Lone Star Nights (25 page)

But Lucky was no longer in fast-screw mode. He went gentle on her again, sliding her jeans and panties the rest of the way off. She did the same to his pants and underwear and got that peep show.

It was really easy to have an orgasm with a man who looked like that. Of course, he didn't have to rely on his looks for it. For a mouthwatering man, he had certainly taken the time to learn the ins and outs of a woman's body.

He kissed her again. Used his tongue. And then nipped her lip with his teeth. Cassie thought she was floating, but Lucky was actually moving her. Slowly again, but not wasting a second for a chance to kiss her.

Lucky wasn't just a pretty face—he was limber, too, and could kiss her breasts and back her up to the bed at the same time. They landed on the mattress, him on top of her. Between her legs. They nearly had accidental sex, but he moved out of the way, fished through his nightstand drawer for a condom and put it on.

The seconds it took him to do that felt like an eternity.

Followed by the pleasure of Lucky pushing into her. He wasn't gentle. Which she didn't want anyway. Cassie wanted a full dose of Lucky McCord. And that's exactly what she got.

Every inch of him.

Inside her.

Oh, mercy. For a woman who had a hard time achieving an orgasm, the one Lucky gave her happened way too fast. Just a few strokes. And while the pleasure racked through her, wave after wave, Cassie couldn't help but want him all over again.

Immediately.

How could that be? How could she want him this much? How could she feel this much?

How could she have been so stupid as to play with such fire?

She gathered him close, lifted her hips and helped him reach his own release. She felt the climax rack through him, too. Felt his body relax, then tense.

“What the fuck did you just do to me?” Lucky asked.

Cassie had no idea because minus the F-word, it was exactly what she'd wanted to ask him.

* * *

L
UCKY
WAS
CERTAIN
he could have handled their latest round of mind-blowing sex better. Clearly, he hadn't made it end on a romantic note.

What the fuck did you just do to me?

She didn't answer, but with the way he'd growled that out, he was surprised she didn't state the obvious.

That she'd F-worded him.

And that he'd F-worded her right back.

Instead, Cassie got all quiet, maybe regretting the amazing thing that'd happened.

The shitty thing that'd happened, too.

He wasn't supposed to feel this way. A good fuck was supposed to make him relax, make him quit thinking. Sex was his drug of choice. But it hadn't worked this time. Instead of numbing his mind and body, it was as if Cassie had flipped a switch in his head, and everything had come flooding into him.

Losing his parents. Losing Dixie Mae. Losing the girls. Now losing his mind.

It wasn't as if he was opposed to having feelings like this. Especially feelings for Cassie, but the problem was, Lucky didn't know exactly what he was feeling. And even if it was the thing that normal, unbroken men felt, what the hell was he supposed to do about it? He sucked at commitments, sucked at staying in place.

Sucked, period.

Still naked, still rosy and glowing from the orgasm, Cassie leaned over and kissed him. Then she got up, and while he watched her, she dressed. Slowly, like those kisses he'd given her earlier. It was like a striptease in reverse.

If he'd been a teenager, watching her would have given him an instant hard-on, but he needed at least ten minutes to recover.

Five, Lucky silently amended when she bent down to pick up her panties.

Two, he amended again when she shimmied into those panties.

But Cassie probably wasn't ready for another round so soon. He figured this was the part where they were going to have the talk.
Where is this going? How do you feel about me?

But Cassie didn't say anything close to either of those things. When she'd finished dressing, she came back to the bed, kissed him.

“I love you,” she said.

And then she walked out, closing the door quietly behind her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

L
UCKY
WASN
'
T
SURE
what he was supposed to say. Or how to act. So he decided to stay quiet and let Cassie take the lead. The problem with that?

No lead.

She didn't mention a word about her bombshell as they drove to Bernie's for the reading of Dixie Mae's will the next morning. And Lucky wasn't sure he should even push it. Not with Bernie's warning flashing in his head.

