air, Chase fell forward onto Ava’s back, bracing himself on his hands. Although this rendezvous was supposed to’ve been a dare, a fun, wild slap and
“Who are you?” Douchebag demanded.“The guy tellin’ you to get the hell outta my room.”The douchebag looked at Ava. “I thought you said this was your room.”“Hey, fuckface, eyes on me, not her.” When douchebag turned, Chase stabbed his finger at the clothes by the bed. “You’re done. Grab your shit and get gone.”“Nuh-uh.” Douchebag gestured to Ava. “I get gone when she tells me to, not you, little man.”Ava said not one word.Chase’s anger hit the boiling point. Instead of yelling, his voice dropped lethally low. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”“Or what? You gonna throw me out?” Douchebag sneered. “You’ll have to eat your spinach and grow some first.”Faking calmness he didn’t feel, Chase scooped up the man’s belongings, opened the door and dumped the pile onto the walkway.“What is wrong with you?” Douchebag loomed over Chase.“You have fifteen seconds to get out of my room and out of my face or I will beat you bloody. You’re not the first asshole who’s tried to take me on, believing a short
That vague comment got his back up. Was she trying to get rid of him? Just to be ornery, he said, “I hadn’t planned on goin’ anywhere today. Thought I’d stick around the room and rest up. Hang out with you, my friend.”Panic darted through her eyes. “Oh. Obviously since you’re paying for half the room that’s your prerogative. But I was hoping…”“Hoping for what?”“To have a few hours of quiet time so I can get your rides separated from the other footage.”Quiet time his ass. She wanted nookie time. And he’d be goddamned if he’d just fucking walk away and make it easy on her to bang a total stranger in his hotel room. “I’m not exactly loud, Ava.”“I know, Chase, but I need quiet. Complete silence. No TV. No talking. No cell phone conversations. No fighting.”The sneaky-ass woman knew that lying on his bed, counting the flaws in the ceiling tile for hours would drive him bonkers. But the idea of any man, in here—the private space Chase shared with Ava—touching her, kissing her, fucking
Ava nodded. “I’m new to the world of rodeo. He agreed to show me the inside scoop. That’s all.”“Dollface, that surely ain’t all. Not even close. The man has it bad for you.”Not bad enough to act on it.“I seen how he’s been lookin’ at you.”“And how’s that?”“Like you’re a hot, sweet fried Twinkie and he’d like to lick you up one side and down the other before devouring you completely.”“Except the man seems to be on a sugar-free diet,” she said wryly.Taz chuckled. “Maybe. But I reckon he’s just trying to keep from gorging himself.”“Such an overactive imagination, Taz.”“I try. Better to be one of them colorful characters folks talk about than an average Joe.”The conversation drifted to Ryan. Upcoming rodeos they’d all be attending. Other events. Then Taz took off, leaving Ava alone. It was enough to give a girl a complex about men.Right. She already had enough complexes, although she doubted anyone would look at her and believe that.A guy paused behind the barstool on Ava’s ri
“I’ve gotten up early to work out. I met this rookie kid last week. After I rode, he cornered me, calling me out as Chase McKay.” He smiled sheepishly. “The little shit promised to keep my secret if I gave him bull ridin’ pointers.”“Which you did.”“Not that he listened to me. Kid is such a greenhorn. And stubborn? He won’t turn his foot out, refuses to wear a helmet, won’t consider a trying a different wrap. So I gave up talking to him about bull ridin’ and we watched the slack competition. What did you do—” his knuckles grazed her breasts as he reached for the lanyard around her neck “—besides craft fake press passes?”“I had my assistant whip them up. Realistic, don’t you think? I needed access behind the chutes so I can video you from a closer angle. It’s made a huge difference. You won’t believe the footage I got today.”His rough-skinned hand enclosed hers. “Ava. We need to talk.”The lanky, shaggy-haired young rider inserted himself between Chase and Ava. “Man, that ride was e