Just by happenstance, Cam discovered Domini had hired Ginger to start Anton’s preliminary adoption process paperwork. He’d been waiting in her office and noticed the bill on Domini’s desk. He hadn’t brought it up with her because he hadn’t known what to say. And part of him wanted Domini to explain, of her own volition, not because he forced the issue. Might be a long damn wait.Cam sighed and closed his eyes. Allowing himself to drift off. Just for a minute.The sound of approaching helicopters echoed in the distance. Extraction was here. His two young charges, still green as far as live fire ops went, popped up out of their hiding places. He motioned for them to stay put. But the lead guy misread the hand signal and started across the open field. Keeping low, like he’d been trained, yet Cam was horrified. The kid wasn’t supposed to cross an open field. Ever. Too much shit could go wrong.Frantically, he made the “stay” signal again. Which the rear guy also misread and he followed hi
“No!” Anton shrieked. His fists connected with the side of Domini’s torso as he pummeled Cam.“That’s enough!” Cam backed up.“No!”Domini spun around.Cam tried to deflect Anton’s blows, but Anton was undeterred as he kept hitting him. Face cherry red, fury darkening his eyes.“Anton—”“Domini, stay out of this,” Cam snapped.Anton resembled the Tasmanian devil, his limbs flailing as he attempted to corner Cam. He was repeating, “No, no, no.”“Listen to me, Anton—”“No!” he screamed and rushed Cam, putting his head down low, aiming for Cam’s groin.The wounded animal wail coming from Anton ripped a hole in Domini’s heart. She slapped her hand over her mouth, forgetting about the water and suds covering her hands until liquid dripped down her chin.Cam dodged Anton, and held the boy’s hands at his sides. When Anton tried to twist out of the hold, Cam pulled Anton’s wrists behind his back and kept a wide stance in case Anton started kicking.“You done?” Cam said coolly.Anton’s chest r
You deserve to lose her. You took advantage of her. She never wanted the marriage or you. She just wanted Anton.“Sorry I hit you and stuff,” Anton said quietly, interrupting Cam’s derisive thoughts. “I thought it was just like before. With him.”“I know. Apology accepted, okay?”“Okay.”“Look, sport, maybe I have been ignoring you. It ain’t because I think you’re bad, it’s just…well, I haven’t spent a lot of time with kids.”“What about Ky?”“Sure, my brothers and cousins have kids, but bein’ around them for a couple of hours once a month isn’t like living with them. When I was growing up, my dad was either yelling at me or ignoring me. So maybe I thought ignoring you was better than yelling, but now I can see that isn’t any better.”“What did your dad yell at you about?”“Mostly about not getting my chores done.”“Do you really got a fake leg?”For once Cam didn’t mind the abrupt subject change. “Yep.”“Huh.”Cam half-expected him to ask to see it.“There’s a kid at my school that g
“Fuck!” He hissed against the sudden pain. “Fuck fuck fuck! Motherfucking piece of shit!”The sliding glass door opened. Footsteps vibrated the wooden deck as Anton raced toward him. “Holy crap. Are you okay?”No. Fuck no. Cam couldn’t put pressure on his stump even if it hadn’t detached from the prosthesis. “Can you run into my bedroom and get my crutches?”“Um. Sure. Where are they?”“By the nightstand.”He ran back inside.Less than a minute later Cam heard the clatter of metal and opened his eyes. Anton held out the crutches. “Here.”“Thanks.” Cam struggled upright. With the aid of the crutches he made it into the house without falling on his ass.Anton stayed behind him. Watchful. Sometimes the kid was so much like Domini he was surprised Anton hadn’t sprung from her womb.His stump hadn’t detached, but it’d been wrenched hard enough Cam knew in order to wear the prosthetic at work tomorrow, he couldn’t wear it for the rest of the night.So much for hiding in his room. He couldn’
“It’s silly I’m here at all. I passed out in the kitchen at Dewey’s, my coworkers panicked and offered me the choice of the emergency room or you, so here I am.”“Mmm-hmm.” The doctor didn’t look up. “Your medical history seems to have quite a few gaps.”“I’m not sure about some of it.”“Because…?”“I was orphaned at age eleven and they didn’t have my full medical history. Then my medical records were lost in the immigration paperwork.”“Mmm-hmm. Understandable.” Doctor Monroe shut the folder. “But complete and total b.s. So why don’t you tell me the truth if you expect me to help you?”Startled, Domini stared at her.“First thing, strictly off the record, I assure you I’ve never had designs on Cam McKay, which you might’ve mistakenly believed. Cam is a patient. I don’t date my patients. Period.“Secondly, I take my patient’s confidentiality very seriously. No one works for me I don’t trust. Access to medical records is strictly monitored. No one on my staff will blab any part of your
Cam made no move to leave the exam room. “Why don’t you wait out front? It’ll just take me a minute.”“Huh-uh. What if you fainted? And hit your head? I am not taking the chance that anything will happen to you.”“Fine.” She dressed quickly. Cam paid the doctor’s bill and escorted her—heck he practically carried her—to his truck. The sun burned her eyes. She slipped on her sunglasses.About halfway home, Cam said, “When I heard you’d passed out and were nauseous, I thought…maybe you were pregnant.”Domini froze.“I know we haven’t been married long, but if it’d turned out you were pregnant, I…well, I wouldn’t have minded. Not at all. I just wanted you to know.”She faced out the window. She had to tell him the truth.And if Cam decides to walk away?She loved him. Now she knew the true meaning of selfishness because she didn’t know if she could let him go.Cam tucked Domini in bed, called the station and requested a couple of sick days. He jotted down a grocery list. He paced until it
“There are gonna be a million people there,” Cam warned. “And my family will grill both of us on our marriage, if we’re gonna start havin’ kids—”Her stomach knotted, but she tossed out a breezy, “Maybe they won’t, since we already have a kid.”Anton and Gracie burst into the kitchen. “Is it time to go yet?”Domini gave Cam a we-don’t-want-to-disappoint-Anton look.Cam sighed. “Fine. But if you look the slightest bit faint, we’re comin’ home and I’m tyin’ you to the bed for a solid week.”She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. Her lips slid to his ear and she whispered, “Is that a promise, Deputy?”“Yep.”“Good because I miss that side of you. You’ve been too careful with me lately. You know I won’t break.”He eased back to look at her face. “Domini, I—”“Are you two gonna suck face or are we going?”“Suck face. Definitely.” Cam teased his mouth over hers and her heart jumped.“Yuck. We’re outta here.” The sliding glass door slammed.Domini stepped back. “We’ll be lucky if any of t
Domini and Skylar turned.Chassie shifted her roly-poly baby boy from one hip to the next. One chubby hand gripped Chassie’s long braid. “Westin, honey, let go of mama’s hair.”He cooed, blinked enormous hazel eyes and blew a big spit bubble.“Blowing me kisses won’t charm me, buddy boy.” She kissed the top of his blond head and attempted to pry his fingers off her braid.“Need some help?” Domini asked.“It’d be great if you’d distract him.”Domini made goofy faces. Poked his round belly until he giggled while Chassie freed her hair.“Thanks.” She smooched Westin’s plump cheek. “You should show Domini how good you are at giving kisses.”“I’ll take a kiss,” she said, leaning in. She caught a whiff of powdery baby smell as Westin’s cool mouth connected with her cheek, leaving a drooly wet mark. She laughed and looked up to see Cam staring at her.The soft, wistful look in his eyes caused her to break eye contact. Caused her stomach to lurch with dread. Caused an immense amount of guilt.
“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