Brace yourself, Lucky. There are some surprises
.

As if he hadn't had enough surprises already. There were a few good ones, though. The hug from Mackenzie in the barn. Sex with Cassie. But Lucky was afraid any surprises Dixie Mae had in store for them now would not be of the good variety.

Nor was Cassie's
I love you
.

Hell, he hadn't meant for that to happen. He sucked at relationships, and the last thing he'd wanted was for her to fall in love with him. Or for him to feel this way about her.

Which he still wasn't exactly sure about.

This was new territory for him, and Lucky thought if his life would just settle down for a couple of minutes, he'd be able to figure it out. Unfortunately, a settled life wasn't going to happen until at least after the will reading and the wedding. Then he'd have to say goodbye to the girls—he didn't want to know how long it would take him to get past that.

Maybe never.

Lucky parked in front of Bernie's office, a reminder of the last time he was there. No doubt a reminder for Cassie, too, judging from the heavy sigh that left her mouth.

“I don't want to cry in front of the girls,” she insisted, as if saying it would prevent it from happening. Heck, maybe it would, but Lucky knew Cassie was hurting just as much as he was.

Cassie reached for the door but didn't open it. “Della said Brody confessed to assault and that he's going to have to do community service. Anything you want to tell me about that?”

Lucky hadn't intentionally withheld the incident from her. They just hadn't had a chance to talk, with the exception of the conversation they'd had pre-and postsex.

I love you
.

Yeah, that and Cassie's quick departure from his room had pretty much put an end to open communication.

“Brody was trying to kiss Mackenzie in the barn.” Maybe trying to do more, but since it made his blood boil to think of that, Lucky went with the sanitized version. “Mackenzie resisted, I stopped Brody, and I told him to turn himself in to the police or else. He opted against the
or else
.”

Judging from the way Cassie put her hand on her chest, Lucky's explanation had gotten her heart pumping. “Is Mackenzie all right?”

He nodded. “She hugged me afterward.”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “Good. She needs to know the world isn't filled with assholes.”

She did. But there were other assholes out there. Too many of them, and Lucky wouldn't be around to protect her from them. Nor would Cassie. Since that made the knot in his stomach even tighter, Lucky got out of the truck. Cassie, too, but they hadn't even reached the front door to Bernie's office when someone called out her name. It was a sweaty-faced, middle-aged man getting out of a car parked just up the street.

Cassie groaned. “That's Simon Salvetti, my agent. What the heck are you doing here?” she asked as the man approached them.

He took her phone from her hand, made a show of pointing to it. “This is an amazing talking device, but when it makes a ringing sound, dings or plays a song, that means you should answer it because someone likely wants to communicate with you.”

“I didn't want to
communicate
with you. Or anybody else from LA. I knew the newspaper photos would get around. I knew what that would do to my career, and I didn't want to hear a lecture from you.”

“No lecture. What I was calling to tell you is that my talking device has been ringing nonstop with TV and radio shows who want to book you. Those pictures are freakin' gold, Cassie. You've got work lined up for the next two years.” His attention finally landed on Lucky. “And this is the cowboy who made that possible.”

Lucky sure hadn't kissed her to help her career. It had been for a more basic reason than that—lust. But he was glad it hadn't
hurt
her career, though work lined up for the next two years no doubt meant he wouldn't be seeing that much of Cassie after today.

That knot in his stomach was tightening like a vise.

“Anyway, since I wasn't able to talk to you,” the man went on, “I hurried through one of the contracts and brought it with me for you to sign.” He handed her a folder. And a pen.

Cassie glanced at the folder, Simon, then Lucky. She frowned. “Look, uh, Simon, there's a lot going on today—”

“Yes, the wedding and the reading of your aunt's will. I was out at the McCord Ranch, and the housekeeper told me about it, told me you'd be here. It won't take long for you to sign them, and then I can be on the next flight out.”

She made another glance at the folder. Another glance at Lucky. As if she were trying to make up her mind about something. Was she thinking about turning down the jobs? Because Lucky certainly couldn't offer her anything better.

“Simon, I can't do this now,” she finally said. “I'll take a look at the contract after I'm finished here.”

Her agent opened his mouth as if to argue, but Cassie gave him a stern look, and with the folder clutched to her chest, she went inside the office.

“You're not trying to convince her to stay here, are you?” the guy asked Lucky.

“No.” It was the truth. A truth that made Lucky want to do something really unmanly, like puke.

Simon tried to tell Lucky why it would be a bad idea for Cassie to stay, but Lucky tuned him out and went into the office. Thankfully, Simon didn't follow.

Wilhelmina was there behind her desk, and her feathers were no longer ruffled. She was back to batting her eyelashes at Lucky.

The puking feeling eased up a little when he saw Mia in the waiting room. She was hugging Cassie. Even though the wedding was still hours away, Mia was wearing a pale pink fairy-princess dress, complete with tiara, and she had a huge basket of gold stars clutched in her hand.

“Livvy's doing,” Cassie said to him.

Lucky nodded in approval and made a mental note to thank Livvy. He'd thank Alice again, too, for letting the girls stay for the wedding. And speaking of Alice, she was right there next to Mia, and she wasn't in much of a festive mood. Her mouth was still tight. Her body, too. And she didn't soften even a little when Mia rushed to hug Lucky.

“I'm a star girl,” Mia proudly announced.

“I can see that, and you look beautiful.” He kissed the top of her head and turned to Mackenzie to tell her the same thing, but Lucky nearly tripped over his tongue.

Not his goth girl today, but rather a wedding girl. She was wearing a pink dress. Probably still too short. Of course, part of him wanted her to cover up from head to toe like a nun. And her hair wasn't spiked and black. It was pink to match the dress. She looked thirteen instead of twenty. Something he'd take to the grave because he doubted any thirteen-year-old girl actually wanted to look her age.

“I wanted to try something new,” Mackenzie mumbled, looking uncomfortable. Did she think she was selling out? Not a chance.

“You look amazing,” Lucky told her, and he also gave her a kiss on the head. “But then, you looked amazing before, too.” Before, however, it'd just taken him a little longer to see through the makeup.

“I understand the wedding is at two o'clock,” Alice said, standing. She had her purse in front of her like a shield. “The girls and I will be leaving immediately afterward so if you could please bring them outside to the car then, I'd appreciate it.”

Talk about killing the mood. Or rather what little mood they had. Even Mia's shoulders dropped. Too bad. Because seeing the joy on her face might be exactly what Lucky needed to get through the next few hours.

“You can come to the wedding, too,” Lucky offered Alice.

“No, thank you,” she jumped to say. “The girls and I are already packed to go.”

Yes, she'd made that abundantly clear.

“I told her we wanted to stay with you,” Mackenzie said, springing to their defense.

“And I told Aunt Alice I'd give her my cat if we could stay,” Mia piped in.

Those two sentences warmed Lucky's heart. And crushed him. Because Alice wasn't going to take those things into consideration. She had already made up her mind.

But Lucky had been a master of mind swaying for years.

Lucky looked at Wilhelmina. “Could you go ahead and take the girls back to Bernie's office? I'd like to have a word with Alice.”

Wilhelmina nodded, then ushered Mia and Mackenzie away, and Lucky made sure they were out of hearing range before he continued.

“I'm either going to insult you,” he said to Alice, “or make your day. But I'm offering you a million bucks to sign over custody of the girls to Cassie and me.”

Alice rolled her eyes. Obviously, his offer insulted her. “Cassie already offered me money.” She huffed. “Do you really think my nieces are for sale?”

“Of course not,” Cassie and he answered in unison. It was Lucky who continued. “But you heard what they said. They want to stay here. I believe they're happy at the ranch, and I think Spring Hill would be a good place for them to be raised.”

“With Cassie, you and your family.” Alice made them sound like fungi.

He wasn't sure Cassie would be in that equation, but he hoped she knew she was welcome, too. Well, welcome as long as he didn't have to deal with her hit-and-run
I love you.

“My family would be a good support system for the girls,” Lucky explained. “There'd be no need for a nanny since we have Della and Stella. My brother Riley and his soon-to-be wife live just minutes away—”

“Cassie brought up all of this when she called me this morning,” Alice snapped. “But what both of you seem to be forgetting is that you're not fit to be parents.”

“Bullshit.” Lucky hadn't meant to curse, but he didn't take it back. “Cassie and I love the girls. We're not lowlifes like their parents. And we want them. That makes us fit.”

He was clearly losing this argument since Alice was making sounds like a riled rodeo bull. “This discussion is over.”

Maybe, but Lucky wasn't giving up. “Do you love the girls? And I don't mean the kind of love that happens just because they're blood kin. Do you love them?”

The bull sounds turned to more glaring and staring. “I'm sure I will once I get to know them.”

Yeah, she would. But Lucky doubted she'd ever love them as much as he did.

“Uh, Lucky and Cassie?” Wilhelmina said from the hall. “Bernie says you two should go on back for the reading.”

Alice didn't even ask to go with them, and while Lucky wouldn't have refused her, he was glad to have a few more minutes with the girls away from her. Yeah, Alice was perfect all right, except for being pigheaded. Of course, Lucky wasn't even sure it was right to blame her. He hated to admit it, but if their situations had been reversed, he'd be pigheaded, too, if doing so would protect Mia and Mackenzie.

“Thanks for trying,” Cassie said, giving him a pat on the back.

“Thanks for trying, too. How much did you offer Alice?”

“Everything in my savings account. Not as much as you, though. You really have a million dollars?”

He shrugged. “I think I do. I haven't touched my trust fund. And yeah, I have a trust fund,” Lucky added almost defensively. “Never felt I deserved it so I didn't touch it, but using it for this seemed the right thing to do.”

She nodded, paused outside Bernie's door. “I don't suppose Alice would budge if we pooled our money?”

Lucky had to shake his head. “I don't think money will do it. Nor a pound of flesh.”

But what would exactly?

Obviously, Alice seemed to have the girls' best interest at heart, so what would make her believe that Cassie and he would be the best thing for her nieces? A few ideas came to mind—contributing to her charity, vowing chastity, joining the priesthood.

“We could get married,” Lucky threw out there. He wouldn't dare tell Cassie that the notion had come in fourth—after chastity and the priesthood. “Then we could make our own petition for custody.”

Cassie didn't exactly jump at the offer—his first marriage proposal ever. And it wasn't as if they were strangers. They'd had sex twice. Great sex, too. Then there was that part about her saying
I love you.

“Marry you?” she questioned.

Since she had sort of a sneaky look in her eyes, Lucky just settled for a nod.

She nodded back. It was sort of sneaky, as well. “If you want me to even consider marrying you, you have to do one thing.” And she reached for the doorknob to Bernie's office.

“Wait a minute. What one thing?”

The sneaky look intensified. “When you figure it out, you can ask me again.”

Well, hell. It was one of those riddles, and he hated riddles. When she reached for the door again, Lucky stopped her.

“You want me to say I love you?” he tried. It was the only answer on his list of possible answers.

But Cassie shook her head. “When you figure it out, just let me know,” she said and then opened the door despite his still trying to stop her.

“Are you two getting married?” Mackenzie immediately asked.

“Thin door,” Wilhelmina grumbled, and she walked past them as she headed back to reception.

“And yes, your trust fund is worth more than a million,” Bernie said to Lucky. “If you want to know the exact amount, I can look it up for you.”